Pot Hearings Held
Harrisburg last month held two hearings on proposed legislation to reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
City officials, including the mayor, police chief and several council members, listened attentively as dozens of residents testified for and against a proposal to change simple possession from a misdemeanor to a less-serious summary offense and ease penalties to $100 for a first conviction and $200 for a second. After a third offense, possession again would be considered a misdemeanor crime.
Several opponents claimed that marijuana served as a gateway drug to harsher drugs or that prolonged use could be harmful. Supporters said that marijuana is mostly benign, less dangerous even than alcohol use. Some speakers advocated making cannabis a legal substance, though state law currently prohibits that.
City council’s Public Safety Committee sponsored the hearings, which were held at the HACC Midtown 2 building on Reily Street and then, two weeks later, at the Public Works Department facility on Paxton Street. A final council vote on changes to the law is expected this month.
Strong Plan Revisions Debated
Harrisburg held several workshops and a hearing last month on proposed changes to the city’s financial recovery plan.
The city’s Act 47 recovery team is urging the modifications, which notably would include adopting a Home Rule Charter, which would empower the city to make changes to its governmental structure.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse and Act 47 coordinator Fred Reddig told council that, if the city didn’t adopt Home Rule, it could not retain hikes to its earned income and local services taxes once it exited Act 47, potentially leading to large property tax increases.
Several council members seemed cold to the idea of Home Rule and argued that, instead, the state should make a larger contribution to the city for services rendered.
Separately, city council also is considering a tripling of the local services tax to $3 per week for all city workers.
Report Splits Local Officials
An independent review of the Harrisburg treasurer’s office has split elected city officials, after City Controller Charles DeBrunner last month released a preliminary internal report on the findings over objections by the city solicitor and mayor.
The review, which encompassed the treasury’s general practices as well as specific activity during the 2014 calendar year, found the office lacked certain written policies and that aspects of its operations left it more vulnerable to fraud.
DeBrunner said that the 20-page report, by the New York consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, found “numerous serious accounting problems” encompassing both the treasury and the city’s finance bureau, as well as a “culture at the city where errors are accepted and expected.”
But Mayor Eric Papenfuse sharply critiqued that characterization, saying it was politically motivated and misquoted the report’s actual findings. He further accused DeBrunner, who published a redacted version of the report on his official website, of “short-circuiting” an ongoing investigation that was still in its early stages.
In its report, Alvarez & Marsal found that a lack of internal controls in the treasury in that period and perhaps earlier resulted in “an environment where the opportunity for fraudulent activity exists.”
The report also said that the deputy treasurer, Celia Spicher, performs “too many” functions, including both initiating and approving outgoing wire transfers and reconciling monthly bank accounts, a practice that “weakens checks and balances and negatively affects operations of the office.”
Though the review found no specific instances of suspicious activity, DeBrunner said, the state of the city’s controls and records made it “less likely” that such activity would be detected by the firm’s limited review.
Conservation Plan Proposed
Harrisburg’s water and sewer authority announced plans last month for a $9 million conservation agreement that would permanently restrict development on its 8,200-acre property in Clarks Valley, a pristine, forested watershed in northern Dauphin County that supplies the city’s drinking water.
The agreement would involve a partnership with the Nature Conservancy, the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation and Fort Indiantown Gap, a National Guard training facility that neighbors the property. The agreement would keep the land in authority hands while restricting how Capital Region Water could use it.
Under the proposal, such protections would be enshrined in a conservation easement, a legally binding agreement that attaches to a property and restricts how it can be used by current and future owners.
The easement would seek to preserve the watershed property “predominantly in its natural, scenic, forested and open space condition,” maintaining water quality and protecting rare plants and animals while preventing further development, according to a summary provided by Capital Region Water.
Equipment Authorized
A few new pieces of heavy machinery are headed Harrisburg’s way after City Council last month approved nearly $600,000 in equipment purchases.
Public Works Director Aaron Johnson made a successful plea before council for two loaders, two skid steers and a tow truck. Johnson told council members that his department’s ability to handle January’s blizzard was hampered by a lack of equipment to tow cars and move snow.
Harrisburg long has depended on an independent towing company to move cars that are blocking access for city vehicles. The new tow truck will help the city handle its towing more quickly and efficiently, Johnson said.
In addition to snow, the loaders will help Public Works employees remove other types of debris, Johnson said.
Youth Program Expanded
More young people will get jobs this summer, as Harrisburg City Council last month agreed to expand the city’s youth employment program.
Under the revised program, the Harrisburg Housing Authority will employ 75 young people, compared to 50 teens last year. Moreover, participants will get paid a stipend of $1,500 for the six-week program, up from $1,000 last year.
To pay for the expansion, Council doubled the budget for the program to $127,500. The money will come from the host fee, funding that the city receives from LCSWMA for hosting a regional waste facility.
So Noted
Capital Area Transit last month launched “Find My CAT Bus,” a GPS-based mobile website to help transit riders locate CAT routes, stops, bus locations and estimated arrival times. Riders can access this information on their smartphones and other devices via www.findmycatbus.com.
The Millworks has announced that it is building a brewery at the rear of its building in Midtown Harrisburg. Using a 15-barrel system, brewmaster Jeff Musselman will oversee the 2,000-square-foot facility, which will produce beer for the restaurant and bar.
MX Cocina debuted its second restaurant in the Campus Square building at N. 3rd and Reily streets in Midtown Harrisburg. Brothers Varonio and Carlos Hernandez opened their first location last year outside of Linglestown. The snug Midtown eatery features Tex-Mex fare such as burritos, burrito bowls and tacos.
PinnacleHealth Express has relocated from Harrisburg Hospital to 805 Sir Thomas Court in Progress. PinnacleHealth Express offers non-emergency primary care for patients without an appointment.
Changing Hands
Bellevue Rd., 2022: PA Deals LLC to Equity Trust Co. Custodian FBO Ramesh Narinesingh IRA, $67,000
Berryhill St., 2435: J. Luevano & J. Pacchioli to N. Downey, $64,900
Berryhill St., 2438: JP Morgan Chase Bank NA to T. Hoang, $50,220
Boas St., 418: PA Deals LLC to D. & L. Engelhardt, $123,200
Briggs St., 2030: Kings Investment Co. LP to D. King, $35,000
Calder St., 508: Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. to PA Deals LLC, $69,900
Charles St., 232: R. Gosnell to D. Fukton, $145,900
Green St., 3215: M. & C. Bornstein to All Nations Evangelistic Church Inc., $131,000
Greenwood St., 2714: A. Aponte to P. Smith, $70,000
Jefferson St., 2900: K. Gilmer to R. Raoof & A. Kokoiy, $148,000
Kelker St., 217, L2: AJ Fedore & Co. Inc. to T. Smith, $110,250
Kensington St., 2231: Donald Pong Trust K. & L. Johnson, $42,500
Market St., 1638: C. McMullen to E. Patry, $75,000
N. 2nd St., 310: 310 North Second Street LLC to VMV Creations LLC, $630,000
N. 2nd St., 2517: AXL Realty Group Inc. to J. Swope, $49,000
N. 2nd St., 2940: A. Baley & R. Baker to C. Markley & T. Magilton, $239,900
N. 2nd St., 2965: Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. to R. Finck, $160,000
N. 3rd St., 1408: GreenWorks Development to Zecharya International Inc., $130,000
N. 3rd St., 1720: A & A. Campoverde to R. Metzger, $115,000
N. 3rd St., 2530: D. & N. Schertz to K. & A. Bryan, $139,900
N. 6th St., 1336: F. Brewington to G. Wright, $100,000
N. 6th St., 1741, 611 Kelker St., 631 Hamilton St. & 638 Hamilton St.: Dobson Family Limited Partnership to Buonarroti Trust, $192,500
N. Front St., 2921: J. Krafsig Jr. to D. & D. Schankweiler, $300,000
Norwood St., 947: PA Deals LLC to Equity Trust Company FBO Ramesh Narinesingh IRA, $62,000
Peffer St., 621½, 610 Muench St. & 1609 N. 6th St.: P. Dobson to Buonarroti Trust, $130,000
Pennwood Rd., 3208: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Network Corp. to L. Harrisburg, $62,000
Pennwood Rd., 3243: G. Irwin to Consolidated Holdings International LLC, $235,000
Rumson Dr., 2644: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Networks Corp. to M. De Cayamcela, $45,000
S. 25th St., 346: Wells Fargo Financial Pennsylvania Inc. to T. Vu, $36,500
Swatara St., 1522: Tri County HDC Ltd to C. Rae, $64,900
Woodbine St., 239: J. Morgenstern to D. Hoffman, $60,000
Harrisburg property sales for February 2016, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.
