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Bereaved mom’s emotional presentation warns Nanticoke students about distracted driving

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Luzerne County hires lobbyist firm

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The city and Hanover Township will maintain the new bridge planned for Division Street bridge and split the $169,000 in engineering costs for its construction under the terms of cooperative agreement between the municipalities.</p><p>The bridge over Solomon Creek, estimated to cost $1,675,000, was announced in 2018 as one of Luzerne County&#8217;s municipal infrastructure projects to replace a span that was demolished in 2014.</p><p>The city&#8217;s share of the engineering cost will be $84,500 and was discussed at Tuesday night&#8217;s work session. The first of two readings of the ordinance on the agreement is on the agenda for approval at council&#8217;s public 6 p.m. meeting Thursday.</p><p>Mayor Tony George said there is no date yet set for the construction. The city and township have yet to iron out a maintenance agreement.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re figuring that out,&#8221; George said. &#8220;They&#8217;re going to plow, we&#8217;re going to plow. We&#8217;re going to maintain, they&#8217;re going to maintain.&#8221;</p><p>While the city won&#8217;t have to carry the full weight of the project, it is burdened by delinquent recycling fees.</p><p>&#8220;It seems that what I have learned that there 3,400 people who are behind on their fee totalling $784,000,&#8221; councilman Tony Brooks said.</p><p>Residents are charged $50 a year for the collection of recyclables. The mayor wanted to raise it to $60 to balance this year&#8217;s $50.4 million budget, but council deadlocked 2-2 on the final reading of the ordinance to increase the fee.</p><p>Brooks, who was excused from the vote, said he would have opposed the fee based on feedback from residents in District B, the area he represents.</p><p>The administration said it would reintroduce the ordinance for a vote by the full, five-member council. At $60 the fee is budgeted to bring in $840,000, compared to $700,000 at the lower rate. The higher fee is necessary because the city no longer makes money off the recyclables and has to pay to dispose of them.</p><p>Brooks asked City Administrator Rick Gazenski if there was a problem with the collection company.</p><p>The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority bills residents for the fee, Gazenski said. A collection company is paid a fee to go after the delinquent accounts, he added.</p><p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s something that I think has been probably dormant for awhile. We need to get on top of it and find out what the case is. And if it&#8217;s not working out with them certainly we&#8217;re going to start looking in other areas for the collections,&#8221; Gazenski said. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George. Aimee Dilger file photo |Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL101618Budget1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George. Aimee Dilger file photo |Times Leader </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Bridge deal, delinquent fees discussed at Wilkes-Barre council work session