Members of the Indiana Area Collaborative Team (I-ACT) will host an all-stakeholders meeting on March 18 at 11 a.m. at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex PNC room. The meeting is open to the community.
Formed in July 2014 with a focus on minimizing, countering and responding to disruptive gatherings and behaviors in the community, I-ACT has continued to meet to address this issue and to work together to keep and sustain Indiana County as a place where people want to visit, work, live and raise their families.
The focus of the March 18 meeting will be discussion regarding spring high-celebratory events, including strategies being employed, which range from enforcement to positive messaging by the IUP community, including the student-led initiative, IUPLeads. In addition to active social media positive messaging, this campaign includes having student groups place yard signs in the community, encouraging responsible behaviors from IUP students and visitors.
I-ACT includes representatives from:
- Indiana County Board of Commissioners
- Indiana Borough Council-Indiana Borough Police
- White Township Supervisors
- Indiana Regional Medical Center
- Chamber of Commerce of Indiana County
- Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission
- Community landlords
- Office of the District Attorney
- Indiana County Sheriff's Office
- Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
- Pennsylvania State Police
- Indiana County Emergency Management
- Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
- Citizens' Ambulance Service
- Downtown Indiana Inc.
- Indiana County Tourist Bureau
- Indiana Area School District
- IUP Police, IUP offices, and student organizations
“We know that we need to do more together than just the work that brought us together,” IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll said. “We share an appreciation for a balanced, forward-looking approach to not only high celebratory event times, but also to opportunities throughout the year.”
“We want members of the community to understand that I-ACT is here to understand concerns, to share information with our partners, and to be proactive, not only in advance of large gatherings, but for other issues that affect the health and safety of our community,” Dr. Peter Broad, president of Indiana Borough Council, said.
Michael Baker, chairman of the Indiana County Board of Commissioners, agreed.
“I-ACT has been a positive force in helping us to understand each other, to share resources and information, and understand we share the same problems and issues,” Baker said. “We want the all-stakeholders meeting to serve as an opportunity for members of the community to share their experiences, get information and to have questions answered about what I-ACT can – and cannot – do.”
While the meeting is open to all members of the community, RSVPs are requested in advance via email at vip-rsvp@iup.edu.