Harrisburg City Council Policy Work Session & Special Legislative Session 9/30/2025

Thank you for your patience. I was

having some technical difficulties.

The time is 5:38 p.m. I would like to

call our policy work session to order.

Mr. Chale, could you please call the

role?

>> Miss Daniels.

>> Miss Davis,

>> present.

>> Miss Green,

>> present.

>> Mr. Jones,

>> here.

>> Miss Rolls,

>> present. Can you hear me?

>> Yep.

>> Mr.

>> Okay, good.

>> Mr. Rodriguez,

>> present.

>> Miss Hill,

>> present. Thank you. Uh good evening

everyone. The topic for this evening's

policy work session is around boards and

commissions and many of you are

volunteers on boards and commissions

throughout the city. Um so the purpose

of this session is simply to establish a

shared understanding of the purpose

structure and ongoing work of city

affiliated boards and commissions while

also encouraging greater public

participation in their efforts.

I would like to note that we did not ask

all members of all boards and

commissions to attend. Rather, we we

requested that one or two designated

representatives present on behalf of

their body uh to briefly cover the

following areas. Their general function,

what is the role of your board and

commission and the scope of its work?

Current membership status. How many

seats are filled? Which terms are near

expiration? Are there any vacancies?

Public engagement. How often do you

meet? Are meetings open to the public?

How is input received? Reporting

structure. Who does your body report to?

Council, the mayor, a department, or

another oversight entity? And finally,

qualifications for appointment. What

experiences or characteristics are most

valuable for prospective members?

So we will um allow each board to share

a presentation answering those

questions.

So we will begin with the audit

committee. The members of the audit

committee if you could please join us.

Hi there.

>> Hi.

>> My name is Austin Cheers and I currently

serve as the chair for the the city

audit committee. Um, in terms of our

general function, we we kind of act as

an intermediary between the city and

council and the the inter the uh

independent auditors. We help interpret

any results that they may give us. Um,

and we provide independent review and

oversight of the city's financial

reporting process,

um, the internal controls and the

independent auditors. We help assess the

city's accounting and auditing practices

and help ensure that the independent

auditors have objectively assessed the

government's financial reporting um,

practices. Um, in terms of membership,

we we we hold a board of five currently.

There's four of us. One of us, one of

our long-term members just left a little

bit ago. Um, we have five-year terms,

and I believe we just were all sworn in

maybe maybe two years ago. I I don't

have the exact date, but um and one of

the members was filling in for a a

three-year term because he was taking

over a another member's term. Um anyway,

but but we meet we meet quarterly or as

needed,

especially whenever the the audit is

starting to wrap up and the folks over

at Boyer and Ritter want to meet more

often to to prevent or to uh to present

their report to everyone. And um when

when Brian over in the accounting staff

is is is starting to ramp up his work.

So towards the end of the audit, we'll

meet more often, but usually we try to

stick to once a quarter. Um,

in terms of

love everyone on the board to have uh a

good knowledge of of financial reporting

and um you know some some experience in

the private or or or even government

sector in in being able to interpret

results and and look at the numbers and

we require one member to have a CPA have

their CPA designation and and I hold

that. So, um, yeah, I hold that role,

but yeah, we're we're looking for one

member right now to fill the vacancy,

and we would love if that person also

had a CPA. I know there's not a lot of

CPAs that live in the city, but it is

also open to, um, individuals that have

have worked in the city for at least a

year, too. So, um, if anyone would love

to step up to that, that would be great.

So, but right now we have a good crew

and we just finished um a couple months

ago reviewing the 2022 audit and I know

that the staff is working hard to get

2023 done and we'll likely have a

meeting here at the end of October to

assess where where things currently

stand with that. So, thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Yes.

I was just going to note uh formal

reports and advice that are provided by

the audit committee. An annual report is

submitted to city council and the mayor

summarizing the committee's oversight

activities. Five-year review and

recommendations are submitted to city

council advising uh on ordinance changes

needed due to new laws, regulations, or

standards.

Um, I did want to note that five voting

members are appointed by city council

for the audit committee. Yep.

>> So, it's our responsibility to find

someone to fill this vacancy. Um, I will

open the floor to my colleagues who may

have some questions for you. Um, I'll

begin with Councilman Jones.

>> Thank you, President Hill, and thank you

for your service and thank you for

coming tonight and share.

>> Thank you. Um I pretty much get what the

uh audit committee uh does and again um

I just like to say thank you for your

work. Um all of these committees and

everybody is serving on is very

important to the city

>> and I feel that this is very necessary

so our public can kind of get a better

understanding of how our uh local

government works. Um, the only thing

that I would um ask,

>> yeah,

>> is um the last uh bullet point, the

five-year review of recommendations

submitted to city council advising on

ordinances and um changes needed due to

new laws and regulations. Um I haven't

seen one yet and

>> certainly not in the two years that I've

been here. Yeah, I'll have to look to

see when the last one was submitted. And

then

>> and even at the the last one, I would

like to um look for that one and then

all also one u moving forward. Um if you

have one that was last here before you,

I would like to see that

>> and then um just let me know when the

next one comes out uh you know or reach

out to President Hill or uh Mr. Trudale

because I think that's important. You

know, it's very important right now

because a lot of laws and we know laws

change just about every day. is right,

Mr. Love.

>> They change every day. So, yeah, that's

all that's all I have, man. So, uh

again, thank you for your service.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you, President H.

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, Madam President. Um, no real

questions. I just wanted to thank

everyone in attendance tonight and their

ability to serve and their willingness

to serve. And I just like to thank Mr.

Trudale, Mr. Humphrey, and of course,

Mr. Mike in the clerk's office. um

because I've saw uh Mr. Jared had showed

me how intense it is with all the

boards, all of the responsibilities. So,

my hat goes off to anyone willing to

serve in this capacity. So, thank you

all.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you,

>> Councilwoman Ross. Any questions?

>> Uh good evening everyone. Uh I don't

really have any questions either. I just

want to say thank you for everyone who's

there today. um especially the board

members to explain in more detail to the

residents um about the boards. Um I just

I'm thank you to the clerk's office and

also you President Hill for putting this

together. I think it's so important uh

so we know uh what boards need to be

filled, how can they be filled, but also

the job that they have because the

boards are just as important as city

council and our administration. So, um I

look forward to the continued

conversation and also look forward to um

the boards that get filled after

tonight. So, thank you. No questions.

>> Thank you, Vice President Green. Any

questions?

>> Thank you very much, President Hill. Um

it's good to see you again. I don't have

any questions about the audit committee.

Uh as the budget and finance chair, I am

a non- voting member of the committee,

so I've got to I've been privileged to

sit in on some of the meetings and hear

the discussions. Um I definitely thank

you all for the work you do, for the

expertise you have. Um, and that's kind

of it. So, I look forward to continuing

to work with you.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Davis. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, Vice uh President Hill. Thank

you. Good evening, everyone, and thank

you for being here this evening, Mr.

Chairs.

I don't have any questions. I'll just

look forward to you coming back in with

the five-year report.

>> Sure.

>> Okay. Yep.

>> Thank you.

>> Love to get that to you guys.

>> Thank you so much. Thanks for being

here. Thank you.

>> Um and for sharing about the audit

committee.

>> Yep. Thank you all.

>> Thank you.

Next we have the Citizens Law

Enforcement Advisory Committee.

>> Good evening everyone.

>> Good evening.

>> How you doing? Well, this is my first

time um actually seeing or hearing about

these questions. So, you know, I'm going

to do my best as I go uh through this

process.

>> Okay. A few notes. Um, of course, uh

hopefully everybody knows what this uh

this board consists of or and then the

meaning of the citizen law enforcement

advisory board. Uh we um are coming

together as citizens to, you know, um

deal with different issues we may have

in our or questions we may have from the

officers and as well as our uh

community. So we can be the liaison and

and get some of these things uh taken

care of and make sure nothing's being um

looked uh bypassed and during the

process of you know due diligence and

things of that nature. And even on the

other side um making sure the law

officers that uh you know of course

interact with our community are being

professional and if they have any

questions and concerns we're able to

talk to the community and bring them

together as well. Um so you know I think

I this is a great honor to be you know

the um chair of this board. I've been in

this community my whole life and I'm

seeing different things happen that you

know some positive some negative. It's a

balance of the both. Um we have seen a

lot of negativity. Um but I think once

the biggest thing is we don't we don't

have enough relationships built you know

for our community to move forward the

right way. So that's our goal as well.

We're trying to build relationships, get

an understanding of some things, come up

with some new ideas. Um, right now we

meet uh once a month until we really get

a understanding of our structure and our

power and also, you know, what our

limitations are um during the process

because we don't want to overstep our

bounds to the point we think we are or

we seem as though we are officers of the

law. you know, this uh is a committee

that really is trying to help, you know,

like I said, the process uh you know,

with that with our community. Um we have

a total of nine members. Uh seven were

uh at this point appointed, you know,

and they went through a process. Uh two

were also added that we made us a total

of nine. We have just done that uh a few

weeks ago. So now we have a total of

nine once they but two of need to be

approved by city council still but uh

hopefully that goes well. So we'll have

a total of nine members which that's the

amount members we need to be successful

for this cle board. I really think it's

going to be a powerful thing in the

city. So one thing we are doing we are

taking our time with this process. We're

trying to get an understanding of every

nuance or angle to make sure that we are

representing ourselves and our community

in the best way. So, you know, bear with

us as we go through this process and,

you know, learn, you know, our positions

and, you know, um, how we need to serve,

you know, through with serve our

community and our officers. So, that's

pretty much it. If y'all have any

questions, I'll be glad to answer any.

>> Thank you so much. Um, as I did with the

audit committee, I would like to review

the formal reports and advice that, uh,

CLEAC provides. An annual report will be

submitted to the mayor and city council

summarizing KEak's activities, findings,

and recommendations.

Policy and practice recommendations

issued to the Harrisburg Bureau of

Police, the mayor, and city council on

policing practices, community concerns,

and legislative or administrative

reforms. Investigating findings. Cleak

may issue reports on law enforcement

practices supported by its ability to

request records and in some cases issue

administrative subpoenas during

misconduct investigations. Finally,

community engagement reports provides

updates to the public on crime

prevention activities, neighborhood

participation, and police community

partnership initiatives.

Again, I'll open the floor to my

colleagues who may have some questions.

I'll begin with our public safety chair,

Councilman Jones.

>> I got the lucky number today.

Um, how you doing, Mr. Walker? Thank you

again uh for your willingness to serve

as well. Um, this was a very much needed

um committee to actually come together

and I know that we are still trying to

make sure that this um goes as smoothly

as possible. My only question for you uh

would be um you know we see a lot of

contentious

things in our community between our

community and the police and I've heard

some of the overview on um with this

board how it functions and how it should

be functioning but um just on a personal

note you know for the community as well

with you being the chair um how do you

see uh bridging that gap between uh the

police and the community in a

constructive manner. Well, something in

that in that sense uh one of the main

things are coming up with uh creative

ideas where uh officers in the community

are interacting in positive environments

and situations because a lot of their

interactions are in negative you know

times or you know it's a lot of friction

or misunderstanding but I think once the

relationships are built in the sense of

now officers are showing up at youth

sports events things like that they're

really connecting with the community um

outside of a a policing or you know

they're just protecting and serving and

sometime at that point they're just

being one of the guys. So you want to

bring uh be able for the community

embrace the officers as they they live

in this community they're part of this

community which they are because they

spend at least eight hours a day or more

you know in our community so they become

a part of it. So one of the biggest

things for me myself um even before

being selected as the chair is you know

one of my biggest uh attributes is

building relationships. So you know just

finding those creative ways and

hopefully we can get the understanding

of both sides to work together and you

know create as much safety and peace

within our community as possible.

Yeah, I want to thank you and um that's

pretty much all for me and and again

I'll just thank uh you for having the um

levelheadedness to come into this space.

Uh again, not to be um someone that's

going to argue with the police, but

someone willing to be that conduit and

bring the community and the police

together. So, thank you for your

service. Appreciate you.

>> Thank you. Uh Councilman Rodriguez, any

questions?

>> Thank you, Madam President. Uh thank you

chair Walker for joining us this uh

evening. It was amazing attending the

first official cleak session and seeing

you know the first procedures going

along as one of the champions for the

initial bill 8 of 25. It's just amazing

to see this thing up and running with

legs. Although it's still in infasy

stage I just look forward to seeing the

amazing work you guys are going to do on

that board. So thank you for everything.

>> You're welcome.

>> Thank you Councilwoman Ross. Any

questions?

>> Uh, good evening. Uh, Mr. Walker, thank

you for, uh, coming in today to explain

more about, uh, the cle board. I don't

have any questions.

>> Thank you, Vice President Green. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. How are you,

uh, Coach Mechi? Still weird to call you

Mr. Walker, so I'll stick with Coach

Mechi. Um, thank you for your

willingness to serve and to take on a

leadership role on this board. Um, being

on a board or a commission is hard work

to begin with. Being an inaugural member

is a completely different ball game

because you're really setting that

foundation. Uh, we spent many years

putting this together on paper, but now

you get to like actually bring it to

fruition. Um, so I appreciate that the

work that you're doing as well as the

work that you've done in our community.

I don't really have uh many questions.

This is still in its infancy and I look

forward to working with you.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Davis. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. Good evening,

Mr. Walker.

>> Good evening, ma'am.

>> I may have missed this answer, but when

was the last uh public meeting?

>> Um, exactly. It was It was only like two

weeks ago maybe. And then um

>> Oh, two weeks ago.

>> Yes, I think. And it's

about two weeks ago. So, we have a

schedule for the rest of the year as

well. We'll be meeting on every third uh

Wednesday of the month. So, you know,

that's our tentative schedule. So, we'll

be um meeting, you know, this month as

well, the third here uh here at 6:00 uh

in the same location. So, please feel

free to come out, you know, and support

in any way you can and bring, you know,

any kind of questions or concerns, you

know, because you're part of this

community as well, you know, so we need

all the input we can get.

Thank you very much. Um,

and is the information in here in terms

of like I'm just wondering the times

maybe not but

>> the meeting um times and schedule is not

included. This is just an overview of

each of the uh boards and commissions.

It provides their general function and

then shares their formal reports and

advice provided. Then uh generally

there's a second page with each one that

includes the seats and composition, the

meeting schedule um and then the current

members.

>> Thank you. And thank you Mr. Walker.

I'll plan to attend one of your

meetings.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you. I just wanted to note Mr.

Walker shared that the cle board is

comprised of nine members. So, seven

were appointed by council and two

atlarge appointments uh were made by the

committee and their term length is three

years. So, I just wanted to note that.

Thank you.

>> Okay.

>> Thanks for being here this evening. You

too.

>> Appreciate it.

>> Next, we have the environmental advisory

council.

Good evening. Good evening, council.

>> Good evening.

>> Pamela Parson, and I'm representing the

environmental advisory board tonight.

Um,

Rafika Muhammad, who I believe was the

last chair, was hoping to be here

tonight and she could not be and asked

me if I would come in herstead. I'd like

to start out by saying I I pulled up

from the city's website today uh what it

says about the environmental advisory

council and particularly the members and

terms. Uh it lists uh both Rafika

Muhammad and Leland Nelson as their

terms expiring in 2021.

And I know that Rafika was uh

reappointed when we were and it lists uh

for vacancies. According to what's on

the website, there are seven volunteer

members of which three are appointed by

the mayor and four are appointed by city

council. And this says the EAC was

established for the purpose of

overseeing, discussing, and

disseminating information on

environmental issues in the city. And

the EAC shall consist of these seven

members. Um, in response to your

questions, I I started with that preface

because we have never met since um my

appointment. So, I will answer your

questions to the best of my ability

based on what I think the council should

do, but I don't really know for sure. In

terms of um

general function, it is my understanding

that the EAC covers environmental and

sustainability efforts in the city, both

initiating projects and programs on

their own and bringing them forth to the

city and supporting and promoting um

things that the city that is created

inhouse in the city as well as

supporting and promoting

uh other organizations projects that

operate within the city.

In terms of our current member

membership status,

um I think there is one person that I've

never met that we've never met whose

name I'm not even sure of. And then

there's Katherine Scott, Rafika

Muhammad, and I. And we were all

appointed by council at the same time,

and I believe our terms expire in 2027

or 2028.

In terms of public engagement, again, we

have never met since uh we have been

appointed or reappointed in Rafikica's

case. Um, and I believe that our

meetings would and should be open to the

public. Um, as we would be covered by

the Sunshine Act. Um, in terms of

reporting structure,

again, I believe that in addition to

making regular reports to council, and I

would, excuse me, I would assume those

would be quarterly because that's sort

of when council likes to see things. Um,

that our committee also relates directly

with the sustainability coordinator whom

we've never met.

And so there might be other reporting

requirements that might be um made

around a grant or something like that.

In terms of qualification for

appointments, again, I've never seen

anything that says that these particular

things are what would be used to

appointing someone, but I would say that

the most desirable experiences and

characteristics of an EAC member would

be experience and commitment to the

environment, especially understanding

and appreciating how that plays out in

an urban setting.

and in multicultural

um neighborhoods. Some understanding of

environmental racism and environmental

justice would be strongly encouraged and

backgrounds and experience should be

diverse and varied from gardeners and

farmers to photographers

and artists to environmental educators

and designers to burers and all types of

conservationists.

This committee embraces I would hope

both those who have formal training in

the things I have mentioned as well as

those who would have uh lived

experiences

that would uh relate to the committee's

work and I rafica and I thought that out

of the box urban environmental thinkers

should be encouraged to apply and that

is what I'm able to share. share on you

share with you based on my understanding

of what the committee does.

>> Thank you very much. Thanks for being

here this evening. Uh let me start by

clarifying the general function. Um

since the committee has not met, it is

intended to meet monthly or as needed to

address environmental issues and provide

input on city practices.

The council should prepare, adopt, and

revise bylaws to govern its operations,

advise on waste management and recycling

matters with emphasis on public

education.

Uh, the council may invite

representatives from city departments,

the Lancaster County Solid Waste

Management Authority, and the

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental

Protection to provide reports and

updates on city facilities. Review and

authorize grant applications for

environmental projects subject to

council approval and ensure city

residents receive by annual recycling

and environmental education materials

included with sanitation billings or the

city's events calendar.

In terms of formal reports and advice

provided, uh the environmental advisory

council should submit an activity

report. Um it should be provided to city

council upon request. Educational

publications should be sent to all city

residents via sanitation billings and

other city publications either by

annually at the request of the EAC.

Finally, environmental notices should be

received from the city clerk and

reviewed by the EAC. An example would be

a leaking underground storage tank or D

site reports. So, I just wanted to note

that

this council is comprised of seven

members. Three are appointed by the

mayor and four are appointed by council.

the individual that you mentioned that

you have never met, her name is Cheyenne

Johnson and she um her term expires

April 7th, 2028. She was uh appointed

earlier this year by council. Um your

term

uh Miss Muhammed and Miss Scott's terms

all expire on January 1st, 2027. So you

were correct there. Um it's in limbo

because while you have a quorum, the

city's uh sustainability coordinator,

they do have one. Her name is Maline

Good. She couldn't join us this evening.

So I'm hopeful that she is your liaison

um between the administration and the

environmental advisory council. So

hopefully she'll be in touch soon

because you do have a quorum and you

could conduct business or host meetings.

uh the three vacancies are the three

appointments that are needed uh from the

mayor. So that's out of our control, but

hopefully Matteline Good will be in

touch soon. Um I will open the floor to

questions from my colleagues. This time

I'll start with Councilwoman Ross who

serves as our parks, recreation, and

enrichment uh committee chair.

Thank you, President Hill. Um, thank

you, uh, Chair Parsons, for coming in

and, um, speaking to us about, um, the

the board you're currently sitting on

and, um, just giving us some updates on

things that you haven't been able to

accomplish or that you weren't sure

about. Um, cuz that's what we're here

for, too, to help you out. So, I know

that you said that um you hadn't um

spoken with the city um

Oh, I'm sorry. It just slipped my mind,

but you just said it. This

sustainability coordinator. Correct.

Yes. Sorry, it went right past me for a

minute. Um I will definitely reach out

to um see why they haven't met with you

um and also see you know uh when they

will be meeting with you because that's

very important um for the environmental

board and for uh them to converse with

you. Um uh so I will reach out and see

what's happening on that end and try to

get some answers for you. But um thank

you President Hill for the updates that

you just gave. Um, I don't have any

questions, but of course, um, Chair

Parsons, if you need anything, if there

any way I can help, please reach out to

me. Um, and I will, uh, do whatever I

can.

>> Let me, let me be clear that I am not

the chair. I am just the person who is

available to come tonight. And I believe

that the committee's last chair was

Rafika Muhammad.

>> Thank you for clearing that up. I

appreciate that.

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, Madam President. Thank you,

Miss Parsons, for joining us. Um, I

actually la about a month ago uh was

trying to put this together with Mr.

Trudale, reached out to the mayor's

office um and let them know that there

is a quorum now. So, she did let me know

personally she'll reach out to the

sustainability coordinator to get it up

and running. Not sure what that timeline

looks like, but as uh Councilwoman Ross

indicated, I wouldn't mind setting up

some meetings with you to have followup

because I too would love to see the EAC

operational again. Thank you.

>> Thank you, Councilman Jones. Any

questions? Um yes, but I think it was

kind of answered um with those three

vacancies and um but knowing that you

guys have a quorum now um I would hope

that we can try to get something even

with the sustainability coordinator. So

as uh Councilwoman Ross and Councilwoman

I mean Councilman Rodriguez just stated

hopefully they they can work something

out with administration um because this

is an important board. This is I mean

all of them are but this is this one

right now in the times that we're living

in in in our environment uh uh in our

environment we see a lot of things

happening um you and I communicate a lot

uh about some of the environmental

things that we see in in in our

community. So I think you know any

system that's built is built to work

harmoniously. So this to me is our

kidney.

uh we have to keep flushing it right now

until you know we we're on dialysis. But

I believe that um that this is a a board

and I hope you guys really can get

something scheduled and um we're here to

help in any any way that we possibly

can. So um again, thank you for your

service and being someone that's uh

truly concerned not just about our

environment but as our city as a whole.

So thank you.

>> Thank you, Vice President Green. Any

questions? Thank you very much,

President Hill. Um, I don't have any

questions for you. Uh, I thank you for

being here tonight. I thank you for your

willingness to serve. Um, and I thank

you for your honesty, uh, you know, for

not coming here and trying to act like,

oh, yeah, we've been doing all these

things, but just for being honest and

letting us know what's going on so we

can help you, uh, and the board to move

forward in any way we can. So, I

appreciate you. Thank you.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Davis. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. Thank you for

being here this evening, Miss Parsons.

Um, no questions. Just uh reading

through the general functions. I'd like

to see the board also up and running.

It's very important that our residents,

all of us in our community get educated

on some of the environmental dangers,

injustices,

um, sanitation, and whatever else that

we can learn from this department. So,

thank you for being here again.

>> Thank you. Thank you, council. I think

the board really does want to meet and

so we appreciate that you're making this

happen. Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Next, we have the Harrisburg

Redevelopment Authority.

Good evening, council president and

council members.

>> Good evening.

>> Nice to see you all.

My name is Brian Davis. I'm the

executive director for the Harrisburg

Redevelopment Authority. And uh with

with me tonight, uh my board members

from the authority could not make it.

But tonight, we'll also as a component

unit of the authority, you might

remember that the city of Harrisburg has

established a land bank. So they are

very similar in their operations and

their goals, objectives. uh there are a

couple of differences that uh you know

by us having a land bank it adds value

to what we can do with elimination of

blight and for urban renewal activities.

So I tried to we tried to give you on

the verse first first page of this

outline the the key questions that were

asked of us. At the top talks about the

redevelopment authority and the bottom

half is the land bank. Excuse my voice.

I'm getting over a cold so sorry about

that. And

for both of them uh I think it's

important to keep in mind that neither

one is considered a municipal authority

in the commonwealth.

So the redevelopment authority itself is

considered an an agency of the

commonwealth and then the land bank is a

public body and body corporate politic

which is just slightly different from

municipal authorities. So that's you

know a little legal detail but I like to

point that out. Now, for the

redevelopment authority, as far as our

board membership is concerned, we have

five slots and we currently have three

that are filled and two that are vacant.

We do have staggered

services. It's a five-year term and

they're all staggered. And the second

page of this, which you may have already

seen, has an outline of what the current

members who they are and their terms and

then the vacancies that we have that

need to be filled. And on that second

page at the bottom, we also show that

the the board of directors of the

redevelopment authority serve as the

core board members for the land bank.

And then we have two additional land

bank appointees from the mayor. So to

summarize, all five members of the

redevelopment authority are appointees

by city council.

All those members are also members of

the seven member land bank which adds

two appointees from the mayor's office.

Okay.

So, and I h you know you've we I've been

here before and shared a few things

about the projects that we've done. Uh a

lot of our activities are driven and

conducted under the you know

collaboration carrying and cooperation

and carrying out really the urban

renewal plans of the city of Harrisburg

and primarily for the elimination of

blight in acquiring and disposing of

properties that are blighting our

neighborhoods and uh you know

contributing to urban decay,

contributing to crime. But our goal is

for neighborhood stabilization. So both

the land bank and the redevelopment

authority uh that's their core function

as far as reporting goes on a technical

level both are to report to the

department uh Pennsylvania department of

community economic development as a

practical matter the activities that we

are engaged in

uh they will go primarily principally

it's going through the approval process

say the planning commission zoning

hearing ing board. When we're talking

real estate as a practical matter, we'll

have a lot of different methods for

acquiring blighted properties. But once

we get investors in or private sector

people to purchase the properties, they

of course have to go through the whole

process for approvals for whatever is

being built, whether it's affordable

housing or whether it's mixed use or

whether it's a a new park.

So uh those are uh you know high level

just kind of uh explanation of the two

organizations you can see how they're

very much related in their activities

their go core functions qualifications

are differ slightly I thought that I

would for the land bank just uh give the

full language that's in the city

ordinance as far as you know the

qualifications for members of the land

bank for the redevelopment authority

board it's straightforward they're all

appointed by council

All five members are appointed by

council and I must be one of two things.

I must be a resident of the city or my

business must be in the city proper.

That's for five redevelopment authority

board members. A little bit more

detailed for the qualifications

uh of the land bank. However, that tends

to be a default setting for the two

mayoral appointees. And you know, just

as another practical matter, and if

we're going to talk about

uh best candidates

for both of these boards, it's really

helpful if they have some experience in

real estate,

um affordable housing development,

um understanding,

you know, the process that developers

must go through for for local government

approvals.

Um, we've also had occasionally uh

attorneys on the board that had

experience in real estate.

So that really helps us to navigate

the specific complexities of that

industry and of dealing with blight and

the legal uh you know the legal context

that not just the acquisition but also

the disposition has to has to take place

in.

And uh I'll also wanted to point out

just like three good examples of of you

know things that we're working on so you

have a sense for that. The first one is

what we call quality of life. We along

with the land bank both the land bank

and the redevelopment authority have

assembled some vacant lots on south 15th

street and satara street where uh with

the part with the park parks partnership

team and the fundraising that they've

done are designing a new pocket park a

small park for the neighborhood. So

that's been under works for some time,

but that's an example where we actively

looked for land that was available on

the Dolphin County repository list that

would fit the needs of the community in

a direct response to a community request

for additional park space in that area.

So that's that's an example of a parks.

Another example is um Governor Square is

actually

an example of where in 2003

we were a part of assembling that land

and HUD originally would not just give

the land to a developer. It had to come

to the redevelopment authority first

along with uh grant funds that came from

HUD. Now we're in the throws of it

coming out the other end of the owner

after all those years allowing it just

to fall into disrepair and going into

bankruptcy. And now we're in that mix as

well because of that grant money that

came into the project. So, one of our uh

you know, one of the things that we're

um involved with and will stay actively

at the table on is how that gets

resolved and repurposed to be renewed

with another qualified buyer or

developer

and especially in the sense that I know

right now the receiver the front end is

heavy on assessing all the existing

conditions and what needs to be repaired

and making sure the families are safe

that are where that's not so much our

role. Our role is that uh parallel track

that looks at okay once it's stabilized

then how do we get the whole thing

redeveloped and back completely on the

market and that's when we'll be at the

table along with HUD and along with

PHFA.

The last example I'll give is

uh it can be just as small as us

acquiring some land for our our partner

nonprofits like Tri County Housing or

for Habitat for Humanity. Over the

years, we've acquired, you know,

properties for either each of them. And

the land bank has done that twice for

Tri County Housing and getting land so

they could build new houses on Sutara

Street and the redevelopment authority.

We recently had Tri County Housing start

construction on North Fourth Street,

2100 block with five new houses there.

So, those are like three really good I

thought nut, you know, in a nutshell

examples of what our activities

embrace. Um, I would like to mention

that Jackie Parker is here as a member

of the land bank and I thought maybe

she'd like to say a few words about the

land bank.

>> Sure, that's fine.

>> Good evening.

>> Good evening, council.

>> It's been a while since I've sat on this

side. Um, I worked for the city of

Harrisburg from 2014 to 2019. Um, and I

think that, um, as as Brian was saying,

you know, we did, um, a lot of different

things, but this creating the land bank

in 2014, I think was a significant step

for the redevelopment authority for

community and economic development for

the city of Harrisburg. We did have to

go um to the county for approval and

also for the the school district because

we do have the opportunity to if we do

some big developments, we can share in

the tax um, income as it goes back on

the on the tax roles. Um I think Brian

mentioned most of the things that we did

back in the back in those days, but one

of the things that I I was happy to do

was and right at the beginning when we

created the land bank was to help with

the sink holes that were down on 14th

Street. Um and we were able to help with

the whole assembly because the land bank

was in place and we were able to take

some of those parcels off the tax roles

before we had outsiders that were going

to come in and take them. And I think

that is really one one of the biggest

benefits of having a land bank is

working with the county and looking at

um you know the tax um lists as they

come in and and and you know preempting

any outsiders from taking some important

properties that we might be interested

in for assembly. And um again the

legislation was created in 20 for the

state was created in 2012 and it really

is very permissive in that it allows a

community like the city of Harrisburg to

um work with redevelopment authority

work with the city's mission with their

vision and and to be able to kind of

maneuver and take some of these

properties that are so important for

accumulation for larger projects. So I

think the 14th Street, the sinkholes was

it was really great that we had that in

place at that time. Um and I think Brian

did mention about HDC. We helped them

assemble for those um for the properties

that they wanted to to do on SWAR. Um

and also in Midtown we acquired some

properties to assemble again for

redevelopment.

So

>> thank you.

Uh I don't have any immediate questions.

Um, I'm going to defer to our building

and housing committee chair,

Councilwoman Davis. Do you have any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. Good evening.

Thank you for being here this evening.

You mentioned HDC, Harrisburg

>> Housing,

>> Housing Development Corporation.

>> Thank you for that because I was unaware

of what that term.

>> Um, I don't have any other questions

right now. Thank you.

Thank you, Vice President Green. Any

questions?

>> Thank you all. Thank you for being here

tonight. Uh, just a couple couple of

questions. Uh, as far as the H owned

properties, are there is there a public

list that people can look at to see what

properties are owned by HA?

>> We have a public list that we can give

on request. It's it's, you know, it's

it's not posted per se on ongoing, but

it is something that's available upon

request. Yes.

>> Okay. Um, I'd like to request it. Sure.

um it it be given to the council city

council clerk so that it can be posted

on the city council's website. I think

it's important for the public just to be

aware uh so that if someone wants to

work with HR they can you know reach

out. Um that's the second question. How

would someone work with you or reach out

if they were looking to do a partnership

with HA?

>> We receive quite a few cold calls and

also calls from people who are in the

industry routinely. So, and this

whenever they they can call, they can

email, they can come to our monthly

meetings that are public. Um, and then

we'll really work hard with them to

understand what their needs are. Um, I

frequently find that, uh, you know, we

have a vision of what we'd like to do or

a service that like we'd like to

provide, but we don't often have an idea

what that means as far as facility size,

location, um, off street parking, just

the details that have to do with the

real estate side. So I, you know, we'll

we'll spend as much time as someone

might need as far as working through

that and then letting them know not only

what our resources are because I have a

short list of everything that's

available today. So that might be like

80 80 or 90 parcels, okay? But so I'll

share that this is what we have today.

>> But we'll also point out other resources

that are available from the county's

perspective. They of course have the

repository list, but they also have

their twice a year tax sales. So we'll

also share that information and then

we'll also walk walk anybody through the

process of you know for for us to sell

property we have to get board approval

of course. So there's a process there

that you know that's two-page process a

two-step process that we share we walk

people through with that as well. So,

uh, that's how it happens. And, you

know, as they're preparing their their

package or their proposal for it for,

uh, to purchase one of our properties,

we'll even work with them on each of

those different components, you know,

and it's it's just for the sake of so

everybody knows, the first step is a

preliminary step where we look at is it

preliminarily feasible. So, we're just

looking at your preliminary financing

plan, preliminary sketches, does this

make sense financially and does it make

sense from a zoning and planning

commission standpoint. A lot of projects

do meet that threshold, then we'll take

that then I'll go to my board. will get

a a a resolution that will put make them

a potential developer, take it off the

market temporarily, but doesn't

authorize a transfer of the deed, but

that gives them time to finalize all of

their financing, get all of their plans,

specifications done, line up any

partnerships that they might need. Say

it's a affordable housing project, they

will have to have uh you know, property

management company, they'll have to have

PHFA approved, all those things. So we

give them that am additional amount of

time just to get that all all in line.

Depending on the complexity of it, it

may take several years for someone to

finalize it because JMBB Gardens is a

good example on North Sixth Street. That

took over two years for the financing

get together. There have been other

affordable projects that take three or

four years until they can get the

financing. But I'm sorry for that

long-winded explanation, but it is um

it's it's something that we do pretty

much every day.

>> Okay. Um it wasn't long-winded. Details

are important. So, I appreciate you

taking the time to uh walk us through

it. Um, you you said about how how

people reach out to you generally. Where

would someone find the contact

information? Like, is it a website?

Like, if I don't have your phone number,

how would I reach out to you? Or if I

don't have your email address, how do I

find it?

>> It it's quick. Um, it we do have a

website.

>> Okay.

>> And uh that's how many people find us uh

just by googling and they find our

information.

>> For the longest time, we were also

provided the support coalition on

homelessness. So our information is also

at HUD. So also take some calls from

people from out of state that just see

our our information on HUD's website. So

>> Okay. Thank you very much. I don't have

any further questions at this time.

>> Thank you. Uh Councilwoman Ross, any

questions?

>> Okay. Councilman Rodriguez. I'm sorry. I

did I could it was not um letting me

unmute myself. I'm so sorry.

>> It's okay.

>> Um uh um good evening. Thank you both

for being here today to explain more to

us about H. I think it's such a

important part of our city. Um

especially since um we do have an issue

with blight. Um we do have an issue with

um rebuilding and using the blight that

we have in a way where we can rebuild

our community. I think that's really

important. Um, thank you also, uh, Vice

President Green for asking for a list. I

know we asked that, I think last time to

have it posted, um, just so the

community and residents can see what

properties are on the list. Um, so, um,

they could easily say, okay, I would

like to, you know, redevelop that that

piece of, um, land or that, um, blighted

area. So, um, yeah, I would love to see

a list be online. I know that um I tried

to um also get a parcel of land to build

my own house in the city. Um so what I

would just say to that was very

difficult process and I think um there

should be different qualifications for a

resident who's just trying to build a

house and a developer who's trying to

develop land. I don't think they should

have the same requirements and the same

process to go through. Um the process

was very lengthy. It was very hard to

even find an architect to come into the

city because of all of the um ordinances

we have when it comes to building that

also need to be updated. So I would say

it was not an easy process and I think

we want to promote our residents to want

to build houses in the city. Um I think

that will also help with um the parcels

we have that are not being used and also

the blighted land that we have. So um I

would just you know thank you so much

for coming in. Like I said, it's a very

important board, but I do I would like

to see some, if it's possible, um

different qualifications for residents

who want to simply build their own house

and um developers who are developing

large large parcels of land. So, um that

I didn't have any questions. I just

wanted to see if that was possible. And

um that was it for me.

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, Madam President, and of

course, thank you both for joining us

this evening. Um, just pretty much

echoing the same sentiments. It'd be

great to see a repository of what the uh

H does have on hand. Um, just to have

that information for the public and, you

know, it's definitely great to hear

about the land bank. I definitely know

how that could be vital to the

development and growth of Harrisburg.

So, uh, just thank you and hopefully we

can get that list.

Thank you, Councilman Jones. Any

questions?

>> Yes. Um, thank you both for coming.

Thank you both for your service. Um, you

probably be hearing that a lot tonight.

Uh, but one of the things I'm just want

to take a little deeper dive. I have a

couple questions and hopefully that you

can um answer not only for my own

edification, but for the public as well.

Um,

does the H have a budget?

We do have an annual budget every year.

Um it's it's about $430,000

a year and that covers staff and uh

staff cost, incidental cost and legal

cost that we have for a year.

>> Okay. So, um I mean far as like this is

how I I'm just going to give you my how

I envision HA.

um when we have a land bank and we have

these uh parcels that are out here and

you know one of the things that you guys

um functions are is revitalizing uh the

city. So with that and we know we need

downtown revitalized. We need Allison

Hill. We need the city itself

revitalized and just outside of knocking

down p properties to remove blight. are

we packaging

these pro these parcels and these

properties to to to see developers come

in? Um, and that's why I'm looking at a

budget to see if we if if it's grass and

all of these different things that we

have to maintain and package something

for like a

a mall, somebody to come in and say,

"Hey, we here's what we packaged up

together to look at this." Are we are we

doing

>> Yeah, I I'm glad you raised that

question because it speaks to the nature

of funding for uh our real estate

transactions, the real estate activities

we have. In order for us to acquire

properties, we need to have the money.

So, we need to identify funds. It may be

funds that the city sets aside from its

CDBG home, from its CDBG funds, which

has happened in the past. We may be able

to use funds from the Commonwealth

applying for funds. It's a little bit

more difficult to have acquisition funds

and demolition funds, but we have to do

the oldfashioned thing and apply for

funds from the Commonwealth or from the

federal government to do this work. a

good example that we're going through

right now. It might seem

um

it it is a true urban renewal activity

with the Paxton Creek Regionalization

where we own very little of the land

around the creek as the redevelopment

authority does. However, we've assembled

a partnership and we've received grant

funds to begin the work of environmental

assessment um acquisition, some

acquisition as well as engineering work

that's needed for um for taking that

creek, that channel of the Paxton Creek

that was built in 1910 and it's

collapsing in different places that is

so obsolete and from the 1972 flood just

which devastated all of Pax, all of

Cameron Street, right? It never really

recovered. And because of that flooding,

uh, the flooding condition and all of

the flood maps that have existed ever

since, the city of Harrisburg as well as

the redevelopment authority as well as

uh, Capitol Region Water from the

standpoint of their intercept needing to

be replaced to repair that long-term

planning for flood mitigation and also

to mitigate uh, contaminants in the

Sesana River. We've also partnered with

the city engineers office in this very

complex uh plan to remove that channel

and renaturalize the creek creating a

new green belt through there which will

simultaneously do it in such a manner

that it will lower the flood stage and

raise about 200 parcels along the Paxton

Creek out of the floodway and then

available again for new development.

velment which is really a huge economic

development project in the city. But I

give that as an eth because the way we

pay for that is through grants through

uh we've gotten awarded uh funding from

the commonwealth redevelopment

assistance capital program funds. We

received EPA funds. We've also received

FEMA funds which we're waiting for that

contract to be signed because that's

going to give us it builds on work that

PENDOT did many years ago. They really

set the stage in paying for so much of

the engineering work preliminarily that

we've been able to build on that so that

now we're at the point where this next

funding trunch that we get we can

actually start to see what the final

design will look like. So it's a really

good question. I mean that on a smaller

scale, you know, that happens with other

projects like at Midtown and

Marketplace. We bundled those. We had to

assemble in we had enough contiguous

property that we could put out on an RFP

and find a developer that would invest

in the city.

>> And I was and I appreciate that

explanation because I was uh again

that's how I saw this functioning and

I'm glad you were able to and not only

myself just again for for for the public

stance. Um but uh one of the other

things is I hope again um I know you

were here in 24

when we uh introduced uh Naka. Um that's

something um I think that we're still

looking at um being able to offer our uh

residents and some of those blighted

homes uh those houses for $1. Um I think

you really appreciated that plan. Um,

so, uh, but the other thing I would ask

is, um, there's two more questions and I

don't want to make this lengthy, but I

really have to ask these questions. Um,

when is the when is the last time and on

I see one of your, um, organization's

um, overview uh, public uh, meetings.

When was the last time one of those

held? Uh we have monthly meetings for

both land bank and for the redevelopment

authority on the third Tuesday of each

month.

>> We we didn't have a meeting last month

because we didn't have any actionable

items.

>> Okay.

>> But we will have we had one the month

before.

>> They are

>> they are advertised.

>> Yep. They are they are

>> that was that was

>> they are advertised.

>> That was my next question. So again,

this is this is all for the public

because there are a lot of people and

I'm sure my colleagues get these

questions as well um that people are

looking to develop here and and there

seems like you know there's a wall that

they have to climb and so I'm just

hoping that this information can be u

put out not just on on the website. I

mean we we we all say that go to the

city's website and you can find but

sometimes you know um a lot of people

don't that's not the only source. So,

uh, that I think that we can get this

information out for the public to be

clearly aware of what's happening and

what's available. Um, because the goal

is again to get some of those

dilapitated properties back on the tax

road. Which brings me to my next

question. Um, I see that you mentioned

um that when you acquire uh some of this

property uh for nonprofits, and I don't

want to take away from nonprofits, but I

think that's one of the big issues that

we're having in our city. um with some

of the state buildings that are non-t

taxable and the nonprofit uh sector that

is nonprofitable. So um

that doesn't really help us on on on the

tax side of things. Go ahead. It looks

like you're you're ready to jump in.

Yeah, I I'll that's a very good question

because uh the the redevelopment

authority has a long-standing practice

that when we when we transfer a deed

from us to anybody else regardless of

their tax status, it remains taxable in

perpetuity.

Now, to more specific, your uh the

example of uh the land that we've

acquired, which hasn't been a lot for

the nonprofits to build on, those then

are houses that are sold to residents of

the city of Harrisburg, income eligible

residents, and they're taxable. Okay?

>> Right now, they'll benefit from the

10-year tax abatement that's in place

right now. Right? in that sense. I'm

just saying it was an incentive for

first-time home buyers or for low-income

families that that's very helpful.

>> So, when you're doing that, are you

working with the um fair housing

council?

>> It can be fair housing council. It can

be community action commission. It can

be Tri County now has their own housing

counseling arm as well. So, but it does

um I've seen all of them involved in

that different housing projects that

we've been a part of over the years.

Yeah.

>> Okay. there.

>> Um yeah, thank you for for um letting me

and again um the public know because

that's one of the things I think um

a lot of cities are having now,

especially with downtown and all of

these buildings getting reassessed.

There's millions of dollars just going

down the drain. Um and again, I think

the goal here as a city function that I

would love to see is to take a lot of

the strain off of of the homeowners

here. And um if our schools are failing

and we don't have a bunch of home, this

is why it's important to have you don't

understand this, right? This is why it's

important to have homeowners and get

people back into these homes to get it

back on the tax road that way. Um if if

our schools don't have money and they're

looking for uh the tax dollars to be

that source, we I think there's some

things readjustments that we have to do

as a city. Go ahead. You've touched on

three important points in that number

one is when we do neighborhood

stabilization,

we accomplish a great deal of that

through home ownership. Number one.

Number two, when we repurpose existing

buildings that are now defunct or not

being used for where their original

purposes, then we're also helping to

stabilize and improve the tax base.

Right. And then number three, which you

really didn't mention, but I I'd like to

add to that, is just that all of our

success we accomplish through

partnerships. We have not been able to

accomplish any successful story at all

without partnerships. Good.

>> So that's one of the first things that

people will read. It's it's a boring

read to visit our website, but that's

one of the first things you'll see is

that our success is because of our

partnerships and it and it because we're

a separate entity from the city, we're

able to point to well here if it's

affordable housing, here are the

resources that the city has. Home funds,

CDBG funds, um and it's not the city,

then we also have PHFA at the state

level and the federal level. We know

what sources there are to do just about

every project that there is. And so in a

sense that we don't host these, you

know, resources, but that we collaborate

so those partnerships actually deliver

for the city.

>> I like to point out to the homes that

are on SWAT with um HDC, the Housing

Development Corporation over the years,

they have been very strong partners with

us and they do manage to put those

funding pieces together, whether it is

PHFA or a little bit of from the city.

um and and they they know how to get

those resources and we help with those

kinds of things by having the land and

so they have come in I think they've

done five houses along there and they're

all for home ownership and then and and

as Brian said first-time home buyers so

>> thank you I really appreciate the

explanation um last thing I'll say is

that um you know I appreciate um go

after those grants keep going after them

right um and you mentioned something

about the CDBG funding um as of recent

you know Um, I see administration as

looking to kind of go away from the

nonprofit sector. I'm not going to say

it's in in its entirety, but um, if you

go back to the Reed era, he used a lot

of that CDBG money to develop things.

So, I think, um, having that, that's a

worthy conversation to make sure there's

some funds to help package some of these

uh, the land bank and parcels that we

have. So, developers and we have to give

them some type of incentive. It's good

for businesses. I mean developers, but

you know that's a whole another thing.

But uh thank you. Um that's all I have.

Um and I appreciate you guys doing what

you do. Thank you.

>> Thank you. Thank you both for being here

this evening and for sharing.

>> Next we have the Historic Architectural

Review Board, also known as HARB.

Good evening. I'm Trina Gribble. I

currently sit as the chair of the

Historic Architectural Review Board or

HARB. Um

so to go through some of your questions

um that were given to us in preparation.

Um the general function I just wanted to

mention um we are a an advisory board

and we have public meetings once a month

in these chambers

and uh sometimes we we

uh take an off month in December if we

don't have any business but um yes it's

a monthly meeting and our

recommendations that are decided in

those meetings then go to council for

ratification.

Uh currently the HARB is a group of

seven city residents or professionals

who volunteer.

Uh they are appointed um I believe by

the mayor. You can correct me on that

one. Um currently we have five members

on the board and we have two vacancies.

The terms are I believe three well they

are three years and I say I believe

because we've lost track. So because so

many of us have been on the board for

many many years. Um so I we haven't been

very deadfast in keeping track of when

they expire and when they renew. Uh we

do have one new member this year. Um the

the terms are in theory staggered. Um

the qualifications for appointment, we

have one position that is to be held by

an architect.

Uh we have one position that is a real

estate agent and the other is the city

code official sits on our board.

Um I believe those three professional

positions do not have to live in the

city but the other um four positions are

residents of the of the historic

districts.

So um the harb has purview over six

municipal historic districts.

They are Allison Hill, Box Ridge,

Harrisburg, Shyoke, Midtown, and Old

Uptown.

And these were en enacted uh in response

to the devastation of the hurricane

Agnes in 1972

um as a way to

revitalize the city and also to preserve

our assets.

The HARB is required to follow um

to review the following kinds of

projects, alterations that are visible

from the public right of way within

these districts. Uh we also have purview

over new construction.

Uh s simple things such as awnings,

fences, and signs. We also have purview

over demolition of part or all of a

building

and it's whether it's a commercial,

residential or public property.

The application review um is part of the

building permit process. So applicants

will submit uh drawings, photographs,

description of the work. Um, and those

applications are due the first of each

month, first Friday of each month, and

then the board meets, like I said,

monthly. That would be the first Monday

of every month, and the applicant

representative must attend.

Um, city staff may uh often

administratively approve applications

involving inind repair and that is

something that is granted through uh

discussion with the board.

Then those recommendations, like I said,

go to the city council.

Um, some similar CA or common cases that

we look at are

more than not are windows and doors,

awnings, weather control device,

vestibials, um, fences, signage,

additions, and renovations.

And how do we go about determining his

what's

warranted in a historic district? uh we

use the secretary of interior standards

as the guideline as to what is

appropriate or inappropriate again to

preserve the assets and the value of

these historic properties.

Um Harb has also in in my tenure has uh

renewed the guidelines. There's a design

guidelines book booklet which I have

here and which can be found on the

links through um the website which helps

to guide the residents

as to what's appropriate and what's uh

inappropriate and and also why is it

important to do it in a certain way.

Um typical

considerations are also regarding

material, the style and the streetscape.

And regarding materials, whether you're

replacing wood with some composite

material or with wood, um we're right

now um

Erica is new to the staff and she's been

working on an an addendum to the

guidelines which will further elaborate

on what those types of materials can be

because think we have to keep up with

the changing technologies of materials

and be able So then further in inform

the public with our guidelines um what

those materials can be.

So we see our purpose as safeguarding

the community structures, features and

streetscapes that make Harrisburg unique

um by saving the distinct character of

the city uh that will benefit the

community in many ways. uh it's cultural

benefits, there are social benefits,

there are even economic benefits that go

tie along with redevelopment.

Um and I think also I keep calling them

assets because once we

lose our historic connection um then it

becomes everywhere USA and we want our

own identity.

There's also environmental benefits to

historic preservation because those

those materials are already there. We

don't have to find new materials and put

more energy into construction.

So, um

again, uh that's pretty much the gist of

what HARB does. And um I had thought

wanted to give some thoughts on maybe

some improvements or modifications as

you go forward with the the harp.

Um, of course,

we want to fill the vacancies because

the more people we have at the table,

the better representation we have.

Again, we have six municipal districts

and we have seven members, three of

which are professionals. So, the more we

can represent each of those historic

districts, I think that's the better.

Um, also staffing. We've benefited from

a new staff member, a historic

preservation preservationist

um specialist, and she is able to

increase our abilities as a board and um

I would encourage continuing to to build

the staff uh because they can assist the

applicants as they go through the

process

and um monitor the projects within the

city that may not be coming to the

across their table. Um there

unfortunately there's lots of things

that happen

in the weekend hours and don't come

through hard. So we lose some of our

integrity in these districts.

Um, also there's been discussion in the

past and I think it's a it's an

incentive in the future to put an

inventory together of different

properties within in the these districts

and u document those assets.

Also, I think it's important to have

staff and HARB continue to educate the

community about the as the benefits of

historic preservation

using the members as resources

and also consideration of expanding the

historic districts to

capture more of the unique

uh unique qualities of Harrisburg and

some of those historic properties that

are not within in confines of the

districts.

Um just also some logistics I think um

and this is something we can bring up at

our our board board member board

meetings which we have um but I see

these nice uh screens up here. We do

hold our our meetings in these chambers

but we aren't use we're using a lot of

paper. We are historic architectural

review board, but we could use

technologies that are current um and not

require so much paper.

Yeah. Not not so much paper when the

applications are turned in. They could

be electronic and distributed

electronically to the board members. I

think that would be more efficient. And

also, I'd like to be able to show as we

discuss put everyone on the same page

literally. So, I think that would be a

benefit.

Um, and as I said, I think other other

things, uh, you asked about engaging the

public, like how do you how do you do

that? Um, I believe in our bylaws, it

talks about annual annual reporting to

council, and this is one of the first

moments we've had to actually have a

conversation about what HARB does. And I

see as an important conduit to share our

experiences and opportunities. And I

also see that it's important to connect

with these other boards as well. We

overlap with a lot of what the

redevelopment authorities trying to

achieve, what the planning commission,

the zoning boards are trying to achieve,

and even the environmental committee.

Um, forgot their name. um environmental

advisory council.

Um

and um so I think we would like to

continue those discussions and also

educate the public about the benefits,

the how-tos and what resources are

available to the public.

Um

and then lastly also beyond the walls of

the district and beyond the walls of

this the the borders of the city itself.

How can we entice people to come to

historic Harrisburg, the old city? So

you go to many many towns out and about

and you go to the core and along main

thorough affairs you see signs to say

old city Harrisburg or actually I just

went to Lan Lancaster and it does have

those directional signs and we want to

be proud of that history and draw

attention to it. So I guess that's what

I have if you have any questions.

>> Thank you so much. Thank you for your

recommendations. I appreciate those. Um,

how do you feel about QR codes? Do you

think that would be helpful?

>> I'm sure they can be. I'm not sure in

what way we would be using them.

>> Okay.

>> Um, but it's

>> it's to reference the meeting materials.

You mentioned a lot of paper in your

meeting packets. um if individuals

attending the meeting or if other board

members just scan hovers their phone

over the QR code, all of the

documentation for the meeting would pop

up.

>> That would be le catapulting us into

this technology.

>> You can take baby steps with it. You

could have you could still have some

hard copy packets, but

>> Right. And can you please remind me, was

it in 2021 that the HARB guidelines were

updated?

>> Uh, well, we had some public meetings in

2019.

>> Um, and when it was actually voted on, I

think was not too

>> far thereafter. I don't remember if it

was 2020.

>> I was trying to remember. I remember the

public meetings and I remember all of

the discussion around it. I thought um

that they were really helpful to

residents um particularly those that

were new to historic districts and they

didn't know um all of the necessities

there. I did want to clarify um so

our packet here notes that the harb

members are appointed by the mayor with

council consent. Um but on the website

it notes that the body is comprised of

seven mayors appointed members excuse me

appointed by city council. So, is that

I thought they were all mayoral

appointments, but I just wanted to

clarify since it reads differently

>> legal.

>> They're reading.

>> My experience, I was asked to join by

the mayor and then I came to council,

>> right, for approval. Yes,

>> that is what I went through.

>> That's what I thought. I just want to

make sure just so everybody

>> is a mayoral appointment.

>> Thank you. And there are currently at

least two vacancies.

>> Yes.

>> Okay.

>> And there is one coming down to council

for the next meeting for the

>> Oh, okay.

>> So that Jeffrey had recommended to the

mayor.

>> Great. So you'll have a new person soon.

Um let's see here. The terms are three

years and they are staggered.

Um,

and a number I guess of the current

board members

terms have expired. Does the mayor

intend to

>> So I'm not sure what the mayor's

intention is. Historically, not for all

boards, but for most boards, there's a

provision both in state law and local

that they continue to serve until until

>> uh they can leave, but the but but they

can stay. And so I don't know what the

mayor's term is. I think part of the

reason you're having this meeting is

sometimes it's very hard to get

volunteers

uh for new position, new people. So

rotating is hard on on the rules are

very ambitious for rotation and and the

volunteer list isn't long enough to do

it for almost any board. That's that's

the reality.

>> So

>> they also have to know about it. So I

think that was more so the reason why.

Right.

>> Yes. Yes, some of these boards.

>> I'm going to say this is probably my

seventh public meeting on boards and

commissions and why people should

volunteer.

>> So, it comes up again and again. The

council keeps trying. They keep trying

and

>> that's all we can do, right?

>> And so, you try to get people to

volunteer and be interested and uh and

we've been very fortunate with some very

good people on very many boards.

>> We have. So, I just wanted to review the

formal reports and advice provided. I

think you covered this, but I just

wanted to note recommendations on

certificates of appropriateness should

be submitted in writing to city council

recommending approval or denial of

applications.

An annual report submitted to the mayor

and city council summarizing

transactions, activities, and

preservation oversight. Guidance on

historic district boundaries. You may

advise city council and staff on the

limits of historic districts and

boundary adjustments, which you

mentioned expanding those. And then

demolition criteria and preservation

standards provide policy guidance and

recommendations on demolition requests

and preservation best practices.

I'm going to open the floor to my

colleagues who may have some questions

for you. I will start with our building

and housing committee chair,

Councilwoman Davis. Do you have any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. Good evening.

>> Evening.

>> Um Trina, Miss Trina.

>> Yes.

>> Um thank you for being here this

evening. I pretty much look at all of

the um cases that come through and I

actually go out in the to the community

and drive around and look at some of the

properties.

I don't if I have a dispute or I don't

agree with something, I will send you an

email or the secretary

um of the board. I don't know who that

is. I just look at the emails and then

respond.

>> Um but for the most part, I think the

board is very strict when it comes to

our um historic properties.

>> Um and for a good reason. Um, as you

said, we want to maintain the integrity

um, and also be an attraction, keep that

attraction in our city. Um,

one question.

When someone buys a a historic property,

does the board notify them about the uh

decisions uh or

notify them that they have to check with

the board before they make any revisions

to their property.

>> Right. So um the building application

goes uh to the city for review. So

that's for building permit and then that

would catch if it's in a historic

district and what the work is. So it's

if it's on the exterior facades, it's in

the purview of HARB. Um but when people

buy properties within the historic

districts, uh the real estate agents are

required to provide uh provide that

information that they are within a

historic district and there are certain

criteria.

>> I wondered about that and thank you for

clarifying um that the real estate

agents actually that's their job to do

that. Um okay, so for right now I don't

have any other questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Vice President Green. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. I don't have

any questions for you, but thank you

very much for your service.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Ross. Any

questions?

>> Okay, Councilman Rodriguez, any

questions?

Um, no, no questions for me and thank

you for joining us this evening.

>> Thank you, Councilman Jones. Any

questions?

>> Uh, yeah, I think it was pretty much

answered. Um, Councilwoman Davis uh is

asked about um how are we notifying um

the the the buyers of this of these

properties? Um because I've been through

a couple of them and some and this is

for the public because some of them are

young people that are looking to to buy

and and and and rehab a lot of these

homes. Um there was one in particular

incident where one has uh bought the

property in a historical area and

started he seen someone else do

something different than the historical

area pretty much allowed and then they

wanted to follow and start getting the

same material. Then they had to take all

of this stuff down uh before they could

even sell resell the home. So they took

a big loss. So, I'm really concerned

about making sure that this information

when it comes to I think that was a

great question. When someone purchases

the house, we should be able to send

something out from the city to let them

know you've just purchased a home in a

historical uh area and here's here's the

guidelines because um and I think they

probably would have done it the way

following the rules if they would have

known about it and it's maybe just

because they're young at it too. So

hopefully trying to just brick that gap

and making sure that we can get some of

that information out to any potential

buyers and anyone that actually

purchases. So um that's something that

um I think you answered, but if not, I

hopefully we can really work towards

something like that. And that's all I

have.

>> Sure. I would I would agree. The more

ways to capture and and inform um

potential buyers and people who are

buying properties, I think the better.

Um, but I believe the onus is on the

real estate agent at the moment, but to

capture it.

>> Well, some of them it could be the city

owns may some may have some of the the

parcels, right? And and and again, I

think so that would be on us to to send

that out or No,

>> there aren't too many properties that we

own that have a building on it.

>> Okay.

>> Right. That that's the reality. So, we

don't we those would be great because

it'd actually auction off for money.

>> All right. Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you. I'm going to try one more

time. Councilwoman Ross, any questions?

Okay. Thank you. Thanks for being here

and for your recommendations.

>> Next, we have the parking authority.

Uh, good evening, council members. Uh,

and I'm going to echo one of the earlier

comments, and that is, uh, I'm here

having served as the chairman of the

parking authority since, uh, 2014, but

I've also served on the planning

commission, uh, as vice chair since, I

think it was 97. And this is the first

time that we've been asked to come in

front of council on an official basis as

planning commission. So I'm not going to

be covering that tonight. We have some

really good folks here from our group.

But uh just want to thank you. I mean

that's a it's a very welcome turn of

events. So with all that said uh Ver

McKisik

317 North Front Street as I mentioned

currently serve as the uh as the

chairman of the Harrisburg Parking

Authority. So what is it other than

boring u

uh Harrisburg parking authority was

created by the city uh in 1972 pursuant

to the parking authority laws of 1947.

Uh since the incorporation of the

authority has had a separate existence

with purposes and powers set forth in

the articles incorporation the act and

ordinance. Uh the current term or the

enabling legislation that created it uh

runs out in 2037.

So, um, presently, Harrisburg Parking

Authority operates, uh, a a reduced

quantity of parking related elements,

per se. Uh, the city-owned surface lots

on City Island. Uh, also the parking

garage on City Island. They were not

incorporated into the Harrisburg Strong

deal that I'll talk about in a moment.

Uh, we also operate a small service lot

between Malberry and Deubberry Streets

by the train station. Uh we likewise

managed a parking garage attached to the

uh Pennsylvania National Insurance

Company building. Uh in as I mentioned

in 2013, there was a thing called the

Harrisburg Strong Plan. Uh that was the

recovery uh from the the uh bankruptcy

situation. At that point, Harrisburg

Park authority transferred the remainder

of the parking system uh to Pennsylvania

Economic Development Finance Agency

called PTFA. Uh the garages and surface

lots were transferred by a lease under a

asset transfer agreement between the

city Harrisburg parking authority and

peta. Right now HPA is the Harrisburg

parking author authority is a leaseor

with the leasur's rights and duties

under the leases. Uh Harrisburg parking

authority is the transfer transfer. I

kind of love the lawyer worms. Uh

responsible for monitoring pedest

performance of its obligations under the

asset transfer agreement. Uh and the way

that works, revenue from the transferred

parking system flows through a revenue

what we call a waterfall by means

of which revenue is allocated to a

sequestered sequential tiered manner. uh

in recent years the level unfortunately

the waterfall which is supposed to

distur dist distribute the rents to HBA

and the payments to the city has

remained unfunded because of decreases

in uh income. Uh unfortunately unfunded

rent and city payments lapse at the end

of each year and do not acrew. So when

the year goes it's never coming back. Um

the current membership status uh uh the

uh we have five seats, four are filled.

All terms have expired. Uh the members

of the Harrisburg Parking Authority

Board continue to serve as was

referenced until appointed qualified.

The public engagement we meet once a

month uh if a quorum is available. Our

meetings are public subject to of course

the sunshine law. Uh in terms of

reporting structure, we are an

independent authority. Uh the mayor

appoints and can remove Harrisburg

parking authority board members. Uh we

do have an executive director employed

by the city who handles management of

tasks for us including the garages and

things that are on the island.

uh question relative to appointment and

and qualifications

uh really comes down to being familiar

with the city and also having an

understanding of parking and the parking

business and towards that end actually

most of the members uh not all anymore

but for a long time were members of the

part of the planning commission which

brought that information along along

with us. The uh one thing about the uh

parking the parking authority if I could

find the page I'm looking for here.

There it is. Just a quick summation

before I'm going to call before 19 or

2013 which was before the bankruptcy and

post plan I'll call it. Uh before 2013

the parking authority owned and operated

parking lots uh and meters. Now we're

just a title home lesser and u we have

the concessant agreement with PET. Uh

before we had a revenue pledge. It we

were quite a a financial engine for the

city back in the day. Uh today we're

just oversight and compliance. So we're

monitoring concessionire and hopefully

ensuring the agreements and executed in

compliance. Uh in the past we had direct

financing. The garages were done under

separate debt and um

Today we're conduits for financing. We

still have the ability to borrow money

uh in Pennsylvania under law, but we

haven't done that since the recovery

deal. Uh but we can issue debt in in

conjunction with PETO. And finally, of

course, it used to be that we integrated

with the city anything that had to do

with parking. Uh today, we're just

interfacing relative to issues regarding

city parking decisions, enforcements. Uh

to that end, we do end up intercepting a

number of comments that come in from uh

community groups who've done studies or

have had issues relative to parking uh

which feeds over to the parking

authority or the planning commission on

a regular basis, capital neighbors,

other folks within the recovery or the

no compete zone under the issue. So, so

that like I say is very boring, but

that's what we do.

So, I'll take any questions. It's not

boring. It's good information for people

to know. As you know, parking is a

premium everywhere in the city and it's

a discussion that we have quite often.

Um, I did want to note, you mentioned

that all of the five members are

appointed by the mayor and the term

length is five years. They are staggered

terms. I just wanted to review the

formal reports and advice provided as

I've been doing. An annual financial and

activities report should be submitted as

required by the urban redevelopment law

typically to the city of Harrisburg and

filed with the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania. Project proposals and

plans should be reviewed in coordination

with city council and the mayor when

redevelopment activities involve public

approvals or funding. And then public

notices and hearings provided as

required under state law for

redevelopment project approval and

property. Oh, sorry. I'm reading the

redevelopment authorities. Sorry. I'm

like

here. This is really

>> Hold on. Sorry, I was on the wrong page.

I flipped the other way. Annual

financial statements and audits should

be filed in compliance with the pens

with the parking authority law and

provided to the commonwealth and the

city. Policy and operational reports

should be re reviewed by the board of

directors and shared with the city when

policies or partnerships impact

municipal operations. And finally,

public information, notices, rate

structures, and facility updates are

made available to the public as part of

the authorities's transparency

obligations. I just have one question.

Where are your meetings held?

>> Uh, we have our own offices that are

located in a public safety building.

>> Okay. Thank you for clarifying. I don't

have any other questions. I will open

the floor to my colleagues who may have

additional questions. I'm going to start

with Councilman Jones.

Thank you, President Hill. Yes.

>> Woo. Parking, parking, parking.

First, again, I'll say start out saying

thank you for your service and

everything that you're doing. Um, you

know, it's very I just have two areas um

that I want to look at in your general

function when it comes to uh regulation

and enforcement. Can you expound on that

role? Uh because

>> Sure. Sure. You know, when I first when

I first got here, uh, one of the first

things I jumped on was, uh, ordinances

here, parking on the curbs. So, I just

want to see what role you guys play. We

we actually have little role in that

because that was contained of both

meters enforcement which is which is

parking tickets and uh the finance from

the garages operation the garages within

the no compete area which is most of the

downtown was transferred to pedi

standard parking and I think their esbos

plea they've just gone through a name

change.

>> Um so we really have very little control

over that. uh if it's City Island, the

garage there or outside of the no

compete zone, uh we have the ability uh

to have a little bit more to to do and

say and work work with.

>> So nothing like in the in the areas of

uh like Allison Hill, South Harrisburg.

>> Well, we could do there that that is not

part of the uh of the no compete. What

and I I keep mentioning no compete. What

I should mention there was there's a map

that was created which contains most of

downtown Harrisburg and up just past the

Broad Street Market. And within that

area, one of the things that the the

agreement, which is 40-year agreement,

>> yeah,

>> I'm aware it was a part of the strong.

>> And one of the things I don't think a

lot of people understand is that that

40-year deal, we were 10 years or 12

years into it because the financing or

the the funds were not coming in. It was

refinanced two years ago to prevent it

from going into default and added

another 10 years. So, we're still

sitting at 40 years in this deal, 203.

Um so so that's really one of the

struggles the u uh no compete the

biggest thing and I'm going to

>> before you move on who who made that

decision

>> that was negotiated between all the bond

holders the city attorneys other

entities from the state pedce

um and and we would welcome and we would

like to make the offer to have our

council come and Tim Anderson and step

you through it because it's a

fascinating

read to see where we are because it has

such a big in my opinion impact on the

future of this recovery of downtown

Harrisburg.

>> Absolutely it does and and and I think

we're all there and and we're looking at

this. So yeah, I'll probably I'll ask

legal this question, but the question I

was going to ask is can we get out of

this gone play? So, uh I know it's we'll

take a financial hit if we if we if we

attempted to do this, but um it is one

of the biggest uh pet peeves right now,

especially when we're looking in and and

bringing downtown back in any capacity.

Uh go ahead, Mr. L. I'll see you.

>> Not sure. Is that is that a question?

Can we break

>> Can we break a contract?

>> I was going to ask it off, but if you

want to answer, sure.

>> I mean, any contract can be broken. I'm

not sure that that's a a good idea,

right? Obviously, we would need to

review the contract and speak with

everyone to figure out what that could

mean,

>> right? But it's generally not a good

idea to try and go breaking contracts.

That's why you take your time and make

them in the first place, right?

>> Is there is there And I haven't looked

deeply into this policy, but I'm just

knowing

and I don't want to call them out, but

you know this some of these things have

ruined other areas, other cities uh with

the parking. Um so and it is a concern

again if we're looking to um change

directions in what we're doing far as uh

bringing people back into the city.

People want to en enjoy our our

festivities, our historical areas, you

know, and and these things are in place.

So is there any room for renegotiation?

>> Again, you're really not renegotiating.

If there's a contract in place, you're

breaching the contract. So like

it's not really a question. Can you

breach a contract? Yes, there are

consequences when you do. Can you

renegotiate? Yes. If the other side

agrees, there's clause that says

>> it, you know, you can make amendments,

but both sides need to be done in

writing.

So it's a contract. It can be amended,

but there are consequences when you

amend contracts.

>> Okay. Yeah. I mean, the I pretty much

figured that you could, but I I know it

probably wouldn't even be feasible to

do, but it's just something that is is

it's a big problem and I I think we all

are there on that. It's a big problem in

our city. Um along with um some of the

other parking issues. Uh but one of the

things I see too is their purpose of um

to reduce traffic congestions.

>> We we don't have that problem right now.

>> Support local business. ago, we had that

problem. And the the deal was was really

put together uh under the vision of the

downtown as basically a giant office

park

>> with 20 to 30,000 people traveling into

the city every day. That's changed and

we've been waiting for it to perhaps

come back for the last four or five

years. There's been a little bit, but

it's still running deficits and it's not

really covering many of the tiers of

financing because there's a whole series

of levels of bonds that have been

placed. So ultimately something will

have to be restructured how that looks.

Um the biggest thing that from a

planning basis is however we have to pay

them back somehow. Uh but the biggest

thing from a planning basis is that

right now for the no compete area you

know city sponsored property parking is

not is effectively off the table

completely. That be the garages building

new garages. um private parking it's

possible but if you look around the

downtown you see it's a very strong

upward look because the final author

authority of that is Peda and the

operator not the planning commission so

where in the past you had Pennsylvania

National Insurance building a parking

garage and putting headquarters downtown

you're not seeing it now

>> this day yeah

>> you know I'm working with a developer

right now who's looking to put do

quarter million square foot building

bring it back to life um but he's

looking60 62 apartments and we're

looking at the need for to be paying

$320 to $380 a month for reserve parking

space and it's wiping out the

performance.

>> Yeah,

>> that's where it's really at in the basis

of our recovery deal. So, I'm getting

off tangent. That's not what we're here

for, right?

>> I apologize.

>> No problem. Um I I won't hold you any

longer, but those are just some of the I

just wanted to see what role you played

in um in enforcement and uh and some of

the policies that we have, but I see

it's kind of restricted to certain

areas. Yes, sir.

>> And and and that's fine. So, I'll keep

beating up this ladder to try to get

some of this stuff resolved. So, thank

you. I have no further questions and

thank you again for your service.

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, Madam President. Uh pretty

much just echoing the sentiments of

Councilman Jones and um just to add on

top of it, a lot of our residents issues

with parking is just the space there is

none that's provided. Um a lot of our

sidewalks don't exist. A lot of our

curving that would indicate where to

park still, you know, isn't available in

certain neighborhoods around the city.

But I I understand your jurisdiction

would only, you know, be detailed to

certain parameters. So, um, as

Councilman Jones said, you know, maybe

we could just kind of keep beating that

horse, but I do appreciate you being

here this evening, and I look forward

to, um, a lot of the work you'll be

doing in the future. Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Ross.

>> So, she had to uh sign off. She might be

trying to log back on here.

>> Okay. Thank you, Vice President Green.

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

it's good to see you tonight, Mr.

McKisick. Um,

>> I don't have any questions for you. Um,

I'd love to sit down and talk about how

the parking deal was refinanced, uh, and

get to know a little more about that.

Uh, because that is interesting that it

kind of set us back 10 years. Um, but as

far as questions for the parking

authority, I don't have any tonight.

Thank you.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Davis. Any

questions?

>> Off. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. McKisick,

for being here. I just want to say thank

you for my parking decal. I can park

anywhere around the city and not have to

pay.

>> We We know certain things. Yes.

>> Thank you. And I don't have any

questions.

>> Thank you. Thanks for being here and for

participating.

>> This is great.

>> Sure. Thank you.

>> Next we have the planning commission.

All right. Good evening. Uh my name is

Sean Utul. I'm on the city planning

commission obviously and I uh wish to

echo Mr. McKisik's comments. I've been

on the planning commission for too long

now. Uh and this is the first

opportunity I've had we've had to come

before you like this and I I appreciate

that opportunity. Uh we are the planning

commission is enabled by the uh

Pennsylvania municipal municipal

planning code. Uh like we are merely an

advisory board. Our decisions come to

either the city council for final

approval or to the zoning hearing board.

Uh we review requests for subdivisions