Luzerne County Council wraps up discussion on rejected proposal to seek government study commission

A proposal to reconsider Luzerne County’s home rule government structure appears to be off the table.

Council had discussed asking county voters if they want to form an elected Government Study Commission, but a council majority did not voice support.

Acting Chief Solicitor Shannon Crake Lapsansky said an independent study commission would be free to decide if it wants to keep and modify the current home rule structure, draft an entirely new charter or revert back to the old structure. Voters would then have to approve any commission-recommended change for it to take effect, which is what occurred before the county’s January 2012 switch to home rule.

Several council members expressed strong opposition to the idea, saying they did not want to risk an elimination of home rule.

Council Chairwoman Kendra Radle placed the matter on the meeting agenda for a second time last week, but she said that was only to publicly respond to one final question that had been raised by some council members.

The question: Does council have any veto power if it disagreed with a change proposed by a study commission?

Council does not have that authority, Radle said.

Public comment

With nine members present at last week’s meeting, a majority of five voted to table a proposal to eliminate one of three public comment periods from its meetings.

Council holds voting meetings followed by work sessions, and citizens currently have three opportunities to comment — before voting meetings on agenda items only and after both voting meetings and work sessions on any county matter. Each allotment is three minutes per person, allowing each individual up to nine minutes total.

The proposal before council would eliminate the second general public comment period at the end of voting meetings.

Some council members have argued the change would streamline meetings and eliminate some redundancy, but others agreed with the arguments of several citizens that council should not be reducing opportunities for public involvement in county government.

The council members voting to table: Robert Schnee, Stephen J. Urban, Gregory Wolovich Jr., Kevin Lescavage and John Lombardo. Those against tabling: Brian Thornton, LeeAnn McDermott, Chris Perry and Radle.

Funding request

The county administration is seeking council approval to apply for a $950,000 statewide Local Share Account grant to refurbish Oak Hill Road in the Crestwood Industrial Park in Wright Township. No local match would be required if the grant is awarded.

County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo said the project would address 1.5 miles of significantly deteriorated roadway to attract businesses and ensure public safety and the efficient movement of motorists and goods through the industrial park. Businesses in the park employ approximately 3,000 and generate more than $270,000 in real estate tax revenue to the county annually, she said.

Perry said he will support the grant request at council’s next voting meeting March 8 because the condition of Oak Hill Road is “horrendous.”

Wolovich said Oak Hill is an important road and that he has received many complaints about the current state of disrepair.

Council committees

As members of council’s Real Estate Committee, McDermott and Lescavage met last week to discuss suggested changes to the county’s procedures for those interested in purchasing unused county-owned property.

Council’s Strategic Initiatives Committee is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday to revisit a 2017 council-adopted resolution that listed long-range goals for the county related to quality of life, health/safety, good governance, infrastructure/environment and economic development.

Wolovich, Lombardo, Lescavage and Urban serve on the Strategic Initiatives Committee. Wednesday’s meeting is at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance to be posted on council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.

Deputy election director

Crocamo said she expects the county will be hiring a new deputy election director before the April 5 special election to fill a vacant state representative seat in the 116th Legislative District.

Eryn Harvey held the deputy election director position from February 2021 until her recent resignation to pursue other opportunities. She subsequently announced she is seeking the Republican nomination for state representative in the 121st Legislative District in this year’s primary election.