Yardley first in Bucks to join economic initiative
YARDLEY BOROUGH, Pa. — Parking, commercial and industrial usage, land availability, employment and transportation.
Those are just some of the key issues that council president Joe Hunter wants to address through the Bucks County Municipal Economic Development Initiative.
Yardley Borough is the first municipality to join the effort. The vote was unanimous at the council meeting on Sept. 4 to take a new focus.
“We’re sort of the guinea pig,” he joked with his fellow council members.
The county commissioners said the new initiative will focus county resources on ensuring the continued and expanded economic prosperity of Bucks County and its 54 municipalities.
Bucks County’s adopted economic development goals were established in the 2010 report of the Economic Development Advisory Board, “An Action Plan for Progress.”
One of the six goals - “Engaging our Municipal Partners” – is the foundation for the new program.
Hunter, who has been council president for six years of the 10 years he has served on council, said “it’s very exciting” to be number one.
“We look forward to working with the county planning commission and building on what we already having going on here with two exciting businesses starting,” Hunter said.
He is talking about The Vault Brewing Company, which will bring a unique brewpub experience to South Main Street; and the Trattoria Rosa Bianca restaurant at South Main Street and East College Avenue. Both are slated to open soon.
“We want to be able to continue to expand our economic opportunities,” Hunter said.
The planning commission will bring their staff and their expertise to work with Yardley businesses, residents and elected officials.
Ultimately, Hunter said, the effort would bring economic growth to the borough at no cost unless the borough was to undertake a project that has direct expenses. The borough would be responsible for that.
Yardley Borough is ahead of many of the 54 municipalities in Bucks County that can take advantage of the initiative.
“We already started with the visioning process two meetings ago,” he said. “It worked out nicely.”
The borough learned about the initiative through Lynn Bush of the county planning commission when she started the visioning process with the council.
Bush is the chief clerk of the county and director of the Bucks County Planning Commission.
“She contacted us after the visioning project and asked if we’d like to take part in it and we said, ‘Sure!’” Hunter said. “We were more than willing to keep going.”
The initiative is a totally volunteer program.
Rob Loughery, chairman of the Bucks County Commissioners, said, “We are quite pleased that Yardley Borough was the first to sign on to this initiative and forge a partnership with the county to allow us to work with them and compliment their local efforts to improve economic development.”
Loughery said he is particularly pleased that Yardley came on board early because he hopes other boroughs will follow their example. “One of our objectives in the EDAB (Economic Development Advisory Board) was to find ways to support our small towns and boroughs,” he said.
“Bucks County is blessed with quaint boroughs, and being able to support their revitalization is a high priority,” Loughery continued.
“The credit for starting the initiative,” he said, “belongs to the
EDAB, the current CEDC (Commissioners’ Economic Development Council) and leadership group, as well as our planning commission for embracing the idea and being willing to refocus and shift some of their personnel and resources towards economic development.”
Loughery said economic development is important because families, youth and communities need opportunities for jobs. “When businesses can expand or locate here in Bucks County, our communities benefit,” he said.
“The ripple effect of new growth and expansion is exponential,” Loughery continued. “Businesses help our local tax base, help our schools. Wealth creation helps our families, which in turn allows us to help others who are less fortunate.”
Lynn Bush led the visioning brainstorming session in Yardley Borough Hall a few weeks ago. It was standing room only in the upstairs meeting room. Idea upon idea was shared about what can be done to improve things for the future.
“Yardley has so much going for it -- the river, Lake Afton, the canal, historic downtown, access to regional highways and a transit station,” she said. “It has many of the components that make our towns livable and attractive.”
Yardley, she emphasized, has “suffered from flooding, but the components of the community are strong. The borough has expressed some concerns about parking and the commercial mix, so that’s what we can focus on.”
Bush said the towns in Bucks County are very important. “From Quakertown to Perkasie, Doylestown to Bristol, each borough has a strong history,” she said. “Each town is different, but maintaining and enhancing the Main Streets of our towns has long been seen as important to our economic health. They contribute to tourism, recreation, centers for arts and culture.”
For information or to sign up for the Municipal Economic Development Initiative program, contact the planning commission at 215-345-3400 or bcpc@ co.bucks.pa.us.