Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
If anyone were to doubt that being a professional manager is akin to the role of a corporate chief executive officer, one need only to look at Chambersburg, PA and the scope of ongoing and completed projects accomplished in recent years. From operating its own utilities, implementing award-winning “green’ programs, and launching plans for a new recreational facility, Borough Manager, Jeffery Stonehill has had his hands full.
“Chambersburg has given me the opportunity to develop exciting new projects and initiatives using entrepreneurial business practices not often seen in local government. It is exciting to be a part of a community where so much innovation is happening,” Stonehill said.
Few local governments play such a significant a role in the macroeconomic factors that influence the local economy as Chambersburg. This is because the utility departments drive operating costs down for local businesses and other government units throughout the borough and the region.
While not always appreciated, the borough’s sound fiscal management and lower consumer utility rates benefit private and public sector organizations. Local employers have been able to hire more employees while organizations such as the Chambersburg Area School District and Chambersburg Hospital, have controlled costs and reduced their need for local revenue; controlling tax rates and healthcare expenses for the community.
Jeffrey Stonehill, Borough Manager, Chambersburg, PA.
Selling Power
So how has the 21,000-citizen county seat accomplished this? In short, utilities.
Chambersburg sells power through the northeast grid from Chicago to New York City.
It is is one of 35 boroughs to operate a municipal electric utility and it is the largest in the state. It’s also the only borough to operate generating stations. Growing faster than most towns in Pennsylvania, Chambersburg supplies more services than any other state municipality and is home to more municipal utilities than any other jurisdiction in Pennsylvania. The jurisdiction also is the only one operating electric generating stations including one that turns trash into electricity.
One of two municipalities in Pennsylvania to operate a natural gas utility, Chambersburg offers loans to help residents convert their homes to gas which comes from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. It also is one of about 50 U.S. communities that operate both a natural gas and an electric system.
Chambersburg also manages a water system, a sanitary sewer system, a trash utility that processes single-stream and green yard waste recycling, and a new storm sewer utility; one of the first storm sewer utilities to form under the new Federal mandate to regulate storm water.
The Chambersburg Electric Department buys some of the power it resells from a public-private partnership with Energy Power Partners (EPP) and the Blue Ridge Landfill in Scotland, PA. The Blue Ridge relationship is full circle. Blue Ridge creates power by harvesting methane gas from the decomposing waste it receives from Chambersburg. In turn, Chambersburg buys all of the power output from the EPA award winning power generating project.
In 2014, the Blue Ridge plant generated about 16% of the total electricity consumed by the Chambersburg Borough Electric Department customers. The renewable sustainable landfill gas plant power project and a corresponding “extension cord” electric line (four miles) built to connect it to the borough continues to help Chambersburg provide sustainable energy and stabilized rates.
“Chambersburg Electric Department rates have consistently been lower than available market rates,” said Don Rundle, director of purchasing and materials at the T.B. Woods, a local machinery manufacturer.
“We recommend that other municipalities learn to use their utilities as an economic development tool to grow their communities,” Stonehill said in a recent ICMATV video.
A Green Borough
Living up to its motto as a “clean, green, safe, and healthy community,” Chambersburg began a new single stream curbside recycling program in early 2016. Single-stream means all paper fibers, plastics, metals, and other containers are mixed in one collection truck, instead of being sorted by the customers into separate containers and handled separately throughout the collection process. Curbside collection now is handled by a private vendor on the same days as regular trash collection.
Beginning in 2014, the borough opened a 6.7-acre green yard waste collection and transfer station. Eligible green yard waste includes acorns, bark, branches, brush, bushes, flowers, foliage, kindling, knots, leaves, limbs, plants, roots/rootballs, sawdust, shrubs, twigs, and wood chips. The site includes a set of truck scales for weighing landscapers’ and contractors’ recycling loads. All the collected material is processed by a third-party vendor into mulch. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded a grant of $225,000 toward the $906,000 cost of land acquisition and construction for this facility. The facility serves residents and visitors from other regional municipalities.
Rendition of new facility slated for 2018.
Better Recreation
In 2015, town council authorized the Recreation Department to hire an aquatic engineering and design firm to assist staff with evaluation of the municipal pool complex at Memorial Park. Of the three alternatives presented, council selected a complete replacement of the facility and decided to move ahead with borrowing enough money through a dedicated recreation bond issue and pledged to pay off that bond with a new recreation real estate tax.
In September 2016, town council approved the recreation bond sale for $9.75 million to include enough money for the pool project and a number of other park and playground improvement projects throughout the borough. A modern regional aquatic facility is anticipated by 2018. The facility will be run as a separate enterprise of the Borough; a business, just like all the utilities.
These utility, community and environmental projects are the basis for a strong quality of life in our community, says Stonehill, and are a big reason corporations such as TB Woods (www.tbwoods.com), Ventura Foods (www.venturafoods.com), Summit Health (www.summithealth.org) and the Shook Home (www.shookhome.org) have expanded and do business in the area.
Finally, attests Stonehill, the success of the borough has a direct impact on the success of all of Franklin County. Chambersburg is the economic and services hub of the region and the Franklin County Seat. It is the utility provider for neighboring municipalities which enjoy the success of low utility rates and proximity to Chambersburg’s vibrant downtown.
Chambersburg Results
- Population has grown from 17,838 to 20,508 (15% growth) in 2013.
- Budget is the 11th largest in Pennsylvania and the largest borough.
- Few utility rate increases over the last decade including no water rate increase since 2001, no natural gas rate increase since 2013, and no electric rate change since 2014, when the electric rate was lowered for the third time.
- Lowest composite utility bill for customers in Pennsylvania, which has led to economic development and growth.
- Investment in planning, programming, new businesses, public art projects, capital ventures and more. Over $30 million of investment is planned between 2016-2020 for historic downtown Chambersburg. Recently, the Franklin County Government also announced its intentions to evaluate a renovation and/or expansion of the courthouse complex at historic Memorial Square. A recent Public Opinion article describes the impact.
- Public infrastructure projects completed and being planned.
- Downtown vacancy rate has been cut in half since early 2015, from 6% to 3%. And several new businesses have opened or relocated downtown this year.
Stonehill credits civic engagement and an open inclusive grassroots style of local government for the success of the borough. The borough website, www.chambersburgpa.gov, maintains a transparency page where citizens and businesses can find detailed information about government operations. A local radio station, NewsTalk103.7FM, hosts weekly discussions with officials about projects and upcoming meeting agendas for local meetings. Chambersburg prints an annual report, which is mailed to every utility customer (11,000) served by the borough utilities.
“I am blessed that my council and my community respect the value of being a credentialed city manager, and that the value of my participation in organizations such as ICMA and others, can be seen in my daily success in my community.”
Meet the Manager
Jeffrey Stonehill
Borough Manager & Director of Utilities
In May 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the selection of a consortium that includes ICMA, Enterprise Community Partners, Public Financial Management (PFM), HR&A Advisors, Inc., and NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service to run and operate the Strong Cities, Strong Communities National Resource Network (the Network).
The goal of the Network, which launched in May 2014, is to support cities across the U.S. that are challenged by a range of mounting issues such as growing poverty, high unemployment, poor performing schools, aging infrastructure, and vacant and blighted properties. The Network partners with cities that are rounding the corner from major economic challenges to help them identify and implement practical solutions to facilitate their paths to economic recovery and growth. The Network provides three core services:
- Support for Implementing Solutions: The Network deploys teams of private and public sector experts to work with cities to implement locally identified projects and initiatives to deliver economic benefits in the near term. Network teams also work to build local capacity and leadership for the future.
- Access to Peer Networks and New Ideas: The Network convenes and connects local leaders to their peers and other experts solving similar problems across the country. Through structured peer networks and innovative uses of technology, the Network empowers creative, collaborative problem solving targeting the toughest economic challenges facing America’s cities. The Network also generates real time analysis and policy recommendations that can inform local, state, and federal action.
- On-Line, On-Demand Access to Expertise: The Network’s website provides an unprecedented online library of tools and resources tailored for the leaders of these economically challenged communities, as well as the first-ever compilation of publicly and privately funded technical assistance opportunities. It also hosts the country’s first “311” resource for public agency staff working on fiscal, economic, and community development issues in cities across the country.
Learn more at www.nationalresourcenetwork.org; follow the project on Twitter at @NatlResourceNet.
Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Contact: Jessica Johnston, jjohnston@icma.org
Longmont, Colorado
Longmont, Co. lies at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The area is strikingly flat in comparison to what lies just 30 minutes away in the National Park that celebrates the mountain chain. That drastic drop in elevation leads to major runoff as waters flow east off of the mountains and in 2013, Longmont suffered catastrophic flooding, especially along the St. Vrain Creek.
The city was lucky to escape any loss of life, but the damage to property and infrastructure was severe and resulted in more than $25 million in repairs, says Public Information Specialist, Jennifer Loper.
The city just recently finished those repairs and is now making progress toward restoration, sharing information on the projects through a specialized website, videos and events, such as the November 2016 Bike and Learn ride with the mayor.
The seven-mile, round-trip trek attracted more than 50 cyclists who heard from city engineers and project planners about the ongoing restoration of the St. Vrain Greenway trail, development of an 80-acre open space nature area, widening of the creek flood plain and reconstruction of wiped out infrastructure. Mayor, Dennis Coombs, joined the group at the last stop. (see the video)
“[Coombs] gets from one place to another on his bike,” said Rigo Leal, Longmont’s public information officer. “He’s really the inspiration for a bike and learn event.”
Building Citizen Trust
These events, monthly “coffee with council” and the city manager, a broad communications campaign during the disaster and ongoing information sharing build trust in the community of 92,000 and have helped it get through the flood and move on, said Leal. The citizens approved $20 million in bonds for the flood restoration and have approved a 3/4 cent street tax every 5 years since 1986. Amid the flood restoration the street tax was renewed for 10 years until 2026.
“I think this shows the trust between the city and the populace,” Leal added.
Major flood recovery work, including repair and rebuilding of damaged streets, parks, water resources, irrigation ditches, drainage systems, power lines and public buildings began immediately after the flooding and was completed in September 2016. This included the repair and widening of Sunset Street Bridge, which was washed out by flood waters but now hosts designated bike and walking lanes.
A Bigger Project
Along with the repairs, the city realized the need to prepare for future flooding by restoring and revitalizing the creek channel and launched the Resilient St. Vrain project that is expected to cost between $120-$140 million in combined federal, state and local funds, said Loper. Work could take up to ten years to complete and is being done in stages. The city hosts a video about the project on its website and created print collateral to explain the project to citizens.
“The City decided do more than just repair the creek corridor after the 2013 flood,” Longmont City Manager Harold Dominguez said. “It became an opportunity to restore the greenway in a way that ultimately improves this incredible amenity for the Longmont community.”
Through the restoration work, the city plans to move more than 800 acres and more than 525 structures out of the floodplain and will restore 8 miles of St. Vrain Greenway, the “crown jewel” of the area’s trail system. Design work on Resilient St. Vrain began in 2014. Construction work in the first section of the project, the Sandstone Reach, began in December 2016, and work on the second section, known as City Reach 1, will begin in early 2017. Planning and work also has begun on the Dickens Farm Nature Area within the 80 acres of open space. It will include recreational access to the creek, which was not easily accessible in the past. The plan also includes a creek path for tubers and recreational kayakers with several man-made drops.
The Resilient St. Vrain project has received a “Finding of No Significant Impact” designation from FEMA. In the Sandstone Reach, engineers are using the natural path of the creek that was re-established during the flooding, working around nesting bald eagles and re-using tree root wads for softer diversion tactics.
City Manager Harold Dominguez, along with Public Works & Natural Resources General Manager Dale Rademacher, were instrumental in quickly and efficiently working with FEMA to start the flood recovery process and giving timely status updates to the community and the City Council.
Meet the Manager
