North Central approves loans for three Elk County businesses
ST. MARYS - The North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission approved mini grants for three Elk County businesses during their Wednesday board meeting.
The meeting, conducted at The Red Fern, included board discussion on legislative topics and other matters.
During the meeting a resolution was approved for the North Central Pennsylvania Greenways Mini Grant Program 2025. Amy Kessler, North Central director of community development and regional planning, explained more in detail about the mini grant program, stating they are in their current 2023 to 2026 mini grant program through DCNR (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources). She added they are about halfway through spending in regards to the mini grant, and applications for the next round of the DCNR’s mini grant program are due next week.
Kessler said that she has received letters of support from each of the county planners encouraging this project. The application is $150,000 and the applicants have to match at the asked amount. This also comes with a 5% administrative fee for applicants to administer the program.
Three loan requests were approved for businesses in Elk County by the board. Among them was Schatz Services, LLC in St. Marys, approved for a $35,000 loan from the USDA micro loan fund at an interest rate at 5% with a repayment term of five years. Schatz Services plans to use the loan to purchase a mini excavator that will accommodate the growth of the business and expand the capacity that is needed to provide services to their customers.
The second loan approved, with one board member abstaining, was for the Wildwoods Bar & Grill in St. Marys for $54,500 from the USDA Intermediary Lending Program at an interest rate of 4% with a repayment term of 10 years.
The loan will be used to finance building improvements, specifically replacing the kitchen floor at the business.
The third loan approved was for the Wapiti Woods Lodge in Benezette for $200,000 through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority at an interest rate of 4% with a repayment term of 15 years. The loan will go towards construction for a lodge-style accommodation for tourists and offer a greater capacity for overnight guests compared to what their current cabins offer. It will include four bedrooms, two and a half baths, kitchen and laundry facilities, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and outdoor seating.
North Central Director of Information Systems, Ed Matts provided an update on a project for new offices in the North Central building, as it is almost complete. Necessary inspections on specific areas of the project passed, according to Matts, and are waiting for smoke alarms to come in.
After final inspection, North Central staff members will move into new offices in late April or early May. These construction changes will afford expanded capacity within the office if needed.
North Central’s Director of Finance, Shelly Caggiano, shared with the board that they are in the process of their federal audit with their ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) community capacity grant.
Caggiano said they have submitted everything as requested. Kessler added that this is a standard audit and this program was selected to be audited.
Financial reports for January through February were approved.
A draft resolution was approved by the board for the authorization to use electronic signatures on routine contracts. The reasoning behind this resolution was that North Central has a consistent volume engaged and prep contracts that go out on a regular basis, but usually have to wait for them through the mail. With this approval, North Central has explored using DocuSign as the verification method.
The board received a resignation from Courtney Cole from the loan review committee, effective Friday, March 29. Cole is the representative for Citizens & Northern Bank and will be retiring at the end of the month. As a result of Cole’s resignation, Lynn Ruffner was appointed to serve on the loan review committee as the representative for Citizens & Northern Bank, effective Friday, March 29.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Brent Addleman was introduced to the board as he was recently hired as North Central’s marketing and communications coordinator. Addleman stated that he is “looking forward” to working with everyone in the future to get the word out about what North Central does for the six counties it serves.
Following the meeting, guests were received to attend a breakout session to learn about the different departments at North Central.
The next board meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, April 24 at 9:30 a.m.