Published: April 15, 2009 11:02 pm      

Somerset, Cambria governments win awards

Old and new gateways – a water pipeline and high-speed Internet

– brought state awards Wednesday to Somerset and Cambria county governments.

“The local government entities and officials being honored today provide leadership and know-how that ensure the partnerships between state and local government work to their fullest potential,’’ said George Cornelius, acting secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.

He spoke during the 13th annual Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence ceremony at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.

Somerset County won an award for intergovernmental cooperation as it built the Quemahoning Pipeline.

The pipeline was a collaborative effort involving the Cambria Somerset Authority, those two counties, and Boswell and Somerset boroughs and Conemaugh, Lincoln and Somerset townships. Talks are going on to offer water from the 62-million-gallon-per-day pipeline to other municipalities.

Cambria won the award for information technology for its high-speed wireless broadband.

Broadband was introduced to areas that previously did not have that service. Cambria Connected simultaneously lowered costs of high-speed Internet and data services to business and residential customers, the state said.

The awards were presented to nine individual leaders and 11 government entities that have exemplified the work by Pennsylvania’s cities, towns and boroughs. Awards covered eight categories. Winners were picked by a panel of judges from the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services.

Other winners included:

n Altoona in the category of building community partnerships.

The city partnered with economic development agencies, 11 businesses and a crime prevention organization on the Gateway Enhancement Project.

The aim was to create an attractive entry to the city for new businesses and homebuyers.

Volunteers fixed up 35 houses at an average cost of $2,200 per house, or $77,000.

n Trafford Borough in Westmoreland County for fiscal accountability.

The state said the town – which lost much of its manufacturing base during the past 20 years – has become a model on how a distressed community can rebuild and thrive. Under the six-year recovery plan, Trafford cut overspending, accelerated debt payments, restored services and lowered taxes.