A State College resident with a long history of civic involvement was appointed on Monday night to the Borough Council.
The sitting members of council selected Susan Venegoni to fill the vacancy created when Josh Portney stepped down in January. She will serve the remainder of Portney’s elected term ending Dec. 31, 2027.
Venegoni was among six residents who applied for the seat and gave 10-minute presentations on Monday night. She was joined by Kory Blose, Cynthia Carpenter, Deeya Kochhar, Emmanuel Kraft and Nathan Romig.
Experience and Priorities
A recently retired human services professional, Venegoni worked as a a housing counselor and property rehab coordinator for The HOME Foundation and housing specialist for Housing Transition and was previously assistant director of what is now Centre Safe.
She serves on the borough’s Transportation Commission and Zoning Revision Advisory Committee, recently retired as a fire police officer and is treasurer for the State College Firemen’s Relief Association. She is a volunteer and past president of the board for the State College Community Land Trust, a State College Bicycle Ambassador and former president of the Highlands Civic Association, among other community volunteer roles.
Venegoni and her husband own and manage two rental properties: an apartment in College Township rented to a retired individual and an accessory dwelling unit attached to her borough home and leased to a working household, she said. She added that she previously managed rental units in State College for about 30 tenants and has an understanding of borough ordinances, regulations and codes for rental housing.
Addressing a list of questions submitted by council members and the public for candidates, Venegoni said that aside from zoning, she believes council’s number one priority is managing “municipal tunnel vision.”
“I believe we have concentrated too much of our time and efforts on downtown, and we need to broaden what we do,” Venegoni said. “When our attention and efforts are concentrated primarily downtown, the rest of the borough absorbs the impacts.”
Concentrating too much time and resources on one area can negatively affect other areas, she said. Focusing heavily on downtown as the face of the community assumes that success will spread elsewhere, but leads to declining commercial corridors elsewhere and an increase in traffic, parking and mobility issues, according to her presentation.
The ripple effects — such as residents feeling ignored, an unclear community identity, expenses outpacing revenue and delays for studies, plans and neighborhood infrastructure projects — can be turned around “with a more updated and inclusive approach,” she said.
Among her top-three priorities is advocating for a “clear and concise” housing policy with stated goals and dedicated local funding.
“We need dedicated resources to make our plans come to fruition,” she said. “Public-private partnerships actually work, and we need to make those connections so we can attain, maintain and retain the affordable housing we have.”
Vengoni “absolutely” supports affordable rental and ownership opportunities in State College and the long-running zoning update should increase those opportunities throughout the borough, she said.
“My commitment to increasing affordable opportunities is proven and unwavering,” Venegoni said. “I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming many new households as neighbors. The zoning update isn’t finished yet, and I think we still have work to do to make this more attractive of a place for people to work, live and socialize for all backgrounds and all lifestyles.”
Another top priority, she said, is exploring “all opportunities to close our funding gaps while matching service provision capabilities to the changing community needs.”
Speaking about the borough budget, Venegoni said she is “really pleased to see that we’re going to start moving forward” on pursuing state-level legislative changes that would allow for new revenue streams to help keep pace with the cost of municipal services. Our fiscal health cannot be ignored, but property taxes are not the only burden financially that residents face. I think everything needs to be on the table, and the cost of municipal services needs to be shared fairly, but I will always support public safety.”
The borough can better monetize curb spaces and modernize fee structures, and needs to review and justify all non-critical expenditures, she said.
“I am glad that council has committed to changing how we look at the budget every year, not leaving it until the fall, but having many more conversations,” Venegoni said.
Her third top priority is pedestrian, bicycle and micro mobility safety.
“As a bicyclist and pedestrian, I know infrastructure is inadequate to protect us from cars and distracted drivers,” she said. “More housing, if we’re able to do it, should reduce the number of commuters to the borough every day. But at the same time, residents will choose alternative transportation if it’s safe and easy to do, which will also then support our sustainability initiatives.”
Council Picks
After each candidate presented, council followed a process it has used in filling other recent vacancies, with members’ names selected by random drawing and each making a nomination in that order. The first candidate to receive four votes would win the appointment and no further votes would be taken.
Councilman John Hayes went first and nominated Romig, who received two yes votes.
Council then voted on Kevin Kassab’s nomination of Venegoni, who received a 6-0 vote in favor to win the appointment.
Venegoni will be sworn in as early as Tuesday, Council President Evan Myers said.
Myers credited all six candidates for stepping up to apply for the seat, calling them “the largest and probably most qualified field that I’ve seen” when filling a vacancy during his time on council.
“I feel humbled that you’ve all come forward and are willing to make the commitment to our community,” he said. “It’s awesome. And as one or more of you said, we certainly hope that if you’re not chosen, you continue to participate or participate more in the community. We need you. That’s the only way that we can continue to function, and that’s the only way democracy can continue to function, with as much participation as possible.”
