News

WINTER PARKING REGULATIONS RELAXED

Good News! The enforcement of the winter parking regulations within Ebensburg Borough is being relaxed.

The current Ordinance, in place since 1994, requires alternate side parking on many streets between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and again between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. It also prohibits parking on many smaller streets between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Those winter parking restrictions are in effect between December 1^st and March 31^st.

In the past, the Ordinance was not enforced until the first snowfall each year. After the first snowfall, the Ordinance was enforced each and every day, regardless of weather conditions. These parking restrictions are necessary to allow the public works crew to properly and safely clear the streets of snow. Unfortunately, the regulations caused great inconvenience to the residents.

Today, there are many methods of communicating current information to the residents. Borough Council believes that we can enforce the regulations when necessary, and relax enforcement when possible.

Effective immediately, the winter parking regulations will only be enforced when deemed necessary by staff. A notice will be placed here on the website announcing when the regulations are “in effect” or are “not in effect.” The same notice will be posted on the borough’s Facebook page.

For those that may not have access to the Internet, a call to the borough office at 472-8780 is all that will be necessary to verify whether vehicles parked on the street need to be moved. During business hours, staff will be able to answer the question. After hours, the recording will inform the caller if the regulations are in effect or not.

Winter parking restrictions will be placed in effect with every forecasted snowfall, and should be considered in effect with every unexpected snowfall. Depending on conditions, the restrictions will often remain in effect for several days following a snowfall. Crews often work for several days to push snow back from the curbs, to clear intersections, and to clear slush from the streets. Residents will be required to move vehicles until such time that the announcement on the website and Facebook is again changed. It will be everyone’s responsibility to verify the current enforcement status of the winter parking regulations. Remember…because it snowed two days ago and hasn’t snowed since; the winter parking regulations may still be in effect. Check the website!

The relaxed winter parking regulations will require the full cooperation of everyone. It is important that the public works crews are able to maintain clear streets during winter conditions. If the relaxation of enforcement causes problems in that regard, it will be necessary to return to daily enforcement. Please work with us so that we can maintain our streets in a safe manner, while minimizing the inconvenience to you and your neighbors of moving your vehicle twice each day.

The Ebensburg Main Street Partnership will be printing new member directories this year which will include our new map of Ebensburg! If you’re interested in having your business listed on the back side of the map, join the Partnership today! It’s FREE for new members and just $50.00 a year for returning members. The deadline to be included on the map is Friday, February 14th.

Join Here!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danea Koss (814-472-8414)
October 15, 2019

EBENSBURG HISTORIC DISTRICT RECEIVES LISTING ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Ebensburg – Ebensburg officials are pleased to announce that their historic district nomination has been approved by the National Park Service for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of properties that are recognized for their significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering and/or culture. National Register properties can include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects and they can be significant to a local community, a state, a Native American tribe, or the nation as a whole.

Ebensburg’s period of significance spans 162 years, ranging from 1799 to 1961. Its areas of significance fall into commerce and architecture. There are three distinct eras in Ebensburg’s history:

• 1799-1850 saw Ebensburg’s early settlement and its importance was established as a turnpike route, securing its position as a center of commerce and service for travelers along this major east-west route;

• 1850-1915 brought the completion of the railroad, railroad era tourism and the rise and impact of the automobile;

• 1915-1961 started with the devastating fire of 1915 and then the rebuild as an automobile oriented commerce, which changed travel and spending habits until the opening of the US 22 downtown bypass in 1961.

The district is bounded roughly by Highland Avenue, West Street, Sugar Street and Triumph Street. It includes 422 contributing buildings and sites and 161 noncontributing. Buildings that contribute to the historic district retain integrity; their form and/or architectural details reflect their construction during the 1799-1961 period of significance. Buildings whose materials have changed, but without altering the overall design, still contribute to the historic district. The noncontributing properties were either constructed after 1961, or have been altered to an extent that they no longer reflect their historic appearance.

“The historic nature of Ebensburg Borough is one of the many positive aspects of the community that helped our family decide to move here in 2002. Thanks to the hard work of Borough staff and many dedicated volunteers, we can all be proud that Ebensburg has now been nationally recognized for its historic significance. This designation should prove to be a useful tool with regard to further economic development and increased local tourism,” said Doug Tusing, Borough Council President.

Efforts to establish a national register historic district began in the late 1990’s under the direction of local resident, Dr. John “Jack” Coleman. Dr. Coleman served as Professor Emeritus at St. Francis University where he taught history for 40 years and was past president of the PA Historical Association and Cambria County Historical Society. When Dr. Coleman fell ill, the nomination process was put on hold. Borough staff and officials revived the process a few years back, with the help of interested local residents. Mr. Dave Huber, vice president of the Cambria County Historical Society, and Ms. Gina Tusing were staunch supporters who volunteered their time for months to help put together a needed inventory of properties. “We could not have achieved this distinction without the help and support from many volunteers who championed our cause and saw this process through to the end,” said Danea Koss, Community Development Director.

The National Register of Historic Places program is administered by the National Park Service. In Pennsylvania, the program is managed by the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO), which is a bureau within the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). Under Federal Law, the listing of a property in the National Register places no restrictions on what an owner may do with their property up to and including destruction, unless the property is involved in a project that receives Federal assistance, usually funding or licensing/permitting.

The complete nomination can be viewed at the following link, along with a property inventory, and select photographs: https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/CRGIS/Application/ASPNET/Report/Report.aspx?R=108&T=KEYNO&I=103074.

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Ebensburg’s Community Development Director Danea Koss accepts Ebensburg Main Street Partnership’s 2019 National Main Street Center accreditation certificate alongside representatives from DCED and other accredited communities. From left: Christie Yerger, DCED; Danea Koss, Ebensburg Main Street Partnership; Gordon Manker, Wilkinsburg CDC; Josh Rolon, Wilkinsburg CDC; Jeanine Henry, Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful, Larry Marshall, Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful; Mandy Book, DCED. Ebensburg was also recognized as the fifth “Best Performing Main Street Programs” behind Easton, Boyertown, Hamburg and Quakertown.

Ebensburg Main Street Partnership Receives 2019 National Main Street Accreditation

Ebensburg, PA (July 9, 2019) – Ebensburg Main Street Partnership has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs to recognize their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™

“We are proud to acknowledge this year’s 840 nationally accredited Main Street America programs that have worked tirelessly to strengthen their communities,” said Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “These programs deserve recognition for generating impressive economic returns, preserving community character, and celebrating local history. Main Street America Accredited communities are part of a powerful movement of changemakers, and their dedication to improving quality of life in the places they call home is inspiring.

In 2018 alone, Main Street America programs generated $4.93 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 5,310 net new businesses, generated 25,301 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,146 historic buildings, and clocked 2.2 million volunteer hours.

The Ebensburg Main Street Partnership’s performance is annually evaluated by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.

“We are proud to be one of only 25 nationally accredited main street programs in Pennsylvania,” said John Paul Houser, president of the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership. “It sets us apart and affirms that we are following the national standard for main street programs.”

The Ebensburg Main Street Partnership strives to promote economic development, preserve our historic character and celebrate our small-town charm. This is accomplished through community beautification and improvement projects, partnerships with local officials and stakeholders and an active annual schedule of events.

Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today, it is a network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have leveraged more than $74.73 billion in new public and private investment, generated 614,716 net new jobs and 138,303 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 276,790 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

Ebensburg officials and community members are gearing up for the 15^th  annual “Wheels & Wings” event to be held Thursday evening, June 20th, in Downtown Ebensburg.  This car, truck, and motorcycle show will once again be combined with a wing-off between local restaurants and vendors!  The event, which is held in conjunction with Johnstown’s Thunder in the Valley motorcycle rally, brings thousands to Downtown Ebensburg each year!  This year’s event will be held in Penn Eben Park (corner of Julian & High Streets) and along North Julian & West Sample Street Streets.

The 15^th Annual Wheels & Wings will feature live entertainment from Habatat at the intersection of Center and Sample Streets. The live act will perform from 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Vehicle registration will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the day of the event only.  Only the first 250 vehicles will be registered and the first 150 registrants will receive ‘Wheels & Wings’ dash plaques sponsored by Roundhouse Harley-Davidson.  The registration fee is $7 and vehicles will enter at the corner of Caroline & High Streets. This year vehicles will once again be judged by classes; there will be three bike classes: Sport Bike, Cruisers & Custom Bikes. There will be five car classes: Pre-50’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, Post-80’s. There is also one class for trucks.

A panel of judges will award trophies to the top 3 vehicles in each category. A “Best of Show” award will also be given to one car, truck and motorcycle. The awards will be announced at 8:30 pm from the entertainment area.

Meanwhile, food vendors will serve up their best wings from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.  along West Sample Street while competing for the title of “Best Wings!” Additional food items will also be available for sale.

The following will serve as wing judges: Randy Datsko, Ebensburg Mayor, a representative of the event’s Premier Sponsor, Kim Springer Insurance Agency LLC, among others will serve as wing judges.

Dauntless Fire Company, The Castle Pub and Ebensburg Main Street Partnership will sell adult beverages. The Ebensburg Main Street Partnership will once again be selling this year’s Wheels & Wings T-shirts featuring a new logo design and other merchandise at their booth along West Sample Street.

For more information, please visit www.ebensburgwheels.com or call the Ebensburg Borough office at (814) 472-8414.  This event’s Premier Sponsor is Kim Springer Insurance Agency LLC. Other event sponsors include: Roundhouse Harley-Davidso and Haida Healthcare & Rehabilitation.