Robert Wagner

There is an unbelievable amount of attention being focused on where we call home. From Donegal to both Resorts, to Somerset and the National Flight 93 Memorial, to OhioPyle, Falling Water, Kentuck Knob, the Duncan House, we all know the amenities are endless. Hunters, bikers, skiers, golfers, history buffs, river rats, environmentalists, we all seek sanctuary in these mountains. For NOW the Laurel Highlands is a pristine environment.

Our beloved area is on the edge of becoming another hodgepodge business district, traffic congested, tourist attraction. We just got back from Naples (Resort and Second Home Symposium) where at every stop light there are six traffic lanes of locals and even more important to the economy, VISITORS. In the most populated areas the shopping centers repeat every 10 miles.

Right now you can drive in any direction from the intersection of Rt 31 and 711 and NOT hit a stop light for 15 miles! One of our tour guides shared that 55 years ago Naples didn't have a stop light either. There are seven areas in the state that have been targeted in an "effort to raise the region's quality of life while crafting a model of sustainable development tied to the natural and cultural assets of the region." Encouraging development while keeping our landscape.

It's called the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative or the CLI. It encompasses Westmoreland, Fayette, Somerset and parts of Cambria and Bedford counties. The big focus is on Laurel Ridge, Chestnut Ridge, the Great Allegheny Passage, and the Stonycreek-Quemahoning corridor. "In a "live where you play" world, the economic development potential in relation to the natural, cultural and heritage resources in this region is tremendous!"

The Laurel Highlands Summit is scheduled for Sunday April 26 and Monday April 27 at Hidden Valley. We'll be hearing from Dee Kaplan, Deputy Secretary, Dept of Community & Economic Development and Cindy Dunn, Deputy Secretary, Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Session topics with guest speakers include, "Dynamic Community Strategies: Community & Business Development in Historic and Scenic Areas, Show Me the Green: Resource Stewardship to Sustain our Communities, Show Me the Money: Creating Business in Resource-Connected Communities, Show Me the Place: Community Asset Planning and Management - Cultural and Natural Resources as Economic Development Tools, and Cool Vision - Are You ‘Next Gen' Ready?"

You can do one day or both! There are some fun activities scheduled prior to the Sunday session! The more community involvement the better! We hope to see a full house!

Given this economy we decided to revisit where our resort home owners reside full time. Checking on their area of primary residence give us (and you), insight into the stability of their livelihood and likeliness of needing to sell a second home. Pennsylvania still lays claim to almost 80% of the home owners at both Hidden Valley and Seven Springs.

The areas surrounding Pittsburgh came in with the most concentrated numbers. So how stable is our area? From the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes a graph showing monthly average unemployment rates for all of the states through Feb 2009. According to the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis the unemployment rate for PA is at 7.25 with the US coming in at 7.85

Consider our neighboring states like Michigan with all of the GM manufactures scaling back employees. Or Ohio where the DHL company with 8,000 employees recently shut down their facility. What part of the economic mix would knock the wind out of our markets? We decided to do some investigating to see if we could uncover any interesting economic information!

Considering that both Hidden Valley and Seven Springs have aggressive new construction plans we decided to first investigate median household income. We narrowed our focus to the most populated zip code areas recorded as homeowners at the resorts. You'd never guess it but the number was under $50,000!! (Thanks to the US Census for the income stats.) These folks would be hard pressed to purchase second homes at either resort. But it made us wonder about the top employers in the state and where these buyers are coming from.

Here are the top 50 employers according to the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis (3^rd quarter 2007). When we grouped them into categories that we thought would have the greatest potential for high income earners this is what they looked like. Health, Education, Finance, hummm all are on the governments help out list! We also found the 2007 Employment Stats.

Another site we found very intriguing is the Pennsylvania State of Innovation Site. If you click on the tab that states "KEY INDUSTRIES you'll find four categories including Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials, High Technology and Business Services. The map is interactive and there's much more info available here!

We only found good news for the future of our markets to remain relatively stable. Especially when compared to our neighboring states! Here's a video that was done for Pittsburghs 250th celebration last year. It offers insight into why our area is moving up in places to live!

The creation of this estimated 58 million dollar Memorial is going to be a story to write about in itself! If you visit the National Park Service (NPS) web site you will find very few recently posted stories on the process of acquiring the necessary property. Nor will you find much at all about the impact this site will have on the local Boro and Townships that will be dealing with a ton of new issues!

Think Gettysburg, PA. Where once there were only fields and farms now there are cities traffic, hotels, restaurants, and many more visitors! Where do you begin? First try starting with land acquisition, permitting, water, sewer, utility lines, roads, building the structure, all in two and a half years! Talk about a honey do list!

Granted there will be phases but the list above contains the basic fundamentals. To begin with Svonavec's, the owners of the ground where Flight 93 was brought down have donated the immediate six acres. They own another 274 acres that appraisers are trying put a value on so that the courts (still unclear as to State or Federal!) may determine the price that will be paid.

You did read that right. The court will determine the price to be paid for 274 acres. Just how much is 274 acres worth? The Pittsburgh Post Gazette (1-18-09) quoted, "Svonavec said the corporation was previously offered $250,000 for the property, which they rejected because they believe the oil and gas rights alone are worth more." Much, much more.

Until the land is transferred there is an agreement that allows the NPS to have immediate access to the site to "conduct such activities as needed to plan and construct the memorial." Let's not even get into the "what ifs" regarding settlement on the ground! The goal is to have the first phase of memorial completed by September 11, 2011 the 10^th anniversary.

Here's how our state support is going. According to the Somerset Daily American, (2/21/09) "Governer Rendell will ask the state legislature to pass a special bill for construction of an access road off of Route 30 and for improvements to the intersection. He will seek funding for the road work from the federal public land trust, but if it isn't received, he will fund it out of the state's budget. The estimated cost of the roadwork is $9.8 million."

We whole heartedly support this project yet are concerned of the impact of the sheer numbers of projected visitors to this very rural area. The new memorial is projected to have 1,900 vehicles passing through during the weekday with 4,200 on weekends!

As we continue to be watching for economic Good News for our state and local areas construction for this Memorial is on the fast track. In fact 5.475 Million is contained in the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill. THAT MEANS JOBS! When it's all said and done the planned memorial will cover 2,231 acres! Even though there are details to work out yet (such as land ownership) work begins!

4006 Swiss Mtn $200,000

127 Southwind $550,488

151 Southwind $693,969

Recorded sales transfers for the resorts are acquired electronically from records inputted at the Somerset County Court House, Office of the Recorder of Deeds. We review sales in Jefferson (Hidden Valley) and Middlecreek (Seven Springs) Townships on a weekly basis.

Prices do not reflect bill of sales and other out of settlement transfers. Furnishings, which are included in the majority of sales are assigned no monetary value. We do not post transfers that carry $1.00 values.

221 Four Seasons $26,000

1820 Eagles Ridge $184,000

5327 Summit Vista $250,000

43 Valley View $125,000

1965 South Ridge $279,000

1155 Kepple $139,000

Recorded sales transfers for the resorts are acquired electronically from records inputted at the Somerset County Court House, Office of the Recorder of Deeds. We review sales in Jefferson (Hidden Valley) and Middlecreek (Seven Springs) Townships on a weekly basis.

Prices do not reflect bill of sales and other out of settlement transfers. Furnishings, which are included in the majority of sales are assigned no monetary value. We do not post transfers that carry $1.00 values.