“On February 4, 2020, the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce hosted one of its signature annual events, the “State of the County,” at the Fez, with over 200 people attending. KDKA Money and Politics Editor, Jon Delano, moderated, with the Beaver County Commissioners answering questions posed by the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee and audience members. Because time did not permit asking all of the audience’s questions, the Chamber invited the Commissioners to answer more of them here. Stay tuned for future opportunities to hear from our Commissioners.”

~ Harry F. Kunselman, Chair of the Government Affairs Committee, Beaver County Chamber of Commerce

 

From Commissioners Dan Camp, Tony Amadio, and Jack Manning:

Thank you to the Beaver County Chamber, and all those attending the event at The Fez last month, for the opportunity to present our viewpoints and vision on the State of Beaver County. We understand the audience had a few more questions to be asked before running out of time. Here is our response to two of those additional questions from the Chamber:

Question 1: Are you confident in the integrity of the County’s voting and election process for the 2020 elections?

Answer:  We are very confident that the Bureau of Elections Office staff will ensure that the voting process will provide accessibility, accuracy and integrity for voters. The newly enacted Act 77, passed in Harrisburg last year, will also provide residents with more options to register to vote up to 15 days before the elections, and also more freedom to vote via absentee ballot. There should be no excuse for not voting in 2020. And we always encourage everyone to do their civic duty and vote.

Question 2: Tell us about any sustainability initiatives the County is pursuing: storm water reduction, alternative energy, clean waterways, etc.

Answer:  As a Commonwealth, the County has very little control and responsibility for storm water run-off and keeping the waterways clean.  Most of that falls under the purview of your local municipality, the state DEP, and federal EPA. We can and do control County property, and work with the Beaver County Conservation District to mitigate the disruption of the environment. 

We are also, extremely proud of the efforts of our team of County employees who manage our sustainability and waste management programs. Director Holly Vogt and her team have brought in over two million dollars in grants to help with waste management projects and expanding our recycling to include electronics. We are the only County in southwest PA to do so, helping prevent illegal dumping of TVs, etc., along our rural roadsides.  In addition we have our own paper shredding truck that was purchased and paid for with proceeds of paper recycling. We recently expanded by 10 acres the Beaver County Compost Site, that has been praised by the DEP as a model for other counties in the Commonwealth. 

There are plans to explore expansion of our County efforts to include solar panels at various locations and create and education center to promote sustainability for residents and school districts. We have and will continue to partner with business and industry and other groups to move as close as possible toward an effort of zero waste in our County buildings and grounds.