Mayor’s Slate Victorious in Council Primary
Three candidates endorsed by Mayor Eric Papenfuse won nominations last month for four-year terms on Harrisburg City Council.
Incumbent Jeffrey Baltimore and challengers Cornelius Johnson and Westburn Majors emerged victorious in the Democratic primary for three council seats. Challenger Destini Hodges tallied the most votes for the lone two-year seat.
No Republicans ran in the primary, meaning the winners of the Democratic primary will be strongly favored in November’s general election.
Moreover, Papenfuse vocally denounced incumbent Brad Koplinski, pleading with residents to vote against him. Koplinski placed fourth, losing to Majors by just 18 votes for the nomination for the final four-year seat.
“This is a big night for Harrisburg, absolutely phenomenal,” said Papenfuse after the final votes were reported. “I’m elated that we’re finally going to get new leadership to move the city forward.”
Primary results were as follows: Johnson, 1,474; Baltimore, 1,429; Majors, 1,257; Koplinski, 1239; Ellis “Rick” Roy, 1,048; Rhonda Mays, 760; Jeremiah Chamberlin, 719; Ron Chapel, 332; Koscina Lowe, 226.
In the race for city treasurer, Tyrell Spradley defeated challenger Brian Ostella by a count of 1,279 to 1,221. Council appointed Spradley last year to fill the unexpired term of former city Treasurer John Campbell, who was arrested on theft charges.
For Harrisburg school board, Jennifer Smallwood, Monica Blackston-Bailey, Matthew Krupp and Melvin Wilson Jr. won nominations for four-year seats. At press time, Daunessy Penn and Lionel Gonzalez were tied for the final four-year slot, each with 1,159 votes. Judd Pittman defeated LaTasha Frye for the nomination for the sole two-year seat.
Tax Abatement Plan Passed
Harrisburg City Council last month narrowly approved a 10-year tax abatement ordinance that many had considered dead.
By a 4-3 vote, council members passed a plan that would provide full tax abatement on residential property improvements and new construction in Harrisburg for 10 years.
“For the first time ever, we have 100-percent tax abatement,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “Before, there wasn’t enough of an abatement (to promote development). This is a stronger, more powerful LERTA.”
Council twice before had failed to pass the administration’s plan for the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program.
Councilman Brad Koplinski last month introduced his own LERTA plan, a program that would have diminished the tax abatement by 10 percent a year over 10 years. However, a council majority opted instead to re-introduce and pass the administration’s plan, along with certain responsible contracting provisions.
“I was totally shocked,” said Papenfuse. “I didn’t see this coming, but it’s great for the city of Harrisburg.”
The LERTA ordinance now must be approved by Dauphin County and the city school board, which are the other entities in Harrisburg that tax property.
Veno Announces Departure
Gene Veno, the state’s chief recovery officer for the Harrisburg school district, said he would step down at the end of June.
In December 2012, Veno was appointed to help revive the struggling, debt-ridden district. Several months later, he presented a five-year plan that he hoped would lead to a financial and academic revival.
Since then, the district has been in financial surplus, due to a combination of tax increases, school closures, staff layoffs and the discovery of millions of dollars that had been kept off the books. Academically, however, the district’s performance has deteriorated further.
Veno said he was departing to focus more on his consulting and lobbying firm, Gene Veno and Associates.
Last year, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse asked the state to remove Veno, claiming he was too focused on financial, not academic, improvement.
As of press time, the state Department of Education had not announced a replacement for Veno.
Comprehensive Plan Team Named
Harrisburg last month awarded a contract to a consulting team for the first update in more than 40 years to its comprehensive plan, a document that will guide development across the city for the next two decades.
The $200,000 contract went to a team led by Bret Peters of the Harrisburg-based Office for Planning and Architecture and that includes designers, planners and engineers from both local and global firms.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse and city planner Geoffrey Knight said the update was long overdue and would help speed the city’s recovery.
Papenfuse described the plan as “the vision of the residents and the business owners and the stakeholders and everyone who has a stake in Harrisburg and its future development.”
The mayor added that he expects the plan to be ready for formal approval in April 2016 and that it will probably result in a revision of the city’s zoning code.
Knight said the plan, when finished, would overhaul an existing comprehensive plan dating back to 1974.
“So we’re in arrears by about 20 years with updating and adopting a new one,” he said.
Moose Lodge Conversion OK’d
The landmark Moose Lodge Temple in Midtown Harrisburg took a step closer to revival and reoccupation last month, as the city’s Zoning Hearing Board approved a plan to renovate it as mixed-use space.
The board unanimously granted a variance to WCI Partners LP for 33 apartments on three upper floors with commercial space on the ground floor. WCI needed the variance because the size of the apartment units, about 500 square feet apiece, is less than the 1,200-square-foot size permitted under the zoning code for the 900-block of N. 3rd Street.
WCI President David Butcher assured the board that the apartments, while small, would have high-end finishes that would appeal to young professionals. He estimated that the units would rent for around $1,000 per month.
WCI is purchasing the four-story building at the corner of N. 3rd and Boas streets for $900,000 from Atlanta-based Mosaica Education, a for-profit charter school company that is in receivership.
The purchase includes several adjacent parcels of land—three dilapidated townhouses and a 40-vehicle parking lot. Butcher said that WCI also plans to renovate the townhouses into apartments and retail space and would landscape the area around the parking lot to make it more attractive.
Harrisburg City Council now must approve WCI’s land use plan. If all goes smoothly, the project should start by the end of summer with completion expected in 12 to 18 months, said Butcher.
For five years, the former Moose Lodge housed the Ronald Brown Charter School. However, the building has been empty since 2005, when the school district’s board of control refused to reauthorize the school’s charter.
The Harrisburg Moose Lodge Temple was built in 1924, designed in the Beaux Arts style by renowned Harrisburg architect Clayton J. Lappley.
Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, publisher of TheBurg, is a principal with WCI Partners.
Changing Hands
Benton St., 634: 8219 Ventures LLC to S. Jawhar, $32,000
Briarcliff Rd., 135: J. & J. Lawrence to A. Sawyer, $215,000
Briggs St., 207: PA Deals LLC to S. & K. Plummer, $90,000
Brookwood St., 2424: G. & M. Tipton to R. Patterson, $70,000
Capital St., 911: K. Dolphin to B. & A. Lentz, $171,000
Chestnut St., 1925: J. Harbilas to J. Munoz Tineo, $45,000
Cumberland St., 1322: D. & D. Oswandel to E. Brinkman, $109,900
Cumberland St., 1416: T. Lewis to Full Harvest Ministries, $80,000
Division St., 609: D. Miller to G. Barone & L. Ambrosino, $90,000
Edgewood Rd., 2309: W. & N. Robinson to M. Cool & J. Smith, $162,000
Emerald St., 405: P. Dobson to G. Venable, $40,000
Fulton St., 1710: Cartus Financial Corp. to W. Fletcher & K. Cropper, $97,872
Green St., 1819: K. Livingston to N. Fickes, $105,000
Green St., 3212: R. Darr to E. Griffin, $55,000
Hale Ave., 426: M. & J. Williams to Gandy Real Estate LLC, $40,000
Kelker St., 500: Hamilton Health Center to Ministerio Nuevo Renacer, $65,000
Logan St., 2446: PA Deals LLC to M. & J. Sather, $104,300
Melrose St., 1029: S. & J. Wydra to W. Hocker, $35,000
North St., 244: E&S Properties LLC to K. Bryner, $161,000
North St., 1719: G. & M. Ramsey to K. Siddal & D. Cook, $35,000
N. 2nd St., 515: M. & B. Habib to Candlelight Properties LLC, $625,000
N. 15th St., 1617: Ajaz Uddin Inc. to T. Sweet, $35,000
N. 16th St., 911: E. & J. High to M. McManus, $82,500
N. Front St., 1525, Unit 404: R. & R. Fried to J. Kelley, $210,000
N. Front St., 1525, Unit 613: J. Wirick to Pact Enterprises LLC, $108,000
Peffer St., 220: R. Scarabello to G. Cudaback & S. Cox, $190,000
Rudy Rd., 1944: V. Kelly to V. & S. Reyes, $66,900
Showers St., 616: J. Forr to S. Clearfield, $112,000
S. 13th St, 1530: M. Watson to W. Okello, $58,000
S. 19th St., 1340: PA Deals LLC to S. Orr, $81,000
S. Front St., 623: D. Sullivan et al to G. Schwab, $117,500
State St., 231, Unit 401: LUX 1 LP to S. Sehar, $164,900
Susquehanna St., 1724: Fannie Mae to B. & E. Burchfield, $35,000
Swatara St., 2101: T. Sweet to R. Gonzalez, $55,000
Swatara St., 2224: H. Romanovicz & W. Shade to L. Ho, $105,000
Wyeth St., 1412: J. Cruz to PA Deals LLC, $82,000
