CLEARFIELD – On Wednesday night a number of people came to the county seat to oppose the proposed 814 area code change.
The meeting was called in regard to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s proposed change of the 814 area code to 582. One of the potential affects of this change would involve including the Clearfield County communities of Sandy Township and the City of DuBois in the 582 area code.
Those in attendance consisted of elected and appointed officials, business owners and citizens. All of them were against the change.
Clearfield County Commissioner Joan Robinson-McMillen said the changeover will effectively cut off Sandy Township and DuBois from the rest of the county.
“We think this is an entire county issue,” said Robinson-McMillen.
She noted that it would be hard for small businesses, some of which have branches in the greater DuBois area. She also asked what toll it might have on the 911 Call Center; would calls from Sandy/DuBois be taken in Clearfield or Jefferson County?
Commissioner Mark McCracken stated that according to the PUC, the 814 area code is projected to run out of numbers in 2013. He said that initially he believed the lines for the change were made by municipal lines, but was later informed they were draw by exchange services.
“This is really an important issue,” said McCracken. “Leaders for the last 30 years have worked together to bring the county together.”
He went on to speak of the highway being built over Rockton Mountain, and how it essentially broke down the physical barrier that kept DuBois and Sandy Township apart from the rest of the county.
McCracken also went on to say that he wants to see the counties of Elk, Clearfield and Jefferson in the same area code.
“We have so many areas we work together.”
Commissioner John Sobel, late to the meeting because he had finished up teaching a class in DuBois, pointed to people who work in one part of the county, but live in another.
“We need to join DuBois and Sandy Township to defeat change or push the boundaries,” said Sobel. “We’re all part of the same group … all part of the same whole.”
“Obviously we have to keep the 814 area code in Clearfield County,” said City of DuBois Manager John “Herm” Suplizio. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Jerry Pollock, from Clearfield County’s Emergency Management Agency, also sits on the PUC’s 911 Taskforce. He said 911 agencies looked at in how it would affect their call centers. He said there would be programming issues. He also discussed the possibility of an overlay.
An overlay is one of two options the PUC is looking at. Once existing 814 numbers are exhausted, new numbers would be assigned out of the new area code. Ten-digit local dialing would then apply.
The other option is the geographic split. The area code is split into two or more geographic areas and a new code assigned to one, while the other keeps its old one. All split plans would require 10-digit dialing between area codes in the same extended calling area.
“They’re not solving a problem, but creating another one,” said one man in the audiance.
Rob Swales, chief executive officer of the Clearfield County Economic Development Corporation, noted that this would add additional costs to small and large businesses.
Businessman Jerry Bloom concurred, noting that the additional cost would eventually funnel down to the consumer.
Barry Abbott also took to the podium. Abbott has spoken out against the proposed change at public forums and has written a letter to the editor on the subject. He proposed three solutions to the issue:
-All 814 current customers keep their 814 area code and same phone numbers
-All 814 existing numbers dial the 10-digit number for communications
-All new customers moving into the 814 area be given the new prefix of 582 for land line or cell phone numbers.
John Balliet of Taxpayers United for Representation NOW, has also been outspoken on the topic. He noted that initially he proposed that only cell phone numbers be changed to the 582 area code. However, according to the FCC, this cannot be done. State commissions may not implement a technology specific overlay or service-specified overlay without authority from the FCC. He talked about important a person’s cell phone is. He noted that about 25 percent of people in the state do not have land lines, but stated that land lines are just as important to the people who have them as cell phones are to their owners.
“Home and business numbers are every bit as important as cellular numbers and deserve the same protection as cellular numbers enjoy and should be shielded from an arbitrary geographic determination,” said Balliet.
Another public meeting will be held in DuBois on Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the DuBois Best Western.
Also, according to Robinson-McMillen and others, the PUC will hold a public hearing on the subject in DuBois at a later date. McMillen urged business owners and residents to attend. Two other meetings were held last year: one in Erie, with minimal attendance, and one in Somerset County.
“We got a second chance,” said Robinson-McMillen. “If we’re not ready for the PUC when they’re here, shame on us.”
