Hazleton’s mayor objects to idea of splitting his city from reopening plan

Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat said he would object if Luzerne County tries to push for a coronavirus reopening plan that puts his municipality on a different, later schedule.

As part of proposed plan seeking the county’s accelerated advancement to the less restrictive yellow phase, Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott had suggested asking Gov. Tom Wolf to exclude county zip codes with the most rising cases.

McDermott, who is drafting the proposed plan as chair of the county coronavirus task force private industry committee, said Wednesday she worries it will take too long to get to yellow under a state formula assessing cases countywide. Zip codes with more increases could advance to yellow at a later date, she said.

To date, the state has not permitted the exclusion of case counts from certain areas or types of facilities within a county border, such as nursing homes, officials said.

Since May 1, the 18702 Wilkes-Barre area zip code had the most additional confirmed coronavirus cases — 62.

Next in line for additional cases were two zip codes covering Hazleton, West Hazleton and much of Hazle Township — 18201, which had 52 more confirmed, and 18202, with 40 cases added.

Cusat said he wholeheartedly embraces a move to safe reopening, but it must be countywide.

“Nobody’s going to open the county without Hazleton. I’ll never let it happen, and I’m sure they don’t have that right,” Cusat said.

A piecemeal county approach to openings does not make sense because residents from areas with more infections are free to visit those with more business openings, he said.

“If you open up Wilkes-Barre before Hazleton, where do you think the Hazleton people are going to go shopping?” Cusat asked. “We’re either in this together, or we’re not.”

If county officials try to advance to yellow without Hazleton, they also should be willing to forego real estate tax revenue from the city, he said.

Hazleton should not be “penalized” for being proactive and candid about its cases and “responsible enough” to implement widespread testing early on, he said.

“We may have more positives than anyone, but we also have performed more tests than anyone,” he said.

The percentage of new cases in the Hazleton area also has started to significantly decline after two months of intense public education, he said. The city ended its curfew and other enforcement measures, he said.

Next steps

County Manager C. David Pedri said Wednesday Cusat and other municipal officials will be asked to weigh in on the plan prepared by McDermott before it is submitted to Gov. Tom Wolf.

McDermott said input from the medical community also must be obtained because a pitch cannot be made if hospitals have concerns. She expects to present a rough draft to Pedri on Thursday or Friday.

Council Chairman Tim McGinley also said Pedri should forward the final proposed plan to council members in case they want to provide feedback for consideration.

“We’re still in the draft stages,” Pedri said.

Councilman Harry Haas also mentioned the possibility of different “zones” within the county for reopening when the matter was discussed Tuesday night, saying Hazleton has been identified as a hotspot while other areas in the county a 45-minute drive away have few cases.

But Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck said she and her colleagues must “represent everyone in the county” and does not believe southern county residents would appreciate an attempt to put the city “in its own corner.”

Haas later said he agreed with her statement about Hazleton and that council must “represent all the people.”

At this point, a stay-at-home order remains in effect for Luzerne and 29 other counties in the most restrictive red phase through June 4.

During a briefing Wednesday, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said her department is reviewing multiple metrics, models and types of data to determine if and when Luzerne County and others will be recommended for yellow. The governor will then made the final decision, she said.

Business impact

McDermott said the reopening of businesses doesn’t take away the right of residents to make the personal decision to stay home if they feel unsafe. Business owners, herself included, should have the opportunity to safely operate, she said.

Her proposed plan will include a checklist for small businesses to prepare for social distancing and other requirements, with resources listed for them to obtain needed safety supplies.

At her appraisal business, she would keep employees spread out wearing masks, and the secretary has been working remotely, she said. McDermott said she has hand sanitizer and other disinfecting supplies available and has no problem regularly wiping down spaces. Her business has suffered under the pandemic because the demand for appraisals has dwindled with Realtors unable to take prospective buyers inside properties to complete sales, she said.

“We can’t keep everything closed down forever,” McDermott said.

Cusat said he fully understands this “pain” because he and his family own several small businesses hurt by the pandemic.

Now that residents have been educated on the “new ways of life that are going to be around for a long time,” he believes businesses should start having the ability to accept customers with new protocols.

“We have to let people live and make choices for themselves,” Cusat said. “I’m ready to talk about it and discuss it.”