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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The city will ask for more than $2 million in state grants for a number of projects including City Hall renovations and a new Emergency Operations Center to be located at Hollenback Park.
				The grants requests are detailed in the <a href="https://www.wilkes-barre.city/sites/g/files/vyhlif4086/f/agendas/nov5agenda.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agenda</a> for the Nov. 5 city council meeting.
				The grants would come from the Local Share Account program administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The LSA program is funded by revenues from the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Plains Township.
				Three of the four grants are for city-related projects and in line with the approach outlined by Mayor George Brown to prioritize city needs when applying for the LSA money. In the past residents complained that the LSA applications focused too much on non-profits and private businesses instead of the city.
				Brown said the Emergency Operations Center was originally planned for the second-floor of the Department of Public Works facility.
				&ldquo;This much better for us,&rdquo; Brown said of the Hollenback property next to the former dog park. &ldquo;We own the building and it&rsquo;s out of the flood zone,&rdquo; he said.
				City council will be asked to approve LSA applications for:
				&#8226; $532,660 for the Emergency Operations Center to be used in the event of a disaster, particularly flooding.
				&#8226; $689,527 for City Hall renovations to include, architectural services, selective demolition, HVAC system upgrades, LED lighting, stairwell improvement in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act improvements and exterior repairs to the building built in 1893.
				&#8226; $150,000 to purchase three new cruisers for the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department
				&#8226; $700,000 for the new $45 million Luzerne County Transportation Authority facility to be built on the former Murray Complex property. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has committed to paying for approximately 97% of the project.
				Pension funding
				Separate from the LSA applications, Brown will ask city council to approve a project with Pension Funding Solutions LLC that would increase the aggregate funding level of the five pension plans to approximately 65% from approximately 54%.
				The Pennsylvania Auditor General&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.paauditor.gov/media/default/MunPenReporting/2020_DISTRESS_SCORE_REPORT_10.01.20.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2019 Actuarial Valuation Reports</a> for municipal pension plans listed Wilkes-Barre&rsquo;s as moderately distressed. Assets totaled $78.1 million compared to $146.1 million in liabilities for a funding ratio of 53.2%.
				According to information provided Friday by Brown the project involves pooled securitization of debt to be underwritten by RBC Capital Markets for multiple cities and the issuance of tax revenue bonds at a higher bond rating than Wilkes-Barre individually.
				The funds acquired would be distributed directly into the pension fund with the city&rsquo;s Aggregate Pension Fund Board and its adviser directing how they would be handled.

Wilkes-Barre to apply for state gaming grants for projects