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| 11 Lafayette Street | |
| St. Marys, PA 15857 | |
| (814) 781-1718 | CITY MAYOR |
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| 11 Lafayette Street | |
| St. Marys, PA 15857 | |
| (814) 781-1718 | CITY MAYOR |
|
Only in her second month in office, City
Mayor Sally Geyer has great expectations for the City. Sworn into office in January,
one of Geyer's main goals is to maintain the services the City already has by building a
broader tax base. She hopes to accomplish this by bringing in new business and
industry which would in turn generate a greater tax base for the city. "If you
make your town attractive to local and out of town investors, they will want to come in
and build here" Geyer said. "It's common sense stuff, not rocket
science." Recently Geyer said she was contacted by a dean of an out-of-state community college who has shown interest in possibly opening a branch campus/extension center in the St. Marys area. Upon informing City Manager Dave Greene about the correspondence, Geyer ran the idea by the City Planning Commission, which she said showed a positive response to the news. Both entities agreed that Route 120 would be an ideal location for the development. Currently Geyer and other City officials are working on opening up a dialogue with the dean about the idea. "Although we already have a good educational base with PennState and Pitt, there are plenty of students to bring in additional educational opportunities", Geyer said. The planning process for new business and industry to locate to the area is a lengthy one, one in which Geyer would like to convey to residents. "If citizens think they are not hearing enough, it is simply because we are limited as to what we can divulge about various plans which are in the works", Geyer said. "This helps prevent incorrect rumors." One thing Geyer is adamantly opposed to is cutting services and laying off essential personnel such as road crews and policemen. "This is a step backward", she said. "By doing this you'll never move forward and end up taxing the people to death." Mayor Geyer also hopes to make good on the promise the City once made about constructing a new youth center for area youngsters. Geyer cited the "Impact St. Marys" project as a start to revitalizing the downtown area. This will begin with the construction of a new senior housing area with an attached senior center. In addition, there has been discussion about building a parking garage as well as remodeling the facades of various downtown businesses. In a couple of years, this town will look great," Geyer said. As far as her civic duties are concerned, Geyer said she hopes to make City government attractive so people will want to run for offices.
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