Local climate change

It’s official now: we’ve broken the record for 90-degree-plus days in Cranberry. Back in February, as everyone here remembers, there was a once-in-a-generation snow event which essentially shut the region down for days at a time. This past spring, we were hit by rain storms more intense than anything we’ve been accustomed to. And it’s not just a Cranberry thing.

Last winter, Washington DC was paralyzed for more than a week. This summer saw torrential storms with record floods battering New England, Nashville and Arkansas. Outside the U.S. the weather extremes have been even worse. Pakistan drowned. Russia baked. And so did parts of Africa and East Asia. If this turns out to be a long-term trend, it will have real implications for municipal governments everywhere. This year alone, our staff spent hundreds of hours addressing problems that weather extremes caused for our residents. And we’re learning from that experience.

For example, we manage land use according to topographic flood levels – by how frequently we expect our streams to overflow. A 100-year flood level means we only expect that to occur once a century, and we regulate land use accordingly. But already this year, we’ve had three 100-year storms, and we’re only three-fourths of the way into 2010. And when you’re personally affected by weather extremes like that, official frequency projections become hard to believe. So does that mean the federal government should direct municipalities to revise their flood maps in light of weather shifts? And should they declare land which was formerly considered developable to be unsuited for building? Perhaps.

But is climate change for real? Or is it just a fluke? We’ve heard arguments on both sides. Problem is, discussions about it have become highly politicized. The political left sees it as nature’s wrath upon conservatives who resist greenhouse gas regulation. The political right, on the other hand, sees all the talk about global warming as a liberal smokescreen to expand control over the economy. Frankly, those discussions are way above my pay grade. At the local level, I work with people every day who have to deal with the impacts of weather on our residents and community assets. And there are a number of ways we feel that impact.

Municipalities are the ones who manage the storm water system and upgrade those systems when needed. We are the ones who prepare for winter weather with material, equipment and personnel. We are the ones who train and equip first responders to deal with emergencies that arise from extreme heat, cold and rain. We are the ones who administer flood hazard boundary zones and decide which areas are off limits to construction. We are the ones who enforce statewide building codes that incorporate weather related regulations. We are the ones who set design standards for local roads and maintain over a hundred miles of them – all of which are subject to stress from weather extremes.

We are also the ones responsible for managing hundreds of miles of storm water pipes, catch basins and detention facilities in the community. We are responsible for managing hundreds of acres of heavily used athletic fields and keeping them safe for our thousands of residents who participate in our recreational programs, including our award winning, popular, golf course. We are responsible for managing millions of gallons of wastewater collected daily through hundreds of miles of underground piping – all of which are directly affected by weather extremes.

So while Congress and pundits and scientists continue to argue whether climate change is real, our municipal governments are the ones obliged to constantly respond to bad weather and its impacts and to prepare for more of the same. This blog entry is not about the climate and if it is changing, it is to say when the weather is bad, it has an impact on local government, both on our finances and on our residents lives, and 2010 has been an exceptional year. At least here in Cranberry, we’ll continue doing our best to manage your assets responsibly in light of that impact – no matter which way the political winds are blowing.

I’d be interested to hear your take on this topic. Email me

Our regional vision

You may have heard about a project called Power of 32. It takes its name from the 32 counties in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland included in its footprint – a region which some might identify as North Central Appalachia, although nobody likes the stigma associated with that title, so it remains nameless, at least for now.

There are more than four million people who live in that region, and the project’s stated goal is to develop a shared vision for their future – a vision which would presumably help to guide the 2,000 units of government and countless private institutions that fall within its boundaries.

Several large Pittsburgh-area foundations are funding the project, which involves numerous local meetings and open-ended community conversations. Former state senator Allen Kukovich is its spokesman, and overall leadership is being provided by a 51-member steering committee, consisting mainly of representatives from the private sector as well as a handful from the public sector. Along with a couple of mayors and county commissioners, I am one of the latter, representing municipal governments.

I agreed to take on that assignment to make sure the aspirations of our region’s suburbs, smaller towns, and rural areas didn’t get drowned out by the preponderance of urban interests represented on the panel. So just for the record, here are the ideas I want to inject into the project’s thinking:

• People from around here tend to stay in this region and so do their children. They have choices, but they find this area to be livable, affordable, comfortable and family-friendly. We don’t want to lose those qualities by trying to transform ourselves into something that’s not consistent with those core values.

• It’s always nice to attract new investment from elsewhere to boost the local economy. But we need to nurture those businesses which are already here and encourage them to expand. We also want to help individuals here to become more entrepreneurial so they can create new opportunities at home.

• We want to encourage residents of each community to remain engaged with their local governments. Municipalities in our region tend to be more responsive, cost-effective, and creative in dealing with problems than larger units of government. We don’t want to lose their ability to personally engage residents by imposing consolidation or mandates on local governments.

• Our region includes a variety of communities with different histories, topographies, economies, and cultures. That variety is a strength. Respecting those differences rather than trying to homogenize them, will serve as a source of continued strength.

• Finally, while Pittsburgh is the largest municipality in the Power of 32 area and enjoys a number of wonderful resources, it represents less than eight percent of the region’s residents. We are a multi-centric region, not a uni-centric one, and our public policy priorities need to make sure that through this collaborative process, all parts of our region remain healthy.

Cranberry Township’s Municipal Center will host a Power of 32 Community Conversation beginning at 6:30 on Thursday, September 23. No advance registration is needed. Just stop in. We look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, if you have any concerns you would like to share on this issue, please send me an email: Jerry.Andree@Cranberrytownship.org.