March 29, 2006
by Jaime Bumbarger
Mo Valley Bureau Chief
Reproduced with permission.

Circulation Manager:
Cindy Aughenbaugh
Phone: 814-765-5581
Fax: 814-765-5165

Call our Clearfield office at 814-765-5581 to see how you can become a regular subscriber of The Progress!

STATE COLLEGE-- It was not a straight-out "no" vote, but opponents of a proposed interchange off Interstate 80 that would be used to access a proposed landfill and industrial park in Rush Township will take it.

In a close vote, the Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization's Coordinating Committee voted last night to defer action on the interchange until the state Department of Environmental Protection permits the site.

Opponents expecting to hear either a "yes" or "no" vote in response to Snow Shoe and Rush townships' requests to have the interchange included in the county's new Long Range Transportation Plan were surprised, but satisfied, with the outcome.

"I'm ecstatic about the vote. It wasn't expected, but it put the matter in the hands of the agency that needs to be involved," said Linda Padisak of Snow Shoe Township.

"It's a logical motion," said JoAnn Gillette of Snow Shoe Township. "Why permit something that leads to nowhere."

But others are not sure the CCMPO followed the right steps. The CCMPO is responsible for the allocation of government funds for transportation projects, not determining land use, said CCMPO member John Elnitski, representative for Benner Township. "If a project is fully funded, I expect everyone here to vote yes," he said.

He stipulated that point in his motion to include the interchange on the 2007-10 Transportation Improvement Program, as well as recommended the state Department of Transportation forward the Point of Access study to the Federal Highway Administration for its review.

In September, a similar motion to forward the POA to the FHWA died when the CCMPO voted 7-7 to forward it. At the same meeting, it voted unanimously that the interchange was inconsistent with its current LRTP.

Several members of the CCMPO expressed concern about raising the ranking of the interchange from No. 118 on its draft list of candidate projects. Some CCMPO members conceded they might be in favor of a separate list for privately funded projects.

Calling the proposed interchange nothing more than a "glorified driveway," Centre County Commissioner and CCMPO member Chris Exarchos said he was in support of forwarding the POA to the FHWA for its review but also suggested the CCMPO staff be directed to develop a different process to evaluate fully funded projects. "The process we use is not designed for this type of project," he said.

Mr. Elnitski, Frank Royer, the Spring Township representative on the CCMPO, and Centre County Commissioner Steve Dershem, who was serving as a voting member in place of Commissioner Scott Conklin, agreed.

But others were torn. Bryce Boyer, Patton Township's representative, said although it was not the CCMPO's responsibility to decide on the landfill itself, it the landfill were approved, an interchange is a must have. Dan Klees, CCMPO chairman and College Township representative, also said safety was a concern.

This site contains PDF file downloads. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may download a free version here.

©2005-2006 People Protecting Communities • last updated March 29, 2006
This site has been developed, designed and maintained with 100% volunteer work. No funds are used.
Please report problems to our volunteer WebHead, TechieR