$30,000 to help plan for Rock Run

By KATHY MELLOTT
The Tribune-Democrat

ALTOONA February 27, 2007 11:55 pm

— A $30,000 government funding package is being made available to assist local municipalities in preparing for an influx of an expected 25,000 visitors annually to the Rock Run Recreation Area.
The state and federal funding is being funneled through the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission. The money, which may include some in-kind services, will be used to hire a consultant to develop a community idea of how to meet visitors’ needs.
“There will be community meetings to develop a vision, what they want their community to look like once the park opens,” Fred Querry, a Southern Alleghenies’ assistant director, said Tuesday.
The sessions – targeted for late March – probably will be held in Northern Cambria, Patton, the Hastings/Carrolltown area and Coalport, he said.
The construction of 50 miles of trails is completed, and a park center near the entrance at St. Lawrence is under construction. The first phase of the multi-use park, in which the state has invested more than $5 million, will open this spring.
Northern Cambria county officials are expecting great things from the park, said Fran Filkins, director of the Northern Cambria Area Business Alliance.
“What Thunder in the Valley has done for Johnstown, Rock Run is going to do for our area, only this will be on a seasonal basis,” she said. “This will have a monumental impact on the area, and all of the response we’ve heard is very positive.”
Northern Cambria and southern Clearfield have to be ready to capitalize on the economic potential, Patton Mayor Steve Bakajza said. “My biggest concern is we have all of the people coming into Patton – and we get them to stop in Patton, not just pass through,” he said.