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June 25, 2009

Give-take approach | Visioning project must benefit all involved

Anonymous The Tribune-Democrat Thu Jun 25, 2009, 03:45 PM EDT

Those developing the Regional Visioning Project – designed to promote a 30-county area over parts of four states – say the key to the effort is participation from communities across its area.

We say the key to that is making sure the project benefits Cambria and Somerset counties and other municipalities not located in Greater Pittsburgh.

As you read here on June 21, the Regional Visioning Project is supported by Pittsburgh and Allegheny County foundations looking to generate dialogue aimed at creating strategies to help communities from eastern Ohio across western Pennsylvania and into northern West Virginia and Maryland.

Cambria and Somerset are among the project area’s 30 counties, along with Westmoreland and Indiana – and Blair could soon be joining them.

Project Executive Director Allen Kukovich told The Tribune-Democrat:

“We’ve looked at a number of other regional planning efforts, some of which didn’t work. Those that do work have good regional participation.”

We think the idea has merit, provided the outlying areas aren’t asked to work on programs that will primarily benefit Pittsburgh.

Local members of the project’s steering committee – Michael Kane of Cambria and Pamela Tokar-Ickes of Somerset – say that, so far, the project is taking a regional approach.

“Those of us who have been out here on the frontier are very hopeful that the arrow will point back this way,” said Tokar-Ickes, chairwoman of the Somerset County commissioners.

“Certainly, we don’t want to simply be absorbed into Pittsburgh. The counties out here should be active participants in the process.”

Kane, executive director of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, said there is “a grass-roots-up element to this as well as a leadership-down element.”

Certainly, our region can learn much from expanded interaction and conversation with folks from other communities in the project’s geography.

What works in Youngstown, Ohio, might be applicable here. What failed in Washington, Pa., might offer lessons for our communities.

And we have much to offer the greater effort as well.

Kane pointed to planning efforts under way in Johnstown as complementary to the broader planning initiative.

Tokar-Ickes said her county’s involvement in smaller regional efforts should help Somerset contribute to and learn from the 30-county project.

Kukovich was right: Similar projects have fallen flat elsewhere. Without broad support, such ideas soon whither and fade away.

The best way to ensure support from the many communities across these 30 counties is to remain committed to making the Regional Visioning Project a truly regional process – with the local towns and townships contributing to the planning and benefiting from the results.

We will be watching with great interest.

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