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<b>First Posted:</b> 12/4/2007<br><br>By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@www.timesleader.comStaff Writer 
HAZLETON &amp;ndash; Council on Monday gave final approval to Mayor &amp;rsquo;s $9 million city budget for 2008 as well as its blessing on a $100,000 business loan for a long-promised fine dining restaurant in the city&amp;rsquo;s tallest downtown structure &amp;ndash; The Markle Building.

Council voted 4-0 to adopt next year&amp;rsquo;s budget, which includes a $17-per-quarter garbage collection fee hike, raising the annual $50 sewage transmission fee to $21 per quarter, and no tax increases.
After council voted unanimously to approve routine fund transfers between this year&amp;rsquo;s budget accounts, Councilman Tom Gabos asked city administrator Sam Monticello to explain a proposed resolution to approve a business development loan to brothers James and Edward Kulish, doing business as Mea&amp;rsquo;s Restaurant.
Monticello said the loan would pay for restaurant equipment and would be repaid quarterly for a term of seven years at a 4-percent interest rate. He said the developers would finance the remainder of the $284,000 project using private equity.
At Monticello&amp;rsquo;s request, James Kulish answered additional questions from council.
Councilman Jack Mundie asked about a business plan and the Kulish brothers&amp;rsquo; experience in the restaurant industry.
Kulish said he has experience in regional logistics management and has worked as a short-order cook. His brother has been a chef for more than 15 years at a fine dining restaurant and has decades of general restaurant experience.
They developed a business plan with assistance from Wilkes University&amp;rsquo;s Small Business Development Program. They plan to hire a mix of 14 to 18 full- and part-time employees.
Kulish said the restaurant would utilize 7,500 square feet of floor space for the kitchen and dining areas and a conference center. The vault that remains from the former Markle Bank &amp;amp; Trust Co. will be turned into a wine cellar, he said.
&amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;ve been looking for a building in and around town for the last few years. &amp;hellip; Parking is for us the number one issue in downtown Hazleton, and that&amp;rsquo;s been addressed very well by (Markle Building developer George) Hayden,&amp;rdquo; Kulish said.
Hayden has said for several years that he wanted to bring in a fine dining restaurant as a street-level anchor for the historic 11-story office building that nearly met a wrecking ball about a decade ago.
Kulish said he expects construction will begin soon after the holidays and anticipates a spring opening.
Barletta expects the restaurant to be a major boost for downtown revitalization.
In other business, council approved transferring unused funds from some city accounts to cover deficits in others. The city ended 2006 with a $147,000 deficit, and Barletta has said&amp;nbsp;he doesn't see the financial situation improving much by the end of 2007.
However,&amp;nbsp;the city was able to help shore up&amp;nbsp;some general fund&amp;nbsp;accounts using leftover money from health insurance premiums. The city transferred $132,300 from unused insurance premiums into various accounts.&amp;nbsp;The largest individual transfers&amp;nbsp;were for&amp;nbsp;$45,000&amp;nbsp;each to the fire and police overtime accounts.
Monticello said the city &amp;quot;saved a significant amount of money&amp;quot; this year &amp;quot;by restructuring a portion of the health care package for three of the four unions as well as the management employee group,&amp;quot; which includes department heads and some of his office staff. He said health insurance coverage for the fourth union, which includes Department of ublic Works employees, will be addressed when that union&amp;nbsp;contract is up for renewal.
The city also saved money&amp;nbsp;because some employees opted to accept a small monthly payment rather than health insurance coverage from the city, Monticello said.
    
Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 459-2005.

Hazleton approves $9M city budget