Gas Impact Fee and The Northern Tier

Reporter Marissa Perlman provided this report for Eyewitness News.

    A "rental rehab" program is coming to both Bradford and Tioga counties.  $275 thousand dollars per county will go to area landlords: If they make their rental properties available for low income families.
"We have a lot of people without homes right now and that would help" said Tiffany Jones, of The Furniture Link.

   Pennsylvania charges the natural gas industry a set fee per well that is drilled in the state. Much of that money goes to the counties most impacted by the drilling.  Kelley Cevette from the Tioga Bradford housing authority says the need is here in the Northern Tier:

She says: "With the influx of gas workers to both Bradford and Tioga county, available affordable rental properties have been greatly impacted. The average rents in both counties doubled and tripled making most rental units not affordable for median income families."

 Half a million dollars from the gas impact fee would go to Main Street in Towanda where developers say they want to build up housing and retail spaces. And some of the people that work in these small businesses say its a good idea.

 "I think it would be a good thing just because it helps the economy it brings more money and jobs for everyone around here and theres been such a drop in employment in the last 6 or 8 months or so I think it would be nothing but a good thing" said Lucy Berryman, a Waitress at the Willow Tree Cafe