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Eagles draft injured Washington cornerback Sidney Jones

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Wilkes-Barre high-rise eyed for possible insurance company headquarters

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board offered unlimited time to the public at a meeting Thursday, and got a prickly earful lasting more than three hours.</p><p>The barrage began before the start of an informational meeting to update residents on a search for a new site for the proposed consolidated high school. The board first held a special meeting involving approval of bill payments, and granted the usual five minutes of speaking time to anyone in the public who signed up in advance.</p><p>Sam Troy, who said he is running for the board as a write-in candidate this May, blasted the push for a new school and insisted, as he has for years, that taxpayers can&#8217;t afford it. Bob Holden then made a frequent request: that meetings be held later in the day (this one started at 5 p.m.), and that the consolidation plan be put up for a vote via referendum.</p><p>After a break, the informational meeting started with solicitor Ray Wendolowski noting the board would not adhere to the five-minute policy and wanted to give everyone a chance to speak. It quickly evolved into a lengthy give-and-take among members of the small crowd, several board members, and some of the professionals hired by the board to work on the project.</p><p>When Leonard Cornish asked if it would be cheaper to build a new school where Meyers High stands, Wendolowski introduced what appeared to be a new reason for rejecting the Meyers site: City rules on parking spaces.</p><p>&#8220;Wilkes-Barre City requirements are such that there is no way possible to find 800 parking spaces to serve a new school there,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Attorney Kimberly Borland chided Wendolowski for the comment, noting &#8220;this is the first we&#8217;ve heard&#8221; of the parking space reasoning, saying the Meyers site was previously rejected because soft, shifting soil under the building would require costly site preparation.</p><p>Borland also criticized the board and Wendolowski for refusing to make the information presented Thursday public sooner.</p><p>Wendolowski conceded much of the slide show presentation Thursday had been shown to the school board March 28. Borland said he had filed a Right To Know request seeking that slide show, but the district had invoked a 30-day extension allowed by law in responding to such requests.</p><p>&#8220;Now I see them,&#8221; Borland said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have them, but I see them.&#8221; He argued it made no sense to withhold the information from him only to release it at the meeting weeks later.</p><p><strong>Debt concerns</strong></p><p>Barbara Wilson complained that the school, now projected to cost as much as $135 million without the addition of athletic fields or a stadium, will break the bank for older people like her paying ever-escalating property taxes.</p><p>Business Manager Thomas Telesz downplayed the long-term cost. He noted the district currently pays about $4 million annually in debt service, and that debt will be paid off in 2021-22. The school construction will add up to $9 million more in annual debt. That means once the old debt is repaid, the district will be paying about $5 million more than it currently is.</p><p>But, Telesz added, the consolidation is expected to save up to $3.5 million annually, &#8220;so it adds maybe $1 million, $1.5 million to the overall annual budget.&#8221;</p><p>Borland said the consolidation plans &#8220;reflect a political agenda.</p><p>&#8220;I think the board got stuck on an idea, I don&#8217;t think it was a good idea, and (the board) doesn&#8217;t want to back off of the idea.&#8221;</p><p>Despite spending extensive time with a microphone in his hand answering questions, District Superintendent Brian Costello told the crowd he appreciated the input and promised &#8220;to have more of this.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Residents get unlimited time to speak</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBA School Board open-floor approach brings extensive comment, criticism