Tag Archives: Harrisburg City Council

In Early: Green to fill open Harrisburg council seat.

October 10, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda and Lizzy Hardison

Ausha Green

Ausha Green will be Harrisburg’s next councilwoman, as City Council plans to appoint her to an open seat.

Council President Wanda Williams announced tonight that council will name Green to the seven-member body, forgoing a competitive process that has marked recent council vacancies.

Williams said that council has reached an “informal consensus” to appoint Green, who currently serves on Harrisburg school board. A formal vote will occur during the Oct. 24 legislative session, after which Green will be sworn in, Williams said.

The seat became vacant after the unexpected resignation last week of former Councilwoman Destini Hodges, who is leaving Harrisburg to take a job out of state.

Come January, Green would have assumed a council seat anyway, as she won the Democratic nomination for council in May, along with incumbents Wanda Williams, Shamaine Daniels and Ben Allatt. There is no Republican opposition for the four, four-year seats.

Williams said that appointing Green just made sense given her inevitability as a future council member. The appointment will allow Green to participate in the lengthy 2018 budget process, which begins next month.

A two-year council seat also will be on the November ballot following the resignation in August of former Councilman Jeffrey Baltimore. Councilman Dave Madsen, appointed a month ago by council, is running unopposed for that seat.

Another Vacancy: Hodges resigns from Harrisburg City Council.

October 2, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Councilwoman Destini Hodges, far right, today announced her resignation.

Destini Hodges has announced her resignation from Harrisburg City Council, the city said late today.

Hodges is giving up her City Council seat to take a job in Louisville, Ky., according to a statement from city spokeswoman Joyce Davis. The resignation will take effect on Friday.

“Councilwoman Hodges said she regretted leaving her position so suddenly, but she has been offered a great professional opportunity through her church,” Davis stated.

Hodges’ resignation marks the second council vacancy in as many months. In August, Councilman Jeffrey Baltimore resigned, and council since selected Midtown resident Dave Madsen to fill that seat until the end of the year.

Hodges, chair of the council’s Parks, Recreation and Enrichment Committee, has served for almost two years. In 2015, she won a two-year seat, but then chose not to run for re-election this year. She also has served on the Harrisburg school board.

Davis said that council has not yet decided how to proceed. Under the Third Class City Code, council has 30 days from the effective day of resignation to make a decision on a replacement. Hodges’ term expires at the end of the year, when she was going to leave the seven-member body.

“We are very excited for Ms. Hodges as she embarks on a new and exciting career path,” said Council President Wanda Williams. “She brought a lot of positive energy to City Council, and we wish her nothing but the best. Destini is young, ambitious and will be an asset to any team she joins.”

Author: Lawrance Binda

Senior Space: Friendship, fellowship at Heinz-Menaker.

September 29, 2017 | by Norah Griffiths Johnson

A group of focused-looking seniors gathers in a light-filled room in Midtown Harrisburg to practice tai-chi.

Outside the room, a spirited game of Pokeno (a poker/lotto hybrid) is in progress. Smiles break out on the faces of the card players, who jibe each other and pantomime scowls when someone cleans up.

I’m at the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center to get an insider’s look at a place that, to be honest, I hardly noticed when I drove past numerous times before today.

The center, which was founded more than 40 years ago, hums with activity. It’s a Wednesday, the day the center offers a food pantry in partnership with the Central PA Food Bank. Heinz-Menaker also runs a Meals on Wheels program and a supplemental offering for the homebound, but the center’s core services are visible through its senior programming.

As Les Ford, Heinz-Menaker’s affable executive director, takes me around for a tour, he runs through the various activities they offer. Tuesdays and Thursdays are chair yoga, Wednesdays are tai chi—they’re the only center that offers it in the county, he said. Fridays are chair exercise, which is the most popular. In addition to the fitness classes, games are a popular draw, including bingo, dominoes and cards. Art classes are held on Mondays—the center even has two kilns for those looking to dabble in ceramics. A modest computer area sits off to the side of the main community room. The center’s library, composed of a floor-to-ceiling wall of books, runs along one side.

“I have one gentleman who just likes to come in here and read,” Ford tells me as we walk by the space.

The center feels comfortable, welcoming, and I can see why area seniors gravitate here, though, as any of the long-term members will tell you, there have been some rough patches.

“Are you the one who fell through the floor?” Ford calls to an older gentleman sitting nearby as he gives me a rundown of Heinz-Menaker’s history.

The man laughs and shakes his head, but I can’t tell if it’s from disbelief that he lived to tell the tale or simply because it wasn’t him. Either way, center folklore has it that it was this very incident that was the impetus for replacing the former senior center with the building now known as Heinz-Menaker.

U.S. Sen. John Heinz and City Council member and community activist Mim Menaker were instrumental to the creation of the current building some 25 years ago. But over time, the center lacked sufficient funds for routine maintenance and improvements. When Ford first came on board, six years ago, he focused on pinning together funding to address the many infrastructure issues stemming from years of deferred maintenance. It wasn’t easy.

“My members would ask me, ‘Well, what are you doing?” Ford said. “And I’d say, ‘I’m keeping the lights on and doors open.’”

Joanne Schreffler mirrors this. She coordinates the food pantry for the center, schedules trips and activities, among a host of other responsibilities. She tells me that, when Ford arrived, “trashcans sat at various points around the main community room because of the leaking roof. You can’t ask people to come in here and pay good money and then have trash cans sitting around to catch water.” She shakes her head, just thinking about it.

“That was a tough period,” she said. “And there’s just not a lot of places you can go to ask for $60,000 to get the roof fixed.”

Eventually, Ford gathered funds to stabilize the building through a combination of U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Dauphin County gaming grants. Today, the center relies on proceeds from renting out the space for events in order to supplement city, county and state funding. Heinz-Menaker runs on a shoestring staff of fewer than a half-dozen, mostly part-time, employees.

“These are the people who hold it all together,” Ford notes.

As I talk with Schreffler, who has worked at Heinz-Menaker for years, she says the experience of watching her own parents age was the inspiration for her involvement.

“Working with these members five days a week, they become family,” Schreffler says, smiling. “We worry about them when they’re not here, send them birthday cards, get well cards when they go in for surgery.”

The family-like feel is evident as I explore. Members mingle together after the Pokeno game has broken up. Peals of laughter rise above a happy din. I ask Frances McQuay, a petite, stylishly dressed member, what draws her here.

“I get my exercise in, and I like the people,” she says. “It’s the fellowship. I really like coming here. It gets me up in the morning. It gets me out of the house.”

She persuaded her husband to come along too.

“Once we started coming, we both can’t stay away,” she says.

While speaking with another member, Pat Mueller, our conversation strays into the ups and downs of aging.

“Attitude has a lot to do with it,” she tells me, with a twinkle in her eye.

Something that can be said about much of life. At Heinz-Menaker, age is but a number and attitude is everything. Good aphorisms to remember at any age.

Heinz-Menaker Senior Center is located at 1824 N. 4th St., Harrisburg

More information about Dauphin County’s senior centers can be found at dauphincounty.org.

September News Digest

September 29, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda and Lizzy Hardison

Madsen Named to Council

Dave Madsen is Harrisburg’s newest council member, as City Council last month appointed the Midtown resident to a four-month term.

Madsen takes the seat vacated by former Councilman Jeffrey Baltimore, who resigned in August.

Six city residents applied for the position, and City Council named four finalists: Madsen, Brian Ostella, Jennie Jenkins and Joshua Burkholder. In the end, Madsen, Ostella and Jenkins received nominations from council, which selected Madsen, a technician with the state Department of Revenue, by a 4-2 vote.

Also last month, the Democratic Committee of Dauphin County selected Madsen to appear on the November ballot as its nominee for a two-year council seat to fill the remainder of Baltimore’s term.

In that committee contest, Madsen narrowly bested city official Devan Drabik after Jenkins withdrew her name from contention and threw her support behind Madsen.

Civil War Museum Accord Reached

Harrisburg’s mayor and a city museum have put aside their contentious past in a deal that would give the museum ownership of its permanent collection.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse and board members of the National Civil War Museum last month outlined an agreement in which the city would sell the collection to the museum for $5.25 million and begin to charge the museum rent.

“My goal has always been to reach an agreement in the city’s best interest, and I believe this is in everyone’s best interest,” Papenfuse said.

After becoming mayor in 2014, Papenfuse strongly objected to deals reached under former Mayor Steve Reed that allowed the museum to display the city-owned artifacts at no cost and that charged the museum just $1 a year in rent for the city-owned building. The new agreement, which must be approved by City Council, addresses both those issues.

First, the city would sell the artifacts to the museum for $5.25 million. In turn, the city would put $1 million into a reserve fund to pay for capital improvements to the building, which the city would continue to own. The other $4 million would pay for improvements to Reservoir Park, where the museum is located.

Under the deal, the museum has five years to raise the $5.25 million to purchase about 25,000 artifacts. If it fails to raise the money within that time, the city would be allowed to sell 20 percent of the museum’s collection.

The agreement also outlines a graduated schedule for the payment of rent.

For the first five years, the museum would pay the city $45,000 per year in rent. However, no money would change hands, as the cumulative amount over that period almost equals the amount of money that the museum is owed by the city for unreimbursed building repair costs dating back to 2009.

“It took us a long time to be here, but I think we realize that this made a heck of a lot of sense for both (parties),” said Gene Barr, a museum board member.”

Harrisburg Finances Praised

State officials last month offered an optimistic forecast for Harrisburg’s 2017 finances, but the city’s ability to maintain a balanced budget through the end of the year remains uncertain.

Members of the city’s Act 47 team appeared before City Council to give a mid-year assessment of the current budget.

Praising the “exemplary” leadership of Mayor Eric Papenfuse and City Council, the team summarized the city’s 2017 finances through June and offered recommendations for the second half of the year.

While the team commended the city’s financial vigilance, Harrisburg will see some challenges looking into the second half of the year.

“Not getting $5 million from the state is a little concerning,” said Bruce Weber, city finance director. “Even though we may be in good financial position now, it’s tenuous.

Term Limits Proposed

Former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed served seven full terms, leaving financial devastation in his wake when he left office after 28 years.

City Council President Wanda Williams says she now wants to prevent a future mayor from staying in office too long, thus endangering the welfare of the city. So, she has introduced an ordinance that would limit future Harrisburg mayors to two terms.

“I don’t want that to happen again,” she said.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that, in general, he supports term limits for officeholders and might even consider them as part of a new Home Rule charter. However, he does not support this proposal because, he said, one branch of government cannot use term limits “to control” another.

In contrast, he said he might support a proposal that subjects all municipally elected officials to term limits. Williams said that she might go for that.

“If he wants to consider council members, that’s fine with me, too,” said Williams, who, with 12 years on council, is the longest-serving elected official in the city government.

Hamilton Health to Expand

A planned expansion at Hamilton Health Center in Allison Hill will increase pre-K access for children in that neighborhood, while also providing additional parking for the facility’s patients and employees.

Last month, Harrisburg City Council approved Hamilton Health’s application to add a new parking lot and a 25,000-squre-foot building to its facility on S. 17th Street. The building will house classrooms for Capital Area Head Start and another childcare facility.

Jo Pepper, executive director of Capital Area Head Start, said that the Hamilton Health expansion will allow her organization to direct more resources to its highest-need area, adding 80 slots starting next year.

“Every year, one of our biggest problems is finding safe, age-appropriate facility space in our areas of need,” Pepper said. “We’ve been looking for additional space in Allison Hill for five years now.”

Capital Area Head Start will occupy five classrooms in the new Hamilton Health building.

“We are a one-stop shop for families to access what they need,” said Jeanine Peterson, CEO of Hamilton Health. “Co-locating with Head Start eliminates a lot of the barriers that a lot of families have in ensuring that their kids get quality health care.”

New Office Building Planned

Downtown Harrisburg may soon get its first new office building in several years, as Harristown plans to clear and develop a narrow space off of Market Square.

Asbestos remediation work began last month on 21 S. 2nd Street, a small, three-story, dilapidated brick building that once housed the Coronet restaurant on the ground floor. Demolition will follow, said Brad Jones, president and CEO of Harristown Enterprises.

“This building was beyond repair,” Jones said. “Rehabilitation is always our preference when working on an old building, but, unfortunately, this former restaurant had severe water damage and asbestos and couldn’t be saved.”

Harristown hopes to construct a new, six-story office building next year, with retail or restaurant space on the first floor, once demolition is completed in February 2018. It expects to combine the space with a renovation of the historic SkarlotosZonarich building next door.

Home Sales Continue Rise

Area home sales resumed their upward trend in August, rising 4.4 percent year over year.

Sales totaled 989 units versus 947 in August 2016, while the median price rose to $184,900 against 169,900 the year earlier, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.

In Dauphin County, 325 homes sold compared to 311 homes in the year-ago period, and the median price was $169,900 versus $157,500, GHAR said. In Cumberland County, sales increased by 10 to 346 units, and the median price rose to $204,950 compared to $178,450 in August 2016.

Perry County had sales of 36 homes, down by two units, while the median price decreased to $159,450 versus $162,250 a year ago.

GHAR covers all of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.

So Noted

Amanda Arbour last month was named the new executive director of the LGBT Center of Central PA. Arbour replaces Louie Marven, who served for more than five years in the post.

Beau MacGinnes, gallery curator for Zeroday Brewing Co., captured the first-place prize for “Windows of Perception,” his entry into Wildwood Park’s annual “Art in the Wild” competition. Eve Gurbacki and Adrianne Zimmerman took second place with “When Trees Dream,” and Sean Rafferty and Katlyn Goodyear won third for “Equus Cabullus.”

Boo-Boo’s Barbecue held its grand opening last month at 912 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. The new eatery, which features barbecued meats and homestyle sides, is owned by Litho “Boo Boo” Ware, a former city police officer.

Harrisburg Bike Share plans to launch this month with 10 city locations downtown, Midtown and on City Island. For a $25 annual fee, users will be able to use the bike-sharing service. For details, visit www.bike.zagster.com.

Meeka Fine Jewelry last month held a ribbon cutting at its location at 2135 Market St., Camp Hill. Owner Monika Kroll co-locates her studio in the renovated space, which features products from eight independent artisans.

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-11) last month announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2018. Barletta, who is in his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, would vie for the seat currently held by Sen. Robert Casey Jr.

Sam Jordan has been promoted to vice president, commercial banking, for S&T Bank. He previously served as assistant vice president, commercial banking.

Timothy Reardon last month announced his retirement as executive director of Tri-County Regional Planning Commission following a seven-year tenure in the position. The commission provides planning services and expertise for the greater Harrisburg area.

Zeroday Brewing Co. last month celebrated the grand opening of the Zeroday Outpost inside the stone building of the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. To mark the occasion, a “community ribbon cutting” was held, with patrons cutting small pieces of ribbon.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2249: N. Townsend to T. Bui, $48,000

Berryhill St., 2338: M. Ortiz to PA Deals LLC, $30,000

Berryhill St., 2432: PA Deals LLC to E. Shelly, $63,500

Boas St., 421: B. Andreozzi to M. Berlin, $115,000

Boas St., 433: D. & D. Dreher to S. Rives, $120,000

Brookwood St., 2619: B. Sweger to J. Torres, $65,200

Buckthorn St., 223 & 225; 1208 Walnut St.; 1468 Zarker St.; 2144 N. 4^th St.; 1835 North St.: LMK Properties LLC to RT Propertiez LLC, $86,867

Calder St., 102: K. Goodling & K. Shepherd to C. Hommel, $164,900

Derry St., 2435: PA Deals LLC to J. Tucker, $64,000

Fulton St., 1408: J. Bancroft to K. Black, $109,900

Fulton St., 1413: A. Beasy to C. Wilson, $118,000

Herr St., 214: Leonard J. Dobson Family Limited Partnership to P. Dee, $58,000

Green St., 800: J. & S. Wesley to D. & C. Seltzer, $219,900

Green St., 922: M. Roan to S. Winkeljohn & D. Black, $184,900

Green St., 1201: Equity Trust Co. Gordon Trump IRA to D. & L. Butcher, $189,900

Green St., 1417: B. Williams to L. Santos & O. Labinjo, $173,000

Green St., 1926: W. O’Brien to M. Stier & D. Gottlieb, $210,000

Green St., 2014: H. & S. Johnson to R. & J. Tilley, $135,000

Green St., 2137: N. Morrison to T. Sangrey, $51,000

Green St., 2138: C. Ly to Round Rock Investments LLC, $87,000

Green St., 2340: E. & K. Woolever to J. Clmens, $184,000

Green St., 3240: J. Mueller to M. Sangrey, $115,000

Hamilton St., 232: T. Gagnolet & M. Barth to A. & M. Fretz, $165,000

Harris St., 238: D. Leaman to W. Davis & T. Helwig, $194,824

Harris Terr., 2483: H. Nguyen to HT Properties LLC, $35,000

Lenox St., 1910: M. & J. Bryant to RTD Properties and Management, $40,000

Lexington St., 2600: M. Sink to Harrisburg Properties LLC, $38,500

Logan St., 2000 & 2001 N. 3^rd St.: Otterbein Evangelical & Z. Haverstock to New Day Way of the Cross Church in Christ, $85,000

Logan St., 2246: Dobson Family Partnership to S. Powell, $42,294

Maclay St., 219: Kusic Capital Group LLC to Good Management LLC, $105,000

Mercer St., 2424: L. Barber to R. Murphy III, $50,000

Mercer St., 2455: MidFirst Bank to D. Pham, $32,500

Moore St., 2122 & 2122A: 3 Anvi LLC to Harrisburg Homes Investment LLC, $50,000

Nagle St., 120: J. Piglacampo to J. & D. Griffin, $168,500

Naudain St., 1522 & 1524: H. & C. Myers to ERD Small Property LLC, $40,000

N. 2^nd St., 1105: K. Brett to Hamr Second Street LLC, $112,000

N. 2^nd St., 1331: E. Benion to S. Mimm, $70,120

N. 2^nd St., 1714: R. & N. Walborn to Harrisburg Redevelopment Group LLC, $325,000

N. 2^nd St., 1909: PA Deals LLC to S. Jusufovic, $35,000

N. 2^nd St., 2527: S. & A. Andrus to GRSW Stewart Real Estate Trust, $193,500

N. 2^nd St., 3031: J. Ritchie to D. & M. Main, $96,000

N. 3^rd St., 1620: K. Reimer to J. Reimer, $90,000

N. 3^rd St., 2010: R. Blumenstein to N&R Group LLC, $31,000

N. 3^rd St., 2204: R. & M. Zeigler to P. Ford, $146,000

N. 4^th St., 1701: R. Steinmetz to S. Biray, $129,000

N. 4^th St., 1703: D. Hopkins to S. Bradley & R. Daman, $123,900

N. 5^th St., C. & M. Enoch and S. Pollard to S. Jawhar, $35,000

N. 6^th St., 1316: A. Kraft & B. Kephart to T. Jones, $92,000

N. 7^th St., 2612: Great Foods Inc. to V. Galasso, $50,000

N. 18^th St., 112: Bigfoot Properties to Amiracle4sure Inc., $52,500

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 208: I. Valeo to S. & L. Weitzman, $115,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 511: A. & C. Yastishock to S. Sulecki, $200,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 601: A. Prashar to J. Devine, $174,900

Penn St., 1706: W. & M. Fontana to C. Harris, $132,000

Race St., 612: C. Pinto to D. Amaguayo, $180,000

Rudy Rd., 2492: My Neighbor LLC to HT Properties LLC, $33,600

S. 2^nd St., 21: D. Bratic to South Second Associates LLC, $150,000

S. 17^th St., 209: K. Lawson to M. Khan, $60,000

S. 17^th St., 447: O. & Y. Han to C&P Property Management, Inc., $60,000

S. 28^th St., 726: R. McClure to P. & L. Brown, $35,000

S. 29^th St., 712: C. Kiscadden to M. Gill, $92,900

State St., 234: G. & L. Martin to Harrisburg Buildings & Grounds Co., $163,000

State St., 1508: 1508 State Street LLC to Harrisburg Homes Investment LLC, $40,000

Woodlawn St., 2511: T. Hoa to PA Double Deals LLC, $130,000

Harrisburg property sales for August 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Slate Set: Harrisburg ballot firm for November general election.

September 28, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

A polling station on State Street in Harrisburg.

Harrisburg voters will face an almost entirely Democratic field in the upcoming municipal election, as the final slate is firm for the Nov. 7 ballot.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse appears to be a shoo-in for a second term, as activist Chris Siennick, who insisted earlier in the year that he would run as an independent and even asked to be included in the primary election debates, never filed for the general election. So, his name won’t appear on the ballot.

Siennick confirmed last night that he failed to turn in nominating petitions for an independent run and added that he might consider a write-in candidacy.

Papenfuse, a Democrat, also will appear on the Republican side of the ballot, as he gained that nomination by getting enough Republican write-in votes in the primary.

For Harrisburg City Council, Councilman Dave Madsen will run unopposed, as the Dauphin County Republican Committee failed to nominate a candidate for the two-year seat, which opened up after the unexpected resignation of former Councilman Jeffrey Baltimore in August. County Democrats nominated Madsen earlier this month.

Incumbents Wanda Williams, Shamaine Daniels and Ben Allatt and newcomer Ausha Green all won their Democratic primary contests in May for four, four-year council seats. They face no Republican opposition.

Harrisburg school board is the only municipal body with a contested election. In that race, voters will choose among Democratic nominees Danielle Robinson, Judd Pittman, Carrie Fowler and Brian Carter and Republican nominee James Thompson for four, four-year seats. In the primary, Thompson, an incumbent, cross-filed as both a Democrat and a Republican, but lost the Democratic race. Democrat Percel Eiland is running unopposed for a single, two-year seat on school board.

Other unopposed candidates in Harrisburg include Democratic incumbents Dan Miller for city treasurer and Charlie DeBrunner for city controller.

For magisterial district justice in Harrisburg, incumbent Barbara Pianka is running unopposed in District 12-1-02, as is David O’Leary in District 12-1-04. In District 12-1-05, Democrat Hanif Johnson will face off against Republican nominee Claude Phipps, who cross-filed in the primary.

In Dauphin County, the open seat for prothonotary pits Democrat Diane Bowman against Republican Matthew Krupp. For coroner, incumbent Graham Hetrick is running unopposed, having gained the nominations of both major parties.

For Dauphin County judge, voters will have a choice of four candidates for three seats. Judge Lori Serratelli will be on the Democratic side and Republican attorney John McNally on the Republican side of the ballot. County District Attorney Ed Marsico and attorney Royce Morris will be listed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.

HBG Council Recap: Madsen sworn in, Hamilton expansion OK’d.

September 12, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Dave Madsen was sworn in as a Harrisburg councilman just as tonight’s meeting started.

Harrisburg City Council swore in a new member and approved a major building project during a legislative session this evening.

Dave Madsen, a technician in the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, took the oath of office from Dauphin County Judge Lori Serratelli, officially assuming the seat formerly held by Jeffrey Baltimore.

Madsen was appointed to a four-month term on council last week, and, just two days later, nabbed the Democratic nomination to run for his seat in the November election. Since Madsen currently has no Republican challenger in that race, he will likely serve the remaining two years of Baltimore’s term. His seat has been empty since Baltimore’s resignation on Aug. 11.

After Madsen was sworn in, council voted on a number of resolutions awaiting final approval. Most significant among them was a building permit application by Hamilton Health Providers, which now has the green light to expand its facility on S. 17th Street to include additional parking spots, patient visiting rooms and classrooms for the Head Start pre-K program.

Council also brought to the floor two new resolutions, including one calling for the creation of a task force to explore community policing policies, law enforcement and training initiatives, and the creation of a civilian review board for the police bureau. Council agreed to consider such legislation as a condition of allocating $65,000 to the bureau for the purchase of new protective gear.

A resolution approving the city’s agreement with the National Civil War Museum was also brought to the floor tonight and moved to the Economic Development Committee. Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced the plan to resolve disputes with the museum in a press conference at city hall yesterday. The agreement, reached jointly by city officials and museum directors, will allow the museum to buy its collection of artifacts from the city for $5.25 million. In turn, the city will begin to charge the museum rent and will pay for some capital repairs to the museum building in Reservoir Park.

Council will discuss both of the new resolutions at its Sept. 19 work session.

Back to Back: County Democrats nominate Dave Madsen for Harrisburg Council seat.

September 6, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Dave Madsen makes his pitch to members of the Dauphin County Democratic Committee before tonight’s nomination vote.

Dave Madsen’s service on City Council got a likely two-year extension on Wednesday night, thanks to a vote of confidence from the Dauphin County Democratic Committee.

At a packed nomination meeting in the Kline Library, DCDC voted to make Madsen the party candidate for the November city council election. Madsen beat out four other nominees to clinch his spot on the ballot.

His victory came one day after he was appointed by council to serve a four-month term, filling the seat vacated by Jeffrey Baltimore in August. Madsen will run for the same seat in November to serve out the remaining two years of Baltimore’s term.

Madsen’s win in November is all but inevitable, since the county Republicans have not put forth a candidate for the seat.

Madsen secured 21 of the committee’s 44 votes at Wednesday’s nomination meeting. Devan Drabik, the city’s business development director who said she would quit her job to take a council seat, followed with 18 votes. Three votes went to former city Councilwoman Patricia Stringer. Steven Williams, who was absent from the meeting, and Jennie Jenkins, who announced her withdrawal before the vote took place, got a single vote each.

Since Madsen faces likely election in November, he plans to focus most of his energy during the campaign season on promoting other Democratic candidates, he said.

“It’s about pushing the ticket,” he said after the meeting. “We have competitive races for the state Supreme Court and at the county level.”

Madsen said that his most immediate priority as a council member will be helping the city approve a 2018 budget. After that, he hopes to work on local campaign finance reform.

“It’s something that’s talked about a lot at the national and state level, and I’m looking forward to promoting it locally,” Madsen said.

He also came out in favor of mayoral term limits, a topic of debate at last night’s council work session. Madsen said he supports 12-year term limits for both the executive and legislative branches.

When asked about long-term financial planning for the city, Madsen said that he would approve a Home Rule charter “as a last ditch effort” and only after a one-year campaign to engage and educate the public. He also supports the city’s application for a three-year extension on its Act 47 status and intends to speak with Harrisburg’s state representatives about maintaining the local services tax at its current rate.

Author: Lizzy Hardison

Heated Exchange: Harrisburg council, administration argue over political influence, alliances

September 6, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg’s newest councilman, Dave Madsen, posed for a picture following last night’s long, sometimes heated, City Council meeting.

A discussion about mayoral term limits and political alliances in Harrisburg drew sharp words at a Tuesday night council meeting, ultimately ending with the City Council president accusing the mayor of trying to influence a council selection process.

Council is considering a resolution that would limit Harrisburg mayors to serving two, four-year terms. The bill was first introduced at the Aug. 29 legislative session and discussed again at Tuesday’s non-voting work session.

While the consensus on council seems to favor term limits, Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that he would only support an ordinance that established term limits on all elected offices.

“It’s a problem to have the legislative branch impose term limits on the executive branch,” Papenfuse said.

He also said that city hall needed to engage the public on the issue and compromise on the length of the term limit before making any change.

Williams agreed that term limits should apply to all branches of government, but then accused the mayor of interfering with legislative activities by trying to influence council votes. The exchange that followed, wherein Papenfuse defended his right to express opinions to council people, became a referendum on the perceived mistrust between the city’s executive and legislative branches.

Williams rebuked Papenfuse for allegedly texting members of council to tell them how to vote in the selection of a new council person. Council held a special session on Tuesday to appoint a replacement for Jeffrey Baltimore, a councilman who resigned last month.

Dave Madsen got the four-vote majority he needed to take the vacant seat, an appointment that only lasts about four months until the winner in the November election can claim the seat. Papenfuse, though, favored another nominee, Brian Ostella. He drew Williams’ ire for sharing his preference before Tuesday’s vote.

“How are we going to be transparent if you text a council person to select a certain individual?” Williams asked Papenfuse. “You should not have been involved in that process—how can we work together if you keep doing things like that?”

Papenfuse defended sending text messages to councilmen Westburn Majors and Cornelius Johnson, saying that he only told them how he would vote if he were called in to break a tie.

“The mayor gets to participate if there’s a tie, so I thought they should know where I stand if there was,” Papenfuse said. “I expressed my opinion that, for a four-month term with the budget vote coming up, that Brian Ostella would be a good addition to council.”

Williams accused Papenfuse of sending a text message to Councilwoman Destini Hodges, who was absent from last Thursday’s special meeting when council began the selection process.

Hodges voted for Madsen at Tuesday’s meeting, bringing his vote total to four and ending the election. If she had voted for Ostella, however, there could have been a tie between the two nominees. Papenfuse denied texting her about the vote.

“I had no conversation with Hodges at all,” Papenfuse said.

The long evening ended with Karl Singleton, special assistant to the mayor, getting into a heated exchange with Williams. He implied that Papenfuse had every right to voice his preference and that, in any case, Madsen was the choice of Williams’ backer, Jimmy Pianka.

Following this tense, loud exchange, Madsen got up briefly to say, “I look forward to working with all of you in a constructive manner.”

Author: Lizzy Hardison
Lawrance Binda contributed to this story.

“Turnaround Story”: Harrisburg budget strong but challenges remain.

September 5, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg City Council members listened to a mid-year budget update as part of a lengthy work session tonight.

State officials tonight offered an optimistic forecast for Harrisburg’s 2017 finances, but the city’s ability to maintain a balanced budget through the end of the year remains uncertain.

Members of the city’s Act 47 team appeared before City Council to give a mid-year assessment of the city’s current budget.

Act 47 is a state oversight and assistance program for “economically distressed” municipalities. Harrisburg has been under Act 47 since October 2010.

According to Gerald Cross, a representative from the Pennsylvania Economy League, the city received 58 percent of its total projected yearly revenue by June 30 of this year, putting trends slightly higher than they were in 2016. Real estate taxes, earned income taxes and local services taxes all came in at higher rates than last year. Parking revenues, on the other hand, fell short of projections. The city also saw lower revenue trends in its “other sources” category, due in part to the state’s budget crisis delaying the disbursal of state grants.

On the expenditure side, the city exhausted 45 percent of its personnel budget by mid-year, slightly below the 50 percent expected. Officials attributed the savings to vacant jobs and cautious hiring.

Non-personnel expenditures, however, reached 66 percent of full-year capacity by June 30. According to Cross, the city makes several large, one-time payments in the beginning of the year to cover long-term services, so expenditures should level out by January.

Since it collects most of its revenue in the first half of the year, Harrisburg ended June with $21.6 million in cash. City Controller Charlie DeBrunner called that figure “extraordinary” compared to when he took office in 2014.

While Cross and his team commended the city’s financial vigilance, Harrisburg will see some challenges looking into the second half of the year.

For example, the city doesn’t yet know if it can count on its annual payment from the state. In past years, the state has made a single, lump-sum payment to Harrisburg to cover the costs of supporting the state Capitol complex. A $5 million payment to the city is in the commonwealth’s spending plan, but fears are it still could get axed.

“Not getting $5 million from the state is a little concerning,” said Bruce Weber, city finance director. “Even though we may be in good financial position now, it’s tenuous.”

Moreover, expenses will spike when the city makes a “substantial” $3 million debt payment this month, Weber said. He also pointed out that some of city’s savings brings a practical cost, particularly in the police department.

“The city accrues a lot of savings by not having as much law enforcement as we’d like,” Weber said.

He said that recent retirements and a shortage of applicants prevent the force from operating at full compliment.

On the whole, the Act 47 team praised Harrisburg’s financial management amidst tough economic conditions for cities across the state.

“This is really a turnaround story,” Cross said. “You should be happy with your financial picture.”

He explained that the state tax structure places undue burdens on urban areas, where revenue bases have dwindled as residents moved to the suburbs.

“The tax structure we work under was designed when all the wealth was in the cities and everyone else was a farmer,” Cross said. “We operate under a structure assuming cities can provide all the services.”

Weber confirmed that Harrisburg’s revenue base needs to grow for the city to exit Act 47. Though real estate and taxable income have remained stagnant for about 10 years, the city has seen increased revenue from building projects.

“If you get real building going on in the city, you see real dollars that are generated from that,” Weber said.

The Act 47 team will submit its full, mid-year report to council later this week. Council is slated to begin taking up the 2018 budget in November.

Author: Lizzy Hardison

Decision Made: Madsen named new Harrisburg councilman.

September 5, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Dave Madsen (center) chats with fellow council hopeful Brian Ostella at last week’s Harrisburg council meeting.

Dave Madsen is Harrisburg’s newest council member, as City Council today appointed the Midtown resident to a four-month term.

Madsen takes the seat vacated by former Councilman Jeffrey Baltimore, who resigned last month.

Council members Wanda Williams, Ben Allatt, Shamaine Daniels and Destini Hodges supported Madsen. Councilman Cornelius Johnson voted for Ostella, and Councilman Westburn Majors voted for Jenkins.

Madsen remained for the lengthy work session that followed his appointment. He is expected to be sworn in before council’s legislative session next week.

This was the second time that council attempted to fill the seat. Last week, council met in a special session to name a new member to the seven-person body. However, because Hodges was absent, no nominee could garner the four votes necessary for the seat.

Madsen will only serve four months. In the November general election, voters will decide who will serve out the remaining two years of Baltimore’s term. Both the Dauphin County Democratic and Republican committees are eligible to nominate one candidate to appear on the November ballot for the seat.

Tomorrow night, the Democratic committee will meet to decide who will be its nominee. Madsen said he also has applied for that nomination.

Author: Lawrance Binda

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