Economic symposium stresses collaboration, revitalization
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
The Mid-Mon Valley Economic Symposium featured a roundtable of county commissioners (from left) Diana Irey Vaughan (Washington), Mike Belding (Greene), Dave Lohr (Fayette) and Sean Kertes (Westmoreland).
Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Jamie Colecchi, Mon Valley Alliance CEO, addresses the crowd during the Mid-Mon Valley Economic Symposium.
Collaborative efforts toward the regionalization and revitalization of local communities, and working to keep young people from moving away were prevailing themes at Thursday’s Mid-Mon Valley Economic Symposium.
Presented by the Mon Valley Alliance, the symposium featured a roundtable discussion of commissioners from four western Pennsylvania counties – Diana Irey Vaughan (Washington), Mike Belding (Greene), Dave Lohr (Fayette) and Sean Kertes (Westmoreland).
The commissioners all stressed the importance of technology, a necessity to keep people in the counties, as well as attract them. Developing infrastructure and increasing job opportunities are other steps that would go a long way toward making that happen.
“We are the second oldest county in western Pennsylvania. The average age is 50,” Kertes said. “We need young people. To have a strong economy you need to invest in the youth.
Irey Vaughan, chair of the Washington County Commissioners, said young people need to be informed at an early age of what is available to them in their communities.
“We have to start recruiting them when they’re younger and giving them opportunities,” she said. “We have to create an environment for them where there is a high quality of life and a lot of recreational opportunities for them to enjoy to keep them here. You have to have the infrastructure in place because this generation relies on technology so much more than we did.”
Belding spoke of the need for on diversification of the economy in Greene County, since the county has been focused primarily on the coal industry for a number of years.
“As students come through the education system, if they’re not interested in doing that they look elsewhere,” Belding said, adding that the county is in partnership with Waynesburg University and West Virginia University to develop a business incubator to allow young people to become business entrepreneurs. “We’re trying to parallel industry requirements to train our youth to keep our youth in Greene County.”
Lohr said a key step in Fayette County to establish development has been starting an infrastructure bank, which allows for loans from a special county fund to be used as a quicker, more reliable option for financing necessary repair or improvement projects.
“It’s been a program that’s been very aggressive and very strong,” Lohr said. “If our municipalities or authorities have a program or a project that needs funding, this (bank) can fund the whole program … or it can also take care of the matching money in the other grants. This has been very useful.”
Johnna Pro, regional director for the state Department of Community and Economic Development, said the first statewide economic strategy in more than two decades will give communities throughout the commonwealth a helping hand.
“You can look forward to hearing from the (Gov. Josh) Shapiro administration about some dynamic steps that we will take to make sure we are leading Pennsylvania into the future, making us the best, most competitive state for both community and economic development,” Pro said.
Jamie Colecchi, the Mon Valley Alliance CEO, was pleased with the exchange of ideas at Thursday’s event.
“It brought four counties together to talk about initiatives and ideas. Anytime you can talk and look for areas of progress, it’s the best,” Colecchi said.