Loss of funding puts Savocchio Park's community garden 'on the backburner'

A proposed community garden that sought to combat food insecurity in one of Erie's poorest neighborhoods had been expected to be up and running by the end of this coming summer.

Instead, a denial of county funds has led to its indefinite postponement.

That's according to Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, the project manager for the Joyce A. Savocchio Opportunity Park revamp.

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The community garden, designed to give residents on Erie's east side quick access to fresh agriculture, is one of a number of facilities planned for the park located at the intersection of East 16th Street and Downing Avenue.

While the other facilities — a greenhouse and an aquaponics and aquaculture center — are expected to be operational by 2024 should other grant sources come through, Mengine said the community garden will effectively be placed "on the backburner."

"It's unfortunate for the neighborhood," Mengine told the Erie Times-News. "The New Americans were really looking forward to it. A community garden would allow them to grow their native foods and create farmers markets. It's a food desert over there. And this is giving them an opportunity to spark their own little businesses and to fulfill a need."

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The loss of funds comes after Erie County Executive Brenton Davis issued a veto in December that eliminated $750,000 in American Rescue Plan funds toward the park. County Council failed to override the veto a week later.

Mengine said the Redevelopment Authority will still look for grants to make the community garden a reality. But whether that reality occurs next year or the years after remains uncertain.

"It's frustrating," Mengine said, "because the underserved neighborhoods are once again getting the short end of the stick."

Brenton Davis calls project a 'speculative investment'

Explaining his veto in a Dec. 7 memo, Davis called the park project a "speculative investment," insisting it didn't show a significant return on investment.

"To allocate such a large portion of the county’s (Rescue Plan) dollars into a fish farm that may only yield a dozen jobs is imprudent," Davis wrote. "I have the utmost confidence in the work of the Redevelopment Authority and their partners, but in the final analysis, these valuable funds could be more impactful elsewhere."

Davis, a Republican who's made economic development a centerpiece of his administration, has frequently pushed to leverage Rescue Plan dollars toward projects that he believes will yield greater wealth and job creation in the county. The most prominent example has been Project Resolve, which Penn State Behrend officials say will create roughly 5,000 jobs in the region over the next 10 years.

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In a Dec. 14 video posted on his re-election campaign's Facebook page, Davis elaborated on why he believes funding the Savocchio Park project was not a good use of taxpayer dollars.

"What does this tell residents of this community that the best we can offer you is menial jobs attending fish tanks and farming crops from barrels?" he said. "The message we should be sending to these individuals is: 'We're here. We're prepared to prepare you for the future through a world-class community college that's paired for high demand jobs that pay a family sustaining wage."

County Council Chairman Brian Shank, who had supported funding the park before changing positions and agreeing with Davis, told the Times-News that county government should focus less on the city of Erie — which received its own allotment of Rescue Plan money — and instead focus on the other municipalities of the county.

"I get questioned all the time, 'Brian, why are you supporting a fish farm in the city of Erie when we need new water lines?' That's a good point," Shank said.

Joyce Savocchio pushes back against 'fish farm' characterization

Former Erie Mayor Joyce Savocchio said she disagreed with Davis' characterization of her namesake park as a "fish farm," telling the Times-News the idea of aquaponics was encouraged by the state government as a means of achieving sustainable food security.

"So many states have done this as projects, and so many businesses have grown up around the country based on hydroponics," she said. "I think we better get these terms straight before they're used as something that diminishes what it's going to mean. I'm sure there are people that would be only too happy to sit down with the county executive and give him whatever explanation he needs."

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Savocchio, a Democrat, was Erie's first woman mayor, serving from 1990 through 2001. Her administration set in motion the initiatives that led to the creation of the industrial park.

She said it was an "immense disappointment" that county government leaders have yet to see the opportunity in the park, or the amount of time and resources that transformed the site from a once tire- and debris-littered dumping ground to a potential economic driver.

Savocchio Park is one of eight areas in the Erie region approved for the Opportunity Zone program. The federal program aims to encourage private investment in low-income census tracts by providing tax incentives to investors — money from capital gains can be invested with major tax advantages.

The park's name changed from Savocchio Business Park to Savocchio Opportunity Park following the Opportunity Zone designation.

"It's their time," she said referring to the city's east side. "It's the time to have clean industry on the east side and jobs available for those people who find it very difficult to find jobs."

Mengine said the park project will generate at least 50 jobs once fully realized, with later phases including a commercial kitchen incubator and a co-packing facility. She said the project has roughly $1.5 million on hand — which includes $1 million from the city — and will require a total of about $2.5 million.

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"There's probably no project that's been funded or could be funded that better fits the mission of the American Rescue Plan," she said. "It addresses blight, job creation, food insecurities. It's just a win-win all the way across the board."

On Tuesday, the Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $50,000 grant from the PA Farm Bill Urban Agriculture program. The grant will go toward the park, Mengine said.

Gary Horton, executive director of the Urban Erie Community Development Corporation and co-founder of the Minority Community Investment Coalition, which acquired the park in 2019, said he remains optimistic the park's facilities will come to fruition.

"Our partnership with the Redevelopment Authority has been a good one and they've vowed to work with us to complete this project," he said. "We know what it will mean to the east side and as a part of an overall strategy to revitalize the Buffalo Road area."

Horton comments on park:Horton: Help coming for Savocchio Park

Savocchio said Horton, who was one of her top aides, backed her plans for the industrial park when she was in office. Horton, who has advocated for development on Erie's east side for years, said he wants to use the site for urban farming and renewable-energy projects, among other ventures.

"I'm a person who believes very much in the future of Erie and its possibilities," Savocchio added. "I don't think this is the time to give up on that site."

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Savocchio Park community garden loses project funding