Transportation Center in downtown Altoona dedicated in Miller’s honor

Longtime public servant died suddenly in 2021

Around 2016, when Altoona Blair County Development Corp. Executive Director Marty Marasco was ready to retire, he reached out to Steve McKnight, who had formerly worked for ABCD Cop., and suggested he apply for the top job.

"What about Pat," McKnight asked, speaking of Marasco's longtime deputy, Patrick Miller.

"Pat doesn't want it," Marasco told McKnight -- illustrating for McKnight an essential component of Miller's personality: a reluctance to seize the limelight, McKnight said Friday at a ceremony to name the downtown Transportation Center for his old friend, who died suddenly at age 69 in 2021.

McKnight got the job, which meant that Miller reported to him, but that inversion of roles came off without a hitch, despite the new boss being much younger, McKnight said.

Aligning with Miller's reluctance to bask in the limelight was his willingness to seize one of least glamorous roles for any organization: the collector of trash, according to McKnight.

As head of the Greater Altoona Economic Development Corp., a subsidiary of ABCD Corp., Miller helped organize many events downtown, including concerts at Heritage Plaza, and he always went around afterward, pulling the bags from all the rubbish cans, McKnight said.

It generally "went unnoticed," said McKnight, who during his short talk before about 40 people had to stop repeatedly to take a deep breath, before continuing.

Miller's 27-year-old son Trent made a similar observation when he talked about behavior that expressed his father's character.

His father would take their dog for a walk, leash in one hand, a bag in the other, and upon his return home, the trash bag would be full of stuff he'd picked up along the way, Trent said.

It wasn't just at his paid job that his father wanted to ensure the city was "cleaned and well-maintained," Trent said.

Miller would probably not have favored the sort of ceremony that officials held Friday in front of what is now the Patrick M. Miller Transportation Center, McKnight said.

"He was not a big fan of this kind of stuff," McKnight said. "He was more of a behind-the-scenes guy."

Marasco worked in conjunction with Miller for 45 years, 22 of them in the same agency.

"What began as a professional connection gradually became more personal," Marasco said. "(His was) a remarkable life and legacy."

The dedication recognizes a recent renovation of the interior of the Transportation Center.

That renovation cost $1.3 million.

It was 70% funded by a PennDOT Multimodal grant, with the remainder paid from city funds, according to city Public Works Director Nate Kissell.

J.C. Orr & Son was the general contractor.

The work began in August 2024 and ended in April 2025.

It included a new HVAC system, new bathrooms, new coverings for the floor, wall and ceiling and new seats in the waiting room.

The city hopes to apply for additional funding for improvements to the Amtrak platform, including electrical work, roofing and painting; and a renewal of the ventilation system in the passage over the 10th Avenue expressway that leads to the platform, Kissell said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.