Down River

By John Lipez

Hellzapoppin’ II:
What better time for a follow-up on the Down River of Aug. 10, than in Down River on Aug. 17? We all recall a week ago the several DR items related to recent developments concerning the City of Lock Haven. How ‘bout a quick follow-up on those still pending matters?

Last week we started with word that City Council member Barbara Masorti is mounting an independent challenge to sitting Lock Haven Mayor Joel Long. That word caught a lot of folks off guard, Masorti a registered Democrat until her conversion earlier this year to independent status; Long, of course, is a lifelong Democrat.

So why the eleventh-hour challenge to the mayor? Word from some city-connected moles is that while Mayor Long is nothing if not a nice guy and a quite good singer, there have been concerns about a lack of leadership from the man holding the meeting gavel.

Does challenger Masorti have a shot as an independent? There will be but two names on the November ballot, current Democrat Long and former Democrat Masorti as no Republicans were on the ballot in the spring. How will voters respond? Who will registered Democrats support? We’ll all find out in a few months.

And a possible sale of the city-owned William T. Piper Memorial Airport, a part of Lock Haven history since 1937, that caught many of us by surprise but those in the know say the topic had been kicked around for a few months in the bowels of City Hall.

An appraisal seems a logical first step for the city to pursue but don’t look for an Amazon warehouse or a trailer park or anything in-between to pop up for a while, likely a long while. Think Renovo Energy Center, nine years in the formulation stage and then, gone. The REC project may not be the best analogy, but in this day and age, large-scale projects can take a really long time. And as for the airport, city council, if a majority so chooses, at some point will have to pass judgment on a sale.

And the city in its initial overtures has talked about a sale to a party with an aviation interest. No matter who a prospective purchaser might be, there is one major impediment to a sale. As explained to Down River, if the city sells the airport, it would have to repay the federal government the millions of dollars in federal funding for airport improvements carried out over the years; this could amount to tens of millions of dollars to be added to the sale price.

The city fathers and mother had talked about a possible airport sale a couple times some decades back, one in 1987, shortly after Piper Aircraft Corporation headed south, never to return; another a decade or so later, about the time the late Bud Yost was city mayor. There was an uproar at the time and a sale never happened. With the operation running a deficit over the last decade, might a sale take place this time around? Or what about the authority option suggested by an airport tenant at the most recent council meeting?

Lots to be thought about on any airport sale. An appraisal to determine the value of the 110-acre site is a good start. But be patient, this one could take a while.

Lastly, the future of the Lock Haven Water Authority, its elimination proposed recently by city government; things have been paused as authority officials have raised more than a few questions about that agency’s demise and the creation of a joint Lock Haven – Castanea Township – Wayne Township authority in its wake. It says here while things are on pause, the city folks should reach out to the Suburban Water Authority and talk about combining the two systems which share water from the city’s Ohl and Keller reservoirs.

No one has given Down River a good reason why this isn’t an opportune time to bring the two systems together, then later make a judgment on a possible system sale or establishment of an even more inclusive water authority for the greater Lock Haven area..

This “Hellzapoppin’” – know where that comes from? According to Word Histories, the phrase hell’s a poppin’ means “events are unfolding in a chaotic manner: a state of confusion and disarray is taking hold.” (Actually, sounds more like the US today, rather than here in Clinton County). Hellzapoppin’ was a 1941 musical movie, too. You can look it up.