Program Audits of YouthBuild USA Sites. YouthBuild USA is a national organization dedicated to the education, job training, and job placement of young people who lack the education and skills to compete in their local job markets. The organization focuses its training on the construction industry. S. Huffman Associates was contracted by YouthBuild USA to audit, in conformance with an established audit protocol, two local sites in York, Pennsylvania and Gary, Indiana. The firm reviewed grant applications, annual reports, as well as meeting minutes and progress reports, and drafted a preliminary statement of findings prior to a site visit. Time was spent at YouthBuild headquarters in York and Gary reviewing program records, attending training sessions, and interviewing students, staff, and local supporters of the program. Following the site visits the firm evaluated the programs’ success in achieving their performance goals of attendance, educational achievement, and job placement, and their progress in meeting YouthBuild USA’s requirements for the program. The report has been used as a management tool by YouthBuild York, YouthBuild Gary and YouthBuild USA.
Pennsylvania State Aviation System Plan. S. Huffman Associates assisted an airport-planning firm in this statewide plan for the Pennsylvania State Department of Transportation. The firm focused on establishing land use compatibility guidelines for adoption by municipalities at the local level. Because of the key role that airports play in local and regional economies, these guidelines are increasingly necessary as development encroaches on many of the State’s smaller airports. S. Huffman Associates also helped to identify organizations and individuals to be contacted as part of the client’s efforts to disseminate information on the proposed guidelines.
Philadelphia Northeast Airport Land Use Feasibility Study. The City of Philadelphia asked PBAviation, Inc., to study the feasibility of leasing some of this reliever airport’s outer parcels which were not required for aviation purposes in order to generate revenue. S. Huffman Associates took responsibility for assessing the market feasibility of various uses for 11 tracts of outlying land. A demographic analysis was done for Northeast Philadelphia as a whole, and nearby land uses were assessed in terms of their current occupancy and market viability. Each tract was then assessed on the basis of current zoning, highway frontage and access, and surrounding land patterns. Recommended uses included warehouse/flex office light industrial space, highway oriented convenience commercial, and recreation.
