Have you found the Clear Blue Sky blog?

The blogger at Clear Blue Sky has started offering up some passionate, optimistic posts about the future of downtown York. The most recent post argues, with a long list of points, that York has reached a kind of tipping point, with momentum building toward what might be "a renaissance":

"Something exciting is going on in York -- something bigger than all the small stories put together. It's adding up to an authentic renaissance and a real success story in a central Pennsylvania town in the middle of one of the worst national economies in 70 years. ... Despite all the challenges, York is on a serious roll.

What's the difference today as compared to two years ago? Two words: outside money. The out-of-town residents, business owners, investors, artists and hipsters are starting to discover this gem. And the great part is that they can buy property relatively cheap because some local owners don't realize their town is hitting the tipping point. This is the free market working it's magic. This is the perfect storm."

Another post stresses the urgency of inspiring every child in York County - black and white, rich and poor - to seek their full potential.

Clear Blue Sky's love of community jumps off the page. Check it out.

- Dan Fink

YorIT issues challenge

So you think you have good idea for downtown retail, but you're not sure how to find funding? The folks at YorIT might have an answer.

YorIT, a program of the York County Community Foundation, has launched the YorIT Social Venture Challenge to provide funding to the "next big idea." On Dec. 14, the public is invited to the former Futer Brothers building on Continental Square to hear a presentation on the challenge and to promote philanthropy and the YorIT program. The building was picked specifically as a place to have a conversation about the potential of downtown York. The Futer Brothers building, recently rehabbed and looking for tenants, is one of several key vacant downtown buildings that downtown supporters would like to see occupied.

Proposals are due Feb. 11. YorIT has about $18,000 available for worthwhile restaurant or retail proposals.

Click here to read a York Dispatch story about the venture challenge. Visit www.yorit.org/challenge or follow @YorITChallenge on Twitter for updates.

Update, 10:30 a.m. Nov. 24: Mandy Arnold, one of the co-chairs of the challenge, e-mailed me to clarify that the approximately $18,000 "will be available for ideas that can be a catalyst for retaining and attracting retail and restaurants" in York. She added: "While we may consider funding an actual restaurant/retail space, (applicants) need to make the case that it will foster continued growth of other retail and restaurants."

- Dan Fink

The squeeze is on

It's budget time for local governments, the time when elected officials look at the numbers to see what it will take to balance their budgets without a property tax increase.

And rest assured, nobody wants to raise taxes.

Two stories this week show the difficult financial situations that municipalities across the county are facing.

In Seven Valleys, borough council is considering a proposed budget that would double the property tax from 0.6 mills to 1.2 mills, according to a story in the York Dispatch. The increase is needed to pay for a road maintenance project from two years ago:

The borough contracted York-based Stewart & Tate for milling and paving work on South and Maple Streets in 2008. The project cost about $255,000. The borough received about $115,000 in federal grants to help pay for the project. To cover the remaining expense, it took out a $140,000 bank loan from Peoples Bank.

Over the past two years, the borough has been paying back the 10-year loan by pulling money out of its general fund reserve, Bahn said. By the end of this year, Bahn said the borough will have about $90,000 remaining in the fund.The borough has eight annual payments -- about $17,500 each -- remaining on the loan.

And if it continues to pay for the loan by pulling money out of the fund each year, Bahn said, the borough will "go broke."

And a bit further south, New Freedom officials are seeing if they can get a better deal on police service, according to the York Daily Record. The borough pays about $500,000 a year for contracted service from Southern Regional Police Department. The department also provides service to Glen Rock, Railroad, Shrewsbury and the Southern York School district. The story suggests that if New Freedom leaves, the whole arrangement could be in jeopardy:

New Freedom gave notice during the summer that it would be looking to price options with other departments, officials said. It has been talking with Southwestern and York Area regional police departments. Some people have not been happy with Southern Regional's service, New Freedom Mayor Jeff Joy said, but he thinks they should give the new chief, James Boddington, a chance to fix problems.

Meanwhile, Glen Rock continues to annually review its options because of budget constraints and now, in light of New Freedom's move, Shrewsbury will weigh its options as well.

New Freedom could save several thousand dollars a year by switching to Southwestern Regional or York Area Regional departments. But they'll continue to have the same decision to make every year, depending on what their budget situation is. YorkCounts supports exploring whether a dedicated funding source - like a "police" tax that would be comparable to the current 911 tax on phone bills for emergency services - would provide a more stable financial model for regional departments.

But that discussion requires nuanced thinking. And that doesn't fit well in the current environment, where politicians just won elections by tapping into the "No tax increasses" mantra. Unfortunately, bumper-sticker thinking won't solve most of these problems. Local elected officials have some difficult choices to make. And if they do their homework and try to do the right thing, they should be applauded, not attacked.

Update, Nov. 19: Add Dallastown School District to the mix. The district held a community forum this week, and residents showed up simmering about property taxes and staff pay. Read the York Dispatch story here. Seems like there might be growing political support (that is, voter support) for new approaches to education - how we fund it, how we organize it.

- Dan Fink

Live blogging from Gifts That Give Hope

We're at Gifts That Give Hope York, and more than 20 York County nonprofits have their displays set up and are ready to tell folks what they do. It's an unusual fundraising opportunity, organized by the Women's Giving Circle. Stop in and see if there's a special holiday gift for a friend or relative that will also support a local community improvement. We're all on the second floor. YorkCounts is in a corner room with Kevin from YorkArts, Julie from York Little Theatre, Joan from the York Junior Symphony and Trisha from the YWCA. Stop in and say hello.

Update, noon: Folks are beginning to trickle in after church and lunch. I spoke with a man who said he was interested in buying a gift of tickets to a York Symphony concert because his family supported the symphony when he was growing up in Iowa. That's the kind of personal connection this gift fair can generate.

Update 2, 3 p.m.: Mary Lou Alsentzer, the woman who put this together, said both local newspapers and a TV station have been in to cover the fair. So look for stories about the fair tonight and tomorrow on TV, in print and online.

Update 3, 11 a.m. Nov. 10: The first report from Mary Lou indicates more than $8,000 was raised at the event Sunday, with gifts averaging around $200. Remember: You can help increase that total through the holidays by buying gifts online at www.giftsthatgivehope.org/york/.


- Dan Fink

Mark you calendars

I wanted to mention a couple of community events coming up that are worth your attention.

7:45 a.m. Nov. 5: Family Issues Roundtable meeting will feature York County Truancy Coordinator Leigh Dalton talking about "Truancy in York County: Issues, Players and Solutions." The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, 2000 Loucks Road, near the West Manchester Mall. Cost is $15, and pre-registration is due by Nov. 1. For details, contact Alan Vandersloot, United Way of York County, at 771-3806 or vandersloota@unitedway-york.org.

11 a.m. Nov. 7: Gifts That Give Hope, a holiday gift fair, will offer a Web site and a live event to help raise money for more than 20 York County nonprofit organizations. The gift fair, sponsored and organized by the Women’s Giving Circle of the York County Community Foundation, will allow holiday shoppers the chance to buy gifts to support the community-building work of nonprofits, including YorkCounts. People who cannot attend the fair in person can shop online through the end of the year at www.giftsthatgivehope.org/york. For more information, call Mary Lou Alsentzer at 683-3929.

6 p.m. Nov. 9: The York County delegation of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will host a free energy fair to help consumers deal with expiring caps on electricity rates and to offer information how to make homes and businesses more energy efficient. Speakers scheduled to appear include John Hanger, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection; Sonny Popowsky, Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania; and Marcus Sheffer, energy consultant. For details on the fair, contact the office of Rep. Eugene DePasquale at 848-9595.


7 p.m. Nov. 17: Building One Pennsylvania is hosting a screening of "The New Metropolis," a two-part documentary that explores the challenges faced by older suburban communities and points toward solutions for their revitalization. The film will be accompanied by small-group discussions and a panel discussion. Building One PA is an emerging coalition of community leaders from across the state working to stabilize and revitalize their communities through the direct engagement and mobilization of their fellow citizens. Register in advance by sending an e-mail to events@yorkcounts.org. For details, call YorkCounts at 650-1460.

- Dan Fink

YorkCounts part of Gifts That Give Hope

Gifts That Give Hope, a holiday gift fair, will offer a Web site and a live event to help raise money for more than 20 York County nonprofit organizations. The gift fair, sponsored and organized by the Women’s Giving Circle of the York County Community Foundation, will allow holiday shoppers the chance to buy gifts to support the community-building work of nonprofits, including YorkCounts. The live event starts at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center. Our gift options include:

• $25 to help us provide savings bonds for students who perform outstanding community service;
• $50 to help us make our Web site more interactive and user friendly;
• $100 to help us enhance our Indicators Report research.

Details on the gift fair and a full list of participating organizations can be found at www.giftsthatgivehope.org/york. Shopping in person at the Strand allows you to browse among the nonprofit displays and learn about all the great work being done in the community. If you can't make it, the Web site went live starting Oct. 5, so you can browse and buy gifts online using PayPal. The site will remain up through Dec. 31. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

- Dan Fink

Talking York City School District

The York City School District has been in the news recently, and, generally, not for positive reasons. First came reports that all but one of the district's schools failed to meet the state's AYP requirements. Then came news that the school board fired Superintendent Sharon Miller, a firing that came with a $700,000 price tag (due to a provision in her contract). This all adds to the community-wide view that the city school district is overwhelmed with problems - vast numbers of poor students and disengaged parents; low staff morale; and tension between administration and the board and even among board members.

Warren Bulette, head of the York County Taxpayers Council and a high-profile critic of several different York County school districts, has thrown open the door on an idea that has been quietly discussed for years: merging the city school district with neighboring districts.

Bulette, in a letter to the editor to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, wrote the city school district has tried for years to reverse declining student performance with little success. He identified this as a countywide problem because all those students who don't graduate or who graduate ill-equipped for a decent job are more likely to drain government resources rather than add to them as a working, tax-paying citizen.

"The city is not going to prosper, nor is York County, unless York city students are better educated," he wrote. "The time has also come for the rest of the school districts to step up to the plate and actually help instead of making it look like they are concerned."

Consider consolidation, he pleaded.

"If the new consolidated organization is organized properly, overall student achievement will improve and the beleaguered taxpayer will benefit — a real win-win."

The Daily Record responded with an editorial - and it agreed.

"The district is just not working - and hasn't been for some time," stated the editorial that ran in the Sept. 28 paper. "... Just bringing in a new superintendent probably won't be the solution. No, we need something more dramatic and systemic."

The editorial called for York Suburban, Central York and West York to divide up the city district. The editorial acknowledged the idea might not be popular - in the city or the suburbs. (Can you say "understatement"?) It offered up - and shot down - some of the expected excuses that opponents might advance to claim consolidation "wouldn't work." It also suggested that consolidation would increase the already growing diversity of the suburban schools, and that would be a good thing.

It concluded: "Yes, Mr. Bullette, you're right. Suburbanites should step in and help the city. They should stop ridiculing and demeaning a struggling district, power up their smart boards and do something to improve the situation."

How long should a struggling school district be given to right itself? Can we as a community make an intentional decision to allow some kids to fail year after year? Is this not an option that should at least be discussed, constructively and sensitively?

- Dan Fink