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Four new members take seat on Crestwood School Board

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Ruling: West Side CTC bargained with union in bad faith

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The proposed sale of the city&#8217;s sewer system was not on the agenda Thursday for city council to discuss, but Mayor-elect George Brown recommended changing the time and place for a public meeting when it comes up again later this month.</p><p>Brown, who will take office in January and replace the sale&#8217;s proponent Mayor Tony George, lobbied for a room bigger than council&#8217;s fourth-floor chambers at City Hall for what could be a far-reaching and critical decision for the residents.</p><p>&#8220;I want them to have the opportunity to hear it first hand. I want them to have the opportunity to ask questions. This is probably, folks, one of the most important decisions we&#8217;re going to collectively make in our careers,&#8221; Brown said.</p><p>Last month council asked principals with Public Financial Advisors LLC, the Philadelphia-based firm handling the sale proposed as a solution to the city&#8217;s financial problems, to return on Dec. 17 with more detailed information and revisit a possible lease of the system to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority as an alternative to selling off an asset. Rates would rise for residents with a sale to a private utility company, PFM pointed out.</p><p>PFM, hired with state grants to develop strategies for the city to avoid financial collapse, included the one-time sale among its recommendations. George indicated a sale could raise $30 million and supported putting a good portion of the proceeds into the underfunded pension plans.</p><p>Councilwoman Beth Gilbert McBride asked if it&#8217;s been confirmed that PFM will have the requested information for the next work session.</p><p>City Administrator Rick Gazenski replied he was not certain at this point.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll find out tomorrow morning,&#8221; Gazenski replied.</p><p>In regular business, council approved all agenda items for Local Share Account grant applications to the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The LSA money comes from gambling revenues at the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Plains Township. Under the procedure set up by the state, the host municipality must apply for the funds.</p><p>The applicants and the amounts approved were:</p><p>&#8226; $650,000 for The Wyoming Valley Art League for upgrades to the historic building: an elevator and restrooms to meet the American With Disabilities Act requirements; heating ventilation and air conditioning improvements; gallery lighting; and acoustics improvements.</p><p>&#8226; $120,000 for the Children&#8217;s Service Center to raze an unoccupied building at 350 S. Franklin St. for a paved parking lot.</p><p>&#8226; $544,586 for an Emergency Response Center in the Department of Public Works building. The city wants to renovate 4,249 square feet on the second floor for the center that will be out of the flood zone.</p><p>&#8226; $549,443 for a storage facility in Kirby Park to be used as recreation maintenance building and in conjunction with the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority for storage of flood closure structure components for the nearby Market Street Bridge.</p><p>&#8226; $75,000 for the Wilkes-Barre YMCA&#8217;s safety and security project to install a new camera system, a new door at the lobby entrance, an external canopy and upgraded swipe entry access.</p><p>&#8226; $300,000 for the Volunteers of America Pennsylvania to rehabilitate a building in the 100 block of Division Street into six, one-bedroom efficiency apartments for low-income residents.</p><p>&#8226; $84,894 for the Wyoming Valley Challenger Baseball league to replace fencing at the Bog public park on Dewy Lane.</p><p>&#8226; $250,000 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the city to build a street hockey rink at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street.</p><p>Council also approved an application by the city to the CFA for an H2O PA grant in the amount of $1,256,687 for flood restoration projects on Mill Creek and Laurel Run Creek.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">George Brown. Aimee Dilger file photo|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL101819george-brown3.jpg</photo0><caption0>George Brown. Aimee Dilger file photo|Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>City council approved LSA grant applications</subheadMeta></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>

LSA grant applications approved, venue change requested for Wilkes-Barre sewer sale presentation