LH City Council Meeting Roundup

By Emily Wright

LOCK HAVEN– The Lock Haven City Council voted to adopt Ordinance No. 2024-02: Providing for the Widening of a Portion of James Alley. The city aims to widen a specific section of James Alley, which runs between the Lock Haven Weis Markets and Dunkin’ Donuts from Commerce Street to Kite Alley. The ordinance takes effect July 1, 2024, and will accommodate better traffic flow or other city needs, according to the Ordinance.

The expansion will begin at the northwest corner of the intersection of Commerce Street (a 50-foot wide road) and James Alley (a 15-foot wide alley). From there, the city will extend westward along James Alley for about 121 feet. The expansion will continue along various points and curves, adding up to around 1,062 square feet to the existing open portion of James Alley, making it broader and more functional for public use.

Next on the agenda was the consideration of the Professional Service Agreement with the Susquehanna Economic Development Association-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) training of Planner I, Carter Simcox. In an effort to delegate duties related to CDBG-funded projects, Simcox will be taking over the administration of the program, and the Professional Services Agreement has been created between the city and SEDA-COG to assist him with learning the new program. The agreement will provide support to Simcox until the end of 2025 at a cost of $20,000.00, which is reimbursable through the CDBG program under administrative funds.

In other news, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation informed the council that Lock Haven will receive a payment of $1,605.15, representing the city’s share of State Police fines and penalties that have been issued within the city limits. The Department of Transportation issues these payments to municipalities twice a year, in June and December.

The Lock Haven City Authority received a request from the city council to reimburse $33,750.00 for the purchase of new leak detection equipment. Richard W. Marcinkevage, Executive Director of the Lock Haven City Authority, responded to this request in a letter sent to the city council on May 17, 2024.

In the letter, Marcinkevage noted that several City Authority members, in addition to the Joint Authority Committee, raised questions about the leak detection equipment expenditure due to the city’s Water Fund shortfall and the limited funds of the Authority. Additionally, as the City is working toward forming a Joint Authority and transferring assets, the concern of duplicating equipment was highlighted, especially given that the Suburban Authority recently acquired new detection equipment.

Marcinkevage suggested exploring options to borrow or rent the existing Suburban Authority’s equipment as a cost-saving measure and to foster cooperation between the two systems.

City Manager Greg Wilson explained that the city has purchased better leak detection equipment because the current system only listens three to four feet at a time, and the new system provides a more accurate location of leaks.

Vice President Steve Stevenson suggested that borrowing leak detection equipment might not be the best solution because if something goes wrong with it, the city would need to spend funds to fix the problem. “The system is big enough to get our own,” Stevenson said. “There’s more funding; there are other grants, I think we should ask our City Authority again and give them reasons to purchase this leak detective equipment. We certainly have a need for it”.

Council member Tami Brannan asserted that although the City Authority finds two leak detection systems to be unnecessary, both the Suburban Water Authority and the City are using them at all times. “Our water system is not going to shrink in size if we become a joint authority,” she offered.

The next order of business was a request from the Lock Haven City Authority for a copy of the drafted update to the wastewater treatment agreement. Richard W. Marcinkevage, Executive Director of the Lock Haven City Authority, expressed concerns to Mayor Joel Long regarding redrafting sewage treatment agreements between the city and external municipalities in a letter dated May 16, 2024. Despite being a key party to these agreements as the owner and lessor of the sewage system and treatment plant, the Authority was not informed about the revisions or provided with the updated documents.

Marcinkevage requested copies of the revised agreements and a list of changes to avoid incurring additional legal fees for a detailed review by the Authority’s solicitor, and he emphasized the need for better communication in the future.

“That was provided back to the chairman of the county sewer authority who then distributed those to teach of the partners and I have provided a copy of that to the City Authority,” Wilson said.

A brief update on the Through the Fence agreement with Piper Airport was provided at the end of the meeting. According to Wilson, the subcommittee of council met two weeks ago and lowered the price for commercial and residential planes to rent hangers at the airport. Previously, the cost for commercial planes was $240.00 per month, but it has been lowered to $210.00. Residential planes will decrease from $240.00 down to $180.00 per month. “The city solicitor updated those agreements and distributed those to the six parties,” Wilson said.

The Record requested an update regarding the fences that had been put up to block plane owners from using the runway at the airport last month. Wilson stated, “The fence was taken down” in response.