January 26, 2016

Maintaining good health requires periodically monitoring vital signs – whether you’re an individual or half a million of them, a business expert told the Chester County Commissioners.

“Chester County is one of the top counties in the entire country,” said David Sciocchetti. “The challenge is to stay on top.”

Sciocchetti, the coordinator of VISTA 2025, the county’s 10-year economic development strategy – a combination of vision, ideas, solutions, teams and actions – spoke at the commissioners’ Sunshine meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26. He explained the rationale behind a new comprehensive business survey.

Entitled “Take the Pulse,” the survey comes under the auspices of the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) and the Chester County Commissioners. It will be launched on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Similar to the approach taken by any good medical doctor, the assessment, developed in partnership with the county’s 10 chambers of commerce, is designed to listen to the needs and concerns of the business community. The county’s development strategy aims to strike a balance between progress and preservation, Sciocchetti said.

MaryFrances McGarrity, CCEDC’s director of business development, said the success of the online survey would depend on the number of responses, one of the reasons for teaming up with the chambers of commerce. She said efforts were underway to reach every segment of industry as well as geography. The deadline for the survey, which takes about five minutes to complete, is Feb. 19, she said.

“This survey offers Chester County business owners the chance to candidly share the opportunities they’ve faced while doing business here, as well as the challenges,” said Chester County Commissioners’ Chairman Terence Farrell.

Information will be collected through answers to the survey’s 18 questions, ranging from questions about traffic congestion to housing affordability.

“We’re seeking feedback from all businesses, and the data gathered will provide valuable insight for Chester County’s future economy,” said Commissioner Kathi Cozzone. “We’re pleased to be partnering with CCEDC and the chambers of commerce and encourage participation from all their members.”

Commissioner Michelle Kichline, who also co-chairs the VISTA 2025 initiative, said the questions would help to determine “why companies are located in Chester County, what county characteristics best serve businesses, and what transportation issues affect businesses.”

The survey is available online at www.ccedcpa.com and www.vista2025.com. Preliminary results of the survey will be presented in the spring. A more formal report will be released later in 2016, McGarrity said.

The Chester County Economic Development Council is a private, non-profit economic development organization promoting smart growth in Chester County and the surrounding region for more than 50 years and focusing on seven industrial clusters: information technology, life sciences and bio-pharmaceutical, finance and banking, health care, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and education.

CCEDC’s member companies read like a “who’s who” of those clusters. They include Herr’s Foods, PECO, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Main Line Health, West Chester University, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Bentley Systems, Morphotek, Trammell Crow, Liberty Property Trust, The Vanguard Group, West Pharmaceutical, Delaware County Community College, Viropharma, Siemens, and Johnson Mathey, according to its website. For more information, visit www.cceconomicdevelopment.com.

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From preparing for horrific mass casualties to applauding a philanthropic role model, the Chester County Commissioners heard a wide range of topics at their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan led off the agenda with a commendation for the county’s Department of Emergency Services (DES) that had nothing to do with its hard work during the recent blizzard. Accompanied by members of his office, Hogan explained that the DES had recently planned and coordinated a multi-agency response to a violent attack.

Calling Chester County “light years ahead of the rest of the country in planning for something like,” Hogan said you never want to have to use such training; however, having it in place could save lives. Hogan said neutralizing a threat can be handled by law enforcement in minutes, but it represents the beginning of a long process that includes getting treatment for the wounded, reunifying families, and briefing the public.

Hogan said DES took the lead in coordinating a full-scale mass casualty drill involving police, fire, EMTs, students, parents, fire police, hospitals, and media at the Collegium Charter School.  He presented a plaque to DES Director Robert Kagel, thanking him for keeping Chester County on the cutting edge of preparations.

Kagel said credit for the success of the drill belonged to Safe Schools Planning Coordinator Chrissy DePaolantonio, and Pat Davis, a former police chief who serves as deputy director for law enforcement services at DES. Both worked to ensure that everyone was focused on expediting care to save as many lives as possible, Kagel said.

In other business, the commissioners signed a proclamation designating Friday, Jan. 29, as R. James Macaleer Day. Macaleer, a West Chester resident who died in October, was “one of Chester County’s most successful business entrepreneurs, co-founding shared Medical Systems (SMS), a healthcare-based information processing system company that grew to become the county’s leading employer, and an internationally-recognized billion dollar company.”

But it was Macaleer’s decades-long commitment to community service that led the commissioners to commemorate him on what would have been his 82^nd birthday. The proclamation cites his work with the Boy Scouts, the Brandywine Valley Association, Natural Lands Trust, and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

“Acknowledging Jim’s tremendous economic and philanthropic legacy,” the proclamation urged all Chester County citizens “to honor the memory of R. James Macaleer by continuing this legacy, donating time, talents and gifts to benefit business, civic and charitable organizations.”

The commissioners also praised the service providers and foundations that ensured that county residents received services during the six-month budget impasse. The cessation of funding ended when Gov. Wolf signed a general fund spending plan on Dec. 29.

The commissioners presented a resolution that noted that many service providers had to tap savings accounts or borrow money to ensure that residents, some of the county’s most vulnerable, had access to care. They extended sincere thanks to those who made sacrifices to maintain services “to those residents of the commonwealth whose needs transcend the political landscape of budget adoption.”

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