PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
PennDOT’s mission is to provide excellent transportation systems, products, and services for its customers, the public, in an environmentally responsible manner promoting economic vitality and enhancing quality of life. PennDOT believes that involving the public enables them to better fulfill the promise of their mission. To that end, PennDOT is committed to a public involvement program for this project that involves effective communication between all stakeholders. The community will be involved in all phases of the project through effective information and knowledge exchange, open dialogue, and thoughtful decision-making and input consideration leading to consensus on project recommendations.
A project that all stakeholders can be proud of and take ownership in is the goal of this project’s public involvement effort. The public involvement program for this project consists of several components: public meetings, public officials' meetings, special interest meetings and interviews, County Collaborative Committee, Community Advisory Committee, newsletters, and a website.
December 2006 Public Officials and Public Meetings
PennDOT conducted a second public meeting for this project on Monday, December 11, 2006 in the cafeteria at Elderton Junior/Senior High School. Fifty (50) people attended the Monday evening meeting which was conducted in an open house format with a PowerPoint presentation being conducted at 8:00 PM. A Public Officials Meeting preceded the public meeting following the same format.
The PowerPoint presentation given at the December 11, 2006 public meeting and public officials meeting is accessible for viewing via the following download: December 11, 2006 PowerPoint presentation [2.55 MB].
PennDOT and their consultants were also available for discussion and to answer questions. Public comments were gathered at the meeting (via comment forms) regarding the Purpose and Need Study findings presented and consensus and/or disagreement on those findings. Opinions on potential improvements were also requested. Comment forms could be completed and placed in the Comment Box at the meeting, or mailed to Olszak Management Consulting, Inc. by no later than Friday, December 29, 2006. Thirteen (13) completed forms were collected and analyzed. A majority (77%) of the individuals that completed the comment form reported they were residents of the project area and 77% also reported using Route 422 to travel between Kittanning and Indiana. A detailed comment form analysis is accessible for viewing via the following download: December 2006 Public Opinion Report [2.82 MB].
Previous Public Meetings
PennDOT conducted a public meeting for this project on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 in the cafeteria at Elderton Junior/Senior High School. One hundred sixty seven (167) people attended the Tuesday evening meeting which was conducted in an open house format with identical PowerPoint presentations conducted at 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM. A Public Officials Meeting preceded the public meeting following the same format.
The PowerPoint presentation given at the July 12, 2005 public meeting and public officials meeting is accessible for viewing via the following download: July 12, 2005 PowerPoint presentation [1.74 MB].
In addition to the presentation, aerial photography (reflecting current conditions) of the 18-mile corridor was on display for viewing. There were additional maps on tables that participants were encouraged to mark up with known issues and concerns or other notes of interest that the project team needs to be aware of during this phase of the project. The summation of comments collected from the maps is accessible for viewing via the following download: July 12, 2005 Aerial Photography Comments [27 KB].
 The downloads on this page require Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is free software available from the Adobe website. If you do not currently have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to visit the Adobe website and download it.
PennDOT and their consultants were also available for discussion and to answer questions. Public comments were gathered at the meeting for evaluation and consideration in the Purpose and Needs Study. Comment forms were distributed to attendees. Comment forms could be completed and placed in the Comment Box at the meeting, or mailed to Olszak Management Consulting, Inc. by no later than Friday, July 22, 2005. Sixty-nine (69) completed forms were collected and analyzed. A majority (90%) of the individuals that completed the comment form reported they were residents of the project area. A large proportion (43%) of people who completed a comment form indicated they lived in the Kittanning zip code. Safety concerns were considered the most pressing issue to consider by those completing the comment form (86%). A detailed comment form analysis is accessible for viewing via the following download: July 12, 2005 Comment Form Analysis [95 KB].
Information was also gathered for Community Advisory Committee (CAC) participation. A sign up sheet was available during the meeting. For further details regarding the CAC, see the CAC section below.
Public Officials Meeting
PennDOT conducted a public officials meeting on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 prior to the above mentioned public meeting. This meeting was also held at the Elderton Junior/Senior High School. PennDOT representatives made a presentation at 4:00 PM and were available afterward for discussion and to answer questions. Aerial photography (reflecting current conditions) of the 18-mile corridor was also on display for viewing. There were additional maps that participants were encouraged to mark up with known issues and concerns or other notes of interest that the project team needs to be aware of and study further during this phase of the project. Information was also gathered on recommended members for CAC participation.
A sign up sheet was available during the meeting. For further details regarding the CAC, see the CAC section below. There were approximately 30 officials present at this meeting. Representatives in attendance included Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County, Elderton Borough, Kittanning Township, Indiana County, the office of U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the office of Representative Jeff Pyle, Pennsylvania Senator Don White, Shelocta Borough, and the office of Representative Phil English.
Details regarding any future public officials and public meetings will be posted here as they become available.
Special Interest Meetings and Interviews
Special interest meetings and interviews will be held with stakeholders as necessary throughout the completion of the purpose and needs study. All details regarding these meetings/interviews will be posted here as they become available.
County Collaborate Committee (CCC) and Community Advisory Committee (CAC)
Individuals want to have a voice in decisions and outcomes in projects that affect them and their communities. Thus, those making the decisions must effectively involve these individuals by meaningfully incorporating them into the process to insure successful and mutually acceptable completion of a project. One method of accomplishing this goal for the Route 422 project is the creation of both a County Collaborative Committee (CCC) and a Community Advisory Committee (CAC).
The CCC and CAC are a representative and core group of individuals that establish both a working relationship with and a link between the decision makers and the community. For the Route 422 project, the CCC members are the representatives that provide a regional perspective while the CAC members are the representatives responsible for providing the local corridor perspective.
The CCC and CAC will take an active role in project development through participation, information dissemination, issue identification, consultation, and communication resulting in consensus and/or creation of mutually acceptable solutions.
Essentially, the CCC and CAC have been formed to provide an organized and effective means of involving local community interests and concerns into a project. This is done to avoid, minimize, and/or mitigate impacts early and continually to prevent later misunderstanding and/or opposition.
To realize the full potential of both the CCC and CAC, its members must represent a wide variety of interests throughout the project area and must be empowered in democratic processes where open communication and listening are the norm and not the exception. This forum is also productive for encouraging an understanding of the trade-offs and/or constraints behind the process along with the reasoning behind decisions that need to be made.
Route 422 Kittanning to Indiana Improvement Project CCC and CAC
The CCC developed for the Route 422 project has a current membership of 16 including three (3) CAC member appointees. The representative membership for the CCC consists of the following key stakeholder organizations:
- Armstrong and Indiana Counties Departments’ of Planning and Development
- Armstrong and Indiana Counties Chambers’ of Commerce
- Armstrong and Indiana Counties Boards of Commissioners
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)
- Keystone Power Plant
- Key-Con Fuels
- Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC)
- CAC Members
The CAC developed for the Route 422 project has a current membership of 30. The representative membership for the CAC consists of the following key stakeholder organizations:
- Kittanning (including Whitesburg) residents
- Elderton residents
- Shelocta residents
- Indiana residents
- Bradigan’s Inc.
- Charapp Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge
- Elderton Country Market
- The Sandwich House
- Mumau Diesel Service
- Gorrell Enterprises, Inc.
- Diamond Pharmacy Services
- Armstrong and Indiana Area School Districts
- Kittanning Township, Elderton, and Indiana Borough Volunteer Fire Departments
- Kittanning Host Company No. 6 Ambulance
- Citizen’s Ambulance
- IndiGo
- Mid-County Transit Authority
- Elderton and Shelocta Boroughs
- Armstrong Township
- Armstrong and Indiana Counties Conservation Districts
- Pennsylvania State Police
CCC and CAC memberships do not require detailed knowledge of the project, the transportation process, or sophisticated communication skills. It does require a commitment to: comment on project developments from the perspective of the community interest or affiliation represented, provide input, and relay to the constituency the information presented by PennDOT and its consultants.
Please note, individuals were solicited for CCC/CAC membership during the July meetings in Elderton. Approximately 40 people indicated their interest in CAC membership. To create the representative membership highlighted above, recruitment and interviews for the CCC and CAC were conducted during fall 2005.
CCC and CAC Meetings
CCC and CAC meetings for the Route 422 project will be held throughout the project’s progress. Meetings will not be scheduled unless there is reason to call the committee together.
The first CCC and CAC meetings for this project were held on Monday, December 12, 2005 at the Elderton Fire Hall. The CCC meeting was held from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM followed by the CAC meeting at 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The meeting summaries from the Monday, December 12, 2005 meetings are accessible for viewing via the following downloads:
The second round of CCC and CAC meetings were held on Tuesday, December 5, 2006 at the Elderton Fire Hall. The CCC meeting was held from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM followed by the CAC meeting at 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The meeting summaries from the Tuesday, December 5, 2006 meetings are accessible for viewing via the following downloads:
During the CCC and CAC meetings, PennDOT and its consultants provided up-to-date project information and members were asked to provide comments on this information. The meetings also featured open and honest dialogue where questions were answered and all present had the opportunity to share pertinent feedback from their constituency. In order to maintain the described structure and purpose of the CCC and CAC throughout the length of the project, a series of ground rules for the CCC and CAC were generated. All CCC and CAC members were supplied a copy of these ground rules which describes the framework, roles, and responsibilities of the CCC and CAC at the first meeting.
The ground rules provided to all CCC and CAC members are accessible to everyone for viewing via the following download:
Newsletters
Several newsletters will be developed for this project at key milestones. The newsletters will detail the project, its progress, and any updates occurring during the specified timeframe. The newsletters will be distributed to all stakeholders and will also be available to everyone for viewing via this website.
A December 2006 Newsletter is now available for viewing. Please visit the In The News page to read the newsletter.
Website
The project website, sponsored by PennDOT will offer not only an ideal method of retrieving important project information, but also an opportunity for PennDOT and its project team to receive important feedback from the public regarding the project and its progress. The website will constantly be changing to provide the viewing stakeholders with the most up-to-date project information possible throughout the life of this project. The website is a commitment to keeping all stakeholders informed of the direction the project is heading and how it affects the community. Be sure to peruse the entire website for interesting and important project information. If you have particular questions that are not answered here, comments to share, or would like to submit your name for addition to the database, please visit the Contact the Project Team page.
Stakeholder Database
A stakeholder database for this project has been developed and will be updated continuously throughout the life of this project. The database contains all project stakeholders ranging from individuals and local businesses to government officials. The newsletters and all meeting announcements pertaining to this project will be sent to all stakeholders listed in the database. The database is a critical piece of the public involvement program and will be maintained to allow for the effective sharing of knowledge and information with all project stakeholders.
To submit your name for addition to the database, please visit the Contact the Project Team page.
|