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1 SCRANTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING
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5 HELD:
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7 Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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9 LOCATION:
10 Council Chambers
11 Scranton City Hall
12 340 North Washington Avenue
13 Scranton, Pennsylvania
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CATHENE S. NARDOZZI, RPR - OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
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2 CITY OF SCRANTON COUNCIL:
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MR. ROBERT MCGOFF, PRESIDENT
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6 MS. JUDY GATELLI, VICE-PRESIDENT
(Not present.)
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MS. JANET E. EVANS
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9 MS. SHERRY FANUCCI
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MR. WILLIAM COURTRIGHT
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12 MS. KAY GARVEY, CITY CLERK
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MR. NEIL COOLICAN, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
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15 MR. AMIL MINORA, SOLICITOR
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1 (Pledge of Allegiance recited and moment of
2 reflection observed.)
3 MR. MCGOFF: Roll call, please.
4 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
5 MS. EVANS: Here.
6 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
7 Fanucci.
8 MS. FANUCCI: Here.
9 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: Here.
11 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
12 MR. MCGOFF: Here. Let the record
13 reflect that Mrs. Gatelli called and will
14 not be attending today's meeting due to a
15 family illness. Dispense with the reading
16 of the minutes. Any announcements -- or
17 Third Order, I'm sorry.
18 MS. GARVEY: 3-A. MINUTES OF THE
19 FIREMEN'S PENSION COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON
20 JUNE 24, 2009.
21 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
22 If not, received and filed.
23 MS. GARVEY: 3-B. MINUTES OF THE
24 POLICE PENSION COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON
25 JUNE 24, 2009.
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1 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
2 If not, received and filed.
3 MS. GARVEY: 3-C. MINUTES OF THE
4 NON-UNIFORM MUNICIPAL PENSION BOARD MEETING
5 HELD ON JUNE 24, 2009.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
7 If not, received and filed.
8 MS. GARVEY: 3-D. AGENDA FOR THE
9 NON-UNIFORM MUNICIPAL PENSION BOARD MEETING
10 HELD ON JULY 22, 2009.
11 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
12 If not, received and filed.
13 MS. GARVEY: 3-E. TAX COLLECTION
14 COMPARISON REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE SINGLE
15 TAX OFFICE JULY 22, 2009.
16 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
17 If not, received and filed.
18 MS. GARVEY: 3-F. CONTROLLER'S REPORT
19 FOR THE MONTH ENDING JUNE 30, 2009.
20 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
21 If not, received and filed.
22 Prior to Fourth Order are there any
23 announcements?
24 MR. COURTRIGHT: I have one.
25 MS. EVANS: And I just have one, too.
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1 You go ahead.
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: Okay. Sorry. I
3 just have one announcement, the Tripp Park
4 Neighborhood Association picnic at the Tripp
5 Park Community Center parking lot on Dorothy
6 Street will be Friday, August 24, and
7 Saturday August 22 from 6:00 p.m. until
8 10:00 p.m.
9 MS. EVANS: What was that again?
10 Friday, August --
11 MR. COURTRIGHT: Friday, August 21
12 and Saturday, August 22 from 6 to 10, and
13 that's going to be in the parking lot of the
14 Tripp Park Community Center on Dorothy
15 Street.
16 MS. EVANS: Please remember in your
17 prayers all those who have died this past
18 week, particularly Taevon and Michael Miles,
19 two young brothers who died in a West
20 Scranton arson fire also week and their
21 mother, Mrs. Leary and brother Nigia who
22 deeply suffer their loss.
23 MR. MCGOFF: Anything else?
24 MS. EVANS: No.
25 MR. MCGOFF: Citizens' participation.
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1 Nancy Krake. Let me just -- because
2 Mrs. Gatelli isn't here, there is no need to
3 change the order, so we'll just go.
4 MS. FANUCCI: Yeah, we had switched
5 the order.
6 MR. MCGOFF: We will just have a five
7 minutes.
8 MS. KRAKE: Good morning, Council.
9 I'm just going to be raising a few issues
10 before you recess for the summer. First
11 would be why are we demolishing Holy Cross
12 Church? It is clearly not blighted and
13 should be returned to the tax rolls
14 especially in light of the budget shortfall
15 this year.
16 Now, I guess the mayor could raise
17 taxes again while he has still has a council
18 majority. The city's insurance company paid
19 $30,000 for Mrs. Gatelli's private lawsuit
20 and costs continued to mount. When will
21 Mrs. Gatelli reimburse the city for her
22 private lawsuit? Wouldn't a rational person
23 agree that the taxpayers, the same ones that
24 Mrs. Gatelli voted to increase their
25 property tax 27 percent, pay for this same
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1 city's insurance costs? So, in essence, she
2 is suing city residents as a private citizen
3 and using their own money, taxes, to do so.
4 Also, will Mrs. Gatelli drop her
5 lawsuit or pay for it herself when she
6 leaves office or will the taxpayers continue
7 to pay for her lawsuit when she no longer
8 sits on council? Thank you.
9 MR. MCGOFF: Andy Sbaraglia.
10 MR. SBARAGLIA: Andy Sbaraglia,
11 citizen of Scranton, fellow Scrantonians. A
12 little talk on 7-E on Holy Cross Church.
13 What is the rush to tear that church down?
14 That's the whole quirks. I mean, you are
15 giving 120 days rush order on tearing this
16 church down. What's the need for such a
17 rush? That church has been standing for
18 near 100 years and all of a sudden now we've
19 got to tear it really down real fast like.
20 I have before me 20 pictures of homes that
21 are derelict homes within the city, and
22 believe me, they are worse than Holy Cross
23 Church, that's obvious. I don't understand
24 the rush on that project. Would you -- I
25 guess you all see them, would you like to
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1 see them?
2 MS. EVANS: Yes, I would. Thank you.
3 (Mr. Sbaraglia hands photos to Mrs.
4 Evans.)
5 MR. SBARAGLIA: The city isn't
6 rushing. I live on Main Avenue. We all
7 know about that home on Main Avenue where we
8 did it twice and they trashed it twice.
9 It's still standing. It has been standing
10 for years, but yet we are in a rush to tear
11 down Holy Cross Church. I can't understand
12 it and there must be a reason for it, maybe
13 yous know of the reason for it.
14 MS. FANUCCI: Because they want to
15 use it as a parking lot. I mean, that's the
16 reason. They want to use it for something.
17 The other church they really didn't have a
18 use for, so that is the reason.
19 MR. SBARAGLIA: It's not a good
20 reason.
21 MS. FANUCCI: Well, it might not be
22 a good reason, but it is the reason.
23 MR. SBARAGLIA: That's the reason
24 they gave.
25 MS. FANUCCI: You're saying that you
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1 don't know what the reason is. That's the
2 reason.
3 MR. SBARAGLIA: No, that's the reason
4 they gave. That's not necessarily in their
5 planning. There must be something more to
6 it than that because they wouldn't be
7 willing to spend all of that money when the
8 West Side Boy's Club calls I didn't see the
9 mayor come up with $50,000 or $100,000 to
10 keep that open and that had a better
11 basketball court if you are familiar with
12 the West Side.
13 MS. FANUCCI: But don't they have
14 property next door to the Boy's and Girl's
15 Club that they were trying to sell that we
16 could have bought as a city and then tore it
17 down. No.
18 MR. SBARAGLIA: Yes, there is if they
19 put an effort to do it. They could have.
20 MS. FANUCCI: Come on, Andy.
21 MR. SBARAGLIA: No, they could have.
22 That street has been derelict, I grew up
23 there. If they wanted to do it they could
24 have, but they didn't want to do it.
25 Another thing is there have been basketball
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1 games at that court where you're talking
2 about for the past what 20 years, 30 years?
3 MS. FANUCCI: Absolutely.
4 MR. SBARAGLIA: Now all of a sudden
5 we got to rush to tear the building down.
6 It doesn't make sense. I'll give you that.
7 Whatever reason they gave they gave. Like I
8 said, I can give a lot of reasons to build a
9 damn across from east to west mountain, too,
10 but there is a lot of negatives that come
11 with it and this whole city would be
12 flooded, but I can give a lot of positives
13 about cheaper electricity, a big lake that
14 you can use. I can give all kind of
15 reasons, but they are not practical reasons
16 and that's not a practical reason.
17 Let's go to the lease agreement for
18 the OECD. Did the city put in a bid for
19 that by any chance?
20 MS. FANUCCI: I don't believe so.
21 MR. SBARAGLIA: I wonder why not?
22 MS. FANUCCI: I did ask and the
23 answer I received was that the amount of
24 space that was available within city hall,
25 is that what you are talking, with them
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1 moving OECD back here was not sufficient for
2 the office. That's the answer I received.
3 Whether or not you like it, that's what I
4 got.
5 MR. SBARAGLIA: And that was the
6 reason they moved out, too, all right?
7 There wasn't enough reason --
8 MS. FANUCCI: Right, and they have
9 100 employees now.
10 MR. SBARAGLIA: We have a museum in
11 the basement, don't we, where the old police
12 station was?
13 MS. FANUCCI: I think that that's
14 even smaller than upstairs actually.
15 MR. SBARAGLIA: But you have two
16 different areas. I mean, you combine all
17 them areas there might have been enough room
18 for that. I think they should have at least
19 looked into it. I mean, we got a museum
20 downstairs that nobody gets to see, but it's
21 there. Oh, well, like I say, five minutes
22 is going to run out there. I'm not -- I
23 don't understand "H" either, 7-H with the
24 zoning officer effective 6-2-09. They are
25 going back a few things, I guess that's when
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1 he was hired, and they did all of a sudden
2 that they need permission to do it or what?
3 What's the reason we are going back to
4 April 6? 7-H.
5 MS. FANUCCI: Yeah. I have to read
6 it here.
7 MR. SBARAGLIA: We seem to go
8 backwards with the city. Same when they put
9 the insurance all the way back to January.
10 Our liability insurance for the whole city
11 we go back to January for it in June I think
12 it was. Thank you.
13 MR. MCGOFF: Bob Bolus.
14 MR. BOLUS: Good morning, Council,
15 Bob Bolus, Scranton. This is an issue about
16 7-E about Holy Cross Church, and I think we
17 need to really pay attention what's going on
18 here. Do we need a parking lot to pay the
19 taxpayers expense in the City of Scranton
20 when there is abandoned tennis courts right
21 down the street that could be utilized but
22 nobody has thought about it or said we could
23 use them, but yet we want to turn down this
24 magnificent structure that you couldn't
25 build today for $1 million. You want to
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1 take away the heritage. These were gateway
2 churches.
3 Mr. Early, who is the chancellor of
4 the Diocesan, authored a book about the
5 Diocese, about the history of it. Is this a
6 turntail? What he said isn't true? What he
7 meant in his book is untrue? Is this what
8 the Diocese considers a giveaway?
9 We offered $25,000 to the church and
10 they never even came back and said, "Give us
11 a counteroffer."
12 And ironically when the city isn't
13 paying attention you are rushing the
14 judgment. You are calling it blighted
15 because a tile fell off it God knows when.
16 What if a tile fell off the courthouse? How
17 about city hall? Are we going to consider
18 it now blighted and tear it down? I don't
19 think so.
20 Lieutenant Robson died tragically
21 yet you have not torn that building down
22 yet. What is your meaning of what you
23 believe is blighted in this city? Open your
24 eyes and drive around. Don't give me the
25 nonsense we are going to make this a parking
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1 lot for public parking at taxpayers'
2 expenses. That's an absurdity. It's the
3 dumbest thing I have heard here in the many
4 years I have come here, and I'm outraged to
5 even hear a comment like that. When that
6 building next door, the hall, is so
7 deteriorated, needs a roof, the foundations
8 are cracked, windows are all broken around
9 the basement of it, that's what should be
10 torn down, yet you are enhancing that by
11 tearing this church down and giving the
12 Dioceses a free parking lot at our expenses.
13 MS. FANUCCI: Bob, you weren't the
14 only one turned down in the sale of the
15 building --
16 MR. BOLUS: No, let me tell you
17 something --
18 MS. FANUCCI: They won't sell the
19 building to anyone that --
20 MR. BOLUS: Let me finish what I
21 have to say, Sherry, and I'll be more than
22 glad to listen to what you got to say at the
23 end, please. This Diocese sat there and
24 said, "We have a short fall of 200 and some
25 thousand dollars," yet they turned down
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1 $25,000 or they could have turned $100,000
2 down. They want us, the parishioners of the
3 City of Scranton, to continue to pay for
4 their foolishness and their foolhardy way
5 they handle money.
6 My suggestion to every Catholic in
7 this Diocese is don't put another bloody
8 dime in the basket. It's time to remove
9 this Bishop once and for all and let people
10 really know what he is about. He has not
11 paid attention there is money being put in
12 the coffers and he has ignored it and yet
13 they want us to pay, and I'm outraged that
14 the council here would even entertain taking
15 this on.
16 Remember, this could be under the
17 heritage, architectural heritage, and you
18 are going to be stopped from doing anything
19 with this church once you take title to
20 this. This is a foolhardy rush to judgment
21 when you have more important issues in this
22 city to take care of especially with our
23 money. There is no reason you cannot table
24 this, dwell on it, think about it as
25 intelligent people and administrators of our
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1 money and our futures and the futures of
2 future generations. You allow millions and
3 millions of dollars to be spent on
4 Lackawanna Avenue to present what, an image
5 to the city, yet we want to tear down a
6 building like this that has use? Whether
7 it's gutted or not you could do anything
8 creative with that building you want to do.
9 People have been parking there for the last
10 100 years. Now they need a parking lot?
11 They are too darn lazy after they have ran
12 up and down the ball court playing
13 basketball for hours to walk across to
14 street to the tennis court and park?
15 That's the dumbest thing I have
16 heard since I have been around this city
17 that we want to tear a building to make this
18 a parking lot and enhance the Dioceses at no
19 expense to them. That's an unjust
20 enrichment. That's a foolhardy spending of
21 our money.
22 I took time from a business meeting
23 I had today to come here. I could have
24 filed litigation and played this court and
25 played the games today, but if this council
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1 and this administration is so ridiculously
2 intent on tearing this building down I don't
3 want to waste another dime in this city.
4 I'm a developer, I'm a businessman, and I
5 know the value of our heritage and you
6 cannot sit here in conscience and justify a
7 parking lot and think that was an
8 intelligent thing to do.
9 This whole process smells and it
10 smells very bad. It does. It really does,
11 Mr. McGoff. It stinks. If you pass this
12 for a parking lot you have not justified
13 your position here and the best interest of
14 this people in this city and I'm glad we
15 made some changes. You have to think about
16 the people.
17 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you, Mr. Bolus.
18 MR. BOLUS: No, it isn't thank you
19 today, Mr. McGoff, we have an issue today
20 and I want one second more, you are putting
21 bike racks in the city for free, let me them
22 pay. We got to pay to park our cars here,
23 let them pay to use the bike racks.
24 Generate income, increase the tax base --
25 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you, Mr. Bolus.
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1 MR. BOLUS: -- in this city. There
2 is an opportunity, let's not be bullied by
3 this bishop any further. Thank you.
4 MS. FANUCCI: All you did was show
5 irrational was, Bobby. You want them to pay
6 for bike racks?
7 MR. MCGOFF: Sherry, please.
8 MR. BOLUS: What, Sherry?
9 MS. FANUCCI: I can't.
10 MR. BOLUS: Say what, Sherry, I
11 didn't hear you?
12 MS. FANUCCI: (Inaudible.)
13 MR. BOLUS: Well, I didn't hear your
14 comment.
15 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you. Ron Ellman.
16 (Inaudible comments from Mr. Bolus.
17 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you, Mr. Bolus.
18 MR. BOLUS: Well, I didn't appreciate
19 the comment from a council person --
20 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you, Mr. Bolus.
21 MR. BOLUS: That doesn't listen to
22 what the people have to say if they don't
23 like it.
24 MS. FANUCCI: I listened and I
25 commented on your bike rack comment.
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1 MR. MCGOFF: Please.
2 MR. BOLUS: You're an irrational
3 person in the first place, trust me on that.
4 (Inaudible comments.)
5 MR. FANUCCI: All right.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Mr. Bolus. Thank you.
7 MR. ELLMAN: Ronnie Ellman, member of
8 the Taxpayers' Association. You know,
9 sometimes you have this lunatic comes up
10 here trying to entertain the troops and you
11 give her 10 or 15 minutes before you can get
12 rid of her, here is something important
13 going on you won't let him have another
14 minute. That's not right. It wouldn't have
15 killed you.
16 MS. FANUCCI: The reason I commented
17 was the bike racks. I'm okay with listening
18 about the church, I honestly believe his
19 comments about the church are valid and I
20 believe that, but when I listen to somebody
21 saying we should charge people for bike
22 racks, I don't believe they deserve another
23 minute for that. No.
24 MR. ELLMAN: No, I understand that.
25 MS. FANUCCI: No, Ronnie, really.
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1 The church I understand. I believe that --
2 MR. ELLMAN: I'm not being
3 argumentative about it, I just stated a
4 fact. I don't see why you are trying to buy
5 a building anyway when they can't afford it.
6 They are losing it really. It doesn't make
7 sense, you know. People go looking at a
8 house or a car you don't give them the exact
9 amount you try to dicker and get the price
10 down or something, you don't give them --
11 you know, they can't hold onto the church
12 why are you talking about buying it?
13 And I did something anybody up there
14 could have done, I phoned two demolition
15 companies during the week, both of them said
16 you cannot tear that building down for
17 $50,000, and they can't give you a price
18 because they don't know how much hazardous
19 materials are in it to have to go to a
20 landfill, but they said it's impossible to
21 tear it down for $50,000.
22 And from what I hear that building,
23 I was told this by somebody that works for
24 the city, that building is probably in
25 better shape than the new school is because
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1 the basement floods all of the time in the
2 new school and I got that from the horse's
3 mouth and nobody is supposed to know about
4 it. That basement has been flooded in the
5 new school and I heard it from two different
6 people. Well, go investigate it.
7 I would have been here last week to
8 bad mouth everybody except I went to
9 Mr. Cox's office with my papers that from
10 five or six years ago and the man spent two
11 hours trying to find where my tax money is
12 with all of his computers and everything and
13 he cannot figure it out. I spent $500 for
14 an attorney he couldn't figure it out and
15 couldn't find nothing. I went -- I got a
16 free attorney at the Bureau of the Aging or
17 whatever you call it, that man gave up. Why
18 can't they find my money? There is no
19 account from -- that NCC, they charged me
20 $2,400, it's not on the computer where that
21 money went. That whole place is such a mess
22 I don't know what you want the job for. I
23 spent two hours and Mr. Cox is on that
24 computer typing up a storm to no avail.
25 MS. FANUCCI: They couldn't find any
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1 of your payments?
2 MR. ELLMAN: You got your job cut out
3 -- pardon?
4 MR. FANUCCI: They couldn't find any
5 of your payments?
6 MR. ELLMAN: Yeah, it found out, you
7 know, he'd type something up and it says
8 where my mortgage paid it, it says,
9 "Mortgage" next to it, and they fined me --
10 I had to give them $1,900 when my mortgage
11 paid it, then they turned that $1,900 over
12 to that NCC and they and fined me $2,400
13 because the sheriff come out there with the
14 papers on the house and all of that, and
15 Miss Rosey got all excited and ran over
16 there and gave them $2,4,00 and none of that
17 money is accounted for. You can -- I got
18 all of the paperwork.
19 MS. FANUCCI: Oh.
20 MR. ELLMAN: My bank made payments
21 and payments and payments every year. They
22 sent it, you know, it's a -- they sent me a
23 sheet.
24 MR. COURTRIGHT: Ron, what you are
25 saying, there is no record of you making
23
1 payment, that's what you are telling me,
2 right?
3 MR. ELLMAN: That's what Mr. Cox -- I
4 got all of the sheets --
5 MR. COURTRIGHT: From your bank.
6 MR. ELLMAN: I'll bring them to you
7 to look at, you won't be here next week,
8 will you?
9 MR. COURTRIGHT: No. From your bank
10 though? You got them from your bank saying
11 you paid your taxes?
12 MR. ELLMAN: Yeah, they got the years
13 down, '95 and so forth, you know, what --
14 what they paid in taxes, but it -- they have
15 the interest, you know, on my money, they
16 just show a little bit of the interest where
17 they paid the taxes so it's different every
18 year from the taxes. I'll bring you
19 everything by your business and leave it.
20 If you can figure it out you are a better
21 man that anybody over here at this tax
22 bureau because --
23 MR. COURTRIGHT: Just bring them
24 here to city hall because I'll be in there
25 every day even though we're on break.
24
1 MR. ELLMAN: Over here?
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: Right here, just to
3 our office over here.
4 MR. ELLMAN: Right over there?
5 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yeah.
6 MR. ELLMAN: Thank you.
7 MS. FANUCCI: Funny they couldn't
8 find your name when they are sending out the
9 bill though, right? Wouldn't that be nice
10 for a change?
11 MR. ELLMAN: I don't know.
12 MS. FANUCCI: They seem to be able
13 to do that well.
14 MR. ELLMAN: I should have let them
15 have the house, it would have been easier.
16 MS. FANUCCI: That's terrible.
17 Terrible.
18 MR. ELLMAN: Thank you.
19 MR. MCGOFF: David Dobrzyn.
20 MR. DOBRZYN: Good morning, Council.
21 Dave Dobrzyn, member of the Taxpayers'
22 Association, resident of Scranton. On 7-E I
23 have a different approach and I'm going to
24 read off our Article III of the Pennsylvania
25 State Constitution: All men have a natural
25
1 and indiffusable right to worship God
2 almighty according to the dictates of their
3 consciences. No man of right can be
4 compelled to attend, erect or support any
5 place of worship or maintain any ministry
6 against it's consent. No human authority
7 can in any case whatsoever control or
8 interfere with the rights of conscience and
9 no preferences shall ever be given by a law
10 to any religious establishments or mode of
11 worship."
12 And the reason I read this off is
13 because I feel that the situation is a
14 little too cozy and I think that eventually
15 it will wind up -- the property will wind up
16 back in the hands of the church at
17 taxpayers' expense which I contend is
18 requiring us taxpayers to support the church
19 and the Diocese of Scranton. Thank you and
20 have a good morning.
21 MR. MCGOFF: Nancy Bisignani.
22 MS. BISIGNANI: I'm Nancy Bisignani
23 with the Architectural Heritage Association
24 of Northeastern Pennsylvania and I'm here
25 about Holy Cross, and in our group's
26
1 opinion, and we don't have this opinion from
2 the state historic preservation office yet,
3 but this building is national register
4 eligible because of it's history, it's got a
5 very strong history, and it's an
6 architecturally significant building, and to
7 use federal funds to demolish it will
8 require 106 process from the National
9 Historic Preservation Act, and we would like
10 to respectfully request council to table
11 this to give us a little bit more time to
12 get some experts in here and to come up with
13 some other ideas.
14 These churches are being used all
15 over the country and the same thing is
16 happening all over the country that's
17 happening here, congregations are being
18 combined, and they are doing very
19 interesting things with churches. They are
20 doing community centers with basketball
21 courts. They are doing libraries, they are
22 doing restaurants, they are doing apartment
23 complexes. There is many, many creative
24 things that can be considered for this and
25 what I'm worried about, and I'd like to ask
27
1 council this, is this says, "To execute any
2 and all other documents necessary for
3 closing this transaction," does that include
4 demolition? Is there in the sale's
5 agreement a requirement that it be
6 demolished?
7 MS. EVANS: I guess there is, that it
8 be demolished within a period of 120 days or
9 the church will revert to the ownership of
10 the Diocese.
11 MS. BISIGNANI: Well, what I would
12 like council to do is table this until your
13 fall schedule comes back up and by that time
14 we could have a little bit more preparation
15 work, and I'm speaking on behalf of the
16 Architectural Heritage Association which is
17 the only historic preservation organization
18 in town. Thank you.
19 MR. MCGOFF: Marie Schumacher.
20 MS. SCHUMACHER: Marie Schumacher,
21 city resident and taxpayer. I, too, would
22 like to ask what's the rush with respect to
23 7-E. Has anyone considered any other uses
24 for this structure? Surely if the 500 block
25 of Lackawanna Avenue is historic, this 100
28
1 year old church is the same.
2 Sunday afternoon WNEP news showed a
3 Wilkes-Barre library that had been displaced
4 by a fire several years before and was now
5 moving into an empty church. If Scranton
6 needs a library in the South Side area, why
7 not save a historic building and possibly
8 consider it for the library. It looks as
9 though there is a lot of space there.
10 Also, Lackawanna County advertises
11 the place where innovation starts, so let's
12 take the month of August to use some
13 innovation and find another use for this
14 structure. There is an empty lot across on
15 Fifth -- across pretty much across from the
16 hall that perhaps could be used for parking.
17 And I guess that's -- well, the other thing
18 is I would like to show you pictures, if
19 this is not a building that should be
20 condemned -- Neal, maybe you could take --
21 these show pictures of the roof of the
22 current building. I wouldn't let a child or
23 a grandchild of mine in that building with a
24 roof in this condition and I question -- I
25 question the health of that structure, and
29
1 if the Diocese can't afford $50,000 to
2 demolish their church without coming through
3 council then I would also think that perhaps
4 they can't afford to put a new roof on that
5 building, but that all needs to be
6 investigated plus I would like to know if
7 you have considered the added liability and
8 maintenance for the parking lot. That also
9 ads to the ongoing expenses of the city.
10 I'd also like to ask about last
11 week's 5-D. Did anyone find out if Bruce
12 Miller is certified to be a zoning officer?
13 He is? Yes, he is or --
14 MR. COURTRIGHT: There is all kinds
15 of qualifications.
16 MS. SCHUMACHER: Okay, later, and
17 does he -- I notice it wasn't on today's
18 agenda, does he continue to work as a zoning
19 officer until council returns in September?
20 You can answer that one in motions.
21 And something that's troubled me
22 ever since the light went off when Nancy
23 Krake spoke of this months and months ago,
24 maybe even years ago, and that is the fines
25 that are charged property tax owners. I
30
1 don't understand why only property tax
2 owners are -- are there any fines if a wage
3 -- if a person doesn't pay their wage taxes
4 on time? I don't think so. Any of these
5 other fees, are there any late fees
6 assessed? I don't think so. So why is it
7 only the poor property owner and in many
8 cases the elderly who are living on fixed
9 incomes?
10 I would like to share with you
11 something from the Fairfax County, Virginia,
12 what they do for their elderly, which is 62
13 -- or excuse me, 65 or older or if you are
14 disabled. If the gros household income is
15 $52,000 or less you get 100 percent property
16 tax relieve. If it's between $52,001 and
17 $62,000 it's 50 percent. If it's between --
18 if your gross household income is $62,000 to
19 $72,000 you get 25 percent relief, and up to
20 $6,500 may be subtracted from the total
21 combined income calculations for each
22 relative residing in the household, and
23 there are more. You are allowed to have net
24 assets limits up to $340,000, not including
25 the value of the home and it's furnishings.
31
1 Now, I think this is what we should
2 be doing for our seniors, obviously the
3 amounts would have to be adjusted for the
4 property values here, but I think it's
5 something that should be looked at. Thank
6 you.
7 MR. MCGOFF:Mike Lapalla.
8 MR. LAPALLA: Mike Lapalla, resident
9 of North Scranton. I first want to say
10 thank you for Mr. Courtright and Ms. Garvey
11 for going out last week and getting the
12 Parks Department to come out and fix the
13 park. They put a new swing in. They fixed
14 that wire, thankfully that wasn't live. I
15 don't know why they just concreted that
16 sidewalk over the wire, but now it's gone,
17 which is good, and also they picked up the
18 trash in the area which is even better.
19 The main reason I came here last
20 week was for that house. The abandoned
21 house is, you know, it's a hazard there, and
22 that's the main concern that I had as well
23 as the families there in the area. I would
24 hope that this is home is razed before the
25 church does. Several others also in the
32
1 area are deplorable and need work before
2 that church.
3 MR. COURTRIGHT: I don't know, Kay,
4 do you know -- the house is bad and they
5 haven't boarded up those windows that you
6 talked about0.
7 MR. LAPALLA: I went up there this
8 morning.
9 MR. COURTRIGHT: Kay, did they tell
10 us where that was on the list? Didn't Mark
11 Seitzinger say he was going to check it out
12 and see where it was on the list?
13 MS. GARVEY: He was go to check it
14 out and hopefully move it up wherever it
15 was, but I haven't heard anything since
16 then.
17 MR. COURTRIGHT: I got to be honest
18 with you, Mike, after we spoke and I went
19 there and then it was either that day or the
20 next day I saw Mark Seitzinger and
21 Mr. Oleski going in that direction so --
22 MR. LAPALLA: I'm glad because -- -
23 MR. COURTRIGHT: I'll keep on that
24 because it's bad.
25 MR. LAPALLA: So am I, and I'm going
33
1 to keep on it because I gave my word and I
2 don't go back on my word. The parents and
3 the families that are around there saw them
4 out there that day and they were very proud
5 of that and thankful for them coming out, so
6 I'm very happy about that.
7 But the one point I want to make
8 clear that I don't believe that the Parks
9 Department or the Department of Public Works
10 are fully responsible for the blight in the
11 park. As a citizen, I believe it is our
12 right to keep the neighborhoods clean and
13 safe. Picking up trash and not littering is
14 something we can all do to make our
15 community better. We should not have to
16 wait for someone else to come and do
17 something that we should be doing already.
18 We should have more pride in ourselves and
19 our community. We, as citizens, should
20 stand up against those that do not take care
21 of our community, whether that's trash,
22 graffiti or vandalism.
23 If we as citizens do not do anything
24 or say something then it would just get
25 brushed under the carpet. For instance, the
34
1 last week the gentleman came about the grass
2 that fell on the road and complained about
3 it, but didn't pick it up. We could be kind
4 and say, "Excuse me, the grass dropped," or
5 better yet, just pick it up and throw it
6 away yourselves. If we did that, every
7 citizen in our community, our community
8 would be a lot better off.
9 I was one of those individuals that
10 was on the TV -- watching the city council
11 on TV, sitting on the couch reading the
12 newspaper or whatever it may be, and I
13 always said, "I wish somebody would do
14 something. I wish somebody would stand up
15 and fight for these people or try to get
16 that project done."
17 Well, I got off the couch and I'm
18 here. I'm going to fight for the people,
19 I'm going to fight for my community that I
20 love, that I just got here and became
21 adorned to. I believe in the city and I
22 want to improve it for my family and the
23 families in the future and in this
24 community. Thank you for your time and
25 thank you for listening to my concerns.
35
1 MS. FANUCCI: Looks like we met our
2 new councilman, huh?
3 MR. LAPALLA: No.
4 MR. MCGOFF: Any other speakers?
5 Mr. Quinn?
6 MR. QUINN: Morning. Ozzie Quinn,
7 president of the Scranton/Lackawanna County
8 Taxpayers' Association. I was hoping that
9 Mrs. Gatelli was going to be here today
10 because of the Holy Cross Church demolition
11 and the 120 day stipulation to knock it
12 down. This building is over on Cedar Avenue
13 I guess in the -- her South Side
14 renaissance, it's the old former Bistro.
15 It's been there vacant since 2002, okay? I
16 guess you all saw it, okay? I'll give it to
17 the news if they would like to see it, I
18 mean, there is something for ten years and
19 it's still existing.
20 The City of Scranton Administrative
21 Code states in part: At any time during the
22 budget year the business administrator shall
23 ascertain the possibility of a cash deficit
24 he shall reconsider the work program and the
25 allotments of the several office,
36
1 departments and agencies.
2 Upon such consideration and with the
3 approval of the mayor and council, the
4 business administrator shall revise the
5 allotments so as to forestall so far as
6 possible the making of commitments and
7 expenditures and expenses of revenue to be
8 realized during the official year.
9 The mayor is going -- has said he is
10 going to use federal community block grant
11 money intended for removing blighted
12 properties will be used for the project.
13 The mayor also said city employees will be
14 performing the work of the demolition. The
15 project that would be authorized by the
16 council is a capital project though not
17 presented as an amendment to the 2009
18 capital budget which did not include this
19 project, therefore, it must constitute an
20 urgent need under the CDBG program.
21 Well, it doesn't meet that criteria
22 for urgent need. You really have to have
23 something urgent, okay? Holy Cross does not
24 pose a serious and immediate threat to the
25 health or welfare of the community. I have
37
1 had several calls myself from people who
2 even in the winter about the rats and the
3 snow, cleaning the snow and whatnot, okay?
4 Misusing HUD funds could draw such sanctions
5 which would reduce future CDBG allocations
6 which are critically needed to assist low/
7 moderate income residents. The revenue
8 portion of the city's budget is in jeopardy
9 due primarily to an assumed 5.5 infusion
10 from the Single Tax Office which
11 increasingly looks as though it will not
12 come to fruition at the budget amount.
13 The city is de facto increasing the
14 expenditure portion of the budget. If they
15 approve this ordinance, approval of this
16 ordinance will remove a portion of the
17 flexibility provided to business
18 administrators to control a year's end cash
19 deficit. This would likely result either in
20 a tax increase or an increased debt, both of
21 which would be determined, it would be
22 detrimental to the taxpayers who are already
23 facing another school tax increase of
24 6.5 percent.
25 I urge you people to table this as
38
1 the member of the AHA said and consider it
2 again because when you look a picture like
3 that that's hanging around for ten years and
4 you want to knock down something in 120
5 days, as Mrs. Evans always says, it doesn't
6 pass the smell test. Thank you.
7 MR. COURTRIGHT: How's the dog,
8 Jeannie?
9 MS. SUETTA: The tail is good. My
10 tail is good. My name is Jean Suetta. Bob,
11 I come up about the weeds. They did -- when
12 you're done talking, Bill.
13 MR. COURTRIGHT: Go ahead.
14 MS. SUETTA: I mean, if I'm
15 interfering just let me know.
16 MR. COURTRIGHT: No at all.
17 MS. SUETTA: All right. They did the
18 Lace Works and they did that corner. The
19 jungle is still across the street on
20 Greenridge Street and Vanic VIP,
21 Incorporated, owns the lots.
22 MS. FANUCCI: Who does?
23 MS. SUETTA: Vanic, V-A-N-I-C.
24 MS. FANUCCI: Okay.
25 MS. SUETTA: I have the phone number
39
1 and the fax number for you, too.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Would you give that to
3 Neil. I hate that -- I mean, I know that
4 you love to do that. Give it to Neil.
5 MS. SUETTA: I know. They are not
6 doing nothing. You know what, you are
7 looking for revenue, the Cordaro owns the
8 Lace Works, I went down to Bethlehem to the
9 casino. Why don't they put a casino in the
10 Lace Works or Laminations, that's big
11 enough?
12 MS. FANUCCI: Jean, do you really
13 need a casino that close to you. Now, come
14 on.
15 MS. SUETTA: Once I get my legs
16 fixed I'll be all right, I can walk, but
17 right now I can't. But really to get the
18 revenue.
19 MS. FANUCCI: It would be revenue,
20 but it's a lot of private --
21 MS. MCGOFF: You can't --
22 MS. FANUCCI: Yeah, you can't just
23 open a casino.
24 MS. SUETTA: No, you have to get a
25 realtor, blah, blah, blah, but rather than
40
1 see it sit there idle.
2 MS. FANUCCI: I do believe there is a
3 project in the works and nothing can be done
4 until the levy project is finished with that
5 building.
6 MS. SUETTA: Yeah, because now they
7 just took down the Greenridge Lanes and all
8 of the rodents from there are coming over to
9 that little patch, and if I see any rats,
10 okay, you can't arrest me for protecting
11 myself by shooting one.
12 MS. FANUCCI: Right. We will make
13 sure we get that taken care of now that we
14 know who to contact.
15 MS. SUETTA: Because it's been a
16 month already.
17 MS. FANUCCI: Yeah.
18 MS. SUETTA: They had ample time.
19 MS. EVANS: We put the request in for
20 you.
21 MS. SUETTA: Yeah, I know, but they
22 had ample time. Give them a fine.
23 MS. FANUCCI: I agree. I totally
24 agree.
25 MS. SUETTA: You know. All right.
41
1 Leave the church there, will ya? Okay.
2 Thank you. Hey, have a good vacation.
3 MR. MCGOFF: Anyone else?
4 MR. SLEDENZSKI: I'm the last one,
5 Bobby.
6 MR. MCGOFF: All right, Chris.
7 MR. SLEDENZSKI: Hi, Bill.
8 MR. COURTRIGHT: Hi.
9 MR. SLEDENZSKI: Billy, you guys have
10 a good vacation, Billy. Thank you.
11 MS. EVANS: Thanks.
12 MR. MCGOFF: Mrs. Evans?
13 MS. EVANS: Good morning. To begin,
14 I wish to explain my absence from last
15 week's council meeting. My third grandchild
16 surprised us by arriving early at an
17 out-of-state hospital, and my son and
18 daughter-in-law, God bless them, are the
19 proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. I
20 thank all who sent congratulatory cards and
21 e-mails.
22 Next, we turn our attention to
23 several financial matters. The 2008
24 independent audit apparently has hit some
25 roadblocks caused by the city administration
42
1 and the Scranton Tax Office. A memo was
2 sent on July 14 requesting nine pieces of
3 information and receipt of the Redevelopment
4 Authority report. On July 21, the identical
5 memo was sent again requesting the same
6 information. Clearly, council will not
7 receive the audit prior to it's recess
8 despite the constant and commendable efforts
9 of Rossi & Company.
10 However, I would like the complete
11 audit furnished to council before it resumes
12 regular council meetings in September.
13 Therefore, with my colleague's agreement, I
14 ask that another letter be sent to the
15 business administrator, Jeff Brazil, the
16 Redevelopment Authority, and the Single Tax
17 Office urging each to forward the required
18 information to Rossi & Sons no later than
19 August 7, 2009. Is that agreeable? Thank
20 you.
21 Council also received a response
22 from Attorney McGovern, Scranton Tax Office
23 solicitor regarding the remaining
24 $4.5 million which appears to be due to the
25 city in which the mayor and council majority
43
1 approved in the 2009 budget. Attorney
2 McGovern states: This was a problem that
3 took six years to accumulate and, therefore,
4 it will take substantial time to distribute
5 properly. Rest assured progress is being
6 made.
7 The disbursement of these tax
8 dollars seems, therefore, to have no
9 guaranteed timeline and it behooves the
10 mayor and business administrator who created
11 the 2009 budget and council members who
12 approved it to draft a plan now to fill the
13 potential $4.5 million budget hole.
14 In addition, council received the
15 July 15, 2009, tax collection numbers for
16 the Scranton Tax Office. Attorney McGovern
17 states that the numbers are down compared to
18 2008. Further, he suspects the economy and
19 the fact that 2008 included several back
20 years for numerous taxpayers who had not
21 participated in tax payments may account for
22 this decline.
23 Year to date tax collections are as
24 follows: Real estate: $11,202,240, a
25 decrease of 1.47 percent.
44
1 Wage tax: $10,345,328, a decrease
2 of 13.9 percent.
3 The Local Services Tax: $867,039,
4 an increase of 51.1 percent.
5 The Business Privilege Mercantile
6 tax: $1,521,385, a decrease of 4.2 percent.
7 The total year-to-date tax
8 collections, $23,935,991, with a total
9 decrease of $1,613,939 as compared to 2008.
10 Should the decrease become a trend
11 through year-end, coupled by the ongoing
12 wasteful administrative spending and
13 possibly the $4.5 million budget hole which
14 I addressed a minute ago, the city will find
15 itself in serious financial straights in
16 2009.
17 Next, council received a response
18 from DA Jarbola regarding it's motion for an
19 investigation of the Single Tax Office and
20 former tax collector Ken McDowell. He
21 indicated that a meeting was conducted on
22 May 19, 2009, at which the FBI, Attorney
23 John McGovern, solicitor of the Single Tax
24 Office, an auditor from Nihill and Ridley,
25 the firm who failed to conduct a forensic
45
1 audit or any manner of audit, and an
2 assistant US attorney as well as the DA were
3 present. He states that all parties present
4 at the meeting concluded that there is no
5 evidence that would indicate that a crime
6 occurred and as such, there would be no need
7 to conduct any further investigation into
8 the Single Tax Office by either the federal
9 or the local authorities.
10 Moreover, the Pennsylvania
11 Department of Treasury also found no
12 evidence of criminal activity.
13 DA Jarbola further adds: It appears
14 that the problems in the Single Tax Office
15 were the result of a perfect storm. There
16 was inadequate training and supervision of
17 employees and inadequate computer software
18 equipment was utilized.
19 Consequently, it appears that the
20 federal and local authorities have no
21 concern for the $2 million in missing taxes
22 and the numerous violations of state law
23 made by former tax collector, Ken McDowell.
24 It is a pathetic perception of local and
25 federal authority that the citizens of
46
1 Scranton and Lackawanna County are facing
2 and the inability and/or refusal of
3 authorities to get to the bottom of this
4 victimization of citizens and taxpayers
5 causes them to lose all faith in their
6 government which they look to for justice
7 and protection.
8 I have always had a very strong
9 sense of right and wrong and an unwavering
10 belief in government representing and
11 working for the people and like so many of
12 you I find my confidence and faith in
13 authority now shaken and I understand the
14 majority of citizens who do not vote. Their
15 silence speaks volumes. I hear you and I
16 get it.
17 However, the only redress citizens
18 appear to be guaranteed is the right to vote
19 which thereby removes from office those who
20 failed to represent and protect them. Until
21 citizens find the renewed desire to exercise
22 their only recourse, a harmful and alarming
23 status quo will continue on many levels of
24 government in our state.
25 On a brighter note, I would like to
47
1 wish a very safe and enjoyable summer to
2 everyone and a tremendous start of a new
3 school year to all of our young people.
4 Finally, I have citizens' requests
5 and updates for the last week:
6 A letter to the Scranton Sewer
7 Authority: After authority workers repaired
8 a sewer line in the 800 block of Willow
9 Street, they restored homeowner's sidewalks
10 which had been damaged during the project.
11 However, there is one property located at
12 835 Willow Street that did not receive
13 sidewalk repairs. A Sewer Authority
14 supervisor claims that the property owner --
15 or, excuse me, that the property sits on a
16 mine and thus will not be restored by the
17 Sewer Authority. However, the property
18 owner states with certainty this is not
19 correct. Please repair the sidewalk of the
20 city taxpayer as soon as possible as was
21 performed for the adjacent homeowner,
22 particularly since the current status
23 suggests a perception of selectivity and
24 impropriety.
25 Please send an inspector to the area
48
1 of a restaurant located in West Scranton to
2 investigate the presence of smoke on
3 Lafayette Street. Homeowners complain of
4 health problems resulting from wood burning
5 equipment and are unable to open their
6 windows and screen doors during summer
7 months as a result.
8 Repair a large pothole located at
9 the corner of Greenridge Street and Dickson
10 Avenue.
11 Pave Arnold Avenue. Pothole repairs
12 have proved useless.
13 The garbage dumpster located at
14 429-431 Prescott Avenue has not been removed
15 and relocated to the back of the property
16 despite the fact that a certified letter was
17 mailed on July 6 giving the property owner
18 ten days in which to comply. I have not
19 received any response from Licensing and
20 Inspections regarding this problem and I
21 hope that the department has also contacted
22 the local apartment building manager who can
23 certainly reach the owner for instructions.
24 At this point, it seems a citation should be
25 issued. Perhaps if the owner must pay to
49
1 break the law, he may decide to relocate the
2 dumpster properly.
3 In the 100 block of Meadow Avenue in
4 front of the Clarion Hotel and Penn Star
5 Bank are numerous potholes, several city
6 residents and most recently a resident of
7 East Mountain have requested the paving of
8 Meadow Avenue. If this cannot occur
9 residents ask that potholes on this heavily
10 traveled road would be properly repaired by
11 the city.
12 One additional request, Kay, I had
13 spoken with Mr. McMullen last week about a
14 "No parking" sign that was removed by his
15 department on Harrison Avenue and I have in
16 my possession an ordinance passed by city
17 council in 2008 granting that "No parking"
18 sign in compliance with the regulations of
19 PennDOT and Mr. McMullen requested that if
20 we had that ordinance if we would please get
21 it to him immediately and he will then
22 repost the "No parking" sign, and my
23 apologies to Mr. O'Neill on behalf of the
24 city for any inconvenience and any grief
25 that this unfortunate situation has caused
50
1 you.
2 I am very happy to report that
3 progress was made on other requests made
4 this month. After many years Cooper Avenue
5 and Ward Place were paved and the residents
6 are quite pleased with the results.
7 Also, the University of Scranton has
8 agreed not to install streetlights in front
9 of a Hill Section resident's home, rather,
10 lights will be installed on either end of
11 the homeowner's property. I hope the
12 University will continue to keep direct
13 lines of communication open with their
14 residential neighbors as their projects
15 continue, and that's it.
16 MR. MCGOFF: Mrs. Fanucci?
17 MS. FANUCCI: I want to speak on two
18 things: First of all, these meetings never
19 cease to amaze me. Mrs. Krake coming up and
20 speaking of the lawsuit with Mrs. Gatelli
21 for $30,000. Funny to me that Nancy Krake,
22 who has been working with -- used to work in
23 the office where the money has been
24 collected for taxes didn't complain that
25 Mr. Pilcheski didn't pay his taxes for
51
1 years, but now is worried about the fact
2 that the taxpayers are paying for a lawsuit
3 in which he started and many lawsuits in
4 which he started on behalf of himself and
5 you are paying for every single day within
6 the city, within state. For some reason
7 that's okay to spend the money there, but
8 not to defend yourself against someone who
9 is a serial suer and downright person who
10 does not nothing but rip apart people in
11 this city.
12 I think it's time that the citizens
13 start connecting the dots. One thing I
14 agree with Mrs. Evans on, it's time to
15 connect the dots. When you see Nancy Krake
16 get up here and defend someone as
17 Mr. Pilcheski and you see what they have
18 created in this city and the division that
19 they have created and how they have gone
20 about going about what they believe and how
21 they wanted to obtain it and at anyone's
22 cost, I believe it's time to connect the
23 dots, and anyone who is not doing that and
24 not seeing what is out there you are missing
25 a very important part of what has happened
52
1 to your government. That is actually
2 appalling and if nothing else it is pulling
3 the wool over your eyes to benefit special
4 interest groups and certain people and to
5 get up here and act like you are trying
6 defend the taxpayers when you are actually
7 one of the people who are duping them behind
8 the scenes is appalling to me, so I wanted
9 to say that. Funny how people get here in
10 time just to make their points which are
11 totally appalling.
12 As far as Holy Cross hall, I
13 actually believe that this building is a
14 beautiful building and certainly do not want
15 to see it be demolished if it is not
16 necessary. There was some talk about
17 actually moving that and letting that be the
18 rec center, which I think would be a
19 wonderful idea, and if that is feasible then
20 the amount of money we are going to spend to
21 demolish it maybe we can put in to making it
22 a rec center. I think that would be
23 wonderful and probably best use for the
24 taxpayers' money, so on behalf of that I'm
25 going to ask my colleagues that we table
53
1 item 7-E for now so that we can spend the
2 next four weeks over the summer, our
3 vacation, I'm going to make a motion that we
4 table 7-E and we can discuss this over the
5 summer and see if we could come to better
6 alternatives and better use for the building
7 itself.
8 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
9 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: On the question,
11 the idea of turning the church into the
12 basketball court, I didn't know about it. I
13 got a call from a gentleman last night, I
14 wasn't able to return his call. If that's
15 feasible I would like to see that happen and
16 then maybe they could tear down the hall
17 once they have the court done and they could
18 make a parking lot there because the hall
19 needs work. I'm in favor of them having a
20 parking lot down there, there is no two-ways
21 about it. I know it's been like that for
22 years, but that doesn't make it right. They
23 need parking down there, but if they can do
24 that, if they can turn the church into the
25 basketball hall and keep the structure I
54
1 would be all for it.
2 MS. FANUCCI: And I'm going to ask
3 that we keep the lines of communication open
4 and not come with two barrels loaded as
5 certain people do all the time and try to
6 come to a conclusion that's best for the
7 taxpayers instead of trying to bully people
8 into what they believe.
9 One thing to have an idea, but the
10 Diocese and the city has to come together
11 and agree, and the only which you are going
12 to do that is actually sitting down at a
13 table and deciding what's best not trying to
14 create legislation or to, you know, threaten
15 to stop progress, you need to sit down and
16 figure out a better way, and I believe we
17 have an opportunity to try to do that.
18 Whether or not it's feasible or not, you
19 know, I don't believe we should spend
20 $200,000 to do it either, so we need to come
21 to a conclusion that is maybe better for the
22 citizens, and that's all I have on that.
23 MR. MCGOFF: Um --
24 MS. EVANS: You go ahead. No, no,
25 you started.
55
1 MR. MCGOFF: I was just going to --
2 for four years this church has been closed
3 and the Diocese has done nothing to take
4 care of it other than to leave it sit there.
5 Attempts to sell it have proven to be a
6 failure. There are other churches that have
7 been closed that the Diocese is attempting
8 to sell with very little satisfaction.
9 Attempts to improve or to change the nature
10 of other churches, I know of one in
11 particular was defeated by the or thrown out
12 by the zoning board.
13 Yes, these churches are great
14 structures, but it seems to me that for four
15 years somebody could have been doing
16 something and nothing was being done. Now
17 when somebody has a plan, albeit, it may not
18 be a plan that you like, now as soon as
19 there is a plan all of a sudden there are
20 complaints and save the church. Where have
21 people been for the last four years in
22 attempts to save the church?
23 And I also -- and maybe there are
24 people that want to see this church stay,
25 but as of now I have heard no complaints
56
1 from any of the neighbors or former
2 parishioners in that area saying that they
3 want to keep the structure there. All I
4 have heard is from people that frequent Holy
5 Cross Hall that they like the idea of a
6 parking lot being placed there, so I admire
7 people who, you know, want to save
8 structures and all, but at the same time,
9 again, as I said last week, there is a
10 balance that we have to look at as well and
11 would it be of greater value to take down
12 the church? I don't know. Would it be of
13 greater value to leave it there and hope
14 that somebody will do something with it? I
15 don't know.
16 This is something that we have to
17 question and right now there is a plan to do
18 something and people want to do something in
19 this property and it seems as though the
20 neighbors and former parishioners want to
21 see this carried through, so I personally
22 would like to -- I will vote "no" to table
23 it.
24 MS. EVANS: I had the opportunity
25 yesterday to speak with another member of
57
1 the Architectural Heritage Association and
2 we both agreed that this is a magnificent
3 stone structure which is a sin to demolish,
4 and rather the church hall could be
5 demolished and the association could
6 renovate the Holy Cross Church as it's new
7 facility. I fail to see the church hall and
8 a parking lot exceeding the beauty of this
9 irreplaceable church building.
10 Second, the church is not blighted
11 and to my knowledge there is no declaration
12 of blight on record just as there was no
13 declaration of blight for the church on
14 Prescott Avenue which last summer received
15 first $10,000 and then an additional funding
16 for blight elimination in it's basement for
17 temporary use by ECTV and, of course, these
18 funds came through the federal government
19 and the City of Scranton. I will not be a
20 party to inappropriate use of federal funds
21 to demolish buildings that are not blighted.
22 Third, I have seen countless
23 condemned properties throughout our city on
24 my travels. Structures destroyed by fire
25 which sit within feet of other homes and
58
1 others which have sat on untouched for many,
2 many years. How did this agreement just
3 jump to the top of the priority list? And
4 very coincidentally, Mr. Sbaraglia provided
5 council today with, well, I haven't even
6 counted the number of photos of condemned
7 and abandoned delipidated blighted
8 properties in this city that have never been
9 taken care of, and I'm going to pass these
10 along for my colleagues to see.
11 Finally, it defies logic for the
12 financially troubled Dioceses to refuse the
13 $25,000 sale and for the equally financially
14 mired city to lose realty transfer taxes and
15 annual tax revenue on a sale of this church
16 in favor of incurring costs for the
17 demolition, particularly, through the
18 inappropriate use of the federal monies.
19 Further, I would not be surprised if
20 demolition costs exceed the $50,000 figure
21 proposed by the mayor. This is a sound
22 stone structure that will not fall as easily
23 as wood or brick structures. Yes, Holy
24 Cross Basketball Association should have a
25 parking lot, but it should not occur in this
59
1 appropriate manner -- in this inappropriate
2 manner, I should say.
3 MR. MCGOFF: On the motion to table
4 Item 7-E. All in favor signify by saying
5 aye.
6 MS. EVANS: Aye.
7 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
8 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
9 MR. MCGOFF: Opposed? No. The ayes
10 have it and so moved.
11 MS. FANUCCI: Actually, that is all I
12 have and everybody have a great summer and
13 I'm certainly going to miss being here for
14 the next few weeks, but I will manage and
15 hang out with my daughter and do all the
16 wonderful things that we should be doing in
17 the summer, and that is all I have. Thank
18 you.
19 MR. MCGOFF: Mr. Courtright?
20 MR. COURTRIGHT: The summer has
21 brought several calls to me about people
22 placing calls to the police department and
23 then they are not getting there in a timely
24 fashion, and I think the only answer is
25 this, is that when they are inundated with
60
1 calls they put them in priority, and I
2 understand everyone feels their call is the
3 priority, but what happens when that happens
4 you might have a south car and north end and
5 north end up in Minooka and by the time they
6 are getting back to their area they are
7 being sent to another call and it's just a
8 matter of not enough officers.
9 My understanding is that we possibly
10 could be getting three officers from a
11 federally funded program that's going to be
12 coming up, I would hope that it would be
13 more than three, but my understanding is
14 possibly three, but it's just due to the
15 fact that they prioritize the calls and if
16 yours seems to fall to the bottom of the
17 priority list that's just the way it goes
18 because that's the answer for why it's
19 taking sometimes so long for them to get to
20 your call.
21 We did get the clippings picked up
22 on Slager Street so we are happy about that,
23 I couldn't believe it took all that to get
24 it done, but it's done.
25 I did go to Fellows Park and the one
61
1 wire that the gentleman had brought up there
2 was a wire that wasn't live, it wasn't a
3 wire as an electrical wire, it was a wire
4 that was holding something together. The
5 other one was a wire coming out of the
6 ground that I believe might have been live,
7 it was capped, but I think there is a light
8 on it and the light was knocked off. That
9 day my understanding is they went and they
10 put it in and it looks like to be like an
11 injunction box so it's safe.
12 When I was there, and I'll -- again,
13 you know, we go on break for August, but
14 believe me we all continue to work, it's
15 just that we are not here at a meeting, I
16 will continue to watch that house that's
17 behind Fellows Park and the court because it
18 is really bad and the thing that concerns me
19 the most is it's next to a park where all of
20 the kids are playing and you know they are
21 inside of there because when I took a look
22 inside, I wouldn't even go in because the
23 porch was so bad I was afraid to step on it,
24 but you can look through because the windows
25 are all opened up and there is graffiti all
62
1 over on the inside of there, and I don't
2 know whether it's just kids or gangs, but
3 there is people going in there and it's bad,
4 and I think that alley sometimes is
5 forgotten because I drive by there every day
6 several times a day and, you know, you don't
7 tend to think about what's going on in the
8 alley, you see the park, so I will keep on
9 it and hopefully that will be one of the
10 first ones we can get torn down.
11 Also, Kay in the alley behind the
12 park when I was there some of the neighbors
13 came out to talk to me, there is a hole that
14 I'm thinking is 20-foot long by about
15 ten-foot wide and I don't now how deep it
16 was filled with water, but it's got to be
17 several inches deep. If the DPW could take
18 a look and maybe they can fill that in with
19 something.
20 I'm anxious to hear what the
21 Heritage Society will bring back to us about
22 Holy Cross Hall. I want to see a parking
23 lot down there one way or the other and in a
24 very beginning I was all for this. I was
25 all for tearing it down and putting the
63
1 parking lot there until so many issues were
2 brought forward to me. I don't know what
3 the cost would be to renovate the church and
4 put the hall in there, if that cost would
5 exceed the cost of, you know, doing it the
6 other way. I don't know if it is deemed on
7 the -- if the Architectural Heritage Society
8 deems it, you know, to be a treasured
9 building are we able to get money to
10 preserve it and to put the hall in there,
11 but I would like to see in some way, shape
12 or form something be done down there to
13 alleviate the parking problem and something
14 that I consider is a danger.
15 I don't know if children have been
16 hit with cars down there or not, I'm not
17 sure. I know it might have been Andy or
18 somebody that spoke about it, maybe it was
19 Mr. Bolus that they have been there for
20 years and there has been no parking lot for
21 years, but that doesn't make it right. They
22 need something down there. I'm hoping that
23 with Mrs. Fanucci and Mrs. Evans brought up
24 about turning the church into the basketball
25 hall, I'm hoping that's what would happen
64
1 and then I think to demolish the hall itself
2 wouldn't be anywhere near the task of
3 demolishing the church. The hall needs
4 repairs and sometimes things jump to the
5 head -- you know, the head of the list and,
6 obviously, people get mad. I think that not
7 just for -- you know, I'm not saying that
8 the church is blighted, but if it was
9 blighted if you are tearing down the church
10 because it was blighted, and I'm not saying
11 it is, but if you were not just the fact
12 that you would be tearing down a blighted
13 property, but then you would helping the
14 neighborhood to alleviate the problems that
15 they have lived with for years in the
16 parking there and the danger of the children
17 running out.
18 So I'm hoping that this is something
19 that -- maybe this is something that all of
20 us can agree on and the city and the
21 Catholic church can agree on for the good of
22 everybody concerned, so I'll be anxious to
23 see what the Heritage Society brings back to
24 us and hopefully something can be done down
25 there, and I believe that's all I have.
65
1 Thank you.
2 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you,
3 Mr. Courtright. Just very briefly, the tax
4 reduction plan that Mrs. Schumacher talked
5 about I know it was approximately two years
6 ago when I was running for election somebody
7 had given me similar information about these
8 types of tax reduction programs. At that
9 time I -- rather than use it as some type of
10 campaign material, I did give some
11 information to Mrs. Evans who was the
12 finance chair at the time and I think that's
13 a good idea. At the time I thought it was a
14 good idea and something that should be
15 looked into. We didn't -- I didn't move
16 forward with it, but perhaps something to
17 look into for the future.
18 And perhaps during this coming
19 month, and we probably shouldn't even be
20 talking about it since it was tabled, but
21 perhaps it would be a good idea to meet with
22 concerned parties and see if there is some
23 other solution to the situation at Holy
24 Cross. Perhaps between the Diocese, the
25 city, the Holy Cross Association and any
66
1 other interested parties perhaps something
2 can be accomplished there that would be
3 beneficial to all, and that's all. 5-B.
4 MS. GARVEY: 5-B. FOR INTRODUCTION -
5 AN ORDINANCE - CREATING AND ESTABLISHING A
6 NEW ACCOUNT FOR THE CITY OF SCRANTON'S
7 OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
8 ("OECD") TITLED NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION
9 PROGRAM ("NSP") ACCOUNT NO. 9A.0101 FOR THE
10 RECEIPT AND DISBURSEMENT OF GRANT FUNDS
11 RECEIVED FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF
12 PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND
13 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ("DCED").
14 MR. MCGOFF: At this time I'll
15 entertain a motion that Item 5-B be
16 introduced into it's proper committee.
17 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
18 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
19 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
20 in favor signify by saying aye.
21 MS. EVANS: Aye.
22 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
23 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
24 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
25 ayes have it and so moved.
67
1 MS. GARVEY: 5-C. FOR INTRODUCTION -
2 AN ORDINANCE - CREATING AND ESTABLISHING A
3 NEW ACCOUNT FOR THE CITY OF SCRANTON'S
4 OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
5 ("OECD") TITLED ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND
6 CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM ACCOUNT NO.
7 10A.0101 FOR THE RECEIPT AND DISBURSEMENT OF
8 GRANT FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE UNITED STATES
9 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ("DOE").
10 MR. MCGOFF: At this time I'll
11 entertain a motion that Item 5-C be
12 introduced into it's proper committee.
13 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
14 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
15 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
16 in favor signify by saying aye.
17 MS. EVANS: Aye.
18 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
19 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
20 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
21 ayes have it and so moved.
22 MS. GARVEY: SIXTH ORDER. NO
23 BUSINESS AT THIS TIME. SEVENTH ORDER. 7-A.
24 FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC
25 SAFETY - FOR ADOPTION - FILE OF COUNCIL NO.
68
1 74, 2009 - TO LIMIT THE TURNING MOVEMENT
2 FOR TRAFFIC TRAVELING SOUTHWEST TOWARD
3 MULBERRY STREET FROM THE 400 BLOCK OF
4 HITCHCOCK COURT, COSTELLO COURT, AND MAHON
5 COURT TO RIGHT TURN MOVEMENT ONLY.
6 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
7 recommendation of the Chair for the
8 Committee on Public Safety?
9 MR. COURTRIGHT: As Chair for the
10 Committee on Public Safety, I recommend
11 final passage of Item 7-A.
12 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
13 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
14 call, please?
15 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
16 MS. EVANS: Yes.
17 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
18 Fanucci.
19 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
20 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
21 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
22 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
23 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
24 Item 7-A legally and lawfully adopted.
25 MS. GARVEY: 7-B. FOR CONSIDERATION
69
1 BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - FOR
2 ADOPTION - FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 75, 2009 -
3 ESTABLISHING "NO PARKING" ZONES ALONG THE
4 SOUTHERLY AND NORTHERLY SIDES OF MULBERRY
5 STREET (S.R. 3027) FOR TURNING LANES AT
6 DESIGNATED INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN JEFFERSON
7 AVENUE AND NORTH WEBSTER AVENUE, AS MORE
8 PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED ON THE PLAN ATTACHED
9 HERETO, TO ALLOW FOR SAFE SITE DISTANCE AS
10 MANDATED BY THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF
11 TRANSPORTATION.
12 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
13 recommendation of the Chair for the
14 Committee on Public Safety?
15 MR. COURTRIGHT: As Chair for the
16 Committee on Public Safety, I recommend
17 final passage of Item 7-B.
18 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
19 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
20 call, please?
21 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
22 MS. EVANS: Yes.
23 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
24 Fanucci.
25 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
70
1 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
3 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
4 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
5 Item 7-B legally and lawfully adopted.
6 MS. GARVEY: 7-C. FOR CONSIDERATION
7 BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - FOR
8 ADOPTION - FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 76, 2009 -
9 AMENDING FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 129 OF 1995,
10 (AS AMENDED), ENTITLED "ESTABLISHING FINES
11 TO BE IMPOSED FOR THE ACTIVATION OF AN ALARM
12 DEVICE WHICH IS DETERMINED TO BE A FALSE
13 ALARM BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT; AUTHORIZING
14 THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF SAID
15 FINES; AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR
16 VIOLATIONS", BY CHANGING CERTAIN SECTIONS TO
17 ALLOW FOR THE IMPROVED ADMINISTRATION OF THE
18 ORDINANCE, SPECIFICALLY SECTIONS 1D. AND
19 1E.; SECTION 2; SECTION 3; SECTION 4;
20 SECTION 6 AND SECTION 7.
21 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
22 recommendation of the Chair for the
23 Committee on Public Safety?
24 MR. COURTRIGHT: As Chair for the
25 Committee on Public Safety, I recommend
71
1 final passage of Item 7-C.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
3 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
4 call, please?
5 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
6 MS. EVANS: Yes.
7 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
8 Fanucci.
9 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
10 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
11 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
12 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
13 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
14 Item 7-C legally and lawfully adopted.
15 MS. GARVEY: 7-D. FOR CONSIDERATION
16 BY THE COMMITTEE ON RULES - FOR ADOPTION -
17 FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 77, 2009 - AUTHORIZING
18 THE MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE CITY
19 OFFICIALS TO DESIGNATE $4,999.52 FROM
20 PROJECT NO. 09-400.41 REPAYMENTS OF URBAN
21 DEVELOPMENT ACTION GRANTS (UDAG), FOR THE
22 PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF TEN (10) BIKE
23 RACKS ON CITY OWNED PROPERTY.
24 MR. MCGOFF: As Chair for the
25 Committee on Rules, I recommend final
72
1 passage of Item 7-D.
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
3 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
4 call, please?
5 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
6 MS. EVANS: Yes.
7 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
8 Fanucci.
9 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
10 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
11 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
12 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
13 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
14 Item 7-D legally and lawfully adopted.
15 MS. GARVEY: 7-E has been tabled.
16 7-F. FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON
17 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - FOR ADOPTION -
18 RESOLUTION NO. 168, 2009 - AUTHORIZING THE
19 MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS
20 FOR THE CITY OF SCRANTON TO ENTER INTO A
21 LOAN AGREEMENT AND MAKE A LOAN FROM THE
22 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM,
23 PROJECT NO. 150.24 IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO
24 EXCEED $50,000.00 TO MARTINI GRILL, LLC TO
25 ASSIST AN ELIGIBLE PROJECT.
73
1 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
2 recommendation of the Chair for the
3 Committee on Community Development?
4 MS. FANUCCI: As Chairperson for the
5 Committee on Community Development, I
6 recommend final passage of Item 7-F.
7 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
8 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
9 MR. COURTRIGHT: On the question, I
10 voted to move it forward last week. I'm not
11 going to be voting for it this week, and my
12 reason is that I'm not opposed to giving
13 them a loan, but I'm opposed to the loan
14 being forgiven after a couple of years
15 because then it's not a loan, it's a grant,
16 so I'll be voting "no".
17 MS. EVANS: Yes. The interest rate
18 for this loan is 5 percent fixed and the
19 monthly payment is $530.33, however, the
20 first payment begins 36 months after the
21 date of closing, and as Mr. Courtright said,
22 if after three years following the date of
23 closing the borrower has strictly complied
24 with and fully completed all conditions of
25 the job creations required as described in
74
1 Section four of the agreement, then in such
2 event the borrower shall not be required to
3 repay said loan and it shall be forgiven by
4 the city, and I don't believe the city is in
5 any financial position currently to be given
6 away money and to be promising loan
7 forgiveness.
8 In addition, OECD failed to respond
9 to the question of any possible tax liens
10 against this business, so for all of these
11 reasons I'll be voting "no".
12 MS. GARVEY: Mrs. Evans, if I could
13 just jump in there, I believe -- I didn't
14 get the message it might have come when I
15 wasn't there, they did call back and say
16 that there wasn't a tax lien on that
17 property, so that was after I had given you
18 that information.
19 MS. EVANS: Well, thank you for that
20 update, Kay.
21 MR. MCGOFF: Anyone else on the
22 question? Roll call, please?
23 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
24 MS. EVANS: No.
25 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
75
1 Fanucci.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
3 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
4 MR. COURTRIGHT: No.
5 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. Item 7-F is
7 defeated.
8 MS. GARVEY: 7-G. FOR CONSIDERATION
9 BY THE COMMITTEE ON RULES - FOR ADOPTION -
10 RESOLUTION NO. 169, 2009 - AUTHORIZING THE
11 MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS
12 FOR THE CITY OF SCRANTON TO EXECUTE AND
13 ENTER INTO A LEASE WITH SCRANTON LIFE REALTY
14 CO., INC. TO PROVIDE OFFICE SPACE FOR THE
15 CITY OF SCRANTON OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND
16 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
17 MR. MCGOFF: As Chair for the
18 Committee on Rules, I recommend final
19 passage of Item 7-G.
20 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
21 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
22 MS. EVANS: The rent for OECD office
23 space will be $4,200 per month beginning in
24 August 1, 2009, and ending July 31, 2012.
25 There is an option to extend the term for an
76
1 additional three years at $4,450 per month.
2 The owner of the building is Scranton Life
3 Realty Company, president Anthony Rinaldi,
4 who was the lower of two bidders. At this
5 time there seems to be the governor's room
6 on the second floor of city hall, which is
7 currently used infrequently for job
8 interviews and luncheons that can certainly
9 be conducted elsewhere, and on the third
10 floor a lunchroom which previously was the
11 office of the executive director of OECD,
12 another room previously used by the deputy
13 director of OECD, a storage room and a
14 payroll office which used to house another
15 OECD office. The payroll office was created
16 by the mayor when he halted in-house payroll
17 and contracted payroll services with ADP
18 using additional tax dollars. Such services
19 were not necessary.
20 In the current economy and the
21 financial distress facing Scranton, the city
22 can ill-afford the rental cost for
23 extravagant OECD offices and should be
24 looking to curb it's expenditures by
25 returning OECD to city hall, so I will be
77
1 voting "no."
2 MS. FANUCCI: I'd like to -- if you
3 have been there, and if anybody has ever
4 walked in, I'm not sure if Mrs. Evans has
5 been to the office.
6 MS. EVANS: Yes, I have.
7 MS. FANUCCI: It's certainly not
8 extravagant --
9 MS. EVANS: On more than one -- oh,
10 it's lovely. I loved the magnificent
11 paintings that hang on the wall.
12 MS. FANUCCI: Well, paintings are
13 painting, they will bring them here if they
14 come, but I wouldn't call them --
15 MS. EVANS: No, I think they were on
16 loan.
17 MS. FANUCCI: I'm on my question, I
18 believe, to keep offices intact I do believe
19 it's important to keep them running as is
20 all to be together. To piecemeal an OECD
21 office in this city hall would be almost
22 absurd, plus there is not the room even
23 putting them in coat closets or hanging them
24 off of hooks in other people's offices I
25 don't believe that that would be prudent for
78
1 what is going on.
2 We are very proud of the fact that
3 we are developing and we are the only city
4 doing that if you look around. OECD has
5 taken on a whole new meaning in this city in
6 the last few weeks and they are doing a
7 wonderful job. There are many, many facets
8 of that office that I am excessively proud
9 to be even the chair or know what they have
10 been doing in the city, so I do not believe
11 that taking them from a place where they are
12 being excessively productive and doing a
13 wonderful and piecemealing them around as if
14 they are nonimportant to us as a city is
15 prudent for the amount of money, but to call
16 their offices extravagant is almost funny.
17 Maybe we can open up -- we could
18 throw them up in the balcony if maybe we can
19 get them somewhere else to go, but I don't
20 think that that's accurate, and that is all
21 I have.
22 MS. EVANS: Well, despite
23 Mrs. Fanucci's ludicrous exaggerations, city
24 hall adequately housed OECD for many years--
25 MS. FANUCCI: There wasn't as many --
79
1 MS. EVANS: -- and they functioned
2 quite effectively as such, and I do the not
3 believe it is the quality of an office or a
4 building that constitutes the productivity
5 of the department, just as I do not believe
6 it is the new school building that provides
7 the excellence of quality education, rather
8 it is the teachers, the administrators and
9 the student body.
10 As such, in OECD it is the quality
11 of the workforce, of the leadership within
12 that department, that produces the admirable
13 results that Mrs. Fanucci has alluded to and
14 certainly that will not change by a movement
15 to city hall.
16 MR. COURTRIGHT: I'm going to speak,
17 I wasn't going to, but now I am. I have
18 never been over to OECD, I don't know what
19 it looks like in there, whether it's nice or
20 not nice. As Mrs. Evans said, they were the
21 lower of the two bidders, I'm going to vote
22 "yes", but what I would like to see is that
23 come January when there is a new council
24 sitting here that maybe they could sit down
25 with the mayor and go through this building
80
1 and try to reorganize the offices in this
2 building so that if -- I think there is
3 enough space to put OECD in here, but it's
4 fragmented now, so if they were to move one
5 office into another and consolidate I think
6 it could house them again and I think it
7 should be housed here again.
8 I wouldn't want to see one party
9 office on one floor and one on the other,
10 but I think it should be done and maybe it's
11 something when the new council comes in they
12 can get together with the mayor and work on
13 that.
14 MS. EVANS: Well, unfortunately, at
15 that point as much as the new council I'm
16 sure would hope to do so, the contract will
17 be signed, sealed and delivered and it would
18 be quite expensive to try to violate or
19 break that contract, so in effect the city
20 would be locked in for a minimum of the next
21 three years.
22 MR. MCGOFF: Roll call, please.
23 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
24 MS. EVANS: No.
25 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
81
1 Fanucci.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
3 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
4 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
5 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
7 Item 7-G legally and lawfully adopted.
8 MS. GARVEY: 7-H. FOR CONSIDERATION
9 BY THE COMMITTEE ON RULES - FOR ADOPTION -
10 RESOLUTION NO. 170, 2009 - APPOINTMENT OF
11 BRUCE MILLER, 609 RACE STREET, SCRANTON,
12 PENNSYLVANIA, 18509, TO THE POSITION OF
13 ASSISTANT ZONING OFFICER OF THE CITY OF
14 SCRANTON, EFFECTIVE APRIL 6, 2009.
15 MR. MCGOFF: As Chair for the
16 Committee on Rules, I recommend final
17 passage of Item 7-H.
18 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
19 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
20 call, please?
21 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
22 MS. EVANS: Yes.
23 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
24 Fanucci.
25 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
82
1 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
3 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
4 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
5 Item 7-H legally and lawfully adopted.
6 MS. GARVEY: 7-I. FOR CONSIDERATION
7 BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - FOR
8 ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 171, 2009 -
9 AUTHORIZING ANY AND ALL APPROPRIATE CITY
10 OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE AND ENTER INTO A PERMIT
11 AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMONWEALTH OF
12 PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
13 TO APPLY FOR THE HIGHWAY OCCUPANCY PERMITS
14 REQUIRED TO CONSTRUCT THE MULBERRY STREET
15 STREETSCAPE PROJECT AND AUTHORIZING ANY AND
16 ALL APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE
17 AND ENTER INTO AN INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
18 WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON TO INDEMNIFY
19 THE CITY FROM ANY LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO
20 VEHICULAR TIRE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE USE OF
21 GRANITE CURBING WITH A ROUNDED LEADING EDGE
22 IN THE UNIVERSITY'S MULBERRY STREET
23 STREETSCAPE PROJECT.
24 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
25 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
83
1 Committee on Public Safety?
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: As Chair for the
3 Committee on Public Safety, I recommend
4 final passage of Item 7-I.
5 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
6 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
7 call, please?
8 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
9 MS. EVANS: Yes.
10 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
11 Fanucci.
12 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
13 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
14 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
15 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
16 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
17 Item 7-I legally and lawfully adopted.
18 MS. GARVEY: 7-J. FOR CONSIDERATION
19 BY THE COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT -
20 FOR ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 172, 2009-
21 AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE
22 CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE AND ENTER INTO ON
23 BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SCRANTON A
24 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH
25 DUFFIELD ASSOCIATES, INC. TO UNDERTAKE
84
1 INVENTORY OF BROWNFIELD SITES WITHIN THE
2 CITY.
3 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
4 recommendation of the Chair for the
5 Committee on Community Development?
6 MS. FANUCCI: As Chairperson for the
7 Committee on Community Development, I
8 recommend final passage of Item 7-J.
9 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
10 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
11 call, please?
12 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
13 MS. EVANS: Yes.
14 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli. Ms.
15 Fanucci.
16 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
17 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
18 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
19 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
20 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
21 Item 7-J legally and lawfully adopted.
22 Motion to adjourn.
23 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
24 MR. MCGOFF: See you in September.
25
85
1 C E R T I F I C A T E
2
3 I hereby certify that the proceedings and
4 evidence are contained fully and accurately in the
5 notes of testimony taken by me at the hearing of the
6 above-captioned matter and that the foregoing is a true
7 and correct transcript of the same to the best of my
8 ability.
9
10
11
CATHENE S. NARDOZZI, RPR
12 OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
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