Harrisburg City Council Legislative Session - 3/24/2026

Prior to the start of our legislative

session this evening,

I will call the meeting to order. Mr.

Humphrey will lead the roll call. The

invocation this evening will be led by

Councilman Rodriguez, followed by the

pledge of allegiance, which will be led

by Councilwoman Rawls. For

communications this evening, we are

joined by Mr. Justin Heinly. He serves

as Midtown Asset Count Consulting,

excuse me. He will provide a

presentation regarding the residences at

Governor's Square Receivership updates.

Then we will move to courtesy of the

floor.

Next, the approval of the minutes for

the legislative session that occurred on

March 10th, 2026.

Then we will have two committee reports.

I will deliver the first report on

behalf of the administration committee

on the work session that occurred on

March 17th, 2026.

And the second committee report will be

delivered by

uh Vice President Jones, who chairs our

Budget and Finance Committee on the work

session of March 17th, 2026.

We have one ordinance for first reading,

that's Bill 5 of 2026,

which will move to the administration

committee. We do not have any ordinances

for amendment or ordinances for final

passage. We will move to resolutions.

Uh Resolution 16 of 2026,

we will vote upon.

Resolution 18 of 2026,

we will vote upon. Resolution 19 of

2026,

we will vote upon. Resolution 20 of 2026

will move to the Community and Economic

Development Committee.

Resolution 21 of 2026 will move to the

Parks, Recreation, and Enrichment

Committee. And Resolution 22 of 2026

will move to the Administration

Committee. Is there any old business for

discussion, council members?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, any new

business?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, then we

will adjourn.

The time is 6:02 p.m. I'd like to call

our legislative session to order.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please call the

roll?

Ms. Davis. Present. Ms. Green.

Present. Mr. Jones.

Here.

Mr. Lawson. Here.

Ms. Rawls. Present. Mr. Rodriguez.

Present.

Ms. Hill. Present. Thank you. The

invocation will be led by Councilman

Rodriguez. Thank you, Madam President.

Um invocation by definition means a

formal appeal, prayer, or calling upon a

higher power, authority, or spirit for

aid, protection, or justification.

Happy spring and Easter time to all.

Traditionally, we acknowledge and honor

those we lost and uplift families in

times of need. My intention today is to

do that as well in a roundabout way. I'd

like to begin by acknowledging and

sending my prayers out to the families

that recently lost a loved one during an

incident in our neighboring borough in

Steelton, Pennsylvania, those injured

during a stabbing here in downtown

Harrisburg this month, and all the

American soldiers that have lost their

lives not only in the most recent Iran

war, but those that have fallen battle

in totality.

The unfortunate circumstances locally, I

pray do not set the tone for warmer

months to come, but history shows the

pattern is such. My invocation today is

a call to action of proactivity and not

reactivity. Together, let's unify and

ensure our youth have spaces and places

to go without the fear of incident. Our

seniors are loved and resources are

expounded on them. Those suffering from

mental health disparities get the

treatment and attention they deserve,

and our families grow and thrive and

create a generation of tradition and

peace, of prosperity and progress.

Please join me for a moment of silence

on these prayers.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. The

pledge of allegiance will be led by

Councilwoman Rawls.

Thank you, President Hill.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

United States of America, and to the

republic for which it stands, one nation

under God, indivisible, with liberty and

justice for all.

Thank you, Councilwoman Rawls.

We are joined this evening for

communications by Mr. Justin Heinly,

representing Midtown Asset Consulting.

He will share a presentation related to

the residents

of Governor's Square Receivership

updates.

Thank you. And thank you, council, for

allowing me to attend and give you a

presentation with an update of where

we're at. My name is Justin Heinly. Uh I

am the owner of Midtown Asset

Consulting, also the court-appointed

receiver uh for Governor's Square, which

is um the for the bankrupt

uh entity Uptown Partners.

Uh could first slide, please? Can you

please move the microphone closer to

you? Sorry. Thank you.

From a community status, want to give

you an update of where we're at. Uh

currently, we have 23% occupancy, that's

49 uh units that are currently occupied,

and we are down to a 15% delinquency

rate uh from something that was far

significant when we took over.

Uh we have successfully been able to

address the significant life safety

issues of our current residents that

live there. Uh while we still have other

challenges before us, uh the significant

ones have been taken care of.

We have systematically been able to

remove squatters and non-paying rent

occupants, uh which has decreased the

amount of crime and other unwanted

activity on the facility.

Uh we do daily rounds of the facility to

ensure that it is maintained in a proper

manner and that we don't have any other

further issues going on.

We have restored uh eight units uh to

date. Uh we have eight more in the

pipeline to finish, hopefully by the end

of uh Memorial Day.

Uh also, I just wanted to uh introduce

the staff that we have up at Governor's

Square. So, behind me is Angela.

I have Jerry, Ginger, and then I've also

brought along a resident of Governor's

Square, GG, uh who at the end would like

to maybe give a word or two and or

answer questions directly from her

perspective.

Uh so, over the last 6 months, uh our

primary focus has been property

preservation. Uh the photograph on your

right shows a typical unit at Governor's

Square. Uh it has been completely

removed of all of its copper, any uh

piping, or anything of value. The only

thing that's left behind, unfortunately,

is trash.

Uh the picture on the left is from an

event that we uh took part on in January

15th and 16th of this year, uh where we

had police, public works, um our

affiliated business, as well as um a few

other entities such as UGI, Capital

Region Water. Uh we had just shy of 50

people uh across 2 days, where we

boarded up 157 units,

um mainly most of them north of McClay,

uh but throughout the facility. Uh this

was to ensure that we preserved every

asset that we had remaining uh while we

worked on the ones that we could uh

currently.

Next slide, please.

Uh this is some of the fruits of the

labor. Uh I know it doesn't look great,

but it looks far better than it did when

we took over.

Um you know, it's very easy for us now

to be able to spot uh individuals

entering or exiting properties that they

shouldn't. Uh those daily walk-throughs

uh allow us to be able to identify that,

and we have an excellent relationship

with the police force,

um getting phone calls on and off hours

to be able to support uh their

activities uh with keeping it safe up

there. We've seen a dramatic drop-off in

the amount of unwanted activity going on

up there.

Financial position, um it was not great

when we took over. Uh the 4 months

preceding us from June to September,

rent collections were as low as 19,000,

uh

negative cash flow, and with the ending

cash balance before we took over of

around 35,000.

Since our receivership, we were able to

get some clawbacks uh from uh different

entities, uh as well as some

concessions.

Uh we ended the year with just or excuse

me, in January with 175,000 in our bank

account, and we have not used the

250,000 pledged by the city just yet.

Uh currently, today we're standing with

about 153,000 in our bank account.

Uh and we will intend on pulling some of

the money from that um city funds, but

that has not been done so yet.

Our fiscal budget for 2026,

um essentially, what our goal is is to

uh bring on one new unit per month.

That's our goal. Um we're going to far

exceed that goal, but from a budgeting

perspective is where we'd like to be.

Uh the top line shows the net operating

income,

um hopefully getting up to about 46,000

in rent collections.

Um the net cash flow, if you can see it

towards the bottom on the lower

right-hand corner, will be almost at a

break-even point in December of 2026.

However, I should note that does include

some capital expenditures of almost

13,000 a month of being able to continue

to recover units.

So, our ending cash balance will be uh

close, if not at uh zero by the time

2026 uh comes to a close. Uh we are

going to modulate the amount of uh

capital expenditures we have to ensure

we have enough cash on hand.

Uh this does not take into account the

250,000 dollars the city has uh pledged

for us.

We do also have 3.5 million dollars

worth of grants that we've applied for.

We do have a professional grant writer

that is on staff currently helping us

and we have an equal amount of those

grants that we plan on

filing for in the next 3 months.

We're not quite sure which way we'll be

able to exit receivership. So we put

together a provisional plan for capital

improvements.

This plan and mostly

uh

involves north of McClay Street. South

of McClay is about 60% occupied. North

of McClay is maybe about 10% occupied.

So our capital improvement plan is going

to focus on the north of McClay in four

different phases.

As we work on an exit strategy, we will

focus on any grant funding or capital

money that we have on these four

separate phases.

They were selected in a manner such that

we can continue progress without

the uh

uh

untouched units from impacting the ones

that we complete from a rentability as

well as a neighborhood perspective.

Next slide.

So this is our action plan both short

and long-term actions. So on an asset

recovery, we spoke to

board ups as well as establishing

actions to be able to secure all uh

assets that we have at the property.

Right now we're continuing to recover at

least one unit per month.

And we're continuing to develop and

execute the four-phase rehabilitation

plan that we had previously discussed.

From a financial management perspective,

we continue to look for grants as well

as other

monetary opportunities and support to be

able to help us develop an exit

strategy.

Our goal through 2027 would be to find

and hire a full-time qualified

low-income housing tax credit property

manager as well as two full-time

maintenance technicians that will be

able to help us support operational

excellence.

We also would like to get back into HUD

compliance. We are targeting next summer

to be able to do that. First being able

to hire the staff to do so and then go

after full compliance.

Exit strategy.

You know, we currently are in a fragile

but stable condition. We don't have a

lot of extra funds at the moment but as

we do get funds, what we would like to

do is build that exit strategy. That

will have to come from the support of

some consultants as well as

financial analysis through general

contractors or others that will be able

to build a financial picture.

Once we build that financial picture,

then we'll be able to work through each

of the key stakeholders and negotiate

any concessions and potential exit

strategy opportunities that we have.

Our goal is every 6 months to come back

and give you an update as to where we

are on each leg of that journey.

If it's okay with the council, I wanted

to bring GG up maybe if she wanted to

say a few words or at least be able to

answer any questions from

Governor Square perspective. That's

fine. Okay.

Come on up.

Sit next to me.

Introduce everybody to your name.

Hello. My name is Debbie Taylor but

everybody calls me GG. Hello Lamont.

I voted for you.

Ever since Justin came

I want to tell you

we were living in the dark. Our parking

lot was not taken care of.

It's now all lit up and it's bright and

it's beautiful.

We can see what's going on. Plus I have

a camera on my window. So if anybody

ever needs to know or you know

because I have a car out there I don't

want anybody touching.

But Justin, his crew, I love everybody.

I had a water leak in my kitchen for

over a year and a half.

Justin fixed it. I called one day

not even 24 hours later it was fixed.

Same with my toilet.

You know you put those little blue tabs

in your tank or something like that?

It's leaking.

Justin fixes it.

And what was the other thing? So three

things that he fixed. I'm thinking of

the other one and it's pretty important

then but it's doesn't seem now

because it's all fixed.

All you do is you call the office and

you explain, "Hey, I'm this that that

that

and he comes and he fixes it.

Jerry is really awesome. Ginger, I love

her.

So all of us ladies we talk. I do I do

the sewing, I do the cooking and stuff

and I take care of you know some of the

elderly there.

And uh

they said, "Debbie, I hear that you're

going down to city council. You tell

them you can speak for all of us."

So we love Justin.

But we really do need the money because

the

where I live

my my doors are secure.

You can't get in unless somebody lets

you in.

Or you have a key.

But the other two in that row of 24

people go in there, they go to the

bathroom and do whatever they want to in

the hallways.

So please help Justin because we love

him up there.

I don't know what else to say.

That's okay. You're fine. Yeah.

Thank you.

>> But God bless you and thank you.

>> Thank you. Thank you for coming. We

appreciate it.

I do have other skills other than fixing

toilets but [laughter]

Okay.

>> that was why I was hired by Neil though.

>> [laughter]

>> I'm open if if anybody has any

questions. Okay. Thank you. Um well

first I want to thank you for your

presentation. I think the last time you

were here shortly after

gaining receivership, you I sort of

challenged you to come back and to

provide a more thorough presentation

just so that everyone

was very clear on the status of the

property.

And I so I appreciate your presentation

and your presence today.

My question [clears throat]

was about the current residents but

GG spoke for everyone so it's I'm I'm

happy to know

that they are safe.

Because everyone deserves a safe

affordable

clean

place to live, right? As a human right.

So I'm happy to know that the current

residents are are safe in that way. So I

don't have any questions. Again, thank

you for your presentation. I will open

the floor to my colleagues who may have

some additional questions for you. I'd

like to begin with our building and

housing committee chair, Councilwoman

Davis. Do you have any questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. Good evening

and thank you for being here and thank

you for the work that you're doing.

Thank you.

I rode by Governor Square sometime last

week and I noticed the big difference,

how clean it is and that

the houses are boarded up. So yes, I

definitely appreciate that and the fact

that

the residents are safe. More safe, they

feel safe.

And the squatters are are gone. Well,

that's so important and I'm happy to

hear that and for everyone

as well as the seniors, just everyone

that lives there.

And

let's see here.

One question.

How

will this project and at what point

if any will you utilize

um

the

the lead programs through building and

housing or any of those types of

programs?

Yeah, thank you for that.

You know, at at this point a lot of the

buildings specific to the lead

abatement, a lot of the buildings had

been completely redone in 2003.

So from that perspective,

you know, we'll explore those

opportunities but through our grant

writer, we've been exploring every

opportunity we can to be able to find

funds. We are using

after this report as well as this

presentation is completed, we will be

doing a comprehensive meeting with both

state and local representatives looking

for any opportunities for programs as

well as funding for us to be able to

fit with the problems we have at

Governor Square and be able to use that

to our advantage. Okay. And then you

mentioned

um

the officers are there and making

rounds. How often are they making rounds

in the evenings and what times?

So during the board up event, we hired

officers from the police force off duty

for 3 days prior 2 days during as well

as I think it was 2 days after the event

to ensure the board up was successful.

Since that point, we've been using our

guys, Jerry

my enforcer to uh

take a look at at both fronts and backs

of all the buildings. Once anything is

identified that a board has been

removed. In fact, he saw two this

evening. We call police, they come out

almost immediately. They help us sweep

the buildings and then we figure out how

they got in and we correct the issue. Um

most properties north of McClay have

very little opportunity for anything of

value inside. Water's cut off,

electric's cut off. So,

uh I think that has naturally

uh trailed off. Okay.

And then my last question is you

mentioned that it was going to cost

about $113,000,

I believe, to modify one build one

apartment or one home.

Yes.

>> Okay. Yeah, so that that number was

based upon the condition of what you had

saw in that photograph, which was wires

removed, gas piping gone, everything in

the in the property. Um we have a subset

of about 81 units that we believe to be

recoverable and those units are going to

be recovered through our in-house

resources. Those will be far less than

113,000 per unit. We're averaging

somewhere between 10 to 20,000 per unit

for recovery.

That's not improvement, that's just

recovery.

Okay.

That's it for me for right now. Thank

you very much.

>> Thank you.

Thank you. Councilman Rodriguez, do you

have any questions? Thank you, Madam

President. Justin, good to see you as

always.

Um

I only have one question, not really

uh too deep, but I did notice in

September of '25, pre-receivership,

um the rent collections was about 19,000

give or take and now in January of '26,

nearly doubling. So, would you say that

would be a great indication of residents

more happy, safer, willing to stay,

willing to pay? Um cuz I know Council as

a whole was up there pre-receivership

and there was numerous issues. So, that

would be an amazing indication of

residents actually being happy, willing

to pay your rent. Would you agree with

that? Yes. Um what we did was I met with

every resident. I shook their hands, I

listened to their concerns, and I

provided them with an opportunity to

start paying rent after we completed the

life safety issues in their units. And

then

in exchange for them starting to pay

rent again, we would expunge their

entire back due balance. Amazing.

Amazing. That's amazing. Yeah,

absolutely.

Thank you.

That's that's more of the collaboration

we need between, you know, our

landlord-tenant situations and

understanding. I feel like a lot of

times it's just give me my money, right?

But you come with a sense of

understanding and that's highly

appreciated. That's all as far as the

basis of my questions. I've worked with

you quite a few times already getting

some things boarded up with some

nuisance properties in the area and

thank you even for your diligence at

those times. So, that's all I have,

Madam President. Thank you. Thank you.

Councilwoman Ross, any questions? Thank

you, President Hill. Good evening,

Justin. Thank you for being here and

just thank you for your commitment and

diligence on this project. Um your

leadership especially. So, and and your

team. Thank you so much.

I really did you answered my questions

with the plan that you had up there and

what next steps were they That was going

to be my question. Um so, my only

question would probably be for Neil and

Ms. Lawyer. I was wondering if it's

allowed, would this be able to be online

um

this PowerPoint presentation because I

think this is so important for residents

to

see the updates um and some great things

and improvements that Harrisburg is

making.

And the short answer is yes, it can go

online. Um

the

actual report's already been provided to

the court. Great. Justice Judge Angle

oversees receivership and it's been

presented to the mayor as well. Okay,

great.

>> Um so, it's been it's a been good

feedback all across, I think, for the

obvious reason. It's it's in a much

better place than a year ago. For sure

and I went I mean this is the things

that should be in the media and should

be online so that people can see that,

you know, Harrisburg is um

not this horrible place as painted out

to be so often. We're only the second

city that I can find in this

Commonwealth that has moved for

receivership of of a private entity and

you know, and so far it's been from our

view slow and successful. Yeah, so thank

you. more than more than happy to

promote this. Okay, thank you. That And

then my

my last question was the next time that

you come back, do you think we would be

able to see what a renovated unit looked

like just for Absolutely.

>> everyone to see the great work that

you're doing cuz I don't want that to be

hidden either. Yep. Actually, um

I would like to bring you guys out to

the facility. Oh, that's fine, too.

Okay.

>> I have the [clears throat] opportunity

this summer to be able to bring you out

to to walk you around and show you

actually what these look like. Oh, that

would be great. I just don't like being

in the way, that's why I didn't ask. But

if that's doable, please. Yeah, that

would be great. Thank you so much.

That's it for me.

Thank you.

Vice President Jones, any questions?

Yes, thank you, President Hill. How you

doing?

Um

What's your security guy's name? Jerry.

Jerry, are you armed, Jerry?

>> [laughter]

>> Okay, that is my question.

No, I was just seriously because, you

know,

there's a lot of things happening in

that neighborhood.

Prior to receivership, too, I I had um

you know, conducted a couple projects up

there cutting the grass and getting the

neighbors out there to come out and cut

the grass and do things like that. So,

I'm thinking about your

um

maintenance.

How is that? You know, the grass is

going to start growing again. So, we

going to stay on top of that stuff? Yes,

actually we have a weekly meeting and

that's been the topic of conversations

both weeks. This week we saw the grass

starting to bud. So, we understand that

you know, that is a huge reflection of

our facility, right? Is if we can get

the grass cut and getting the weeds

pulled as well as maintain the bushes in

a manner that looks presentable, even if

the board the boards are up, we want the

facility to look like somebody lives

there. So,

we are actively looking for equipment to

purchase

and be able to do that ourselves. Yeah,

cuz I'm looking at I believe this is

Force

Street. More with the Where where the

boarded up property are?

>> Yeah, it's on the corner. Yep. Yep.

You know, that's

again, even with it being boarded up, I

mean I think this

turning them into a less of an eyesight

eye sore

um it it it's good. Um my other question

would be I don't know if this is your

answer or our legal can answer this. Um

your exit strategy for receiver

receivership, are you looking to or is

the city looking to sell this property

or get it back up to HUD

standards in again, you somebody has to

take over it. So, I'm just wondering

what the plans are. Is that a legal

question or is that something you can

answer?

I'll gladly answer and then Neil can

pull this from me if you'd like. I I

think at the moment all options are on

the table. Obviously, the city likely

doesn't want to own the facility. So, a

sale would be the most ideal exit

strategy and that's what I'm pushing

for.

I think there's a lot of stakeholders

between us and a sale that need to be

satisfied in order to do that. However,

we can make and bridge those gaps, I

think a sale is going to be the best way

to do it with some sort of potential

low-income housing tax credit product

that bridges the gap of whatever um

debts are going to be owed. And do you

have potential buyers in line?

I think we are

quite a ways away from being able to

get to that position. Okay, I was just

asking because there were several um

>> [clears throat]

>> entities out there that were looking to

purchase this and in the beginning it

was probably a very very tall order and

it still may be to some to some degree.

So, I was just wondering if you still

have been in have you been in any

contact with anyone

that's looking to purchase? Yes.

We have had multiple entities reach out

to us. I think as well as the city

directly.

I I think the issue is that the

information that was presented during

the sale of the property

is far different than the situation we

have today. We probably lost 60 units up

north of McClay. All of their electric,

their plumbing, their furnaces, their

water heaters, and now they're

mold-ridden. So, you take a sale and and

a representation of the sale a year and

a half ago to where you are today,

you're even further upside down.

Um if you take a look, I did also

provide everybody with a copy of the the

actual detailed report. In there, I see

us having about an $11 million gap

today.

And that gap's going to have to get made

up by the stakeholders. So, if we find a

plan that the stakeholders are willing

to

work with us immediately and find a

buyer and do that, I think that buyer's

going to have to have an appetite for um

a lot of pain

right initially.

You know, there's just a lot that goes

on day-to-day.

You don't have a real manager up there,

it's just us.

I think we have to get it into a far

more stable position both physically and

financially before we would feel

comfortable handing it all off.

>> it off. Okay, so what what you think

that timeline will be

pri- probably around the same time as

your

uh

exit? What would you say, about 18

months?

Well, that's just for the HUD compliant.

Yeah. Yeah, so what do you think the

timeline to get you close to even to sit

down to talk with a potential buyers?

Um I'm going to need at least a year to

get ourselves into a position where we

can even have those conversations, I

believe. That may be expedited by

certain conversations, but I think that

I would need at least a year to get the

facility into a position where I

understand the debts, I understand how

much work it's going to take to get us

there and then be able to have all the

stakeholders agree that we need to move

forward with either a sale or some other

opportunity to be able to move this

facility forward. Even when that

happens, I still think it's going to

take years to be able to get alignment

and be able to move forward. Okay. Well,

I don't have any further questions, but

again I want to thank you and your staff

and your team and our resident GG for

being spokeswoman

to to really because you know, the

Uptown area. I remember when those

properties were first built it was they

they were very well built and and and

people

kept them well. So, to see the condition

it is now and I just want to thank you

for your efforts, man and I want to

thank you guys for what you're doing to

help re-beautify this beautiful place we

call Harrisburg. Thank you.

Okay. Well, you wasn't supposed to tell

them that, you know, so

>> [laughter]

>> All right, thank you. One thing I would

just offer on that note,

you know, this is the second time we've

been here, right? The McClay Street

Apartments, right? Now Governor's

Square. There's something about either

the

the makeup or the configuration or the

style of what we have up there or maybe

it's the ownership that we need to look

hard at when we go for an exit strategy

so that history doesn't repeat itself

three times, right? And I think some of

those changes are going to be tough.

Um we may need to reposition assets and

maybe do some ground-up construction

that's going to allow for an easier,

more

an easier way for management to keep

their eyes on all the buildings, right?

But also have buildings that aren't

built in the 1900s that are going to

require far more repair and maintenance

and and deterioration that you're going

to see from something that's built a lot

sooner. Yeah, I think that's a good

thing, too and I also meant to commend

you on going after the grants cuz

there's a lot of infrastructure money

that is out there. I was just in

my colleague and I we were just in DC in

Fetterman's office talking about his

basics bill where where there's a lot of

infrastructure money, you know, to come

out. Hopefully we can get some of those

dollars this way, but you again you're

correct about

Washington I mean Governor's Square. I

hope at some point we can do something

with Dolphin Street. I think that's been

done about four or five times

in my lifetime and I'm only 22. But no

further questions.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Green, any questions? Thank

you very much. I think most of my

questions have been answered throughout

the presentation as well as questions

from my colleagues. I do want to commend

you for your work and for following up

and and coming back and having the

conversations with us cuz many times we

ask the question will you come back, we

give the invitation and we don't get

that reciprocation. So, thank you for

being here tonight. Thank you for the

work you do. I look forward to coming

and walking through the project and

working together. Good. Thank you. Thank

you.

Thank you.

Councilman Lawson, any questions? Thank

you, President Hill. Um

Actually my

main question was going to be about

ownership. So, my colleague Lamont Jones

answered that for me and I have a

question for him. 22?

You said?

Okay. Yes.

>> [laughter]

>> Well, actually um

Uh

I I want to commend you for the work

that you are doing there. Um

Um

I remember just a few years ago the

Nativity School was placed in

Camp Curtain YMCA and there was a a

murder on that block as the kids were

going to school.

Um I think a year later they moved from

the Camp Curtain YMCA to right across

the street from you and as they were

going to school there was another murder

that happened there.

Um

When we let these areas decay,

everything that we don't want to see

about our city starts creeping in there.

So, if if nothing else, I want to thank

you for, you know, the board up, keeping

the grass cut and making it so that it's

not

so attractive to that criminal element

and and again commend you for the work

that you're doing

and it looks like the sale is going to

be much more expensive than

previously considered by other buyers

and that's a good thing because you're

going to get the property in and good

working order and keeping more residents

happy. So, we thank you for for what

you're doing there. Thank you. On

>> [applause]

>> On the Nativity School, so we actually

walked the school. We have a great

collaborative effort with them because

they are surrounded completely by us,

right? And we understand our impact that

we have on that school and those

impressionable children. So, that is

something that we make sure that we

understand. So, in my plan I actually

included there are three parks currently

in Governor's Square that are in

complete and utter disrepair and there

is a fourth location that we have plans

for and want to completely redo each one

of those parks and we want to be able to

do it with collaboration with the

Nativity School because we believe that

they should be community assets, not

just Governor's Square assets. So, each

one of the parks are going to be able to

be for each age groups. So, we're trying

to be methodical about that, but also

understand who we have in our community.

Thank you. I appreciate that and and I I

appreciate that that even more because

you're keeping the the kids involved and

that's that's something to be commended.

So, thank you very much.

Thank you. If there's no further

discussion, we will move forward with

our meeting agenda, but thank you for

joining us this evening. Thank you,

everybody.

Next we have 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 4

minutes to share your comments. Mr.

Humphrey has added a timer to the screen

for your reference. I will begin to my

right.

You ready for me? Yes. Yes. Okay. Um my

name is Charmaine Garrow. I live at 606

Garrow Road in Ola.

I am here to give you an update on the

Swatara Street Park and also

want I have a a request for City

Council.

Um

I'm here to talk about uh what

it I don't know if everybody knows, but

this project started in December '23

when I went to the mayor's office and

with a proposal to build a uh

a a

passive park

on on a location in South Allison Hill

that was designated a place where 700

people from Allison Hill participated in

the Love the Hill program that they

wanted a park on these 10 empty lots.

At that meeting that I attended with

Alex Reber, the mayor agreed to allow me

to build this park at no cost to the

city

as long as I would maintain it for 5

years after it was completed.

That was the beginning of the memorandum

of understanding between the city and me

who I call myself the project uh

manager.

So,

you go that was December '23

and in May, HRA submitted our DCNR grant

DCNR grant application and in that

application it was required that the

draft of the MOU was in

part of that.

In August the City Council granted an

approval to build the Swatara Street

Park and

I had a slide, but I couldn't put it up,

but I do have a copy of that memo which

was signed by everybody involved

including the legal department.

In '25 January, that that DCNR grant

request was

awarded to the tune of $218,000.

In August, so we once we got that grant,

we

we started, you know,

with a

raising the funds to match that. By

August we finalized raising the matching

grants.

And in August also we submitted our

grant management agreement to Harrisburg

Redevelopment Authority which is the

entity that all monies will pass

through.

Um also in August '25, it was a busy

busy time on the empty lot at Swatara

and 15th Street. There were two block

parties that were put on by people in

this room

paid for by uh

people in this room and the energy where

the community could come and had be

entertained and free food, music,

entertainment, free books for children,

all paid for and put together by the

community.

At the back to school one, the second

block party, every child who wished left

with a backpack filled with school

supplies. So, this is evidence that even

though nothing has done on this property

because we're being held back,

the community has embraced this park.

Prior to last year when all this was

taking place, I spent a lot of time

removing a lot of junk like soggy

mattresses and TV screens, but now after

the community has come together,

that park is clean. You won't find

litter in that park.

Um

also um

we uh I said we submitted um our grant

management agreement.

In October, we finalized the plan to

accommodate every age group.

Do I have to stop?

Okay. Thank you.

In November That was the time. Um if you

wouldn't mind staying after the meeting,

perhaps Councilwoman Rawls um could

speak to you further about the park.

Well, I have other people who'd like to

speak also. Would they be allowed to

speak? I have people who have funded

this project from both sides of the

river

and who have put their blood in the

people from the neighborhood. Yes, they

can. Yes, they're they're permitted to

speak. I just wanted to note that for

further discussion, I think the

appropriate council member to speak to

following the meeting for a more

detailed conversation would be

Councilwoman Rawls.

And also, I can request

what I need from City Council?

Yes. Yes.

>> you.

>> Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right who would like to offer public

comment? Yes, I would. Okay.

Uh my name is Holly Leggett. I live

I guess unfortunately for this evening

on the West Shore at 1520 Waterford in

Camp Hill.

I have been to the park on numerous

occasions,

two of which uh Char mentioned. I have

distributed books and talked with the

kids and had fun with everybody up there

and was committed enough to not only

give money, but to help raise money.

I

do a lot of work in Hall Manor. I know

we can't keep leaving city people down.

We make a promise and the promise isn't

followed through.

And I want to be part of a solution, not

a problem. And all as we need is a

signed MOU

to get to DCR and we've been waiting for

3 years to get it.

So,

that's what I understand and I hope you

will come through.

Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment?

Hold on, not yet. We'll come to the

middle next.

Finish up with the right. Now, I've been

promising to come down here because

there's a lot of things going on on

Allison Hill.

Um there's uh

Allison Hill Community Advisory Council,

which is comprised of of a lot of

community leaders and our goal is to

connect Allison Hill all as a whole and

we want to go from the north to the

south to the east and the west in order

for us to do things. We've already

started. Um the month of September 25,

we did the sickle cell awareness uh

um health fair and then in October, we

did the breast cancer awareness and

we're going to try to follow up with a

big health fair because the hill was so

diverse with so many ethnicities. And um

as for me, I I was the one the leader of

the sickle cell thing. I did the

presentation and I know how it goes when

you're living in the shadows with a

disease and I've lived like that and I

know that other minorities aren't too

forthcoming with what their health

challenges are. So, if we can come

together and keep connecting and I

thought Darius was going to do this

because I got up out of my sick bed to

be down here because I made a promise

and if I make a promise, I got to stick

to it as the person that I am because

God's been good to me. I'm in my 60s. I

wasn't supposed to make it to my 20s.

So, I got to do everything I can for the

city of Harrisburg because I grew up

here. You know I run my mouth anyway

when it comes to the Hilltop Community

and if you look on Ratchet News, there's

a new person with a new name named

Rachel Kelly. That's still me. I'm

telling. I'm telling cuz we're not going

to

you know, the weather's getting ready to

break and I'll be outside planting

flowers, putting flowers on abandoned

houses. I do it all. So, you're not

going to come and just take over our

community. We refuse to. We put too much

time and effort into making a difference

and we're going to continue to. I hear

you. Mr. Johnson, I know I we know who

you are, but can you state your address

or the vicinity in which you live? For

the for the for the district.

>> 1847 Zarker Street, the Hilltop

Community.

>> you so much. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment?

Hello. My name is Shirley Blanton. I

live at 1513 Berryhill Street and I'm

here to support Miss Char because these

wonderful people have come and are going

to take over this park and we've been

waiting a long time. I'm a resident and

it is so much appreciated that

everything they're trying to do for us

and I wish you would support her also.

Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment? Madam President, if I may

quickly, um just just to recognize what

Miss Shirley said, Council actually did

support the project. I believe we voted

in affirmation. She mentioned it.

>> you just need requires administrative

power.

Thank you.

Good evening. Good evening.

Hello.

I'm Darius Davenport. Um I'm the

Community Planning Coordinator at

Tri-County Community Action. Um some of

the things that I'll say have been said

by Ron and Shirley. We have done um we

have formed the Hill Community Advisory

Council uh in spring of last year um

where we have taken uh community leaders

and inspiring community leaders to uh

create lasting change and uh

see things that they want to see in in

Allison Hill. So, we've done that with

Ron's uh

uh sickle cell awareness event and then

Shirley's breast cancer awareness event.

And then I'm also here to support Char

and her park. Uh Tri-County Community

Action

um has is a partner.

Um so, whenever that is

uh done and ready, we're also here to

support. We have various volunteer

opportunities um

with our Heart of the Hill Community

Garden on Derry and Kittatinny Street.

So, we would uh

be happy to help um volunteer and help

with the maintenance for that park as

well.

Uh

I don't think I have anything else.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else to my right that

would like to offer public comment?

My name is Elena Hopmashaula. I'm here

to support Char. Um I'm the acting

secretary of Allison Hill Homeowners

Residents Association. I was at both of

the aforementioned block parties and I

saw how much this park is needed in our

community.

Do you mind stating your address or the

vicinity in which you live? Just for the

meeting record.

>> Um Italian Lake area. Thank you.

Is there anyone else to my right that

would like to offer public comment?

Good evening. My name is Melanie Cook. I

live in the 3000 block of North 3rd

Street. I always come here with comments

prepared and then the agenda always sort

of takes me off uh track a little bit.

Uh first question I want to know is with

respect to the

park that uh Miss Char is trying to

develop, what is the hold up? When we

talk about uh administrative action,

where is the hold up? If an MOU has been

prepared, why has it not been finalized

to allow it to go forward? That needs to

be a question that gets answered um

hopefully by the end of this week. Also,

with respect to Governor's Square, I

want to commend Council for taking the

action and the steps that it did to pull

that property back. Um I also want to

acknowledge the question of Council

Member Rawls.

You see tonight that there's no press

here because there's nothing of a

conflict. They're not here to hear the

success of Harrisburg. They're not here

to hear how people come and commit to

this city because they know the energy

and the needs and the and the respect

that the citizen should get. They only

want to report conflict. So, it is

incumbent upon the administration and

those who work for this city to report

this. So, I expect to see something in

PennLive and not on social media because

not all of us are on social media. I'm

here tonight noting that there are no

police. Two weeks ago, there were three

police officers here despite the fact

that theoretically we have a shortage of

police officers because as soon as we

train them, they leave to go to other

districts. The lives of the members of

this council and the people who attend

these meetings is important every week

and not just the week when certain

people are present. Also, I am here

rather than being at the school board

meeting because again, there is a

conflict of date. I would be there

asking why uh

the school board has decided to demolish

a building despite the fact that every

citizen in this community

supports keeping the building intact. I

would be there to ask why the

superintendent and other members agreed

to a council of forum on education that

was held in a charter school by

invitation only and excluded members of

the city of Harrisburg who would have

tried to get there, namely me who

called, tried, and actually parked

outside the building and was still not

admitted inside. We cannot do for our

kids if we can't be in the conversation.

Also, I want to ask a question following

up from 2 weeks ago. We have heard that

ARPA money is pulled because it has to

be used within the next 5 months and

that it's going to go toward the

construction of the Broad Street Market.

My question is, where is the insurance

money? Why are we taking money out of

the general fund to rebuild a building

that burned up in a fire? It had to have

been insured. Second question, we are

now going to have to pay $5,000 a month

to rent the tent site. My question from

the very beginning, there are two

parking lots with respect to the Broad

Street Market. Why was that tent not set

up on one of the parking lots that the

city owns? Also, anybody driving by can

see there's not a lot of progress being

made. Who is monitoring that? How much

money is being spent and what is the

timeline for spending that money?

Delivering for downtown, our governor

was able to come up with $350,000

to give to Creek and 75,000 to Downtown

Improvement District. Question I have

for public safety, why wasn't the 75,000

given to the city of Harrisburg to

support our police department? $350,000

for planning? This is what happens in

Harrisburg. Money goes out for

engineers, consultants, and everything

else and it never results in any action

that is beneficial to our citizens. Here

are people sitting here you having used

their own money. Why are they not

getting $350,000

to do what we need to do?

And once again, let me say 1,372

fully tax-exempt properties in the city

of Harrisburg.

>> [applause]

>> Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment?

Well said. Well said. My name is Trish

Robinson.

I don't live in the city of Harrisburg,

but I do have a school.

So, I feel

I feel for you guys and I feel kind of

bad that I'm my held up is 4 months and

you held up is 3 years. So, my question

to the solicitor is why did city council

approve

funding for evolve youth trades academy

and I'm being told that it's held up in

legal.

That is my question.

If you're able to answer it, why is it

being held up? Why is it being held up

in legal?

What is the problem?

This is ridiculous.

When we're trying to improve our city

and small businesses, small

organizations, nonprofits are trying to

provide services

and yet we can't get the funding. It's

being held up in legal.

That makes no sense to me.

Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone else to my

right that would like to offer public

comment?

Good evening. I'm Vincent Robinson at

617 [snorts]

North 16th Street.

I've been in Harrisburg over 20 years

and uh

I'm just wondering about even when I

talked to the mayor and others

wondering what is

the vision for Harrisburg? What is it

that is the top priority that I keep

seeing not being addressed or handled

and so I hear

the money going here and there

but I'm wondering

uh

what do you see as a priority

in Harrisburg? I mean, a priority of

urgent priority

in Harrisburg.

And that's all I'm saying because I've

been trying myself

for years and uh

just a voice that's being echoed

somewhere else and not addressed

here in Harrisburg. I love Harrisburg.

I'm from New York, but I love

Harrisburg.

And I've been here, so

you know, I just

want you to think and ponder

upon this question that I'm asking.

What is

very urgent and top priority

for Harrisburg?

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?

Hello.

Um my name is Rashima Davis. I'm the

owner of Queenie's Cafe.

So, I am the one who funds for the kids

when they get out of school.

For their for their play area

uh having a good time

free food.

I do all that. It's for the kids.

Give them something else to do besides

get out here and get in trouble.

I also do it for when it's time to go

back to school.

I also have did it

did food to donate to the homeless

people. I have took food down to there.

So, I am helping Char

and looking at helping her in the park

because it's catty-corner right to me

of trying to keep everything together.

We have got a lot of Hispanics

uh

living in the area. They're doing a

great job. They're rebuilding up the

houses, making it look decent and this

is what we want.

So, I'm here to help Char and to help in

the community of how we can help their

kids and get them to come clean and

everything.

And and I'm also doing a little Easter

egg hunt for them for this next week.

Thank you.

Nice. Thank you.

Is there anyone else in the middle

section that would like to offer public

comment?

Good evening, council. Kia Fowler, North

5th Street.

Um I will be repeating largely what I

spoke about last week at my public

comment so that it's on the public

record. 2 weeks ago at the last

legislative session,

uh Mayor Williams was in attendance. Uh

during that legislative session, I spoke

directly to her for some disapproval and

some public comments she made that were

published in the newspaper.

During my comment, she sat to my left

shaking her head at me and then when the

rest of the meeting was going on, um

after public comment, she left the room.

But instead of reentering the room, the

mayor stood in the doorway behind me um

muttering talking some I couldn't hear

exact words, but it was a lot of

disapproval and what I felt was

disrespectful manner.

After the meeting, I saw that Mayor

Williams was hanging was remaining in

the lobby of the building speaking with

another constituent. I waited my turn

approximately 3 ft behind the other

constituent. Um and was proceeded to be

attempts at um

physical intimidation to prevent myself

from speaking with the mayor. A woman

who I thought name was named Keisha, but

may actually be named Tisha, attempted

to shoulder herself between myself and

the other constituent in an effort to

block my access to the mayor. When I

actually spoke with the mayor um I was

accosted by three individuals, one who's

with us today, Michelle Moyer was there.

Um a woman who has identified herself as

the director of equity and inclusion and

Tisha as well. Um when I I was accused

of dragging the mayor's name through the

mud, um I was accused of having not

taken it to her I should have taken it

to her. When I said I did attempt to

contact the mayor, I was forced to prove

myself by showing my phone records and

who I'd spoken to. Um all of this was

very inappropriate. As a constituent, I

have the right to criticize the mayor's

public actions as her public actions

reflect on all of us here in the city.

Additionally, I find it highly

inappropriate that the mayor allowed all

of this and did not stop um these

individuals from attempting to verbally

and physically harass me. Um I think at

no point should that have happened given

that I was maintaining a proper distance

from all individuals involved. I was

maintaining a level tone of voice um and

I was not, like I said, engaging any

personal attacks. Today, I filed I

didn't file a complaint. I emailed the

HR department requesting to file a

complaint against these three

individuals

um and I CC'd all of you in that email

in case this this um occurs in any

revenge against myself. Um

Additionally during this conversation

with the mayor and these individuals, uh

Ms. Gloria Martin Roberts, who had

overheard my conversation with

Councilwoman Rawls regarding the

Councilwoman's line of questioning, um

told me interrupted the conversation to

tell me that I was indeed engaging in a

personal attack because she'd overheard

my conversation. Um given that these are

public heads

of the city, I think that all city

members should be acting with upstanding

moral integrity and I believe that these

four individuals acted with zero moral

integrity. I think it's very

disappointing to see these individuals

acting this way uh given that we are all

adults here and should be able to agree

to disagree.

That being said, um I also support the

upcoming resolution for Ms. Catherine

O'Flaherty.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else in the middle

section that would like to offer public

comment? Seeing and hearing no one,

anyone to my left?

>> Uh you can hand them out.

Good evening. My name is what's um

Midtown. Um

Your project My project right there. Uh

I am from Harrisburg.

Um born and raised.

And people are looking for a vision for

Harrisburg. Well, they should

they should um

invite people from the city

to be at those meetings. I very seldom

see any

uh men of my color at those

meetings. Um it's very important

that we accept

our residents as well as the people who

grew up here who care

for some projects. Now, this is a

uh our 250th anniversary project for the

State Street Bridge.

It looks like trash.

And it's Memorial Bridge.

Um it it's it was built and erected for

um

our history, our military history. And

we have all the flags of the Union in

Harrisburg. And we those are um

light toppers on our State Street Bridge

in which we can fly flag flags from that

topper.

Um we can um create

our Union flags and fly them proudly.

Um it's very important that we do stuff.

The Royal Terrace um

invite me see the trash. The trash is

there. You can go by there. And it it's

been like that for 30 years. It's up to

us to clear to make our city look

capital.

I'm from here. I'm I'm so serious about

my city. And we have a tendency to let

people come in here

and give us a vision for

of what we should be doing when we have

a vision for ourselves. So, what we have

to do is use our own

um

quality, our capital quality. Miss Miss

Charisse her her her class is beyond.

She helped bring me up basically with a

quality of a substance. And it's so

real. I'm a good I have great substance

and I'm sure. But, our history is

important. It's important for us as

residents to come up with ideas that we

can lay our hat on, that we can coin, so

other children know that we know our

history, know what's going on, and can't

nobody push us around because we won the

Civil War. And they And it's a racist

thing that goes on throughout our

country. And you go all over all around

the world all around the the different

countries and and and and states. And

you see that we don't

value ourselves

like we should.

So, let's take time out to look at what

we have to offer and compete.

And show things like the Allison Hill

and bring those bridges together. Our

state State Street looks like garbage.

And I know most of that stuff is state.

But, if the state is letting ourselves

be blighted, the terrace is state

property. So, if the state they need to

be accountable for making our city look

like trash.

I walk up to um to the to the capital

and talk to the representatives. I know

what's going on. But, I just wanted you

guys to be introduced to a project

that I'm I'm starting just like Char.

We have some good people. I'll get it

through if I got to go to the state.

The county. I'm going to the

commissioners tomorrow.

Let's collab and get something done so

we can see our our city at full dress.

We look good. Let's Let's do something

that looks even better.

Char knows quality.

She's real.

But, we have the same characteristics

even though I'm a black dude, that

doesn't mean I have good quality and

character.

And it's serious.

Tell them, Char. She knows.

She knows. She knows.

I love y'all. Let's Let's Let's collab.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else that would like to

offer public comment?

Okay, seeing hearing no one,

we will move forward with our meeting

agenda.

Next, we have the approval of the

minutes for the legislative session that

occurred on March 10th, 2026.

Council members, are there any revisions

to those meeting minutes?

Okay, seeing hearing none, the minutes

stand approved. Next, we have reports of

committees.

I will deliver the first report on

behalf of the Administration Committee

on the work session that occurred on

March 17th, 2026.

On Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, the

Administration Committee met to discuss

two resolutions. Resolution 16 of 2026,

a resolution to negotiate and enter into

a lease agreement with the Pennsylvania

Department of Transportation in the

amount of $1 for a certain portion of

right-of-way with parking and lighting

improvements located under the South

Bridge of I-81 to be used as parking for

recreational activities on the Capital

Area Greenbelt.

Resolution 19 of 2026

is a resolution appointing Ms. Catherine

O'Flaherty to serve on the Harrisburg

Architectural Review Board of the City

of Harrisburg.

Mr. Joel Seiders, city engineer, was

present to discuss resolution 16 of

2026.

Mr. Seiders shared that this next phase

of the I-83 project um is the South

Bridge area. Uh Mr. Seiders explained

that it's a small gravel area where

individuals um will have access um

to the Greenbelt for parking purposes.

The funding uh will assist in securing

the lighting and renovating the area

completely. The City of Harrisburg would

be responsible for any maintenance

needs.

Council members did not have any

questions regarding resolution 16 of

2026.

Ms. Catherine O'Flaherty was present to

discuss resolution 19 of 2026.

She shared that she moved to Midtown

almost 2 years ago. However, she has

worked downtown for the past 8 years.

She shared that she is a recent

first-time homeowner and she has spent

time and effort to update her home. She

hopes to help residents learn of options

to preserve the history uh for

themselves as current residents and

future residents.

Council members asked the following

questions. What impact do you think you

will make? What would you try to put in

place for residents to update their

homes in a cost-effective manner? What

experience do you have with historic

districts? Ms. O'Flaherty shared that

historic homes are designed to be

maintained, not replaced. She loves

living in the beautiful area that she

lives in now. She even took classes in

historic preservation and she's

conducted uh extensive personal research

on the issue. She desires to be a member

of the board uh really from a personal

interest perspective.

I recommend supporting resolution 16 of

2026

and resolution 19 of 2026.

Resolution 16 of 2026 will continue uh

to support recreational activities on

the Capital Area Greenbelt due to the

I-83 expansion. And resolution 19 of

2026 will assist in ensuring our boards

and commission commissions are at a full

complement. This concludes the

Administration Committee report. The

next report you will hear will be

delivered by our Budget and Finance

Committee Chair, Vice President Jones,

on the work session of March 17th, 2026.

Thank you, President Hill. On March

17th, 2026, the Budget and Finance

Committee held a work session where we

discussed resolution 18 of 2026, a

resolution approving the second proposed

2026 budget reallocation

including an initial appropriation and

uh allocation in fulfillment of

contractual commitments. Present to

discuss resolution 18 of 2026 was Brian

McCutchen and Robert Kinnick. We

discussed resolution 18 with two

attached exhibits, A and B. Exhibit A is

a summary of the ratification of the

contract for the AFSCME union

>> [clears throat]

>> where the total approved payroll is

approximately 8.8 million, but after the

contract

ratification, the total came to about

9.6 million dollars, which makes the

total increase

uh about 800,000 and which Mr. Kinnick

stated it is a pain to add this 800K to

the 2026 budget.

Uh this increase includes the 4%

increase in sales and salaries I mean in

salaries and wages, the bonuses, and a

corresponding increase in social

security and Medicare FICA payroll

expense. Mr. Kinnick also shared

information on some upcoming

ratifications from the police and fire

once the negotiations have ended.

Mr. McCutchen discussed exhibit B. It

shows the communicated youth

to address the Pavilion and Reservoir

Park project where $500,000

will be moved within the capital

projects fund taking it from the

equipment line and moving it moving it

up to the buildings and structures.

The original appropriation for the

500,000 was meant for the electrical

upgrades along Riverfront. And to also

move another 43,000 from the parks

maintenance budget, one of the supply

lines to match it with the building and

structure account for this capital

initiative.

Public Works director Dave West shared

that the city had to make some decisions

and move some lines to prioritize some

of the projects throughout the city

including the purchase of a packer to

help complete the jobs they are

obligated to do with the revenue making

routes for the city of Harrisburg so it

was necessary to move some monetary

lines to be able to fulfill the state

contract.

Questions asked by council, when do you

think we'll be able to compete complete

complete the electrical boxes? Mr. West

stated that he didn't have a timeline.

However, the boxes are protected until

the time of use. Council also wanted to

know why the 500k was being moved so

quickly when they asked for that budget

only 3 months prior.

Mr. West responded by saying that if the

Pavilion is not prioritized,

this would dramatically affect the

summer programming for one of our for

for our youth. Councilwoman Ross

explained that she has had several

conversations with the parks and rec

directors expressing concerns about the

lighting in regards to Riverfront and

her concerns around the Pavilion and the

summer program saying how bad of a shape

they are in expressing how she didn't

want any children to be injured in those

conditions

of the Pavilion. Director West explained

that with the

with the passing of this resolution,

they are able to move forward with the

construction company to complete the

task. Councilwoman Green asked when did

we know the Pavilion needed upgrades?

Director West shared they knew for a

period of time and due to the weather it

was hard to address. Council was also

concerned with why this project wasn't

budgeted for since this is such a large

project this early in the year. Director

West is going to share a list of the

upgrades for the

for the Pavilion with council.

And this will conclude the business of

budget and finance and again I would ask

my colleagues to support this

resolution. Thank you.

Thank you.

We have one ordinance for first reading

that's bill 5 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Bill 5 of 2026, an ordinance forgiving

and discharging 2024 and 2025 city real

estate taxes including interest,

penalties and costs and striking off tax

liens for certain historically tax

exempt properties.

Thank you. Bill 5 of 2026 will move to

the administration committee.

We do not have any ordinances for

amendment or ordinances for final

passage. We will move forward with

resolutions. The first resolution for

consideration this evening is resolution

16 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record? Resolution 16 of 2026,

a resolution to negotiate and enter into

a lease agreement with the Pennsylvania

Department of Transportation in the

amount of $1 for a certain portion of

right-of-way with parking and lighting

improvements located under the South

Bridge of I-83 to be used as parking for

recreational activities on the Capital

Area Greenbelt.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any final questions, comments or

concerns related to resolution 16 of

2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote? Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones? Yay.

Mr. Lawson? Yes.

Ms. Rawls? Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez? Yes.

Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution 16 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yeas to zero nays.

Thank you. Next we have resolution 18 of

2026. Mr. Humphrey, could you please

read it into the record?

Resolution 18 of 2026, a resolution

approving the second proposed 2026

budget reallocation including an initial

appropriation and allocation in

fulfillment of contractual commitments.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any final questions, comments or

concerns related to resolution 18 of

2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote?

Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones? Yay.

Mr. Lawson? Yes.

Ms. Rawls? Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez? Yes.

Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution 18 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yeas to zero nays. Thank you.

Next we have resolution 19 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 19 of 2026, a resolution

appointing Ms. Katherine O'Flaherty to

serve on the Harrisburg Architectural

Review Board of the City of Harrisburg.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any final questions, comments or

concerns related to resolution 19 of

2026?

Just the a statement. Okay.

Myself and and Councilman Jones were

unable to properly hear Ms. O'Flaherty,

but she did take the time to email us to

um ask if we had any additional

questions or concerns. So I I wanted to

at least say that in in her favor. Oh,

thank you. Thank you. Are there any

other questions, comments or concerns?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote?

Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones?

Yay.

Mr. Lawson?

Yes.

Ms. Rawls? Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez? Yes.

Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution 19 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yeas to zero nays. Thank you.

Next we have resolution 20 of 2026. Mr.

Humphrey, could you please read it into

the record?

Resolution 20 of 2026, a resolution

approving the preliminary / final land

development plan for 1171 South Cameron

Street submitted by Chris Catania of

Storage 5 Harrisburg LLC to convert the

existing office building into a

self-storage facility and to construct

additional storage unit buildings on

site and associated site and access

improvements.

Thank you. Resolution 20 of 2026 will

move to the Community and Economic

Development Committee.

Next we have resolution 21 of 2026. Mr.

Humphrey, could you please read it into

the record? Resolution 21 of 2026, a

resolution authorizing the submission of

a grant application to the Pennsylvania

Department of Conservation and Natural

and Natural Resources Community

Conservation Partnership Grant Program

in conjunction with the Capital Area

Greenbelt Association for up to $100,000

for funds to acquire real property in

order to relocate a portion of the

Capital Area Greenbelt in South

Harrisburg.

Thank you. Resolution 21 of 2026 will

move to the Parks, Recreation and

Enrichment Committee.

Our final resolution this evening

is resolution 22 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record? Resolution 22 of 2026,

a resolution authorizing the City of

Harrisburg to negotiate and enter into a

professional services agreement with

McCormick Law Firm to serve as special

counsel for the purpose of reviewing and

revising the city's business privilege

and mercantile tax ordinance and related

regulations.

Thank you. Resolution 22 of 2026 will

move to the administration committee. Is

there any old business for discussion,

council members?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, any new

business?

I have one

note for scheduling purposes. Next

Tuesday, March 31st, 2026,

Harrisburg City Council will host a

policy work session.

This topic includes boards, commissions

and authorities part two. We started

this last year if you'll remember. We

got great feedback so we wanted to

continue to ensure that all boards and

commissions and authorities were

accounted for and discussed. So that

will be next Tuesday,

March 31st, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.

Is there any other new business?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, the time

is 7:18 p.m. I will entertain a motion

to adjourn. So moved. Is there a second?

Second.