Revitalization group to be revitalized Thursday night / By Martha Knight

The Port Allegany Main Street Revitalization Corp. (PAMSRC) met for the first time in years, and reorganize to undertake “holdover” projects and new ones, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the Port Allegany Elementary School large group instruction room.

According to Sue Carlson, the remaining officer of the group which has not met formally for some time, initial tasks will be reorganization, and a cleanup day May 5, and a storefront window decorating contest to be held a few weeks later.

Carlson will present a PowerPoint program entitled “Is Our Port Allegany Main Street Sustainable?” Also on hand will be Dusti Dennis, director of the McKean County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, to outline the agency’s plans for properties it owns on Main Street. The public is welcome.

PAMSRC, an outgrowth of the Port Allegany Area Economic Development Corporation (PAAEDC), came into being in connection with a grant assisted program which gave the downtown commercial district a facelift, or Façade Improvement Project. Later a larger project, also grant assisted and coordinated with a PennDOT street rehabilitation, further improved the street and sidewalks in the area, provided period street lights, and created Maple Commons at a key intersection.

Meanwhile, PAAEDC had become inactive. Since late 2012 it has been reorganizing, and is undertaking projects within a broader area. PAMSRC aims to concentrate on commercial districts in the community, Carlson says.