Carlisle, PA

In 2021, the Borough of Carlisle was named an All-America City by the National Civic League. The award honors the Borough's commitment to sustainability, resiliency, and equity. These core principles were behind our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using our collaborative spirit with strategic and creative public-private solutions, we were able to quickly adapt and help those most in need in our community.

Keeping the Borough Running
When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Pennsylvania in early March of 2020, we had to make major adjustments to its everyday operations to ensure the consistent delivery of core Borough services.

Leading the Borough's emergency response efforts was the Borough's Emergency Operations Coordinator, Fire Chief Jeff Snyder. Chief Snyder was in constant contact with Cumberland County and the Pennsylvania Department of Health throughout the pandemic. Chief Snyder ensured Borough employees had the necessary personal protective equipment to allow them to do their jobs safely.

During the shutdown, Borough Hall and the Stuart Community Center closed their doors to the public and conducted business over the phone, through e-mail, and through the Borough website. To comply with social distancing, several Borough employees began teleworking and staggered shifts were implemented to limit the number of employees in a Borough building at any one time. Many of our employees, however, did not have the ability to telework, but still continued to carry out their work responsibly and seamlessly, staying the course to deliver services critical to our community's health, safety, and well-being.

Taking Care of Residents
Access to clean water is essential, especially during public health emergencies. To ensure all residents had access to clean water, the Borough placed a temporary moratorium on utility terminations in March of 2020 and waved all late fees. The moratorium remained in effect until March 1, 2022. To assist those who may be behind on their utility bills, the Borough used CARES Act funding to create a utility assistance program to aid homeowners impacted by COIVD who had fallen into arrears on their utility bills. The Borough also partnered with the Redevelopment and Housing Authorities to promote the Emergency Rental Assistance Program that assisted tenants with delinquent rent and utility bills. Staff continues to promote the various assistance programs available through the website, social media, and inserts in utility bills.

To accommodate those residents who were teleworking, parking enforcement was suspended and residents could use the Pomfret Street Parking Garage for free.  While the playground equipment was closed during portions of the pandemic, the Borough's many parks and trails remained open for residents to enjoy while practicing social distancing. 

As the Stay-at-Home orders continued, we heard from many residents looking for ways to purchase their Borough trash bags without leaving their homes. We put together options for residents, allowing them to order Borough bags either over the phone or online. Staff would then mail or deliver them to the residents' homes, allowing them to avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store. The program was quite popular and has continued to this day.

In mid-March of 2020, the Borough joined forces with the United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County to form the Carlisle Area Emergency Response Fund (CAERF). CAERF, spearheaded by Borough Councilor Joel Hicks, addressed and funded emerging health-related needs within our community. The CAERF funds distributed covered everything from basic needs such as food, shelter, and hygiene to technology purchases that allowed agencies to work remotely. The funds also assisted with transportation for symptomatic patients to get tested, as well as a mobile paramedic providing COVID-19 testing to individuals in nursing homes and shelters.  The CAERF raised over $124,000.

Also instrumental in helping the community through the pandemic was the Carlisle Community Action Network (CAN). Originally formed as a small group of community leaders, the group expanded during the pandemic and grew to over 100 community members, elected and appointed officials, and organizational representatives. Led by Dickinson College's then-President Margee Ensign, CAN connected community members during a time when formal and informal gatherings were restricted due to health and safety concerns. Discussions focused on the short- and long-term needs of the community, ranging from housing and food insecurity to distributing masks and PPE. CAN was also integral in setting up the Cumberland County mass vaccination site, as well as providing multi-lingual outreach materials promoting the vaccine.

 
Addressing Immediate Needs of Those Without Shelter
In April of 2020, the Borough and Community CARES, a non-profit emergency homeless shelter, collaborated to transition the Stuart Community Center` into a temporary shelter operation. This transition assisted the CARES' mission to provide services to those living without a permanent shelter or who are at risk of losing their shelter in Cumberland County.

"What began as a call for a portable handwashing station installation at CARES grew into a more in-depth conversation on the homeless community's lack of access to hygiene and social distancing issues within the CARES facility," said Borough Manager Susan Armstrong. Beth Kempf, the executive director of CARES, spoke with Armstrong and Chief Snyder about her concerns and desires to follow the vital guidelines and orders set by Governor Wolf and the Centers for Disease Control for social distancing and sheltering in place, while also addressing basic health necessities. Following conversations with Borough and CARES staff, the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Borough Council worked together to make the transition happen. The Community Center was a logical choice for a temporary shelter, as it had been closed to the public since mid-March. Chief Snyder quickly procured items through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including cots for the residents to sleep on.

While the Center was closed to the public, Parks and Recreations staff were still working on site. Under the leadership of Armstrong and Parks and Recreation Director Andrea Crouse, staff had an action plan in place within 30 hours to relocate from the Center and transfer all necessary IT-related equipment and files to their temporary home at Town Hall. Community CARES utilized the space until early July of 2020 when regular programming resumed.

Supporting Small Businesses
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted Carlisle's thriving small business community. During the Stay at Home orders, these small businesses were forced to close their physical locations. Business owners quickly found ways to adapt, however. Many merchants turned to online sales and offered shipping and no-contact delivery of their wares. While in-person dining was prohibited, local restaurants were able to continue operations by providing delivery and curbside pick-up.

Helping our small businesses stay navigate the pandemic was a top priority. In May of 2020, we held the first of several meetings to discuss recovery strategies with small business owners. Carlisle's business community is very diverse and not every strategy will be appropriate for every business, so input from all businesses was crucial. Some of the strategies implemented include:

• Lifting Section 78-3 of the Carlisle Borough Code to allow for open containers of liquor, malt, or brewed beverages on public sidewalks adjoining public streets in the C-1 Business District. The alcohol must be purchased from a restaurant, brewery, or distillery in the C-1 District. 
• Suspending the Borough's Sidewalk Ordinance to allow businesses in the C-1 District to waive the permit fee, allow for use of adjacent sidewalk areas if approved by the property owner, and provided a 15-day extension for submission of the appropriate application. This allowed businesses to expand their footprint, allowing for social distancing. Sidewalk Cafe Ordinance
• The lifting of the open container and sidewalk ordinance was originally only a temporary measure, but it was quite successful. In July of 2021, Borough Council lifted the ordinances permanently. Open Container Ordinance, Sidewalk Cafe Ordinance
• Modified the Carlisle Borough Park User Agreement to allow small businesses to utilize the Borough's parks for conducting business activities. This measure allowed places like gyms and yoga studios to maintain social distancing during their classes. 
• Offered downtown parking provisions including free long-term parking at gold meters and use of the Pomfret Street Garage. We also provided parking meter bags to those businesses offering curbside pick-up to reserve the parking spot in front of the establishment, allowing for convenient pick-up.
• Borough crews performed overnight snow removal operations to clear snow from on-street parking spots in the downtown area, providing visitors and patrons with accessible parking and continued curbside pickup options for downtown businesses in order to operate safely and effectively throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Worked with Downtown Carlisle Association to create the LoveBucks gift certificate program. LoveBucks is a downtown Carlisle global gift certificate program. The DCA was awarded the 2021 Townie Award for Retail Promotions from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center for the LoveBucks program.

“Carlisle did it better. I’m just going to tell you that right now.” Hear reaction from a downtown business owner on the lifting of the open container ordinance.

Together with the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation and the Redevelopment Authority of Cumberland County, the Borough also awarded approximately $150,000 in grant money to 46 local small businesses as part of a Small Business Relief Grant program, funded with CARES Act money. Grant recipients could use these funds for working capital to cover up to two months' operating expenses such as payroll, rent, mortgage, supplies, PPE, technology and technical assistance to help navigate other loan programs or funding to help continue meeting CDC guidance on social distancing.