Wilkes-Barre asked to fund Parking Authority elevator repairs with ARP money

WILKES-BARRE — The city could end up fixing and replacing elevators in the Wilkes-Barre Parking Authority garages with $1.3 million in pandemic relief funds.

At its work session Tuesday night, City Council heard of the dire need for two new elevators and repairs on three others.

Thomas Torbik, executive director of the authority and its solicitor Murray Ufberg presented Council with a handout on the project’s details and estimate of $1,241,815. Often, the elevators are inoperable and parts are hard to come by, eliciting complaints and hurting business.

“We’ve reached the point where we’ve really run out of running room,” Ufberg said. “They’re shut down. And so we’ve can’t operate effectively without those being there.”

Ufberg added Mayor George Brown offered to help with a grant, subject to Council’s approval at Thursday night’s public meeting.

“This will be a partnership, if you approve this,” Brown said. Deputy City Administrator and Director of Operations Butch Frati would work with the Parking Authority on how the money is allocated and used, Brown said.

The federal government awarded the city $37.1 million in American Rescue Plan funds as part of the larger $1.9 trillion aid package to help municipalities recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Treasury set restrictions on how the ARP funding can be spent, prohibiting it from being used to lower taxes and shore up pension funds.

To date the city has used more than $10 million ARP money to replace lost revenue and balance its general fund budgets for 2021 and 2022, infrastructure projects, $300 stimulus payments to eligible residents, grants to new businesses and local non-profits.

Council also heard about United NEPA Alliance’s plans for a vacant lot at 43 Monroe St. it wants to buy for $1 from the city.

Mary Ann Velez, CEO, president and co-founder of the non-profit, said it will be the first project under its affordable housing program.

“We are not just looking to house residents of Luzerne County. We are looking to elevate them out of the impoverished situations they currently face, through education, training and counseling services,” Velez said.

Applicants are mandated to enter a life coaching program, receiving counseling, job training, adult education and money management and remain in the program for a year after closing on the house, Velez said.

United NEPA Alliance is partnering with Lowe’s, Johnson College, Fortis Institute and volunteers for its housing program, Velez said.

Brown had two other items on the agenda that will be before Council at the public meeting.

The city wants to donate 17,000 3M Cool Flow 8511 N95 masks to the Ukraine, Brown said. The masks were donated to the city and cannot be used by first responders and employees as personal protection for COVID-19. “These are more of a dust mask,” Brown said.

City Fire Department Chief Jay Delaney explained the masks have a latex valve that expands and contracts with each breath by the wearer. COVID-19 particles could enter the valve when it expands, he said.

Delaney said the masks could be used for other than COVID-19 protection, but they have a shelf life.

‘These are like a medicine and they’re good until June 2025. So it’s not like you can put it into storage and they will last forever,” Delaney said.

Brown said the city will use the same contact that assisted with donation of outdated fire equipment to get the masks to Ukraine.

Pending Council’s approval, the Coal Street Community Playground and related areas will be named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Brown said he worked with the Wilkes-Barre Chapter of the NAACP on it. “Hopefully if everything works out we’ll make the dedication on Juneteenth,” Brown said. The federal holiday falls on June 19, marking the ending of slavery in the United States.

Council’s agenda included the disposal of outdated city records.