Brown delivers ‘State of the City’ address

WILKES-BARRE — Mayor George Brown laid it all out at Friday’s meeting of the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association, calling it his “State of the City” report.

And what a report it was. (See more on the report here.)

The mayor covered it all during his 40-minute address to the DWBBA group and the members came away impressed.

From ice sculpting on Public Square, to upgrading the St. Patrick’s Day Parade to improving city parks to stepping up police patrols and adding more streets to the paving project and helping out new businesses, new homeowners and those in need in the city, Brown painted a picture of, as he said, a “city with a bright future.”

Brown, who announced this week that he will seek a second four-year term, made it clear — this report was not given as a campaign speech, rather it was an open account of everything he and his administration have been working in during his first term, especially the last year.

Investments in Police Department

Brown said the city has hired 11 new police officers (more will be hired), purchased 10 new vehicles, provided new firearms for all officers and equipped them with body cams.

He said there will be 10 new bicycle patrols in the city this year, with officers checking on the neighborhoods and also listening to concerns of residents.

The mayor said the firing range training facility was upgraded to assist the police department with providing quality firearms and self-defense training, which adds to the continued commitment to departmental training.

“The city is reviewing options for a program called ‘shot spotter,” that determines when a gunfire takes place in the city it displays specific real-time details of the location the shots were fired,” Brown said. “And this system can differentiate between gunfire and fireworks.”

Fire Department

Mayor Brown said the Fire Department made $265,000 worth of equipment upgrades, including a 4-wheel drive Polaris Ranger Emergency Response all-terrain vehicle, an EMS Stryker power-load cot and lift system, turnout gear, and miscellaneous fire equipment.

“The most significant accomplishment was the announcement that the City of Wilkes-Barre remains rated as a Class #2 in of the Public Protection Classification program classification,” Brown said. “Of 2,252 fire departments in Pennsylvania, only nine have a #2 classification.”

Health Department

Brown said the Wilkes-Barre City Health Department administered 1,500 COVID-19 vaccines throughout the community. The health department was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Wilkes-Barre NAACP for their efforts vaccinating residents of the Wilkes Barre Housing Authority apartments.

The Wilkes-Barre Walkitecture Tour app and corresponding guide received a Community Initiative Award for 2021 from the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office.

Grants

“Through our grants department, the city was able to acquire funding for improvements to the Downtown Streetscape and Public Square,” Brown said. “The final phase of the Public Square Downtown Streetscape Improvements project was designed and bid out for construction this year. The project will cover Public Square from North Main Street to West Market Street and then continue along West Market Street until River Street.”

The mayor said new concrete sidewalks, curbs, sidewalk connections, crosswalks and pedestrian signage will be installed. Also, ADA accessibility improvements such as curb cuts and sidewalk detectable warning surfaces for the new ADA ramps will be replaced. In addition, new benches, bicycle racks, pedestrian kiosks and garbage receptacles will be installed along with trees planted to improve the overall quality of Public Square.

The construction phase of the project will begin in the Spring of 2023 and is anticipated to take four to six months to complete, depending on the weather. The project will be funded with a $800,000 Multi-modal Transportation Fund grant through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Public Square

Also, Brown said the City of Wilkes-Barre has begun construction on the Public Square Stage project, adding a new permanent stage to Public Square for the various events that are held throughout the year, including The Farmer’s Market, which brings food, crafts, and music to our downtown each summer and fall.Brown said the new stage should be ready for the Fine Arts Fiesta, a week-long festival in May on the Square, that brings live performances and art exhibits to residents and visitors.

“Public Square is the central point of city’s parades, as well as numerous block parties, holiday celebrations, and other community events,” Brown said.

Some features of the new stage will include a roof, wooden screen backdrop panels, integrated accent lighting and new pavers for the stage area. The project will resume construction in Spring of 2023 and is anticipated to take three to four months to complete.

The Public Square Stage project is being funded by a grant through the Commonwealth Financing Authority and the American Rescue Plan.

New elevator

The focus of the operations department this year was on safety, accessibility, and upgraded equipment.

Brown said the $1.9 million project at City Hall resulted in the installation of a new elevator and stairwell, as well as parking lot and lighting upgrades.

“The elevator will be ready for use very soon — possibly next week,” Brown said.

Street paving and more

The city has added $800,000 in equipment upgrades at the Department of Public Works.

“A new salt shed, in addition a new hot asphalt street patching machine was purchased and to date DPW staff have repaired well over 500 potholes that were reported to my office or the Department of Public Works,” Brown said. “And a lot more streets will be repaired and paved this year.”

In 2022, Brown said more than $2 million in infrastructure wall repairs were made at Laurel Run Creek. Additionally, a $2 million Intermodal Upgrade Project began in 2022 and will be completed in spring 2023.

Community/Economic Development

In 2022, Brown said the Office of Community and Economic Development assisted with the emergency demolitions of properties located at 20-22 Sullivan St., 523 Hazel St., 284 Blackman St., 42-44 Monroe Street, and 120 Cluster St., totaling $73,090 from the General Fund.

In 2023 three double-block properties were demolished on South Franklin Street.

OCED managed the American Rescue Plan Sewer upgrades, street paving and ADA accessibility, and milling and paving, totaling over $4.1 million were made to several streets.

Community Development Block Grant funds totaling $182,000 provided for community service organizations and programs, including Community Policing, YMCA, Osterhout Free Library South, Catholic Social Services’ Men’s Shelter, Wyoming Valley Children’s Association, Ruth’s Place, and the Domestic Violence Service Center. Additionally, $408,635 in HOME-ARP funding for the was awarded for the Domestic Violence Service Center’s shelter expansion project.

In 2022, Brown said CDBG Homeowner Emergency Rehab funds assisted 16 residential households, totaling over $92,000 in funding.

Through the COVID Emergency Utility Assistance program, 16 residential households, totaling over $28,350 in funding.

American Rescue Plan

In March 2021, when the Federal Government announced American Rescue Plan funding allocation to the City of Wilkes-Barre, Brown said his administration created a Nine-Point Plan to implement city-wide improvements and citizen’s economic relief programs.

Brown said Council was asked and approved an amendment to an ordinance to reduce garbage bag fees from $13 to $10 for large five-bag packs and from $9.50 to $6.25 for small five-bag packs. Also, Council was asked and approved an amendment to an ordinance to reduce parking meter rates from $2 per hour to $1 per hour.

A household stimulus fund was created for cash payments to households that had been adversely affected by the pandemic. The program was administered through the Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO), distributed $300 stimulus checks to 8,460 financially qualifying Wilkes-Barre City households.

An owner-occupied home improvement monetary fund was established to assist city homeowners to improve affordable housing. The program was administered by the city and awarded 225 households with funding, totaling $1,673,166.00. Additional funding of $219,000 is committed to 30 additional households. In total, the program will award 255 households with $1,892,166 in ARP funding.

A home purchase fund was established for owner occupied real estate purchases to provide closing cost assistant to assist city residents in improving and expanding housing opportunities. The program was administered by the city and provided 44 households with funding, totaling $1665,666 and one additional commitment of $7,500.