Tag Archives: Harrisburg City Council

Former mayoral candidate among 17 seeking seat on Harrisburg City Council

September 21, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

A former city council president and mayoral candidate is one of 17 applicants vying for a seat on Harrisburg City Council.

Gloria Martin-Roberts, who lost last year to incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse, has applied to fill a seat formerly held by Cornelius Johnson, who resigned this month to take a new job in Atlanta.

Martin-Roberts served two terms on council, including one as president, before deciding not to seek reelection in 2011. She ran for the 103rd legislative district seat in the state’s House of Representatives in 2012 and lost to state Rep. Patty Kim. Martin-Roberts has also served on Harrisburg’s school board.

She announced her mayoral campaign in November 2016 and received 2,048 votes in the May 2017 Democratic primary. Papenfuse earned 2,663 votes. She also ran a last-minute write-in campaign in the general election.

Martin-Roberts isn’t the only Papenfuse challenger seeking a council seat. Jennie Jenkins, who mounted an unsuccessful mayoral campaign last year, has also submitted an application.

Other hopefuls include Devan Drabik, a former city employee who now works for Visit Hershey-Harrisburg; Airis Smallwood, a musician and daughter of former school board president Jennifer Smallwood; Bill Cluck, an environmental lawyer and local activist who served on the Capital Region Water board when it took over the scandal-plagued Harrisburg Authority; and Joshua Burkholder, a former Democratic congressional candidate who also has previously applied for an open council seat.

Candidates had until noon today to apply for Johnson’s former seat. The Harrisburg city clerk disclosed the full list of applicants this afternoon:

Devan Drabik
Eric Hicks Sr.
Shane Gallagher
Chris Yellowdy
Danielle L. Bowers
Elizabeth P. Hobbs
Josiah Yonker
Stephen Hickey
Damion Scott
Joshua F. Barker
William J. Cluck
Airis Smallwood
Gloria Martin-Roberts
Lakichia Lee Carrier
Joshua Burkholder
Jennie Jenkins
Aaron N. Holt

City clerk Kirk Petroski said that the city’s Human Resources department will vet all applications starting on Monday. The applicants eligible to serve on council will be invited to an Oct. 3 selection meeting, where each one will be given two minutes to speak before the seven-member body.

Once council members have heard from all applicants, they will nominate candidates to move on to an interview round. A nominee must receive a majority of votes to be appointed to a seat.

The new appointee will chair the Building and Housing Committee and serve through the end of 2019.

Trash Talk: City treasurer asks council to consider annual billing for waste collection

September 11, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg Treasurer Dan Miller talked trash billing at tonight’s City Council meeting.

Unpaid trash fees are costing Harrisburg an average of $200,000 a month – a problem that city Treasurer Dan Miller thinks can be fixed by billing residents once a year for disposal services.

Miller proposed an annual trash billing structure earlier this year as part of an overhaul of Harrisburg’s sanitation laws. But City Council nixed the measure, saying it would stress the cash flow of low-income and fixed-income residents.

The city currently bills residents $32 a month for trash collection. It also has a monopoly on commercial accounts in the city.

Miller appeared before council on Tuesday night to renew the case for annual billing. He’s proposing that Harrisburg include a line item for trash fees on every property’s annual real estate tax bill, which is mailed out in January. The trash collection fee would be subject to the same 2 percent, 60-day discount period as the real estate tax.

The city currently has a 98-percent collection rate on its real estate taxes. Miller hopes that trash fee collections would increase by streamlining the two bills into one. It would also save an estimated $100,000 a year in mailing costs.

Collecting up-front payments is key, Miller said, since the treasurer’s office doesn’t have many means to pursue delinquent accounts.

According to Miller, Harrisburg lost enforcement authority over delinquent trash bills when it restructured under the Harrisburg Strong Plan, the financial recovery plan it adopted in 2013.

Before the Strong Plan, Harrisburg had an in-house collections arm in its Operations Revenue Department (ORD). When the department could not collect bills from delinquent accounts, it could turn off the water at those properties to spur a payment.

But the Strong Plan dissolved the ORD and transferred Harrisburg’s water assets to Capital Region Water. As a result, the city lost the ability to terminate water services at delinquent properties.

“People discovered that, if they didn’t pay their bill, their trash was still collected and nothing else happened,” Miller said. “Maybe their bill went up [from interest], but nobody was doing anything about it.”

Today, the city treasurer’s office doesn’t have the enforcement “teeth” it needs to collect delinquent payments, Miller said. He believes that a new billing structure will mitigate the monthly bleed of unpaid bills.

“We just want council to give us the tools to do our job in an effective and efficient manner,” Miller said. “From my perspective, there is very little drawback to this.”

In all, Miller’s office calculated that the city has lost out on $12 million over a multi-year period. Miller isn’t confident that the city will see any of that money, which, he said, is why it’s important to move to a new billing system sooner rather than later.

If low-income residents have a hard time making an annual payment, Miller said, council could develop a program to waive or reduce fees for eligible residents.

Miller is also proposing that residents be allowed to opt in to monthly auto-payments. He stressed that, while billing practices may change, the cost of trash services in Harrisburg would not.

Council members seemed amenable to that proposal tonight. Miller was hopeful that they could implement a change to take effect in 2019, but Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that’s unlikely.

“We’re probably looking at 2020 at this point,” he said.

Councilman Westburn Majors, who chairs the Public Works Committee and spearheaded the sanitation ordinance overhaul earlier this year, said he would be open to talking about Miller’s proposal more as the city moves into its 2019 budget cycle.

Councilman Johnson says good-bye, as Harrisburg prepares to fill vacancy.

August 28, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

Cornelius Johnson has announced his intent to leave Harrisburg City Council.

An emotional city councilman gave a preliminary farewell to his colleagues on Tuesday night, as the Harrisburg City Council prepared to fill its third empty seat in a year.

Councilman Cornelius Johnson choked back tears as he reflected on his 2½ years in office, saying that he had grown as a person during that time and hoped that he has served his native city well.

“Harrisburg is a very special place,” he said. “I believe it will be as great a city as I know it can be.”

Johnson, 30, announced just last night on Facebook his intent to leave council effective Sept. 14. He is moving to Atlanta to take a job with Chick-fil-A, he said tonight.

After Johnson spoke, his council colleagues took turns praising both his tenure on the seven-member body and his involvement in the community.

“I’m going to miss seeing you at community events. You’re everywhere,” said Councilman Dave Madsen. “I hope you take all these values to Atlanta and hopefully, someday, you’ll come back.”

Council now must appoint a city resident to fill the remainder of Johnson’s four-year term. Council President Wanda Williams tonight said that council will follow a similar process to past vacancies.

Applications for the position will be available beginning Sept. 7 and must be returned completed to city hall by Sept. 21. At an Oct. 3 special meeting, qualified applicants will have the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves to council members, who each will nominate a candidate of their choice. Those nominees then will have a longer interview that night before a vote to select the appointee, who will be sworn in before the Oct. 7 regular meeting.

This will be the third vacancy on council in about a year, as former council members Jeffrey Baltimore and Destini Hodges resigned last year, replaced by Dave Madsen and Ausha Green, respectively.

In his remarks, Johnson said that he believed that Harrisburg has a great future ahead of it, as long as politicians always remember that they’re in office to serve the public, not the other way around.

“We’ve seen what happens when you don’t put residents first,” he said. “We have to keep to our true purpose, and then we’ll see how Harrisburg will improve.”

Cornelius Johnson to resign from Harrisburg City Council

August 27, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

Cornelius Johnson is sworn in as Harrisburg councilman in January 2016.

Cornelius Johnson has announced his intent to resign from the Harrisburg City Council, having served more than 2½ years on the body.

Johnson made the announcement on Facebook, saying that he is leaving town to take a new, full-time job in Atlanta.

“I would first like to thank all of the residents of Harrisburg for trusting me to represent you,” he wrote. “Serving as your City Council representative has been one of my life’s greatest joys.”

His resignation will be effective Sept. 14.

Johnson, 30, won election to council in 2015, campaigning hard and gaining more votes than any other candidate in a crowded Democratic primary. Council now must announce a process to fill Johnson’s seat, with the successful candidate serving out the remainder of the four-year term.

In his Facebook post, the Harrisburg native also thanked his council colleagues, especially for their efforts in the city’s continuing financial recovery.

“As a council, we were able to accomplish great things and, as we enter the next stages of our financial recovery, I believe that we will continue that course,” he wrote.

Time to Speak Out: HBG mayor urges residents to swarm Act 47 meeting

July 23, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Harrisburg residents should pack city hall to make their voices heard on Tuesday night during a public hearing on the city’s Act 47 exit plan, the mayor said today.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse implored city residents, as well as people from surrounding municipalities, to speak out on the draft plan proposed by the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

In particular, Papenfuse urged people to oppose the state’s proposal to more than double the city’s property tax over the next three years, making up for proposed reductions in the earned income tax (EIT) and local services tax (LST).

“The city cannot withstand, the tax base can’t withstand, that high of a [property tax] increase,” he said. “One-hundred percent would be devastating.”

Act 47, the state’s program for financially distressed municipalities, enabled Harrisburg to double its EIT in 2012 and triple its LST in 2016. The increases now total nearly $12 million a year in tax revenue, making up about 17 percent of the city’s annual general fund.

Harrisburg’s current Act 47 plan expires soon and, with it, its ability to maintain those tax rates. A proposed, three-year exit plan would return those rates to pre-Act 47 levels. However, to make up for the lost revenue, the city may need to raise its property tax by 105 percent over the next three years, according to the state’s draft exit plan.

According to Papenfuse, the property tax increase would drive out residents who are already dealing with a hike in school property taxes, as well as high waste, water and parking rates.

“It would be a huge mistake to substitute $2 a week [in LST] from people who can afford it for a 100-percent property tax increase,” he said. “And that’s sort of what we’re talking about right now.”

With all parties opposed—the administration, City Council and residents—Papenfuse said he doesn’t see how the proposed plan could be adopted.

“Perhaps that is an argument for coming out and speaking and seeing if the plan can be amended in such a way that it would provide the support of City Council,” he said.

Papenfuse listed two routes that Harrisburg could take to get back on its feet while exiting Act 47. First, the state’s exit plan could be changed based on input from the city and residents. Secondly, and more likely, the state legislature could take action, allowing Harrisburg to retain its elevated LST and EIT rates, thus eliminating the need to raise property taxes.

“Ultimately, it requires legislative action, and we’re not going to know what [state legislators] are going to do until September,” Papenfuse said. “What I’m recommending for now is the public certainly make their voices heard and and get on the record and come out and talk about the plan.”

The Act 47 exit plan hearing is slated for Tuesday, July 24, in City Council chambers, 10 N. 2nd St Harrisburg, starting at 5:30 p.m. To view the Act 47 plan, visit harrisburgpa.gov/act47.

Council Roundup: HBG council passes sanitation, funding measures before summer recess.

July 3, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg City Council at tonight’s legislative session.

Harrisburg City Council passed new sanitation laws and disbursed more than $2 million in federal grant funds on Tuesday night before adjourning for summer recess.

Over the course of a four-hour meeting, council made sweeping changes to laws governing trash and recycling collection violations in the city. The city’s new sanitation code establishes harsher fines and new enforcement powers, effective immediately.

Despite the lobbying of the city treasurer, council members rejected a provision that would have inaugurated annual trash billing. The city will continue to send homeowners and businesses monthly bills for trash services.

Treasurer Dan Miller said tonight that the proposed billing structure would save the city thousands of dollars in labor costs and increase its collection rate. But Councilman Westburn Majors, chair of the public works committee, said that many residents objected to the provision at public hearings.

Under the annual billing system, residents would have been billed their annual trash collection fee – more than $400 per household – at the beginning of each year. Residents could pay in one lump sum or pay monthly installments via direct deposit from their bank accounts.

Majors said that some residents were worried about the upfront costs of the annual payment or objected to sharing banking information with the city. The provision also did not subject commercial accounts to the same annual billing practice, he said.

“The goal is to treat residents and commercial property owners the same,” Majors said.

Under the new ordinance, owners of vacant properties will no longer be billed for trash services at those parcels. Council added an amendment tonight requiring all vacant property owners to apply for a vacant property exemption, which will be valid for one year pending approval from the city’s Department of Public Works.

The hallmark of the new sanitation code is a new fine and enforcement structure, aimed at curbing illegal trash disposal across the city.

Under the new ordinance, serious offenses – including illegal dumping, accumulation of trash exceeding 1,000 pounds, improper waste disposal and failure to register as a private trash hauler – are considered category 1 violations, punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to 90 days in jail.

Category 2 violations include failure to bag waste, obstruction of streets and sidewalks or interference with enforcement and will be met with fines starting at $100. Fines will increase up to $500 for each subsequent offense.

The ordinance also permits the Public Works Department to designate enforcement officers to patrol public streets for violations, and it authorizes police officers to issue citations and enforce the ordinance.

Council also voted to disburse $2 million in funds from the Community Development Block Grant, a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

More than a dozen local nonprofits and city departments will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $300,000.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse vetoed the allocations that council passed last week. He objected to a last-minute amendment granting $15,000 to Breaking the Chainz, an eligible organization that submitted an incomplete application.

Rather than override his veto, council tonight struck down that amendment and reverted back to the awards proposed by the city’s administration weeks ago. These are:

Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries (C.R.A.M.): $40,000
TLC Work Based Training: $45,000
A Miracle 4 Sure: $50,000
Latino Hispanic Community Center: $25,000
Fair Housing Council: $25,000
PPL/IN HOUSE: $20,000
Shades of Greatness: $15,000
Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $25,000
Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $5,000
TriCounty HDC: $250,000
Habitat for Humanity: $100,000
Housing Rehabilitation Programs (city-run): $321,642

More than $600,000 of the $2 million grant will go to debt service, and $400,000 will reimburse the city for CDBG administration.

Council also approved a new, five-year labor contract with the city’s firefighters tonight, which will lock in 2-percent annual wage increases and establish a new policy to increase retention. Under the new contract, any firefighter who resigns from the city within that five-year period must reimburse the Fire Bureau $5,000 in training costs.

Lastly, council passed a resolution reestablishing Harrisburg’s Environmental Advocacy Council, a seven-member body that will be filled by appointments by council and the mayor’s office.

City council is not scheduled to meet again until Aug. 29. However, it may have to convene a special session once the city receives its Act 47 exit report from the state Department of Community and Economic Development on July 9.

Take 2: HBG mayor issues CDBG veto, council to reconsider allocation

July 2, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Habitat for Humanity and TriCounty HDC, which together sponsored a “building blitz” last week on Allison Hill, are proposed recipients of CDBG funds this year. Photo: Diane McNaughton.

For the second time in his administration, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse has vetoed City Council’s allocation of federal housing grants.

Papenfuse overturned a bill disbursing $2 million in grants to more than a dozen nonprofit organizations and city programs. The source of the money was the Community and Development Block Grant (CDBG), a program from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Papenfuse today said his veto was due to council’s decision to award a $15,000 grant to Breaking the Chainz, a mentorship program that works with at-risk youth. Council granted the organization money even though it submitted an incomplete grant application.

Fifteen organizations applied for funding this year, according to Dave Madsen, chairman of council’s Community and Economic Development Committee. Last week, council passed a bill awarding grants ranging from $5,000 to $320,000 to 13 of those applicants, including Breaking the Chainz.

The city’s Department of Community and Economic Development screens and ranks grant applications according to a formal system every year. They did not recommend Breaking the Chainz for any funding. Even though the program met CDBG eligibility guidelines, its incomplete application meant that it ranked below other eligible organizations.

But council voted last week to reduce a proposed grant to TLC Work Based Training from $45,000 to $30,000, freeing up $15,000 for Breaking the Chainz.

Some council members expressed concern about veering from the ranking system, but the amended bill passed 4-3.

Papenfuse said the decision took money away from a deserving applicant and set bad precedent by breaking with the accepted grant-screening procedures.

“Their actions raise questions of fairness and transparency,” he said. “We have gone out of our way to establish an independent and trustworthy scoring process.”

Papenfuse has used his veto power once before, when he overturned CDBG allocations in 2016.

On Monday, Madsen said that both TLC and Breaking the Chainz provided valuable services in helping to keep residents out of the criminal justice system. TLC provides workplace training for formerly incarcerated people entering the workforce, while Breaking the Chainz reaches at-risk youth through mentoring, he said.

“Something we’re currently struggling with in the city is a high population that ends up in the criminal justice system,” Madsen said. “We wanted to do a full-court press in addressing the issue.”

Council is set to vote on a veto override at a legislative session tomorrow, according to a meeting agenda. But Madsen said that council members don’t plan to award any money to Breaking the Chainz anyway.

In the week since council passed its CDBG funding bill, Madsen learned that the organization may have trouble fulfilling administrative requirements tied to the federal funds.

Barring any last-minute amendments from council members, the body will likely revert back to the allocations recommended by the city Department of Community and Economic Development.

According to city Solicitor Neil Grover, council doesn’t have to override the mayor’s veto – it could simply vote to amend the bill it passed last week.

If the override vote does not pass, the entire CDBG bill dies, Grover said. Council members would have to introduce a new bill and publicly advertise it before voting to allocate funds.

Council adjourns for summer recess after its July 3 legislative session. But Madsen said that the break won’t start until council finishes its CDBG business.

“We have to get this done before we go anywhere to meet federal requirements,” he said.

June News Digest

June 29, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda and Lizzy Hardison

HUD Grants Proposed

The annual process of disbursing federal housing funds began last month, as Harrisburg City Council introduced an ordinance that would provide money to nearly a dozen nonprofit groups.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that the city used the same process in selecting award recipients as last year, using a point-based merit system to judge applications.

“It’s a number of small grants,” Papenfuse said. “It’s not as much as anyone wanted.”

In all, the city will distribute $2.04 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money, a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. This amount includes almost $1.9 million from the 2018 allocation, plus a small supplemental amount tied to unallocated funds from a prior year.

Like last year, the greatest single amount of money, $593,423, will go to repay federal loans the city backed during the Reed administration for several development projects, including the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project, which went bankrupt before being completed years later by a new owner.

“If we didn’t have an exorbitant debt service, we’d have a lot more money for housing,” Papenfuse said.

Most of the nonprofits proposed to receive funds have gotten some money from previous CDBG allocations. The proposed recipients include:

TriCounty HDC: $250,000
Habitat for Humanity: $100,000
A Miracle 4 Sure: $50,000
TLC Work Based Training: $45,000
Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries (C.R.A.M.): $40,000
Latino Hispanic Community Center: $25,000
Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $25,000
Fair Housing Council: $25,000
PPL/IN HOUSE: $20,000
Shades of Greatness: $15,000
Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $5,000

Like last year, Tina Nixon, an executive with UPMC Pinnacle, scored the applications, Papenfuse said. While most nonprofits that applied received some funding, several did not make the cut, he said.

In addition, the city is proposing to allocate $321,642 for its housing rehabilitation programs and another $408,765 to CDBG administration.

QOZ Tracts Approved

The federal government last month approved all of the census tracts nominated for a new program aimed at spurring development in low-income communities.

Six of those tracts are in Harrisburg.

“Approval of our nominated tracts is an important step in the process of bringing critical investment and development to these areas,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “Designation as an opportunity zone is one piece of the puzzle that can help many of our distressed communities across the commonwealth.”

In April, Wolf nominated 300 low-income census tracts across the state as Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ), a status created under the 2017 federal tax reform bill. All were accepted.

Six of Harrisburg’s 14 census tracts were included in Wolf’s submission. The potential investment zones encompass the city’s downtown area south of Forster Street, South Harrisburg, South and Central Allison Hill and the neighborhoods along the city’s Cameron Street industrial corridor.

The QOZ program aims to stimulate investment in low-income communities by providing tax breaks to private investors. It’s expected to defer or reduce capital gains taxes to anyone who invests in funds supporting businesses, real estate and other ventures in the zones.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is still in the process of developing the program, and the IRS is expected to provide further information regarding opportunities for investment in zones in the coming months, according to Wolf’s office.

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse has said that the recommended zones aligned with the city’s current development efforts, including the MulDer Square revitalization project and the Paxton Creek reclamation in the industrial corridor.

To qualify for QOZ status, a census tract had to have at least a 20-percent poverty rate or a median family income less than 80 percent of the statewide or regional median income.

State Urges Changes to School District

Soon after wrapping up a protracted battle over its superintendent, the Harrisburg school district may find itself in another personnel battle.

The state Department of Education is asking the district to search for new leadership for its business office, which oversees budgets and financial management.

In a letter to the district last month, department Secretary Pedro Rivera said that the district’s chief financial officer and business manager do not meet the criteria set forth in its five-year recovery plan, which calls for full-time, permanent, highly qualified employees to fill both positions.

The school board has final say on all district personnel actions. But board members, who diverged for the past six months over whether to replace or retain Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, once again disagree on the need to seek new hires.

Board President Judd Pittman interprets the letter as a directive from the state, giving the district no choice but to replace interim, part-time CFO James Snell and acting Business Manager Bilal Hasan. But board Vice President Danielle Robinson thinks the district should keep the current team.

“It’s not a directive, it’s a suggestion,” Robinson said. “The team we have in place is giving us what we need.”

The business manager and CFO are responsible for developing and managing the district’s $156 million budget. This year, the district faces a shortfall of almost $9 million. The business office has proposed bridging it with a $5 million transfer from its fund balance, $4 million in staff cuts, and a 3.6 percent tax hike.

New Monument to Honor Prominent African Americans

Harrisburg’s Riverfront Park is dotted with historical monuments, but none of them honor African Americans.

A group of citizens hopes to change that.

Members of the Peace Promenade Project are asking city hall to green-light Harrisburg’s first monument to African Americans, which they hope to erect near the corner of Forster and Front Streets by June 2019.

Their proposal calls for a life-size tableau of four Pennsylvania abolitionists and voting-rights advocates: Thomas Chester, a Harrisburg-born journalist and attorney; William Howard Day, the first black school board director in Pennsylvania; Jacob Compton, a pastor who drove Abraham Lincoln’s carriage during his visit to Harrisburg; and Frances Harper, a poet and women’s rights activist.

All except Harper lived in Harrisburg and are buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Penbrook.

“This is an American monument that represents the continuing struggle for the full fulfillment of the 15^th amendment,” said Lenwood Sloan, leader of the Peace Promenade Project, which aims to rededicate Harrisburg’s public monuments through a yearlong event series.

Kelly Summerford, another project leader, said that the monument would also offer local students an opportunity to learn about abolition and voting rights.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said he met with the project leaders and enthusiastically supports the project. He also offered to help the group pursue a gaming grant from Dauphin County.

The Peace Promenade group, which counts more than 200 members and 40 supporting organizations, plans to fund the monument through public support, corporate donations and individual giving. They did not announce an anticipated budget.

According to Summerford, the group plans to follow a process used by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts to commission an artist and develop a design.

They hope to install the monument by “Juneteenth” 2019—the anniversary of June 19, 1865, the official announcement of the end of slavery in the former Confederacy.

At press time, council had not yet affirmed the final allocations.

Harristown Eyes Another Project

Chalk up another apartment conversion for Harristown Enterprises.

The Harrisburg-based company already has converted several rundown office buildings downtown to higher-end apartment buildings. Last month, it announced another—this one at 116 Pine St.

“We feel very good about the rental market,” said Harristown CEO Brad Jones. “We’re trying to create more of a neighborhood downtown.”

The bank-owned, 54,600-square-foot building is on the market for $1.3 million. If Harristown completes the purchase, it plans to convert the circa-1946 building to 44 apartment units, its largest residential project to date.

The five-story building currently houses several different entities, which would be relocated. The longstanding first-floor tenant, Alicia’s Deli, is likely to remain in the building, Jones said.

The building is directly next door to another office building at 124 Pine St. that Harristown currently has under contract from seller Keystone Human Services. City Council approved that project, which includes 25 apartment units and 19 parking spaces, in April.

“Our intent is to build them together and have economies of scale,” Jones said, adding that Harristown expects to invest some $12 million in the projects.

Harristown has long been known as a commercial developer. However, it began to move into the multi-family residential market several years ago, focusing on rehabilitating old, often dilapidated and vacant office buildings, converting them to apartments.

New Owner for Old Waterworks

A Harrisburg-based design and engineering company has purchased the historic Old Waterworks building on the Susquehanna River, with plans to turn it into its new headquarters.

Andculture will relocate from its downtown offices following the full renovation of the 22,000-square-foot building, said co-owner David Hickethier.

The Waterworks is one of only two structures remaining within the confines of Riverfront Park. Portions of the Front Street building date to 1841.

The building served as a pumping station for Harrisburg until 1972, when that use ended following severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Agnes. The city later converted it into an office building.

In 2002, Mann Realty, a real estate firm, bought the building. Andculture acquired the property from Mann Realty, which is in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, for $1.25 million, according to the Dauphin County property database.

“It’s a very unique building,” Hickethier said. “There are only two on that side of Front Street, right on the river.”

Hickethier expects Andculture, a company he co-owns with partners Josh Benton and Evan Keller, to occupy the majority of the building for its main offices and for its business accelerator, Catamaran.

The company may lease out some of the remaining space, especially to complementary businesses, and would like to reserve a portion for public use, possibly for meetings and receptions, Hickethier said.

Since the major city renovation 30 years ago, the building has suffered a few floods and has not undergone a major update. So, Hickethier and his partners plan to mount a complete restoration. The work includes removing drop ceilings, restoring floors, opening up spaces and making substantial repairs.

New Sanitation App

Sanitation and recycling services in Harrisburg are about to get a little more user-friendly.

The city last month announced a new app called Recycle Coach, which allows residents to get the latest information on sanitation services, schedules, what and where to recycle, collection requirements and more.

“[The app provides] details people need to understand, like the way food could potentially contaminate recyclables,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “The app addresses all this, and it’s really interesting, easy to use and fun.”

Already used in other states and countries, Recycle Coach is now available for Harrisburg residents. The app is personalized via language, building type (apartment or home) and address. Using that information, six tabs on the home screen offer users various types of functionality, information and additional options.

John Rarig, Harrisburg’s recycling coordinator, said that the Recycle Coach app will help the city get sanitation information out to the public quicker.

“This app will allow us to update information as things change [such as] weather problems and things that we can notify the populous about,” he said. “[Recycle Coach] is very easy to work with, and we think this is a great thing for Harrisburg.”

Harrisburg residents can access Recycle Coach not only from their smartphones, but also via computers and voice assistants such as Alexa.

So Noted

Harrisburg Beer Week last month presented a check for $40,000 to Harrisburg River Rescue and Emergency Services, the beneficiary of the 10-day-long celebration of local craft beer. For the past several years, the River Rescue has used the funds to continue the renovation of its headquarters.

Homeland Center last month dedicated its 6th Street entrance in memory of the late John Crain Kunkel, a U.S. congressman, and his wife Katherine, who served on the board of managers and established what is believed to be the first-ever beauty shop in a long-term care facility, according to the Harrisburg-based care facility. More recently, the Kunkel family made possible Homeland’s 71-bed skilled care nursing pavilion, and their foundation sponsored Homeland’s 150th Gala, said Homeland.

Percel Eiland resigned last month as a member of the Harrisburg school board, having only served about six months. The board will now take steps to find a candidate to fill the remainder of Eiland’s term, which runs until the end of next year.

In Memoriam

Nick Laus, renowned Harrisburg restaurateur, died last month at age 59. Laus founded many restaurants in the area, including Café Fresco, Cork & Fork, Home 231 and Burger Yum, as well as the nightclub, Level 2.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2441: G. & T. Spiese to H. Le, $64,000

Bartine St., 1323: E. & G. Solomon to J. Herr, $82,000

Bellevue Rd., 1963: M. Mack to R. Lewis, $54,900

Berryhill St., 2034: D. Smith to S. Griffin, $33,000

Berryhill St., 2400: L. Rich to E. Alcantra, $40,001

Boas St., 304: Calder Street Development LLC to RC Herr, $35,000

Calder St., 264: J. Hummel to L. Boenzli, $127,000

Capitol St., 1218: M. Wickwire to K. Knapp, $118,000

Chestnut St., 2032: W. Noss & R. Maynard to M. Jackson & J. Fulton, $124,900

Delaware St., 259: K. Dyrli to R. Goodfriend, $142,500

Delaware St., 261: C. Hartman to T. Harris & B. Barto, $117,500

Green St., 918: S. Brennan & L. Sterkenberg to S. Lacey, $144,900

Green St., 1328: D. Misner to A. Koser, $116,540

Green St., 1412: J. Kibler to J. Ehring, $70,000

Green St., 1612: H. Task to B. Brubaker, $149,900

Green St., 1946: C. Smith & T. Chickey to P. Sosik, $174,900

Green St., 2321: Willowscott Investment LLC to J. Hofman, $80,000

Green St., 2412: R. Lawson to B. Vargas, $219,500

Hillside Rd., 214: R. & T. Winder to R. Bateman & C. McDonough, $164,900

Hoffman St., 3010: Duetsche Bank National Trust Co. Trustee to Innovative Devices Inc., $41,300

Hoffman St., 3229: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. to B. Foor, $59,000

Industrial Rd., 3900: Supervalue Penn LLC to CF Grocery Distribution & Propco LLC, $85,535,256

Jefferson St., 2645: M. Watson to D. Solomon, $60,400

Kensington St., 2004: JCB Associates & State House Group to A. Ryabukha, $39,000

Kensington St., 2324: A. & M. Oliphant to C. Austin, $59,900

Market St., 1713: LAGR Properties LLC to J. & L. Hendricks, $65,000

Mercer St., 2470: A. Hankerson to A. & M. Allen, $49,137

Muench St., 429: Dobson Family Partnership to Y. & K. Han, $50,000

N. 2^nd St., 1521: W. Glover to E&S Properties, $107,000

N. 2^nd St., 1803: S. & S. Cooper to Z. Gause, $122,500

N. 2^nd St., 1916: C. Bashore to G. Crone, $155,000

N. 2^nd St., 2602: K. & K. Fischer to K. Kennedy, $105,000

N. 2^nd St., 2953: D. Alvey to PI Capital LLC, $144,401

N. 2^nd St., 3209: S. Kumarasingam to Benchmarq Holdings LLC, $65,361

N. 3^rd St., 1004, 1006, 1008 & 1010 Susquehanna St.: T. & E. Buda to Maki Developments LLC, $695,000

N. 3^rd St., 1010: T. Buda to Maki Developments LLC, $225,000

N. 3^rd St., 1725: K. & L. Helm to I. Kazar, $81,000

N. 3^rd St., 3004: N. Ernst to K. & A. Brady, $77,000

N. 4^th St., 2143: 690 Market Street LLC to R. Joline, $33,000

N. 4^th St., 2641: Y. Borras to J. Santiago, $59,000

N. 4^th St., 2731: R. Rickabaugh to M. Martinez & M. Price, $111,700

N. 6^th St., 1346: J. MacDonald to A. Blank & A. Edwards, $114,900

N. 6^th St., 2212: L. Ware Jr. to J. Strain, $60,000

N. 7^th St., 1501: AT&T Communications to 1501 Harrisburg Partners LLC, $425,000

N. 15^th St., 1431: M. Clark & J. Payton to X. Nguyen, $55,000

N. Front St., 614: Mann Realty Associates Inc. to Granma LLC, $1,250,000

Norwood St., 914: A. Wilhelm to I. Rodriguez, $35,000

Penn St., 1614: M. Smith to J. Napora & S. Bassler, $144,900

Penn St., 1809: K. Hyp to J. Francescangeli & D. Rocklein, $165,000

Penn St., 1931: WCI Partners LP to R. & B. Precourt, $134,900

Penn St., 2327: A. & D. Wilhelm to I. Rodriguez, $35,000

Pennwood Rd., 3139: T. Bendrick to L. Ciambotti, $40,000

Sassafras St., 269: Major League Properties LLC to J. Wenger & J. Noel, $130,000

Shamokin St., 110: M. & K. Patterson to E. & L. Match, $165,000

Showers St., 589: T. Fullam & J. Nugent to M. Albizu, $116,000

S. 13^th St., 1510: New Heights South LLC to W. Powell Sr., $49,000

S. 14^th St., 1437: W. & G. Powell to City of Harrisburg, $50,000

S. 24^th St., 535: S. Leibich to PA Double Dels LLC, $178,500

S. Cameron St., 50, 90 & 112: PA Self Storage One LLC to Amerco Real Estate Co., $1,450,000

S. Cameron St., 1058: M. Tice & APR Supply Co. to JWM Associates LP, $343,700

State St., 120: C. & K. Kokoski to O’Hagan Philadelphia LLC, $190,000

State St., 231, Unit 206: LUX 1 LP to F. Clark, $65,000

State St., 1414: G. Dutan to A. & M. Collins, $113,000

Susquehanna St., 3117: J. Fustine to K. O’Neill & M. Delucia, $197,500

Swatara St., 1517: Tri County HDC Ltd. to V. Miller, $99,000

Wendy St., 1126: 147 N. Cameron Partners LP to Keystone K9 LLC, $415,000

Harrisburg Council disburses federal development funds, approves apartment projects

June 26, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

$250,000 of CDBG money will go to Tri-County HDC, an affordable housing developer that has partnered with the city on the MulDer Square revitalization project. The ribbon cutting for the first MulDer Square house was held in February.

Harrisburg City Council approved its annual allocation of federal development grants to local service groups on Tuesday night, but not before making one significant change to a proposal from the city’s administration.

In a rare close vote, council voted 4-3 to direct a $15,000 grant to Breaking the Chainz, a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth and released offenders.

The funds come from the city’s annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city’s Department of Community and Economic Development, which screens and ranks grant applications, did not recommend Breaking the Chainz for any funding this year. Romulus Brown, a project manager in the city’s housing bureau, said that the group submitted an incomplete application.

But economic development committee chair Dave Madsen advocated for Breaking the Chainz to receive funding. He said that council has previously strayed from its application ranking system to provide funds to worthy organizations and argued that Breaking the Chainz provided valuable youth enrichment activities.

Brown confirmed that Breaking the Chainz was an eligible program under CDBG guidelines. Council tried to award the organization CDBG funds last year, but determined it did not meet program requirements.

This time around, council President Wanda Williams and council members Ben Allatt and Ausha Green agreed with Madsen and voted to carry his amendment. Council members Cornelius Johnson, Westburn Majors and Shamaine Daniels voted against it.

“This organization does great work,” Johnson said before casting his vote. “I just believe our process should be transparent… and we should set clear expectations for a competitive grant process.”

In order to give $15,000 to Breaking the Chainz, council reduced a proposed grant to TLC Work Based Training from $45,000 to $30,000. Other grant recipients include:

Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries (C.R.A.M.): $40,000
A Miracle 4 Sure: $50,000
Latino Hispanic Community Center: $25,000
Fair Housing Council: $25,000
PPL/IN HOUSE: $20,000
Shades of Greatness: $15,000
Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $25,000
Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $5,000
TriCounty HDC: $250,000
Habitat for Humanity: $100,000
Housing Rehabilitation Programs (city-run): $321,642

As in past years, almost $600,000 of the city’s $2 million CDBG grant will go to debt service. They city is still repaying federal loans it backed for development projects under former Mayor Steve Reed, including the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project, which went bankrupt before being completed years later by a new owner.

In addition, $408,000 will go to CDBG administration.

Council also approved two new downtown apartment projects on Tuesday night. The first, proposed by the Executive House Apartments, will convert commercial space at 101 S. 2nd St. into 15 residential units.

Another project, proposed by Harristown Development CEO Brad Jones, will convert an office building on Pine Street into 45 residential units and retail space. Williams, who has been critical of Harristown’s downtown redevelopment efforts, cast a vote against the project.

Mayor’s communication on Act 47 “irresponsible,” HBG councilman says, as 14 jobs affected by hiring freeze.

June 26, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

City Councilman Ben Allatt, center, had some tough words tonight for Harrisburg’s mayor.

A Harrisburg City Council member had stern words for Harrisburg’s mayor on Tuesday night.

Ben Allatt, council vice president and budget and finance committee chair, criticized the mayor’s recent, failed attempt to secure Harrisburg special tax provisions from the state legislature and his subsequent decision to declare a fiscal crisis in the city.

Allatt called the mayor’s public statements “irresponsible,” saying they caused unnecessary alarm and confusion among residents.

He also criticized the mayor’s falling out with House Speaker Mike Turzai, who blocked a special provision for Harrisburg from coming to vote on Friday.

“The exchanges between the mayor and the speaker were less than professional,” Allatt said. “We do not need greater tension between the city and the state.”

Allatt said he is committed to working with the legislature to help the city exit Act 47, a state program for financially distressed municipalities. Harrisburg’s Act 47 designation expires in September.

Papenfuse declined to respond to Allatt’s remarks. He reiterated that Harrisburg is facing dire financial problems if the state legislature does not grant it special taxing authority and spare it from entering an Act 47 extension.

He also elaborated on the hiring freeze and spending freeze that he declared on Monday. He said that 14 positions have been frozen and will remain unfilled, including seven represented by bargaining units:

Data Tech
Landscape Specialist
Central Support Specialist
Park Ranger
Auto mechanic
Plumber
Secretary

The remaining seven positions are categorized as management roles:

Background investigator
Confidential secretary
Analyst
Deputy director for planning and zoning
Archivist
Arborist
Deputy fire chief

Papenfuse said that the city expects at least a dozen employees to retire by the end of the year. They will not be replaced as long as the city remains in a hiring freeze, he said.

City officials met today and yesterday to evaluate spending on capital improvement projects, but Papenfuse declined to say which ones could be curtailed.

Papenfuse introduced the austerity measures to prepare Harrisburg for the eventual loss of $12 million in annual revenue from its earned income tax and local services tax. Act 47 allows the city to levy those taxes at extraordinary rates – a power that Harrisburg will lose if it exits the program.

Harrisburg can keep its current taxing authority if it obtains a one-time, three-year extension to stay in Act 47. But that extension will also require the city to adopt a new recovery plan, developed jointly with the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

That plan must be based on current state law, which means it will likely recommend the city draw down its fund balance and cut spending to prepare for a mandatory Act 47 exit in 2022.

Marita Kelley, the city’s Act 47 coordinator, declined to comment today on the details of the recovery plan. It will be released as a draft on July 9.

City officials, including Allatt, have said that Harrisburg cannot pass a balanced budget without augmented taxing authority. The only way for the city to have a sustainable future outside of Act 47, they say, is for the state legislature to pass a special provision exempting Harrisburg from the standard state tax code.

Harrisburg entered a yearlong, $60,000 lobbying contract this year in hopes of securing legislative change.

The city intends to renew its lobbying in September when the legislature returns from recess.

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