Tag Archives: Harrisburg City Council

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

July 12, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg City Council on Tuesday

The recent torrid pace of local news slowed down a bit this past week, but there still was plenty to write about. If you missed some of our coverage, you can find a summary right here.

AutoZone’s proposed store cleared the Harrisburg Planning Commission this week as its development plan was approved, though not exactly to the company’s liking. The matter now will head to City Council. Click here for the details.

Central PA Jazz Festival takes place this weekend, with performances and special events throughout the region. Discover the details here.

En Plein Air Lancaster takes to the city’s streets this weekend, so that visitors can watch artists paint outdoors and spend time in the city’s thriving gallery district. Click here for the details.

Harrisburg introduced its annual ordinances for the disbursal of federal housing funds. However, the city is changing its system of awarding funding significantly. Click here for the details.

Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority bought back 58 lots in the MarketPlace Townhome community from would-be developer S&A Homes. In 2005, the authority gave S&A 71 lots for $1 piece, but the company had developed only 13 of them. Click here for all the details.

Mecum Auto Auctions will return to the PA Farm Show complex in a few weeks, with thousands of cars and automobile-related items for sale. Find out what’s new at this year’s auction.

Novelist Catherine Chung will visit Midtown Scholar Bookstore on Friday to read from her sophomore work, “The Tenth Muse,” and sign books. Find out the details about her book and visit.

PennyFix is a movement among area animal-lovers to convince pet food manufacturers to tack on a penny to every can sold, a plan that would help solve the pet over-population problem. Read our feature story here.

Puppies may not be the best choice for a new family pet, as shelters overflow with adult dog rescues. But, if your heart is set on a puppy, you must take care to avoid the many pitfalls. Click here for our feature story.

Sara Bozich may be on vacation, but she’s left us with her weekly rundown of events around the Harrisburg area for this weekend. You’ll never be bored with this long list of things to do.

Small business in Harrisburg continues to thrive. In the current issue, we catch up with several food businesses that recently have expanded or made significant changes. Click here for our story.

“Stogies & Stories” is our feature about five old guys, one radio show and a thousand stories, some of which may be true. Read our story here.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

AutoZone project creeps forward, despite continuing disputes over design, traffic

July 11, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

The proposed AutoZone site at 645 Maclay St. in Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg Planning Commission last night approved the land development plan for an Uptown auto parts store, despite a continuing disagreement over the design of the project.

By a 3-1 vote, the commission gave its OK to an AutoZone store on long-vacant land at the corner of Maclay and N. 7^th streets, but the approval requires the company to tweak its design to address several city concerns.

Commission members agreed with the city’s planning bureau that AutoZone needed to make modifications to its plan—namely, reorienting the 6,816-square-foot building to bring it closer to Maclay Street and eliminating access from busy N. 7^th Street.

“Having a building set back with a parking lot with two different ways in and out for cars, and creating more issues for people walking on the sidewalk, it’s just not a plan I can really agree with,” said commissioner Zac Monnier. “It’s not the right plan for the city.”

City officials have long complained that the proposed AutoZone design was too generic and better suited for a suburban strip mall, not a city block. They have especially disliked that AutoZone’s original proposal set the store back from Maclay Street, with parking in the front.

“I don’t want to have people coming into the city greeted by a parking lot and a set-back building, just like you see in the surrounding suburbs,” Monnier said.

David Tshudy of Pepper Hamilton, the law firm representing AutoZone, repeatedly pushed back on the requested changes to the company’s design, saying that city planners have no role in design decisions based on Harrisburg’s current land use ordinances.

“There’s nothing in the ordinance that requires the building to be situated any differently than what is shown on the plan,” Tshudy said. “The building is best where it is shown on the plan.”

The two sides also had a heated disagreement about AutoZone’s desire for a driveway to the site from N. 7^th Street.

In April, the two sides held a meeting to iron out their differences. Tshudy said that he left that meeting believing they had agreed to retain the access point, but only for right turns in and out. City officials disagreed.

“At no time did we indicate that this was a design that the planning bureau would support or thought was a good design for this particular site,” said Geoffrey Knight, director of the city’s planning department.

Tshudy said that an AutoZone traffic study confirmed the safety of the design for vehicles and pedestrians, but city Engineer Wayne Martin criticized the traffic impact study as insufficient.

Martin said that the study only analyzed a small area, while the city required a broader impact study of a half-mile radius around the site. He also said that AutoZone purposely selected an intersection for the study that was known to have few problems, while the nearby intersection of Maclay and N. 6^th Street has high rate of accidents—26 crashes and 29 injuries from 2013 to 2017.

“So, not only did they ignore safety, they intentionally ignored safety,” Martin said. “What they’re trying to do is shove a dangerous design down our throats without even considering the safety of our neighborhoods.”

Once more, Tshudy insisted the AutoZone followed all the city’s ordinances and would be reluctant to make any changes because, he said, they’re not mandated to do so by law.

“Again, there is nothing in the ordinance that would prohibit the 7^th Street access,” he said. “In fact, the 7^th Street access was originally designed to be a full-service access. A traffic study supported that that would be safe, a traffic study prepared on behalf of AutoZone. In order to extend an olive branch, we offered to have right-in, right-out only.”

In the end, the planning commission voted to approve the land development plan with the city-mandated changes, with Monnier dissenting.

Before it can break ground, AutoZone now needs City Council to approve its land development plan, assuming that the company decides to press forward considering the approved plan’s inclusion of conditions it doesn’t like.

“This is a difficult project,” Tshudy said, following the vote. “We clearly understand your concerns, and we’ll try to work as best we can with the city staff to address the concerns that are embodied in the conditions.”

Harrisburg proposes changing procedures, timeframe for disbursing federal housing funds

July 9, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Franchon Dickinson, Harrisburg’s director of building and housing, speaks to City Council on Tuesday night.

Harrisburg plans to shake up the yearly process of doling out federal housing dollars under its “Annual Action Plan” unveiled on Tuesday night.

Franchon Dickinson, director of the city’s Department of Building and Housing, told City Council that the administration wants to tighten requirements for Harrisburg-based social service agencies seeking funding under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

“If we want to effectuate change, we’re going to need to change the way we do business,” she said.

In recent years, council has doled out relatively small amounts of CDBG money to a dozen or so specific service agencies. HUD, however, recently has questioned the way Harrisburg has distributed some of those funds, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Therefore, the city needs to make certain it strictly follows HUD guidelines, he said.

Specifically, agencies must show that a service is new or must demonstrate a “quantifiable increase in the level of service in the last 12 months,” said Dickinson. In addition, she said that HUD prefers to fund “senior enrichment programs or special needs populations.”

Moreover, the administration wants to change the funding structure for CDBG, which, this year, will total nearly $1.94 million, down a bit from last year’s pot of $2 million.

Under the current proposal, just $100,000 will be set aside for social service programming, down from about $240,000 last year. However, for facilities projects, agencies will be able to apply for money from a second bucket, one reserved for “public improvement/public facilities,” which totals $407,261, Dickinson said.

Papenfuse said that HUD didn’t like that, in the past, Harrisburg permitted facility improvements with money meant for “public service activities,” funds that were supposed be reserved for programming and other service activities.

The application process also is changing.

This year, the city will not determine recipients before submitting its action plan to HUD in mid-August. Specific recipients will be determined later through a request for proposals (RFP) process, which will be issued in late August, and applications will be scored to make sure they meet HUD guidelines, Papenfuse said.

“It’s a change in procedure, but it’s a good one,” he said. “It makes sure that every dollar we spend will be spent wisely.”

Other proposed CDBG allotments include:

$593,423 for debt service, as the city continues to pay down a federal loan it guaranteed under former Mayor Steve Reed for the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project
$387,670 for grant administration
$250,000 for homeowner rehabilitation
$200,000 for emergency demolition

In addition to the CDBG ordinance, council tonight introduced ordinances for the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant Program for $166,243, which mostly goes to the Capital Area Coalition on Homelessness to fund emergency shelter and rehousing, and another for HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program for $432,187, which funds affordable housing solutions.

Now that council has introduced its ordinances, the public has 30 days to comment before council takes a final vote on them on Aug. 13. In addition, a public meeting will be held on July 31 at 6 p.m. at Hamilton Health Center.

Only one current CDBG recipient attended Tuesday’s meeting—Les Ford, executive director of the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center.

Following the meeting, Ford said he was unsure what to make of the proposed changes to the program. He said he was concerned that the funds allotted for “public service programs” had been cut from $240,000 to $100,000 under the administration’s proposal, leaving little for the city’s many service providers to split.

“I don’t even know if it’s worth applying for,” he said. “I need to get more information tomorrow. At this point, my head is spinning.”

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

July 5, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels with Dr. John George of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit

It may have been a holiday-shortened week, but it was still long on news around Harrisburg. Here are some local stories and features that you may have missed amidst the barbecues and big booms.

Harrisburg City Council members expected a long summer break, but now they’ll need to return to city hall next week because of delays in the annual process of doling out federal housing grant money. What’s the holdup? Click here to find out.

Harrisburg’s affordable housing crunch is a problem that won’t be fixed overnight. However, our editor has some thoughts on what may help.

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels introduced Dr. John George, who will head up her recovery team for the next three years. Oh, and a bunch of computers and essential data have gone missing. Click here for all the details.

Independence Day fireworks went off with a bang, despite the threat of rain. Read our feature story on the best place to witness them in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Department of Education consultants completed their financial audit of the Harrisburg school district, issuing a damning report that prompted responses both from the school receiver and from our editor.

Sara Bozich looked beyond the July 4 holiday to offer up some great ideas for going out and having fun for the entire long(ish) weekend.

TheBurg’s music columnist has fests and folkies in focus this month. Check out all her recommendations for July.

Two-way 2^nd Street is a step closer to reality, as Harrisburg plans to offer two design plans at a public meeting on July 18. Click here for the details.

“Where I Live,” a book by Harrisburg writer and educator Debra Hervitz, teaches local children exactly where they stand in the state, the country, the universe.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

Harrisburg must act quickly on HUD funding; council puts hiatus on hold

July 2, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg City Council on Tuesday night

Harrisburg City Council had a fine plan on Tuesday night to tie up some loose ends and then clock out for seven weeks for summer recess.

It didn’t work out that way.

Instead, council members will need to return to work at least twice over their summer break or risk losing millions of dollars in federal housing money that funds everything from low-income home repairs to at-risk youth programs to paying off a federal loan.

The city blamed the change of plan on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which issued its notice of funding to Harrisburg on June 10, several months later than usual.

The late notice gives the city just two months to scramble to work with a new technical consultant, determine allocations, hold a public hearing, have a month-long public comment period and finalize its ordinances, all before a mid-August deadline.

“We are under a crunch that is substantial,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

The city now must prepare three ordinances by Friday, including one for the popular Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

The city uses this grant, which, in recent years has totaled about $2 million, for city-run housing rehabilitation projects, to help support social service groups and, in recent years, to help pay off the outstanding federal debt associated with the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project.

The Friday deadline is necessary so that the city has enough time to properly advertise the meeting for Tuesday evening, when both the action plan will be introduced and a mandated public hearing will be held.

A 30-day comment period will follow, leaving council with just days to meet again on Aug. 6, pass a final ordinance and send it to HUD to make the federal agency’s deadline.

“It’s an all-hands on deck situation,” said city Solicitor Neil Grover.

Papenfuse is holding out some hope that HUD may extend the deadline, but said that the city can’t count on that.

“We’d be asking you to come back twice during your recess,” he told council. “If the federal government would extend the deadline, then you wouldn’t have to come back in August.”

Tuesday’s lengthy, three-hour meeting was marked by periods of bickering between the administration and some council members, especially over the process for re-appointing finance director Bruce Weber to his position.

Council members objected that they needed to act immediately on Weber’s appointment, as his 120-day period serving as “acting” director, following an administrative restructuring, was expiring. After heated exchanges between Papenfuse and several council members, the appointment was approved by a 6-1 vote.

However, in the case of the CDBG funds, both the administration and City Council were on the same page, agreeing that HUD deserved the blame.

“A lot of this is coming down from the federal government,” said Councilman Westburn Majors. “We are acting as expeditiously as possible on this HUD CDBG funding.”

The Week that Was: A summary of news and features around Harrisburg

June 28, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district Receiver Janet Samuels speaks to the press.

The weekend is upon us once again, but it can’t start until we sum up another heavy workweek of news around Harrisburg.

“Art of the State” opened at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, giving our art reviewer a chance to check out the annual juried exhibit dedicated to PA artists. Also, find out who won the awards.

Bethesda Mission received Harrisburg City Council approval for its proposal to demolish the historic Shamrock Fire Station and build a new addition to its community center on Herr Street. Click here for the details.

Capital Region Water unveiled its plan to begin imposing a stormwater fee for system upgrades and greening initiatives. CRW officials stressed its necessity, but not everyone was happy about it. For all the details, click here and here.

D&H Distributing is making a major commitment to help out our region’s children. Find out what this company, one of our area’s largest yet little known, is up to. Click here for the details.

Harrisburg swore in nine new police officers and gave commendations for bravery to both officers and civilians. Separately, a city hall ceremony honored Capt. Gabriel Olivera, a long-time officer who is retiring from the force.

Harrisburg School District again offered a bounty of news, as the district’s new court-appointed receiver cleaned house of the old administration, including the embattled superintendent, and announced that she would bring in a new team. Our editor added his own commentary.

Harrisburg University has attracted students from all over the world to attend its annual AI Bootcamp. Click here for the details.

July 4 Food Truck Festival and Fireworks will return for another year on Thursday. We have all the patriotic details from the mayor’s announcement.

Keyzus was our featured musician for the week as we wrapped up our series in honor of African American Music Appreciation Month.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman opened the pool at his Fort Indiantown Gap mansion to groups and organizations, and Harrisburg schoolchildren were the first ones to make use of it.

Rockhill Trolley Museum is a nice day trip to view (and ride in) historic trolleys from around central PA, says our writer.

Rock climbing has become a popular sport in recent years, and there are numerous walls to scale around the Harrisburg area. Click here to read our feature story.

Sara Bozich punches your ticket for a fun weekend with her weekly roundup of things to do around the Harrisburg area.

TheBurg distributed our July issue to more than 500 locations in seven counties around central PA and posted all the content to our website. This month, we have a focus on pets, in addition to our usual wealth of community news and features.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Harrisburg a $300,000 grant to help clean up old, polluted industrial sites known as brownfields. Click here for the details.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

June News Digest

June 28, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

June 2019 News Digest

Receiver Named for Harrisburg Schools

A Dauphin County judge last month appointed Dr. Janet Samuels as receiver for the Harrisburg school district, giving her broad authority to run the district for the next three years.

Judge William Tully issued an order that Samuels serve as receiver, a three-year appointment requested by the state Department of Education. Samuels has served as the district’s state-appointed chief recovery officer since last year.

In his “Memorandum Opinion,” Judge Tully outlined how the district has failed to meet the academic objectives outlined in the 2013 recovery plan and the 2016 amended plan, thus necessitating the receivership. The district fell far short on a number of measures, including graduation rates and standardized test scores, the opinion states.

The opinion further faulted the school board for “failing to comply with the directives issued by the CRO.”

With her appointment, Samuels now is widely empowered to run the district, assuming the roles of both the CRO and the school board. The one power she explicitly lacks is the ability to levy and raise taxes, which remains with the elected school board.

The order came on the same day that the Harrisburg school district dropped its opposition to receivership. In a court hearing, district Solicitor James Ellison told Tully that the district would not fight receivership, even though he had issued a point-by-point refutation of the state’s case only days before.

Furthermore, Ellison said that the district administration would fully cooperate with the receiver, who is assuming much of the authority of Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and the elected school board.

I-83 Study Approved

A split Harrisburg City Council last month approved hiring an outside consultant to study the proposed expansion of I-83, with an eye towards possibly slimming down the project.

Council voted 5-2 to spend $72,500 to hire Harrisburg-based Kittelson & Associates to conduct a traffic and community impact study of the current state proposal to double the number of lanes running through the city.

The study would review PennDOT’s widening plan, which envisions as many as 12 lanes and new interchanges, and determine whether alternatives exist to reduce the project’s footprint and the impact on the community.

Before the vote, Councilman Westburn Majors said that the city had received a letter from PennDOT stating that it would take into consideration Kittelson’s findings.

“It looks like they’re open to further analysis,” Majors said following the meeting. “They trust Kittelson to be a straight shooter with them.”

At a prior work session, several council members requested such a letter prior to the vote today.

The letter wasn’t enough to sway council President Wanda Williams, who maintained her opposition from a prior meeting. Before voting no, she reiterated that she believed that the expenditure was a waste—that it ultimately wouldn’t change PennDOT’s plans and that the money would be better used elsewhere.

“I don’t think that the city of Harrisburg should be committing $72,000 when I have potholes all up and down my streets and my pools haven’t opened yet,” she said.

The city plans to pay for the study from its large fund balance, Mayor Eric Papenfuse said previously.

Harrisburg, Steelton Enter Trash Agreement

Harrisburg will begin providing sanitation services to Steelton this month, as the city has agreed to begin trash collection in the neighboring borough.

Harrisburg City Council unanimously voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement so that the city will begin picking up Steelton’s residential trash and recyclables starting the week of July 1.

Steelton’s council approved the same agreement last month.

“This is a really exciting and positive development for the city of Harrisburg and the borough of Steelton,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

Borough Manager Doug Brown said that Steelton wanted to make the change because of residents’ dissatisfaction with the service provided by long-time hauler Republic Services, as well as a proposed price increase by the company.

“It was significantly more money,” Brown said. “That, plus the problematic service we were getting.”

Therefore, Steelton had the idea of approaching Harrisburg to see if the city had the interest and ability to take on its trash removal.

Harrisburg Public Works Director Aaron Johnson described the arrangement as “all positive.” Steelton trash is picked up on Wednesdays, the one day when Harrisburg has enough spare capacity to handle the borough’s 2,500 residential customers, Johnson said.

The agreement calls only for residential, not commercial, trash pickup, which is handled privately in Steelton.

Papenfuse said that Harrisburg does not expect to have to add any personnel or equipment to handle Steelton’s trash because Wednesday has been a slow day for the city’s sanitation workforce.

Under the agreement, Steelton households will pay Harrisburg $25 a month for pickup, or $300 per year. Residents now pay Republic $24.45 a month, but that price would have increased by $13 to $15 a month under the company’s renewal proposal, Brown said.

Papenfuse also emphasized the turnabout from several years ago, when, under the “Harrisburg Strong” financial recovery plan, the city almost privatized its trash pickup to Republic Services. City Council pushed back on the deal brokered by then-Mayor Linda Thompson, and sanitation remained a city-provided service.

Notably, the sanitation charge for Steelton residents will be less than that for Harrisburg residents, who receive a monthly sanitation bill of $32.34. The difference, Papenfuse told council, is due to the vastly different amounts that the two municipalities pay for refuse disposal at the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) facility in south Harrisburg.

Steelton pays a “tipping fee” of $85 per ton, while Harrisburg, due to the terms of its agreement with LCSWMA that helped resolve its financial crisis, pays $195 per ton.

The agreement reached between Harrisburg and Steelton is only a temporary measure that runs through Dec. 31. Both municipalities will need to hammer out a longer-term deal in the fall.

Council members said they were pleased with the agreement, both because it represented an efficient use of the city’s resources and because it offered a rare example of cooperation and shared services between local governments.

“It seems like a no brainer,” said Councilwoman Danielle Bowers. “I hope this is the first of many cooperation agreements between us and neighboring municipalities.”

Monument Podium Unveiled

A nonprofit group last month unveiled the first part of a monument slated to be erected near the state Capitol’s Irvis office building in June 2020.

The monument, titled “A Gathering at the Crossroads,” depicts four 19th-century figures from Harrisburg history gathered around a speaker’s podium—the part of the monument that has been completed.

Organizer Lenwood Sloan said that the monument is meant to serve a dual purpose: honor both the city’s long-lost “Old 8th Ward” behind the state Capitol and honor the 15th and 19th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed voting rights for African Americans and for women, respectively.

Sloan and others are now raising money to complete the monument, which will feature life-sized figures of civil rights activist William Howard Day, Harrisburg native, journalist and lawyer Thomas Morris Chester, musician and restaurateur Jacob T. Compton and abolitionist and suffragist Francis Ellen Walker Harper.

The podium is on display in Strawberry Square until Labor Day weekend.

Home Prices Continue Rise

Housing prices continued their long rise in the Harrisburg area in May, as sales slipped a bit from last year.

For the month, the median sales price in the three-county area jumped by 12.4 percent to $195,000, while the number of homes sold dipped by 3 percent to 644 units compared to May 2018, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

Dauphin County experienced strong price growth, with the median sales price jumping to $180,000 from $151,000 in the year-ago period, while units sold dropped slightly to 305 from 316, said GHAR.

In Cumberland County, the median price increased to $215,000 from $200,000, and the number of housing units sold dropped slightly to 303 from 313, stated GHAR. Perry County saw a drop in the median sales price, to $151,900 from $170,000 in May 2018, while sales increased by one to 36 units.

So Noted

Harrisburg City Council last month approved the appointment of David Baker as the city’s new director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities by a 5-2 vote. It also voted against the appointment of Franchon Beeks as the city’s new director of Housing and Development by a 4-3 vote.

Harrisburg University received the final city approval last month to build a 17-story, mixed-used building downtown at S. 3rd and Chestnut streets. Harrisburg City Council voted unanimously for the project, which includes an academic tower, a hotel and a restaurant. HU expects to break ground on the project in August, according to university President Eric Darr.

Momin Bhatti was named last month as the communications manager for Harrisburg. Bhatti was promoted after serving as director of WHBG 20, the city’s cable news station.

In Memoriam

Morton Spector, a long-time community leader in Harrisburg, died in late May at Homeland Center. Originally from Williamsport, Spector was a long an executive with D&H Distributing Co. before co-founding Design House Kitchens & Appliances. Spector was active in many area organizations, including Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg, Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg Council of the National Jewish Fund, Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation, the Jewish Community Center and the Homeland Center, among others. He received numerous awards and accolades throughout his life. Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following: The Alyce and Morton Spector Scholarship Fund, c/o Don Raiger, Director of Advancement Services, Lebanon Valley College, 101 N. College Ave., Annville, Pa., 17003; The Jewish Home, c/o Marianne Hobart, Comptroller, The Campus of the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg, 4000 Linglestown Rd., Harrisburg, Pa., 17112; and The Silver Academy c/o Samara Sofian, Director of Development, The Silver Academy, 3301 N. Front Street Harrisburg, Pa., 17110.

Changing Hands

Antoine St., 528: A. Williams to K. Loobey & M. Canoy, $86,000

Berryhill St., 2208: Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Trustee Specialized Loan Servicing LLC to W & J Associates LLC, $32,500

Bigelow Dr., 33: V. Rodall & K. Smith to M. Murphy & G. Neff, $40,100

Boas St., 228: R. Shokes Jr. to E. Miller, $218,000

Boas St., 429: R. King to B. & A. Malia, $185,000

Boas St., 1939: LSF9 Master Participation Trust to I. Hewston, $78,900

Chestnut St., 1928: N. Doan to TPH Asset Management LLC, $39,000

Chestnut St., 1936: N. Doan to State West LLC, $45,000

Chestnut St., 2025: Cama Sidra FBO Edward Mitrovich IRA to L. Profitt, $67,900

Croyden Rd., 2778: D. Blumenthal to G. & M. Romero, $64,000

Derry St., 1439: D & F Holdings LP to K & F Property Investments LLC, $30,000

Derry St., 1934 & 1936: T. & S. Miller to Newport Petroleum Inc., $425,000

Derry St., 2027: P. Taughinbaugh to E. Echevarria, $68,500

Derry St., 2424: J. & S. Boyle to H. Marca & F. Alvarez, $67,000

Derry St., 2528: D. Metellus & R. Costume to D. Logan, $86,000

Dunkle St., 554 & 556: Crist Holdings to D. Brooks, $48,000

Elder St., 780: Bartush Signs to D& F Hummel LP, $185,500

Girard St., 759: J. Robles & R. Cruz to J. Alexopoulos, $97,600

Green St., 1405: D. McLaughlin to A. Stouffer, $146,000

Green St., 1625: K. Biggi & M. Wall to BCRA Realty LLC, $120,000

Green St., 3113: B. Baker to M. Jarvis, $180,000

Green St., 3218: Paramount Home Solutions LLC to S. Roblyer, $150,000

Hillside Rd., 111: J. Hetzel to D. Dissingeer & J. Brown Jr., $86,100

Kensington St., 2315: PA Deals LLC to D. & K. Borelli, $69,900

Market St., 1510 & 1513: Unitarian Church of Harrisburg to Shalom Properties, $275,000

Market St., 2000: J. Goodfellow James LLC to D. Garcia, $124,000

Nagle St., 123: L. & C. Jerome to F. Rubinic, $163,900

North St., 255: Red Top Properties LLC to Trip Aces 255 LLC, $420,000

N. 2nd St., 215, 217 & 219: W. & G. Nichols to Drinq LLC, $1,033,050

N. 2nd St., 1435: A. Ciervo to AON LLC, $400,000

N. 2nd St., 1715: PA Deals LLC to 1715 N. 2nd Street LLC, $100,000

N. 3rd St., 1110: Bartlett, Traynor & London to 1110 HBG LLC, $5,000,000

N. 3rd St., 1713: C. Smith & K. Overly to J. Nuila, $155,000

N. 3rd St., 1834: A. Peart to T. Miller & L. Wood, $95,000

N. 3rd St., 1919 & 1929: R. & G. Bulatovic to North Third LLC, $260,000

N. 3rd St., 3132: D. Blumenthal to M. Dunbar, $67,000

N. 3rd St., 3134: G. & J. Trump to M. Cruz, $75,000

N. 4th St., 1717: G. & J. Hellmann to A. Craver, $165,000

N. 6th St., 1000: N&R Group LLC to Vice Capital LLC, $62,000

N. 6th St., 2126: J. & J. Kang to Nana S Food Service LLC, $101,556

N. 6th St., 2200: J. Frais to D & F Realty Holdings LP, $150,000

N. 7th St., 2964: J. Getman to D & F Holdings LP, $87,500

N. 15th St., 1304: M. & M. Walker to B. Shephard & N. Cook, $47,000

N. 15th St., 1307: I. Lahlou to B. Shephard & N. Cook, $45,000

N. 16th St., 1318: Federal National Mortgage Association to J. Alvarado, $35,000

N. 17th St., 27: Myers Homes LLC to R. Dunkle, R. Staff & D. Ward, $35,000

N. 17th St., 1120: T. Mundy to J. Baltimore, $30,500

N. 17th St., 1218: T. Backer to Z. Amador, $79,900

N. Front St., 1125: RMK Management Group LLC to D. Pedroza, $384,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 508: D. Markowitz to A. Breneman, $165,000

N. Front St., 2837, Unit 402: F. Clark to L. Fenton, $120,000

Penn St., 1315: J. & M. McAnulty to K. Cowden, $85,000

Penn St., 1608: D. Hooker & B. Lister to W. Gelgot & E. Schuchardt, $172,000

Penn St., 2220: B. Butler to Limitless Possibilities Inc., $30,000

Race St., 602: D. & S. White to C. Logue, $160,000

Reel St., 2722: Bigfoot Properties LLC to A. Britton, $37,000

Regina St., 1712: Dan A. Loos Trust & Carol Loos Trust to Ice Properties LLC, $41,500

Rolleston St., 1138: H. Cabrera to A. Hassan, $83,250

Rudy Rd., 2302: G. Brown to J. Chen, $167,000

South St., 225: T. & E. Eachus to C. & C. Clemans, $110,000

S. 12th St., 1407 & 1409: D. Seymore to Islamic Center Masjid Al Sabereen, $44,500

S. 12th St., 1523: N. Garwood to R. Rabuck & A. Mema, $48,000

S. 13th St., 340: Round Rock Investments LLC to McClellan Development Group LLC, $110,000

S. 13th St., 1488: S. Rose to J. Torres, $60,000

S. 20th St., 207: T. Poole to M. Drennon, $109,900

S. 21st St., 709: Seneca Leandro View LLC to J. Martin, $77,000

S. 21st St., 968: E. & E. Rose to Edwin L. Heim Co., $365,000

S. 25th St., 645: U S Bank NA Trustee to S W M Properties LLC, $58,500

S. 26th St., 615: 2013 Central PA Real Estate Fund LLC to K. & M. Blomerus, $112,900

S. River St., 304: Pear Tree Liv Revocable Trust & D. Ogden to M. Della & I. Smith, $52,500

Schuylkill St., 331: L. Diaz to Scarn LLC, $85,000

State St., 130: L. Milspaw Jr. & M. Beshore to 130 State St. LLC, $185,000

Susquehanna St., 1626: R. & S. Stark to H. Belmont III, $133,950

Susquehanna St., 2006: C. Frater to PD Estate Properties LLC, $30,000

Swatara St., 1516: J. Finney to G. Brown, $54,900

Verbeke St., 315: S. McDermott to S. Goel, $150,000

Washington St., 109: NP 1 Ventures LLC to M. Della & I. Smith, $90,000

Whitehall St., 1815: D. Trexler to 37 Estate LLC, $65,000

Zarker St., 1415: Centric Bank to TPH Asset Management LLC, $30,000

Harrisburg property sales for May 2019, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Bethesda Mission gets OK for phase 2 of new community center

June 25, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg City Council in session on Tuesday night

Bethesda Mission has received the go-ahead to expand its community center on Herr Street, a plan that includes the demolition of the historic Shamrock Fire Station.

Harrisburg City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved the project’s final land development plan, which allows the social service organization to demolish the 111-year-old fire station on the 1400-block of Herr Street and build a two-story structure in its place.

“The problem with the fire station is that it was built as a fire station,” said Bethesda Mission Executive Director Scott Dunwoody. “It’s not a well-functioning building at all for our needs.”

Originally, Bethesda Mission had planned to retain and renovate the fire station, where it has operated its teen center since 1990, as part of its expansion plan. It was going to connect to the building next door, the former Kurzenkabe Press facility, where Bethesda Mission is finishing up a $1.6 million renovation.

However, the organization later found that that plan would cost about $700,000 more—and would result in 700 square feet less space—than tearing down the fire station and building a new, two-story addition, which still is expected to cost $1.4 to $1.7 million.

Therefore, it changed its plan, requiring a new approval from the city Planning Commission and City Council.

Initially, the plan to demolish the fire station was opposed by the city’s Fire Bureau. However, Bethesda Mission adjusted its plan so that the addition would mimic the old station in design and materials used, said the city’s Planning Director Geoffrey Knight.

“They created a new design, a façade for Herr Street,” Knight said. “It will be a new construction but will largely reflect the design of the fire station and use materials similar to the fire station.”

Bethesda Mission also agreed to construct a pocket park and include a commemorative marker to honor a Shamrock firefighter who died after battling a fire at the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending plant in 1918.

Dunwoody said that the fire station would not be razed until the project begins. He hopes to complete fundraising by the end of 2019 and begin construction in 2020.

Together, the two buildings will total nearly 20,000 square feet–9,000 square feet from the press building renovation and 10,400 square feet from the new, two-story building.

“We’ve already been in North Allison Hill for 30 years,” Dunwoody said. “We believe this will allow us to serve there for another 30 to 50 years.”

The Week that Was: A summary of news and features around Harrisburg.

June 21, 2019 | by TheBurg Staff

Harrisburg school Director Carrie Fowler spoke to the press outside of the Dauphin County courthouse on Monday.

From schools to trash to art, there was no lack of Harrisburg news this past week. Here are some of the stories that you may have missed–or already forgot.

Art Festivals abound this summer in Pennsylvania. Find out what’s being shown from the Schuylkill to the Allegheny.

Carlisle Arts Learning Center opened its newest exhibit, “Works and Working,” featuring artwork from a variety of techniques and disciplines. Learn about the new show here.

Death Cab for Cutie brought major concerts back to the Harrisburg waterfront with a show in Riverfront Park, part of the H.U. Concert Series. It was a damp but fun evening, said our reporter.

Devin DePamphilis is a young photographer with a bright future ahead—or maybe he’ll just decide to become a dentist. Click here to learn about his award-winning photography.

Harrisburg entered into an intergovernmental cooperation agreement so that the city soon will begin picking up Steelton’s trash. We published stories both about the City Council vote and the official announcement.

Harrisburg school district conceded the fight over receivership, surprising a packed courtroom by voluntarily agreeing to a state Department of Education takeover. Click here for the full story.

Harrisburg’s historic markers are getting a facelift, thanks to a combined effort by Historic Harrisburg Association and Midtown Action Council. Click here for the full story.

Harrisburg musician Nyshae Bell, under the name Ayana Aura, sings of her life and struggles, featured as part of TheBurg’s continuing series on local black musicians for African American Music Appreciation Month. Click here to read her story.

Janet Samuels was named the receiver for the Harrisburg school district and presided over her first school board meeting. Get all the details here and here.

Moss Creek Art opened recently in New Cumberland, featuring a variety of custom-made jewelry and art pieces. Find out how owner Carlee Seele took the unusual journey from dentist to artist.

Mostly Toasted debuted in the Broad Street Market, specializing in gourmet-style grilled cheese sandwiches. Get all the tasty, gooey details by reading our story.

Quirky hotels were once a mainstay across the American landscape, but many have faded away over the years. In central PA, a few still exist, and you can stay there. Read our feature story here.

Sara Bozich has a weekend full of fun in store, including 3^rd in the Burg and a new brewery featured at Sip @ Soma. Find out her recommendations here.

Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg saw two new openings this past week, as both Curry in a Hurry and a new Sprint store held ribbon-cuttings. Curry in a Hurry is the food court outpost of the legendary Shipoke restaurant, A Passage to India.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here.

Harrisburg will provide sanitation services to Steelton under new intergovernmental agreement

June 18, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Members of Harrisburg City Council in session on Tuesday night.

Harrisburg soon will provide sanitation services to Steelton, as the city on Tuesday night agreed to begin trash collection in the neighboring borough.

Steelton’s council approved the same agreement on Monday night.

“This is a really exciting and positive development for the city of Harrisburg and the borough of Steelton,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

“It was significantly more money,” Brown said. “That, plus the problematic service we were getting.”

Therefore, Steelton had the idea of approaching Harrisburg to see if the city had the interest and ability to take on its trash removal.

Harrisburg Public Works Director Aaron Johnson described the arrangement as “all positive,” since Steelton’s trash has been picked up on Wednesdays, the one day when Harrisburg has enough spare capacity to handle the borough’s 2,500 residential customers.

“It couldn’t happen on a better day,” he said. “For us, it’s just like adding another route.”

The agreement calls only for residential, not commercial, trash pickup, which is handled privately in Steelton.

Papenfuse said that Harrisburg does not expect to have to add any personnel or equipment to handle Steelton’s trash, because Wednesday has been a slow day for the city’s sanitation workforce.

Papenfuse declined to describe the agreement as a potential revenue generator for the city, but said it would offset some costs.

“It will pay for part of our employees’ time and the truck’s time, which will free up money for other uses,” he said.

Papenfuse also pointed out the turnabout from several years ago, when, under the “Harrisburg Strong” financial recovery plan, the city almost privatized its trash pickup to Republic Services. City Council pushed back on the deal brokered by then-Mayor Linda Thompson, and sanitation remained a city-provided service.

Steelton pays a “tipping fee” of $85 per ton, while Harrisburg, due to the terms of its agreement with LCSWMA that helped resolve its financial crisis, pays $195 per ton.

The agreement reached between Harrisburg and Steelton is only a temporary measure that runs through Dec. 31. Both municipalities will need to hammer out a longer-term deal in the fall.

“It seems like a no brainer,” said Councilwoman Danielle Bowers. “I hope this is the first of many cooperation agreements between us and neighboring municipalities.”

Harrisburg and Steelton officials plan to make a formal announcement of their agreement during a press conference tomorrow afternoon.

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like