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Senate candidate Katie McGinty meets with citizens in Plains Twp. in hopes of finding answers to people’s concerns

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Solomon/Plains Jr. High School selects students of the month

WEST PITTSTON &#8212; Luzerne County and Wilkes-Barre pledged to try to reach a deal over the Coal Street extension project by February, a turnaround from going to court for a resolution.At Thursday&#8217;s county Redevelopment Authority meeting, attorneys for the county, city and Wilkes-Barre Mayor-Elect Tony George disclosed their plans.&#8220;We would like to give real negotiation one good shot to try to resolve this matter for all parties across the board,&#8221; said county solicitor David Pedri.Along with William Vinsko, assistant city attorney, Pedri asked that the authority&#8217;s board put the matter on its Feb. 16 meeting agenda.The date would &#8220;hold our feet to the fire&#8221; Pedri said and set &#8220;a firm time line here so we can move this project along.&#8221;Vinsko added the date would give George time to review the city&#8217;s 2016 budget and allow new county council members to become familiar with the project.The attorneys said they would notify the board a week before the meeting on the status of the negotiations.The county had been opposed to allowing the city access to more than $3 million the authority held from the Tax Incremental Financing program used for Coal Street and other infrastructure projects.The TIF was funded by tax revenue the county, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Wilkes-Barre Township relinquished from development around the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Wilkes-Barre did not contribute to the TIF and the agreement between the participating parties ended in 2012.The authority entered into separate contracts with the city about extending Coal Street. But the city could not obtain funding for the extension and has not set a timetable for construction of the second phase to connect Coal to Union Street and serve as a gateway to Wilkes-Barre.&#8220;This is a big project for the city and the county,&#8221; Vinsko said.He provided an update on the status of the extension, saying it is on PennDOT&#8217;s Long Range Transportation Plan for regional road projects.&#8220;If Mayor George and the county can work together, we all work together to get it even higher priority, this could be within the next four years,&#8221; Vinsko said.An eminent domain case regarding property taken from Interfaith Heights apartments for the construction of the first phase of the Coal Street project is expected to be resolved soon, Vinsko explained. He expressed optimism that the compensation figure reached would be sufficient to complete the extension.&#8220;If we can resolve the acquisition here, all of the eminent domain issues are gone for purposes of this project. So we have clear sailing for Mayor George to proceed,&#8221; Vinsko said.George, who will replace Mayor Tom Leighton on Jan. 4, called for municipal and regional cooperation.&#8220;We&#8217;re one megatropolis, I mean from here to Scranton to Hazleton, and it&#8217;s about time we joined together,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We get more with unity than with fighting and I&#8217;m a firm believer in the unity.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jerry Lynottjlynott@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</shirttailMeta></div>

County and Wilkes-Barre City officials pledge to try to resolve dispute to extend Coal Street