Tag Archives: harrisburg

Click & Toss: Harrisburg announces new recycling, sanitation app.

June 13, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

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

The city today 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.

The “my schedule” tab is a monthly calendar that indicates when sanitation workers will collect certain items. Icons indicate the type of waste—from regular trash to yard waste—that will be collected on which day. The app also allows users to add reminders for certain collection or disposal days.

The “what goes where” tab helps users find the proper disposal method and location for items they may be unsure about.

“Be a better recycler” is a quiz in which users can discover the rights and wrongs of your recycling habits.

“Communication” allows users to send a report to technical support and to the Department of Public Works. “More resources” has a list of local waste and recycling companies. Under each company, there is a list of which items they recycle, their services and their contact information.

“Collection requirements” provides information on curbside programs and requirements, such as what is collected, information on electronic and large appliance collections and more.

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.

“I feel that [the app] really empowers people to become better recyclers and take a greater interest in what they are doing,” Papenfuse said. “I encourage everyone to download it on their phones. It’s quick. It took just a few seconds to download.”

The Recycle Coach is free and available for Apple and Android users. For the online version or more information visit harrisburgpa.gov

Pumped Up: Local firm Andculture purchases, plans to renovate, relocate to Old Waterworks.

May 30, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

The Old Waterworks complex on Front Street.

The King Mansion, the Moffitt Mansion, the “Mary K” mansions.

In recent years, these iconic Front Street buildings have been purchased, restored and reoccupied.

You can now add to that list a singular Harrisburg property—the historic Old Waterworks building.

Today, the owners of Harrisburg-based Andculture closed on the purchase of the sprawling, 22,000-square-foot building, one of only two structures in Harrisburg within Riverfront Park, directly fronting the Susquehanna River.

After a full building renovation, the design and engineering company plans to relocate its 55-person staff from its long-time downtown home at N. 2^nd and Locust streets.

“We are very excited about this,” said David Hickethier, co-owner of Andculture. “This has been a long time in the works.”

The building has been on and off the market for several years. However, the sales process was accelerated once the prior owner, Mann Realty Associates, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January. According to Dauphin County, Hickethier and his partners bought the property from Mann Realty for $1.25 million.

A view from inside the Old Waterworks, as the Pride of the Susquehanna riverboat churns past.

The Waterworks is one of the oldest extant buildings in Harrisburg, actually comprised of four connected structures.

The original stone portion dates to 1841, built to pump water to the city’s first reservoir, which was located near the state Capitol. The pumping station was substantially enlarged in 1901, with much of the buff-colored brick structure dating to that period. In recent decades, the building fell victim both to the Tropical Storm Agnes flood of 1972, which ended its life as a pumping station, and to a devastating fire five years later.

In the 1980s, the city restored the building, turning it mostly into office space. Mann Realty acquired the property from Harrisburg in 2002 for $350,000, according to the Dauphin County property database.

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.

An interior view of some of the hardware inside the Old Waterworks.

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.

“The building has the structure and the bones: stone, steel, brick,” he said. “So, I knew we could work with it.”

Right now, they’re shooting for a year-end completion date, with the understanding that renovations could extend into 2019.

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

The Old Waterworks is located at 614 N. Front St., Harrisburg. For more information about Andculture, visit www.andculture.com.

“Markets Have Collapsed”: Cities, waste companies ponder next steps as the recycling industry faces crisis.

May 25, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Penn Waste employees sort recycled material at the company’s Materials Recovery Facility in York County. Processing costs at the MRF are causing Penn Waste to lose $800,000 a month on its recycling program, since the export market for recycled goods has collapsed. (Photo courtesy of Penn Waste.)

If you tossed paper or plastic in a blue recycling bin this year, there’s a good chance it won’t find its second life anytime soon.

The global supply chain that takes waste from households in the United States to processing plants in China has broken, industry leaders say, leaving months’ worth of recyclable material sitting in American warehouses without a prospective destination.

“The industry is in crisis,” said James Warner, CEO of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA). “The economics of recycling are underwater.”

Pennsylvania waste companies, including the York County-based Penn Waste, which collects and processes recyclable waste in Harrisburg and most of south central Pennsylvania, are seeking temporary relief from a state law that prohibits the disposal of recyclable materials as trash.

The Department of Environmental Protection enforces that law but does not have the authority to grant exemptions from it, according to an agency spokesperson.

As a result, recycling firms are accumulating hundreds of tons of recyclable material that they cannot sell.

“We cannot get it out the door quick enough,” said Penn Waste spokesperson Amanda Davison. “We’ve already slowed down processing and we’re adding more equipment and labor… but the markets have collapsed.”

Davidson said the material at Penn Waste’s facility in York County is getting even less marketable as time goes on, since “it can only sit outside for so long before it becomes a safety hazard because of rain deterioration and vermin.”

Penn Waste, which was founded by Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner, has lost $800,000 a month since October on its recycling business, Davidson said. The company reported $75 million in revenue in 2017, according to the Central Penn Business Journal.

To make up for the loss, Penn Waste has imposed a sustainability fee on its commercial accounts and plans to ask municipalities to renegotiate their rates in their contracts.

Both Davidson and Warner say that the sudden breakdown of the global recycling market could reshape the industry for good, potentially changing the way that municipalities collect recyclables and pass costs on to consumers.

A Problem with Global Reach
For decades, China has been the largest global importer of recycled goods. The country consumed more than 50 percent of the world’s recycled paper and plastic in 2016, according to the National Waste and Recycling Association.

As Chinese demand for recycled goods grew in the 1990s and 2000s, American recycling programs flourished. Revenues from selling recycled waste always exceeded the cost of transporting, processing and packaging it, Warner said, which allowed municipalities, including Harrisburg, to haul away residents’ recyclables without charging them.

But the economic equation that supports that model has deteriorated in the past year. The very systems that allowed haulers to collect more recyclables also harmed the quality of their exports over time.

Single-stream recycling programs, for instance, which allow consumers to toss all of their recyclables into the same collection bin, proliferated in the 2000s. They allowed haulers to collect more recyclable waste than ever before, but it was also contaminated with growing amounts of food waste, non-recyclable plastics and medical waste.

“The U.S. got very sloppy,” Warner said. “We made it too convenient and didn’t educate consumers enough about what was and wasn’t recyclable.”

Chinese importers warned American firms in 2013 that they needed better quality control. But American contamination levels continued to rise, reaching an all-time high of 20 percent last year. At that rate, one in five items in a processed bale of recycling is non-recyclable trash.

China’s latest response came in November, when it announced that it would not accept any material with a contamination level above .5 percent starting in 2018. The decree has disqualified almost all of America’s recycled waste from import.

With the Chinese market suddenly inaccessible, haulers like Penn Waste have begun to seek out other Asian and domestic markets to sell the recyclables that they sort and bale at their plant in York County.

But the few substitute markets that do exist are already saturated by larger firms, such as Dallas-based Waste Management, the largest sanitation company in the world.

“Smaller, regional [companies] can’t compete because they have such a small volume,” said LCSWMA spokesperson Kathryn Sandoe. “Waste Management might be able to sell the material at such a low rate because they have to move it, but then a company like Penn Waste has nowhere to move theirs.”

The New Cost of Business
Sooner or later, the chaos racking the recycling industry will bring a cost to consumers.

Davidson and Warner warned that the era of “free recycling” will come to an end and haulers may have to move away from single-stream collection programs.

LCSWMA, which manages waste material brought collected by private haulers, used to sell recyclable materials to Penn Waste for $4 per ton. Now, they’re paying Penn Waste $40 per ton to take the waste off their hands.

Warner said that the loss of recycling markets won’t eat into the authority’s $85 million annual revenues. Penn Waste is absorbing most of the costs now, since it owns the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that sorts and bales recyclables for export.

Davidson said that Penn Waste may have to move to a fee-based model for processing recycling, which would spread cost out over collectors and residential and commercial customers.

Penn Waste is bound by contracts with its municipal account holders, which usually last for terms of three to five years, Davidson said. If they don’t renegotiate rates now, municipalities will see them skyrocket to retroactively compensate Penn Waste for the revenue it lost on their accounts.

Harrisburg may be the only exception. The city’s $190 per-ton dumping fee at LCSWMA is double what the rest of Dauphin County pays, due to terms of a financial restructuring deal in which Harrisburg sold the incinerator to the waste authority.

As a result, it’s unlikely that the cost of recycling will ever eclipse the cost of dumping Harrisburg’s trash at the incinerator.

“One of benefits, if you can call it that, of having such high tipping fees is that we can incentivize people to recycle as much as possible because it’s better for the city financially,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “But in [a township] with reasonable tipping fees, it may not make sense to pay exorbitant recycling costs to Penn Waste.”

Papenfuse said Harrisburg residents should take as much recycling out of the waste stream as they can. But according to Warner, that emphasis on diversion is what led to the current crisis in the American recycling industry.

“It’s not grounded in reality,” Warner said. “Communities are preaching diversion, and the only thing they’re getting is more trash in the recycling bin, which is hurting recycling.”

He and Davidson said that consumer education will be key to repairing the industry. Warner said that many consumers believe that all plastics are recyclable, even though disposable shopping bags, food packaging and food containers are considered contaminants.

Warner also said that single-stream recycling may be replaced by dual-stream programs that allow processors to extract valuable materials more easily. Papenfuse said that Harrisburg could consider dual-stream recycling if the convenience of single-stream becomes cost-prohibitive.

Watch a tour of Penn Waste’s Materials Recovery Facility to learn how recyclables are sorted, baled and prepared for export. Also, see this guide from LCSWMA to learn what is and isn’t recyclable. In Harrisburg, glass must be recycled in designated collection bins located throughout the city.

Summer Service: CAT, Hershey Entertainment team up to connect people to jobs.

May 22, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

With summer approaching, Capital Area Transit (CAT) once again is partnering with Hershey Entertainment & Resorts to bring workers to seasonal jobs.

Implemented on Tuesday, the HP (Hersheypark) bus route will provide more than 10 routes to connect Harrisburg residents to popular Hershey areas such as Hersheypark, Tanger Outlets and the Hershey Hotel.

“This is the 15th consecutive season that CAT has run its summer service to the Hershey properties,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse (pictured above), at a press conference on Tuesday. “During those 15 years, CAT has transported more than a quarter-million riders from the city of Harrisburg to Hershey.”

This year, CAT anticipates the HP will transport 35,000 riders to and from Hershey throughout the summer. For these riders, Hershey Entertainment has funded an articulated bus for $10,040. The bus, which resembles two buses held together by an accordion-like connector, holds 60 seats, twice the number of a regular CAT bus.

“Not only will we be increasing the number of riders per trip, but we will be reducing the operating cost,” said Papenfuse.

The bus, which will not be available until July, will also feature Hershey branding.

“On behalf of our nearly 700 full-time and 7,000 part-time employees, we are grateful for our ongoing collaboration with Capital Area Transit and are proud to partner with an organization that is so committed to serving our community,” said Kathleen McGraw, director of communications at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. “We are confident that this service that was announced today will not only help out employees and guests but the region as a whole.”

According to Richard Farr, the executive director of CAT, the bus will not only benefit Hershey and their employees, but Harrisburg will see an economic benefit, as well.

“It gives individuals jobs, which is something we are always looking to do, and it allows those who have jobs and reside in the city of Harrisburg to spend their money downtown,” he said. “They’ll partake in the activities, they’ll partake in the restaurants, and that’s all part of the bigger picture of economic development.”

In addition, CAT has updated its current routes, which are effective today:

Route 9 – Discontinuation of service to PA Game Commission
Route 12 – Time adjustment of 5:15 p.m. inbound trip; time point & notes added to schedule
Route 39 – Discontinuation of Vartan Way deviation (6:30 a.m. trip)
Route 322 – Time adjustment of 7:45 a.m. inbound trip & route alignment adjustments
Route C – Time adjustments on outbound p.m. rush hour trips

For the full list of changes, visit cattransit.com and read the full summer service announcement.

No Rain Please: Artsfest returns to the Harrisburg waterfront with much to do, see, eat, drink.

May 18, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

With the continuous rain and cloudy weather, Harrisburg is in dire need of some color.

Enter the 51st annual Artsfest. From May 26 to May 28, the city’s riverfront will be home to colorful works by more than 200 artists from across the nation displaying art in 16 different categories, ranging from photography to ceramics. There will be two food courts within the festival featuring many types of cuisine.

“This event is going to be as large and successful as ever,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse at a press conference (pictured above, with Jump Street Executive Director Melissa Snyder).

Some familiar faces are returning. HBG Fest, hosted by the HBG Flea, will bring in work from 45 local artists and craftsmen for a second straight year. This year, their tent, which will be located at the end of Front Street near Forster Street, will be larger to allow more air flow and room for people to shop.

Ever Grain Brewery Co. will host Beer Fest, also for the second year. Their handcrafted beer will be available for purchase outside of the Civic Club on N. Front Street.

Joining Beer Fest, for the first time, is Rubicon, a local French-influenced restaurant. Rubicon will provide a selection of oysters, a shrimp boil and its famous firefly cocktail.

Kids Fest returns with the help of Gamut Theater Groups’ Popcorn Hat Players, which will put on shows for children each day between noon and 5 p.m. In addition, vendors will sell a variety of kid-friendly items such as food, toys, art and more.

For music lovers, the Kunkel stage, located at Kunkel Plaza at State Street, will have performances by regional scholastic, local and emerging bands. Jazz Fest, sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz, will play near the Walnut Street Bridge.

The award-winning London a cappella group, the Kingsmen, will make its first-ever Artsfest appearance, performing at noon on Saturday, May 26, on the Kunkel stage. The group will be joined by Vocal Harmonics, formally known as the Rose Red Chorus, an all-female a cappella group.

Film buffs can enjoy the 20th anniversary of FilmFest, a two-day screening of short films produced by local filmmakers and hosted by Moviate.

Van Gogh, the Susquehanna Art Museum’s mobile arts center, will feature “Behind the Scenes,” an all-ages exhibit that explores the art, jobs and tools located inside the museum.

For security purposes, no pets or bikes will be allowed in the festival. However, Recycle Bicycle will have an area for cyclists to place their bikes near Forster Street. The group will even provide free brake and tire tests.

With the help of Donegal Insurance Group and Park Harrisburg, parking in the Market Square Parking Garage will be free between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. all three days.

“It’s going to be a wonderful time,” said Papenfuse. “I hope everyone will come down to the riverfront and enjoy Artsfest this year.”

Artsfest takes place May 26 to 28 in Riverfront Park, Harrisburg. It is produced by Jump Street, a community-based, nonprofit organization that creates arts based program development and helps bring art and artists into Harrisburg. Click here for more information about Artsfest.

Photo by Mhelaney Noel

Changes to Sanitation Code, Billing Weighed by Harrisburg Council

May 1, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg’s existing rules governing trash collection may soon get canned.

City Council is considering a new, more comprehensive sanitation ordinance that would usher in stronger enforcement tools and more efficient billing for its trash collection services and lay out clearer rules for city recycling programs, Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced tonight.

It would also waive annual trash fees for the owners of vacant lots and properties, eliminating an intensely unpopular provision of the current ordinance, Papenfuse said.

The revised sanitation code aims to curb the city’s perennial problems of illegal dumping and excessive trash accumulation. It would grant the city stronger enforcement powers by creating two categories of offenses and a new fine structure.

Under the proposed 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 – would be considered category 1 violations punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to 90 days in jail.

Category 2 violations are more minor acts that are likely to recur without deterrence, Papenfuse said. These violations, which include failure to bag waste, obstruction of streets and sidewalks or interference with enforcement, would be met with fines starting at $100. Fines would increase up to $500 for each subsequent offense.

The ordinance would also permit the Public Works Department to designate enforcement officers to patrol public streets for violations. It also would authorize police officers to issue citations and enforce the ordinance.

Papenfuse said that the new legislation also would codify the city’s free and mandatory recycling services, including its new glass recycling program.

“This will bring us into the new century in regard to recycling,” Papenfuse said. “We’ve more than tripled recycling in the last few years but very little is laid out in existing code.”

One of the most significant changes in the proposed ordinance is an annual billing structure designed to save money for the city and its residents.

Harrisburg residents currently make monthly payments for trash services. Under the new ordinance, the city treasurer’s office would include trash fees in property tax bills. The separate charges would appear on the same invoice and would be subject to the same due date and discount period.

Residents may opt out of once-yearly billing in favor of monthly direct deposit payments. However, those who pay their trash fees within 60 days of billing would receive a 2-percent discount.

City Treasurer Dan Miller said that streamlined bills would save the city $100,000 in mailing and labor costs each year. He also hopes it will increase the city’s collection rate and improve early-year cash flow.

Miller said that the city has a 98-percent collection rate for its real estate tax, with 70 percent of that revenue coming in during the 60-day discount period.

“We assume trash will be the same, which would increase cash flow and generate more interest for us throughout the year,” he said.

The city will host a series of public meetings to hear input and answer questions about the proposed ordinance. The first will be held on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Public Works building on Paxton Street.

Council tonight also heard from members of the Harrisburg Police Bureau, who are asking for an additional $165,000 to construct a substation on S. 15^th Street.

That sum represents a 13-percent increase over the project’s $817,000 budget.

City engineer Wayne Martin said that bids for the project came in above early estimates and insisted that the added cost was “not an unusual” margin for error in publicly bid projects.

Several council members lamented the fact that the project’s timeline has lagged as its costs increased.

“Three years ago, we planned a $300,000 precinct with a turnaround of three to six months,” Councilman Cornelius Johnson said. “Now, it’s more expensive, and it’s only a substation.”

Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Carter said that early plans to retrofit a facility at S. 15^th Street became impossible once it was found to be structurally unsound. That structure was razed in December to make way for a new modular building.

Police officials say they don’t have enough manpower to staff a full-time precinct, but they still think a substation would benefit officers and residents. Carter reported that increased police presence in South Allison Hill has helped drive down homicides there this year.

“The cost is what it is, but I know that, since we’ve been concentrating on that area, we have not had homicides,” Carter said.

To Zero: “Vision Zero” aims for no auto-related deaths in Harrisburg.

April 30, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

A past accident at Front and Forster streets in Harrisburg.

Car crashes are falling across Pennsylvania, but they’re on a dramatic rise in Harrisburg.

Vehicle-related fatalities have quadrupled in the city in the last four years, according to PennDOT data, rising from two deaths in 2013 to eight deaths in 2017.

City officials say enough is enough. Harrisburg is adopting a new vehicle safety policy, “Vision Zero,” which aims to eliminate vehicle-related deaths within the next decade, city Engineer Wayne Martin said today.

The city is also undertaking a rapid-response study to improve transportation safety on State Street, the site of five pedestrian deaths in the past 17 months.

Martin couldn’t say what’s caused the rash of pedestrian deaths in Harrisburg, but he hopes the Vision Zero plan will help the city find an answer. He cited reporting from PennLive and TheBurg as an impetus for the city’s new scrutiny on its vehicle safety policies.

“We really have to figure out what’s going on,” Martin said. “The stats are really bad for Harrisburg.”

The Vision Zero policy, which has been adopted by such cities as Bethlehem and Philadelphia, represents a data-driven approach to curtailing vehicle accidents and improving pedestrian and cyclist safety. Harrisburg’s plan will consist of a public outreach and data-gathering period to determine hot spots for crashes and potential danger zones.

Martin said that the city has isolated patches of data from traffic studies. This more ambitious data-gathering project will help the city compile a comprehensive profile of its roadways and traffic patterns, he said.

Project leaders will combine data from official sources, such as hospitals and PennDOT, with input from residents. Martin said that the city needs citizens to report areas with reckless driving to help identify potential danger zones.

“Near-misses and reckless driving are things that don’t show up in police reports,” Martin said. “Lots of municipalities have outreach efforts where residents can record risky behavior.”

The data collected over the next four months will lead to official recommendations and, eventually, to changes in city infrastructure and policy, Martin said. He expects public outreach to take place at every step of the way.

“Nothing will be implemented without community input,” said city Communications Director Joyce Davis.” “There will be outreach and meetings, lots of opportunities for people to dialogue and discuss this.”

Those changes could include adjustments to the size of traffic lanes or the addition of bike lanes or transit lanes on busy thoroughfares.

Martin couldn’t comment on potential changes to police enforcement under the Vision Zero plan. He noted that the Police Bureau is perennially short-staffed and that the city could qualify for grants to fund additional police presence on dangerous roadways.

City officials are finalizing a $335,000 contract with McNees Wallace & Nurick to implement the Vision Zero plan and undertake the State Street study. The budget includes a $94,000 public outreach component that will be conducted by Eluminat, a Washington, D.C.-based firm.

The funds for the project will come from the city’s general fund, Martin said.

In the Year 2050, 2050: Predictions, progress and unintended consequences.

April 30, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

From her perch at Zeroday Brewing Co., a friend recently texted me with a question about Harrisburg’s parking system.

A fellow barstool-sitter wanted to know how long Harrisburg’s lease ran with Standard Parking. So, naturally, she texted me.

“Is it 75 years?” she wrote.

“No,” I responded back. “Forty years. Thirty-six more to go.”

Afterwards, I began to think about the passage of time, how I may or may not be walking the Earth by the time the agreement expires (conclusion: probably not). Then I pondered Harrisburg itself, how it might be different by then.

Predicting the future may be a fool’s game, but this fool is game, if only because I’m fascinated by the changes in this city, current and planned. In addition, I believe that Harrisburg has entered a new phase in its story, the fourth in my estimation (the prior ones being pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial).

I’m not certain exactly what we’ll call this new era, but I expect it will be driven by Harrisburg’s strong advantages (old, dense housing stock, walkability, beautiful setting, superb location), along with and facilitated by, a heavy dose of technology.

Parking will fade as an issue (in a way).

There’s a huge problem with a 40-year deal, and that problem is, whether or not you even realize it, you’re making a bet on the future. You’re gambling that the conditions on the ground at the time of the agreement will remain substantially unchanged throughout it. But will they?

My guess is that, with the parking deal, they will change. In fact, just four years in, we’re already seeing possible problems that were not evident in 2014.

The agreement rested on the reasonable assumption that demand for parking would remain the same or even increase over time. But that’s probably wrong.

No, I haven’t turned into a Harrisburg hater, one of the legions of trolls who seem to delight in (and exaggerate) every problem the city has. In fact, over the long turn, I’m bullish on both business in and visitors to the downtown.

However, I’m not bullish on the use of private automobiles.

I live downtown, so walk almost everywhere anyway. But, when I meet up with a friend who lives Uptown or outside the city—even as near as Midtown—they take Uber downtown, whereas, until recently, they all were driving and paying for parking. If, five or 10 years down the road, driverless cars become common, this trend will only accelerate.

So, my prediction—more people downtown, but fewer cars. This will be great for downtown businesses, but potentially disastrous for the parking deal.

Harrisburg’s population will increase substantially

Do I hear 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 more people?

In recent years, Harrisburg’s population has stabilized, which may be the first step in reversing decades of decline. This isn’t wishful thinking, but the result of simply seeing what’s happening around me.

Ten years ago, the city’s streets seemed empty, the sidewalks even more so, and downtown and Midtown were thick with once-grand buildings that had fallen to ruin. Change has come in a short timeframe. Many blighted buildings have been put back into productive use, and street life is returning.

The future seems even more promising. Over the just the past few months, Harrisburg University announced a mixed-used high rise, the new federal courthouse received funding and the first new house was sold at MulDer Square, to name just a few projects. There are now ambitious proposals for Paxton Creek, the train station area, Market Square and 2nd Street, which could revitalize entire swaths of the city.

Despite this progress, much of Harrisburg remains in poor shape, with empty lots, underused buildings and not enough people.

The upside here is that there’s great opportunity for infill and expansion. Harrisburg easily can accommodate tens of thousands more people, as long as the demand exists for that housing.

To accomplish this, though, the city will need to reach some type of psychic comfort with development and growth. Outsiders and investment should be welcomed, not treated with disdain.

The city/suburb, east shore/west shore split will ease.

Years ago, when I lived in Washington, D.C., the Potomac River divided that city and its suburbs much like the Susquehanna River does here today. Suburbanites claimed they were afraid to come into D.C. less they be mugged or worse, and early Internet bulletin boards were full of the same racist nonsense and fearmongering that you often see today in the PennLive comment section.

In Washington, much of that has faded. Today, there is far more fluid movement between city and suburb, with the entire area more comfortable in identifying itself as a unified region. Finally, the “National Capital Area” has, indeed, become exactly that.

But what about Pennsylvania’s capital region? As Harrisburg continues to redevelop, I believe that greater unity will be found here, too. The city once again will be regarded as the center of an integrated urban area, not as the hole in the doughnut.

Harrisburg has a destiny to fulfill. Someday, it will take its place as a gem of a small city perfectly situated on a grand river. It will just take some time, patience, capital and the good will, mutual support and understanding of well-intentioned people.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Glass Recycling Returns to Harrisburg

April 16, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

Under Harrisburg’s new program, residents can drop off glass for recycling at the marked areas on the map.

Glass is trash no more.

That was the message of Mayor Eric Papenfuse today, as he announced the return of glass recycling to Harrisburg.

“We are pleased to be able to provide a way for our residents to recycle glass jars and bottles,” Papenfuse said. “This is just another way we’re trying to implement environmentally friendly programs that will make us a green and progressive city.”

Three years ago, Harrisburg suspended glass recycling, citing its high cost and difficulty. At the same time, it began to accept paper products for recycling, which previously had not been allowed.

While glass recycling will re-start, it will not be picked up with other recyclables during weekly curbside collection. Instead, the city has identified areas in the following places where glass can be dropped off:

Shipoke
Hall Manor
Kline Plaza
Fire Station Two
Fire Station One
Fire Station Eight
Broad Street Market
Uptown Shopping Plaza
Harrisburg Department of Public Works
William Howard Day Homes

Each location will provide a clearly marked dumpster or bin for recycled glass products, Papenfuse said.

Specific glass products, including jars and bottles without lids or tops, will be accepted. Glass products such a mirrors, windows and drinking glasses, will not be accepted.

Papenfuse said that glass recycling has re-started because the new program will keep glass out of the waste stream of other recycled products. A major challenge for glass recycling has been that broken glass is difficult and expensive to separate and handle when intermingled with other recycled waste.

The city has contracted with Mount Pleasant, Pa.-based CAP Glass, a glass recycler to collect and recycle the glass. Glass recycling is slated to begin on Earth Day, April 22.

Papenfuse said that, since he’s been mayor, recycling in the city has increased three-fold, and he stressed the importance of glass recycling to keep down the city’s cost of burning solid waste at the incinerator.

“Not only are we concerned about the environment,” he said. “We’re also concerned about taxpayer dollars.”

For more information, including drop-off areas for glass recycling, visit the city’s website.

This story has been updated to include information about CAP Glass and additional comments from the mayor.

March News Digest

March 30, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda and Lizzy Hardison

Free Evening Parking

Free parking could come to downtown Harrisburg as early as this month, as City Council passed a resolution that would offset street parking costs after 5 p.m.

Council agreed unanimously last month to join Dauphin County and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID) in ponying up money to offset parking revenues that operator Park Harrisburg would lose between 5 and 7 p.m.

“I think it’s a boost for the city,” Mayor Eric Papenfuse said. “I think it will lead to more people visiting downtown.”

Harrisburg’s contribution will amount to $110,000 over the next year and will come from money that the parking system already owes the city, said Papenfuse. The county has also pledged $110,000, and HDID will pay $50,000.

The county and HDID had hoped for a three-year deal, though council approved just a one-year test period.

By entering into the “memorandum of understanding,” the three entities—the city, county and HDID—must finalize the exchange with the parking system operator. Papenfuse has said he expects no pushback, as the system operator, SP+/Park Harrisburg, and its asset manager, Trimont, just want to ensure that contributions offset lost revenue, which, last year, amounted to $270,000 between 5 and 7 p.m.

Papenfuse said the parking subsidy could kick in as soon as April, but may take longer.

Since 2014, the city has tried several tactics to mitigate the cost of street parking. First, the Papenfuse administration convinced the system’s operators to lower the “happy hour” rate from $3 to $2 an hour between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. It later turned many of downtown’s loading zones into 15-minute free parking areas.

Nonetheless, downtown bar and restaurant owners continued to complain about a loss of business, which they largely blame on high parking rates.

If implemented, the plan would come with some conditions. First, it would apply only to street, not garage, parking. Secondly, it would take effect only within the HDID boundaries, which run downtown from State to Chestnut streets.

Loan Fund Launches

Whether you’re a shop owner looking to expand your storefront or an aspiring entrepreneur with a business dream, you may benefit from a new loan fund that launched last month in Harrisburg.

Impact Harrisburg is partnering with the Community First Fund and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to launch the Harrisburg Business Opportunity Fund (HBOF) with $1 million in seed money, according to Sheila Dow Ford, executive director of Impact Harrisburg.

Impact Harrisburg, which was founded with proceeds from the sale of Harrisburg’s incinerator, will contribute $350,000 to the fund. The Pennsylvania Housing and Financing Authority has pledged $650,000 through its nonprofit subsidiary, the Commonwealth Cornerstone Group.

Loans will be available to small, for-profit business owners or aspiring business owners in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. According to Dow Ford, the goal of the fund is to encourage economic development, job creation and a diverse workforce in the city of Harrisburg.

“We’re providing for a segment of the population that has, for various reasons, been overlooked by traditional lending institutions,” she said.

Any for-profit business or startup in Harrisburg can apply for a loan, Dow Ford said, though real estate trusts or businesses that buy and sell property will not be eligible.

The new fund bears some resemblance to Harrisburg’s old revolving loan fund, which was launched in 1984 and languished in the 2000s as many borrowers became delinquent.

Dow Ford acknowledged that some HBOF loans might be considered risky by traditional lending standards, since they will be issued to people and ventures that might be denied by traditional lenders. However, she hopes that the partnership with Community First Fund will prevent the same mismanagement and delinquency that plagued the city’s revolving loan fund.

Superintendent Search Begins

The Harrisburg School District is putting up a help wanted sign, but there won’t necessarily be a personnel change in its highest office.

In a 5-4 vote, the Harrisburg School Board decided last month to accept applications for the position of superintendent. The vote means that if current Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney wishes to stay in her post, she must apply for her job and beat out other candidates.

The vote came after more than an hour of spirited public comment at last month’s school board meeting, as near-equal numbers of district residents encouraged the board to vote for or against a resolution to initiate the hiring process.

Residents who supported renewing Knight-Burney’s contract emphasized the importance of consistent leadership during the district’s recovery process. Those who called for an open hiring process said that the district deserved to consider candidates who might make more dramatic gains in student achievement.

Knight-Burney became Harrisburg’s superintendent in 2011. Since 2013, she’s been responsible for implementing the actions in a state-crafted recovery plan, which outlined almost 100 initiatives to improve the district’s academics and operations.

Her current contract, which was renewed in 2014, expires on June 30. Asked if she would reapply for her job, Knight-Burney declined to comment.

Act 47 Status Considered

“The clock is ticking” on the next step in Harrisburg’s path to financial recovery.

That’s the message that a state official had for Harrisburg’s administration and City Council last month, as both bodies were briefed on the timeline for the city’s remaining six months in the state’s Act 47 program for distressed municipalities.

Marita Kelley, Harrisburg’s Act 47 coordinator, appeared at a council work session to explain the city’s duties before Act 47 status expires on Sept. 23.

Here’s what lies ahead, according to Kelley. The mayor and the city clerk will receive a financial condition report, prepared by Kelley and the Pennsylvania Economy League. A public meeting on its contents should take place this month.

After the meeting, she and the Pennsylvania Economy League will have 90 days to prepare a final exit plan for the city. In that plan, they’ll make a formal recommendation for what the city should do in September: extend its Act 47 status, exit the program or enter the oversight of a state-appointed receiver.

The exit plan should arrive before city officials in mid-July. After another round of commenting and a public meeting, Kelley will finalize the exit plan in time for the Sept. 23 expiration deadline.

Kelley thinks it’s highly unlikely that Harrisburg will enter receivership in September. She was hesitant to recommend an action to the city last month, but said during a budget meeting in December that Harrisburg will likely spend another three years in the program, at least.

Reports Released for Train Station, Paxton Creek

A restaurant and café in Harrisburg’s train station, a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks, a flood-controlled Paxton Creek.

Those are a few of the ambitious goals laid out in two reports released last month by the state Department of Transportation, which is taking the lead on rehabilitating the blighted Market Street corridor just east of the Harrisburg Transportation Center, roughly from the train station to Cameron Street.

“These studies serve as a road map to help the city continue to develop as an attractive place to work and play,” said PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards.

PennDOT’s first priority is rehabilitation of the train/bus station itself, set out in a report titled, “Harrisburg Transportation Center Transit Oriented Development Master Plan.”

That project includes removal of the large office space in the main lobby, the addition of an “open-concept café” in the lobby, new seating in the station concourse, the addition of a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, a new entry plaza from the lower-level Market Street entrance and the addition of office space on the upper floors.

According to Richards, work is expected to begin relatively soon, as the department has completed 90 percent of the design for the $15 million renovation and is now working with Amtrak on a construction schedule.

The next priority is a massive flood control project designed to restrain, improve and restore Paxton Creek, as delineated in the “Paxton Creek Master Plan.”

The plan outlines steps to modify the channel size and make other improvements that would take 133 acres out of the 100-year flood plan and partially remove another 275 acres, making the area far more attractive for redevelopment. The plan also envisions enhancing the creek area with recreational paths and restoring it to a more natural environment.

PennDOT anticipates four to five years of preliminary work before construction on the project could begin. The estimated cost of the creek improvements is $60 to $90 million, with potential grants coming from the state’s Multimodal Fund, the Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The transportation master plan envisions other projects, which include:

Streetscaping and façade enhancement, including new sidewalks, landscaping, street furniture, signage and utility and lighting poles.
A pedestrian bridge that would extend the station concourse over the railroad tracks, through the former Harrisburg central post office and into the redevelopment area.
Relocation of the intercity bus terminal from Market Street to the redevelopment area and expansion of the facility.
Development of the area near an east entrance to the station.
A new plaza on Market Street.

“These projects will provide exciting opportunities for development in the city of Harrisburg, and for enhancing the quality of life for our residents,” Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with PennDOT on projects that will benefit not only Harrisburg residents but the entire region.”

New Districts Upheld

Pennsylvania’s redrawn congressional districts withstood two court challenges last month, clearing the way for some areas, including the Harrisburg area, to be unified under new district lines.

First, a three-judge federal panel threw out a Republican-led challenge to the new district map. The same day, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Republican request for an emergency stay that would block use of the new map in this year’s elections.

As a result, the state Supreme Court’s redrawn district map will stand. This includes a new 10th congressional district that encompasses all of Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York counties, including Harrisburg, York and Carlisle.

The primary election is slated for May 15.

Gaming Grants Given

The Dauphin County commissioners shelled out some $6 million to dozens of projects last month in the annual disbursal of gaming grant money.

The commissioners spread the money around to municipalities throughout the county, with the largest sums, by state law, going to those nearest to the Hollywood Casino at Penn National in Grantville.

In and around Harrisburg, grants to governments included:

* City of Harrisburg: $229,724 for police equipment, the engineering bureau and for Fire Bureau dive team equipment

* Susquehanna Township: $159,900 for sanitary sewer system extension, for Progress Fire Co. vehicle replacement and for Wedgewood Hills Swim Club heat pump installation

* Lower Paxton Township: $82,825 for Devon Manor pool improvements, Koon’s pool improvements and Ranger and George Park soccer upgrades

* Hummelstown: $58,471 for municipal building debt service

* Highspire: $57,200 for roadway rehabilitation

* Steelton: $43,000 for Fire Department apparatus and Skate Park debt reduction

* Swatara Township: $13,000 for Police Department K-9 and training

Grants to Dauphin County entities included:

* MDJ Court Administration: $200,000 for construction of MDJ buildings

* Dauphin County Industrial Development Authority: $137,000 for solar farm project debt reduction

* Dauphin County Parks & Recreation: $101,000 for Detweiler Park master plan and Fort Hunter Station planning project

* Dauphin County Redevelopment Authority: $100,000 for a project on the former State Hospital grounds

* Dauphin County Land Bank Authority: $100,000 for renovation of vacant homes

Grants to organizations included:

* Camp Curtin YMCA: $100,000 for conversion of an indoor pool into a recreational area

* Central Dauphin School District: $75,600 for a school safety improvement project

* Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg: $75,000 for an emergency generator project

* Penn FC (Harrisburg City Islanders): $72,562 for a field conversion project

* Humane Society of Harrisburg Area: $70,000 for an expansion of veterinary services

* Salvation Army: $50,000 for a new headquarters and services facility

* Harrisburg Rugby Food Club: $50,000 for Perseverance Field improvements

* Homeland Center: $40,000 for an emergency generator project

* The Nativity School: $40,000 for furniture purchase and building renovations

* Open Stage of Harrisburg: $32,000 for facility and equipment upgrades

* Capital Region Literacy Corp.: $30,000 for books in schools and clinic program

* Habitat for Humanity: $28,000 for weatherization project

* Heinz Menaker Senior Center: $25,000 for ADA-compliant restrooms

* Midtown Action Council: $13,652 for historic marker renovation and expansion

* Beacon Clinic: $5,000 for HVAC installation and renovations

More Downtown Apartments

More apartments appear headed for downtown Harrisburg, though it may be awhile before you’ll be able to move into one.

Harrisburg City Council last month introduced a resolution that would allow Harristown Enterprises to convert a circa-1952 office building to a 25-unit apartment building with commercial space on the first floor.

The building, at 124 Pine St., currently houses Keystone Human Services, which would seek new space following a sale, said Harristown CEO Brad Jones.

Keystone currently has the six-story, 30,000-square-foot building on the market for $1.5 million.

Over the past few years, Harristown has converted several downtown office buildings to higher-end apartments, most recently at the corner of N. 2nd and Cranberry streets. That 12-unit building, Jones said, has been renamed “The Bogg on Cranberry.”

The Pine Street project, he said, would consist of 18 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom units that would range from about 700 to 850 square feet in size. Jones said that he expects rents to be about $1,095 to $1,395 a month. The project includes 19 off-street parking spaces, which would be rented separately.

If Harristown gets City Council approval, the company hopes to close on a building purchase in May. Jones, however, expects that Keystone will then lease the building back until it can find a new home, meaning that renovation work probably won’t begin until early 2019.

So Noted

Blake Lynch was named Harrisburg’s new community policing coordinator last month. In this position, Lynch, formerly director of development at the Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg, will serve as a liaison between the city’s Police Bureau and the community.

Club XL is set to open this month near S. Cameron and Hanna streets in an industrial area of Harrisburg. Owner Phil Dobson said the 18,500-square-foot nightclub and concert venue will feature a large stage, a sophisticated light and sound system and an exterior patio, among other amenities.

Gamut Theatre Group this month plans to begin the second phase of the build-out of its building in downtown Harrisburg. The Gamut Theatre Education Center will include the Alexander Grass Second Stage, two renovated classrooms and other areas for students to learn various aspects of theater operations. The $700,000 project should be completed by August, according to Gamut.

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant is making plans to open in the newly constructed Hershey Towne Square on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey. The company expects the 9,000-square-foot space to be ready late this year or early next year.

Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority announced last month that Robert “Bob” Zorbaugh will replace Jim Warner as CEO when Warner retires at year-end. Zorbaugh, the current chief operating officer, has served with LCSWMA, which owns Harrisburg’s waste-to-energy incinerator, since 1990.

PSECU last month announced the planned retirement of President Greg Smith, effective February 2019. Smith has served with the credit union for nearly 30 years.

Right on Reily is slated to open late this month in restaurant space across the street from Midtown Cinema in Harrisburg. Owner Dylan Simon said he plans to open at 7 a.m. and will feature freshly made breakfast items, sandwiches, soups and salads from the eatery at 263 Reily St.

Theatre Harrisburg last month announced the departure of its executive director, Allison Graham Hays, who served in the post for about one year. A search for a new director has begun. Those interested should send a resume and cover letter to [email protected].

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2421: J. Howard to L. Brown, $69,900

Berryhill St., 2216: PA Deals LLC to A. & L. Smith, $64,900

Boas St., 111: P. & M. Keelen to J. Swope, $67,000

Boas St., 409: A. Antoun to P. Cannon & M. Hertrich, $84,000

Boas St., 1910: Dobson Family Limited to M. Cardona & S. Guzman, $36,000

Duke St., 2433: 2013 Central PA Real Estate Fund LLC to S. Henry, $65,900

Evergreen St., 17: E. Ordonez to P. Paniagua, $40,000

Fulton St., 1625: Z. & H. Khan to J. Seibert, $125,750

Fulton St., 1722: Wilmington Savings Fund & Society FSB to PA Deals LLC, $77,500

Green St., 2322: Lake Como REI LLC to Lynn & Ryan Investment Properties LLC, $36,000

Hale Ave., 383: 2013 Central PA Real Estate Fund LLC to S. Henry, $65,000

Hale Ave., 403: O. Peck to C. & A. Bullock, $71,000

Harris St., 204: G. Olives to A. Hermany & T. Minnick, $149,900

Holly St., 1916: W. Aikens Jr. to R. & B. Cook, $43,000

Hummel St., 243: Tri County HDC Ltd. to B. Dixon, $69,900

Kensington St., 2267: M. Eismann to Blackfoot Viking LLC, $40,000

Kensington St., 2328: 2013 M&M Real Estate Fund LLC to S. Henry, $65,900

Market St., 1028: J. & A. Karagiannis to R. Luu, J. Son & KS Property Management LLC, $250,000

Market St., 1800: G. Walker to Horizon Trust FBO, Timothy Carter IRA, $105,000

Mayflower St., 1366: G. Vargas to D. Tellado, $60,000

N. 2^nd St., 221: CJ2 Group LLC to Second and Cranberry LLC, $350,000

N. 2^nd St., 2338: H. Witte & A. Atkinson to V. Paredes, $95,000

N. 3^rd St., 3218: T. & B. Seely to S. Dudek, $139,900

N. 4^th St., 1911: K. & D. Fletcher to M. DeMeo, $73,900

N. 5^th St., 1948: L. Blanton to B. & K. Feidt, $73,500

N. 5^th St., 2554: J. Johnson to D. Mallek & W. Sarris, $60,000

N. 5^th St., 3201: Branch Banking and Trust Co. to F. Nestico, $80,000

N. 15^th St., 2: R. Sharma & N. Saini to D&F Realty Holdings LP, $100,000

N. 15^th St., 1425: Top Notch Properties LLC to B. Wevodau Sr., $30,000

S. 24^th St., 563: Lake Como REI LLC to Lynn & Ryan Investment Properties LLC, $65,000

Parkway Blvd., 2509: Harrisburg Rentals LLC to A. & L. Smith, $118,500

Peffer St., 321: K. Whitehead to V. Robinson, $74,000

Penn St., 1504: R. Davis to D. & M. Witwer, $70,000

Penn St., 1612: A. La Luz to N. Giustra, $140,000

Race St., 552: G. & K. Nguyen to A. & H. Appleberry, $144,000

Revere St., 1722: R. Brunstetter to Top Unit Properties LLC, $80,000

Rolleston St., 1153: A. Phillips to C. Suriel, $43,000

Rudy Rd., 2492: HT Properties LLC to W. Marca, $59,000

Rumson Dr., 2899: S. Markowitz to M. Gleason, $58,000

S. 14^th St., 1404: S. McMurray to City of Harrisburg, $47,000

S. 14^th St., 1409: V. Brice to City of Harrisburg, $48,000

S. 14^th St., 1411: DRW Properties LLC to City of Harrisburg, $50,000

S. 14^th St., 1412: M. Hudson to City of Harrisburg, $53,000

S. 14^th St., 1420: S. Crittenden to City of Harrisburg, $52,500

S. 14^th St., 1436: J. Newhouse to City of Harrisburg, $49,000

S. 14^th St., 1441: W. & B. Hornung to City of Harrisburg, $39,000

S. 14^th St., 1442: Blue Real Estate LLC to City of Harrisburg, $51,000

S. River St., 315: Red Realty LLC & D. Shearer to J. & S. Bachman, $109,000

State St., 1713: D. Schneider to J. Virbitsky, $85,000

Susquehanna St., 1622: R. & G. Harris to H. Maierle & C. Kostelecky, $134,500

Susquehanna St., 1704 & 1706: J. Shoop to N. Lotze & A. Anderson, $122,000

Sycamore St., 1421: G. Neff to C. Pizarro, $35,000

Waldo St., 2627: PA Deals LLC to S. Henry, $54,000

Wyeth St., 1413: M. & J. Boyer to J. Hegarty, $105,000

Harrisburg property sales for February 2018, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

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