Tag Archives: harrisburg

Park Place

March 27, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Cars parked along State Street in downtown Harrisburg.

Not infrequently, a Harrisburg resident comes up to the public microphone during a City Council meeting and complains about–you guessed it–parking.

You read the same types of things in the comment section of PennLive or hear them just by talking with someone on the street or in a bar. Too expensive, aggressive enforcement, not friendly, no room for error.

And, every time, I think to myself: “Haven’t these people been paying attention?”

The deal is done, the cake baked, the horse outta the barn. The mayor and council can’t do anything because the city, drowning in red ink, signed off on an insanely complicated deal that privatized the parking system to pay off a big chunk of its overwhelming debt.

Game over. Get used to it.

And then, it turned out, I was wrong.

Over the past week, Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced a series of changes to the parking system that required creativity, boldness and no small measure of salesmanship.

It meant intervening in an area where he had no real power or authority. It required believing that, despite abundant evidence to the contrary, obstinate, invisible Park Harrisburg might be open to change–change it contractually did not have to make. It mandated putting together a series of improvements to the parking system, finding the money to fund some of them, and selling the package to all the parties (the operator, the manager, the state, City Council, Pango).

The cynics might look at the result and see small potatoes. Starting April 1, the “happy hour” rate from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. will be reduced by $1 per hour. Motorists can park for free for four hours on Saturday but only if they use the Pango mobile app. Beginning in May, they can park during lunchtime for just $3 total, but must use the River Street garage. Park Harrisburg has promised a five-minute grace period before issuing tickets and says its enforcement officers will be retrained as “ambassadors” who will engage the public, not alienate it.

To cover any lost revenue to Park Harrisburg, Papenfuse has pledged $285,000 in “hotel tax” funds left over from last year, money earmarked for marketing the city. He believes that getting more people downtown is a good use of the city’s marketing dollars.

I agree.

For the past year, Harrisburg has found itself the victim of what I would call an anti-marketing campaign. People have been put off by aggressive enforcement, pricey tickets and a distant, uncaring operator. Local media have piled on, so that, day after day, week after week, people have heard a single message: Stay out of Harrisburg!

Papenfuse’s actions helped change the tenor of the conversation. Sure, some people will always regard free parking as a birthright. Others, however, may believe that it’s worth a couple of bucks after work to get easy, walkable access from McGrath’s to Stock’s, from Cafe Fresco to Federal Taphouse, from Cork & Fork to Suba–among a dozen other places downtown. These are the people who are reachable, who might be lured back by a little good news, by a cheaper rate, by a few free hours on Saturday.

Is there a risk for Harrisburg? Yes. Papenfuse’s move is a gamble, though, like a good gambler, he has limited his downside. The city can’t lose more than the $285,000 in hotel tax funds, money that, by design, is intended to bring outsiders in. And that’s a worst-case scenario. Assuming some people respond positively to the changes, the city might lose far less, maybe nothing.

Meanwhile, Papenfuse has maximized his upside. He’s out to prove to Park Harrisburg that lower rates will actually increase their business and boost their revenues. If he’s right, the parking operator may see the value in lower rates permanently, and downtown businesses may recover lost customers. Meanwhile, unlike most marketing campaigns, the results will be directly measurable and some, perhaps all, of the money may remain unspent, available for another initiative down the road.

Papenfuse has proven himself to be a creative problem-solver. He took something most people (myself included) thought was done, over, cooked. He revived it, sold it to multiple parties, and, starting Wednesday, parkers, businesses and the city will be the beneficiaries.

In the past, I’ve poked some fun at the mayor for his boundless enthusiasm. This achievement, though, is something he has every right to be excited about.

Harrisburg School Property Taxes Eliminated under Wolf Plan

March 3, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

A page from the school funding spreadsheet distributed today by Gov. Tom Wolf’s office. In order, the final three columns represent the total proposed property tax reduction allocation for the 2015-16 school year; the 2012-13 residential real estate tax collected; and the percentage of proposed residential real estate tax reduction for the 2015-16 school year.

Harrisburg residents would see their school property taxes zeroed out if a bold plan proposed today by Gov. Tom Wolf passes the state legislature.

Wolf’s proposed 2016 budget would dramatically change how schools would be funded, as increased income and sales taxes would provide much of the money for public schools. As a result, residential school property taxes in many of the state’s poorer districts would be eliminated, while wealthier districts also would see a reduction.

In Harrisburg, residents would pay no school property tax at all. Even non-resident homeowners would have their taxes reduced under Wolf’s proposed budget.

To pay for his plan, Wolf would raise the state’s income tax to 3.7 percent from 3.07 percent and the sales tax to 6.6 percent from 6 percent. The proposal was a key part of the $29.9 billion spending plan for 2016 that Wolf unveiled today.

“This is quite an exciting day,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “If you take school property taxes to zero for Harrisburg, you’ll see people flocking in to buy properties in the city.”

Papenfuse said he wasn’t sure of the odds of Wolf’s plan being passed, but hoped it would not be summarily rejected by the Republican-controlled legislature.

“He’s building on a Republican House proposal to do something similar,” Papenfuse said.

Wolf’s proposal would not eliminate school property taxes for most suburban jurisdictions, but would substantially lower them.

For instance, the school property tax for Camp Hill residents would fall by about one-third, with a similar decrease for homeowners residing in the Central Dauphin School District.

Historically, property taxes have provided the bulk of school funding in the United States. In recent years, however, some states have begun to look to other ways of funding schools so that the burden is shared more equally among all taxpayers, not just property owners.

Rescue Mission: For a quarter century, Channels Food Rescue has been fighting the scourge of hunger.

February 27, 2015 | by Susan Ryder

The still room beamed with the glint of stainless steel. Immaculate countertops held endless food possibilities, and huge refrigerators stored the goods and ingredients that would be turned into delicious, nutritious meals.

The staff was getting ready to serve hungry patrons who soon would tuck into what was on the day’s menu. But this isn’t a restaurant or bistro or diner—it’s a rescue.

For 25 years, Channels Food Rescue has been serving the people of Dauphin, York, Perry and Cumberland counties.

“We deliver a multilayered approach to fighting food disparity,” said Vicki DiSylvester, executive director and CEO of the organization, whose motto is “Food Is Love.” “The need in the community is unbelievable.”

One layer in this hunger fight involves preventing waste by rescuing food and delivering it to organizations that can use it. From their N. 6^th Street location, Channels’ transportation personnel travel to restaurants, caterers, distributors and grocery stores to rescue food destined for the trash.

DiSylvester stresses that this is not “dumpster diving.” It is food given to Channels in good condition and meets all food safety requirements. Prepared food is accepted, but not once it has left the refrigerator for serving.

At my visit to Channels, I met Dylan Ritter and Tommy Moon. These two amiable, energetic guys had just returned from delivering bakery items, canned good and meats to the Interfaith Shelter and Lourdes House.

Both Ritter and Moon are quite familiar with the agencies that Channels serves, allowing them to deliver items where they can do the most good.

“We try to put things where they need to be,” Ritter said.

Touching Their Heart

The feeding program, Channels Care Café, offers another layer for addressing hunger. The program provides nearly 500 hot, nutritious meals a day, prepared in the impressive kitchen by a mere four-member staff.

This program, said DiSylvester, helps Channels battle food insecurity.

“It’s not only that you are hungry today, you don’t know where your next meal is coming from,” she said.

The food provided for these meals is made possible through collaborations with organizations such as WalMart and The Central PA Food Bank, among others. Distributed meals reach 11 sites, including Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg’s three locations.

Yvonne Hollins, executive director of Boys & Girls Club, reiterated the Channels motto that “Food Is Love.”

“It truly is, because, when you are feeding an individual, you are touching their heart and soul,” she said.

She said that feeding children is so important because “children can’t produce when hungry.” They have no stamina or energy.

Mark Hawthorne, the Club’s director of operations, concurred.

“Hunger distracts every opportunity of lessons, every opportunity of attention, it distracts [from] whatever the focus is,” he said.

Daniel Davis, sous chef at Channels, knows about distraction.

He grew up in a difficult home environment where hunger and food insecurity were always present. His mother, addicted to heroin, left him home alone for hours at a time. From his personal experience, he says that hunger can make people anxious and aggressive.

“Knowing a meal is guaranteed takes it off your mind,” he said.

Opportunity to Succeed

Channels offers peace of mind through nutritious food, but it also broadens children’s food horizons, exposing them to unfamiliar foods.

Hawthorne recounted how, 12 years ago when the program began, children were skeptical at their first experience with new foods, such as shepherd’s pie. Now, they daily ask the question, “What are we having?”

If what they are having includes vegetables, like in many households, it’s a hard sell. Davis said getting kids to eat vegetables is a continual challenge, but Channels’ Executive Chef Scott Siquenza and Davis devise ways to increase vegetable intake, like shredding carrots in the beefy mac (shhh don’t tell!).

Davis attained his culinary skills through Channels’ Kitchen School, which affords another level of security—opportunity. The Kitchen School trains students in cooking techniques and graduates receive a ServSafe certificate upon completion of the program. Its goal, as stated by DiSylvester, is to give folks “a leg up.”

“Students learn to work hard and take that with them,” Davis said.

The school also stresses professionalism and positive work ethic, skills necessary for any work environment. Davis, whose passion for all of Channels programs is palpable, entered the school from a halfway house after spending time in prison. After graduating, he obtained his sous chef position at Channels.

He said that hunger pressures young people to “make decisions you might not be ready to make” and participate in illicit activities. He feels participation in programs like Channels Care Café and the Kitchen School can help place adults and children on successful paths.

The community can help people succeed through financial donations to Channels, volunteering and participating in one of its two major fundraising events: Cross the Globe or its annual Polo event. A willingness to volunteer as a “high-level leader,” who would be willing to plan and organize events, is especially helpful, DiSylvester said.

I began this story wanting to write about how people are rescuing food from waste. I ended it, however, with a recognition that Channels’ mission is more about feeding people so that they have an opportunity to succeed. In that regard, at Channels, people don’t rescue food; food rescues people.

For more information about Channels Food Rescue or to request a food pickup, call 717-232-1300 or contact Vicki DiSylvester at [email protected].

The Pluck of the Irish: Friendly Sons of St. Patrick marks two decades of celebrating heritage, giving back to community.

February 27, 2015 | by Rebecca Hanlon

Sometimes, a little luck can go a long way.

Twenty years ago, a group of Capitol staffers, lobbyists and a smattering of others began the Harrisburg chapter of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick to embrace their Irish heritage and Irish culture.

Since then, the group has grown into a diverse club of men and women who want to have a strong local impact—and a little fun along the way.

Ted Mowatt, a founding member and past president, remembers when the Friendly Sons would meet in the basement of a bar that no longer exists. One of the prouder early moments was helping to restore the St. Patrick’s Day Parade after it had become a dormant, distant memory, he said.

Another group—the Capital Region Association of Irish and Celts—now organizes the parade, but the Friendly Sons’ biggest event still revolves around the annual observation of all things Irish.

Each year, the Friendly Sons holds its largest fundraiser, the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, close to the big day. This year, the celebration takes place March 13 at the Federal Taphouse in downtown Harrisburg, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the New Cumberland River Rescue. To further emphasize the first responder theme, the Friendly Sons has named Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline as “Irishman of the Year.”

As a volunteer firefighter, treasurer Butch Comstock knows how hard it can be for emergency responders to find the funds to keep meeting the needs of the community. After 17-year-old Medard Kowalski went missing on the Susquehanna River in December, members of the group saw how much of their own time and resources the river rescue gives, Comstock said.

“Enough can’t be said for those folks,” Comstock said. “They donate thousands of volunteer hours every year, and their equipment takes a beating nearly every time they get on the water. We feel that it’s an important year to recognize them for their efforts.”

On average, about $4,500 is given to the St. Patrick’s Day chosen charity, Comstock said. He hopes this year’s event will be the biggest yet. A $30 admission ticket includes performances by Andy Mowatt’s Steely Jam, beer, wine and food, as well as a cash bar for themed cocktails provided by Southern Wine and Spirits.

MaryEllen Parmer, vice president of the local chapter, said members like to get together to have a good time, but they want to do it with a purpose.

“We like to have fun in order to give to other groups that are deserving,” Parmer said. “We’re definitely an organization that likes to throw a good party.”

The more events they can do each year, Parmer said, the more money they can raise for area charities. In addition to the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, the group has held Halloween parties, a Toys for Tots drive and charity golf events.

While Irish-focused, the group would like to be a diverse organization, Mowatt said. The Harrisburg chapter has made a concerted effort to recruit female members, as well as those who don’t have more than a sprinkling of Irish heritage in their veins, if that, he added.

“We’re more about enjoying the Irish heritage, while putting a lot of energy into taking care of the community that takes such good care of us,” Mowatt said. “We’re an organization with a lot of history, and we foresee a bright future.”

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Harrisburg Chapter, can be found on Facebook and reached at [email protected]. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration is slated for March 13 at Federal Taphouse, 234 N. 2^nd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com and search for “Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.” Tickets are also available at the Federal Taphouse.

The annual Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day parade starts at 2 p.m. on March 21.

Farm-to-Table Fidelity: As The Millworks sets to open, local, sustainable are closer than ever.

February 27, 2015 | by M. Diane McCormick

Meet Joshua Kesler. He calls himself a “serial risk-taker.”

Ask him, though, if farm-to-table restaurants are a passing fancy, and he sees little risk at all. He firmly believes that sustainable dining is here to stay.

“Farm-to-table local sustainable is just starting,” says Kesler as workers put the final touches on The Millworks, his new restaurant in Midtown Harrisburg. “It’s not a fad. It’s not going to burn out. It’s only starting, and the awareness of what we eat, how it affects our soil, our communities, our economies, our bodies—I don’t think that’s something we’re going to get tired of as a culture.”

The Millworks, the region’s latest entry in sustainable dining, opens March 12. Kesler is the local developer who, with his wife Rachel, transformed the 1930s-era Stokes Millworks from a dilapidated shell into a stunning restaurant, with a beer garden, art studios and events space.

Kesler and architectural developer David McIlnay designed the space to link all those disparate features and add airy lightness to industrial chic. True to its sustainability mindset, the rebuild spotlights the array of stairs, windows and tables made—many by Millworks construction manager Dustin Malesich—from wood left behind when Stokes went out of business years ago.

“Design is everything,” says Kesler. “Design ties together concept and materials. Design is like the center point of everything, the hub of the wheel.”

And as for the meals served to diners, Kesler and others insist that sustainability is not a fleeting trend. Consumers are embracing better-quality food for life, they say. After all, says Kesler, central Pennsylvania is “the Tuscany of the East Coast.”

“That might sound dramatic, but it’s really not,” he says.

Within 30 Miles

Restaurants in New York, Philadelphia and Washington already source their milk, cheese, veggies and fruit from our region’s rich fields. Kesler has been building relationships with these local farmers through the Millworks Farmstand (formerly Harvest) at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg.

About 90 percent of the food served at the Millworks comes from within 30 miles of the restaurant, “and the other is 50 to 70 miles at most,” says Kesler. Adhering to those boundaries requires Kesler and Executive Chef Nicholas Jones to be nimble.

“From an owner-chef level, you have to be very mindful and creative about how to bring that dish to the table at a reasonable price and meet customer expectations of quantity and value,” says Kesler.

You could say that Kesler and Jones are going whole hog into sustainable foods because entire animals are, quite literally, an element in sustainability. Here’s how it works. Traditional restaurants famous for, say, their pork chops or filet mignon require a steady, year-round supply for their menus. The fate of the rest of the hog or steer may be none of their concern.

By contrast, the Millworks is “loyal to the farm, not to the cut, buying whole animals and creatively crafting the menu to use as much of that animal as possible,” Kesler says. “It’s all local and sustainably grown, but it’s also sustainably used.”

Craving Authenticity

The Millworks’ approach “honors farmers,” assuring they aren’t stuck with unsellable cuts of meats, says Brooks Miller, who founded Perry County-based North Mountain Pastures with his wife, Anna Santini.

Some restaurants claim to serve local food, but their idea of local is “not from New Zealand,” says Miller. Farm-to-table assures “food that comes from people we know, and that’s the point of the whole thing.”

“As the last generation or two have gotten detached from their food supplies, people have gotten more interested in getting back in touch with it,” says Miller. “That’s sort of our job, to raise their meat with integrity.”

Still, farm-to-table requires a healthy dose of consumer education if it’s to rise from trend to fixture, says David Cranage, associate professor of hospitality marketing in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, State College. Customers must “change their expectations” and accept things like oxtail soup or braised short ribs made from lower cuts of meat as the night’s special, he says.

Maybe “the jury’s still out” on the prospects of farm-to-table ventures, but the trend can succeed because people are disillusioned with agribusiness and such monstrosities as the taste-free tomato—picked green, gassed to turn red and served “hard as a hockey puck,” Cranage says. Teach diners to enjoy a salad with six kinds of leafy greens and flavorful carrots and beets, “then that’s a whole lot better than whether you have tomatoes in it or not.”

Local sourcing even offers advantages that can offset higher prices. Farmers selling entire animals can offer a price break, says Miller, while Cranage adds that producers who sell an entire crop to one restaurant exclusively are assured stability that keeps prices down.

Kesler is counting on authenticity-craving diners, including the Gen Y-ers who indulge in upscale casual dining more often than their Gen X and Baby Boomer elders. On the Millworks’ opening night, diners will recognize the menu’s Pennsylvania Dutch roots, blended with the culinary theme of New Rustic American. There may be wood-fired mac and cheese, chicken potpie, fried chicken and polenta, steak tartar and pizza-like wood-fired flats.

Kesler hopes to lead the farm-to-table trend toward a future of “consuming what we have available.” And, if the menu has tomatoes in March, rest assured they’re from the 700 fresh pounds canned by the Millworks, honoring “the old techniques that our great-great-grandparents used” for year-round enjoyment of central Pennsylvania’s abundance of seasonal foods.

“We could go to Tuscany, but why?” says Kesler. “We’re here.”

The Millworks is located at 340 Verbeke Street, Harrisburg. The restaurant’s opening is slated for March 12, which will coincide with the public opening of the building’s art studios. For more information, visit www.millworksharrisburg.com or call 717-695-4888.

All Things Local: Our commitment to Harrisburg runs deep.

February 27, 2015 | by Jonathan Casey

As a business owner in Harrisburg, I believe that supporting our local community is vitally important, which also aligns with my company’s core values. I feel that some of the best ways to do this are supporting other local small businesses and supporting local charities.

I like to say that I vote every day when I choose where to spend my money. I purposefully seek out local business when shopping for everything from business vendors to a place to eat. And Harrisburg certainly has a lot of variety. It is not always the easiest thing to do, but I feel it is critical that I personally contribute to the local economy whenever possible though both my business and my own dollars.

According to the U.S. Small Business Association, small business owners are the largest employers nationally. They employ more than half of the private workforce and have created almost two-thirds of our country’s net new jobs over the past 15 years. When you support small business in your community, you are supporting local employment.

Patronizing local businesses also helps grow the area tax base and local revenue. If a business is based in Harrisburg, that business is supporting the local Harrisburg tax rolls. Locally owned companies tend to spend money in their own market, which puts the revenue back into the local economy.

Another advantage of shopping local is that the environmental impact is reduced. Local businesses usually make more local purchases, which reduces transportation pollution and contributes less to sprawl, congestion and habitat loss.

When shopping in Harrisburg, or any other city center for that matter, product diversity is evident. When each local business selects products based on its own interests and the needs of a local market, a more diverse range of products is available to the customer. In an increasingly homogenized world, locally owned small businesses create a uniqueness to each city that gives that area a distinct advantage over the strip malls and big box chains prevalent in the suburbs.

Do we really need another big box store, unused office complex, or half-empty strip mall contributing to the suburban sprawl? There are plenty of opportunities in our wonderful city and, if you are a regular reader of TheBurg, you know that Harrisburg is headed in the right direction.

Local businesses are also much more likely to give back to the community. My company donates more to the United Way of the Capital Region than all other auto groups in the area combined. We were proud to be a part of the last campaign that ended up raising a record $12,020,175. Thanks to 13 local companies that cover 100 percent of administrative costs, every dollar raised during this campaign went to the United Way of the Capital Region and every dollar stayed in the capital region. Fewer than 10 United Way organizations have this type of program.

If you’re familiar with local history, you may know that most area car dealerships used to be located in Harrisburg. Cameron Street and Paxton Street were known for having a large selection of car dealerships. There are only a few remaining. Our company has chosen to stay because we feel that our particular location in the city gives us a lot more visibility than a suburban location. We also receive quite a few unsolicited appreciations from people for the large American flag that we fly at our location at 13^th and Paxton streets. Due to its visibility, it has become a landmark over the years for many locals, as well as for people who drive through I-83 on a regular basis. I have actually seen the flag in a few pictures of Harrisburg’s skyline.

Harrisburg has had its ups and downs in the last few years, but I firmly believe that our city’s future will be brighter than its past. My hope is that our local companies and even the big box chains consider the city for their next retail storefront or office. Even in tough times, Harrisburg has been a great place to conduct our business, and I don’t see why that would change as our city continues to move in the right direction.

I am proud that my company is a community publisher of TheBurg. Harrisburg is a city with a rich history, a culturally diverse population, and generous community focused companies. Sounds like a great place to do business to me!

Jonathan Casey is the general manager for Sutliff Chevrolet Volkswagen, a community publisher for TheBurg.

Meet the Roomie: An unintended consequence of a hot rental market–roommate issues.

February 27, 2015 | by Lori Fortini

It seemed reminiscent of a scene from the 1990s sitcom, “Friends.”

A trio of young, professional women sat in front of me signing a lease for a beautiful, 2,500-square-foot home in Olde Uptown. Stylishly dressed, they joined forces and decided to cohabitate. As we signed the necessary documents, they talked amongst themselves about finding friends to help them move, about who would take which bedroom and about hosting a dinner party since they finally had a “real” dining room.

Each had her own personality, yet I had no doubts they would successfully merge into one residence. You could see that they clicked with one another.

Partly fueled by student loan debt, a tight job market for recent college graduates, and a generational preference to prolong home-buying, the rate of living with roommates has soared. Nationally, 32 percent of working-age adults, aged 23 to 65, live in doubled-up households, up from 25 percent in 2000 and 26 percent in 1990, according to an October 2014 report by the online real estate site, Zillow.

From my vantage point as a rental manager, I have seen this trend grow significantly over the last five years. The income spectrum is broad. Some roommates are making near minimum wage and, out of necessity, are seeking alternatives to substandard housing, while others are intentionally keeping housing costs low to facilitate faster accrual for a down payment on their first house, pay off other debt or afford vacations. For example, one of the tenants I described above admitted that she had the funds to have her own place, but wanted to spend it traveling.

“By sharing living space, I am able to pursue my passion to travel on a whim,” she said.

Roommates are often saving more than just rent. They are able to share ever-rising utility expenses. They can also reduce their furnishing costs. As many renters seek their first independent space, the cost of initial furnishings can prove to be unexpectedly high. At move in, Shannon, one of my tenants, said that two of her roommates were coming straight out of dorm rooms into entry-level jobs.

“Each of us were able to bring our favorite pieces,” she said. “Fortunately, we had similar styles and ended up with a cohesively furnished home.”

Does It Feel Right?

Whatever the motive behind a decision to have roommates, there are several points to consider. First and foremost is safety.

It startles me how often roommates find each other on Craigslist. If this is the search method you choose for procuring a roommate, at least ensure you rent from a landlord who performs a full background check that includes criminal history.

A local resident recently shared that, several years ago before he came to Harrisburg, he found a roommate and did his own background check, only to discover that the roommate had lied about his name and was actually wanted for murder. While most cases are not this extreme, it’s critical to know in advance if the person you’ll be rooming with has a history of run-ins with the law. The nature of the offense will likely be a strong signal of how they’ll behave as a roommate.

How can you avoid situations like this? One obvious way is to start with your own circle of friends. Let friends and family know of your plans and ask for referrals. In my experience, roommates who started from a shared connection such as a friend, colleague, college, place of employment or other commonality had a much greater rate of success.

If you choose to or must find an unknown roommate, set up the first meeting in a neutral, public setting. Don’t just rely on the phone. I recommend treating this as a hybrid date/interview. Ask questions—lots of questions. Success can take two routes in this pairing. Either you are opposites who balance each other, or you share similar ideas and values on what makes a happy home.

This is where you want to be open and honest about expectations. Do you expect to share food? Are you OK with dates coming home? Who will be responsible for which utilities? Are you OK with a roommate who hosts frequent dinner parties? Does the toilet paper roll under or over? You get the idea. Not everyone is a good match, and potentially unsuccessful pairings can usually be discovered in this first meeting.

Classic red flags are vague responses, extremes (agreeing on everything or nothing), asking not to be formally included on a lease or have utilities placed in their name, or unwillingness to discuss certain areas of life, such as where they lived prior or where they are employed. Ultimately, trust your instinct. If something feels off, it probably is, and you’re better off walking away.

Teammates

It’s important to understand that you are legally binding yourself to a roommate in a way that may have negative repercussions for you even if you are a model tenant.

A lease is a contract, and most lease contracts are written so that all parties are responsible for the entire requirements and obligations of the lease both severally (meaning each individual separately) and jointly (meaning everyone together). This means that, if one tenant is unable to perform as dictated by the contract, you will likely still be held individually liable for any and all monetary obligations, such as total unpaid rent, unpaid utility costs and more. In addition, if the landlord were to file eviction or attempt to collect damages due to a roommate’s inability to pay, you will likely be included in the filing.

In terms of accountability, treat it like you’re joining the military or a sports team. If one person screws up with respect to the lease terms, it means that everyone has screwed up and is therefore accountable. And be aware that an unfavorable rental record, even if you were not the cause of the problems, could make it difficult to rent in the future.

On more than one occasion, I have seen well-intentioned tenants choose to allow one roommate to handle all the finances. Roommate A collects a third of the monthly expenses from roommates B and C. However, something comes up, and they borrow against those funds before the deposit is made. In cases like this, all roommates will be held equally and individually responsible, regardless of the injustice of roommate A’s actions. I suggest tenants make these payments individually.

So what happens once the final picture is hung on the wall, but you realize this isn’t working out? You have several options, depending on the specific terms of your lease. Remember, your landlord’s ultimate goal is to collect the rent each month. They may be willing to mediate.

Even if that’s not the case, they will still likely allow you to replace a roommate with another roommate by amending the lease in order to keep consistent rent payments coming in. Keep your landlord informed, but realize that they have little authority to enforce any specific roommate-to-roommate agreements.

A good rule of thumb to follow is, if the problem is the sort of thing you would complain to your mom about when a sibling did it, you probably don’t want to involve the landlord. In the worst-case scenario, you should find a way to make it work until the lease term is ended.

Lori Fortini is operations manager for Harrisburg-based WCI Partners LP.

This Very Old House: Central PA has its share of antebellum buildings. Owning one, however, can be more challenging than charming.

February 27, 2015 | by Susan Ryder

On a dead-end street, blossoming cherry trees flank a small stone cottage, evoking a scene straight from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” A brick path curves to the front door; a spring bubbles up and meanders down the bank beside the residence.

Evan and Sommer Keller have lived in this 1790s home on Fetrow Lane in Fairview Township for 13 years. Known as the Fetrow Farm, it originally served as a distillery, later as an orphanage and as a summer home for a family from New Cumberland.

When asked why they decided to purchase the home, Evan replied, “When we saw it, it was a charming little cottage…it was cool and old and whimsical.”

Not everything about living in a very old home is cool, however. The Kellers said that they had to upgrade the electrical wiring throughout the house and put in a new heating system. This work was made more difficult by the plaster made of horsehair, straw and mud that covered the walls.

And nothing in this home is level, plum or square.

The home had no insulation when the family first moved in. So, until they were able to insulate their home, the Kellers slept with a heating blanket.

Bob and Eileen Young can attest to these challenges. For 38 years, they lived in an 1857 Shipoke house once owned by Civil War Gen. Joseph Knipe. Every door in the home hung askew, and the attic door wouldn’t even close.

“It helps to be young, enthusiastic and able to use a hammer,” Eileen quipped.

Caretaker of History

Indeed, home improvement projects can prove extra challenging in old homes because no building codes existed at the time, so nothing is standard. In his 30 years of renovation experience, Dave Leaman of Harrisburg-based Renovations Company has found that each old house presents its own set of unique trials.

First of all, there’s the aforementioned lack of insulation in ceilings, walls and floors. Then there are the windows and doors that leak heat and the floors and ceilings that sag because of large spans between floor joists.

Also, much of what needs to be repaired or replaced in an old home, such as moldings, trim, doors and windows, doesn’t come stock. That means special orders or unique vendors, which equals money.

Because of the costly nature of owning an old home, Leaman said that people with “big dreams and no money” should enter into a purchase cautiously.

He added that, when considering a contractor, owners should make sure that the firm has experience working on vintage homes. The Youngs concur. Homeowners, they said, should find a contractor that is willing to do the often-laborious work necessary to maintain the historical integrity of the structure.

For those who take the plunge, living in an older home often involves the desire to retain its antiquity.

The Kellers, for instance, left exposed beams in their living room. They removed the horsehair and mud stucco from the brick in the upstairs to reveal beautiful stonework.

They also wanted to refurbish the upstairs flooring, but the downstairs ceiling was attached to the floor. So, they supported the ceiling beams, at great effort; removed the floorboards; re-planed the wide pine boards; epoxied the holes; created new tongue and grooves; and reinstalled the floor.

It took two years.

However, they couldn’t keep all of the house’s aged appeal. Sometimes, practicality had to win out. For instance, they installed drywall throughout the house to run new electrical wires.

After the devastating 1972 flood, the Youngs felt strongly about keeping their Shipoke home’s original floors.

So, instead of taking the easier option of ripping them out, they cleaned them up themselves—with toothbrushes. After a project to move the furnace from the basement to the third floor destroyed some 13-inch molding, they took the extra step to have moldings reproduced by the former Snyder Lumber Mill in Harrisburg,

Eileen Young said that living in an old home made them feel like they were “caretakers of history,” a responsibility that they took seriously.

Extra Effort

Is all of this effort worth it?

Absolutely, according to the Kellers.

“It was a hobby and a joy and a love before we had kids,” said Sommer. “We didn’t go to sports games or shopping. We’d stay up all night and work on the house. We had a blast.”

It’s evident that folks live in these homes because of the special feeling it invokes.

“I love this house every time I visit something new,” said Evan Keller. “It makes you love the things that are old.”

The family has come to appreciate the house’s quirkiness—its soul. For instance, there is something extraordinary about the sound of a rainstorm on a tin roof, the Kellers said.

“When you’re in a rainstorm and hear the rain on the metal roof, you think people have basically been doing this for 200 years,” said Evan.

The Youngs echo those sentiments, saying that an old house is like living in history and that “there is always something to see,” referring to the woodwork and moldings in the home.

These houses feel distinct. The low, sagging ceilings, natural stone and wooden beams bring the past into the present. Homeowners are enveloped in history every time they walk down the uneven walkway and up the tilting steps through the crooked front door.

A Tale of 40 Houses: Putting down roots on Green Street.

February 27, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Screenshot 2015-02-22 11.25.00 In late 2013, my wife and I bought a beautifully restored, century-old house in the Olde Uptown neighborhood of Harrisburg.

As editor of TheBurg, I certainly knew that some regarded that revitalized neighborhood as ground zero in the gentrification of the city. I’d even written a bit on that neighborhood and that subject.

However, I didn’t think much about the issue when I decided to buy there. I wanted to live in a spacious Harrisburg property that had much of its historic interior intact—the floors, the moldings, the staircase. I also loved the plans for the restoration and the charming neighborhood around me.

After I bought the house, I found out that the last occupant was an elderly African-American woman and her even more elderly mother, who had lived in it for decades. So, I thought to myself, intentionally or not, had I become a gentrifier?

A Myth?

Recently, an urban affairs reporter named John Buntin wrote an article with the provocative headline, “The Myth of Gentrification,” for the liberal online magazine, Slate.

Gentrification is commonly defined as upper-income, mostly white, people moving in and displacing low-income, mostly black, people from a neighborhood. That, however, rarely occurs, he argued.

What actually happens is something less dramatic and less conspiratorial.

Neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty are profoundly unstable, he stated. People move in and out all the time, as low-income renters tend not to stay long in one place.

Occasionally, a neighborhood may become more desirable for homeownership. One by one, people filter in and fix up properties and live in them. Over time, this may flip the racial composition from majority-black to majority-white (though, he wrote, when a neighborhood changes racially, it’s more likely to change from majority-black to majority-immigrant).

As people buy and fix up houses, lower-income people are also less likely to move out, according to several studies that he cited, since they also find the area more desirable. The overall population of renters may decline as low-cost rentals are removed from the market, but few individuals actually lose their homes.

“In fact, so-called gentrifying neighborhoods appear to experience less displacement than non-gentrifying neighborhoods,” Buntin wrote.

Individual Stories

My block tells an interesting story that mostly supports Buntin’s theory. Having said that: I find the reality to be more complicated than Buntin states and far more complex than those who view gentrification as a developer-driven conspiracy.

To get an honest picture of what has happened along the 2000-block of Green Street, each property needs to be taken as an individual parcel—as an individual story. To do that, I’ve examined property records and spoken with a number of my neighbors.

Let me first say that I live on a wonderful block. Most of the houses are renovated and owner-occupied by middle-class people, both black and white. Only a few non-renovated houses remain, including one or two that are boarded up. For the most part, the street is well-maintained, quiet and charming.

But, not long ago, it looked very different.

The 40-or-so houses were built as spacious middle-class homes a century or so ago. Following industrial job loss and the 1972 flood, the slumlords arrived in force, buying the historic buildings for pennies-on-the-dollar, refusing to invest in or maintain them properly and then renting them out cheaply.

According to my neighbors, the house next to mine was divided into several small apartments, where people came and went all day and drugs were sold. On the other side of me, the house was flipped seven times over five years, even serving as a guardianship group home before a developer restored it and my neighbor bought it.

Directly across the street, one house had seven owners over 10 years. Up the block a bit, a house has changed hands 10 times over a dozen years, including three times in a single year.

A number of abandoned houses, including the house two doors away and another four doors from mine, fell to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority before a developer bought and renovated them about five years ago.

In other words, the block was dominated by troubled properties—abandoned, decrepit, bounced around by slumlords, sheltering illicit activities. Why would anyone, rich, poor or middle class, want to live there?

The block directly behind mine offers an interesting point of contrast. The snug houses on this street remain in poor condition, much like the Green Street houses were until recently.

The end house off the alley is boarded up—badly—so that squatters can sneak inside. Last year, police raided a house a few doors up, while, in another, a man had to be stopped from illegally breeding dogs he kept outside in his postage-stamp-sized yard.

But even the good tenants don’t stay. The occupant churn is very high, with tenants (both black and white) rarely staying more than a year, often less.

On this block, Buntin’s theory seems to hold. Something is displacing these people at a spectacular rate—the condition of the forlorn buildings, the decrepit state of the block, their own poverty. But it’s not because heartless developers are kicking them out.

Own History

My house has its own unique story.

Along the block, it was an exception, owner-occupied for decades by a single family. Before I bought it, a 90-something-year-old woman lived there with her 70-something-year-old daughter, who cared for her.

According to my neighbor, the pair lived in just a couple of rooms since much of the house was not habitable due to severe structural problems, including holes in the roof and extensive water damage. After the mother died, the daughter moved out and, in 2013, the house went to sheriff’s sale, reverting to Fannie Mae.

I can attest that the house was in horrible shape when WCI Partners bought it from Fannie Mae. When I first saw it, I questioned whether it could be saved at all. It was made livable—even beautiful again—but it took a comprehensive, costly renovation to do it.

So, to return to our original question—is gentrification a myth?

A place—a street, a block, a neighborhood—is a collection of many individual stories and lives. On my block, each house has its own history. Those histories share some common elements, but each also has its own path.

Some have been flipped repeatedly by slumlords. Some still are. Some are empty. Many were foreclosed on or went to tax sale. A few house inter-generational families. Some have been restored fully, others partially, and a couple not at all.

In the end, I don’t regard gentrification as a myth so much as a simplification of a complex reality. Along the 2000-block of Green Street, you may see more racial diversity than you once did, but what you’re really seeing are more people who are choosing to live on the block, who are coming and not leaving, thus helping to stabilize what was, until recently, a very transient place.

People are selecting that parcel, that house, that history. They are buying and putting down roots—and they plan to stay.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

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

Time to Engage: Despite Harrisburg’s tough political scene, please get involved this election season.

February 27, 2015 | by Tara Leo Auchey

Screenshot 2015-02-22 11.26.02 If you’ve been reading what I write over the past five years, then you know I work to have a strong grasp on the city’s politics.

It’s a job I took upon myself, and not one I really set out to do. When I moved here, I was simply committed to being an engaged citizen. It was as basic as that. I picked up trash on my block and met my neighbors. I began to go to community meetings, talk to people, travel the city, learn ordinances, read documents, contact officials, go to City Council and school board hearings and ask a lot of questions of a lot of people. At one point, I began to write about it all, and that’s how it got bigger than just me, one citizen.

It became about a city.

My involvement in Harrisburg’s politics started with a sense of personal responsibility and evolved into a collective duty.

The word politics is derived from the Greek word politikos, which means “of the city.” The word “city” here means more than just a place. It’s a place along with its citizens. Polis (the city) and polities (the citizens) are inextricable from one another.

Looking to the origin of this concept, the ancient polises were relatively small places known as city-states. They were densely populated melting pots of cultures, ethnicities, religions and wealth. Because of these factors, the management of these municipalities—the politics—involved governmental considerations, as well as economic and social ones.

Aristotle declared politics a science. Seeing politicians as necessarily skilled craftspeople, he described an effective administration of the city as a thoughtful maintenance of law and community. Politicians should be experts not only in the rules of the land but in the make-up of the public. He basically believed there were best practices and necessary virtues to being a proficient administrative official.

More than once over the years, I’ve run this history lesson through my head. There are daunting days when it’s necessary to remember that politics doesn’t have to be as frustrating, nefarious and tiresome as it gets around here sometimes.

I also like to remind myself that rooted in politics is the notion that residents have a right and duty to manage the city. That’s actually the most political aspect of it all. Since citizens form the community that shapes the city, it’s the people who have the supreme authority of how things get done.

Now, how to collectively do that is the tricky part, especially in a reconstructing city like Harrisburg. However, that is precisely what gives us options to exercise this public power.

Of course, the most apparent way to do it is elections. After all, it’s our elected leaders who are the most public. They often have the most exposure and reach the most people inside and outside of the city. They are presented with a range of opportunities to network and influence processes, procedures and policies.

Traditionally, old-school rules and familiar faces have dominated Harrisburg elections. The same candidates tend to run and run again and, if they win, they tend to stay put for a long time. This is true at every level of government from local to state. Interestingly enough, it’s one of the most important things to note about this city—within five downtown blocks of one another, there are three seats of government. That’s always added a complexity to Harrisburg’s politics.

In fact, it could be said that politics around here has become like a club with unspoken rules of membership. And, yes, there are even dues, which manifests itself in ticket prices to events and campaign donations. I recommended you read a campaign finance report sometime and see how much information can be gleaned from the listing of who attends, donates and supports whom, not to mention how much. Campaign expenses are always worth noticing, too.

As a result of this political society that’s developed, more citizens don’t become involved. Not only don’t they run for office, they don’t pay attention. They shrug their shoulders convinced they have no say and either withdraw altogether or go along blindly with what they’re told.

This has been to the detriment of Harrisburg politics for generations.

There is an election in May. Since the middle of February, citizens have been circulating petitions to get candidates on the ballot and, by the end of this month, we’ll know who’s running in the primary for several seats in local government, including City Council and school board. Soon we’ll vote.

But, before Election Day comes, this city will be thrust into the intensity of the races, and we’ll see what Harrisburg politics is all about at this point in time.

As history teaches us, the essence of politics is the people of the place. So, whatever politics are produced, we should remember it ultimately reflects the will of the people.

If we don’t like how things are done, let’s change it. If we don’t like who’s in office, let’s change it.

In this election season, I call out to my fellow citizens and say, please engage. Pay attention and participate. Consider not just what the politics of the city is or has been, but what it can be.

Tara Leo Auchey is creator and editor of today’s the day Harrisburg. www.todaysthedayhbg.com

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