Part of the basement of Harrisburg city hall, where Eastern University wants to establish a satellite campus.
There’s no denying that the proposal from a faith-based university to renovate and rent space in Harrisburg city hall is an unusual one. But just how unconventional is it in the realm of public-private partnerships?
“We’re out on the edge here,” said city Solicitor Neil Grover on Wednesday night, as City Council debated a proposed agreement with Eastern University, a Christian college based in St. Davids, Pa.
Council devoted its entire workshop session tonight to discussing the proposal from Eastern, which wishes to move a satellite campus from Lower Paxton Township to the basement of city hall. University officials are offering to foot $600,000 in renovation costs to make the vacant space functional.
The arrangement would net the city a new press room and emergency operations center, two amenities it can’t afford to build itself. City hall employees also would be permitted use of Eastern’s lounge area and bathrooms. Since the university would only offer classes in city hall from 6 to 10 p.m., there would be little overlap between students and city employees.
Eastern would pay a nominal fee for a 10-year lease, since the value of the rental agreement would come from the cost of renovations.
Council members expressed skepticism about the arrangement at the July 6 meeting where the proposal was first considered. Namely, some worried that a faith-based institution operating within city property would render that space exclusionary, particularly for members of the city’s LGBT population. That concern was reprised tonight, along with questions about parking and tuition discounts.
Councilman Ben Allatt pressed Eastern University representatives on their commitment to Harrisburg’s non-discrimination ordinance, which prohibits discrimination against LGBT people in areas of employment, housing and public accommodations. Allatt wanted confirmation that these protections, which are not codified at a state level, would be upheld in Eastern’s hiring and admissions practices.
“I can assure you that Eastern University is committed to standing against discrimination,” said Provost Kenton Sparks. “You can trust Eastern University to protect the dignity of every single student.”
Allatt asked the Eastern officials if they would affirm their values of inclusivity in writing. Grover, however, pointed out that there are limits to what a government can demand in a contract with a private entity.
Councilwoman Shamaine Daniels asked city officials why they were not letting other organizations compete for a partnership with the city. She said that the city should request proposals from other businesses that may be open to a renovations-for-rent agreement. Grover and Mayor Eric Papenfuse demurred, saying that nobody else had approached the city with a proposal and that the city has no plans to solicit any.
Councilman Cornelius Johnson pointed out that the cost of Eastern’s renovations would not come close to the value of fair market rent. He said that even if the city charged just $5 per square foot for the space, Eastern’s rent payments would total more than $1 million for a 10-year lease.
“We’ll still be subsidizing the cost of them being in city hall,” Johnson said.
Eastern has offered to give Harrisburg residents a 25 percent tuition discount as a term of their agreement with the city. Johnson asked them to consider increasing the discount to 35 percent.
Eastern officials agreed to reconsider the tuition discount before council’s Oct. 10 legislative session, when the resolution will come up for debate and a vote. They also said that they would come to that meeting with more detailed plans for student parking and a response to council’s concerns about the city non-discrimination ordinance.
