Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Vicites put the county on display Monday by hosting the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission meeting at the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council office.
Vicites serves as SPC secretary-treasurer.
The organization has moved recent meetings while its Pittsburgh Strip District offices are undergoing renovations.
“This is the first time in history that a meeting has been held here with public parties,” Vicites said.
He said officials from Butler, Armstrong, Washington, Allegheny and Greene counties attended the session.
More than 40 people attended the 75-minute session, including several members via internet.
The Fay-Penn site in Lemont Furnace provided video technical applications.
Joseph Ambrose of Republic Food Enterprises said his company’s affiliations with farms of all sizes creates second-source revenue for value-added products in southwestern Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia and Maryland.
Ambrose catered the event.
Laura Kurtz Kuhns, Fay-Penn executive director, discussed such Fayette County attractions as the Joseph Hardy Connellsville Airport, Fort Necessity and Fallingwater.
She said Fallingwater has been named among the nation’s most loved attractions. The house near Mill Run was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is considered to be his residential masterpiece.
Dom D’Andrea, director of transportation planning for the region’s long-range plan, outlined topics discussed in recent weeks during Fayette County commissioners’ meetings.
He said the planning sequence that runs through 2025 is reviewed every four years.
SPC members unanimously endorsed highway bridge investments, new transit investments and air quality conformity determination.
Major attention through investments will be given to Interstate highways 79, 70 and 376. In the long term, roughly $2.2 billion is expected for highway improvements.
A Vision Zero Plan will be implemented for Allegheny County, with a goal of achieving zero deaths or serious injuries from motor vehicle accidents.
Allegheny County has had more than half of the serious accidents in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
A Competitive Economy Infrastructure and Technology for Sustainable and Resilient Communities program is expected to focus on workforce assistance in areas of need.
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