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WILKES-BARRE — City Council heard from plenty of concerned citizens about agenda and non-agenda items during Thursday’s session.
A hot topic of discussion on council’s agenda was an item awarding a contract for an ADA walkway and pier project at Kirby Park to Stell Enterprises Inc. for $170,578.
According to Mayor George Brown, the updates will include a new building which will host a second public bathroom facility much closer to the playground, complete with ADA-compliant restrooms and showers. Additionally, more pathways will also be added to Kirby Park.
Wilkes-Barre resident Jim Burden rose to tell council that he felt as if the 18 parks in the city are not receiving the same upgrades and attention.
“Everything is Kirby Park or Barney Farms. We have many other parks in the city of Wilkes-Barre that look the same way year after year and need to be fixed also,” Burden said. “The other parks need to be kept up, they need to be fixed and they need to be treated the same way as Barney Farms and Kirby Park.”
Brown defended the Kirby Park upgrades, noting that the funds for the project do not come directly from the city, but rather from the Kirby Foundation.
As for the city’s other parks, Brown said plans are in the works to eventually upgrade each one according to their level of need, starting with a project at The Bog in Miners Mills that promises a larger, inclusive park.
“It’s not just Barney Farms or Kirby Park, but it’s also branching out into the north section of Wilkes-Barre,” Brown said.
“My goal is to have each of the 18 parks in Wilkes-Barre have new additions to them and some of that will be special needs equipment so that people can use it like everyone else can that’s not special needs,” he added.
As for another agenda item authorizing the hiring of Kavulich Construction Company to replace the floor at the Hollenback Fire Station for $35,500, Burden questioned the need for the purchase.
“How long has that place been built, and now they have to replace the floor? This is getting ridiculous. I put a floor in my house 25 years ago and I don’t have a single crack,” Burden said.
Brown assured Burden that the funding for the project was once again primarily through grant funding. Additionally, the new floor is much-needed, he said.
“It’s not like your house floor because it’s constantly trafficked by fire trucks and ambulances going in and out and they’re on call just literally one call to another, so it’s heavy tires and heavy equipment that’s going back and forth on that flooring,” Brown said.
Homelessness in the city
Aside from agenda items, several residents were concerned about homelessness accommodations in the city, especially related to shelter.
John Suchoski, of Wilkes-Barre, questioned the city’s plan to allow the homeless to take shelter in public parks and spaces.
“We have people living in encampments in our parks and we have one of these nonprofits that are giving people sleeping bags and tents. We have nowhere in the city that we allow people to camp, so we should make a decision one way or another if we are going to change the ordinance to allow people to be in the parks after dark,” Suchoski said.
According to City Administrator Charlie McCormick, the city is unable to take any action on the homelessness camps until the Supreme Court makes a decision on whether a municipality can ban homeless shelters on public property. Until a decision is made, the city has to delay any decision making of its own.
Wilkes-Barre resident Sam Troy also raised concerns about the homeless population, nodding to one nonprofit in the city that he says requires homeless people using the facilities to vacate at 7 a.m.
“Keystone Mission puts the people out in the morning at 7 a.m. when it’s the coldest part of the day. It’s nice to get them off the streets for the cold nights, but they’re pushed out of there at 7 a.m., so they’re back on the streets suffering. I don’t get the logic there, and I don’t think it’s very humane,” Troy told council.
According to Brown, the nonprofit operates on specific hours due to a lack of staffing and funds.
“They decide their hours and they decide how to staff it, so if you have an issue with people getting out at 7 a.m., I suggest you go over there and talk to them,” Brown said, noting that the nonprofit houses the homeless during Code Blue nights, which are initiated when the National Weather Service forecasts windchill temperatures of 20 degrees or below or when there is an expected snowfall of 10 inches or more.
Also during the meeting, council approved:
• Authorizing the proper city officials to enter into an agreement with the lowest responsible bidder, Kuharchik Construction, in the amount of $101,686 for the Traffic Signal Infrastructure Improvement Project. The project will include synchronization, ADA push button upgrading and camera lights through the PennDOT Green Light Go Grant Program and the city’s liquid fuels account.
• Reappointing Frank Majikes to the Police Civil Service Commission.
• Reappointing Phil Latinski to the Police Civil Service Commission.
• Reappointing Carl Naessig to the Traffic Committee.
• Reappointing Tom Unvarsky to the Traffic Committee.
• Reappointing Francis “Thomas” Collis to the Traffic Committee.
• Reappointing Jean Brodie to the Planning Commission.
• Reappointing Anthony Thomas to the Planning Commission.
• Appointing Dave Wilson to the Planning Commission.