Neighbors help open community center
The Sustainability and Community Engagement Center is not only located in the heart of Sharpsburg. It has the potential to become the heart of the borough.
“We’ve had dreams for a space for community-based advocacy for a long time, and this was the perfect location,” Brittany Reno, executive director of the Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization, said at the opening at 511 S. Main St.
The event was filled with neighbors chatting, eating and exploring the office space in the lower level as well as the rehabilitated apartment above.
SNO’s new home meets several of the group’s goals: It improves a vacant property, gives residents a place to meet and helps them find resources and develop programs designed to help the area grow. They can learn about local issues and plans for the building as well as upcoming SNO projects.
Since its founding in 2014, Ms. Reno has been key in implementing programs and festivals that engage the community. Her work in securing grants and donations to help her fellow Sharpsburgers led to her promotion to SNO’s executive director in 2016, and she’s continued to develop programs that engage residents and help the community improve.
A grant from the Hillman Foundation to the Triboro Ecodistrict, of which SNO is a part, helped buy the $299,000 building, formerly an upholstery shop. Other money was donated by UPMC Health Plan and First National Bank through a state Department of Community and Economic Development neighborhood assistance grant.
More grants from the Hillman Foundation and the Heinz Endowments will enable SNO to join its Triboro partners in Etna and Millvale with the installation of a solar-powered air quality monitoring and education hub, so residents will be able to learn about the air they’re breathing. Brian Wolovich, Triboro Ecodistrict director at New Sun Rising and a Millvale councilman, and his brother Scott, New Sun’s executive director, attended the open
house along with many others from the Triboro, including Etna manager Mary Ellen and council president Pete Ramage. They joined Sharpsburg Council members Adrianne Laing, Karen Pilarski-Pastor and Brad Truman; Bonnie DeMotte, Second Harvest Community Thrift Store executive director; and Nanci Goldberg, co-owner of Ketchup City Creative, a public art gallery in Sharpsburg.
Residents who attended could learn about the Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan and share their ideas to improve energy efficiency, trail development, food access, economic development and stormwater management and then return during regular office hours on Tuesdays from noon to 4 p.m., Wednesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays from noon to 3:30 p.m. to continue working with SNO. They can also email Ms. Reno at brittany@sharpsburgneighborhood.org or call 412-407-7661 to make an appointment.
In addition to learning how to run their own communitybased project, residents can also apply to join SNO’s board of directors as a member or even become the organization’s new treasurer.
“This space will make us more productive and busy,” said Ms. Reno, who’s happy to give up her home office. “When home wasn’t convenient, we’d have to hunt down a place to meet. We’ve been looking for a place for a long time but were very intentional when searching, and it’s gratifying to have the support and recognition of our Triboro neighbors after the effort we put into it.”
Work at the Sharpsburg Sustainability and Civic Engagement Center has already begun. At a meeting this week, residents learned how things they do every day impact the environment and learn strategies to lessen that impact.
“Data-driven climate projects continually show that our regional climate will change over the coming years to include more hot days and a greater number of more intense rain events,” Ms. Reno said in a Facebook post advertising the event. “In Sharpsburg, stormwater management, air quality issues and overburdened infrastructure already are challenging the people who call our area home.”
In the spring a Hillman grant will help pay for solar panels, similar to those installed at the Sharpsburg Community Library in 2019. EIS Solar, the same contractor, will be doing the work.
The goal is to develop a climate action plan for the borough. Armed with data gathered with the help of a Penn State researcher, community members will work with professionals to analyze that data and develop a local plan to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.