Harrisburg City Council Legislative Session 4-22-25

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one. We're going to take a few minutes

to review our meeting agenda during our

legislative caucus and then I will call

our meeting to

order. So, we'll begin. I will call the

meeting to order immediately following

this legislative caucus. Mr. Trudale

will call the role. The invocation this

evening will be led by Councilwoman

Ross, followed by the pledge of

allegiance, which will be led by

Councilman Rodriguez. We do not have any

communications this evening. We will

then open the floor for courtesy of the

floor, followed by the approval of

minutes for the legislative session that

occurred on April 8th, 2025.

We will then move to reports of

committees. The first report will be

delivered by our community and economic

development committee chair,

Councilwoman Daniels, on the work

session of April 15,

2025. Uh the next report I will deliver

on behalf of our public safety committee

chair, Councilman Jones, on the work

session of April 15, 2025.

And the final committee report this

evening will be delivered by our public

works committee chair, Councilman

Rodriguez, on the work session of April

15,

2025. We do not have any ordinances for

first reading, ordinances for amendment,

or ordinances for final passage. We will

then move to resolutions.

The first resolution for consideration

this evening is resolution 18 of 2025

which we will vote

upon. Resolution 20 of

2025 which we will suspend the rules for

discussion and eventually vote

upon resolution 21 of 2025. We will vote

upon resolution 24 of 2025. We will vote

upon resolution 25 of 2025 will move to

the public safety committee. Resolution

26 of 2025 will move to the public

safety committee. And the final

resolution is resolution 27 of

2025. It will move to the parks,

recreation, and enrichment committee. Is

there any old business for discussion,

council

members? Okay. Seeing and hearing none,

any new

business? Okay, seeing hearing none,

then we will

adjourn. So, the time is 6:06 p.m. I

would like to call our legislative

session to order.

Mr. Trudeale, could you please call the

role?

Miss Daniels,

here.

Miss Davis, present.

Miss Green, present.

Mr.

Jones, Miss Rolls,

present. Mr. Rodriguez, present. Miss

Bowers, present. I would like to note

for the meeting record, Councilman Jones

is excused this evening. The invocation

will be led by Councilwoman Ross. Thank

you, President Bowers, and good evening,

everyone. And I would just like to take

a moment of silence for um over the past

week um lives that were lost due to gun

violence

um fires that have happened within our

community and just a moment of silence

for residents in our community that are

struggling um for multiple reasons. Um I

want us to keep them in our prayers and

in our thoughts. So let's please take a

moment of silence.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Ross. The pledge

of allegiance will be led by Councilman

Rodriguez. Oh, please rise for the

pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the

flag of America and to the stands

nationy andice for all.

Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. We do

not have any communications this

evening, so we will move forward with

our meeting agenda. We will move to

courtesy of the floor. Just a few

housekeeping notes before we begin.

Please state your name and your address

for the meeting record. If you don't

feel comfortable sharing your address,

please share the vicinity in which you

live within the city. You will have four

minutes to share your comments. Mr.

Trudale will serve as our timekeeper. I

will begin to my right. Is there anyone

that would like to offer public

comment over

here? There we go. The tall guy. Okay.

Uh Brandon Bum, uh 3000 block of uh

North Third Street. I know I'm here to

complain about things for a lot of

reasons, but um this time And I sent you

all an email. You probably saw it. I'm

going to handle my own personal

situation. But I noticed they're doing a

lot of these. And if the city police are

now in the habit of What happened was,

as it turns out, we're getting new

license plates. Yesterday they were

issued. We're supposed to get them in 5

to 10 days. Yesterday I was pulled over

and my license plates were taken. The

citation says because like we were

deceased, which I'm not. I'm very much

alive. However, I was left without a

license plate on a vehicle all day

today. I have the privilege to take off

work to be able to go handle this sort

of thing to get a lawyer if I have to to

fight this. But a lot of people don't.

So, I will handle my thing. I'm going to

talk to like Lamont. I'm going to talk

to the officer. We're get it worked out.

But I would ask that um Lamont or and

the rest of you maybe like look into

this if this is something they've done

throughout the city. Maybe you dismiss

these tickets because this is the reason

law enforcement and the community don't

have a good relation because this

predatory like like tricky stuff doesn't

make people feel people feel comfortable

approaching the police. So, I'm not up

here to ask that mine be dismissed. I'll

work that out. But if 20 of these were

given out, maybe we don't make those

people who had to get to work, who had

to take a taxi, who don't have my level

of privilege, maybe they don't have to

pay the fine that they're going to get

because I haven't gotten it yet. I'm not

sure how much it is, but I'm not paying

it. So, that's all I ask. Uh we can we

can talk about anything afterwards. I

don't think they have more time. But

yeah, they pulled over at least five

people and I'm like, "My neighbors don't

mean this BS." Like, these are

hardworking people. It was midnight. I

can't Most people can't call off at

midnight for the next day. Like, and

none of us were deceased. I promise

everyone was alive. He was driving.

That's my comment.

Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment?

Hold on. I'll get to you.

Um, hello. My name is Toby Soha. Um,

uh, I I live in the homeless encampment

near Pendod. So, I guess I that's the

Shy Poke area, I guess.

Um, so my friend, uh, he didn't want me

to say his name, but his

$2,000 ebike was stolen around a week

ago in front of the front of the

courthouse, um, the downtown

courthouse.

Um, and from what he has told me, the

police has have not did anything at all.

um they've spoken with him and nothing

has come from it. Um I've heard a lot of

talk about a something like a

citywide camera system that's supposed

to be implemented sometime. I don't

know.

Um my my question to the council

is if the police are not looking at the

cameras that are already in the

city, why would we either spend the

money or the resources to get more

cameras that who knows if they'll even

look at those? Um and that's my comment.

Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment? Okay. Seeing and hearing no

one, anyone in the middle section.

Go ahead. That's you. Okay. My name is

Attorney Corky

Goldstein and Madame President and

members of council, I appreciate you

serving.

I served on city council way before all

of you were probably born

u under Mayor Daic. A lot of people

don't remember there was a mayor before

Steve

Reid and uh I served as city solicitor.

I've lived in the city all my life. I

was born at 29 2617 North 2nd Street and

I've only gone two and a half blocks in

my life. I live at 2900 Parkside Lane in

Harrisburg, right along the Italian

Lake. The side of my house faces

Division Street. And the reason I'm here

tonight is number one to say to council

and the city, you guys have done a great

job on Second Street. I was born on

Second Street when it was two ways and

they didn't need roundabouts back then,

but

uh it was great. But and what you've

done with the roundabouts is great for

Second Street. But what has happened is

people have avoided Second Street who

don't live there or don't have reason to

go. So they go up to sixth or seventh

street, come down division street or

come down to sixth or seventh division.

When they hit sixth and division, it's a

straightaway. It's a huge street and

it's a racetrack.

I am constantly out there. I have a dog

and I'm walking. Kids coming from the

Cam Curtain Academy. Can't get across. I

have to help them. That's fine. I don't

want anybody to get killed. And people

now that the weather's nice are going

into the lake. People from the church.

People all weekend on Easter were trying

to cross the street. You got to do

something

about division street. If you just came

up there and saw how people race, I

don't I have no great against

motorcycles, but they come they know

that's the racetrack and someone is

going to get hurt badly. There's always

fender bumpers, but they're coming so

fast that at night it's not well lit.

There's just a few things you have to

do. All I ask city council is and all of

you to see if you could get something

done. I've been trying to talk to people

for years now. And ever since Second

Street was done, done great. Division

Street is now a

racetrack. Just come there, try and

cross the street. There's no crosswalks.

There's nothing. There's no lights.

Nothing. So, I ask for your help and I

thank you for listening. And I hope that

by me coming tonight, some of you or one

of you

might put this together and see if you

can get things moving. I heard that

there was supposed to be a meeting May

7th. Uh I've heard nothing about that.

Uh so it's just

frustrating, not for me, but for these

kids who come down, they live on Green

Street apartments. they can't get across

the street and they take their life in

their hands and I don't want anybody to

get hurt. So only and I just think it's

the right thing to do. There's a lot of

people living along that area and I

thank you for taking the time to listen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else in the middle

section that would like to offer public

comment? Yes. Okay.

Good evening, Madame President and

council. My name is Lisa Harden. I live

in Uptown area off of

U Jefferson and Gary in that area.

Council member Rodriguez, thank you for

cleaning up that you and L. But I'm here

today because I am so sick and tired of

the violence from these kids. The

gunplay. I'm I'm fearful for my life. I

called the police two or three times.

Lamont told me yesterday. Now I got to

come down here. And like I know these

children that this thing that just

happened. I'm sick of it. I don't I feel

like the police are not doing enough. I

know they have a hard job to do. I just

feel like maybe they're overwork.

But I'm saying my kids is like, "Stop

being a car." No, I'm unsafe in my own

home and I should not I should high the

rent is I shouldn't have to feel like

that and worried about if these kids is

coming back now with guns and all that.

Something has got to be done. Our mayor

said before maybe we need to bring in a

SWAT or we got to all you see is the

fire at the governor's mansion

Pennsylvania State Police here. Well,

they need to be doing something about

these kids and these gangs and all that,

too. It's It's just like out of control.

The city's out of control, Crystal. We

was born and raised here. I love I love

being I left here, lived in Florida for

13 years. I came back. This is not our

city. And it's sad. And I'm telling

y'all, I'm scared for me and my

children's life. And nobody should

really have to live like that. And I

just don't know what to do, who to turn

to, what what should we do? What what

y'all have any

clue? We don't have a

clue. And neither do our

mayor. That means

No, I would love to talk to you after

the meeting. I just couldn't speak to

you up there, Miss Lisa. It wasn't that

I didn't have a suggestion. Okay.

Yes. You're welcome.

We do have suggestions, but we can't

respond right now. Um, is there anyone

else in the middle section that would

like to offer public comment?

Okay, seeing and hearing no one, anyone

to my

left. Good evening. My name is Melanie

Cook and this must be old home evening

for the Riverside community. I live in

the 3000 block of North Third and while

I didn't come to comment on um what may

be a lack of police response, I do want

to say something about that now. Um

there was a situation where there was a

dog um pitbull, very friendly pitbull

that had gotten loose. Um a neighbor had

coraled the dog. uh calls were made to

the non-emergency number over the course

of two and a half hours. There was

virtually no response. No one ever came

because I'm familiar with the dogs. I

interjected uh checked the collar,

traced the dog to an address, drove to

the address myself, uh spoke to someone

at the property and they came and got

the dog. uh whatever the situation is

with the non-emergency

uh police line, the city of Harrisburg

may or may not be getting the attention

that it deserves from those individuals

because over the course of two and a

half hours, according to the neighbor,

the recommendation they were given is

just let the dog loose. Now, who wants a

full-grown pit bull running through the

neighborhood? Even a friendly one, it

would have put the dog in danger and it

would have put other people in danger.

So, something has to be done about that.

With respect to Division Street, those

of you who attended the Second Street

public meetings that were very well

orchestrated years ago, very well

attended, know that comments were made

and comments. I can speak to what I said

about it was going to divert traffic

from Second Street and send it directly

up Sixth Street and directly up Seventh.

And it is true. They hit those blocks,

come down Division flying. But it's not

just Division Street. They come up Third

Street flying with virtually no

attention to the speed limit. Graham

Street, you might as well pull the stop

signs because there are vehicles on a

daily basis that come off of six and

drive straight up Graham Street. Don't

stop at a single stop sign, hit third,

and then go fine.

Police being overworked may or may not

be a situation, but the citizens of this

town deserve more of a response than

what we're getting. If there's an

emergency, police turn out and six,

seven, eight officers arrive. And that

is what they should do in support of

each other. But when you call and get no

response from things that people

apparently don't seem to believe or an

emergency, that's problematic. when you

live in a city where or any city, one of

the things you say take care of the

small things and then society will start

to um eliminate the larger things. I

concur. We have young people in this

city who are dying in the streets for no

reason. And one of the biggest reasons

is guns. Why are there so many weapons

getting in the hands of young men of

color in the city of Harrisburg? That is

the first and primary issue that needs

to be addressed. This is not

complicated. They wouldn't be shooting

each other in the streets if they didn't

have access to the weapons. There's not

one single gun store in the city of

Harrisburg. But yet, virtually every kid

in this city has a weapon or has access

to a weapon. There has to be better

communication. And the primary reason I

came today was one because I understood

that the uh Dr. Henry, the

superintendent of the schools was

supposed to be giving his quarterly

report. That needs to happen on a

monthly basis. The city and the school

district need to communicate better and

coordinate better. And the primary

reason I came was to discuss the parks

initiative. Those of you who took part

in 2023,

uh 7th and Rner, Gorgus Reservoir, and

Wilson were supposed to be getting major

upgrades. There was extensive public

comment and nothing has happened. If we

want to know how to keep these kids off

the street, give them something to do.

Invest these dollars that the city has.

Thank you.

Thank you. Is there Oh, go ahead, Miss

Cook. Um Miss Cook, after the meeting, I

would love to speak with you because um

we're on the same accord and I can give

you the updates that I have from the

administration.

I that is something I would like to

speak to you about because I think that

there should be. So yes, thank you. If

you don't mind both saying it's probably

about on the same topic. Thank you. I

appreciate it.

Any additional comment to my

left. That's a hard act to follow. Um, I

wanted to let him know

uh the guy who had the friend whose bike

was stolen. you might want to reach out

to Dwayne Bender, public safety. He uh

controls the surveillance for the

courthouse.

Um keep the theme with the

police. Good evening, members of city

council and fellow citizens of

Harrisburg. My name is Robert Williams.

I'm a resident of Capitol Heights era of

Harrisburg. I stand before you today as

a conserved resident of our city. I come

with an urgent message about the state

of our police department and critical

issues that demand our collective

attention and

action. The data tells a troubling story

about our Harrisburg Police Department.

While black residents constitute 47% of

our city's population, black officers

make up only 11% of our police force.

This 36 percentage point gap isn't just

a statistic. It represents a fundamental

disconnect between our police and the

community it serves. Despite lowering

entries of barrier, I mean barriers of

entry, sponsored police academy

training, and removing residency

requirements, our department continues

to struggle with recruiting minority

officers. This indicates the problem

runs deeper than just procedural

barriers. It points to a crisis of trust

and perception that requires targeted

intentional solutions. More alarming are

the documented cases of alleged

misconduct by specific officers that

have gone insufficiently addressed. I

draw your attention to two officers in

particular. Officer Mark How I has been

named as a defendant in at least three

federal civil lawsuits alleging

excessive force between 2019 and 2025.

The most recent Watkins versus How stems

from a 2023 incident where officer Howal

allegedly used chemical spray without

sufficient cause, participated in

tackling the plaintiff, resulted in a

broken tooth, was present when threats

were alleged, and made during the

arrest. Additionally, officer Howal was

captured on video during the St.

Patrick's Day weekend pushing an

individual near moving traffic. This

occurred despite his prior offduty DUI

charge from

2019. Corporal Estabbon Restrepo is a

codefendant in Watkins lawsuit where he

allegedly dragged the plaintiff by his

dreadlocks during the same 2023 arrest.

While Corporal Restreo has received

departmental awards for bravery, the

serious nature of these allegations

cannot be dismissed. What's most

troubling is not just these incident

themselves, but what they reveal about

our department's leadership and

accountability systems. When officers

with documented patterns of concerning

behavior remain active duty without

transparent discipline, disciplinary

action, it signals a breakdown in

oversight and accountability. The

persistence of these issues point

directly to the failures of leadership.

Inadequate supervision that fails to

correct problematic officer conduct

before it escalates. Ineffective early

intervention intervention systems that

don't identify patterns of concerning

behavior. OPEC dis disciplinary

processes that undermine public

confidence. Riskmanagement failures that

expose our city to significant

liability. While the police commissioner

Thomas Carter, a black man with deep

roots in our city community and leads

the department, his representation at

the top has not translated into

departmental transformation. The lack of

transparency about the racial

composition of command staff further

obscures the four the full picture of

leadership diversity. This issue creates

profound consequences for our city.

Eroded public trust particularly in the

black and minority communities. Decrease

cooperation from citizens who fear

rather than trust the police. Increase

city liability from lawsuits that drain

our resources. Officer recruitment

challenges that perpetuate the cycle of

under representation. Compromise public

safety when residents are reluctant to

call. I call on his council to make to

take immediate concrete action. Demand

complete compare complete transparency

and officer complaints investigation

disciplinary outcomes for officer how

restreo and other officers with multiple

complaints. I know my time's up. I'mma

end it. That was almost done. Thank you,

Mr. Williams. Thank you. Is there anyone

else that would like to offer public

comment? I don't want to miss anyone.

Okay. Seeing and hearing none, we will

move forward with our meeting agenda.

Next, we have the approval of minutes

for the legislative session that

occurred on April 8th, 2025. Council

members, are there any revisions to

those meeting minutes?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, the

minutes stand approved. We will now move

to reports of committees. The first

report you will hear this evening will

be shared by our community and economic

development committee chair,

Councilwoman Daniels, on the work

session of April 15, 2025.

Thank you. Um on that date we the

community and economic development uh

committee reviewed resolution 21 hyphen

2025

um which is a resolution approving a

preliminary final lot

consolidation.

Um this was a uh I'll just read the the

resolution. uh consolidation and land

development plan to construct a new city

of Harrisburg parks maintenance facility

on site. The existing nearby facility at

901 North 12th Street will be demolished

as part of a larger project redeveloping

SRTA's operations and maintenance

facility at 901 North Cameron Street

which will include the vacation of

public rights of way and consol

consolidation of lots in the block to

the south associated and associated site

and access improvements. Um and

basically this is um one of many

resolutions to come to um take into

account in constructions and

improvements related to both um the her

Harrisburg parks maintenance facility as

well as SRT's operations and maintenance

facility.

Um this particular

um uh project uh the the land

um currently belongs

to

SRTA and on that land

um the fac the parks facility will be

built

um prior to demolish lishing the

existing one which is on this on city's

on city's land. Um

the because this is just a small piece

of a larger

um project. Um there are many kind of

missing

uh missing elements to the the complete

step of what will ultim of how we will

end up at the final project. A major

concern to most council members was the

lack of um clarity on liability and

indemnity and um and who's responsible

for um issues as they present themselves

since most uh there haven't been anyus

or there aren't haven't been formal

agreements at this point. Um so um

that's basically it and I ask council

members to vote um as they wish on this

particular resolution and that is it for

my committee. Thank you. Thank

you. Uh next our agenda outlines the

report from the public safety committee

chair Councilman Jones on the work

session of April 15, 2025. I will

deliver a brief report. Um, in

Councilman Jones's absence, on Tuesday,

April 15, 2025, the public safety

committee met to discuss one resolution,

resolution 20 of

2025, a resolution authorizing and

approving the submission of a petition

to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

for an exemption of a specific downtown

area of the city of Harrisburg from the

board's regulations regarding amplified

music being heard off the licensed

premises in favor of enforcing the

city's adopted noise control and

abatement ordinance. The resolution was

discussed during two work sessions, one

held on Tuesday, April 1st, 2025, and

the second one held on Tuesday, April

15, 2025. Councilman Jones uh during

both of those work sessions discussed

offering an amendment to revert back to

a previous map outlined in resolution 85

of

2017. Council members asked the

following questions. Impact on

businesses and boundaries of the

previous map. I encourage my colleagues

to support the amended version of

resolution 20 of 2025 to ensure our

business community can continue to

thrive. This concludes the report of the

public safety committee. The final

committee report you will hear this

evening will be delivered by our public

works committee chair, Councilman

Rodriguez, on the work session of April

15, 2025.

Thank you, Madam President. On Tuesday,

April 15, 2025, the public works

committee convened to discuss resolution

24-2025. The resolution authorizes the

city of Harrisburg to negotiate and

enter into a professional service

agreement with Urban Engineers, Inc. for

the purpose of providing construction

inspection and construction management

services on an asne basis. Representing

the administration was city engineer

Joel Ciders, who spoke to the

qualifications and benefits of engaging

urban engineers. Also present was Mr.

Brian bead representing Urgent Engineers

Incorporated. Our engineer highlighted

the increasing numbers of infrastructure

projects underway across various city

corridors. He emphasized the urgent need

for additional

support noting the city is currently

understaffed and managing a significant

volume of lurer related projects. He was

quoted as saying I do not want to slow

down. reflecting his commitment to

maintaining project momentum. During the

RFP process, 40 firms requested

documentation and the city ultimately

received two formal applications. Mr.

Bead spoke to the urban engineers

extensive experience and strong

professional network. He emphasized

their long-lasting relationship with the

city of Harrisburg, referencing their

involvement in the multimodal project

since 2017. Mr. bead also addressed

minority and womenowned business

enterprises MBE WBE participation

stating that the urban engineers

partners with two MBE firms, three

consulting firms and one WBE firm JBC

Associates. He acknowledged that some

agreements require up to 20% MBEW

participation and affirmed that there

are no conflicts of interest associated

with the engagement. I strongly

encourage my colleagues on council to

support resolution 24 of 2025. And this

concludes the business of the public

works committee from the work session

held on April 15 of 2025. Thank you,

Madam President. Thank you. Uh we do not

have any ordinances for first reading,

ordinances for amendment or ordinances

for final passage. So we will move

forward with resolutions. The first

resolution for consideration this

evening is resolution 18 of 2025. Mr.

Trudale, could you please read it into

the record?

Resolution 18, 2025, a resolution

appointing Miss Cheyenne Johnson to

serve on the Environmental Advisory

Council.

Thank you, council members. Are there

any final questions, comments, or

concerns related to resolution 18 of

2025? Just a brief comment. Um, I look

forward to this appointment to see the

body uh back in action and, you know,

producing some great things for the city

as far as environmental stance is

concerned. So, thank you. Thank you. I

just have two additional comments.

First, I wanted to confirm the receipt

of Miss Johnson's statement of financial

interest uh which was uh received on

April 1st,

2025. Um as you may remember, there's a

10-day grace period needed um for the

form to be on file. So, we have exceeded

that um time frame. So, that allows us

the opportunity to vote on the

resolution today. Second, I wanted to

note that with this appointment, um this

is council's fourth appointment to the

environmental uh advisory council. Uh

the mayor has three appointments to make

but with the majority of the um

appointments made the council can resume

meeting because there would be a quorum.

So I just wanted to note that. Any final

questions, comments or concerns? Okay,

seeing and hearing none, Mr. Trusel,

could you please call the vote? Miss

Daniels,

yes.

Miss Davis, yes.

Miss Green, yes. Miss Rolls, yes. Mr.

Rodriguez, yes. Miss Bowers, yes.

Resolution 18, 2025 passes by a vote of

six to zero. Thank you. Next we have

resolution 20 of 2025. Mr. Trudeell,

could you please read it into the

record?

Resolution 20, 2025, a resolution

authorizing and approving the submission

of a petition to the Pennsylvania Liquor

Control Board for an exemption of a

specific downtown area of the city of

Harrisburg from the board's regulations

regarding amplified music being heard

off the licensed premises in favor of

enforcing the city's adopted noise

control and abatement ordinance. Thank

you. Um, I will entertain a motion to

suspend the rules for discussion. So

moved. Is there a second? Second. Thank

you. So before us we have resolution 20

of

2025. Uh we do have uh an amended

version of this

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resolution. What? Mr. L, would you like

to share the contents of the amendment

just for everyone's reference?

The amendment actually is pretty simple.

It went the original map that was being

used from

202 as well

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as thank you council members. Are there

any questions related to the proposed

amendment?

Yes. So on the agenda, the map that I

see is the is the one that ends at

Forester. I don't see the other map.

Yes, that's correct.

Yes,

is that the one that was stated?

So, just for the

record, it appears that everybody's here

today with us at council do have the

correct map, the updated map.

Mr. Mr. Trudeale sending her the map

right now. Mr. Trude is going to send

you the map, the updated map so that you

have it. Thank you, Mr. Trudeale. The

physical map that we have was shared

last week um during the work session.

That's why we're in receipt and uh you

don't have it, Councilwoman Daniel. So,

I didn't want you to think it was

something um sneaky in any way, but no.

So, Mr. Trudale just forwarded the the

new Yeah. reason I'm just asking is

because it's not part of the like there

isn't can someone spell out what the

boundaries are

Talk to me.

Beginning at a point being the The

center of the intersection of Forester

and Susanna Streets westernly along the

center line for street to the center of

the intersection north street and

southern center line

streets along center line

North Street and

Northern

Following

North

Street intersection North Street.

along the center line street to the

center of the intersection for

streetly along the center line of street

to the center of the intersection of

James

Street to the center of the intersection

street center

street center line

street along the center line of James

Street line

street to the center of the intersection

street along center line Street

intersection

street line

street intersection.

Street.

Thank you. Are there any additional

questions or comments related to the

amendment? Thank you, President Bowers.

Um, I think

that with all the streets and everything

just mentioned, I think if

this map was if those streets were

depicted on this map and it was

outlined, it would be easier for our

residents to follow along to see where

the coverage is because basically this

just has purple coloring in it and it's

kind of hard to follow. So I don't know

if there's any way you know for

residents who are trying to follow this

map.

It's kind of a

technological. So again there will be

another opportunity for everyone um

questions last year. Okay, that's good.

I apprec I appreciate that because if

residents want to know, you know, to see

the outline and to see all that

information you just read for people who

are visual, it's going to be clear for

them to understand it by looking at it.

And if no one has a copy of it or it's

not presented, then it's just difficult.

But thank you very much. Yeah. And I

think that um kind of piggybacking off

of that, right, the boundaries you just

read are not the boundaries that were

put in the notice uh for today's

meeting. So as of right now, unless

residents like read the you know

participated in the entire meeting like

they don't the boundaries look like the

one that was um advertised today,

right? So I believe at the work session

was Councilman Jones who requested that

it be specific to what it is

now that

amendment ahead of

ourselves right

now questioned

and the boundaries that are articulated

in the amended version were reviewed

during last week's work session. So,

this would be the second time that

everyone is at least hearing the map if

you aren't if it's not physically in

front of you. So, I wanted to clarify

that. Are there any other additional

questions, comments, or concerns related

to the proposed amendment?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, I will

entertain a motion to resume our

legislative session. So moved. Is there

a second? Second. Thank

you. Okay. So,

uh, I move to amend resolution 20 of

2025 to expand the map as it is

resembled in resolution 85 of 2017.

Second. Thank you.

Are there any questions, comments, or

concerns from council members before we

open the floor for public

comment? Um, I'll just note uh for the

public record that this isn't an

entirely new map. This reverts it back

to the map from 2017. So, essentially,

it's erasing the updates that reduced

the footprint um that were made in 2019.

So, this was a map that was in place

previously.

Thank you. Any

other questions, comments, or concerns

from council

members? Okay, seeing and hearing none,

uh we will open the floor for public

comment for anyone that would like to uh

share comments on the uh motion that is

on the floor.

Hello, I'm Mark Santana. I live in the

200 block of Liberty Street. Um, I've

lived downtown for 25 years. I'm the

president of the Capital Area Neighbors

Group, which encompasses the downtown

part of the

map. Um, we've already used this map

before and as far as I know, it's been

successful. We haven't had any problems

with it. Uh, and what this allows us to

do is to police our own neighborhoods

with the Harrisburg City Police um, and

the Capitol Police rather than have the

liquor control board in Harrisburg. I

think we should be able to take care of

our own here as we have in the past.

And, uh, although this is a public

coming out of the public safety

committee, I think it is part of

economic development as uh, downtown is

in crisis, Harrisburg is in crisis. We

need as much help as we can. Uh, as I

said at the last meeting, any business

owner that's still holding on with a

restaurant or um a bar downtown is

honorable and commendable. We should be

trying to help these people as much as

we can. We're able to police them.

There's methods that residents, if they

need to, can reach out to the Harrisburg

police and make a complaint. They can

reach out to the liquor control

enforcement and make a complaint. So,

it's not like we're just letting things

run wild. we are actually taking uh our

closer eye here. Instead of getting the

Commonwealth involved in Harrisburg, we

can just keep Harrisburg policed by

Harrisburg. Um so I would um encourage

all of you to vote yes on this

resolution.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who

would like to offer public comment?

Uh yes. Um uh Ed Jericho, 1521 street.

And uh I just want to say uh I did

attend the work workshop session last

week. So I've been trying to follow the

map. This map does address my concerns

which was to include the Midtown area.

There's several establishments that have

invested big money. You need to make

sure they're you know covered in this

amendment. So, I I know it's been hard

to follow all these maps, and I

appreciate the council member, I mean,

the lawyers department trying to uh

connect all the dots, but I think

everyone's on top of it now, and uh I'm

satisfied with the final output here,

and I appreciate if you'd all vote in

the affirmative. Thank you. Thank you.

Is there anyone else?

Yes. My name is John Trainer from

Harrisburg Midtown Art Center and um of

course, I would love council to support

this amendment, but uh resolution, but

also this map actually uh that you refer

to as 2017 actually was passed in 2014.

So from 14 until 19 we had the Midtown

was included why the map changed in

2019. We have no idea. U the city

solicitor didn't recall why it was

changed, but it certainly wasn't changed

with city council's knowledge. So I

would

respectfully request that

you include me in this new resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone

else that would like to offer public

comment either to my right in the middle

section or to my

left? Okay. Seeing and hearing no one,

uh we have an amendment before us. So,

we are going to vote on the amended

version of resolution 20 of 2025.

Mr. Trudale, could you please call the

vote?

Miss Daniels,

yes.

Miss Davis, yes.

Miss Green, yes.

Miss Rose, yes. Mr. Rodriguez, yes. Miss

Bowers, yes. Resolution 20 of 2025

passes as amended by a vote of six to

zero. Thank

you. Next, we have resolution 21 of

2025. Mr. Trudale, could you please read

it into the

record?

Resolution 21 of 2025, a resolution

approving the preliminary/final lot

consolidation and land development plan

to construct a new City of Harrisburg

parks maintenance facility on site. The

existing nearby facility at 901 North

12th Street will be demolished as part

of a larger project redeveloping SRTA's

operations and maintenance facility at

901 North Cameron Street which will

include the vacation of public right

away and consolidation of lots in the

block to the south and associated site

and access improvements. Thank you.

Council members, are there any

questions, comments, or concerns related

to resolution 21 of 2025? just a

concern, Madam President. So although I

am for this resolution, um Mr. Trainer,

since you are here, um throughout the

duration of since I've been on council,

there's been time and time some concerns

about HMAC. So if you ever get some

time, I'd love to see if Mr. Trudeale

could schedule a meeting between you and

I just to see if you're stepping up any

precautions as far as security and

maintenance. There were a few quite a

few things that were addressed and I

just like to speak with you about it so

we can get ahead of it moving forward if

that'd be okay with you. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you.

Any other questions, comments, or

concerns related to resolution 21 of

2025? Thank you, President um Bowers.

Just one

um I totally agree with our economic

development, especially in the downtown

and Midtown area. I do think that um

this resolution is important um to make

sure we are at a place where we're

developing that and not um hurting it.

And um Harrisburg right now in that area

um definitely needs to look at a

different vision on um how we are

expanding the line so we do keep

businesses within our city um and more

come in. However, I do have um I I did

have a few residents who do have some

issues with uh the district and the

HMAC, but I I feel the same. I think if

we can come to some type of conversation

about what that looks like um moving

forward, I I definitely support this

resolution because I know

um that the HMAC in the district are

staples right now in our community. Um,

a lot of us go to them, we attend events

there, and I want those to continue to

go and thrive even more. So, I I I

definitely also would like it to

entertain a conversation because there

are homeowners across the street from

both of those establishments and their

quality of life, of course, is

important. So, yes, I I thank you for

being here tonight and I thank you for

um indulging in a conversation later on

how we just make everybody be able to

have their quality of life while the

businesses are still there because I

think that working in tandem is very

important. So, thank you. Um I have a

comment. Okay. Um so resolution 21 is

regarding the the

um maintenance facility that's going to

be built by SRTA uh at the corner of

what is it 12 and Cameron Street right

there at Cameron. Um the old CAT station

I guess called SRTA now. Um and I think

this is a great opportunity for the city

of Harrisburg to have a new facility

built. Um I know in the past I've been

to that current facility and that

facility has needed some updates for a

while. So I think this is a great

opportunity for the city to partner with

um SRTA making sure we can get an

updated trans transportation facility uh

as well as getting our park maintenance

facility um fixed up as well. Um and so

that's resolution 21 of 2025.

Um that's all I have. Thanks. Any other

questions, comments, or concerns related

to resolution 21 of

2025? Okay, seeing in hearing none, Mr.

Trudale, could you please call the vote?

Miss Daniels,

yes.

Miss Davis, yes.

Miss Green, yes.

Miss Rose, yes. Mr. Rodriguez, yes. Miss

Bowers. Yes. Resolution 21 of 2025

passes by vote of 6 to zero. Thank you.

Next we have resolution 24 of 2025. Mr.

Trudeale, could you please read it into

the record? Resolution 24, 2022, a

resolution authorizing the city of

Harrisburg to negotiate and enter into a

professional services agreement with

urban engineers incorporated for the

purpose of providing construction

inspection and construction management

services on an asneeded basis.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any questions, comments, or concerns

related to resolution 24 of 2025? Uh,

just a comment, Madam President. Um, I

just want to give kudos to our city

engineer. Um, love the attitude during

last week's presentation and just the

go-getter spirit is what we need here in

the city and uh, it's one thing to say,

"Hey, I'm great at this," but it's

another thing to say, "Hey, we need help

and this is how we move forward." So,

kudos and I look forward to the many

projects we can finish up. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions,

comments, or concerns? Okay, seeing and

hearing none, Mr. Trudeale, could you

please call the vote? Miss Daniels, yes.

Miss Davis, yes. Miss Green, yes.

Miss Rolls,

yes.

Mr. Rodriguez, yes. Miss Bowers, yes.

Resolution 24 of 2025 passes by vote of

six to zero. Thank you. Next, we have

resolution 25 of 2025. Mr. Trudale,

could you please read it into the

record? Resolution 25 of 2025. A

resolution confirming the appointment of

Leon Houston, Senior, to serve on the

Citizens Law Enforcement Advisory

Committee.

Thank you. Resolution 25 of 2025 will

move to the public safety committee.

Next, we have resolution 26 of

2025. Mr. Trudeelle, could you please

read it into the record? Resolution 26,

2025, a resolution confirming the

appointment of Amichi Walker Senior to

serve on the Citizens Law Enforcement

Advisory Committee. Thank you.

Resolution 26 of 2025 will also move to

the public safety committee. Our final

resolution this evening is resolution 27

of 2025. Mr. Trudale, could you please

read it into the record? Resolution 27

of 2025, a resolution authorizing the

city of Harrisburg to negotiate and

enter into a professional services

agreement with BA environmental

associates for the purpose of providing

environmental and geotechnical

consultant services for the whole manner

aquatic facility project. Thank you.

Resolution 27 of 2025 will move to the

parks, recreation, and enrichment

committee. Is there any old business for

discussion? Councilwoman Ross. Yes.

Thank you, President Bowers. Uh, I

wanted to speak about um the three

playgrounds that I believe are going

through updates right now. Uh, 7th and

Radner, Gorgus Park, and Wilson Park.

Uh, a few residents, um, even Miss Cook

here today have, um, asked about any

updates on those parks or what is

happening. So, I wanted to give the

updates that I do have. Um I did uh

speak with um Director

Ross back in March and the one update

that I did get from her uh was that uh

Rner Field, Gorgus Playground uh and

Reservoir actually was in the Wilson

Park 7th and Rner Field, Gorgus

Playground, Reservoir Park will be

completed by the end of 2005.

Construction 2025. I'm so sorry. Set us

back.

2025. We're gonna go forward. It went

backwards enough. Um construction will

start in May and concepts will be put on

the website in the next few weeks. Um

however, I do know residents need to

hear this uh from the administration and

from the directors. They have asked time

and time again. Um I know that as

council we have invited um the

administration and directors down to

speak to residents about any updates

about these parks. Um because once uh

council votes on it where the

legislative branch it goes to the

executive branch which is the mayor

administration and that is where things

are executed and done. So there's more

information that um they can give you

that we are not able to. However, they

have declined to come down to speak to

us. So, at this point, I would say that

um any residents um any further

questions you have so you can get more

information about updates on these

playgrounds, especially with the

playgrounds going to be open and need to

be open in the summertime with the

program opening up. Please contact um

the mayor administration for more

information. Contact them directly um

and maybe you could give us some updates

as well. Uh because we would like to

know what's happening with the

playground. So, I just wanted to give

that update on old business with the

playgrounds. Thank you, President

Bowers. Thank you. You're welcome. Is

there any new business, council

members? Okay. Seeing and hearing none,

the time is 7:03 p.m. I will entertain a

motion to adjurnn. So move. Is there a

second?

I second that. Thank you. We stand a

journ.

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