College Heights Association

NOTICE: This message is not an official correspondence from the Borough of State College. The Borough cannot confirm the accuracy of the content of this message.  

Hi All,

It's been a while since we last caught up, and I apologize for that! The end of year is always so hectic, but these past two months seemed so busy with meetings that I could not adequately recap every one. However, I'm back! Council passed a budget and set a meeting schedule for next year. Here are some highlights. As always, I am speaking in my individual capacity and not speaking on behalf of the full Council as an official report. This is not official correspondence. 

In early December, the Borough received a $2.8 million real estate transfer tax payment that was not expected. Real estate transfer tax represents the 1.5% tax on real estate transactions that goes directly to the Borough (there is a state RTT and a school RTT as well). Because it depends on the volume of real estate transactions within the Borough, projecting it year-to-year is challenging. The Borough will utilize this one-time infusion of $2.8 million to lower the millage increase. Additionally, Council directed the Manager to defer $1.2 million in capital projects for 2026 to further reduce the millage increase. After much deliberation, Council enacted the budget — which included a 2-mill (or 8.7%) real estate tax increase — via a 5-2 vote. I provided an in-depth analysis of the spending drivers in the Borough budget in the last email, and you are welcome to view it at that link. 

At last Monday's meeting, Council approved a meeting schedule for next year (this was in the consent agenda). What is typically a routine annual agenda item is actually rather important this year, because the schedule denotes when the zoning revision's discussions are set to begin again. Shifting Council input on the West End and other zones around the South Atherton/University Drive corridor required more meetings to finalize the draft. 

At the meeting, two Thursday evenings were set aside for zoning discussions — 1/15 and 1/22. However, there is a scheduling conflict with the January 15th date, as the 51st Annual MLK Jr. Memorial Banquet is that night. There will be additional dates announced, but as of now, the next zoning meeting will be on January 22, at 7 p.m.

The other items within the consent agenda, which passed unanimously, were:

• Payroll for November 2025
• Engineering professional services agreement with Gwin, Dobson & Foreman, Inc. (from Blair County)
• An agreement with the Centre Region Code Administration which enables the Borough to utilize their sewage enforcement officers if need be
• Certificate of Appropriateness for modifications to the facade/foundation at 625 N. Allen Street
• Approval for the closure of Park Avenue and other traffic modifications for PSU's Movin' On event on May 1, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Appointments/Resignations
  1. Appointments/Re-Appointments
     • Thomas Daubert as Borough Historian
     • Rich Kalin on the Zoning Hearing Board
     • Joseph (Chris) Groshel for a one-year term on the Airport Authority
     • Larry Miles on the Authorities Board
     • Jacqueline Gardner on the Board of Health
     • Thomas Daubert on the Centre Region Parks & Rec Authority
     • Peter Kemper on the Community Land Trust
     • Samuel Ajah on the LGBTQ Advisory Committee
     • Margaret Choe on the LGBTQ Advisory Committee
     • Kyleen Abrahamson on the LGBTQ Advisory Committee
     • Ethan Dean to the Planning Commission
     • Timothy Magner to the Planning Commission
     • E. Carol Eicher to the Racial Equity Advisory Committee
     • Donald Hahn to the Racial Equity Advisory Committee
     • James Shincovich to the Redevelopment Authority
     • Marcelius Braxton to the Regional Human Relations Commission
     • Adrienne Darrah to the Regional Human Relations Commission
     • Terry Watson to the Regional Human Relations Commission
     • David McClelland to the Rental Housing Revocation Appeals Board
     • Dina Liberatore on the Schlow Library Board of Trustees
     • Hugh Mose on the Transportation Commission
     • Nicholas Croce on the Transportation Commission
     • David Snowe on the Transportation Commission
     • Kirk Galley on the Tree Commission
     • Elaine Shuckers on the Tree Commission
     • Margaret Busse on the State College Borough Water Authority
     • Nathaniel Warner on the State College Borough Water Authority
  2. Resignations
     • Larry Miles from the UAJA Board
     • Greg Brauser from the LGBTQ Advisory Committee

Here is a link to C-NET's coverage of the December 15 budget adoption meeting — 12/15/2025 State College Borough Council.

Council will meet on January 5, at noon for a brief reorganizational meeting to swear in elected officials and elect a Council President. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate! Thank you again for the opportunity to serve and represent you.

Best wishes,

Josh Portney