Apr. 10, 2024
HARRISBURG - Upon hearing that local government leaders in the City of New Kensington are receiving a 2024 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence, Rep. Jill Cooper (R-Westmoreland) explained that she agrees with the recognition and was honored to have nominated New Kensington for the award.
“Mayor Tom Guzzo and the New Kensington City Council have been working hard to reinvent their great city and their efforts are easily seen,” said Cooper. “New retail businesses are opening their doors and industrial growth is leading toward the creation of hundreds of jobs.”
The award is offered through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Its purpose is to recognize municipalities and local government officials for their efforts to strengthen their communities and better serve their residents. Award categories include topics such as building community partnerships, fiscal accountability and best management practices and intergovernmental cooperation. Mayor Guzzo’s and the city council’s award is within the category of Promoting Community/Economic Revitalization.
The New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park recently welcomed Re:Build Manufacturing, which will be opening its first factory and creating 300 new jobs. The company joins other tenants at the facility who opened there in recent years, including steel fabricators Affival, which employs roughly 70 employees, and Filterbuy, an air filter manufacturer that employs 120 employees. This is in addition to 110 smaller new businesses in downtown New Kensington as well as the city’s business districts.
According to Mayor Guzzo, another draw to the city is The Digital Foundry, an initiative of Penn State New Kensington and the Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland County, to bring collaboration between manufacturing companies, educators and the workforce. The project was backed by the Richard K. Mellon Foundation.
“Our success has really been because of a series of partnerships between Penn State, Westmoreland County and the state, which have been instrumental with helping fund our redevelopment projects,” said Guzzo. “But also important are the private developers. They have been a big part of getting us from where we were, to where we are and then continue to where we are going.”
“Both large- and small-scale projects are making a big difference in New Ken and there is an air of optimism throughout the entire valley,” said Cooper. “This award is really a celebration of the exciting possibilities for a fantastic and prosperous community.”
Representative Jill Cooper
55th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jordan Frei
724.875.8450
jfrei@pahousegop.com
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After a Department of Community of Economic Development ceremony where New Kensington leaders accepted a 2024 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence, they were recognized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.