| 'Project Party' to Sign Up Hands for Lifting |
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Volunteers with a wide variety of interests and skills will be recruited for about 30 or more projects at the Lift Johnstown 'Project Party' from 4 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the Holiday Inn-Downtown.
For some Lift Johnstown projects, a “captain” is needed to take charge and make a project happen. Other projects need foot soldiers to do the “grunt” work, although that work will range from administrative or clerical tasks to physical labor.
We need people who pound nails and pour concrete to help build the foundation for a big sculpture, and we need people who can pound out words to help with our communications team.
We need people who can grow vegetables or pull weeds in community gardens, and we need people who can grow character in people as mentors to young adults.
All in all, 30 or more widely different projects will be seeking volunteers.
Lift Johnstown is a collaborative effort of more than two dozen organizations working to improve our community and region. Lift was formed by community leaders who wanted to focus efforts on implementing three plans that were developed at about the same time. Collectively, those plans being driven by Lift seek to “re-invent” Johnstown.
If you have questions or would like more information about the 'Project Party', please call 814-536-5107 or email liftjohnstown@johnstownchamber.com.
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| Blight Campaign Scores Big Victory |
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The owner of a fire-damaged blight site along Somerset Street in Kernville and another structure in Lower Yoder Township faces a potential jail sentence unless he demolishes the buildings within 60 days.
Cambria County Judge Norman Krumenacker handed down that order on December 20 to Kenneth Mirilovich, who entered a guilty plea in both cases. His sentence was deferred for 60 days to allow him time to have the buildings torn down.
The Somerset Street property has been a concern of Lift Johnstown because this quiet street will be used to connect the James Mayer Riverswalk Trail to the Downtown. Plans are in place to paint the street to designate it as a bicycle and pedestrian route. The City is tripling the size of a community park along the street, all which part of the efforts to revitalize the community.
Judge Krumenacker's ruling in the Mirilovich case sends a strong message to property owners that they need to get serious about addressing blight issues in our community. The other property involved in the court case is a former bar along Tremont Road. City officials have brought cases against the owners of about 70 cases, with 46 of those cases having gone before hearings and District Magistrates.
Lift Johnstown is about to ramp up a set of interconnected programs for vacant lots, community gardens, and urban agriculture.
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| Stakeholders Meeting Notes Success |
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About 70 people attended the Lift Johnstown Stakeholders meeting on Nov. 29 to hear about the exciting progress that Lift has made over the past year, including the downtown Smart Transportation project design, the filing of charges against owners of 46 blighted properties, the Stone Bridge lighting, start of construction at Peoples Gas Natural Park, the pending purchase of the three closed Cambria City churches, neighborhood clean-up projects and much more.
Participants also heard about plans for 2012, including the Stop the BS (Blight Sights), Community Gardens and Vacant Lots programs, the recent charrette in Cambria City, efforts to brand Cambria City as the regional Arts and Cultral District, the green roof at Art Works and the Zen Garden at Bottle Works.
The presentation was followed by a Green Drinks social hour that raised over $300 for Lift's trails and greening initiatives. Both the stakeholders meeting and Green Drinks were held at Johnstown Heritage Discovery Center.
The powerpoint presentation from the meeting is available by clicking here. It's a big file and may take some time to download and open.
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| Lift Johnstown Stakeholder Meeting |
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You are cordially invited to attend
A SPECIAL COMMUNITY UPDATE
and STAKEHOLDER MEETING
Tuesday, November 29th
3:30 p.m.
Heritage Discovery Center
Broad Street and 7th Avenue in Cambria City
Hear an update on the Lift Johnstown initiatives, recap of 2011 activities and future efforts focused on:
- attracting development
- blight removal
- community gardens
- sustainable neighborhoods
- recreation enhancements
Immediately followed by a
"Green Drinks" Social
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Ethnic Social Club
4th Floor of the Heritage Discovery Center.
Free Hors d'oeuvres and Cash Bar
Donations collected for this "Green Drinks" social will benefit
the community gardens and trail efforts of Lift Johnstown.
Please respond by email to: liftjohnstown@johnstownchamber.comto let us know if you will be attending the meeting and/or the "Green Drinks" social. Or call 536-5107 to RSVP.
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| Halloween Party Was a Huge Success! |
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 About 550 people came out -- many in wild costumes -- for the Halloween Bash to honor Bill Polacek's 50th birthday on Oct. 29.
The event raised money for Lift Johnstown iniatives and Johnstown Area Regional Industries.
Great costumes of all sorts were there, ranging from the world-famous landmark Johnstown Inclined Plane (see picture at top right)to some really scary, scary things... (see below right).
.jpg) Musical artist Scott Blasey from the Clarks was well received, as were the two other bands. We'll post some additional photos soon.
Lift Johnstown greatly appreciates Bill Polacek's willingness to lend his name to this fun, fun evening to support the good causes under the Lift Johnstown umbrella.
Lift plans to use much of the money to ramp up a community gardens program, which builds on our Stop the BS (Blight Sites) campaign to beautify the city. After seeing some of the costumes the other night, there's no doubt that some "beautification" is needed around town!
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| Cambria City Charrette Concepts-Recommendations |
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The recent Cambria City visioning or "Charrette" was a huge success! About 100 people participated and the concepts and recommendations presented Oct. 22 receive nothing but positive comments from the audience and continue to receive good reviews. We've posted a Powerpoint with the recommendations on our Cambria City page.
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| Stop the BS! Hearing Re-Set |
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Our “Stop the BS” (blight sites) campaign encourages people to watch the trial for the first county-court hearing in a case against blight at 1 p.m. Nov. 8 in the Cambria County courtroom of Judge Norman Krumenacker. Click here for more information.
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You are invited to attend a Halloween Party!
Pasquerilla Conference Center at 6:30 PM
October 29th
A Benefit Party with proceeds going to
Lift Johnstown Initiatives and the JARI Fund Drive
is being held to celebrate Bill Polacek's turning 50.
Become a part of this important and fun event.
We need to spread the word about the party so please extend this invitation to family and friends.
Come celebrate Halloween with us at Bill's Birthday Bash and support two great community efforts.
Ticket price includes:
Musical entertainment by Scott Blasey of "The Clarks",
good food, beverages and other treats.
It's not too soon to think Halloween Party!
Let's keep Lifting Johnstown!
Come have fun and support two good causes -
JARI and Lift Johnstown Initiatives.
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Buy your tickets today at
www.eventbrite.com/event/2120102283
Want to serve as a sponsor for this Spooktacular Night? Sponsorships are available ranging from $750 - $10,000 and our major donors are invited to a private reception at 5:30 PM with the birthday man himself, Bill Polacek.
For Sponsorships, Contact:
Bill Polacek at 814.532.4116
Linda Thomson at lthomson@jari.com, 814.535.8675
Mike Kane at mkane@cfalleghenies.org, 814.536.7741
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| Cambria City Visioning Oct. 20-22 |
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Lift Johnstown is working with Johnstown Area Heritage Association, Save Our Steeples, Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center and numerous other organizations to plan a neighborhood visioning session for the Cambria City National Historic District.
The neighborhood visioning session, called a "charrette," will be held October 20-22 at the Heritage Discovery Center, 210 Sixth Street in Cambria City. Come share your visions for:
- New uses for historic buildings.
- Ways to green and beautify the neighborhood .
- Pedestrian and bicycle routes to cultural attractions.
In the charrette, architects and planners will ask the community for ideas on ways to improve the quality of life and encourage investment in Cambria City. The schedule for public participation is as follows:
- Thursday, Oct. 20, 7 to 9 p.m., public input.
- Friday, Oct. 21, 1-4 p.m., public drop-in time.
- Saturday, Oct. 22, 5:30 p.m., recommendations.
Click here for a 13-page overview of the charrette purposes some of the concepts to be explored. Additional ideas will be welcomed.
This project is funded in part by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is supported by the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.
For more information, please call Brad Clemenson, 814.659.3465.
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| Help Lift-Come Early to Music Festival |
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Get to the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival early on Friday, Aug. 5, so that you can designate Lift Johnstown to receive a $10 donation through the Community Foundation Celebration!
The first 500 people who enter starting at 5 p.m. will be given a $10 "stock certificate" and able to designate which of about 20 non-profit organizations will receive a $10 donation. Lift Johnstown will have a booth so we hope you’ll come by and show your support for our efforts by placing your “stock certificate” in the Lift Johnstown box. Say hello and pick up our brochure while you’re there!
Of course, getting to the festival early enough to support Lift or the other great causes will hopefully also help you get the best seats for the performers who start hitting the stages at 5:30 and 6. Be sure to come back Saturday and Sunday for this phenomenal festival, which includes headliners Gregg Allman and Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. See the full schedule of 25 various performers at http://www.jaha.org/FCMF/schedule.html.
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| We're Things Getting Done! |
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People who attended the Lift Johnstown stakeholders meeting and the Green Drinks social outing that followed on June 28 at the City View Restaurant and Grill were amazed at how much we’re getting done!
 The City business-development strategy and Downtown Stroll District were central elements of the master plan: the business strategy is now live on the internet at www.icityjohnstown.com, which includes a portal through which people can get lots of information about properties available for development, and many features of the stroll district will be built within two years through the $1.5 million Smart Transportation grant.
Six interconnected initiatives were outlined:
- The City’s new blight campaign and the continuing demolition and new housing projects of the Cambria County Redevelopment Authority will clear properties and develop new housing opportunities in core neighborhoods. In the photo above right, City economic development coordinator Josh Summits outlines the new new state law and the city's blight campaign.
- The neighborhood clean-up efforts will continue while we ramp up a new vacant-lots program to clean up the lots and plant either slow-growing grass or, better yet, plan community gardens.
- As we develop these community gardens in every neighborhood and as the greenhouse gets rebuilt at Sandyvale Memorial Gardens and Dog Park, these efforts will grow into nothing short of an “urban agriculture” program.
Remember what Johnstown looks like today. It won’t look the same down the road. And we’re not just building community gardens – we’re building “community.”
The meeting also included an update on the Communications Plan – we just completed the plan two months ago and already developed two Public Service Announcements, printed a brochure and posters, and totally overhauled our web site to be more dynamic – check us out at www.lift-johnstown.com.
Green Drinks, like everything Lift Johnstown does, is a collaborative effort, in this case led by Natural Biodiversity, the Laurel Highlands Branch of the Green Building Alliance, and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. The event raised approximatey $130 for our next trails project.
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 The Memorial Day program held in conjunction with the City of Johnstown's Community Day at Sandyvale Memorial Gardens and Dog Park was a huge success, attracting an estimated 3,500 people over the day for the memorial service, music, kids activities and more.
A veteran's memorial service featured the Greater Johnstown High School Band, keynote speaker Lt. Col. James E. White, Jr. of NATO, Congressman Mark Critz and Rep. Bryan Barbin, Civil War re-enactors, veterans groups, scouts, military units and the Silver Wings parachute team. The rest of the day was filled with food, classic cars, live musical performances and lots of fun. The next step for Sandyvale is the construction of a greenhouse and community gardens.
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| Festival Park Funding Announced |
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A new 600-seat outdoor pavilion and stage will be built this year as the permanent home of the annual AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival in the 3.5-acre Festival Park in Johnstown. The project kicked off with announcement of a $500,000 donation from Peoples Natural Gas Co., which was granted naming rights for ten years. Other funding for the $4 million project includes a $2 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant and $100,000 from the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation.
Speaking of the Music Festival, it's scheduled for August 5-7 and will feature 25 musical performers including Gregg Allman, JJ Grey and Mofro, Bettye LaVette, Tab Benoit, the Hackensaw Boys and Shelf Life String Band. For information: http://www.jaha.org/FCMF/performers.html.
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| Stonycreek Whitewater Valve Dedicated |
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Over 100 people attended the May 13 dedication of the release valve installed in Quemahoning Dam to support whitewater boating on the Stonycreek River with grants from DCNR and the Mellon and Colcom Foundations.
DCNR Deputy Secretary Cindy Dunn spoke at the event, which attracted live coverage from WJAC-TV and widespread newspaper coverage. The Cambria Somerset Authority, established to support economic development from the water system previously owned by Bethlehem Steel Corp., was lauded for recognizing the value of outdoor recreation from dollars spent by visitors and making the region more attractive for general job development.
The dedication kicked off the annual Stonycreek Rendezvous, which attracts about 1,000 boaters each year.
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The City of Johnstown made a major stride toward implementing its Master Plan May 12 with the launching of its new iCity business-development effort. The iCity is a branding effort and much more with a new web site that includes information on five development districts in the City's core and on-line access to details about specific buildings that are available for development within those districts and elsewhere. Read about the six "i's" that define the iCity's strengths on the web site www.icityjohnstown.com.
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 Lift Johnstown was proud to support the Prospect Clean Up day in May. Over 50 people came out to help, including youth groups from three of the Prospect churches (see photo). ACRP provided tremendous support with a truck, equipment and helpers. Those who turned out to help included state Rep. Bryan Barbin and his son. When the work was done, the churches provided a cookout.
Prospect has been adopted as one of the dozen or so collaborative community projects of Lift Johnstown. This project involves development of a new community center that will provide a safe after-school haven for children and a small co-op store, as well as community gardens.
Other neighborhood clean-ups promoted this year by Lift included those in the West End, Downtown and Hornerstown.
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We need your help! Lift Johnstown is a community-driven, collaborative effort to re-invent Johnstown. Click the "Want to Volunteer" button above to see how you can help with various community initiatives.
If your organization needs volunteers, either for a particular event or an on-going regular basis, post your project here to find volunteers.
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