City Council discusses proposed street closure policies, funding requests, police building timeline

LOCK HAVEN – Lock Haven City Council met Monday night for their 7 p.m. regular meeting.

Clinton Street resident Seth Kleinle spoke to city council with an idea regarding the recent hot button topic of closing streets during the summer for bar and restaurant music venues.

“With the floating stage and the amphitheater, and Triangle Park, all bars in the area could serve food and drinks with temporary permits and that could alleviate the arguments and noise from the concerts that we have now on Grove Street,” Kleinle said.

“I made the choice to live across the street from a bar, but I did not choose to have roads closed and turned into loud amphitheaters every week during the summer.”

Kleinle also mentioned the possibility of instituting a “decibel level” to keep concert music volume in check.

During the meeting, Director of Community Life Kasey Campbell presented research on what other municipalities do for proposed street closure events.

“Of the four municipalities that I included in your packet, I think Millvale is the most comprehensive of them all,” Campbell said.

Millvale’s policy, called “Block Party/Street Closure Rules and Conditions,” includes stipulations such as “no street shall be closed for a block party more than once in a 30 day period,” and “noise levels to be kept within the Borough of Millvales code limits or party will be shut down.”

Multiple people spoke from the floor regarding the suggestions brought forth for council’s consideration.

Vinnie Kishbaugh, owner of Good Neighbor Craft House, spoke up first in favor of the local residents in the vicinity of the street closure areas.

“If residents are against it then the business should not be allowed to hold an event; sometimes you have to make the right decisions for your residents,” Kishbaugh said.

Gail Nestlerode of 198 Shamrock spoke, saying that during the last two summers, the Shamrock lost money because of the bands on the street in the downtown area. Councilman Stevenson urged how the council wants “fair competition,” while Councilman Brinker said that, “we need to find a balance here.”

Shaun Dale of The Old Corner questioned council, asking “where are they with the application process that was proposed at the last meeting,” urging council to provide answers for the new application process.

“It is a nice thing to do in the summer, I spent $57,000 in concerts this year and these things take time to plan in advance,” Dale said.

At the end of the public comment period, a motion was made that a formal policy based on the Millvale policy and application would come forward to the November 18 meeting and will include one closure on a particular street every 30 days, along with a letter of interest from businesses who are interested in a certain street and date to be closed. Council asked that those letters be submitted to the Director of Community Life prior to the next meeting.

In other news, the 2025 budget season is ramping up with funding requests heard from Ross Library ($38,000), Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. ($20,000, an increase of $4,000), Clinton County Historical Society (no dollar amount listed), Hope’s Dream Rescue and Sanctuary, Roads to Peace (no dollar amount listed), and Clinton County SPCA ($10,000).

A brief update was provided on the construction of the Lock Haven Police Building project. The total estimated project cost is in the neighborhood of $3.2 million and includes an estimated timeline of bidding from January – March 2025, groundbreaking March 2025, construction from April 2025 – August 2026, and full operation status by September 2026.

City Council also voted in favor of a 1.4% wage increase for 2025 nonunion employees bringing the highest city-paid salaries into the low-to-mid $80,000 range.