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In light of the Luzerne County administration’s recent highlighting of an inmate population decline, county Councilman Stephen A. Urban has requested information on possible budget savings.
Urban raised the issue at last week’s council meeting, asking Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz if the prison budget “has gone down as a result.”
Swetz said it was a “good question” and that he will review overtime, food and other expenses to see if they have declined. If sustainable cost reductions are identified, the administration will present them to council for possible budget reallocations to other areas, he said.
The county’s average inmate count in February has been 602, a decrease of 110 or roughly 15 percent compared to three years ago, statistics show. County Manager C. David Pedri has said the shrinking population was a “huge savings” and “safety savings” to the county.
However, the correctional services division is still the county’s top budgetary expense — $28.39 million in 2019. Officials have said the prison requires higher maintenance and staffing because it is aging and has an antiquated, multi-story layout.
Train station
Urban also sought an update on an outside entity’s plans to restore the historic former New Jersey Central train station at the corner of Market Street and Wilkes-Barre Boulevard in Wilkes-Barre, saying the structure is continuing to “rot away.”
The project’s status is of interest to the county, he said, because the county’s Convention and Visitors Bureau was slated to relocate from Public Square to the station when work was completed.
Council Chairman Tim McGinley said he will request a status report from Market Square Properties Development LLC, which had purchased the 6.36-acre tract that includes the station from the county Redevelopment Authority for $1.2 million in 2016.
Market Square is seeking a $500,000 Local Share Account grant funded by gambling revenue to help cover restoration costs. According to paperwork associated with the request, the work would include a new roof, windows, electrical/plumbing/HVAC system, ADA-accessible bathrooms and lighting. An observation tower will be repaired, and original finishes will be restored, it said.
“The restoration will remove a central source of blight, increase the tax basis of the overall tract, create 10 new permanent jobs, 20 construction jobs, provide a critical improvement to the downtown gateway and result in a prominent project for the community,” the paperwork said.
Any proposal for the tourism office to lease the facility must come before county council, McGinley noted.
Recreation grants
Around 10 entities have submitted applications seeking county Act 13 natural-gas recreation funding, officials said last week.
A council committee will review the requests and make recommendations to the full council in April, McGinley said.
The county had $44,000 in funding available. Council voted in November to earmark $25,000 for recreation grants to municipalities and other outside entities, $14,000 to establish a fund to help municipalities with gypsy moth spraying/pest control and $5,000 for low-maintenance landscaping at the county-owned River Common.
Real estate
Councilwoman Jane Walsh Waitkus said the real estate committee she heads is awaiting outside appraisals of approximately 56 unused and mostly undeveloped county-owned properties before they can be auctioned.
These properties are each assessed at more than $10,000, which means the fair market value minimum bid must be determined by council, the county assessor’s office and a certified broker or appraiser, Walsh Waitkus said.
Once the outside appraisals are done, the committee plans to review them with the assessor’s office and present minimum bid recommendations to the full council for its consideration and approval, she said.
Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo told council there will be public notice requirements for the auction, and she will recommend a date that does not conflict with county back-tax and mortgage foreclosure auctions.
Council also must decide how it wants to handle unsold properties, Crocamo said.