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Harrisburg City Council - Work Session 11/3/2025

2:05:01683 summary words · ~3 min readEnglishBy The City of Harrisburg - WHBG20Transcribed Jun 15, 2026
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Summary

The Harrisburg City Council reviewed plans to adaptively reuse both the former Polyclinic Hospital campus and the 333 Market Street office tower for residential housing, while also discussing Fire Station 2 capital improvements and renewing waste collection services.

This session highlights how Harrisburg is responding to post-pandemic commercial vacancies by transitioning vacant institutional and office spaces into housing, while managing the logistical and equity challenges of municipal development.

Section summaries

0:00-9:24

PennDOT I-83 Widening Land Acquisition

watch

The Administration Committee reviews Resolution 79, accepting $11,000 from PennDOT for land acquisition and easements along Paxton Street. The deal avoids costly independent appraisals and taxpayer-funded eminent domain litigation.

Explains city-state land agreements, eminent domain costs, and the geographical scope of the I-83 widening project.

9:24-18:48

Fire Station 2 Renovation Agreement

watch

The Public Safety Committee discusses hiring SGS Architects for $54,000 to renovate deteriorated bedroom and restroom spaces at Fire Station 2 (Allison Hill). Chief Enterline explains that the facility has not been upgraded since 1980.

Provides essential details on municipal facility upgrades, grant funding, and upcoming plans for Fire Station 1.

18:48-28:12

Fire Reporting Software Contract Renewal

optional

Chief Enterline presents a five-year, $123,731.32 contract renewal with First Due for incident reporting, scheduling, and inspections software. The software integrates directly with the Dauphin County dispatch system and helps track equipment.

Focuses primarily on technical specifications, software vendor price locks, and incremental annual budget structures.

28:12-43:52

Paxtang Borough Trash Agreement & Encampments

watch

The Public Works Committee reviews a waste collection contract with Paxtang Borough. Councilwoman Daniels queries if regional contracts degrade local services, suggesting a pause in encampment trash pickups. Director West clarifies that encampments have never lost service.

Addresses regional public-service partnerships, municipal revenue, and the highly sensitive issue of homeless encampment sanitation.

43:52-1:34:00

Polyclinic Hospital Campus Redevelopment Presentation

watch

The Planning Bureau and Penmark Harrisburg Holdings present the adaptive reuse plan for 2601 North Third Street. The team discusses historic preservation tax credits, parking allocation, minority subcontractor participation, and comparative affordability calculations.

This is the core presentation of the session, explaining a major neighborhood housing development and local job creation.

1:34:00-1:59:04

333 Market Street High-Rise Senior Conversion

watch

Harristown Development Corporation details converting floors 11-19 of 333 Market Street into 81 senior housing units as state leases expire. Councilmembers query the developer on senior safety, elevator infrastructure, high parking rates, and master-lease affordability.

Exposes the economic forces changing the downtown footprint and explores the safety and financial logistics of high-rise senior housing.

1:59:04-2:02:12

Public Comment and Councilwoman Ross's Personal Statement

watch

No public speakers step forward. Councilwoman Ross delivers a professional statement reprimanding a resident for mentioning her daughter during a prior session, explains her 'no' vote on a past non-affordable housing resolution, and Councilwoman Davis shares food security contacts.

Features important statements on political boundary limits, municipal housing policy votes, and local food resources.

Key points

  • Polyclinic Hospital Campus Transformation — Penmark Harrisburg Holdings is converting the former Nurses' Quarters (Building 3) of the Polyclinic Hospital into 96 apartments. This historic preservation tax credit project serves as Phase 1 of a broader campus reactivation designed to stimulate development in Uptown Harrisburg.
  • Office-to-Residential High-Rise Shift — Harristown Development Corporation plans to convert floors 11-19 of the 22-story 333 Market Street office tower into 81 senior apartments. This adaptive reuse is a response to the expiration of state office leases and represents a growing post-pandemic trend.
  • Debate Over Municipal Services and Encampments — Councilwoman Daniels raised concerns that regional waste contracts with surrounding boroughs might strain municipal resources, alleging a correlation with stopped trash pick-ups at unhoused encampments. Public Works Director West strongly clarified that city trash collection services at encampments have never ceased.
  • Remedying Decades of Fire Station Maintenance Backlog — The Fire Bureau is utilizing general funds and a Commonwealth grant to execute a $54,000 architectural design contract with SGS Architects for Fire Station 2. The Allison Hill facility has not had bedroom, bathroom, or privacy renovations since its initial construction in 1980.
Speaking about my children or any member of my family in this form is completely unacceptable. Councilwoman Ross
Not only did we pick the trash up at the encampments, we had the trash cans set at each encampment. Director West

AI-generated from the transcript. May contain errors.

0:20

Present.

0:26

>> Miss Green.

0:29

>> Mr. Jones.

0:30

>> Here.

0:31

>> Miss RWS.

0:32

>> Here.

0:33

>> Mr. Rodriguez.

0:34

>> Present.

0:35

>> Miss Hill.

0:37

>> Present.

0:39

We have quite an agenda this evening.

0:41

So, I'd like to get started since we

0:43

were delayed. We will begin with the

0:45

work of the administration committee. We

0:48

have one resolution for discussion.

0:50

Resolution 79 of 2025. Mr. Humphrey,

0:55

would you please read it into the

0:56

record? Resolution 79 of 2025, a

1:00

resolution accepting the offer from the

1:02

Pennsylvania Department of

1:03

Transportation in the amount of $11,000

1:06

in just compensation for the acquisition

1:09

of a portion of real property identified

1:11

as tax parcel number 63-024-051

1:15

and necessary easements for the I83

1:17

widening project.

1:19

>> Thank you. Um, who from the

1:21

administration is present to discuss

1:23

resolution 79?

1:37

Good evening.

1:40

>> Good evening. If you wouldn't mind

1:41

providing a brief overview of resolution

1:44

79, please.

1:45

>> Sure. So, this resolution is um

1:49

kind of came about due to PEDOT's I83

1:52

widening project coming through our area

1:54

as part of the widening.

1:57

They are uh they need land and easements

2:02

along the corridor. And this just

2:05

happened to be an odd scenario where the

2:07

city has property outside the city

2:09

limits. Um to maybe better describe

2:12

where uh the land is is

2:16

If you're heading out Paxton Street out

2:18

of the city, go past 29th and 32nd

2:21

Street, the next left, City Park Drive.

2:23

Uh the city does have land back in that

2:25

area. And that is where [clears throat]

2:29

uh Pendot is asking that we provide land

2:33

as well as

2:35

permanent and temporary construction

2:37

easements.

2:42

>> Okay. and and I can at least provide

2:43

some of the background because this has

2:45

gone on a long time. Um, this is the

2:47

second uh piece of land that has been

2:49

acquired by PennDOT for the 83 project

2:53

from the city of Harrisburg. Uh, when we

2:55

say acquired, if we didn't say yes at

2:57

some point, they would just take it

2:58

anyway. Um the city had attempted and

3:02

had uh to get the the property

3:04

separately appraised and because of it

3:08

was an odd nature the appraisals were

3:10

going to be very expensive. Um and then

3:13

Pendot was good enough to provide us an

3:14

abbreviation of their appraisal which

3:16

showed that their price was a fair

3:18

price. Um so then with that the mayor

3:21

then agreed to have it come down for

3:22

council. Um but but we we we've been

3:25

trying to figure out how to appraise.

3:26

It's sort of an odd piece of land. Um

3:29

and it it involved a lot of issues that

3:31

would make it expensive for someone to

3:33

make a comparison or to find a

3:34

comparison uh to the piece of land. Um

3:37

so eventually that is how the number was

3:39

deemed acceptable. Um and so other if we

3:42

did not have an agreement of course they

3:44

would have to proceed with eminent

3:45

domain and there's no point for

3:47

taxpayers to pay for the two sides of

3:48

that type of uh event.

3:53

Any

3:56

further commentary on the resolution

3:58

before I open the floor for questions

4:01

from my colleagues?

4:02

>> I don't have anything.

4:03

>> Okay. Thank you. Um I'd like to begin

4:07

with uh Councilman Rodriguez, our public

4:10

works committee chair.

4:12

>> Thank you, Madam President, and uh Mr.

4:14

Cider. Always good seeing you. Um I

4:16

mean, sounds and appears pretty cut and

4:19

dry. I'd rather get, you know, the 101

4:21

instead of intimate doain. We just never

4:23

know what that would bring about. So, um

4:25

I definitely see it as a benefit to the

4:27

city. So, I I have no questions, but I

4:30

mean I see it as essential. So, thank

4:32

you.

4:32

>> Thank you, Councilman Jones. Any

4:34

questions?

4:35

>> Uh yeah, President Hill. So, um Mr.

4:37

Grover, so when you say the second

4:39

piece, are we talking about 17th and

4:41

Paxton first? That piece of land there

4:44

that

4:44

>> it's the piece of land that's the back

4:46

door of the public works building.

4:48

First, we had taken it by eminent domain

4:50

and then Pendot took a piece of it from

4:52

us.

4:52

>> Well, I'm talking about the first the

4:54

first part that we sold I think for like

4:57

400,000 right there on 17th in Paxton

5:00

where they're going to be using the

5:01

expansion. You know what I'm talking

5:02

about?

5:04

>> Those houses that caught on fire right

5:06

there.

5:06

>> I know they I'm not aware of the

5:08

agreement.

5:08

>> I'm not aware of it being an eminent

5:10

domain with us.

5:11

>> Not imminent domain. I think when you

5:13

said that we uh they acquired other

5:16

other property, I was thinking that was

5:17

one of them cuz I think they purchased

5:19

that land too,

5:19

>> but I think not from us. So at 19th and

5:22

Paxton, which is where the public works

5:23

corner is.

5:24

>> That's you in the back.

5:25

>> If you go behind the building, we had

5:27

taken all the way back to where the

5:28

highway is now going to be. And we had a

5:31

we had a a temporary sort of we used to

5:33

call it a

5:35

cloth building. It wasn't really cloth

5:37

that which they had to move, but they

5:39

acquired all of that. and up where there

5:41

was a billboard there. They acquired all

5:42

that land and that just placing made it

5:45

shorter in the back for us. So, so it

5:48

would made it more essential we tear

5:50

down the 19th Street buildings because

5:52

and relocate the other one. So, that's

5:54

the piece that they took back in 2021

5:57

2022 they finalized it.

6:01

>> Yes.

6:01

>> Yeah. So, I'm saying but I'm saying but

6:03

but 17th Street I'm not sure I'm not

6:05

sure what you're talking about. that

6:06

piece that you're talking about behind

6:08

public works.

6:10

Um I know what we went through with

6:12

Briner

6:14

>> that wasn't attached to it or was it?

6:16

>> No. So the way it works is the minute we

6:19

took it from Brener we owned it and then

6:21

the question was was it a fair price? So

6:23

we've owned it since 2019. Somewhere

6:26

after 2019, Pendot said, "By the way, we

6:28

need a piece of that and came along and

6:30

took a piece of that and we had an

6:32

agreement that this council approved for

6:34

the price for that as well."

6:36

>> So, um other than the financial burden

6:39

that would be placed amongst uh the

6:41

taxpayers um so there was no other um

6:44

way that you can assess or is it time

6:46

consuming because of the project and the

6:48

need for demand?

6:49

>> It's also expensive. When an appraiser

6:51

can't do a ready read a read a readily

6:54

available comparator for real estate, it

6:57

gets much more expensive. We do and

7:00

share in tax assessment appeal

7:02

appraisals all the time with the school

7:03

district and the county and some of

7:05

those are 10 or 12 or $15,000 a piece

7:08

upfront and then if you need them to

7:10

testify they charge all over again. So

7:12

it's an it can for what it was for the

7:14

value of the land that's a pretty big

7:16

percentage to put on the table. Uh but

7:18

the one we went to basically after

7:20

looking said we just can't do this one

7:22

and we had to look elsewhere and at that

7:24

point it wasn't worth continuing to

7:26

invest um for what it was. The fact

7:29

>> I'm just curious though the that the

7:31

number that you came up with

7:33

>> that Pendot came up with they gave us

7:35

their appraisal number which the first

7:37

time they didn't give us an appraisal

7:38

number. Pendot usually doesn't give out

7:39

their appraisals but in order to make

7:41

this close

7:42

>> they wrote their own check. No, no. This

7:44

well they the law does not require in

7:46

eminent domain that that the government

7:49

automatically give out their appraisals.

7:52

>> Okay.

7:52

>> So, um which so it's not uncommon. So,

7:54

but so the first time around they

7:56

weren't sharing it. This time around

7:57

they closed the deal. They gave us what

7:59

I would call an executive summary of

8:02

their appraisal.

8:03

>> Okay. So, no further questions.

8:07

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Ross. Any

8:10

questions?

8:11

>> Uh good evening. Um, I don't have any

8:13

questions. Um, I think most of mine were

8:16

answered by um, what Councilman Jones

8:18

asked, so I'm fine. Thank you.

8:20

>> Thank you, [clears throat] Councilwoman

8:22

Davis. Any questions?

8:24

>> Thank you, President Hill. Thank you.

8:26

Good evening, Mr. Ciders. No, it's um,

8:29

pretty clear cut to me. Um, I think it's

8:32

a generous amount for a piece of land

8:34

that we can't use anyway behind the the

8:38

land behind the public works building.

8:41

Can we

8:42

>> No, that was the first piece of land.

8:43

This is This is a second piece of land

8:45

that's outside the city that is

8:47

essentially a gravel lot right now. So,

8:50

>> okay. All right. But no, it's pretty

8:54

much clearcut to me. I think I agree.

9:00

>> Thank you. Um, if there's no further

9:03

discussion, I move to add resolution 79

9:07

of 2025 to our next legislative session

9:11

agenda for a formal vote. This concludes

9:14

the business of the administration

9:16

committee. Thank you.

9:24

If you're following along on our meeting

9:26

agenda, I'd like to move to the work of

9:29

the public safety committee next. Um, I

9:32

will defer to our public safety

9:34

committee chair, Councilman Jones, to

9:37

lead discussion.

9:39

>> Um, I would like to remind everyone to

9:41

please speak into the microphone, pull

9:44

it very close to you so that those

9:46

listening are able to hear you. Thank

9:48

you, Councilman Jones. Thank you,

9:50

President Hill. I thought I seen the

9:51

police I mean the fire chief here. Maybe

9:53

he stepped out on us. Oh, there he is.

9:57

Chief and I, how are you, sir?

10:00

>> Good.

10:02

I was about to call you Mr. Trude.

10:06

Mr. Humphrey, can you read uh resolution

10:08

77

10:10

and 78 of 2025 into the record, please?

10:14

Resolution 77 of 2025, a resolution

10:18

authorizing the city of Harrisburg to

10:19

negotiate and enter into a professional

10:21

services agreement with SGS Architects

10:24

Engineers Incorporated to provide

10:26

architectural services for renovation of

10:28

the bedroom and restroom facilities at

10:30

Fire Station 2 located at 140 North 16th

10:34

Street.

10:35

Resolution 78 of 2025, a resolution

10:38

ratifying an agreement with Locality

10:40

Media Incorporated, doing business as

10:42

first due for the implementation of

10:45

software for the city of Harrisburg Fire

10:47

Bureau and authorizing the city to

10:49

negotiate and enter into a 5-year

10:51

renewal agreement for such services.

10:54

>> Thank you, Chief Enderline. Uh, how are

10:56

you to do, sir?

10:57

>> I'm well. [snorts]

10:58

>> All right. We're going to start with

10:59

resolution 77 of 2025. Can you just

11:02

please give uh I know it may sound

11:05

simple to us. However, for the

11:06

community's edification, can you um just

11:09

give a little detail on that and then

11:11

I'll get to my questions.

11:12

>> Sure. This is a uh architectural firm

11:15

that we would like to hire to design uh

11:18

for the rebuild of fire station 2 at uh

11:22

140 North 16 Streets, the Allison Hill

11:24

Fire Station. Uh this station has not

11:26

had major repairs to the bedroom or

11:28

bathroom facilities since it was built

11:30

in 1980. Uh I'm getting a lot of echo

11:33

here. So uh we've uh we want to employ

11:36

them. We're looking to the bedroom

11:38

facility as it currently is is an open

11:40

bedroom facility with Murphy bed. So

11:42

they essentially fold into the wall uh

11:44

and there's no privacy. The uh bathroom

11:48

facilities are still uh well they're

11:52

falling apart, but they're in the old

11:53

orange uh of the 1980s. The uh dividers

11:57

and everything are uh you know falling

12:00

apart. And then as well as the shower is

12:02

a uh open shower. So there's about I

12:05

think there's six showerheads in there

12:07

with uh no privacy there as well. So our

12:10

goal was to hire an architect that had u

12:13

a lot of experience designing uh fire

12:15

stations uh because of the uniqueness of

12:18

the operation from uh you know the bunk

12:20

room and the you know and the showers to

12:23

the the ability to store uh with lockers

12:25

and things like that in that tight space

12:27

that we have.

12:29

>> All right. Good. So, this is the company

12:32

um that you uh SGS, correct?

12:35

>> Correct. Yes. Yep. Out of uh Carlile.

12:37

>> And they've been just about as long as

12:39

this building's been up, right? Since

12:40

1985,

12:42

>> uh I believe so. Somewhere around there.

12:44

Yeah. They've done a lot of fire station

12:45

remodels uh here in central

12:47

Pennsylvania.

12:48

>> Yeah, I saw their um you know, in the

12:51

resolution. But um I I just want to

12:53

share for the record that I have uh

12:55

visited that station and did see the

12:57

conditions of it. I didn't realize you

12:59

answered one of my first question was

13:01

how long has it been since this station

13:03

has been uh renovated or updated and I

13:05

didn't know it hasn't been touched since

13:07

it was been built.

13:08

>> Yeah. So under the uh since I came

13:11

downtown here in 2014 uh we've

13:14

recognized and identified a lot of

13:16

deficiencies in the fire department. Uh

13:18

and some of those needed to be addressed

13:19

sooner than others. So the HVAC systems,

13:22

the roofing systems uh and some other

13:24

things like that. the the kitchens were

13:26

absolutely deplorable. Uh this was one

13:29

of those we just kept putting off till

13:30

we got the funding. So we got the

13:32

funding lined up in in this year's

13:33

budget and we were awarded a grant of

13:36

$83,475

13:39

uh from the Commonwealth uh to assist

13:42

with with this project.

13:43

>> All right, I want you to slow down. You

13:45

just answered all my questions.

13:46

>> That's good. That's good. I can read

13:48

you,

13:49

>> right? [laughter] All my questions. One

13:50

of them, why station two versus all the

13:53

others? you just kind of gave a

13:55

explanation. Um do you plan to update

13:58

any of the other ones at some point?

14:00

>> So yeah, our plan uh obviously you

14:02

haven't received the budget yet, but um

14:03

we have budgeted to also replace and do

14:06

the exact same project at station one

14:08

for next year. Um and there the the fire

14:11

stations are built on the same

14:12

blueprints. So this will be a turnkey

14:14

operation for both fire stations u when

14:17

we you know when we go to put it out the

14:19

bid. So, um, we're hopeful to get

14:20

station two or station one done next

14:22

year. And then, uh, the volunteer at the

14:25

Mount Pleasant at 9 South 13th Street.

14:28

We've been pumping, uh, state grant

14:30

funds, uh, to the tune of $15,000 a year

14:33

for about the last eight years, uh, into

14:35

the remodel of that fire station. Uh,

14:37

culminating, uh, just with this year's,

14:39

u, uh, aotment from the Mount Pleasant,

14:42

uh, we repainted uh, the bedroom, the

14:44

uh, bathrooms, and the kitchen up there.

14:47

>> Okay. And man, this I don't have any

14:51

work to do. I mean, just answering all

14:53

my stuff. Um,

14:56

yeah. So, the other thing is the

14:58

timeline for station two. So, uh, they

15:01

put together a pretty aggressive

15:03

timeline. Uh, upon award, I think it's,

15:06

uh, looks like about 25 weeks till we go

15:09

to, uh, till we go to bid. So, and no,

15:13

I'm sorry, actually 17 weeks. Um, so

15:15

they're anticipating about uh

15:19

14- 15 weeks worth of work uh to go out

15:21

there, get all the measurements, and

15:23

then start the design. And obviously, we

15:24

want our firefighters to be involved in

15:27

that design as well. So, we'll be

15:28

bouncing that off of them uh to make

15:30

sure it's fitting the bill that they're

15:32

looking for as well. They're the ones

15:34

that are, you know, literally living in

15:35

the fire station.

15:37

>> Okay. And um there was other ones. Uh

15:41

you said if you can again for me um why

15:45

station two over all of them? I think

15:48

this is is this the first one built or

15:50

>> No, they were station one and two were

15:52

built at the same time. Uh we just

15:54

picked station two because it's probably

15:56

in the worst condition.

15:58

>> Figured as much. All right, I'll open up

16:01

the floor for resolution 75 77 of 2025.

16:04

I'll start to my immediate right.

16:05

Councilman Rodriguez.

16:07

>> Thank you, Chair Jones. Chief, it's

16:09

always a blessing seeing you. Um,

16:13

pretty pretty much a no-brainer for me

16:15

uh with this one as well. I mean, I know

16:18

the work you guys do. I've been in rooms

16:19

and seen your team get up as soon as

16:21

that bell gone. I mean, the thrill of

16:23

seeing that. I wish we could accommodate

16:25

with everything brand new. So, apparatus

16:27

is safe, the, you know, volunteers are

16:29

safe, the firefighters are safe. Um, but

16:31

maybe that's pie in the sky later on

16:33

down the road. But anyway, um, I can

16:35

support with this. So definitely uh see

16:37

the value in it and bringing everything

16:39

up to date. So thank you for being here.

16:41

>> We we appreciate we're definitely making

16:42

strides and we couldn't do it without

16:44

council's approval. So we appreciate it.

16:48

>> Councilwoman Ross.

16:49

>> Thank you, Councilman Jones, and good

16:51

evening, Chief Enerline. Thank you for

16:52

being here tonight to explain um

16:54

resolution 77 and 78 to us. I just had

16:57

one question and I'm sorry if you

16:59

answered it. I did hear grants we were

17:01

going to re we received about what

17:03

83,000 you said.

17:04

>> Correct.

17:05

>> Okay. How much is the total cost? I

17:07

didn't see it in here. It just went fast

17:09

past me too fast. Why is I4?

17:11

>> Well, that it was 54.

17:13

>> So, yeah, that sounded so small.

17:15

>> That's for the architectural

17:17

design.

17:18

>> Okay.

17:18

>> We don't know what construction will be

17:20

because it'll have to go out to bid,

17:22

>> right? Okay. Thank you. I did see the

17:24

54,000 and I was like, I don't It just

17:26

sounded a little

17:28

>> Yeah. and their their bid also their

17:30

proposal also includes construction

17:32

management to CNM which is typically not

17:34

uh okay

17:35

>> typically not part of that and they they

17:37

included it in everybody else that we

17:38

worked with

17:39

>> uh or looked at uh that was an

17:41

additional fee um that we would have had

17:43

it added on. So

17:44

>> Okay, thank you. And my last question

17:46

would be, will you all be trying to go

17:48

after any more grants or or are we going

17:51

to uh the city budget is going to fill

17:53

in the gaps of what you may need to

17:55

finish the project for station one and

17:57

two?

17:58

>> So, uh, station two, particularly this

18:00

project, we have the 83,000 grant and

18:03

then we also have u 2025

18:06

general fund dollars uh allocated for

18:09

this. the 2026, we will again apply for

18:12

the exact same grant in hopes of of

18:15

receiving another grant. Uh and then

18:17

also asking for additional funding from

18:20

uh council in our general appropriation

18:23

uh which we hope um we'll be able to

18:25

offset with our capital fire protection

18:27

uh that we'll receive whenever the state

18:29

budget is passed.

18:30

>> Yeah. Right.

18:32

Thank you. I'll pass it along on that

18:35

note.

18:37

>> That's it for me.

18:38

>> Okay.

18:41

President Hill,

18:43

>> thank you.

18:44

Um, many of my questions were asked and

18:47

answered. I just wanted to review the

18:49

timeline. It looks like the span will be

18:52

about 48 weeks. That's the estimate.

18:59

>> I just had that page and I apologize.

19:01

>> Oh, you're fine. I just wanted to

19:03

>> What did I say? 14 weeks.

19:06

Okay.

19:07

uh

19:13

>> if 14 to 16 weeks for design.

19:15

>> Okay.

19:16

>> And then uh after that uh it'll go out

19:19

for bid and then we we won't have a good

19:21

idea until the bids are awarded on what

19:23

that contract completion date will be

19:24

from the general contractor.

19:26

>> Okay. Thank you. I don't have any other

19:28

questions.

19:30

>> Councilwoman Davis.

19:32

>> Thank you, Councilman Jones. Good

19:33

evening, Chief.

19:34

>> Good evening. How are you? Good. Thank

19:36

you. Uh thank you for your service uh to

19:39

you and all the other firemen.

19:42

You mentioned that 54,000 is going to be

19:45

spent for the architectural work. Okay.

19:49

So, is there any chance that any of that

19:52

money could be left over to go towards

19:55

one of the other fire departments?

20:00

>> No. The So, the contract with SGS is for

20:03

the the full amount. Um, and that's

20:05

that's what'll be required to complete

20:07

this particular project, I believe. And

20:10

we haven't talked to them because I

20:11

didn't want to taint uh any further uh

20:14

processes for station one, but I believe

20:16

we'll be able to use the exact same

20:18

design for station one. We would just

20:21

end up paying for the construction

20:22

management at that point.

20:24

>> Okay. So, I meant 83,000 is the total

20:28

grant, but then the architectural work

20:30

is going to cost about 54,000. the

20:33

remaining money. Do you did you say that

20:36

it's going to be able to go into that

20:38

same firehouse?

20:40

>> Yes. So, we we have we have I believe it

20:42

was $250,000

20:44

uh in our general fund budget uh plus

20:47

the $83,000

20:49

to to complete the work. 54,000 of that

20:53

for this architectural firm will come

20:55

out of the 250 that was budgeted uh in

20:57

the 2025 budget. And then the remainder

20:59

of that, the 83,000 and whatever's left,

21:03

190,000

21:04

uh is what our budget will be for the uh

21:07

for the construction then.

21:09

>> Okay. And then you mentioned that

21:13

there's some painting and different

21:15

things going on um at the fire

21:18

department on 13th Street.

21:21

>> Am I correct? Correct. Okay. What do you

21:23

foresee for the future for that?

21:26

Additionally,

21:28

>> uh, so we just applied for the

21:31

volunteer, the Mount Pleasant Fire

21:32

Company just applied for another $15,000

21:34

from the Commonwealth. So that, uh,

21:36

money is also going to be earmarked for

21:38

station renovations as well, completing

21:40

the basement renovation. Um, and then we

21:43

have some a couple of windows that need

21:44

replaced and some other things. So

21:46

that's that station has had uh you in

21:48

the last 10 years over $100,000 of

21:50

volunteer fire company money uh put into

21:53

it plus uh the amount that we put in for

21:55

HVAC. We put a a generator in that

21:58

station never had a generator. We put a

21:59

fire alarm system that that station

22:01

never had a fire alarm system in. So we

22:02

pumped a lot of money into that station

22:04

as well.

22:05

>> Okay. Thank you. That's it for me.

22:08

>> All right. [clears throat] Excuse me.

22:10

Uh, moving on to resolution 78 of 2025

22:15

and Mr. Inline, it was already read into

22:17

the the record. So, can you give a brief

22:19

overview of what we're doing with this

22:21

resolution?

22:22

>> Sure. This resolution is a contract with

22:25

a uh vendor for our fire reporting

22:28

software. So, the reports that you get

22:30

from the fire bureau, all that

22:31

information comes from this reporting

22:33

software. We use this for scheduling,

22:35

for overtime call out. We use it for uh

22:38

building management. So when we look at

22:40

uh inspections and things like that uh

22:42

as well as our incident uh

22:44

recordkeeping. So anytime that there's

22:46

an incident all that information is put

22:48

in there to generate a fire report. Uh

22:50

and then all of our training records are

22:52

also documented and kept in there. And

22:54

our plan is in 2026 to start to use that

22:57

for our um looking at it to track all of

23:01

our apparatus and equipment expenditures

23:04

as well.

23:06

>> Okay, great. Now, [clears throat]

23:07

similar to um resolution 77, um so I

23:12

didn't ask these questions. I wanted to

23:14

wait for this one, but uh how long have

23:16

we been with this company? I see that

23:17

this is a renewal. So, how long we have

23:19

been with them?

23:20

>> I want to say we've been with them about

23:22

three years now. Two to three years. And

23:24

we had when we first brought them on, we

23:27

were using a different reporting

23:28

software. Uh and there was a change at

23:31

the state level and we were looking for

23:33

a vendor that was able to support uh

23:36

going from and not to get too far into

23:38

weeds but going from the current

23:40

reporting system at the federal level to

23:42

what is coming out starting in 2026 for

23:44

us called nearest uh which is a a new

23:46

platform. uh this vendor uh was able to

23:50

seamlessly transition all that stuff in.

23:53

Uh and it also uh there's also a bridge

23:56

so that it works with with the Dolphin

23:58

County CAD system, the computer aated

23:59

dispatch system so that those calls that

24:03

are dispatched, we have terminals in in

24:05

the apparatus. It's able to go out to

24:09

kind of put there's three different

24:11

pieces, right? There's a terminal in the

24:12

in the apparatus. uh the the county

24:15

sends the call to the terminal and on

24:17

the way it also brings in the

24:19

information that we may have for that

24:21

building uh in our database as well. So

24:24

it all comes together. That way if

24:26

there's any hazardous materials or

24:28

anything hazardous about the building,

24:29

anything that we have picked out um you

24:31

know location of a Knox box, a fire

24:33

department connection, stair towers,

24:35

things like that, that all goes right to

24:37

the uh to that terminal in the fire

24:38

truck then.

24:40

>> Okay. Um, now the million-doll question,

24:43

what $124,000

24:45

question, that's what we're spending on

24:46

this, right?

24:47

>> Correct. And that's over five years. Um,

24:49

and it it just made sense for us to lock

24:51

in a five-year term. Uh, these these

24:53

software as a service vendors um they

24:57

sporadically change their u their

24:59

pricing structures when the longer you

25:01

lock in, the better price you get. And

25:04

you know, it's not uncommon to see a 20

25:06

or 30% spike uh certain years depending

25:08

on what they bring out. when we lock in

25:10

that contract, we're locked in for that

25:11

price over that five-year term.

25:13

>> Okay. And the next question would be,

25:16

again, just [clears throat] wanted to

25:17

put the amount out there so our resident

25:19

can know what we're spending, how much

25:21

we're spending, and what we're spending

25:22

it on. Um, so the obvious next question

25:25

would be um how are we paying for this?

25:27

Is this grant money? Are we are this

25:29

budgeted money? Th

25:30

>> this is budgeted general fund money out

25:32

of our software uh our software line

25:34

item.

25:36

>> All right. No further questions this

25:37

time. I'll start to my far right and

25:40

start with Councilwoman Davis.

25:41

>> Thank you, Councilman Jones. Thank you

25:43

again, Chief Eterine. Uh thank you for

25:46

the

25:48

budget over five years considering the

25:51

taxpayers's dollars and realizing that

25:54

the rate's going to pretty much stay the

25:56

same over that five years. I think

25:58

that's important. Thank you. That's it

26:01

for me.

26:02

>> Thank you,

26:03

>> Councilwoman Daniels.

26:06

Um, no questions.

26:10

>> President Hill.

26:11

>> I don't have any questions. Thank you,

26:15

>> Councilwoman Ross.

26:18

Never mind. Thank you. Um, I don't have

26:20

any questions. I was just going to share

26:21

with residents. Um, there was like a

26:24

timeline of what was going to be paid

26:26

each year. So, they knew I know they

26:27

know the total is $123,731.32.

26:33

Um, but I was just going to share with

26:35

them the timeline for and what's paid um

26:38

throughout the year. So, if I say

26:39

something wrong, let me know. It was on

26:40

page six.

26:41

>> Page page seven, I think, outlines it

26:43

all.

26:44

>> Mhm. Mine is six, but I

26:45

>> Oh, I'm sorry. It starts on page six.

26:46

Yes.

26:46

>> Okay. I'll make sure I was right. So,

26:49

um, year 1, which will start uh November

26:52

1st to uh it says October 31st. Well,

26:56

November 1st of 2024 to October 31st of

27:00

2025. That was the first payment,

27:03

>> correct?

27:03

>> Okay. So, that was $22,392.225.

27:09

Then year 2, which is um November 1st of

27:13

this year to October 31st of 2026, is

27:17

$23,511.86.

27:22

Then year three which will be again

27:24

November 1st 2026 to then October 31st

27:28

2027 is $24,68746

27:35

and year 4 which is November 1st 2027 to

27:40

October 31st 2028 is $25,92183

27:47

and then year five uh which is November

27:49

1st 2028 to October Otober 31st, 2029 is

27:55

$27,217.92.

28:00

Just so they can see, as you said,

28:01

they'll lock in, you get the better

28:03

price. I do see it went up a little bit

28:04

each year, which things normally do, but

28:07

I just wanted them to see that it wasn't

28:09

a huge jump because, as you said, if you

28:11

lock in longer, you get a better price.

28:13

>> Correct. Yep.

28:14

>> I just wanted to let the public know

28:16

that. So, thank you for indulging me for

28:18

a moment. That's it for me.

28:20

>> We appreciate that you read it. Yeah,

28:21

you're welcome.

28:23

We do read on council. Thank you. Yes,

28:26

that's it for me,

28:27

>> Councilman Rodriguez. Uh, no questions

28:30

for me. Thank you.

28:32

>> All right. Thank you, Chief Enerline.

28:33

That will conclude the work session of

28:35

the public safety committee. And I would

28:37

ask that resolution 77 and 78 of 2025 be

28:41

moved to our next legis legislative

28:43

session. And I would ask my colleagues

28:45

to support both.

28:47

>> Thank you, sir.

28:48

>> Thank you, President Hill. Thank you,

28:50

Councilman Jones.

28:52

While we're here, we will move to the

28:55

public works committee. Uh, I will defer

28:58

to our public works committee chair,

29:01

Councilman Rodriguez, to lead

29:03

discussion.

29:04

>> Thank you, Madam President. Mr. Humphre,

29:07

can you please read Resolution 72 of

29:09

2025 into the record? Resolution 72 of

29:12

2025, a resolution authorizing the city

29:15

of Harrisburg to negotiate and enter

29:17

into an intergovernmental cooperation

29:19

agreement with the bureau of Paxane for

29:21

the purpose of authorizing the city to

29:23

provide municipal solid waste and

29:25

recycling collection and disposal

29:27

services within the burough.

29:29

>> Thank you for that. And I do see

29:30

Director West with us. How you doing?

29:32

Good evening.

29:33

>> Good evening, Captain.

29:34

>> Um, can you give us an overview uh of

29:36

resolution 72 of 2025, please?

29:39

>> Yes. Resolution 72 involves um renewing

29:44

the contract with uh

29:45

>> Can you speak a little closer into the

29:47

mic?

29:47

>> Resolution 72 involves renewing the

29:51

contract with uh Pakistan Burrow because

29:54

the contract ends the 31st of December

29:59

of this year. We want to move into uh

30:03

contract for the next three to five

30:05

years.

30:06

>> So pretty standard work we've already

30:07

been doing. We're just pretty much uh

30:10

furthering the contract, updating

30:11

everything. We've already been working

30:13

in um the Paxtank Burrow, correct?

30:15

>> Yes, we've been working there for this

30:18

would be five years. Years ago,

30:19

>> I went to the council meeting with

30:22

Paxtank Burough. The council members

30:24

saying that the residents are ecstatic

30:26

about the work that the city of

30:27

Harrisburg does and would love to

30:30

continue on in the for the next 3 to

30:33

five years. Um, were there any

30:35

complications that you uh saw um as

30:38

director of public works from the

30:40

previous five years of work we've done

30:42

with them?

30:44

>> Well, we had to um they have uh so much

30:48

yard waste that instead of doing it uh

30:52

though once every other week, we had to

30:56

send out uh two different trucks.

30:57

>> Okay. And we have the equipment to do

31:03

that and the manpower because if we had

31:06

to do it for any of the burrows that uh

31:09

that we have taken on that we will we

31:12

will go above and beyond to exceed to do

31:14

anything that we have to do to

31:16

accomplish the goal when it comes to

31:17

sanitation.

31:18

>> But nothing our team couldn't handle. We

31:20

have the compliment. We have the uh

31:22

equipment. Nothing uh that we couldn't

31:24

handle as far as the packs tang borrow.

31:27

>> Not at us. We we adjust to the need.

31:29

>> Okay, perfect. Um, pretty

31:31

straightforward to me. I'll start with

31:32

my immediate left, Councilman Jones.

31:35

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez, but I

31:36

think Solicitor Grover has something.

31:39

>> Also, I was going to say there was there

31:40

was quite a bit of discussion about the

31:42

terms and essentially when it's circled

31:44

all the way back, it's the exact same

31:46

terms just with increased pricing over

31:49

the five years. So, it's a three-year

31:50

contract with two one-year renewals.

31:53

They renewed both years we had for the

31:55

first five. Um but I think there was

31:57

some real discussion if there was

31:58

anything to change and I think everyone

31:59

realized not really. So

32:04

>> thank you. Okay. Um my question again u

32:07

for the public edification simply um how

32:10

is the city benefiting from this

32:12

intergovernmental relationship our

32:14

agreement with this bureau or any other

32:16

ones that we're letting our uh city

32:21

workers equipment go in other places to

32:24

uh pick up trash? How what's the benefit

32:26

to the city of Harrisburg?

32:28

>> Well, one of the benefits is a

32:30

cooperation with the entities of central

32:34

Pennsylvania. When when you start in a

32:37

governmental agreements, it can expand

32:39

from one department to another. And when

32:42

you're working together, just like

32:43

working in a community, the expansion

32:46

continues to grows to help each other in

32:48

other areas. The relationship is more

32:50

important than anything. And also with

32:55

uh taking on the burrows and picking up

32:58

the solid waste and recycling in the

33:00

burrows that we are able to uh purchase

33:05

some or more of our equipment which is

33:08

the sanitation backers without the

33:11

residents of the city of Harrisburg

33:14

the whole chunk of the you know the

33:16

purchase and

33:18

>> so there is money coming in from these

33:20

barrels.

33:21

>> Yes.

33:22

Yes.

33:23

>> All right. So, the other question would

33:25

be um I look at you know and maybe yeah

33:29

this is I think this is a great time to

33:31

ask this question. Maybe the solicitor

33:33

you are the business administrator could

33:35

answer this question. um looking at the

33:37

report in uh act 47 where we look at

33:40

what a put out and one of the reports is

33:42

the 90 the 90% of uh uh collection rate

33:47

to actually help us move out looking at

33:49

the deficit of the $14 million that

33:52

that's been all around in the news. Um

33:55

does any of these burrows uh are they a

33:58

part of any of that deficit or is this

34:00

just city? No, the um the burrows Paxang

34:05

and Pemrook pay us from the burrow

34:08

themselves. We have uh no billing with

34:11

the residents. Stilton has a 90

34:15

percentile rate of uh paying for their

34:19

refuge. The cost of the $14,000 is

34:23

basically City of Harrisburg if I'm not

34:26

if I'm incorrect.

34:27

>> 14 million. [clears throat]

34:28

>> 14 million. I'm sorry.

34:30

>> Yeah. Uh, incorrect solicitor, you can

34:32

know.

34:34

>> I don't know what $14 million we're

34:36

referring to.

34:37

>> Well, that's been in the news. And I'm

34:39

sure you saw the report uh um with with

34:42

the A um what their recommendation for

34:44

our five-year financial plan moving

34:46

forward. And one of the big numbers that

34:47

stuck out was the 95 or the 90%

34:50

collection rate for uh sanitation.

34:53

>> I got you. But some of that I know Oh,

34:55

no. You're talking about the actual 14

34:56

is the city's number,

34:58

>> right? And I was just

34:59

>> I will say again it's not real but

35:01

that's the thing.

35:02

>> Um you know

35:03

>> we were just discussing that. Uh however

35:05

this these questions are just making

35:07

sure that the the public understands

35:09

what's happening here. Um and making

35:11

sure that we're not just using again our

35:13

tax dollars going in other burrows

35:15

without anything really coming back into

35:17

the city. And I just wanted to make sure

35:19

that they understood that. So that's

35:21

all. So I do I do think since there is

35:23

history about the trash system and it

35:25

was going to be outsourced under the

35:27

receiver and that c this council at the

35:30

time voted that down and it would

35:32

recognize that that the jobs in public

35:35

works are very good jobs for people live

35:37

in Harrisburg for them and their

35:38

families and uh Mr. West was the deputy

35:41

at the time and Mr. Johnson was the

35:43

director, thought these were good, solid

35:46

ways to to to stabilize questions about

35:49

those jobs staying in the city. So, this

35:52

contributes to those families continuing

35:54

to have a living and benefits and all

35:56

that with with with it's always

35:59

questionable when when trash rates go up

36:01

or down, when work goes up or down and

36:03

it's allowed the public works to really

36:05

fully serve the public and it just adds

36:08

to the stabilization. And I think in

36:10

2014, every trash truck we had was

36:13

leaking, [snorts] right? We had to

36:15

rebuild a fleet from scratch and uh and

36:17

all of these steps let that happen in

36:19

the city. Um and I think Mr. West has

36:21

done a tremendous job in managing that

36:23

and bringing that back.

36:25

>> Thank you.

36:26

>> Absolutely.

36:26

>> Yeah. Again, that was just again for uh

36:29

the public's edification so they they

36:31

can follow what's happening. And again,

36:33

uh thank you for your service. No

36:35

further questions.

36:36

>> Thank you for that. Uh, plus that I

36:38

guess that would just be a testament to

36:39

how great our public works team is.

36:41

Being able to go into different uh,

36:43

burrows, municipalities, and actually

36:45

execute work, getting contracts,

36:47

bringing funds back into the city. I

36:49

think that would be a benefit to the

36:50

city. So, definitely hats off um,

36:53

Councilwoman Ross.

36:56

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Um, I

36:58

don't Is this okay, it didn't sound like

37:00

it was on. Uh, I don't have any

37:03

questions, but I did have the one as the

37:04

same as Councilman Jones, just about

37:07

what um that deficit included with the

37:10

14 million that's been talked about, but

37:12

you answered it um, Solicer Grover,

37:14

because I know a lot of residents were

37:16

wondering, was that other burrows

37:18

included or just Harrisburg? Um, it it

37:21

was just a legitimate concern, but um,

37:23

you know, I'm glad that we are not

37:25

outsourcing our public works department.

37:27

It brings essential jobs to our city and

37:30

um it it's important. So, um I don't I

37:33

don't have any questions. This is for me

37:34

a no-brainer. Um we're making

37:37

connections with other burrows. We're

37:39

we're giving a service to other burrows.

37:41

Um it just goes to a testament on how

37:43

great Harrisburg's public work system

37:45

is. So, that's it for me.

37:46

>> Yeah, absolutely.

37:48

>> Thank you for all the work you do,

37:49

Director West. You're welcome.

37:50

>> Madam President,

37:52

>> good evening. I don't have any

37:53

questions. Thank you for your work and

37:55

I'm glad to hear that uh the residents

37:58

of the burrow are really happy with the

38:01

work that public works is doing. So,

38:02

thank you.

38:03

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Davis.

38:06

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Thank

38:08

you, Director West. And thank you for

38:11

all you do and for going above and

38:13

beyond the call of duty to help our

38:15

residents.

38:16

>> Thank you. That's what we do.

38:19

Councilwoman Daniels.

38:27

Councilwoman Daniels.

38:37

>> Hello.

38:40

>> Any questions regarding resolution 72 of

38:43

2025? Mr. West is here.

38:48

Um, so I thought I was Can you guys hear

38:50

me?

38:51

>> Yes, ma'am.

38:53

>> Okay. I was asking what was the total

38:54

value of the contract?

38:57

>> The total of the contract.

38:59

>> The total value of the contract? Yes.

39:03

>> I would have to get that information to

39:05

you. I don't have it currently.

39:10

Okay.

39:10

>> Do you know like what it was for last

39:13

year?

39:19

What was the

39:23

>> I guess solicitor Grover is looking it

39:25

up.

39:25

>> We we can get you a complete number.

39:27

Basically, there was percentage increase

39:29

that was negotiated for both a monthly

39:31

and annual basis that from the from the

39:34

last of the five years that we had. Each

39:36

year it goes up previously and each year

39:39

in the future it goes up. But that just

39:42

speaks to the contract, not to the total

39:44

dollars collected. And we can reach out

39:46

to public works and finance and get the

39:48

council the answer to that number by

39:50

Monday. So, director West, that's

39:52

something we can expedite over to

39:54

council.

39:54

>> Oh, yes, definitely.

39:55

>> Awesome. Um, is there anything else

39:57

you'd like to add uh regarding

39:59

resolution 72 of 2025?

40:01

>> Was there any other question? Yeah, just

40:03

a just a comment that you know once we

40:05

started to enter these cooperative

40:07

agreements which on the one hand seemed

40:10

pretty efficient was also the time when

40:11

we stopped being able to service the

40:13

encampments um which then ballooned into

40:17

major public safety problems and now are

40:19

costing us in terms of relocation and

40:22

you know and all of that stuff. So, I

40:25

would like the administration to think

40:27

holistically about what these contracts

40:29

are worth and whether we're getting a

40:32

value for it because, you know, it's not

40:35

the city that paid for the the new lot

40:39

for uh the new homeless encampment, it

40:41

does the county, but that's still tax

40:43

money that could have gone to something

40:44

else for the residents in the city. So,

40:47

it's just that comment.

40:49

>> Thank you for that. Anything else you'd

40:50

like to add, Councilwoman Daniels?

40:56

All right. Um, director West,

40:59

>> if I may understand,

41:01

>> Councilwoman Daniels stated that

41:04

sanitation has something to do with the

41:06

homeless encampment.

41:07

>> Encampment, I believe. So, was that your

41:09

question? Uh, Councilwoman Daniels,

41:11

>> you had stopped the services at the

41:13

encampment. I I'll just if she if mind

41:15

re uh Councilwoman Daniels

41:20

>> she still

41:21

>> Are you guys having trouble hearing me?

41:23

>> No. Um Director West just wanted to know

41:24

if you could uh ask your question again

41:27

please

41:28

>> regarding sometimes it's breaking up on

41:30

my end too.

41:31

>> No we can hear.

41:32

>> No it wasn't a question. It was a

41:34

comment that once we started to enter

41:36

these cooperative agreements, we weren't

41:38

able to keep up with the sanitation uh

41:40

services we provided to the homeless

41:42

encampments which then resulted in the

41:45

ballooning of those sanitation issues in

41:47

those areas. Now we're paying to for the

41:50

relocation of folks. And even though the

41:52

tax money that's being used to fund the

41:56

new placements is coming from the county

41:58

and not the city, those are tax dollars

42:00

that could have gone to other services

42:03

in the city. So what I was just

42:05

commenting is that it would be great for

42:07

the administration to think more

42:09

holistically about what the value of

42:12

these contracts are as they're

42:14

negotiating them. So it was a comment,

42:17

not a question.

42:18

>> Okay. For the record, the sanitation

42:20

department, the sanitation um the trash

42:22

never ceased being picked up at the

42:24

encampments. Not only did we pick the

42:25

trash up at the encampments, we had the

42:27

trash cans set at each encampment. We

42:30

also had a highway department with the

42:33

clam truck and triacle trucks to pick up

42:37

trash at the encampment. We picked it up

42:39

three times a week. We even had

42:41

relationships with the homeless people

42:44

that was at the encampment to place the

42:46

trash in a certain area so we could pick

42:48

it up for at one pile so that um the

42:52

trash never ceased to be picked up from

42:55

uh public works department. And just to

42:58

add to that, Councilwoman Daniels, we

43:00

actually currently have a partnership

43:01

with the Miracle for Shore Miracle

43:03

Community where we are assisting with

43:05

the pickup of the recycle uh and trash.

43:15

>> All right. Um, anything else you'd like

43:16

to add, Director West, to that? We just

43:20

like to continue to

43:22

uh prosper in the relationships with the

43:24

intergovernmental agreements with the

43:26

burrows uh around us to form um to take

43:31

a lead on the intergovernmental

43:34

relationships with other departments as

43:36

well as police and fire and codes so

43:39

forth and so on to develop these

43:41

relationships because our strength we

43:44

find are in the numbers as us working

43:46

together.

43:47

>> Absolutely. Um, anything else from my

43:49

colleagues on council?

43:52

>> All right. Um, well, I move to add

43:54

resolution 72 2025 to our next

43:56

legislative uh session. And that

43:58

concludes the work for the public works

44:00

committee. Um, back to you, Madam

44:01

President.

44:02

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Our

44:06

final committee business this evening

44:08

lies with the Community and Economic

44:10

Development Committee. I will defer to

44:13

our community and economic development

44:15

committee chair, Councilwoman Daniels,

44:17

to lead discussion.

44:20

>> Thank you so much. And President Hill,

44:22

in case I start breaking up and you guys

44:25

are having trouble hearing me, feel free

44:28

to like interrupt and take over. Um so

44:32

the community and economic development

44:35

committee meeting um we have

44:41

sorry

44:42

um the first item of business is uh

44:45

resolution 73 2025. Um Mr. Humphre could

44:50

you read that into the record please?

44:53

Resolution 73 of 2025, a resolution

44:57

approving the preliminary final

44:59

development plan for 2601 North Third

45:02

Street to convert the northernmost

45:04

building on site into a multifamily

45:06

dwelling along with associated site and

45:08

access improvements.

45:12

>> Thank you. So, um could someone from the

45:15

administration come up and give us a

45:16

brief um explanation of the project and

45:21

um any timelines, any conditions, etc.?

45:24

>> Uh sure. So, uh Jeffrey Knight, planning

45:26

director with the city of Harrisburg. Um

45:28

so, the uh resolution for tonight uh as

45:32

uh was noted uh is for uh 2601 North

45:36

Third Street. Uh this is for the former

45:38

poly clinic uh hospital and specifically

45:42

for the northernmost building on that

45:44

campus which was previously a nurse's

45:46

quarters. Um council may remember this

45:50

project uh had a couple other

45:52

applications come through. One for a

45:54

zoning map amendment to convert the

45:55

property uh or to change the designation

45:58

from the institutional designation to

46:00

the commercial neighborhood designation.

46:01

And there was also a subdivision

46:03

application uh that was submitted

46:06

concurrently with that. Uh so this is

46:08

kind of the next step in uh the overall

46:12

development proposal for this site and

46:14

as noted it's the um proposed

46:17

redevelopment of the northernmost

46:19

building which the applicants have

46:20

labeled uh building number three. Um the

46:23

proposal is uh uh will convert the

46:26

property into or the structure into a 96

46:29

unit multif family dwelling uh with uh

46:31

potential commercial community space

46:33

being reserved for uh the floor first

46:35

floor adjacent to the building arcade

46:37

and courtyard. Uh the project um units

46:41

will uh range in a variety of sizes and

46:44

configurations uh from studios to

46:46

three-bedroom apartments and from 450 ft

46:50

uh to 1154 square ft. Um as noted uh

46:54

this is the first of um three

46:58

redevelopments of the three buildings on

47:00

site. Um in fact uh the second one uh

47:02

for building number one which is the

47:04

southernmost building, the large

47:06

hospital building that looks like an X.

47:08

um has been submitted and will be heard

47:10

at this month's planning commission

47:11

meeting. So, uh the applicants are uh

47:14

working um pretty quickly uh through the

47:18

design for through the uh review

47:21

processes and um which we're happy to

47:24

see here that the applicants are moving

47:26

fairly quickly with um the redevelopment

47:29

of this site uh for both the

47:31

neighborhood and the city overall. Uh,

47:33

with that being said, the planning

47:36

commission recommended that the city

47:38

council approve the request with the

47:39

following conditions. The applicant must

47:41

coordinate with the Department of Public

47:43

Works regarding the size, location, and

47:44

screening of any required refuge

47:46

containers. Plan Bureau recommends the

47:48

applicant consider eventually

47:49

consolidating all refuge storage and

47:51

access in the existing vehicular access

47:53

areas along the fourth street frontage

47:55

of building one on the project site. Um

47:57

and if you're familiar with the site, um

47:59

the location of the nurses quarters of

48:02

building number three here doesn't have

48:03

a lot of extra space on it on which to

48:06

um provide uh a larger refuge storage

48:08

container like a dumpster or where it

48:11

could be accessed by um trash trucks. So

48:14

that's why our recommendation was to

48:15

locate it uh at near building number

48:17

one, which already has um loading and

48:20

unloading areas. They already have

48:21

vehicular access like off the road uh

48:23

into their sites. Uh if the proposed

48:26

commercial use for the first floor is

48:27

not in conformance with the zoning code,

48:29

uh the applicant will secure the

48:30

necessary zoning relief before

48:31

establishing such use. And I don't

48:33

believe the applicants know exactly what

48:35

they're proposing for that space now. So

48:36

that's kind of a bit more open-ended. Um

48:38

and then the applicant will incorporate

48:40

the city engineers recommendations

48:41

regarding improvements to pedestrian

48:43

infrastructure and will include new bike

48:45

racks near the building entrance. The

48:47

planning commission recommended uh city

48:50

council approved the request for the

48:51

following reasons. The adaptive reuse of

48:53

a large vacant and underutilized

48:54

institutional building into apartment

48:57

units represents a unique and

48:58

challenging project for the city and

48:59

will support redevelopment of the

49:01

remaining buildings that comprise the

49:03

former hospital campus. Successful

49:05

redevelopment of this institutional site

49:06

may help catalyze redevelopment and

49:08

reactivation of other institutional

49:10

sites to the north, including the former

49:12

William Penn High School and the Zebo

49:13

Shrine. And f finally sorry, three,

49:16

other conversions of former commercial

49:18

and institutional buildings elsewhere in

49:20

the city have generally demonstrated

49:21

such projects do not have adver do not

49:23

adversely impact the neighborhoods in

49:25

which they are located and often help

49:26

generate other improvements in those

49:28

communities. And finally, the proposed

49:30

redevelopment will add new residents to

49:32

the neighborhood to activate the street

49:33

on nights and weekends and grow a

49:34

customer base to support local

49:36

businesses while providing a new

49:37

neighborhood focused space and will

49:39

provide additional units to the uptown

49:41

housing inventory.

49:45

Yeah, thank you. And for my

49:48

clarification, the

49:50

uh this property is kind of elevated,

49:53

right? It's not at like the street level

49:55

of of of Third Street, right?

49:58

>> Uh that's correct. It's uh elevated a

50:01

bit up uh from Third Street, but it is

50:03

on the same elevation as Fourth Street,

50:05

just to the east.

50:07

>> Okay. Okay. Yeah. Just trying to get it

50:10

um okay in my head. Um, if the applicant

50:13

wouldn't mind coming up, introducing

50:14

yourselves, and giving us um, where a

50:18

brief explanation of where this project

50:20

sits within the larger project and any

50:22

timelines that you're aware of or

50:24

confident of right now. That would be

50:26

great.

50:27

>> Sure. My name is Greg Hulquist. Uh, I'm

50:30

with Penmark Harrisburg Holdings and I

50:33

have with me, should I introduce folks?

50:36

David Johnson is with Penmark also.

50:39

Rich,

50:40

>> can you please, excuse me, can you

50:41

please speak into the microphone? Sorry.

50:43

>> That's okay. Thank you.

50:44

>> David Johnson with Penmark.

50:47

>> Rich Villa with Ambit Architecture. Josh

50:50

Murray with ECI Construction.

50:58

>> Sure. So, we put a a little slide uh

51:01

package together. You all have seen the

51:04

packet that was submitted as part of the

51:06

land development application. And so

51:08

what we tried to do was sort of give you

51:09

an update to touch on that and also uh

51:13

you saw a whole presentation when we

51:15

came in before for the uh resoning and

51:18

the subdivision. So what we've tried to

51:20

do is touch on how this is related to

51:23

that. So um if you remember when we

51:26

presented before it's um this is the

51:29

poly clinic campus and aerial view.

51:32

Phase one is building three which

51:34

Jeffrey just described. Uh it's the old

51:36

nurs's uh residences.

51:38

Um phase two is building one and that's

51:41

the one that Jeffrey mentioned is

51:43

following up behind phase one. Uh we're

51:47

in for land development application for

51:48

that planning commission on Wednesday.

51:51

And then phase three is building two

51:53

which is right now being used as

51:54

executive offices. So there's a lot of

51:56

small offices in building two. Folks in

51:59

the neighborhood and the area are um

52:02

running those now. Um, next slide.

52:07

So, this is the site plan and it shows

52:10

phase one uh building three on the

52:12

corner of Wikiniscoco and fourth. Uh,

52:16

next slide.

52:18

These are just some street views of the

52:19

of the uh building itself. A beautiful

52:22

building. It's on the uh register of

52:25

historic places. So, we're in for

52:27

historic tax credits. that's been the

52:30

last couple months um exhaustive effort

52:34

to get all that information into the

52:36

park service and into the state. Uh so

52:39

we just completed that um which will be

52:41

a big help in getting this project you

52:44

know funded. Um and they you know

52:48

because it's a historic tax credit

52:50

project we can't really mess with the

52:52

facade. So it's basically going to be to

52:55

um

52:57

you know bring it back up to its former

52:59

self as it were. Um next slide.

53:03

This is the first plan of the package

53:05

that you you all have which kind of

53:07

shows a isometric of the building um

53:10

which Ambit Architecture has been

53:12

working on diligently. This I guess when

53:15

we submitted this to you guys before it

53:17

was we might have had like six or seven

53:20

drawings. We now have what 50 drawings

53:22

rich something like that. Um so we're

53:25

pretty far into design which is what we

53:28

need to do and um yeah it's coming along

53:32

really well. Next slide.

53:36

Um we wanted to kind of touch on what

53:38

you've seen in the package and because

53:40

all this design development has happened

53:42

we just want to touch on some of the

53:44

differences so that you're aware before

53:46

you uh take this further. Um, in the

53:50

original plan,

53:52

uh, there's an elevator up at the top.

53:54

There's a freight elevator at the top

53:56

right. We were basically not going to

53:58

bring that back. We were going to

54:00

basically leave it in place. And the

54:03

reason was for just the way the building

54:06

flow was working. We didn't think it was

54:08

necessary that we would need it. It kind

54:10

of interrupted the the um

54:14

circulation in the building. Uh the

54:17

lobby was also up in the upper right

54:20

corner. If you remember, we moved the

54:22

lobby from the front entrance where it

54:24

is now in Wikisca. We moved it around to

54:26

the side. And a lot of the reason for

54:28

that was just where the folks are going

54:30

to park is really in the lot. And in

54:33

order to get into the building, not have

54:35

them walk all the way around, we thought

54:37

was a safety concern and also just a

54:40

convenience concern. So we moved the the

54:43

lobby up into that corner. And then the

54:44

lower right was sort of undefined but it

54:46

was a big blob of uh commercial. So the

54:50

next slide shows you uh go to the next

54:54

slide

54:58

how it's developed. And so right now the

55:00

commercial is still on the lower right

55:03

whether it's on the front by the uh

55:05

prominent or the uh what did you call

55:07

it?

55:07

>> Arcade uh it could be either either

55:10

side. Uh um we're not, you know, fully

55:14

there yet, but there's commercial on the

55:16

lower right. The lobby has moved down

55:19

slightly and we've brought that elevator

55:21

back into service. So now the building

55:23

will have two elevators. So those are

55:24

really the main differences in what you

55:26

saw before. Next slide.

55:30

This is what you saw early in the design

55:32

as far as an elevation and it was really

55:35

uh what was required to go in for land

55:37

development approval is you have to

55:39

submit a elevation drawing. Next slide

55:42

shows you where we are now. So what's

55:44

happened with the elevation is there's a

55:46

lot more detail that's being shown.

55:48

There's I don't know maybe eight or 10

55:50

drawings of elevation which is required

55:52

by the historic commission. We have to

55:54

detail all the windows. We have to

55:56

detail what's being done to the brick.

55:58

And so that's progressed

56:01

uh to that point. Now, next slide.

56:05

Um

56:07

last meeting we talked about minority

56:09

participation. I wanted to touch on that

56:11

again. Um

56:14

it's, you know, again, it's a large

56:15

project. It's $30 million. Uh big, you

56:19

know, it's a big effort here. So,

56:21

there's a lot of work to go around. Um

56:23

we think building three will create

56:25

about 50 full-time construction jobs.

56:28

um it'll peak at around 70. So there's a

56:31

lot of work there that can be spread

56:33

around

56:35

building one which is following up right

56:36

behind is uh another 90 and a peak at

56:40

120. So it's it's a lot of construction

56:43

jobs. Um

56:45

part of our MBEWB participation program

56:48

requires a proactive approach. One of

56:50

the parts of that proactive approach was

56:53

finding a CM that we felt a construction

56:56

manager that we felt had a good track

56:59

record of minority participation and not

57:02

just by box checking but actually

57:05

putting minority contractors to work and

57:08

uh local residents to work as well. Um

57:11

so what's happened in the last couple

57:13

months is July and August we we were

57:15

before you in early July. Uh July and

57:18

August was really the land development

57:21

um submission and furthering our design.

57:25

Uh September and October was the

57:27

historic tax credit submission.

57:30

Uh now we're into November, so now is

57:32

really the time where we're going to

57:34

start to outreach to minority

57:36

subcontractors and suppliers through our

57:39

construction manager. Um, so, uh, in

57:43

terms of timing of where this part of it

57:45

stands is we're now just getting into

57:47

that. Uh, we've met with some minority

57:49

contractors that came, uh, recommended

57:51

to us and they're kind of all chomping

57:54

at the bit like, "Hey, where's the

57:55

drawings? Where's the drawings?" And

57:57

we're just at that point now where we

57:59

have drawings that they can look at. Uh,

58:01

next slide.

58:09

uh community and outreach. So in the

58:12

black is kind of what we presented the

58:14

last time and in the red is where you

58:18

know what we've done since uh our last

58:20

meeting. Uh what we talked about was we

58:23

had several um neighbor meetings. Um we

58:29

had an article in the Berg. She's back

58:31

again.

58:34

Um,

58:35

and what we said was that we would have

58:37

continued outreach as the design

58:40

developed. And what we've done is we've

58:42

had three additional meetings since our

58:45

last meeting. Um, and it was really to

58:47

present to the community the drawings as

58:50

they're getting developed. You know,

58:52

kind of what's going on. We're getting a

58:54

lot of feedback. Um, input. You you all

58:57

asked what kind of input did we get from

58:59

the neighbors. Um,

59:02

parking was a question. Uh, traffic, you

59:05

know, concern. Parking was a concern.

59:07

Traffic was a concern. Security and

59:10

safety. These were questions people were

59:11

asking is how are you going to make sure

59:13

that, you know, we have a safe

59:15

environment. Um, and then there was some

59:18

a lot of construction related questions.

59:20

You know, what's going to happen during

59:22

construction?

59:23

Next slide.

59:27

So what we did to address some of that

59:29

is we had a traffic impact study. We

59:31

hired a traffic engineer traffic impact

59:34

study was done. And what they do with

59:36

these and I I'm sure you all are

59:38

familiar more than I probably

59:41

look at what the building use was and

59:43

what it's going to be now and what's the

59:46

change in peak

59:48

um traffic. Um, and what they came up

59:53

with was as an office use, which was the

59:55

last uh active use for the building,

59:59

it was hack uh Harrisburg Area Community

1:00:02

College, your peak hours or your peak

1:00:05

trips was about 148, 1:45 depending on

1:00:08

where you were, AM or PM. And in

1:00:11

relation to that, as an apartment

1:00:13

building, it goes to 36 or 39. So,

1:00:17

significantly less traffic than it would

1:00:19

be as an office building. Uh, one of the

1:00:22

things that we talked about was if you

1:00:25

look at our lot, um, it's an enormous

1:00:29

parking lot. Um, sometimes traffic is a

1:00:33

problem because parking's on the street.

1:00:35

We have a lot of parking in a big lot.

1:00:37

So, it helps to contain traffic. And

1:00:39

that also came from our traffic

1:00:41

engineer. Uh so anyway, we addressed

1:00:43

some of those concerns and presented

1:00:45

that to the folks at the neighbor

1:00:47

meetings and it was pretty well received

1:00:49

I think. Next slide.

1:00:52

As far as parking goes, we didn't have a

1:00:55

a parking plan as far along as we do

1:00:58

now, but basically we talked about 600

1:01:01

and some odd spots that we have uh on

1:01:05

the property. Part of those spots are in

1:01:07

the lot uh caddy corner across the

1:01:10

street uh on the upper right. It's at

1:01:12

fourth and poly clinic. There's a

1:01:14

garage. Uh you all probably know uh

1:01:16

there's 300 and some spaces in that

1:01:18

garage. And what we've done is we've

1:01:21

allocated specifically parking spots for

1:01:24

each building. So we're very clear on

1:01:26

where folks are going to park who reside

1:01:28

or work in these buildings. And we

1:01:31

wanted to be deliberate about that

1:01:32

because when we presented before to the

1:01:35

neighbors, you know, we weren't as

1:01:37

specific as we are now. We know exactly

1:01:39

where everyone's going to go. We've

1:01:40

given free spots out um and can continue

1:01:44

to do so to the neighbors. If anyone

1:01:46

needs a spot, we give them a pass to the

1:01:48

parking garage and uh that you know,

1:01:52

we'll continue to do that. But parking

1:01:55

concerns, I think, centered more around

1:01:59

what's going on with UPMC parking. Um,

1:02:02

if you look at our lot, there's no one

1:02:04

parked in our lot. It's not like there's

1:02:06

an a lack of parking in our parking

1:02:08

lots. It's really the fact that UPMC

1:02:12

doesn't have enough spots in their

1:02:14

facility. So, a lot of the parking

1:02:16

concerns are really related to not our

1:02:19

project, I guess, is the way I would

1:02:20

describe it. Uh, next slide.

1:02:24

And this gives you a shot at the total

1:02:26

parking capacity that we have of 461

1:02:29

spots. Um, you know, significant uh

1:02:33

capacity. In the next slide,

1:02:38

um, another thing that we did was we

1:02:39

worked on the construction log logistics

1:02:42

plan to address concerns they might have

1:02:44

had during construction and we talked

1:02:47

through that with them like how it would

1:02:48

work, what the hours would be.

1:02:51

um

1:02:53

we're not building a new building here.

1:02:55

We're renovating an existing building.

1:02:57

So that when they, you know, when we

1:02:58

presented that and they realized that,

1:03:01

that helped uh to calm some of the

1:03:03

concerns that they had about

1:03:06

um you know, how much disturbance a new

1:03:09

construction project could have. Um so

1:03:12

we presented that. Next slide.

1:03:16

Um and then before we get into this one,

1:03:19

we will continue to have additional uh

1:03:22

outreach meetings, our intention here is

1:03:26

um to just continue to communicate

1:03:28

openly with the public and make sure

1:03:30

that there's good dialogue um happening.

1:03:34

Um so that that is that. Um, so another

1:03:38

thing that was asked about last time was

1:03:40

affordability

1:03:41

um, from a couple of the council members

1:03:44

and I think I was a little quick in the

1:03:47

way I answered that question because

1:03:50

uh, the question was asked, will there

1:03:51

be affordable units? And I interpreted

1:03:54

that to mean subsidized affordable units

1:03:58

rather than are the units affordable.

1:04:01

Subsidized projects are using low-income

1:04:04

housing, tax credit money, home money,

1:04:06

basically public funding to finance a

1:04:09

project. In exchange for that, they

1:04:12

guarantee rents at a low level, and it's

1:04:15

a certain percent of AMI, as you all

1:04:17

know. You all have a lot of uh um

1:04:21

affordable units coming online. Um but

1:04:24

you were asked if there were affordable

1:04:25

units, and I said no. Um but the units

1:04:29

are affordable. So what I thought I

1:04:31

would do for the sake of comparison is

1:04:34

look at there. You know, you also asked

1:04:37

about have you looked at Dolphin County

1:04:40

AMI as well as Harrisburg AMI? You asked

1:04:43

that question and I honestly didn't even

1:04:44

know how to answer that. Uh only in the

1:04:48

sense that it wasn't an affordable

1:04:49

project. But so in doing some digging, I

1:04:52

did my best to try to compare where our

1:04:55

rents are going to be in relation to

1:04:58

what they would be if it were an

1:05:00

affordable project. And I think maybe

1:05:02

that's more of what your question was,

1:05:03

but I did a I took a stab at it here.

1:05:06

So, uh,

1:05:09

our rents, uh, what what we said in July

1:05:13

when we were asked about what a studio

1:05:15

one bed and two bed would be is this is

1:05:17

roughly the range that I gave for what

1:05:19

that would be.

1:05:21

The the these were average rents. And

1:05:23

honestly, the way it was done was,

1:05:25

>> excuse me, which one can you explain

1:05:27

>> on the blue?

1:05:27

>> All right, there we go.

1:05:28

>> I'm sorry. The blue was the the numbers

1:05:31

that I gave when I was asked back in

1:05:33

July and I also gave uh to Asha uh

1:05:37

council person green when we met

1:05:39

previous to that. Um and the what it the

1:05:42

way that worked was we had an overall

1:05:45

design for the project. You know, we're

1:05:46

at the 30,000 foot level and we're

1:05:48

saying what do we think our average

1:05:50

rents are going to be based on the

1:05:52

market uh for this level of unit. Um,

1:05:57

and what we were comparing ourselves was

1:05:59

other market rate apartments in the city

1:06:02

of Harrisburg.

1:06:04

Most specifically, the the probably the

1:06:06

closest was the glass factory. And

1:06:08

that's about the rents that the glass

1:06:09

facto is getting. Um, so we we said was

1:06:14

uh what was in the blue there.

1:06:16

I think a better way to answer that

1:06:18

question might be when asked will there

1:06:21

be affordable units is you know there's

1:06:23

average and then there's where do they

1:06:26

start like at what point can someone get

1:06:29

into this building? The green is where

1:06:32

we've landed as an average after

1:06:37

uh pretty significant design has been

1:06:39

done. We have a detailed design for

1:06:42

every unit. We take that, we go through,

1:06:45

we walk the building, we we look at

1:06:47

what's out in the marketplace, and we

1:06:49

determine a rent for each unit. Um, and

1:06:53

what has occurred is our average for

1:06:56

studios is 961,

1:06:59

for one beds is 1466, and for two beds

1:07:03

is 1673. It's just the way the numbers,

1:07:05

the math shakes out. But our starting

1:07:08

point for studios is 950. For one beds

1:07:12

is 1250 and for two beds is 1550. So

1:07:16

that's kind of where they start. And for

1:07:19

example, there might be three uh studios

1:07:22

out of the seven or eight that are at

1:07:24

950 as an example.

1:07:28

Um next slide.

1:07:32

So then what what we did was we took uh

1:07:35

in this case PHFA's published data for

1:07:39

Dolphin County. So in this case PHFA is

1:07:42

Dolphin County. Uh HUD would be uh

1:07:46

Harrisburg u

1:07:48

uh proper uh PHFA's numbers for

1:07:53

uh what the AMI would be for um you know

1:07:58

percent of AMI for the different types

1:08:00

of units. And what I did is I extracted

1:08:02

those numbers down to the table.

1:08:05

And so on the lower left is where our

1:08:07

rents start that you saw that on the

1:08:09

previous slide. Um you also have to

1:08:13

include the utilities cost because

1:08:15

that's a cost of living there. So we add

1:08:18

utility cost to the number and it says

1:08:21

that our starting rents for studio with

1:08:23

utilities would be 1,5075

1:08:26

for a one bed and 1,700 for a two bed.

1:08:30

And then bringing those numbers down

1:08:32

from Dolphin County uh PHFA published

1:08:34

data for Dolphin County. These are the

1:08:37

this is the AMI

1:08:40

uh based on 30% of the AMI going to rent

1:08:43

is what the average median income would

1:08:45

be at 100% at 80% at 70% and at 60% and

1:08:50

where our starting rents relate to that.

1:08:54

So in this case it would say that our

1:08:56

starting rents for studios would be at

1:08:58

57% of AMI and it's just a straight

1:09:01

calculation. I don't proclaim to be an

1:09:04

expert in this whatsoever. I did my best

1:09:07

to try to get a sense of how these

1:09:08

relate. Um, next slide would be looking

1:09:13

at HUD and this is uh the published data

1:09:17

from

1:09:18

uh HUD for Harrisburg Carile and what

1:09:22

lowincome housing incomes would be rents

1:09:26

at 30% of that and what percent of that

1:09:28

we are. So effectively saying that as

1:09:32

HUD defines low-income housing on the

1:09:35

bottom. So if you look at the upper

1:09:37

chart

1:09:40

um on Harrisburg Carile, they have low

1:09:42

income on the bottom there on the second

1:09:45

batch of numbers for one person, two

1:09:48

person, three person. And so we

1:09:51

correlated that one person being a

1:09:53

studio, one person being a one bed, two

1:09:56

person being a two bed. and it's saying

1:09:59

that we're at around the low-inccome

1:10:01

housing rates as

1:10:04

um

1:10:06

HUD would define it. Um so it's not

1:10:09

we're not we don't we are not a

1:10:11

subsidized affordable

1:10:13

um project because of our financing. We

1:10:15

can't be um but we believe our rents

1:10:19

will be you know roughly in that range.

1:10:23

So at least as a starting rent. Next

1:10:26

slide.

1:10:31

I guess that's the last slide,

1:10:36

but I wanted to try to do a better job

1:10:37

of answering that question because I did

1:10:39

a lousy job the last time.

1:10:46

Pardon me,

1:10:48

Brian.

1:10:58

Councilwoman Daniels.

1:11:01

>> Yeah. Okay. So, um, is that the

1:11:04

conclusion of the presentation?

1:11:05

>> Yeah.

1:11:07

>> Okay. Sorry, I didn't hear that you

1:11:09

ended. Okay. Um, so I'll just go ahead

1:11:12

and start asking my colleagues uh if

1:11:14

they have questions. I'll start with Mr.

1:11:16

Jones.

1:11:17

>> Uh, thank you, Councilwoman Daniels. How

1:11:20

you gentlemen doing? Good. All right.

1:11:23

Um, one of the questions I I heard you

1:11:25

say a bunch of stuff in these slides,

1:11:28

but I just wanted to be clear on um

1:11:30

something where um the historical tax

1:11:34

credits

1:11:36

versus just the regular tax credits. Can

1:11:38

you explain the difference

1:11:40

>> uh between historic and low-inccome

1:11:42

housing? Yes.

1:11:43

>> Tax credits. Okay.

1:11:44

>> Uh low-inccome housing tax credits would

1:11:47

be used. It's a it's a program offered

1:11:50

in order to promote uh low-income

1:11:52

housing uh for residents and basically

1:11:56

you apply in a pool a competitive pool

1:12:00

and you try to win those tax credits and

1:12:03

devel what developers do is and I I did

1:12:06

this uh for many years um in

1:12:09

Philadelphia with the Philadelphia

1:12:10

Housing Authority and other low-income

1:12:12

housing tax. It's just been quite a

1:12:14

while. Um but basically you compete and

1:12:18

as a developer what happens is

1:12:21

the way you get your return on a

1:12:24

development like that is from a a

1:12:26

developer fee upfront. So it's like a 10

1:12:29

to 15% fee.

1:12:32

Most of the project is funded from the

1:12:34

subsidies. You get more subsidies the

1:12:37

lower your rents are. But again, you're

1:12:39

trying to compete. So you put a package

1:12:41

together. you're in a pool of other

1:12:44

folks. If you win the tax credits on you

1:12:47

go and you do your project, um most of

1:12:50

the project is funded from the tax

1:12:52

credits. It's also done prevailing wage

1:12:55

uh as typically a requirement

1:12:57

>> and those are the lowincome tax credits.

1:13:00

And then historic tax credits are if

1:13:03

you're on the register of historic

1:13:05

places,

1:13:07

uh the federal government offers a

1:13:09

program to

1:13:12

bring life back to those historic

1:13:14

buildings and it's a federal grant or a

1:13:18

fund that it's it's um given. And what

1:13:21

happens is you you get the tax credits,

1:13:24

you then hire someone to sell them to

1:13:26

usually it's banks who get a tax break

1:13:30

and it brings equity into the project.

1:13:32

So it's a way to bring equity. You have

1:13:33

to pay it back. Um you have to give a

1:13:36

return to that those investors.

1:13:40

>> Yes.

1:13:40

>> Just like any other equity investors,

1:13:42

albeit a much lower return. So they're

1:13:45

getting a tax break and you're getting

1:13:48

uh an infusion of equity into the

1:13:49

project which can help projects like

1:13:51

this happen.

1:13:52

>> So there's a period of time where with

1:13:56

the historical tax credits, you're still

1:13:58

kind of dealing with the banks in this

1:14:00

aspect, right?

1:14:04

>> The project is funded from our own

1:14:07

equity

1:14:09

>> bank debt. That would be my next

1:14:10

question. Um, I think you said 30, 45 or

1:14:15

50. How much money is Pinmark putting in

1:14:17

out of pocket?

1:14:18

>> The the total program is around 50

1:14:21

million all in uh and we're putting in

1:14:25

around five.

1:14:27

>> Okay. And so the rest of this

1:14:29

>> and historic tax credits would be about

1:14:33

actually we're putting in more than

1:14:34

that. Um historic tax credits would be

1:14:38

about 7 million. Okay. Right.

1:14:41

>> And then the rest is bank funding that

1:14:44

you have to obviously pay back.

1:14:45

>> Pay back. Right. So, um, with all of

1:14:48

that being said, uh, I I I just do want

1:14:50

to make clear for the record that I did

1:14:52

attend to my colleagues. I did attend,

1:14:54

um, what do you call them? Listening, I

1:14:57

don't know what you call it, the

1:14:59

>> neighbor public outreach, I guess.

1:15:02

>> Yeah. I I I I was there at um one of the

1:15:05

events held at at the site and I think

1:15:09

it was maybe 25 to 30 people that were

1:15:12

there. Uh and and I did hear um you know

1:15:16

some of the concerns that they have and

1:15:19

um to to be honest I don't think any of

1:15:21

them was about the project. It was just

1:15:23

they were more so about the traffic and

1:15:25

uh the parking and I did witness you

1:15:28

give uh some of the residents and

1:15:30

offering them that that needed parking.

1:15:32

You offered them free parking until uh

1:15:35

the conclusion of this project. Um, the

1:15:38

other thing is, uh, I appreciate the MBE

1:15:43

and the DBE. Um, but you said you're at

1:15:46

a phase now where you're reaching out

1:15:48

to, um, some recommended local contract,

1:15:52

sub, these would be subcontractors,

1:15:54

correct? Um, so, uh, I do like that that

1:15:57

some of that money will trinkle down

1:15:58

into our communities. Um, you know, with

1:16:01

some of the companies, uh, that you

1:16:02

intend to use. Uh my other question

1:16:05

would be simply

1:16:10

I asked you a question the last time you

1:16:12

came here about what do you think the

1:16:14

revenue far as taxes will be brought

1:16:16

back to the city? Um did you ever get a

1:16:20

number for that?

1:16:21

>> Yeah. Um so we've submitted for our

1:16:23

LERTA and uh it's around 700,000

1:16:29

>> a year.

1:16:30

>> Yeah.

1:16:34

Okay.

1:16:36

Um, for now I think that's that's all

1:16:40

the questions I have. I'll kick it over

1:16:42

to my well kick it back to Councilwoman

1:16:44

Daniels

1:16:48

if she can hear me.

1:16:50

>> Okay. Thank you. Um, Councilman

1:16:51

Rodriguez.

1:16:54

>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, thank you

1:16:56

gentlemen for joining us this evening.

1:16:59

Uh, a few things I appreciate, you know,

1:17:01

over the course of four months since

1:17:02

we've last seen you gentlemen briefly.

1:17:05

Um, is how much consideration you've

1:17:07

taken into some of our questions,

1:17:08

whether you were able to hit it spot on

1:17:10

or not. You actually did some research

1:17:12

and came back prepared, which, you know,

1:17:14

I hold the high regard. And, um, I did

1:17:17

speak with a few residents that you did

1:17:19

keep your word with with the parking

1:17:21

situation that we were able to work out.

1:17:22

and you're probably the second entity

1:17:24

that's come in front of us this month um

1:17:27

or over the course of the past few weeks

1:17:29

and came back 100% accurate reporting

1:17:33

back like hey listen we really want to

1:17:35

do business with the city these are the

1:17:36

things council asked this is us in

1:17:38

response so I really appreciate it I

1:17:40

know council does as well um sometimes

1:17:43

when you're conducting business it's a

1:17:44

give and take but it's great to see the

1:17:46

opposite party willing to meet us where

1:17:48

we are willing to meet the residents

1:17:50

where they are I mean it means a lot Um,

1:17:52

to Councilman Jones's point, the WBE,

1:17:55

uh, MBE participation, how you're

1:17:57

willing to work with local participants

1:17:59

and contractors, it means the world

1:18:01

keeping that dollar here in Harrisburg,

1:18:03

letting it circulate. Um, I know Madame

1:18:05

President is going to ask a few

1:18:07

questions regarding affordability um,

1:18:09

with our package. But, you know, these

1:18:11

are things that we hold high regard, not

1:18:14

because we feel very, you know,

1:18:15

proactive about it, but the residents do

1:18:17

as well. So, um, it just means a lot.

1:18:20

And I'm serious. I did, you know, speak

1:18:22

to a few residents that he said, "No,

1:18:24

he's actually allowed us to stay parking

1:18:25

in the lot and it's working out great."

1:18:27

So, you know, thank you. And, um, I just

1:18:30

hope to keep hearing these these reports

1:18:31

as the project keeps uh going underway.

1:18:35

And what uh what was the timeline as far

1:18:37

as

1:18:40

>> I didn't talk to that.

1:18:41

>> Yes. Yes.

1:18:41

>> Um, so we have our demolition permit. Uh

1:18:44

we have a contract that's being worked

1:18:47

out with a local um u demolition

1:18:51

contractor. Um actually there's two that

1:18:53

are partnering together to do the

1:18:55

demolition building three.

1:18:56

>> Great.

1:18:57

>> Um and we're really just wanting to get

1:18:59

through land development approval

1:19:02

hopefully next week. Cross our fingers.

1:19:03

And if we do, then we'll break we'll

1:19:05

basically start the demolition. And we

1:19:07

hope to be finished uh phase one at

1:19:13

about I would say September, October of

1:19:16

next year.

1:19:18

>> Great.

1:19:19

>> So it's about 10 months.

1:19:21

>> Not bad at all. Pretty aggressive. Thank

1:19:22

you. Um

1:19:23

>> remember it's only it's only phase.

1:19:26

>> First of all, my CM's here, so don't act

1:19:28

surprised.

1:19:30

[laughter]

1:19:31

>> But it's it's it's a renovation. Yep.

1:19:34

And I appreciate how much um

1:19:37

background uh let's just say research

1:19:39

you've done on the the median uh average

1:19:44

the average medium income and um

1:19:46

comparing that to throughout the county

1:19:48

and the city because there is a

1:19:49

difference. But then going with the HUD

1:19:51

guidelines and just really taking that

1:19:52

in consideration and then showing us the

1:19:54

numbers in comparison, it means a lot.

1:19:56

um there's not a lot of developers or

1:19:59

even entities that are willing to come

1:20:01

back in front of us and show us the work

1:20:02

they've done based off the questions

1:20:04

we've asked. So, it means that you guys

1:20:06

care as well. So, I really appreciate it

1:20:08

and I know it means a lot for the

1:20:09

residents. Um nothing further. Thank

1:20:11

you.

1:20:17

>> Thank you, uh Councilwoman Ross.

1:20:20

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Daniels. Um, and

1:20:21

thank you all for being here tonight and

1:20:23

for your d your due diligence of um,

1:20:26

coming back and correcting about

1:20:28

affordability and doing some research.

1:20:31

Um, I think that was very important

1:20:32

because that was one of my concerns. Um,

1:20:35

with the apartments being a little high

1:20:38

and I do understand that you're not

1:20:40

going after the the credit the tax

1:20:42

credits for HUD and so forth. So, you do

1:20:45

want a return on the project and that's

1:20:47

that's also important, but you are doing

1:20:48

the community outreach. Um and so I do

1:20:51

like how you had added with the

1:20:53

utilities uh and the price with what it

1:20:56

will be with them added. So I just had

1:20:58

two questions and then a comment. Um

1:21:01

what actually one question what

1:21:03

utilities are included?

1:21:06

>> So one of the things that we saw in the

1:21:08

research we did was an allocation for

1:21:11

trash

1:21:12

uh which will not be uh on the

1:21:16

residence. Um, we'll have a central

1:21:18

trash shoot and I've honestly never seen

1:21:21

that being put on the residence in my

1:21:25

career. Uh, it's just taken care of as

1:21:27

part of the building. Uh, but it's

1:21:29

basically electric water. Um, now

1:21:33

remember this was a hospital so our

1:21:36

electric is at a high voltage rate. So

1:21:38

we're buying electric at high voltage

1:21:42

and we own the transformers. We're

1:21:44

stepping it down. So,

1:21:47

you know, that's that's an important

1:21:48

element, but it's basically electric,

1:21:50

water, and um sewer. And then cable

1:21:56

obviously is a is an option if they want

1:21:58

to do that or not. It's up between them

1:21:59

and the cable company.

1:22:02

>> Okay. Well, you are given a lot with the

1:22:05

utilities. That's a a big deal because

1:22:06

that adds on to your rent. So, as I see

1:22:09

it being added in, that can be like,

1:22:10

"Okay, there's not going to be this

1:22:12

extra bill after I pay $1,300

1:22:15

>> for a twobedroom essentially, except for

1:22:18

like cable."

1:22:19

>> Well, just to clarify, the rent is 950,

1:22:23

>> right? That's the starting rent at

1:22:25

>> that's a studio,

1:22:26

>> right?

1:22:26

>> You think in order to compare this to

1:22:28

HUD or to PHFA,

1:22:31

>> right?

1:22:31

>> Those numbers include utilities. I had

1:22:33

to add utilities to even make a

1:22:35

comparison,

1:22:36

>> right? We that's our estimate of what we

1:22:38

think utilities would be which would be

1:22:39

on the resident to pay.

1:22:42

>> Right. Okay.

1:22:44

>> So a a a studio own a renter should

1:22:47

expect to pay about a starting rent of

1:22:49

about a,50 with utilities included but

1:22:52

they'll be paying the utilities. It'll

1:22:54

be separately metered which is how most

1:22:56

of them are done. Oh

1:22:57

>> okay. I must have misunderstood. I

1:22:58

thought the utilities were included into

1:23:01

the rent of what they'll pay. Am I

1:23:04

missing something?

1:23:06

Yes.

1:23:06

>> Yes.

1:23:07

>> I had to add them to compare it.

1:23:09

>> Yes. Okay. Okay. Sorry.

1:23:10

>> If I say where are we in relation to and

1:23:12

again I'm no expert. I did my best and I

1:23:15

can refine this further but in order to

1:23:19

compare it I can't forget about the

1:23:21

>> Yes. Now I get you. Sorry. All right. I

1:23:24

understand.

1:23:25

>> And let me assure you that chat GPT will

1:23:28

forget about that.

1:23:29

>> Yeah. I'm sure

1:23:30

>> because they got it wrong and I had to

1:23:32

catch them. So I'm just saying. No, you

1:23:34

you have to read them. You cannot

1:23:36

believe everything they say. You do have

1:23:38

to read it.

1:23:39

>> Okay. Um

1:23:41

>> I mean that's it. I mean I I still am

1:23:43

concerned. I mean it still is a little

1:23:44

high. Um just based off especially like

1:23:47

the two-bedroom, but I mean I I see

1:23:51

you're trying to find a way to get it to

1:23:54

a a basis point where someone um could

1:23:57

afford it. Um

1:24:00

I could not if I was um And I'm a

1:24:03

teacher, you know, and when I had my

1:24:06

daughter, I had one daughter. I was a

1:24:09

teacher. I was only making $45,000 at

1:24:11

Harrisburg School District. That's it.

1:24:12

Pay freeze for five years. It wasn't my

1:24:14

fault. Two degrees. So, I did everything

1:24:17

I was supposed to do. And I literally

1:24:20

could only afford 750. And, you know,

1:24:23

thank God I found an apartment that I

1:24:25

could live in that had that. And that

1:24:26

was a two-bedroom. Nothing was upgraded,

1:24:28

but it was still really nice. Um, but I

1:24:31

was still struggling at that price. Um,

1:24:34

so I just get concerned about that

1:24:36

because there's some people who can't I

1:24:37

could not meet the recommendations to

1:24:40

get section 8, to get food stamps. They

1:24:42

said I made too much. And to me, I'm

1:24:44

like, I barely make anything. I have a

1:24:47

car note. I have uh my phone. I got to

1:24:50

pay rent. I got to get my daughter

1:24:51

clothes. She's got to eat. You know,

1:24:53

like it was so many things that I had to

1:24:56

do that I would not be able to live in

1:24:58

your building. And that's kind of like

1:25:01

what I'm thinking about, but I also

1:25:02

understand that um it costs to build to

1:25:07

rehab this building. Um there's you want

1:25:11

to return on it and I get that part, but

1:25:14

it's just I'm just trying to figure out

1:25:17

um you know who could afford it and if

1:25:21

they're doing everything that they can

1:25:23

and they have a good job but they still

1:25:26

can't afford it, right? So, those are

1:25:29

just the types of things I'm thinking

1:25:30

about and I'm trying to, you know, wrap

1:25:32

my head around it to make the best

1:25:33

possible decision. But I do thank you

1:25:35

for all the work that you've done and

1:25:36

trying to find this in the outreach to

1:25:38

the community. So, I'll just keep

1:25:40

listening to everybody's questions and

1:25:42

hearing the answers and try to make the

1:25:43

best decision. So, just thank you.

1:25:46

That's it for me. Um, Councilwoman

1:25:47

Daniels.

1:25:50

>> Thank you, President Hill.

1:25:52

>> Thank you. Um, I I do have a number of

1:25:55

questions, so please bear with me as

1:25:57

your PowerPoint was pretty extensive. I

1:26:00

don't want to miss anything. In

1:26:02

reference to the community outreach and

1:26:04

the three public meetings, Councilman

1:26:07

Jones um estimated um

1:26:11

about between 25 and 30 people present.

1:26:15

Do you think that that was the average

1:26:17

for each of the meetings or what what

1:26:19

was the total there?

1:26:20

>> So, we've learned along the way. Um,

1:26:25

we thought handing flyers out would be a

1:26:28

good thing and it it wasn't as effective

1:26:30

as it could have been. When we put the

1:26:33

meeting on the public website, it was

1:26:35

recommended at I think it was the

1:26:37

planning commission meeting that we do

1:26:38

that. And as soon as we did that, we had

1:26:41

a lot more folks turn out. So, we have a

1:26:43

couple more meetings coming up uh in uh

1:26:47

I don't know if we have one scheduled

1:26:48

for next week. I think it's the week

1:26:50

after next and then the week after

1:26:51

again. Uh and we'll continue to do it on

1:26:54

the um city website.

1:26:57

>> Okay.

1:26:58

>> Try to get a better turnout.

1:27:00

>> Okay. So, the questions that you

1:27:02

received were from the higher turnout of

1:27:06

residents.

1:27:07

>> You mean the ones that we put up there?

1:27:09

Yes.

1:27:09

>> Every meeting.

1:27:10

>> Okay. Were similar questions. Okay. Um

1:27:14

my next question

1:27:17

uh is regarding minority participation.

1:27:20

The slide with the total numbers of jobs

1:27:23

and then your your timeline mentioned

1:27:25

that this month is the month for

1:27:29

outreach. Now what will that look like?

1:27:31

Will it be as aggressive as the um

1:27:35

community outreach or how how do you

1:27:38

intend to meet this need?

1:27:41

You want to take that one, Josh?

1:27:49

Josh Murray, ECI Construction.

1:27:57

So, now that the design is coming along,

1:28:00

this is something that we're going to be

1:28:01

able to do. When we didn't have the

1:28:03

design,

1:28:05

>> um, can you hear me?

1:28:06

>> Not really. Do you mind use using the

1:28:10

microphone over here? No, I think it's

1:28:12

something

1:28:12

>> applicant. Please speak up a little bit

1:28:14

more.

1:28:15

>> Yeah, she can't hear you.

1:28:20

>> No, that's not working either. Hold on.

1:28:22

It's on. The light is green.

1:28:29

>> Oh, okay.

1:28:30

>> Yes, that's better. Thank you.

1:28:33

Josh Ecess

1:28:47

packages

1:28:52

globally.

1:28:54

We'll put those packets together and

1:28:56

just send them out in like requests for

1:28:58

proposals, but we'll also do our due

1:29:00

diligence and have site visits and meet

1:29:03

those contractors on site and walk

1:29:05

through the scope of work so they

1:29:07

understand what they are pricing. So,

1:29:09

we're going to start that process here

1:29:11

in October or sorry, in November.

1:29:13

>> Yeah, we're in November now. Okay. So

1:29:16

the outreach for minority participation

1:29:21

will occur simultaneously with the

1:29:23

continued community outreach. Is that

1:29:25

clear? Okay.

1:29:26

>> Correct.

1:29:27

>> Okay.

1:29:27

>> I think the other thing we're going to

1:29:29

be doing for LERA

1:29:31

um is we want to have a public publicly

1:29:34

announced

1:29:35

>> Yeah. meeting or two with um invitation

1:29:39

to any and all folks who are interested

1:29:42

who want to meet with us and um just you

1:29:46

know that's what we did at uh for

1:29:48

example with uh Philadelphia Housing

1:29:51

Authority is we would have like fairs

1:29:53

but I wouldn't call it a fair but you'd

1:29:55

basically have a very large

1:29:57

>> uh like a pre like a pre-bid Yeah.

1:30:00

>> Yeah. And um we explain the project they

1:30:04

all come they

1:30:06

uh we get their information, they get

1:30:08

our information, we set up meetings,

1:30:09

follow-up meetings, that sort of thing.

1:30:12

So, we'll be doing that as well.

1:30:14

>> Okay. Thank you. We'd like to ensure

1:30:17

participation at every phase of this

1:30:19

large project. We want to ensure that um

1:30:22

Harris Harrisburg based

1:30:25

businesses are included. So, thank you.

1:30:28

>> Our first contractor is a Harrisburg

1:30:31

contractor, the demolition contractor.

1:30:33

>> Oh, great.

1:30:34

>> Yeah.

1:30:35

Okay, my next questions are around

1:30:37

affordability. I wanted to go back to

1:30:39

that and I wanted to clarify because I'm

1:30:43

sorry if I wasn't clear. With the

1:30:46

Harrisburg affordable housing program,

1:30:49

20%

1:30:50

of the total units would be deemed

1:30:54

affordable for our residents. So, at 96

1:30:57

units, it would really only be 19. But I

1:31:00

do appreciate um your due diligence in

1:31:04

um trying to answer my question.

1:31:08

Um

1:31:10

affordability is is so important to me

1:31:13

because we've heard from developers that

1:31:16

aren't from the area and they've come in

1:31:18

and said things like, "Well, it's going

1:31:20

to be a beautiful building." And my

1:31:22

response will always be, "That's nice if

1:31:25

it's a beautiful building, but if our

1:31:27

residents can't afford to live there,

1:31:29

it's really a waste of time." Um, so

1:31:33

thank you for the clarity that you've

1:31:35

provided there. Um,

1:31:38

yeah, and I just wanted to clarify that

1:31:41

19 units. So, it's nice if everything is

1:31:45

deemed affordable uh for our residents,

1:31:48

but under that program, it's it would be

1:31:50

19.

1:31:53

Um, let me see. I

1:31:57

don't think I have any other questions.

1:32:01

Those were my main ones. So, thank you.

1:32:05

>> Thank you. Um, Vice uh Councilwoman

1:32:09

Davis. Thank you, Councilwoman Daniels.

1:32:12

And good evening, everyone.

1:32:15

My colleagues have pretty much asked all

1:32:18

of the questions that I was going to

1:32:20

ask.

1:32:22

Um, one of the most important items was

1:32:27

the parking.

1:32:29

I didn't realize the garage had 300

1:32:32

spaces in there. Doesn't look that big

1:32:34

from the outside.

1:32:36

Um,

1:32:39

and then my colleague asked about the

1:32:41

utilities. So, the trash is going to be

1:32:44

taken care of. The residents don't have

1:32:46

to worry about the trash. Just electric,

1:32:48

water, and sewer.

1:32:51

Okay. On top of their rent,

1:32:55

which is good. But this is not

1:32:58

an affordable project. I get it.

1:33:02

I'm just glad that we do have some

1:33:06

affordable projects

1:33:09

being developed

1:33:11

to kind of offset this huge project. Um

1:33:16

I foresee

1:33:18

people who are professionals maybe being

1:33:22

able to afford this um

1:33:26

even the basic um

1:33:30

apartment

1:33:33

I used to live up there also [laughter]

1:33:37

right couple couple blocks down the

1:33:39

street. I had a I think it was a

1:33:41

two-bedroom apartment. [laughter]

1:33:44

It's a very nice neighborhood. Um and it

1:33:48

has a lot of amenities there, so we know

1:33:52

you know what's there. Um the Italian

1:33:56

lake, the river very nice there. Um, but

1:34:01

I think you pretty much covered all of

1:34:03

the bases, Mr. Halquest. You you've

1:34:05

covered everything. And I also

1:34:07

appreciate you coming back and your due

1:34:11

diligence, the the effort, the extra

1:34:13

effort, and going the extra mile to

1:34:16

answer our questions. Um, I haven't

1:34:19

gotten any complaints from the

1:34:21

residents. There's a few of them very

1:34:23

close to up there and you're answering

1:34:27

their questions. and the parking was one

1:34:30

of the main concerns. So, thank you for

1:34:32

extending an olive branch to them for

1:34:35

those extra spaces.

1:34:37

Um, and that's it for me. Thank you.

1:34:40

>> Welcome.

1:34:44

>> Thank you. Does anyone have any last

1:34:46

minute questions?

1:34:51

>> Okay. Um, so thank you everyone. Um, I

1:34:55

would recommend that we add this

1:34:56

resolution to the next legislative

1:34:59

session. Um, and thank you all of the

1:35:02

participants.

1:35:04

Um, next, uh, we will see resolution 74

1:35:08

2025. Mr. Humphre, could you please read

1:35:10

that into the record?

1:35:12

Resolution 74 of 2025, a resolution

1:35:16

approving the preliminary/final land

1:35:18

development plan for 333 Market Street

1:35:21

submitted by Bradley Jones of Harristown

1:35:23

Development Corporation to convert

1:35:25

vacant office space into residential

1:35:27

units and associated site and access

1:35:29

improvements.

1:35:34

>> Thank you. Could someone from the

1:35:35

administration just give us a basic

1:35:38

summary of this resolution? um where we

1:35:41

are in the process and if you and Mr. if

1:35:44

it's Mr. Knight um could you make it as

1:35:48

brief and concise as possible please?

1:35:50

Thank you.

1:35:51

>> Okay, sure. Um so uh this uh development

1:35:54

proposal uh represents um the conversion

1:35:59

of about half of the property at 333

1:36:03

Market Street um from office space to

1:36:06

residential units. Uh it'll be floors 11

1:36:09

through 19. Um you may be familiar with

1:36:12

this property. It's the largest tallest

1:36:14

building in the city here. Um and I

1:36:15

believe uh the um state office leases

1:36:19

are um expiring there. So that's why the

1:36:22

uh building is becoming vacant. Um and

1:36:24

the

1:36:26

floors um there will be 81 uh total uh

1:36:30

units uh in one and two-bedroom

1:36:32

configurations uh with sizes of the

1:36:35

units ranging from 828 ft to,25

1:36:39

square ft. Um so uh the uh proposal will

1:36:44

be similar to a lot of the other prop um

1:36:46

development proposals and kind of

1:36:48

similar to what we just heard here. Um

1:36:50

except obviously being downtown the um

1:36:53

context is a little bit different. Uh

1:36:55

but this um can certainly operate as a

1:36:58

proof of concept uh for the

1:37:00

redevelopment of our downtown office

1:37:02

buildings into things like um

1:37:04

residential units uh which will

1:37:06

obviously help add to the downtown

1:37:07

housing inventory. Uh so with that all

1:37:10

being said, uh the planning commission

1:37:12

recommends the city council approve the

1:37:14

request with the following conditions.

1:37:16

Uh the applicant should install a

1:37:18

secured bike corral or bike storage area

1:37:19

in the sheltered entryway to accommodate

1:37:21

auto non-automotive trips by residents

1:37:23

and their guests as the modal shift for

1:37:25

trips to and from the property will

1:37:27

likely shift as a result of the

1:37:29

conversion from offices to uh

1:37:30

residential units. And if you're

1:37:32

familiar with that uh entryway um from

1:37:35

Market Street, it's the one with the

1:37:36

escalator going up to the second floor

1:37:38

where the actual entrance is. So there's

1:37:40

a huge space in there that uh can

1:37:42

accommodate things like planters or like

1:37:44

bike racks uh for uh residents and their

1:37:47

uh guests. And then finally, the

1:37:49

applicant should consider landscaping

1:37:50

options to soften the building's

1:37:52

exterior and improve the aesthetics such

1:37:54

as additional planters, green or living

1:37:56

walls, andor green roofs on site. Um,

1:37:59

and that could be just simple as putting

1:38:01

down like low kind of ground coverage

1:38:02

plants on the uh on the roof. Uh, the

1:38:05

planning commission recommends that city

1:38:06

council approve the request for the

1:38:08

following reasons. Project proposes the

1:38:10

construction of one and twobedroom units

1:38:12

in sizes larger than proposed for other

1:38:13

similar office to residential

1:38:15

conversions in downtown. The adaptive

1:38:17

reuse of vacant and underutilized office

1:38:19

spaces into apartment buildings is a

1:38:21

long-term trend for downtown Harrisburg

1:38:22

and necessary to enhance the vitality of

1:38:24

the neighborhood and the Market Street

1:38:26

corridor. Other conversions of former

1:38:28

office buildings in the surrounding

1:38:29

neighborhood have demonstrated the

1:38:30

proposed use will not adversely impact

1:38:32

the character of the neighborhood and

1:38:33

the project will help maintain the

1:38:34

viability of a large structure

1:38:36

endangered by the threat of extended

1:38:37

vacancy. And finally, the proposed reuse

1:38:39

will add new residents to the

1:38:40

neighborhood to activate the street on

1:38:42

nights and weekends and grow customer

1:38:44

base to support local businesses and

1:38:46

will provide additional housing units to

1:38:47

the downtown inventory.

1:38:52

>> Thank you, Mr. Jones, if you don't mind

1:38:54

giving us a brief uh summary of the

1:38:57

project. Uh same thing, if you could be

1:39:00

as concise as possible but thorough. Um

1:39:02

and for our edification, just let us

1:39:05

know what is currently in the building.

1:39:07

Um that would be uh no longer be there.

1:39:12

>> Sure. Hi, Brad Jones with Harristown

1:39:14

Development Corporation. Good evening,

1:39:15

council members.

1:39:16

>> I can't hear you

1:39:19

>> if you don't I think it's a microphone

1:39:21

thing.

1:39:21

>> No problem. Can you hear me now?

1:39:24

>> That better?

1:39:25

>> Yeah, that's better.

1:39:25

>> Okay. My name's Brad Jones. I'm with

1:39:27

Harristown Development Corporation and

1:39:30

Mr. Knight did a fantastic job as he

1:39:32

always does in summarizing the the

1:39:34

project. Uh it is, you know, essentially

1:39:37

the top half of the of the 22story

1:39:40

building. It's floors 11 through 19. Uh

1:39:43

the state leases are expiring at the end

1:39:46

of March of uh next year. We're moving

1:39:50

quickly to try to rehabilitate and

1:39:52

renovate and reoccupy uh what is mostly

1:39:56

a vacant building now. Most of the

1:39:58

agencies have moved out, but there's

1:39:59

still a few agencies still moving out of

1:40:02

of the uh building floors. And so our

1:40:06

goal is is pretty simple. It's a pretty

1:40:07

straightforward uh project on the top

1:40:09

half just to try to uh you know convert

1:40:13

that into apartments. We are um working

1:40:16

closely with several uh senior living

1:40:19

developers or senior living

1:40:20

organizations to try to make this into a

1:40:23

a senior living complex um as we are

1:40:26

currently doing over at 112 Market

1:40:28

Street. And uh that is our hope. So

1:40:30

we're we're hoping to to do sort of a a

1:40:33

similar master lease kind of arrangement

1:40:35

for senior living uh in that upper uh

1:40:38

portion of the building. and you know

1:40:41

the agencies that are currently there. I

1:40:42

mean the department of education moved

1:40:44

out into the forum building about a year

1:40:47

or so ago. Uh the budget office is

1:40:50

moving out this month. The and they'll

1:40:53

be moving into the foreign place and the

1:40:56

human relations commission I think has

1:40:58

moved out as well into the foreign place

1:41:01

building. And then

1:41:05

I think that's about it. There's there's

1:41:07

not much. There's one other agency that

1:41:09

will stay on floor two for a couple

1:41:12

years just uh it's the Commonwealth

1:41:14

Media Services, but uh everything else

1:41:16

is will be pretty much vacant by the end

1:41:18

of March next year.

1:41:21

>> Happy to answer any questions.

1:41:24

>> Thank you. I'll open the floor um to my

1:41:27

colleagues. I'll start with Councilman

1:41:28

Jones.

1:41:31

>> Thank you, Councilman Daniels. I mean,

1:41:33

Councilwoman Daniels, I'm sorry.

1:41:34

[laughter]

1:41:35

I apologize. How you doing, Mr. Jones?

1:41:37

Good to see you.

1:41:38

>> Good, good. Uh, similar to some of the

1:41:40

questions that were asked for the

1:41:41

previous developers here, um, again,

1:41:43

this is an existing um, structure. Uh,

1:41:47

one of the questions I'll ask because

1:41:48

they probably ask the same um,

1:41:50

affordability of the units, are we

1:41:53

looking at MBE, DBE, local

1:41:56

participation?

1:41:58

And um I know downstairs it's kind of

1:42:00

recessed where you have I think

1:42:04

>> W A G

1:42:05

>> WGL

1:42:06

>> Sneaker Villa.

1:42:08

>> Um is there intentions for other retail

1:42:10

spaces to come into those? So I know

1:42:11

that's like a loaded question but those

1:42:13

would be my questions.

1:42:14

>> Yeah. So good questions. I'll try to

1:42:16

answer them all. So I'll start with the

1:42:19

affordability. So we are working on a

1:42:22

master lease environment where we'd like

1:42:23

to get one organization to lease the

1:42:26

entire 81 units. And so uh that is the

1:42:30

arrangement that we have, you know, with

1:42:33

our current senior living room project

1:42:34

on uh the old vets building down the

1:42:37

street here. And uh so we don't know

1:42:39

what the rents will be. That will be up

1:42:41

to the organization that would be doing

1:42:43

the master lease. So they'd be setting

1:42:45

those rents and you know bringing people

1:42:47

through into that senior living portal.

1:42:49

Does that make sense?

1:42:50

>> Yeah. So before you go because so you

1:42:53

you you said you've

1:42:54

>> I guess piloted this over here 112. So

1:42:58

what did those rents turn out?

1:42:59

>> We don't know what the rents are. You

1:43:01

don't you don't have I mean you know

1:43:02

they they're paying us a you know once

1:43:04

the lease starts they'll pay us a a

1:43:06

fixed fee that was negotiated and you

1:43:08

know bringing in people into that in you

1:43:12

know environment with whatever rents

1:43:13

they decide to charge. It's not really

1:43:15

up to us.

1:43:16

>> So you do you all right? So maybe I ask

1:43:18

this. Do you have a a preference? I

1:43:20

mean, again, cuz you could hear the the

1:43:22

the line of questioning here, making

1:43:25

sure that this is these some of these

1:43:26

things are affordable, but putting it

1:43:28

into someone else's hands and and we

1:43:31

don't really know what they'll do. Um,

1:43:33

do you have a preference like a number

1:43:35

that you would think or are you are they

1:43:37

do you believe that they're going to use

1:43:38

the same kind of formulas with the AMI

1:43:41

uh locally, state, and HUD and all that?

1:43:43

Yeah, I mean it's it's really not a

1:43:45

question that we you know we we

1:43:47

negotiated a a term of lease for that

1:43:50

that organization. They're a partner in

1:43:52

the deal and they set the rents you know

1:43:55

for individually for the occupants of

1:43:57

that building. So I don't know the

1:43:59

answer to that.

1:44:00

>> Okay, moving on to the next one.

1:44:02

>> Sure. So, um, so the, um, MBE, WBE,

1:44:07

absolutely. Uh, we we haven't, uh,

1:44:10

assigned a or chosen a contractor yet

1:44:13

for this project. We're still in, uh,

1:44:15

design and engineering. This is a big

1:44:19

building that we're trying to convert

1:44:20

from an office to a residential. There's

1:44:23

a lot of engineering issues. So, we're

1:44:24

still in sort of the preliminary design

1:44:26

and engineering phase yet, but we will

1:44:28

certainly, as we always do, uh, seek out

1:44:30

MBE contractors. is we're actually uh

1:44:33

working with a great uh contract uh

1:44:35

concrete contractor just across the

1:44:37

street at a different project um that's

1:44:39

also an MBE as well. So we always do

1:44:41

that

1:44:42

>> for sure.

1:44:44

>> Now the last question

1:44:45

>> uh what was the last question?

1:44:47

>> Commercial tenants.

1:44:48

>> Commercial tenants. Yes. So, [laughter]

1:44:51

uh, so we did lose the liquor store, um,

1:44:54

as a tenant a few months back, which we

1:44:58

were very sad about, but, you know, it's

1:45:01

a nice space. I think we'll be able to

1:45:02

find another retailer there. Obviously,

1:45:04

foot traffic has been a huge concern in

1:45:07

downtown uh with regard to customers

1:45:10

and, you know, just most people, you

1:45:13

know, working from home. And so, we've

1:45:14

had a tough time on retail, but you

1:45:16

know, we're uh determined that with a

1:45:19

building that will be reoccupied that

1:45:21

that will provide a new opportunity to

1:45:23

recruit new retail. And you you got all

1:45:25

the retailers right. it was

1:45:28

and well not really a retailer but TV

1:45:30

station and then uh uh Sneaker Villa now

1:45:33

called DTLR and those two are doing

1:45:35

well.

1:45:36

>> Okay. And um the only other thing that I

1:45:38

would offer far as a comment would be um

1:45:40

I think it's a it's a great idea to use

1:45:44

that that space um especially with I

1:45:46

know they've been taking a hit with

1:45:48

reassessments and all of that right and

1:45:50

um you know of course uh some of the

1:45:52

businesses that were there I think one

1:45:54

time u pardons all of all of those

1:45:56

people were occupying that space um but

1:45:59

I think it's a great idea to find places

1:46:01

like that to create your own foot

1:46:03

traffic but I would say um mixing it not

1:46:08

just uh seniors because again if if

1:46:10

we're going to be looking to have that

1:46:12

foot traffic for people to be traveling

1:46:14

up and down market street spending their

1:46:16

dollars we definitely want to have

1:46:18

something attractive enough

1:46:20

>> for those individuals and being that far

1:46:23

up how what I think is this eighth and

1:46:24

ninth [clears throat] floor which which

1:46:26

floors

1:46:26

>> uh it would be floors 11 through 19 and

1:46:29

uh the views are spectacular

1:46:32

>> great and um the parking right next

1:46:35

Sure.

1:46:36

>> Parking is attached to the garage or

1:46:38

attached the garage is attached to the

1:46:40

building. Uh there's a,075 parking

1:46:44

spaces there uh in that garage. So I

1:46:47

think parking will not be availability

1:46:50

of parking will not be an issue. Price

1:46:52

could be the you know the issue because

1:46:54

it's in the system. It's in the parking

1:46:56

the coordinated parking system as as we

1:46:58

say. So so that is you know $250 a

1:47:02

month. So, uh, the price isn't great,

1:47:05

but there's lots of availability.

1:47:08

>> That's it. That's all my questions.

1:47:10

[laughter]

1:47:11

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez.

1:47:13

[clears throat]

1:47:15

>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for

1:47:16

joining us this evening. Um, no

1:47:19

questions, just more of a statement. Uh,

1:47:21

when we talk about senior living, of

1:47:23

course, affordability is high on the

1:47:25

priority list. And uh with a lot of

1:47:29

benefits being lapsed and ending now,

1:47:31

it's already hard to make ends meet as

1:47:33

is. And when we talk about and consider

1:47:35

parking at 250, you know, and we're not

1:47:38

even sure of what maybe whoever gets the

1:47:40

master lease, what they would kind of

1:47:42

divvy out their leases be to be to these

1:47:44

individuals. It's just a high concern of

1:47:46

mine and um I hope it would I wish I

1:47:49

would say it would be great to see those

1:47:50

numbers forhand, but I know it's out of

1:47:52

your control. But I just wanted to make

1:47:54

sure I said that on the record.

1:47:55

>> Appreciate it. Thank you. No further

1:47:57

questions or sentiments.

1:48:07

>> Was that it? Was that the Do you have

1:48:09

other questions?

1:48:11

>> No further questions or sentiments.

1:48:13

Thank you.

1:48:15

>> Okay. Um, Councilwoman Ross.

1:48:17

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Daniels, and

1:48:19

thank you, Mr. Harris, for being here.

1:48:21

Um I am I think we all are aware that we

1:48:24

have some buildings that are vacant

1:48:26

right now or uh workers in come back

1:48:29

because they're working from home and we

1:48:30

need to find something to do with these

1:48:32

buildings. Um so I am you know thank you

1:48:35

for bringing this project in front of

1:48:37

us. Um I am just a little concerned. I'm

1:48:40

not a senior living especially

1:48:43

>> the floors are a little high. I think

1:48:45

the the view is going to be beautiful.

1:48:47

Um, I just don't know how much they're

1:48:49

going to want to um, go that high, how

1:48:51

safe they're going to feel. Um, you

1:48:54

know, they're in a different stage of

1:48:55

their life where it's kind of like, I

1:48:56

just want to go on one floor and I'm

1:48:58

good. Um, and so I'm like, oh, are, you

1:49:01

know, is the building going to fill

1:49:04

enough for our seniors? Are they going

1:49:06

to be able to afford it, too? Because a

1:49:08

lot of them are on fixed incomes, and

1:49:10

that's like a a huge concern. I know it

1:49:12

was for my grandparents, um, on, you

1:49:14

know, how they could afford living. And

1:49:16

then with the garage being 250. So I am

1:49:19

just a bit concerned. I love the

1:49:21

project. We need it. We need foot

1:49:23

traffic. Um we need these buildings to

1:49:26

be taking up taxes, uh tax base, all of

1:49:28

that.

1:49:29

>> And the city needs it. I'm just

1:49:31

concerned, you know, um if the seniors,

1:49:34

is this going to be uh a livable space

1:49:36

for them? Are they going to want to? And

1:49:38

are they going to be able to afford it?

1:49:40

And I know like you said, you'll be

1:49:42

giving it um to a third party. you're

1:49:44

not sure what the rents are going to be.

1:49:47

Um, so I I just um I don't know if you

1:49:50

could get us any more answers on that

1:49:52

just to feel a little bit more

1:49:53

comfortable cuz I know you said with the

1:49:54

building you just um completed, you're

1:49:58

not sure what those rents are. Do you

1:49:59

know how many apartments um were filled

1:50:02

with the ones?

1:50:03

>> It's not completed yet. It's still under

1:50:05

construction. So, we have a ways to go

1:50:06

yet on that. So, I don't know. and and

1:50:09

that really isn't, you know, sort of a

1:50:11

question we, you know, ask our our, you

1:50:14

know, partner on that because that's

1:50:16

kind of their business. Um,

1:50:18

>> okay. All right. I'm be honest, I'm a

1:50:21

little concerned just a little bit. I I

1:50:23

need some more answers to make a sound

1:50:25

decision. So, I'll I'll leave it there

1:50:27

and um hopefully I don't know what other

1:50:29

information you could get for us, but um

1:50:32

on what you have, but I I just want to

1:50:34

uh Yeah, I just have a few concerns. So

1:50:36

that's it for me. Councilwoman Daniels,

1:50:39

did you did you want to say something?

1:50:40

I'm cut you off. Okay.

1:50:41

>> Thank you so much.

1:50:42

>> Thank you.

1:50:44

>> Did someone want to say something?

1:50:48

>> No, I thought that I'm all done.

1:50:49

Councilwoman Daniels.

1:50:51

>> Okay. Thank you. Uh, President Hill.

1:50:54

>> Thank you. I guess this is more of a

1:50:57

comment because you're not going to be

1:50:59

able to answer my question. Um, it stems

1:51:02

around affordability.

1:51:04

at approximately 81 units 20% 16 units

1:51:11

would be deemed affordable for our

1:51:13

residents should I guess the third party

1:51:16

be interested in participating in the

1:51:18

affordable housing program but overall

1:51:21

the whole thing should be affordable

1:51:23

because it's seniors

1:51:26

um I share some of the same concerns my

1:51:29

colleagues mentioned regarding um the

1:51:32

height

1:51:34

of the building and they'll be on the

1:51:37

22nd story. I don't know um how

1:51:41

comfortable

1:51:43

seniors will feel being that high. Um

1:51:49

so yeah, I just wanted to share those

1:51:52

thoughts and comments, I guess. Thank

1:51:54

you.

1:51:58

>> Thank you, uh Councilwoman Davis.

1:52:00

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Daniels. Good

1:52:02

evening.

1:52:03

>> Good evening.

1:52:03

>> Um, Mr. Jones, um, no questions, but the

1:52:07

same concerns, some of the same concerns

1:52:10

that my colleagues have. Um, I work in

1:52:13

the field as a nurse. I know that

1:52:17

sometimes seniors,

1:52:19

well, first of all,

1:52:22

senior citizens are 65 and older. So in

1:52:25

terms of foot traffic, I don't think

1:52:27

they're going to be doing a lot of

1:52:28

walking, you know, around downtown

1:52:32

because basically,

1:52:34

>> you know, they are at their stage of

1:52:36

life where they want to relax for the

1:52:39

most part. Um, and then the question of

1:52:43

the highrise going up that high again,

1:52:46

the scenery is going to be beautiful,

1:52:48

but I wonder with 81 total units, these

1:52:53

are all going to be strictly apartments.

1:52:55

Is that correct? Okay. So, for seniors

1:52:59

to be up that high,

1:53:02

my concern is what kind of activities

1:53:06

will be available to them? Um, if these

1:53:10

are just going to be apartments,

1:53:12

my concern is, is there going to be some

1:53:15

type of community room or some type of a

1:53:18

space for people to come in to entertain

1:53:22

them, bands or what have you. Um,

1:53:26

>> yes. Yes. So, each floor will have an

1:53:28

amenity room. So, there could be like a,

1:53:30

you know, game room on one floor. There

1:53:33

could be a, you know, a beauty parlor on

1:53:36

another floor or, you know, a barber

1:53:38

shop on another floor, a fitness center

1:53:40

on another floor, right? So, each floor

1:53:43

really has a a dedicated amenity space

1:53:45

that can be programmed by the the

1:53:48

operator.

1:53:49

>> Okay. And I can appreciate that. But you

1:53:52

mentioned you're not sure what they're

1:53:55

going to do with the space there. So, we

1:53:59

don't know if they're going to, you

1:54:00

know, have amenities on each floor,

1:54:02

>> but we've designed it with an amenity

1:54:04

package in it per floor. So, you know,

1:54:06

that I think the way the building lays

1:54:08

out, there's kind of a horseshoe, you

1:54:10

know, design there and in the middle

1:54:13

would be kind of a dark space. So,

1:54:14

rather than, you know, make that part of

1:54:17

a an apartment, we kept it as a separate

1:54:20

amenity space. I think it'll be pretty

1:54:22

attractive for that. I'd like to see us

1:54:24

stick with the affordability

1:54:26

aspect as my as president Hill mentioned

1:54:29

u 16 units to be affordable. I don't

1:54:34

want to get too far away from that if

1:54:37

possible because again we are talking

1:54:39

about seniors. Um there's cuts in

1:54:42

Medicare and Medicaid happening right

1:54:44

now. um you know how uh afford

1:54:49

affordable is this uh development going

1:54:51

to be for them. So um

1:54:55

getting from the top floor down to the

1:54:59

first floor if there's an emergency a

1:55:02

medical emergency or something

1:55:05

just there's a lot of concerns for me

1:55:08

also. So, I would need more information

1:55:12

as well if that company is can come in

1:55:16

or

1:55:16

>> Yeah. Now, I mean, we're working with a

1:55:18

couple different organizations, so we

1:55:20

don't know who it's going to be yet. I

1:55:21

mean, this is a a this is the largest

1:55:24

building in town. We're working quickly

1:55:25

to try to repurpose it, but it it will

1:55:27

be a challenging project. very uh

1:55:30

[clears throat] I will say that from an

1:55:31

affordability standpoint we have a

1:55:33

portfolio of about 65 apartments right

1:55:35

now that are uh many of which uh our

1:55:38

employees live in as well and uh those

1:55:41

apartments start around 700 a month with

1:55:45

all utilities included and go up to

1:55:48

about $950,000 a month. So we and we

1:55:51

have apartments that are ready right

1:55:52

now. So if people want to apply they can

1:55:55

go to hbgrety.net

1:55:57

right now and look at those apartments

1:55:59

and there are probably a dozen that are

1:56:01

available right now. So, I would

1:56:04

encourage anybody who's interested in

1:56:05

that to uh uh please visit that site

1:56:09

hbgrety.net.

1:56:11

>> Excuse me.

1:56:12

>> And excuse me, Mr. Jones, did you

1:56:14

mention um that uh these apartments are

1:56:17

in this property right there?

1:56:20

>> These are these are in another portfolio

1:56:22

down on Chestnut Street. Okay. So, we

1:56:24

have about three different complexes

1:56:25

down there, but

1:56:27

>> Okay. Is it Harrisburg spelled out?

1:56:30

>> Uh, it's just HBG realy. HBGRY.net.

1:56:35

>> Yep.

1:56:35

>> Okay. Thank you. That's it for me for

1:56:38

now.

1:56:44

>> Thank you. Um,

1:56:46

uh, I think that concludes,

1:56:50

uh, the discussion around this

1:56:51

resolution. Does anyone have any last

1:56:53

minute

1:56:54

uh questions?

1:56:56

>> I did have a question, but I was going

1:56:58

to pretty much ask uh what Councilwoman

1:57:00

Davis said uh when you talk about those

1:57:02

apartments like where are they?

1:57:03

[laughter]

1:57:04

>> That was that was all my question was.

1:57:07

>> I had one just Thank you.

1:57:09

>> I had one last question, Councilwoman

1:57:11

Daniels. Um I was just wondering, Mr.

1:57:13

Harris, um why did you choose to do um

1:57:17

uh Oh, goodness. It went right out of my

1:57:20

mind. Yes. [laughter]

1:57:21

goodness. Yes. Why did you choose to do

1:57:23

the senior living um housing in these in

1:57:26

this complex instead of maybe um

1:57:30

non senior living just due to it being

1:57:32

so high? Yeah, there's a tremendous

1:57:35

demand for senior living as you know all

1:57:37

across the country and but Pennsylvania

1:57:39

is um particularly um

1:57:44

there's a lot of demographics in the

1:57:46

senior live if you look at sort of the

1:57:48

age this is 55 plus so 55 to you know in

1:57:51

the 80s I mean that that's a very very

1:57:53

fast growing demographic in Pennsylvania

1:57:55

so there's a lot of need and demand for

1:57:57

it

1:57:58

>> it I agree it is

1:58:00

>> now there's a whole another half of the

1:58:01

the bottom half of the building will

1:58:02

still be available able.

1:58:04

So, so there still could be we could

1:58:07

come back with a second piece of this if

1:58:08

we're lucky.

1:58:10

>> Yeah. I would just, you know, I'd rather

1:58:13

the bottom half be senior living and

1:58:16

maybe the above half non senior living.

1:58:19

I mean, because it's just it's asking

1:58:21

them to go so far up. They have uh

1:58:23

groceries and don't let the elevator be

1:58:25

out. It's just,

1:58:28

>> you know, I just can't imagine. I'm

1:58:30

thinking of my

1:58:31

>> So there's five elevators that serve the

1:58:33

high bank

1:58:34

>> and there's five that serve the low bank

1:58:36

and then in addition to that there's a

1:58:37

freight elevator. So this this building

1:58:40

is really uh almost overly served by

1:58:43

elevators. I mean that's a lot of

1:58:45

elevators for you know 100 people right

1:58:48

and then five elevators plus a freight

1:58:50

and then the lower floors get five

1:58:52

elevators plus a freight. So it's very

1:58:54

uh well designed for it's probably

1:58:56

overly designed for for residential. It

1:58:59

was designed to hold, you know, 3,000

1:59:01

people in office.

1:59:02

>> Yeah, I know. I remember. I think the

1:59:04

Department of Education was there. I

1:59:06

believe you could go up the elevator cuz

1:59:08

I I used to have to go there for my

1:59:10

certification. So, I do I do remember

1:59:12

what was there. Um Yeah. Okay. Thank

1:59:14

you. I just I just was wondering.

1:59:16

>> Thank you.

1:59:19

>> That's it for me, Councilwoman Daniels.

1:59:22

>> Okay. Thank you. Um so, this uh this

1:59:25

concludes discussion on this resolution.

1:59:27

I would like to add that to the next

1:59:29

legislative session. And this also

1:59:32

concludes the business of the community

1:59:33

and economic development meeting

1:59:36

committee.

1:59:37

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Daniels. We will

1:59:39

move forward with our meeting agenda.

1:59:42

Public comment.

1:59:44

Just a few housekeeping notes before we

1:59:46

begin. Please state your name and your

1:59:48

address for the meeting record. If you

1:59:50

don't feel comfortable sharing your

1:59:52

address, please share the vicinity in

1:59:54

which you live within the city. You will

1:59:56

have four minutes to share your

1:59:58

comments. Mr. Humphrey shared a timer on

2:00:02

the screen for your reference. I will

2:00:04

begin to my right. Is there anyone that

2:00:06

would like to offer public comment?

2:00:09

Seeing and hearing no one. Anyone in the

2:00:11

middle section? Seeing and hearing no

2:00:13

one. Anyone to my left? Okay. Seeing and

2:00:16

hearing no one.

2:00:18

The time is 7:49 p.m. But we do have two

2:00:23

comments prior to our adjournment.

2:00:25

Councilwoman Ross.

2:00:28

>> Thank you very much. Um, President Hill,

2:00:31

uh, I just wanted to, um, just give a

2:00:33

short comment on, um, a resident or, um,

2:00:39

an individual who made a comment last

2:00:40

week at our, um, session when we were

2:00:44

able to make public comment. Um, so bear

2:00:47

with me. I just want to read a short um,

2:00:49

something I wrote up so I stay on task.

2:00:51

um because I was very um uh I was very

2:00:55

hurt by it, but I wanted to remain

2:00:56

professional at the time. Uh last week

2:00:59

during council's legislative session, a

2:01:02

resident chose to speak about my

2:01:03

daughter. While I fully support freedom

2:01:06

of speech, there is a proper time,

2:01:08

place, and purpose for public comment.

2:01:12

City council meetings are a space for

2:01:14

government business, not personal

2:01:16

matters or public commentary involving

2:01:18

family members. Because of that

2:01:21

unexpected and inappropriate remark, I

2:01:23

was unable to deliver my closing

2:01:25

statement or provide my reasoning for my

2:01:27

no vote on resolution 60 of 2025. I

2:01:31

chose to remain composed and

2:01:32

professional in that moment. But is it

2:01:35

important that I address this publicly

2:01:37

and directly? I am more than an elected

2:01:39

official. I am a mother. Speaking about

2:01:42

my children or any member of my family

2:01:44

in this form is completely unacceptable.

2:01:46

If any resident has information

2:01:48

concerning the safety or well-being of

2:01:50

my daughters, I am more than willing to

2:01:53

listen privately, email me, call me, or

2:01:56

speak with me directly. But personal

2:01:58

matters involving my children do not

2:02:00

belong in a public government setting.

2:02:05

Every member on this deis was elected to

2:02:08

serve with strength, integrity, and

2:02:10

professionalism. None of us earn these

2:02:13

seats by being meek or mild. We

2:02:16

represent our community with respect,

2:02:18

accountability, and strong values, and

2:02:21

we expect the same in return.

2:02:24

Now, regarding resolution 60 of 2025, I

2:02:28

voted no because not a single unit in

2:02:30

that project is designated as affordable

2:02:32

housing. I truly appreciate the effort

2:02:35

to revitalize a long vacant property and

2:02:38

increase our tax base. Harrisburg

2:02:40

desperately needs new development.

2:02:42

However, I also believe firmly that all

2:02:45

residents deserve access to quality

2:02:47

housing in any area of this city,

2:02:49

regardless of their income. We cannot

2:02:52

continue to concentrate affordability in

2:02:54

only one section of Harrisburg.

2:02:59

My comment is my commitment is to the

2:03:03

progress of our city and to people who

2:03:05

live here. Let us continue to keep our

2:03:07

disclosure focused on the issues that

2:03:10

matter most to the community as a whole.

2:03:12

Thank you. And I will also be reading

2:03:14

this comment at our legislative session

2:03:17

uh next Monday because I want to make

2:03:19

sure it is on record. Um so residents

2:03:22

know that we are concerned about our

2:03:24

family, but speak to us about that

2:03:26

privately, not publicly. This is a form

2:03:29

only for government business. Thank you.

2:03:33

>> Thank you very much. I just wanted to

2:03:36

remind everyone that Harrisburg City

2:03:38

Council will host a legislative session

2:03:40

next Monday,

2:03:43

November the 10th at 6:00 pm here in

2:03:48

council chambers. Is there any other

2:03:51

anything else?

2:03:53

>> Yes, President Hill. Um, I just wanted

2:03:56

to

2:03:57

make the public, make our residents

2:04:00

aware, uh, that realizing the government

2:04:03

shutdown, the uncertainty about the SNAP

2:04:05

benefits, when they will be distributed,

2:04:08

we understand it's overwhelming. The

2:04:11

Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

2:04:12

understands it's overwhelming and they

2:04:15

are open to help anyone who needs

2:04:18

assistance. For emergency food,

2:04:22

people can call 717-5641700.

2:04:28

And I just thought it was important to

2:04:30

mention that. So if anyone needs

2:04:32

emergency food, uh, contact the Central

2:04:36

Pennsylvania Food Bank or the agency

2:04:38

surrounding our city connected to them.

2:04:41

But the main number is again

2:04:43

717-564-1700.

2:04:46

Thank you.

2:04:48

Thank you. The time is 7:53 p.m. I will

2:04:52

entertain a motion to adjurnn. So move.

2:04:54

>> Is there a second?

2:04:56

>> Second.

2:04:56

>> Thank you. We stand adjourned.

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