Market Board Elects Joshua Kesler, Millworks Developer, as New President

July 13, 2015 | by Paul Barker

The Broad Street Market.

The Broad Street Market board of directors has elected Joshua Kesler, a local developer who most recently opened the Millworks farm-to-table restaurant in Midtown, as its new president, the market manager said Monday.

Kesler, 39, took over at the beginning of this month for Jonathan Bowser, who announced his resignation in May. Kesler was elected at the board’s June meeting and agreed to succeed Bowser for a two-year term, said interim market manager Ashlee Dugan.

The announcement comes on the heels of the release last week of a 13-page report by the Broad Street Market task force, which was appointed in early 2014 by Mayor Eric Papenfuse to examine the market’s operations.

Among other things, the report urged the market to shed its current management structure, which involves a private corporation owned by the non-profit Historic Harrisburg Association, in favor of a single, independent non-profit that might be better positioned to solicit grants and donations.

A market press release cited this recommendation Monday, saying that Kesler planned to oversee the transition to non-profit status during his term.

Kesler, who once described himself for a story in this magazine as a “serial risk-taker,” has been active in a number of Harrisburg ventures in recent years.

He was a founding partner of Savannah’s on Hanna, a club off South Cameron Street that opened in 2009, but is no longer involved. Earlier this year, he completed the renovation of the Millworks building next door to the market into a farm-to-table restaurant adjoined by a suite of artists’ studios.

He was also a co-founder, along with Dugan and Julia James, of the Broad Street Market Alliance, which called for the market to revise its structure and improve its offerings in the fall of 2013.

James and Kesler are now two of seven members on the market board, which is looking to fill two vacancies, Dugan said. In addition to Bowser, board member Bret Kiesling gave up his seat at the start of July.

TheBurg Podcast, July 10, 2015

July 10, 2015 | by Admin

Welcome to TheBurg Podcast, a weekly roundup of news in and around Harrisburg.

July 10, 2015: This week, Larry and Paul talk about a task force report on the Broad Street Market, some new regulations on mobile food vendors, the latest tools in the city’s fight against blight and a new chief recovery officer for the Harrisburg School District.

Special thanks to Paul Cooley, who wrote our theme music. Check out his podcast, the PRC Show, on SoundCloud or in the iTunes store.

TheBurg Podcast can be downloaded by clicking on the date above or by visiting the iTunes store. You can also access the podcast via its host page.

Task Force Releases Report on Broad Street Market

July 8, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

The interior of the brick building at the historic Broad Street Market in Harrisburg.

The Broad Street Market Task Force last night released a long-anticipated report on how to improve the condition, the management and the overall operations of the historic Midtown market.

Reading from the task force report, Chairwoman Jackie Parker told Harrisburg City Council that the market’s two buildings are in decent condition, but that they will require “large capital investments” over the next decade. In particular, gutters, downspouts, ventilation systems, fire suppression systems, plumbing and electrical systems are “functional yet antiquated,” she said.

More immediately, the report strongly recommended changing the market’s management structure.

Currently, the Broad Street Market Corp. operates the market, with the Historic Harrisburg Association as its sole shareholder. The task force advised separating from HHA and transitioning to a new nonprofit entity, which could better pursue grants and other funding.

“It would be a newly established nonprofit that is dedicated to full-time fundraising for the market,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who announced the 10-member task force early last year as one of his first acts as mayor.

The transition to a nonprofit could take the better part of two years, said Parker, who also is director of the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development.

Under the new structure, the market’s two buildings would remain owned by the city, but ongoing repair and maintenance would shift to the nonprofit, which would be overseen by a board of directors composed of market stakeholders and volunteers from the community.

The report also praised the market’s “current management,” including market Manager Ashlee Dugan for “adequately recruiting new vendors, retaining current vendors in good standing and maintaining the facilities.”

Parker said that vendor capacity in the circa-1878 brick building was at 90 percent with the addition of several new prepared food businesses in recent months, including Elementary Coffee Co., Soul Burrito and the just-opened Evanilla doughnut stand.

Infrastructure problems have made vendor recruitment more difficult in the old stone building, according to the report, which calculated occupancy there at 40 percent. Market manager Ashlee Dugan, however, later said that figure was incorrect and that eight out of 12 stalls were currently filled.

The task force report, however, also had its detractors, who aired their concerns during the public portion of the council meeting.

Sylvia Rigal, a task force member, said she had been asked to attend in support of the report but instead came to tell council she was “appalled” by its conclusions. She said she was surprised to see the report presented now, since it was her impression the task force had been disbanded months ago.

“I’m a lifelong resident, and the market is dear to my heart,” she said, warning council members to “be careful” implementing any recommendations.

Parker said that, indeed, the task force had been disbanded, but the report was being discussed publicly now because it took while to get on the council’s meeting agenda.

Mary Hess, a former market vendor, said she was dismayed to learn the report’s recommended changes would preserve the corporate board currently managing the market, albeit in a new, nonprofit form.

“This constant recycling of these two entities has poisoned the market,” she said, referring to the market board and HHA. “Thank you to the task force, but you’ve reached the wrong conclusion.”

After the meeting, Papenfuse said that the nonprofit, after separating from HHA, would have new membership from the current market board.

The task force report recommended a number of other improvements to the operations of the market, including free WiFi, greater recycling efforts, extended hours, a greater diversity of food options, a marketing budget for the market and better litter management.

The report also disclosed the results of a poll conducted last year during a public meeting at the market. In that poll, residents suggested that the market should focus on food items, on extended hours and on serving the needs of people throughout the greater Harrisburg area.

This story has been updated with information from the Broad Street Market manager about correct occupancy figures in the stone building.

State Names New Recovery Officer for Harrisburg Schools

July 6, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Cougar Academy, an online school within the Harrisburg school district that has been expanded under the state’s recovery plan.

The Pennsylvania education secretary today appointed Dr. Audrey Utley, a Middletown native and a former acting Harrisburg superintendent, to oversee the Harrisburg school district’s state recovery plan.

Utley replaces Gene Veno, a Harrisburg-based consultant and lobbyist and the district’s first recovery officer, who announced his resignation in May.

Utley, who the education department said has worked in schools for more than 40 years, taught elementary school in the Steelton-Highspire school district and went on to serve as a superintendent in both Middletown and Steelton-Highspire.

She led the education transition team of former Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson after Thompson’s election in 2009, the Patriot-News reported.

Utley later served briefly as Harrisburg’s acting superintendent in 2010, in the midst of a power struggle between the city’s elected school board and a mayor-appointed board of control whose authority was set to expire that year.

“In addition to Dr. Utley’s experience as a superintendent, she also comes to this position with firsthand knowledge of the unique issues that fiscally distressed school districts face due to her time working to improve other struggling schools,” state education secretary Pedro Rivera said in a prepared statement Monday.

He went on, “I have complete confidence that under Dr. Utley’s guidance, the Harrisburg School District will continue on the path toward financial stability, which will allow the district’s leadership team and educators to focus on the goal of ensuring every student graduates college- and career-ready.”

The state appointed Veno as the district’s first recovery officer in December 2012, after declaring the district fiscally distressed under a law passed earlier that year.

Veno’s recovery plan, approved by the state in May 2013, described a district in rapid decline, with test scores significantly below state and county averages and budget deficits that threatened to put it out of business within a few years.

The plan set new targets for academic performance, sought to expand Harrisburg’s in-house options for online education, and called for two years of pay cuts followed by a wage freeze, among other recommendations.

Many proposals were controversial, and though Veno’s plan is generally viewed as having stabilized district finances, Veno himself has faced no shortage of opposition, particularly from critics who believe he has done little to improve academics.

In early 2014, Mayor Eric Papenfuse asked the state to replace Veno following a meeting in which he allegedly told the mayor he believed his plan was unlikely to succeed, a claim Veno subsequently disputed.

By some measures school performance has worsened since the plan was enacted, with state test results last November showing Harrisburg schools had universally failed to meet the plan’s academic goals by substantial margins.

“It was time,” Veno said on May 8 in reference to his resignation earlier that day, noting that he was leaving the district in a “good financial position” from which it could focus on academic improvement.

TheBurg Podcast, July 3, 2015

July 3, 2015 | by Admin

Welcome to TheBurg Podcast, a weekly roundup of news in and around Harrisburg.

July 3, 2015: In this week’s rockets’-red-glare edition of the podcast, Larry and Paul talk about a bad budget forecast stemming from parking problems, a City Island vendor who hasn’t been paying his rent, and a firework-style scattering of updates about the grand jury investigation into Harrisburg finances and the city’s July 4 celebrations.

Special thanks to Paul Cooley, who wrote our theme music. Check out his podcast, the PRC Show, on SoundCloud or in the iTunes store.

TheBurg Podcast can be downloaded by clicking on the date above or by visiting the iTunes store. You can also access the podcast via its host page.

As Harrisburg Parking Fines Back Up, A Budget Falls Out of Balance

July 3, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Mayor Eric Papenfuse, holding scissors, at a ribbon-cutting for Pango mobile parking app last year. (File photo.)

Last January, as Harrisburg made its final budget tallies for 2014, Mayor Eric Papenfuse pointed proudly to a major achievement of his first year—a budget so tightly managed that the city, so recently on the brink of bankruptcy, had paid nearly all its bills and still had $5 million in the bank to spare.

He achieved the surplus by spending millions less than authorized in the budget, a feat he is on track to repeat this year, with the latest projections showing the city is on target to spend $57.5 million out of a budgeted $59.5 million.

The same projections, however, show that a balanced budget may elude him. The reason, as reported in a court filing this week by the state coordinator of the city’s recovery, can be summed up in one word: parking.

Revenue from parking is down by an estimated $1.4 million, wrote Fred Reddig, the city’s coordinator under the state program for distressed municipalities, in a July 1 report to the Commonwealth Court judge overseeing the recovery process.

In particular, revenue from tickets is down due to a backlog in the courts. As of early May, there were around 20,000 unpaid tickets outstanding, Reddig wrote. Each month produces about 1,400 new delinquent tickets, but in the same period the sole district justice appointed to process them can only move through 250.

The result has been a steep departure from projected revenues that has in turn cut off the flow of money to the city, which is entitled to receive certain payments from the parking system under a 40-year lease signed in late 2013.

Over the year, the city is supposed to receive $2.5 million in these so-called “waterfall” payments, but it has so far only received a few hundred thousand dollars. In short, the parking revenues are “way, way, way off,” Papenfuse said.

And the consequence for city finances is that Harrisburg is now poised to end the year with a deficit of around $1 million, despite the continued penny-pinching.

“The budget is over-performing in all other areas, in terms of controlling expenses,” Papenfuse said. “The deficit is entirely due to shortfalls in parking.”

A remaining question is the cause of the ticket backlog, a point over which the mayor’s office and the state coordinator sharply diverge.

Reddig, in his report, pins the slowdown partly on the city’s own failure to pass a required parking ordinance in 2014, the year to which three-fourths of the backlogged tickets can be attributed.

Papenfuse dismisses this explanation, however, saying the ordinances have nothing to do with this year’s projected revenues. Instead, he points to the inadequate court processing and says he would like more help from the state.

“The city is doing everything in its power,” he said.

Nonetheless, both the mayor and the coordinator agree that the city is still on the track towards recovery. The city is current on its debt payments, Reddig wrote, and “would be able to weather an operating deficit of $1 million this year.”

Aside from the decline in parking revenues, “we’re feeling pretty good,” Papenfuse said. And the city should eventually get the money it’s owed. The question is when.

Probe Into Harrisburg Finances Extended

July 2, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Investigators removing artifacts from the Midtown home of former Mayor Stephen Reed in early June. (File photo.)

A statewide grand jury probe into Harrisburg’s debt crisis has been extended another six months to late January 2016, a court administrator confirmed this week.

James Koval, of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, said the state Supreme Court approved the extension on May 26, after a majority of the jurors voted to request the additional time.

The grand jury has been meeting in Pittsburgh under supervising Judge Norman A. Krumenaker III of Cambria County, with an 18-month term originally set to expire in late July. The extension means it will now last up to 24 months, the maximum length allowable for grand juries, Koval said.

The grand jury is reportedly probing the financial crisis that bloomed under former Mayor Stephen Reed, focusing particularly on a set of risky borrowings related to the city incinerator but including other areas of governance during his 28-year reign.

The extension was previously reported by WITF news.

Grand juries are protected by secrecy rules, but there have been occasional hints about the probe’s scope and progress.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane, whose office is spearheading the probe, said during a Senate committee hearing in March that she hoped it was nearing a conclusion but that “no stone will be left unturned.”

Mayor Eric Papenfuse acknowledged testifying before the jury in 2014, but he said Tuesday he is now under a judicial gag order and cannot comment on his testimony.

Bill Cluck, a board member of what was formerly the Harrisburg Authority, which borrowed to retrofit the incinerator in 2003 and 2007, has also said he testified.

The Patriot-News published photographs in April of past city officials arriving in Pittsburgh, either to testify or to meet with prosecutors.

Among those identified were former city controller James McCarthy, Daniel Lispi, a project manager of the incinerator retrofit, and Reed himself.

TheBurg also reported that month that records of a $33,000 reimbursement paid to Reed in 2003 for artifacts he ostensibly bought for city archives were among the materials presented to jurors.

Just last month, investigators raided Reed’s Midtown home, carrying out boxes and various Western-style artifacts, including saddles, barrels and a stuffed coyote.

Reed later told reporters that everything removed was his personal property.

Mayor, PennDOT: No Meeting on Front Street Trees

July 1, 2015 | by Paul Barker

One of four trees slated for removal. A freshly installed pedestrian ramp is visible in the background.

Four trees in the way of planned pedestrian ramps on Front Street are not as old as previously thought and should come down without further public discussion, city officials said this week.

The trees, located in Riverfront Park at the intersections with Radnor and Emerald streets, are slated for removal as part of a PennDOT resurfacing project currently underway between Forster and Division.

A state historic preservation office urged the city and PennDOT last week to hold a public meeting to discuss the removal, noting the trees were in a historic district and possibly planted as part of the early-20^th-century City Beautiful movement.

Doug McLearen, of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, wrote on June 23 that his office “strongly suggests that PennDOT solicit and consider stakeholder comments and provide an open public meeting to discuss the project and its potential to affect historic resources.”

TheBurg previously reported that three of the trees were likely American elms dating to 1919, while a fourth was a Chinese elm or maple from the post-Depression era, relying on information from PennDOT project findings.

But Erik Josephson, who was hired this year as the city’s arborist, said at least three of the trees were actually Zelkovas planted between 40 and 50 years ago to replace elms that were likely wiped out by Dutch elm disease in the 1960s.

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said Tuesday that in lieu of a meeting about the removal, the city would be holding a public meeting Aug. 24 to solicit input on a multi-year replanting plan.

“PennDOT has indicated to the city that there will be no public meeting before the trees are taken down,” Papenfuse wrote in a message. “The city agrees that a better use of time and energies would be to create a positive, community-supported tree replanting plan for Front Street and Riverfront Park.”

Greg Penny, a spokesman for PennDOT District 8, confirmed Wednesday there would be no public meeting and that his agency planned to go forward with removal, which he said was not only necessary for the installation of wheelchair-accessible ramps but also to improve sight lines for people crossing the street.

Penny also said the pink “X” marks visible on some trees along the road had not been painted by PennDOT, but rather appeared to be a “stunt of some sort.” “It’s just an assumption on my part, but I think it was done to cause some alarm,” he said.

Jean Cutler, a former historic preservationist at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and one of a group of citizens concerned about the tree removal, petitioned PennDOT again on Wednesday to hold a meeting.

“Their loss will mean a great change to the sense of place they help to create along Front Street,” Cutler wrote of the trees. “Harrisburg has lost many of its important resources over the last number of years and healthy trees should not be among them.”

TheBurg Furry Friend

June 30, 2015 | by Burg Editor

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This petite pup with a pretty pink nose couldn’t be any cuter. She loves people and has mastered the art of being a lap dog. One of Maddie’s favorite past-times is simply relaxing, except when she can chew on her rawhide bone or chase her big red ball. For reasons no one can understand, Maddie has been waiting for a very long time to find her forever home. She’s faced some tough times in life, but she never loses that smile…and that’s the best accessory of all!

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Photo of Maddie is by CarisaK Photography (https://www.carisak.com)

Condensed Luxury: Increasingly, high-end living comes in smaller packages.

June 30, 2015 | by Rebecca Hanlon

It’s been said that, when it comes to urban trends, Harrisburg is often a decade-plus behind larger cities.

Therefore, it may be no surprise that a style of living already rooted in such places as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., is only now migrating in. More and more, younger people and downsizing retirees are shunning large, mediocre space for well-appointed, well-located apartments that clock in at less than 750 square feet, say local real estate professionals.

“This is driven in large part by millennial preferences,” said David Butcher, president of developer WCI Partners. “In short, small but very nice is much preferred over large but ‘just OK.’”

A prime example is WCI’s Walnut Court Apartments, which has just been completed at the corner of Walnut and Court streets in a building that long housed the Keefer, Wood, Allen & Rahal law firm. Most of the 21 apartments are snug, one-bedroom units, but have high-end finishes and an industrial feel, which, according to Butcher, is popular among younger professionals.

“The market seems to be willing to exchange square footage for high-quality space—and will even pay a premium for it,” he said.

Demand for Convenience

Harrisburg’s flirtation with small-footprint luxury began about five years ago, when the old Boas Elementary School at the corner of Green and Forster streets was re-made into a boutique, executive-style apartment building. Brickbox Enterprises and Greenworks Development then reconstructed the dilapidated Furlow Building, which was rechristened the COBA, featuring units with a modern, clean design, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Brickbox followed that project by tackling the conversion of one of Harrisburg’s premier historic buildings, the former Masonic Temple at N. 3^rd and State streets. Today, that building, known as The LUX, features 42 condo units ranging from 545 to 820 square feet, said Pete Weigher, president of TeamPete Realty Services, which manages the building.

At an average sales price of $150,000, the condos tie in granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, as well as luxury cabinetry and flooring. A rooftop patio, community lounge and fitness center also make it appealing for buyers who want a low-maintenance, urban lifestyle, Weigher said.

The short walking distance to downtown restaurants, the riverfront and businesses has been a huge selling point, he added.

“The demand for convenience has gotten higher,” Weigher said. “In this case, you have the architecture of something built in 1909 but with complete renovations. Everything from the plumbing, framing, heating and electric is new, but you’re still within that historical structure. It’s something affordable in a niche market.”

Small Looks Big

WCI stuck its toe into the higher-end, multi-family market with the redevelopment of two apartments above Little Amps Coffee Roasters at the corner of N. 2^nd and State streets. After the units rented quickly, the company bought and renovated Locust Street Apartments, which filled up after just two months, said Lori Fortini, operations manager.

Those one-bedroom apartments average just 650 square feet, but are decked out with high-end finishes, such as quartz countertops, tiled showers with frameless doors and bowl sinks. They also come with central air, a garbage disposal and a washer/dryer—necessities for most urban professionals, Fortini said.

And now that Walnut Court is done, WCI is undertaking its most ambitious project to date, building upon the trend for small-sized luxury. It recently received approval from the city’s Zoning Hearing Board to convert the former Moose Lodge/Ron Brown Charter School in Midtown into 33 one-bedroom apartments that will average 500 square feet each.

Kristine Werley, owner of Urban Interiors, is a design consultant for WCI Partners and has helped attract the clientele who walk into the small living spaces.

Having worked in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Werley is excited to see something that feels like the big city finally coming to Harrisburg. To help the spaces not feel so small, she is drawn to open concept design, in which rooms flow from one to another without the obstruction of walls to divide the spaces. A large kitchen island and bar stools allow residents to cook, entertain and watch TV all in the same area.

Werley said she tries to use neutral colors so that the eye isn’t distracted in a space. The same style floor through various rooms also makes it flow together, she said. In addition, she blends old with the new, such as exposed brick and modern finishes, as a sort of signature for the apartments.

Werley said she sees the development of luxurious, small spaces as necessary to help recruit and retain young professionals.

“Harrisburg has been trying for so long to attract people,” she said. “If you get the right job here but not the place to live, you’re not getting that full, young professional feeling. We’ve found a way to give people a great apartment for that work-life balance, and they don’t have to pay the prices of a big city.”

As plans for the Moose Lodge project take shape, Fortini sees the perks of smaller apartments across the board.

“The biggest benefit for the city as a whole is going to be for the downtown businesses,” she said. “We’re bringing in people who are in the middle-income to higher wage bracket, making it a win for the city itself as an increase to the tax base.”

While forgotten structures finally get the attention they deserve, and life returns to parts of the city that long have been dormant, Harrisburg seems to be waking up to what younger people are after.

When people can really live in a city—work, sleep and play there—“that’s when exciting things can happen,” Fortini said. “That’s what Harrisburg is ready to offer.”

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, TheBurg’s publisher, is a principal with WCI Partners.

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