The Daily Collegian
Coltegian file photo
Former State College Mayor Bill Welch speaks at a town meeting in
2009. The borough council renamed an Allen St. building in his honor.
Council renames plaza
in honor of late mayor
By Matt Morgan
The mcmoi-y of tormer mayor
Bill Welch evil! live on tor years to
come, alter the State College
Borough council \oled Monday
night to name the Municipal
Building Plaza in his honor.
The area in iron! of the build
ing, 2-Ci S. Alien St., was previous
ly referred to as "the plaza." but
during Monday evening's bor
ough eouneil meeting, members
voted unanimously to name it
Welch i’iaza i;i honor ot the
mayor v ho stag ed tor ’5 years.
"1 thmk it s i, iovHy idea."
Mayor Elizabeth Goreham said.
"Calling ,t Welch P!a/.a is easy,
and it it a Is right. He was an icon
of our tow r.
Welch mrm d
the < V-iiiv I i-iilv Tunes ior more
than 2" ire i.k in” ; Teel
ed as :n;ror in 1 i 4. Hr is
romombor'-u Mr h.is contribu
tions to improving the rclation
!■ borough and
silip iv
I Villi M.(
Weir;
after
i in Si’jiU.'miMT 2i>oii
■2 pneumonia due
to complications Irani a leg
bypass mrsyi-y
Councii memm r !>on Hahn
said hr >upj)oitfd the plaza
renaming partiv because it is an
effort-to update a borough land'
mark - something that has been
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outreach praams of the College of Agricultural Sciences, the College of Arts and Architecture, the College of Health and Human
Development. :hc College of the Liberal Arts, the Smcat College Of Business, and University Office of Global Programs
lacking in recent years.
He said more areas should be
named after people who have
influenced the community.
"One of the things that the
State College borough has been
short on is acknowledging its his
tory'. and I think this is a step in
the right direction," he said.
Though there are no plans to
renovate or change the layout of
the plaza, Hahn said any artwork
added to the plaza will most likely
be privately funded.
There is currently no timetable
for adding artwork to the site, as
no changes will take place until
ideas and funding issues are
addressed, council member Jim
Rosenberger said.
Nadine Kofman. Welch's wife of
more than 30 years, said her hus
band did not usually approve of
naming the borough's public
buildings after people, but he
would be pleased to know the
plaza will be named in his memo
ir.
m t 'li! or at
'Bill will always be at the bor
ough building because of this."
she said.
Additionally, Kofman said she
would like to see a statue of her
late husband sitting on a bench in
the plaza.
"I like the idea of a seated life
size statue," she said. "It would
be on a bench with enough room
for someone to sit beside him."
Fraser deadline extended
The State College Borough
Council approved a one-year
extension for the $l.B million pay
ment deadline of the ongoing
Fraser Centre project Monday
night but the Centre's real
estate developer said there is still
no set timeline for the project.
The deadline extension was
approved at Monday's borough
council meeting with a 5-1 vote.
Council member Don Hahn cast
the lone dissenting vote.
■'The extension being a full year
is excessive," Hahn said. "The
developer has had three years
and some were months before
the recession hit '
But the majority of the council
as well as State College Mayor
Elizabeth Goreham are still
behind the project that has been
in the planning stages for more
than three years. Some members
said they understand the difficul
ties Susquehanna Real Estate
has faced in the process.
Man charged with felony trespass
The 19-year-old Maryland man
arrested last Thursday on
charges of stalking and harass
ment was arrested again, just
after midnight Wednesday when
he was found trespassing in an
East Halls dorm. Penn State
Police said.
A day before his preliminary
hearing on earlier charges.
Obafemi 0. Ilupeju. of Silver
Spring. Md.. was charged with
one count each of felony criminal
trespass, misdemeanor criminal
trespass and summary criminal
trespass, police said.
Ilupeju was found walking
unescorted around the fifth-floor
Packer Hall hallway at about
12:50 am. Tuesday, police said. He
was taken into custody at the
Centre County Correctional
Facility at about 8:45 a.m.
Tuesday on a $7,500 bail, where
he remains as of press time,
according to an official from the
facility
Penn State Police Deputy Chief
Tyrone Parham said it does not
appear that Ilupeju was attempt-
>TATE
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“We understand the difficulty in
the developer’s completion of the
project,” council member James
Rosenberger said. “My vote was
supportive of giving him a little
extra time to complete it."
Susquehanna Real Estate
President Jack Kay said he
remains optimistic about the
completion of the project even
though there isn’t a concrete plan
for the beginning of construction.
“The timetable is 'not soon
enough,’ ” he said. “We’re push
ing as fast as we can. Every day
costs us money, and we have all
the incentives to move as quickly
as possible."
The Fraser Centre would
include retail and office space,
luxury condominiums, a cinema
and a possible hotel boutique.
"The goal is to create a well
designed major commercial
development in the heart of
downtown that would elevate it to
the next level," Kav said.
Susquehanna Real Estate has
already paid $1,475 million and
now has an additional year to pay
ing to contact the female student
whom he is charged with harass
ing and stalking.
Ilupeju told police he was
attempting to
retrieve a back-
pack and that he
had permission
to enter the build
ing from a stu-
dent who lived
there, police said.
Packer Hall
requires card H u P e j u
access for stu-
dents to enter the building, and
police said Ilupeju entered the
hall by "piggybacking" with a res
ident inside.
When contacted, the other stu
dent told police he did not invite
Ilupeju to enter the building at
that time, police said.
Parham said Ilupeju had been
staving as a guest in the student's
room in the residence hall earlier
in the week, but the student with
whom Ilupeju was staying decid
ed he did not want to host him any
longer.
Ilupeju was staving with the
student while he awaited his pre
liminary hearing that is sched-
ech The
Halls
AppieCare
i 'Tt-CIC-n
Now on Sale!
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 I 3
a remaining $l.B million, Kay said
as well as a 5 percent interest
rate.
The council still believes the
project will eventually be com
pleted, though Hahn said he
remains skeptical.
“I was never too optimistic
about it from the beginning,” he
said. “Obviously after three years
I’m even more skeptical than
when it began.”
Goreham said she supports the
council’s decision and believes
the Fraser Centre will be a nice
addition to downtown State
College.
“It incorporates something
that will help our downtown and
community in general, Goreham
said. “It’s something that the
town supports."
This extension will likely be the
last chance for the completion of
the project, and there is no back
up plan.
"If the developer went away,
we'd own an empty lot or the
developer would own an empty
lot," Rosenberger said.
uled for today in connection with
charges filed against him last
week. Parham said.
The charges stem from an inci
dent in which police said Ilupeju
sent repeated harassing mes
sages to a female Penn State stu
dent via Facebook. He arrived in
State College last week, police
said. Police said the female stu
dent first contacted authorities on
Nov. 14 to report that she had
been receiving unwanted mes
sages from an unknown individ
ual identified as Ilupeju via
Facebook.
Last Wednesday, he arrived in
State College, where police said
they determined he had no "pur
pose of meaningful business on
campus" and charged him the fol
lowing day
Ilupeju was charged with one
count each of misdemeanor stalk
ing and harassment in connec
tion with last week's incident,
police said.
Ilupeju's preliminary hearing
in connection with the most
recent charges on Wednesday is
scheduled for Dec. 15.
To e-maii reporter: cmms773@psu.edu