Downtown State College could be getting cleaner streets and additional security if a proposed improvement district is created.

The Downtown State College Partnership is suggesting the idea and generally is receiving a positive response.

"Both sides (students and non-students) would benefit from cleaner streets and additional security," Teresa Sparacino, the partnership's executive director, said.

If the district is created, students will be able to feel more secure when walking downtown at night and will also appreciate the cleaner streets, she said.

"It has to bother students as much as it bothers us to have filthy streets," Sparacino said.

However, some students do not seem to be as excited about the plan as the partnership.

"I think it's just a feel good thing for the borough. It only makes the borough feel good," Christopher Kapsha (senior-mechanical engineering) said.

Kapsha said Penn State already has a lot of policies, like the escort service, that ensure safety downtown as well as on campus.

"But I don't want to say that it can't be effective," he said.

Elysia Irwin (junior-pre-medicine) said she never felt endangered while walking downtown but sees no harm in the proposal.

"If it helps, I see no reason not to do it," she said.

The Downtown State College Partnership has just begun revamping the plan and wants to make sure the borough is supportive of it.

"We are trying to build a consensus, and so far the response has been positive," Sparacino said.

Some local businesses, such as the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., are in favor of the plan.

"We need this money and there are so many improvements we can make downtown with it," Norm Brown, manager of the SBS, said.

SBS has been a member of the Downtown State College Partnership and is glad that now, due to the improvement district plan, every business downtown will have a mandatory membership, he said.

"The current structure is a voluntary membership and there's a lot of businesses downtown that are not members," Brown said.

The improvement district, if passed, will place an assessment on commercial and residential property owners. The assessment money would then go towards improvements that can be made downtown.

While downtown State College could have had an improvement district before, they were unable to get the support they needed because of tax rules. However, the rules have changed and they now can assess commercial venues at a higher rate than residential, Sparacino said, adding that this has caused more support for the plan.

"The benefits for commercial businesses are much higher than for residential," she said.

The plan will also allow monies for capital improvements.

"It's a more viable organization to get problems solved," Sparacino said.