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St. Nicholas/St. Mary students raise the roof to honor veterans

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Lottery Numbers for Thursday, Nov. 17

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The city has given the go-ahead to award a contract for emergency repairs to the Solomon Creek channel wall.City council Thursday at its regularly scheduled public meeting authorized city officials to sign a contract with lowest responsible bidder. Joyce Morrash Zaykowski, capital projects manager for the city, said Pioneer Construction Co., of Honesdale, submitted the lowest bid of $164,250.City Administrator Ted Wampole said there were 11 bids, and the contract will be awarded after the documents are reviewed to make sure the lowest bidder&#8217;s proposal meets the job specifications.&#8220;The reason that they do that is because they have time to review them. It might be tomorrow, but if we don&#8217;t get that approval tonight, then the next council meeting is not for two weeks,&#8221; Wampole said, explaining the reason for not delaying council&#8217;s vote.The wall was built by the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency created under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The stone-and-concrete wall has fallen into disrepair and parts of it are in danger of collapsing into the creek bed and comprising the flood protection it provides for South Wilkes-Barre.With the repairs off its plate, city council still has Mayor Tony George&#8217;s proposed $47.9 million balanced budget to deal with by the end of the year. Council Chairman Bill Barrett said there is &#8220;an awful lot of interaction going on over the budget.&#8221;Barrett and the other four council members heard from residents opposed to the 30-mill property tax hike that&#8217;s included in the budget. The increase is estimated to add approximately $18 a month to the tax bill of a home owner with an $80,000 house, the average price in the city.Eric Oliver, a registered nurse and homeowner in the city, said he has had one pay increase in the past 10 years. Oliver said he plans to retire in five years and will be on a fixed income.&#8220;I&#8217;m hoping and praying that the city of Wilkes-Barre doesn&#8217;t tax me out of my home,&#8221; Oliver said.The council also approved:&#8226; The relocation of a PPL Electric Utilities pole from the parking lot of the Luzerne County Courthouse to city property.&#8226; The disposition of records from the city fire department.&#8226; A resolution authorizing Mayor Tony George and Controller Darren Snyder to sign all debt-related documents on behalf of the city.The second and final reading of an ordinance amending rules at the Hollenback Dog Park to require all dogs using it to be spayed and neutered was removed from the agenda to allow further review by the city&#8217;s legal department.<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Council also hears residents&#8217; tax hike complaints</subheadMeta></div><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>

Wilkes-Barre city council approves emergency repairs to Solomon Creek wall