Harrisburg City Council Legislative Session - 4/28/2026

elect our legislative caucus prior to

the start of our legislative session

this evening.

Following this legislative caucus, I

will call the meeting to order.

Mr. Humphrey will call the roll. The

invocation this evening will be led by

Councilwoman Davis, followed by the

pledge of allegiance, which I will lead.

For communications this evening, we are

joined

by a host of individuals to share a

presentation of the Downtown Harrisburg

Perception Survey.

We will then move to courtesy of the

floor, followed by the approval of the

minutes for the legislative session that

occurred on April 14th, 2026.

Then, you will hear reports of

committees. I will deliver the first

report on behalf of the Administration

Committee on the work session of April

21st, 2026.

Next, you will hear the Public Works

Committee report delivered by Chair

Rodriguez on the work session of April

21st, 2026.

Then, you will hear the report of the

Parks, Recreation, and Enrichment

Committee

delivered by Chair Rawls on the work

session of April 21st, 2026.

And the final committee report you will

hear will be delivered by our

public safety committee chair,

Councilwoman Green, on the work session

of April 21st, 2026.

We do not have any ordinances for first

reading, ordinances for amendment, or

ordinances for final passage. We will

move to resolutions.

The first resolution for consideration

this evening will be resolution 24 of

2026,

which we will vote upon.

Next, resolution 25 of 2026,

which we will vote upon.

Resolution 26 of 2026,

which we will vote upon.

Resolution 31 of 2026,

which we will vote upon.

Resolution 32 of 2026,

which we will vote upon. Resolution 34

of 2026,

um we will vote upon. Resolution 35 of

2026, we will vote upon. Resolution 36

of 2026,

we will suspend the rules for discussion

and then vote upon that resolution.

Resolution 37 of 2026,

we will suspend the rules for discussion

and then vote on that resolution. And

then resolution 38 of 2026,

we will also suspend the rules for

discussion and then vote on resolution

38.

Resolution 39 of 2026 will move to the

administration committee, and resolution

40 of 2026 will move to the budget and

finance committee.

Is there any old business for

discussion, council members.

Seeing hearing none, any new business?

Okay, I do have one note of new business

and then we will adjourn.

You have new business too? Okay, so Vice

President Jones and I both have

two orders of new business.

And then we will adjourn. So the time is

6:04 p.m. I'd like to call our

legislative session to order.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please call the

roll?

Ms. Davis. Present.

Ms. Green. Present. Mr. Jones. Here.

Mr. Lawson.

Here.

Ms. Rawls. Present. Mr. Rodriguez.

Present. Ms. Hill. Present. Thank you.

The invocation this evening will be led

by Councilwoman Davis.

Thank you, President Hill. Good evening,

everyone.

I'd like to

send condolences to the Gumby family.

Um Jerry Walter Gumby Gumby

born May 25th, 1961

passed on April 17th, 2026.

God's finger touched him and he fell

asleep. Jerry Walter Gumby was born on

Thursday, May 25th, 1961 to Bernice

Mounts Gumby

and the late Robert W. Gumby in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He departed

this life on Friday, April 17th, 2026

joining his father Robert W. Gumby and

brother Daryl E. Gumby.

Jerry received his formal education in

the Harrisburg School District. Upon

relocating

to the Central Dauphin School District,

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated

in the class of 1979.

After graduation, he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps.

Jerry was employed at various jobs

throughout his life. With cooking being

one of his passions, he was employed by

Jazz Around Catering. Becoming a

freelance caterer, he was contracted

with the Islamic Festival that was held

every year at the PA Farm Show in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. At an early

age, he began designing fashions for men

and women alike. Under the tutelage of

his mother, he became a very successful

entrepreneur. J. Walter Apparel held its

design launch at the Radisson Hotel in

Camp Hill, Pennsylvania featuring

women's hats, suits, gowns, and his

exclusive necktie line. His favorite

color was purple.

Devoted to his craft, he was the stage

set designer for plays written by his

cousin, Nathaniel Gadston.

He became a volunteer for various

organizations throughout the region,

including at different food banks.

Whenever help was needed, he was there.

Jerry attended the Mount Calvary Church

of God in Christ, Harrisburg,

Pennsylvania under the leadership of the

late Superintendent Dr. D. R. Gilmore.

Jerry was a loving and devoted son,

brother, and father. He was also a

loving and devoted caregiver to his

mother.

We will always remember and cherish the

beautiful life he shared with us. Along

with his father, Jerry

was pre-deceased

in death by his maternal grandmother,

Carrie Beatrice Watson, his paternal

grandparents, Anna E. Courts Gumby and

William H. Gumby Sr., and his brother,

Daryl Edward Gumby. Jerry leaves to

cherish beautiful memories, his loving

and devoted mother Bernice M. Gumby, his

children, son Kyle Herstack and daughter

Victoria Herstack, and his uncle Elder

Dr. Dr. John W. Gumby Sr. And a host of

family and friends.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Davis. If

everyone could please rise for the

Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America,

and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under God, indivisible, with

liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Uh for communications this evening,

we are joined by Iris Quigley

from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center,

Julie Fitzpatrick, also from the

Pennsylvania Downtown Center,

Ryan Unger from the Capital Region

Economic Development Corporation,

and I don't see Doug Brown, but he's

listed here. He's ill. Um he was to be

here on behalf of State Senator Patty

Kim. If you all wouldn't mind joining

us, please.

Thank you. If you wouldn't mind taking a

moment just to introduce yourselves

before you begin your presentation. Um

as you notice, the microphones do move,

so we ask that you please

uh move them close to you so that those

listening and watching um are able to

hear you. So, thank you.

Uh yeah, good evening. Uh my name is

Ryan Unger. I'm president and CEO of the

Harrisburg Regional Chamber and critic

and a resident of the city uh in 254

Verbek.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Iris Wigley.

I'm the special projects coordinator at

the Pennsylvania Downtown Center.

Good evening. My name is Julie

Fitzpatrick. I'm the executive director

of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center and

although not a resident of Harrisburg,

our office is at 1230 North 3rd Street

right on the corner of 3rd and Verbek

across from Broad Street Market.

Okay.

Yeah, I'm I'm going to uh kick things

off kind of explain, you know, where

we're at in part of this overall

downtown revitalization process, but

also want to begin by expressing thanks

uh to council. I know uh President

Hill's been a participant in uh some of

our monthly stakeholder meetings called

together by PADCED and the governor's

office.

And in addition, we have weekly check-in

calls and Councilman Lawson and um

through his chair seat has been

participating in them. And I know you

guys are really busy, so I appreciate um

you know, those check-ins and I know

we've had a chance to meet with some of

the other council members on particular

issues as we've gone through.

Uh

as we began this effort, you know,

working with our state legislators, the

city certainly,

uh and governor's office and others, I

think one of the things that we heard

loud and clear from this group and

others was the importance of public

engagement as part of this process. I

think, you know, when you do downtown

revitalization or any kind of economic

development planning right, you first

understand uh what the you know, the

residents of the community and also the

users of the facilities and workers and

such um want to see and what they feel.

So, as an important part of this work,

we um contracted with the Pennsylvania

Downtown Center, which is the state's

um certified Main Street organization

and has done this work in similar size

cities across the Commonwealth in

Allentown,

Bethlehem, Wilkes-Barre, other

communities, and also small communities

as well. And in talking to Julie and

Iris, one of the things I think

impressed us early on was their

commitment to deep and robust public

engagement. So, I think we want to spend

the bulk of our time talking about that,

but also other opportunities as we go

forward both for council and the city as

a whole

to all play a role cuz I think as you'll

hear from the perception survey, and I'm

going to turn it over to them. Glad to

answer questions as we go through.

I was asked earlier, I only going to

steal one piece of thunder from Iris's

presentation, but people always want to

know like what's your one takeaway? And

I hesitate to always point out to you

know one area of opportunity or one area

strength or one criticism,

but instead the fact that we had over

4,000 participants, which I won't make

them say it on the record, but it is the

most that we have seen in a survey of

this size. And I think what that shows

us is a deep desire to help be part of

the solution to move downtown Harrisburg

forward and and certainly another

economic development work in this city.

And out of that 4,000 people, one in

five said, "Here's my email. I know it's

an anonymous survey, but we want to play

a role and help as we go forward." So,

on with that note, I'm going to turn it

over to Iris. I believe we have you know

a PowerPoint and some other items to go

over some of the details of the survey.

Just a note, it was an online survey. We

worked with the city,

the school district, and others to get

the word out. We had a really

coordinated communication plan to try to

get this throughout the city. And

they're also going to talk about some

very specific instances where there

might have been a digital divide on ways

that we've tried to reach out to those

communities in particular

here in the the

uh try to get their feedback already.

So, I'll turn it over to you guys. Okay.

Great.

Thank you, Ryan. So, we're just going to

provide a quick overview. This is a

survey. It is a perceptual survey, so we

want to keep that in mind. This is

really how people are feeling and

thinking of these different conditions.

We opened it up in February and have

just recently closed it now in April.

There's always a possibility of

reopening it, but for now I think, you

know, as Ryan mentioned, we're

incredibly thrilled with the level of

participation that we have. So, we want

to make sure that it is as widely

um

you know, I would say accepted and and

also participating with different

individuals who represent our residents,

our visitors, our business owners. We

looked at employees and daytime workers

throughout the the city, particularly in

downtown. We also identified property

owners and youth. So, we are able to

really break this survey down and be

able to show the different data sets in

lots of different ways, which Iris will

share.

We want to also mention that this is a

survey that we developed the

Pennsylvania Downtown Center developed

in partnership with an an international

organization called the Project for

Public Spaces. It's also a survey that

the Pennsylvania Department of Community

and Economic Development has adopted

over the last 20 to 22 years. And

communities as Ryan has shared from all

over Pennsylvania have utilized this

same survey to really create benchmarks

and an assessment as planning efforts

are starting out. It's also a survey

that many communities, particularly our

cities that have participated with our

Main Street program or some sort of

planning efforts have also basically

done at the end of their planning

efforts to be able to show those

longitudinal changes and differences.

So, it's something that, you know, hope

that we can revisit in a couple years

and and be able to to use it as another

way to demonstrate some of the change

and the impact in the the upcoming

future.

So, we really are using the the data

sets from these surveys to create the

next steps for both the public

engagement, but then also for the actual

vision and the strategic plan.

We can go to the next slide, please. I'm

going to hand this over to Iris.

Yes, so Ryan touched on this some

already, but I just want to address

again the fact that we had over 4,000

responses is so amazing. Uh, I'm doing

surveys like this all the time in

communities of so many different sizes

across the Commonwealth. And I think

that the responses to the survey is a

great indicator of how engaged the

community is. So, the fact that we have

reached this level is wonderful and can

only be used to our advantage. Um, of

those 4,000 responses, over 2,000 of

them were city residents. We really want

to hear what the residents um have to

say about their experience um living in

Harrisburg. So, wonderful to see that.

And then 500 of that number was

specifically people living in the

downtown. And as Ryan mentioned, 20% of

those respondents want to be a part of

the solution. So, we're going to be

reaching out to them, engaging them, and

letting them know that they can be

involved. Go to the next slide, please.

Um, so to touch on some positive

findings, uh different positive

perceptions and strengths that we're

seeing. Um, there was a note of the

strong architectural character and

wanting to preserve that in the city.

Um, we all know that Riverfront Park is

a great asset um and creates that really

distinctive sense of place.

Um, and there's significant untapped

potential. So, how can we continue to

foster and grow that? Um, different

cultural and activity anchors, um using

that to draw visitors, different

restaurants acting as a key destination.

How can we build off of that of

capturing people who want to come in and

dine and then also explore other places

or different retail opportunities

and different events and performances as

well.

Really focusing on the everyday assets,

different amenities that people need

access to. So many people, almost 3000,

reported that they primarily walk to get

around the downtown. So how are we

ensuring that the space is walkable,

pedestrian, bike friendly

and having convenient access to

employment, having

a strong workforce option, super

critical and then getting that daytime

energy, daytime economy from workers and

students.

And then looking at community optimism

and engagement. There's so much pride

people express time and again how proud

they were to be a part of the capital

city and that widespread belief that

revitalization is achievable.

And so much of that comes from the

willingness to support improvement

through collaboration, investment,

different events and volunteerism.

So again, downtown Harrisburg really has

that solid foundation of physical

assets, cultural capital and engaged

stakeholders. Apathy is not the issue.

We're always battling that of how do we

even get people to respond to a survey.

We've had communities of similar sizes

do something like this and people don't

even want to share their input. So the

fact that we're not dealing with that

here

and people do care so deeply, I think

we're all very excited to see what comes

in the coming months.

And then different areas of opportunity

that we'll continue to look at as we

hold focus groups and the public

engagement workshops in the coming

months.

How can we fill those gaps in retail and

services?

A strong expression in

a need for a pharmacy or a grocery

store, just different everyday

amenities,

reducing parking barriers. We wanted to

call out that only 21 and a half percent

say that of the respondents say that

parking did not prevent them from

visiting the downtown. So, we know that

work

is ongoing to address that, but how can

we

continue to to improve that? Also

looking at safety and lighting, again

going back to how many people walk

around the downtown, how can we make

sure that they're having a positive

experience?

Looking at upgrading streets, the

sidewalks, um definitely ADA access as

well. Um creating a more supportive

small business environment, expanding

housing and mixed-use development,

strengthening those connections to the

different neighborhoods leading to the

downtown,

access to Riverfront Park, weekday foot

traffic, and then really rebuilding that

strong identity that we can all take

pride in.

If you want to Yeah.

Yeah, so that again as as both Julie and

Iris kind of outlined, this sets a

really good baseline

and helps us to identify some early

themes by which to kind of build in some

additional conversations. So,

one mention is I mentioned earlier

about, you know, the digital divide and

I think we you know, we fully recognize

that not everyone you know, might have

access to a computer or have the ability

to fill an online survey. To that end,

um Julie and the Downtown Center

met at two of our towers through

historic Excuse me, through the Heritage

Housing Authority to have focus groups

to try to augment that a bit as we've

gone here for our senior citizen

population as well. So, those those have

taken place and we'll do more of those

and I think I've developed a strong

partnership there to continue along

those lines recognizing the critical

part that they play as well. So, a

strong partnership has been established

there. In addition, coming up here in

May, we will be holding

focus groups with particular

subsets of, you know, business owners,

uh large employers, city workers, county

workers, state workers, the bar and

restaurant owners, bar and restaurant

employees, all these different types of

groups that typically would utilize

your downtown. And we have a few days

set aside in mid mid-May here downtown

to have those meetings. Invites are

going out now for those, and we will

again have a series of questions that

will all structured to ask during that

time, you know, identifying what

barriers exist for their participation

downtown. In a perfect world, what would

you like to see? Which would then set us

up for um further public engagement in

terms of public workshops coming up in

June in July. Um a couple notes here,

you know, we do have some things on this

chart that we always want to tell some

some good news as well. In March,

I know you know, President Hill was at

the announcement where we got additional

funding for the downtown improvement

district. Certainly they've seen a

reduction with downtown assessments

declining to allow them to to improve

and increase

their foot patrols

that occur

Excuse me, 5:00 to 10:00

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, all Fridays

and Saturdays and many Thursdays

downtown throughout the year. A

significant increase and allowed them to

expand that

back to where it had been previously

when assessments were higher. In

addition to that, we've had some good

days here in downtown Harrisburg. Just

last week unveiling Cornett Park, which

is something and the type of things

here, you know, just kind of corner from

here that people were asking for in the

survey. Green space, small pocket

events, pop-up parks, things of that

nature. So,

um we're trying to lift those up and

highlight them as great demonstration

projects as well. Um next slide, please.

Again, as I mentioned earlier, May

through July will host again some public

workshops. We would want to work in

entirely, you know, with council

for that and then we've had some

preliminary conversations about what

that what that would look like, but

those will be opportunities for the

community and public to come in and

engage and interact with the downtown

center and partners

about some of these ideas and

initiatives and share their visions as

well. We will then work to draft some of

our vision statements for for downtown

continue community engagement with the

hope in fall here to unveil our downtown

revitalization strategy.

That is the work that the downtown

center is working. In addition to that,

we're beginning to compile and work with

partners on inventorying potential

projects downtown. Everything from green

space to human services support to

changes in streetscape and everything in

between to try to identify opportunities

for for public support for those

initiatives. In addition to that, we're

working with the downtown center to

identify some additional consulting and

professional support to to begin to kind

of visualize some of this work. So, can

we bring in you know, land planners,

space planners so we can have a better

idea. We know that many people move as

Iris outlined. So, how can we help them

move in a more pedestrian friendly way

and again, bring that to this to this

work as well. Anything I missed on that,

Julie?

Okay, next slide. Yeah, questions or

comments. Again, I know we were time

constrained and try to get through this,

but glad to answer questions on this or

anything else regarding the work.

And I will add if anyone wants access to

what the full survey results look like,

I'm happy to share that just so you can

see the full breakdown. We use a

platform where we can compare and

contrast how residents versus visitors

are feeling, different age groups. So,

really looking at this holistically.

Thank you very much. I do think that

data would would helpful um, for our

efforts. Um, I do have a few questions

before I open the floor to my colleagues

who may have some additional questions

for you.

Um, primarily the digital divide that

you mentioned, could you speak more to

the um, I guess the two focus groups

that were held with the Harrisburg

Housing Authority?

Jackson, yes. So, this was this just

happened uh, like a week and a half ago,

I guess, but working with the Harrisburg

Housing Authority, meeting with

residents at Morrison Tower and also

Jackson Tower.

And engaged, I think around 25 to 30

people during those two meetings and

really just talked to them about their

experience as residents and, you know,

what their wants and their needs are

within the community. And I think it was

insightful, certainly just in, you know,

recognizing the different levels of

accessibility that different residents

have. Um, those who can go out of the

city for for their services and are

still completely autonomous and, you

know, able to drive on their own and

those who are really, um, just subject

to other services and public

transportation and with those

limitations.

So, we are still in still having

conversations with the Housing Authority

and looking at other ways to engage

residents. Um, we're happy to have the

survey available to in a printed format.

We've talked to the library system about

that. I know that the library was

promoting the survey for anyone who uses

the their public computers and accesses

the public service that they provide

there and a link to the survey right on

their login page. So, I think, you know,

we're trying to to meet folks where

they're at and are open to any other

recommendations and suggestions a

council, you know, might have.

Thank you. That was my next question if

physical paper surveys were available

outside of the library, were they

available anywhere else?

Not yet. No, but again, I mean that's

something that we would be happy to

provide and um

you know, we're really kind of working

with our our working group and with

recommendations

you know, if you have them, we're happy

to

to certainly accommodate however we can.

I'm just thinking about um some of the

congregants at my church and other

locations that uh might be a little

tech-savvy, maybe like for social media

purposes, but I don't know about

completing a whole survey.

>> Yeah, and that's where we really wanted

to meet the residents of the towers

because

um we had coffee and donuts, but we

realized it was a little too early in

the morning, you know, and and so

recognizing

um that folks might not want to take a

survey and it might be a bit intrusive.

So if there are we are starting to meet

with some of the the various um clergy

within the community, but if there are

specific congregations, we would be

happy to come to you.

And and have like a focus group

specifically with you know

the congregation that you mentioned.

Okay, I I do have one congregation in

mind that might be able to hit some

other neighboring congregations, so you

would be able to to

receive feedback from at least three

different congregations, different faith

practices. Um so I think I think that

could be helpful. I'm just a fan of um

maybe I I guess a little old school in

that way of a paper survey just to

ensure as you know, my goal with this is

to ensure that all of our residents um

are heard and have a voice in this

revitalization process. So whatever that

looks like, if that means that there is

a possibility to open the survey back up

to receive those physical copies at I

I believe there's interest and people

would would complete them.

Um

Yeah, and I will say the public meetings

will be another way and we can typically

they're often you know, offered in

evenings just because of people working,

but we could also hold some of those

during the day for individuals who are

retired and just make sure that they're

more accessible

time-wise and location-wise for

gathering additional input. Yes.

Goodness, you you're reading my mind. My

question was um how are the public

meetings going to be advertised since

the

other focus groups seem to be very

targeted um given different demographics

of of individuals. And how large do you

anticipate those focus groups to be, the

targeted ones? Do you anticipate 25 to

30 people or something a little smaller?

Yeah, typically um what we've found in

other communities is a focus group of no

more than 12 to 15 is really a good size

to have a conversation. Once we start to

get larger, then we might lose folks and

we run the risk of not everyone really

being able to be heard. So, if there are

you know, again, we're happy to hold

many many focus groups and you know, as

we're trying to target some of these

conversations to I would I often call

them affinity groups. So, individuals

who have a certain thing in common like

we were talking about employees who may

be leaving establishments late in late

hours and they're going to have a very

specific perspective on the city and and

what they need. And then, you know, as

we've talked about too, various business

owners and you know, various

representatives of the city. So, um

you know, again, we're at we're happy to

meet folks where they're at and but we

are looking at the guidance from

individuals from the working group and

and other leaders and certainly you as

council on recommendations.

Thank you.

Um I don't think I have any other

questions. Um I'm going to open the

floor to my colleagues who may have some

additional questions for you. Um I'd

like to begin with Vice President Jones

any questions? Yes, thank you Vice

President. I mean President Hill.

>> [laughter]

>> Uh thank you guys uh for for coming out

and communicating with us uh you know

the process of this uh revitalization

plan. Um I just have a a a couple uh

questions. Um one of the things I heard

you guys talk about is that you were

able to connect with our youth. Can you

expand on um how you connected with them

and what was some of the feedback from

from our youth?

Yes, so we had the survey promoted. We

worked with um the school district

school district to promote it directly

to students and we had over 100 students

respond. Um and then in that age

breakdown, we had

and then

um over yeah, over 100 um of the

respondents were under 18 and then

within the 18 to 24s maybe reaching some

of the college students in the area 145.

Um so very happy to see that and again

um worth mentioning uh being able to

really compare and contrast those

results with going and look at exactly

how that under 18 age group feels

towards the city and we'll be keeping

that in mind as we move forward. Uh

something that we could also do with

holding focus groups is something that

we've done before is go into um like

junior classrooms to hear perspectives

of high school students. So, we'd

definitely be open to entertaining that

idea as well.

Yeah, that that's good. I I mean I'm I'm

I'm grateful that I'm thankful that you

um had a age breakdown. 18 and under

shouldn't be down here

at certain times anyway, right? So I

like the

18 to 24, I think you said was that age

group.

You know, those young people are looking

to party and have a good time, right? So

that brings me to my next question. I

know we're in some early stages of this

planning, but one of my biggest things

is that I think we're lacking in the

city itself and it's early in the and

and re-revitalizing, but I still I still

think it's an opportunity of how we

market the city of Harrisburg. As I'm

looking through um

uh news headlines and things, I just

seen an article the other day what

really bothered me.

Um

it was about um

you know, what the ATVs it was a part it

was part of that and then it was also

that um like be careful coming into the

city. I just didn't like those kind of

headlines, right? You know, so I think

marketing our city is is huge right now

and and we do have some venues along

Second Street right now that can be

marketed which can attract people to

come to downtown in that 2008, 9, 10, 11

era that I mean downtown was ridiculous.

I didn't know I was in Harrisburg. It

was they were coming from everywhere,

right? So that's one of the things that

I think is is very important as you look

at this process of how we're going to

market the city.

Um

and the other one is you did mention it

in there, but I think that it should be

at the top of the chart, public safety.

Promote it. I think people whether it's

work, school,

uh

going out to restaurants, you see the

way the world is, people want to be safe

and they want to know that they're safe.

Great initiative for the 75,000 to help

with the officers the off-duty officers

that would frequent the downtown area,

but I think that is a major priority

that I think that we should focus on as

a city is actually promoting public

safety.

>> [snorts]

>> To those two points and I agree

wholeheartedly as part of this work

we've also convened kind of like a

marketing like subgroup of like

one of the things you know we noticed in

the survey is this desire for more

collaboration and cohesion, right? Like

we know that

you know we have had the Visit Hershey

Harrisburg marketing items through

Explore HPG, the city markets its events

as well. But we've also asked the state

support, right? Like the state's got a

pretty big bullhorn

and hopefully you've seen some of those

recently like in their social media

posts and as well to remember us. So I

think we brought that group together to

develop more collaborative efforts to

market in a more way a better way. And

as part of this we're going to have a

better idea of kind of our marketplace

assessment, right? So we can then lean

more support into those activities.

Regarding public safety, 100% agree. You

know we we Deputy Chief was at our

meeting earlier today as part of that

and those conversations continue on,

right? Like in terms of ways how we can

better collaborate, what are best

practices elsewhere. It should be noted

one of the items that we're working on

and that we've talked to Councilman

Lawson about um launching

is a pilot program as well. Okay,

yeah okay. With with the PLCB

called the Responsible Hospitality

Institute. And what that is is an effort

both Pennsylvania and North Carolina are

participating in it and it involves

bringing your nighttime economy together

at the table with city leadership and

public safety

to develop kind of cohesive and

collaborative strategies together,

right? Learning best practices

bringing in third party consultants in

support for that. And I really thank the

Downtown Center for alerting us to it

because the three cities participating

in Pennsylvania are Philadelphia,

Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. So it's a

great table to be at.

It reaffirms you like you mentioned

earlier which is a part of our past

within the downtown but let's do let's

kind of address some of those

challenges, you know, in a collaborative

way as we go forward here.

Yeah, I think that's um

very good, especially uh you know, the

public safety piece. I like hearing

that. Um again, we I think that's just

number one on on any list. It's

Go ahead. Well, I was just going to say

I would note that in the survey, um in

your perception survey, some of the

perception of safety involves some

things that we can address right now,

too. It's It's lighting, right? Like

it's it's it's brighter streets.

Uh and again, it's, you know,

cleanliness and things of that nature. I

would offer, and we have to go through

and look again, uh but there's very few

sometimes like specific instances of

things that people will point to, but

it's a feeling of unease. Maybe if

there's not a lot of foot traffic out

and and it's dimly lit. So,

as part of that public safety includes

undoubtedly strong partnerships with

with the police um and fire and CSA

workers, but it also involves uh you

know, street lights and things like that

that we're trying to work on. Yeah, I

think that's one of the main things is

is is that lighting. Um even in front of

City Hall is dark at night, right? It's

you know, I'm scared to come in. But uh

No, we we we definitely I I definitely

think that lighting is is one of the

things that can be addressed

like

immediately, right? Yeah, and talk to

Anthony's back there. We had a

conversation, yep.

>> Yeah, that's one of the things that um

can definitely uh change the perspective

on on on how we're viewed in those

hours. And then when in regards to the

CSAs, you just got to keep in mind that

they get off at a certain time. So, they

you know, they won't be um down there at

at a particular time in in the night

life, so Would even help with some of

the unhoused, you know, conversations

and that stuff, yeah.

>> Right. Right. So, I mean, that probably

would be during the day again cuz unless

we get them to some night shift. Yeah,

fair enough. You know, uh but the other

thing is too,

um,

the importance of economic development

is is is vital in any city and any

municipality.

Um, I like to use the language economic

empowerment because I think if you're

empowering people, um, creating

opportunities, rather it's a business,

residential, or employment, um, creating

those things would would help too

because uh, people would be able to say,

"You know what? Uh, this restaurant is

downtown and and

I want to work there, you know, this is

the atmosphere I would like to be in,

you know." Um, McGriff's, I can see that

expanding. I like the idea of that

opening up on that corner where Rubies

was, right? Um, but is there a plan

in the future to expand the

revitalization into the city itself? Um,

downtown is important, but I think, you

know, um, we cannot neglect the city as

a whole.

>> Sure. Yeah, um,

ultimately that's city's decision and

responsibility, but I think the mayor

and Gloria and the team and I know

Councilman Lawson have been clear, like

this is the first step of a broader, you

know, broader work. And I think as as we

build out this work, it's important to

make sure it meshes with existing

comprehensive plans, but also the good

work that Allison Hill just did through,

um, you know, the Federal Reserve

Blueprint Committee, which the downtown

center was the consultant on. It's one

another reason we wanted to work on

that. So, um, yes, I think, you know, in

every conversation we've had, you know,

the the mayor and Gloria and councilman

have been clear, this is the first step

of a broader kind of revitalization,

economic development conversation. I

think in some of our estimation, you

know, there's some real stark challenges

right now that affect the overall, you

know, fiscal outlook for the city and

others right downtown. Um, but there's

plenty, um, of opportunity in existing

industrial quarters and, you know, we're

here ready to help in any way that you

you'd want to have in this

conversations.

Last question and I'll get out of your

hair.

Um,

what What some of the action items that

are um, able to be implemented

like immediately? What what what can we

look at and see, you know, some of the

things I mean lighting is one of course.

What are some of the other things that

we can look to implement that would

actually not speed this along but

actually, you know, show that there's

actually action going on

other than the

conversation.

>> Well, we're going to be announcing

pretty shortly here a grant program and

opportunity

around, you know, a theory within

planning called tactical urbanism. I

know that we've had, you know,

Councilman Rodriguez and also Councilman

Lawson's

been a part of these conversations and

dialogues using some of the

revitalization funds that we're

that we've procured. We want to get some

of that money back out

to community groups and others. There

will be more information about it what

that can happen and that's stuff that we

want to see implemented right now. It's

not Hey, we want to do a we're writing

the guidelines so it can be

>> [snorts]

>> easily

implemented in the near term and we're

talking whether it be short-term

beautification projects, activation of

empty lots, uh short-term events,

different kinds of things cuz one of the

things the survey called out was this

desire, you know, for lack of a better

term more energy. Like can we see more

energy in the streets and different

things and I had a chance, you know,

last week to go uh and brought my dog

down to the corner park and they had the

kind of the plants

uh you know, plant swap down there and

there was energy, right? There was a

food truck parked outside, there was a

band playing and those types of things

kind of spur further activities. So, we

want to try to help seed those. As part

of that work, we'll be having like a

workshop on like what that looks like so

community groups can play a part. Um the

city is going to play a role and take

take ownership of some of those cuz we

want to work closely with the city

because if it's a public space, someone

can't just go up and start painting

something, right? So, we want to work

closely as part of that but we think all

these different, you know, instances

allow some of those 800 people that

said, I want to do something. Well,

here's a chance, right? Like here's a

part to play a role. So, I think, you

know, beyond the marketing which we

talked about, street lights, different

kind of, you know, some of the support

and a responsible hospitality institute,

those are things we can get people out

in the streets right now,

activating, you know, different spaces

and playing a role in like the next

chapter. Now, not 6 months, 9 months, a

year from now.

Great. The last thing I'll give you is

it's not a question, just a comment. As

we're thinking about some of the things

that we're doing in the all of those

pop-ups that you guys have

mentioned before mentioned, um just make

sure that you

remember that we have Channel 20. It's

the public's, right? And you know, the

news is good, but we can control our

narrative. You can use that that station

to get some of this pump this

information out and bump up Channel 20 a

little bit more. That's it.

>> [laughter]

>> You sure that's it? Just kidding.

Councilwoman Green, any questions?

Thank you, President Hill. Thank you all

for being here tonight for the

presentation.

I feel like between President Hill and

Vice President Jones, most of the

information's been covered.

So, I appreciate you both for that.

I know we've had some conversations

about this, so I'm just excited to see

things happen.

Excited to see us plan how we can funnel

some of that energy from our

neighborhoods into downtown as well and

vice versa. So, it's not just all

focused in one area. So, yeah, just I'm

here to support it. If you need any

help, let me know. That's all I have.

Thank you.

Thank you. Councilman Lawson, any

questions?

Thank you. Thank you, President Hill.

So, what I what I appreciate about this

perception survey is is that we get to

see what our residents and the people in

the area think because the perception is

our reality. And and we have to start

from somewhere.

I I noted that

I think I I read a statistic that was

kind of backwards. I think it said that

21% of the people said

that they are not

prohibited from coming downtown because

of parking. I think it really means 79%

of the respondents said that they will

not come downtown because of parking.

And and I think that's that's one of

those perceptions that we have to to to

address. And and I think uh

that we understand that you guys have

solved the parking and you're going to

fix it for us now and and uh what what

we don't that next week. No. But I I

appreciate the the hard work that's been

done. I think it's amazing that we had

forced 4,000 respondents, but what I

think is more amazing is that 50% were

residents of the city.

So that that's that speaks loudly um

because again, perception being reality,

um we think many times that there's

apathy amongst our citizens. But 2,000

that 50% of the the respondents were

residents of the city. So I I guess I

need to applaud our our residents for

for stepping up. And and I didn't know

145 were 18 to 24 year olds and 100 were

actual students. So I really have to

applaud the the young people for for

stepping up into this. So I I don't

really have any questions. I'm really

just patting you on the back and saying

thank you. Great great work. And um

you know, let's let's keep it going.

Let's get some of these early wins um

that uh

Vice President Jones was uh asking

about.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Ross, any questions? Thank

you very much. Good evening to all of

you. Thank you for being here um this

evening to present us with this

information. I definitely look forward

to um seeing the uh the survey in full

just to see what everyone had to say,

perspectives and thoughts. And I look

forward to coming to um some of the

community meetings cuz I feel like

that's where you get um a lot of

information.

Um most of my questions were asked and

answered. I'm just going to come on the

side of the youth because I'm always

thinking about them like we all are. And

I think as we give new life back down to

down back to downtown, I would love to

see things for them to do as well. I

think that's a huge issue

is that they don't have anything to do

and they're creating their own fun which

they try to come downtown. They want to

dance, they want to party, they want to

go to restaurants.

But maybe they don't know how or maybe

don't don't have anywhere to go. So when

we don't have something that we want, we

create it ourselves and it's not always

done the right way.

So I would just love to see some things

for them to do. I know growing up we did

have a few clubs we could go to being 15

to 18.

They were out in the suburbs but they

were there and it was somewhere for us

to go and they don't have that. So.

If I could just add to that.

Yeah, so that's actually part of this

responsible hospitality institute pilot

is because that was that was a big part

of what we've already discussed and even

looking at this from a statewide

perspective is exactly what you

mentioned. That the youth are they're

doing things, right? But they're they're

doing things on their own. So how do we

try to you know really partner and and

work with them in you know providing

opportunities that are healthy

>> Yes. and happy. Yeah, positive.

>> Yes.

>> So so that's that's really going to be a

huge part of that project. Okay. Well I

would love to find ways that I can help.

I'm always you know available to do

that. So like I said I'm I'm so

interested in coming to the meetings,

hearing everyone's thoughts and ideas

and and seeing where I can chip in and

help. So thank you so much and I look

forward to it.

Thank you. Councilman Rodriguez, any

question? Thank you Madam President.

First First I appreciate you know

all the hard work, you know, just

putting this forward and presenting this

evening and

I've sat with the state a few times and

saw the numbers. It was staggering cuz

it was beyond what expectations were.

And it's also interesting that you

mentioned the tactical urbanism cuz I

think that'll be utilized as you know, a

very important and paramount mechanism

towards this plan.

Even utilizing some of the dead spaces

for parking solutions. That could be,

you know,

a home run.

Also, I just wanted to add with the

tactical urbanism, if the residents

don't like it, it's something that could

be pulled up in a matter of days. That's

what makes it so mag- magnificent.

When you think of New York, Times

Square, those were once drive-thrus

where tactical urbanism came in. Now

they're green spaces where people can go

live, work, eat, play all within, you

know, a mile radius. They don't even

really need a vehicle. So, maybe that's

pie in the sky one day the dream for

Harrisburg where it's all in one area,

you know, the economic, you know, status

is boosting and booming. Everyone's

happy.

I think Coronet Park is a good example

of what that can look like moving

forward. But I think

along with everything mentioned here in

the plan, tactical urbanism can be a

real heavy tool looking forward. In one

of the more recent meetings we spoke on

integrating more social media with

alongside the tactical urbanism where

individuals can go maybe take photos

with that great maybe TikTok theme in

the back or maybe painted on the ground

or by way of a green space or some felt

or some turf on the ground, but just to

create parking spaces in the green

spaces. That that in the future I can

really see that as a

If you remember the when when restaurant

row came out and you you eat outside,

tactical urbanism could really spruce

what that looks like, you know, really

sprucing that up and create actual

dining areas right here on the streets.

But I would love to see that all

throughout the city one day, right?

The dream would be to see restaurant row

on the hill, bring rice and beans out,

Las Delicious, you know, um also uptown.

It Whatever that looks like, you know,

but to bring more businesses in for

businesses all over or even an inspiring

business owner to say, "Hey, they got

something going on in Harrisburg. That's

where I need to be." Apply for that

mercantile license and come on down. So,

you know, I really appreciate the hard

work. And as uh Councilwoman Rawls said,

I'm here to help out in any way I can.

Also,

Mr. Unger or whomever wanted to ask

this, I know

uh Madam President spoke on it briefly

um by way of congregations, but how are

we targeting maybe the senior citizen

populations that may not be so

tech-savvy? Um how are we specifically

channeling them? Now, of course, I know

the survey is over, but for future

reference, how are we kind of dial in

specifically on the seniors?

Yeah, so through So, through the Housing

Authority for sure, and then individual

contacts that we've been working with

who are connected. So, whether it's a

neighborhood level and some of the

neighborhood groups, some of the

volunteering organizations, some of the

other nonprofits

that they may be involved with in

addition to

um the congregations. Awesome. Thank you

for that. And

uh I just once again, I want to applaud

you all for your work. Um

and uh Council- Councilman Lawson for,

you know, being the chair and stepping

up and attending those meetings. But,

you know, down the line, I just hope

this really rejuv- rejuvenates and

really brings back that feeling that uh

Vice President was speaking about from

2008, '09, '10 when the Dragonfly was

open and Level 2 was open and it was

just too much to do, right? It was

overwhelming sometimes when you came

down and there was lights all over. But,

that's the kind of aesthetic we want to

bring back in nostalgia. So, thank you

for your hard work. Thank you. If I

could just add too, I mean,

I think when we first started this

project, we thought we were helping to

develop a pride in place, but as the

survey showed us, the pride is here.

It's really we're just looking to

activate it.

>> Yes. And and I think it's it's pride

from within, so it's the residents, it's

our youth, it's our businesses, it's our

organizations, and then that trickles

down to pride in visitors who are

visiting, whether it's daytime to the

capital or to some of our other, you

know, anchor establishments like the

Whitaker Center, but people are excited

and and I think it's just giving that

opportunity to really, you know, be more

excited. And again, just re- kind of

igniting it. And I know

the pandemic had a huge impact on, you

know, the way our downtown is now, cuz

before it was thriving. So, I just want

to send a message to anyone looking or,

you know, moving forward thinking about

doing business in Harrisburg, think of

10 years down the line, cuz this is the

place you want to be. Harrisburg is

beautiful, we're the capital, and we

want you here. So, thank you all.

Thank you, Councilwoman Davis. Any

questions?

>> Thank you, President Hill. Good evening,

everyone, Mr. Unger.

Am I going? Okay, that's better.

Well, first of all, I'm very pleased to

hear about the turnout for the survey.

I didn't expect for so many people to

take that survey. I know I took the

survey myself, and I I actually

mentioned it for our residents to hear

from this seat here.

Um, so I'm pleased with that.

And I'd like to see a balanced approach,

paired with jobs, retail, amenities,

something for everyone, as we've been

talking about here.

Um,

I can't help but think about all of the

vacant state buildings um, that are

downtown, and I was wondering if there's

any conversation about utilizing any of

those for perhaps some residential

inventory

or

anything there.

>> Yes, so part of this work will involve

kind of like the nitty-gritty kind of a

space assessment of what is vacant, what

are the opportunities,

uh

you know, not every office is easily

convertible to apartments,

unfortunately. Some have like steeper

um climbs to do that. So, we're we're

examining some of that as well. We

should note, I know um you know,

Harristown's been down here about 333

Market, but certainly that's a that's a

large one. And I think, you know, the

good news is at least the state's been

like right next to us as we've done this

work uh with the DCD and the governor's

office. So, we continue those

conversations, you know, when you look

at our downtown

um on one hand, it's it's manageable

because of, you know, that that's it's

about a half a square mile, really, and

some downtowns are a 1 square mile.

And when you look at that, about 50 to

55% of it is the capital complex, right?

So,

uh on the other hand, you know, we talk

about how do we activate spaces like

that better? And you need partnerships

with the GSA and and others. So, I think

we're carrying on those conversations

on, you know, how can we make some of

those spaces not just offices a few days

a week, but activate the space around

them and be a part, you know, of the

community as well.

Great. Uh I hate to see those buildings

deteriorate even further and turn into a

financial burden or liability for the

public. So, thank you for having those

conversations and thank you for all you

do. I'll look forward to attending some

of the focus groups myself. And again,

thank you for being here this evening.

Thank you. Um just some concluding

thoughts. Remember that everybody

doesn't have social media, so any uh

physical surveys, if there's an

opportunity to open it back up.

Um and then, in reference to the

Responsible Hospitality Institute, I

really hope that

whoever participates there

is in touch with our youth. Some people

or a person that is directly involved

with our youth. I think that will be

um really important.

Youth outside of their family, if it's

somebody that is

a little older. I think um somebody

that's involved or a number of people.

Have I don't know who will be involved

there, but just somebody who really has

a pulse um with our young people.

And the presentation that was shared

this evening is available uh for review

on the city's website under e-codes,

public documents, miscellaneous

documents. You can find it there for

your reference. So, thank you very much

for your presence and presentation this

evening.

We will move forward with our meeting

agenda. Next, we have courtesy of the

floor. Just a few housekeeping notes

before we begin. If you could please

state your name and your address for the

meeting record. If you don't feel

comfortable sharing your address, please

share the vicinity in which you live

within the city. You will have 4 minutes

to share your comments. Mr. Humphrey has

added a timer to the screen for your

reference. I'll begin to my right. Is

there anyone that would like to offer

public comment?

Um

>> [clears throat]

>> Uh hello everyone. My name is Evan Mock.

Uh

I live in Midtown on Penn Street.

Um and tonight I'm representing the

volunteer organization Power to the

Hill.

Uh for those unfamiliar with us, we are

an award-winning non-partisan group of

dedicated volunteers

in which we seek to improve the lives of

those residing in the Allison Hill

community.

Um we are definitely most known for our

voter engagement efforts as each month

we participate in door-to-door

canvassing on the hill in which we do

things like register people to vote, um

help people update their voter

registrations, apply for mail-in

ballots,

and help uh those voting in person know

where to go on election day.

Um

so as we kicked off our new voter

engagement season a couple months ago,

we've uh also been collecting signatures

in support of our latest community

action project, which is centered around

increasing access to youth programming

in Allison Hill.

Um so as I'm sure members of City

Council are aware, knocking on a

stranger's door and trying to get them

to talk about voting isn't the smoothest

process at times, especially for those

who've been disengaged in the civic

process.

Um and we've certainly had a our fair

share share of people waving us off or

closing a door in our face.

Um that said, it's a little different

this time because even though someone

isn't maybe the most interested in

hearing about voting, virtually everyone

we talked to

uh has been super engaged when we

brought up the the idea of signing this

petition in support of youth

programming.

Um over the last couple months,

we've collected 102 signatures,

which might not seem like a lot, but

given that, you know, one out of every

20 doors that we knock on are actually

answered, that's a pretty big deal.

Um

these signatures include, which I found

was interesting, not only current

parents, but older individuals who may

have children that are have been grown,

or people that grew up in the city, and

they were lamenting about the times

where when they were young, there's

definitely more things available to

youth.

Um

so right now, we're more in this

problem-solving phase,

looking for creative ways to support and

partner with existing programming,

and just try to find a way to move the

needle in this area. So,

um you know, special thank you to

Councilman Rodriguez for your support

and guidance so far.

Um and we certainly welcome any

additional ideas or feedback as we move

forward.

Um and then lastly, kind of

ties into everything here, I want to

plug our

Tour de Parks series, and we have extra

flyers for everyone. Um but

basically, we've been uh we kicked off

this past couple weeks ago in April. Um

and basically, we just set up shop with

a little block party on a Saturday in

one of the five Allison Hill parks that

have playgrounds.

Um

so we just hit the Vernon Street

location, and we have four more

locations coming up over the rest of the

spring and into the summer.

And we invite all city council members

to join us, and again, we'll leave a

flyer for everyone. So,

um that's all I have. Thank you so much.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else to my right that

would like to offer public comment?

Good evening, Council.

Good to see you. I am the co-director of

Power to the Hill, and Evan is one of

our standout volunteers.

I'm also a math teacher, and I did a fun

math problem today that I want to share

with all of you.

We have heard from the residents of

Allison Hill that there is after school

programming at the Boys and Girls Club.

It's $30 per year.

Very inexpensive, $30 per year. But if

they need to be transported, it's $35

per week.

So the Allison Hill community mainly

attend Lincoln Elementary and Downing

Elementary. It's a 23-minute walk

to get from Lincoln Elementary to the

Boys and Girls Club. So we're talking

about 5-10 year olds. I would not have

sent my 5-10 year old on a 23-minute

walk after school. And to from Downing

Elementary, it's about a 30-minute walk.

So if they are going to pay

$35 a week for 40 weeks,

that's $1,400

per year. Again, that may sound like not

a lot.

The median income in Harrisburg, and it

would be a little bit lower in in

Allison Hill, but in Harrisburg is

$45,000.

So these parents, most of whom are

single parents, are being asked to spend

3.1%

of their income

on transporting their kids safely from

elementary school to the Boys and Girls

Club, which is

one of the only available after school

options. 3.1% of their income.

So I'm offering you a bargain,

Harrisburg City Council. There are 475,

approximately, Lincoln Elementary

students, approximately 400 Downing

Downing Elementary students. So that's

875 students.

If you paid

into the budget, 2027 budget, for all of

those students to be transported to the

Boys and Girls Club, that is $1,225,000.

That sounds like a lot. What percent is

that of the

budget?

It is less than 1%.

.96%

of the Harrisburg city budget, which is

$127 million plus some change. So, the

hair parents are being asked to spend

over 3% of their annual income

to get their kids safely to an

after-school program so they can work.

You,

Harrisburg City Council, could spend

less than 1% of the city budget and have

all of these kids, all of them, which

I'm sure we would not have to transport

all of them, but all 875 Lincoln

Elementary and Downey Elementary

students to the Boys and Girls Club

for less than 1% of your budget.

That is my math problem of the day.

Thank you very much.

Can you please state your name and your

address for the meeting record?

>> I'm Wendy Shaver, I'm the co-director of

Power to the Hill. Power to the Hill is

located at 124 South 13th Street. Thank

you. Thank you.

Is there anyone else to my right that

would like to offer public comment?

Okay, seeing and hearing no one, anyone

in the middle section?

Good evening, Council. Kia Fowler, North

5th Street. Um really happy with

tonight's agenda. I think revitalization

of the city super super important. As a

lifelong resident of Central

Pennsylvania and a recent resident here

in Harrisburg, it's really pleasing to

see such an effort towards

beautification of the city and

revitalization of the city. Um there's a

lot of talk always of what can we do?

What can we do? What can we do? And I

think it's very easy to feel helpless.

Um I'm sure that the individuals hired

to do some of those work are taking this

into consideration, but there are other

cities who've done revitalization. So,

online there's a gentleman that goes by

the name John John JPEG who lives in

Chattanooga Chattanooga Te- Tennessee,

dear Lord, sorry. Chattanooga Tennessee,

um who are doing a lot of revitalization

of their city. They come from a very

like a industrial city and with the loss

of industrialism, they're trying to

figure out a way to keep their city

safer. Some of the things that are

addressed are lighting is a great

example. Living on um North 5th Street

north of Camp Curtain, I walk sometimes

down to C-Town Fresh Markets. It's

amazing local market. I think we don't

value local businesses enough and to see

a mixed residential neighborhood like

that encourages I see residents outside

at night walking around, da da da da

getting people out and about where they

need to be. The lighting honestly is not

great when I walk home from C-Town

Fresh. I have to walk past Camp Curtain

school, which, you know, it is it's just

a big space. I totally understand that,

but there are areas of that trip where

I've walked from Broad Street Market to

my home or I've walked from C-Town Fresh

to my home where um sometimes there's no

longer a sidewalk. It's a little bit of

pavement in and amongst grass. That's

not a very attractive walk. It's not

getting people out and about. Those who

have mobility problems, um they come

down here and Front Street beautiful or

Market Street, sorry, beautiful Front

Street, Market Street, Front Street,

sorry. Front Street is beautiful um and

there are parks and benches, but look at

Second Street. Second Street is like the

hub of downtown, but there's less places

for people who to rest who need to, the

elderly or disabled or young kids.

People aren't really going to want to

walk out and about if there's nowhere

for them to take breaks when need be.

Um

I think energy, super important. I'm

glad that that was mentioned. Having

lived in DC for several years, DC does a

lot of really cool small pop-up events

and

small for DC, not small for here,

obviously, but living down there in the

Botanical Gardens, they're right in the

center of the city, they would do like

jazz and sangria nights. Um they would

do summer movie events where they do

pop-ups around the city and have a free

outdoor movie theater of various movies

for various different people. Um I think

I saw a couple of events coming up in

Cornett Park and I think that's the

perfect kind of small pop-up event to

really attract different niches of

people.

>> [snorts]

>> Um

I also love to see tonight in the plan

the discussion about the DCNR grant

applications. Um I think City Island is

such a huge important point that we

could be capitalizing on better. Um I

really just go for the baseball games. I

had no idea there was other stuff there.

So, to one, have the attempt to use it

year-round, I think is fantastic. And

two, it is really this bridge between

East Shore and West Shore. We talk all

the time about getting residents

downtown of Harrisburg, and that's

always

incredibly important because the

residents live here, can walk here, etc.

But pulling that business of those um

other neighborhoods over to our side of

the shore, I think will will encourage a

lot of business and a lot of moving

around. Um in terms of the access to

parking, can we run a free shuttle from

those We have those like big parking

garages on City Island, not on the

baseball stadium side, but on the other

side. Can we contract use some of that

parking space and run shuttles during

designated events uh for access to

parking for those who need it? I don't

think parking's always the answer. When

you look at cities like Austin and

Dallas, they have a buttload of parking,

and they still have the same

revitalization problems. I think it's a

concerted dance between balancing

walkability and parkability. Certainly,

parking can be expensive some of the

parking garages, but I think the right

path is definitely encouraging public

transit and walkability. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone else in the

middle section that would like to offer

public comment? Seeing and hearing no

one, anyone to my left?

Okay.

Mr. Humphrey can pass them out for you.

I'm sure I don't have

enough for

them all.

So, make sure every resident gets one.

Notes for economic development

Lewis Butts, uh um

Um we're

We do have an identity.

We I'm a Harrisburgonian, born in

Harrisburg Hospital. We do have

a identity.

Um that project there is the State

Street Bridge project.

Now, that is one of our identities.

Um it was over a hundred

years that's under than five years ago

that they established

the State Street Bridge. Now, it was

built as a memorial

of all the wars that

uh America fought thought fought as well

as residents who fought those wars.

Now, our identity is that we win wars.

We're in our 250th anniversary

and I think

Harrisburg should be at full dress.

The Pennsylvania Assembly started this

process. It's a state issue.

Now, it's stagnated. It's it's it's a

travesty

that

the our

current General Assembly doesn't feel as

though it's important.

But our

State Street Bridge represents our

contribution

to America.

We have to take it seriously

and we have a window to do something

very, very amazing

as um stewards

of that monument, as representatives of

our capital city.

There's 50,000 people.

51,000 died in Gettysburg.

I mean, these are big numbers.

We have a responsibility to make sure

that bridge is preserved

for the next 250 years.

Now, if we get our chin right and stand

up on who and what we are,

we can make an impact to our people, but

we have to start at the top

because we're capital.

We start at the top. What's our

responsibility?

It's a It's a heir.

It's our responsibility to stand up

for our contribution we we gave to

America

as residents. We're just 50,000, but we

have a big stake in the development, the

ethics, the morality of the whole

country. We're keystone.

We have to grapple with it. We have to

grab it by the horns

and close the chapters that our

forefathers wrote for us to do.

And this is the time where we can close

the chapter.

There's a stuff You can look on

Wikipedia.

They wrote down stuff that we're

supposed to do. They end the circle of

the wars.

But we we need space. We're We're in war

now.

In wartime now, so I think it's

um evident

and that the history books have speak

for itself. It's not nothing that you

have to do except stand up for who and

what we are.

That's all we got to do.

Open the books. There's books. Open them

up and it tells you how much our

contribution was to America

war-wise. I'm talking about the straight

war.

That That will help us as as men as I'm

a I'm a I'm a black dude.

And as a man, I know that I have 400 and

and some odd flags from winning the

Civil War as a Harrisburgonian, but we

don't teach that in our schools

that we won the Civil War. We don't

teach We don't tell the kids. We don't

tell our neighbors.

We don't get at full dress.

At the like the city can be at full

dress.

And then you do the do the accounts.

It's a It's It's overwhelming.

Thank you.

But the project's right there.

We can go up to the capital and we can

get the money to do it.

But it's going to take us to say we have

an opportunity.

They don't They don't They don't come up

because they're not

>> Thank you for your comment.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else to my left that

would like to offer public comment?

Okay, seeing hearing no one, we will

proceed with our meeting agenda. Next,

we have the approval of the minutes for

the legislative session that occurred on

April 14th, 2026.

Council members, are there any revisions

to those meeting minutes?

Okay, seeing hearing none, the minutes

stand approved.

Next, we have reports of committees. I

will deliver the first report on behalf

of the administration committee on the

work session of April 21st, 2026.

On Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, the

administration committee met to discuss

three resolutions.

Resolution 25 of 2026,

a resolution appointing Ms. Rhonda E.

Maze to serve on the Redevelopment

Authority Board of the City of

Harrisburg.

Resolution 26 of 2026,

a resolution appointing Ms. Salima H.

Chapman to serve on the Redevelopment

Author- Authority Board of the City of

Harrisburg. And Resolution 34 of 2026,

a resolution ratifying an adoption

agreement amendment for the Non-Uniform

Municipal Employees Retirement System

with the Pennsylvania Municipal

Retirement System to extend

the

superannu- [clears throat]

annuation retirement known as the rule

of 80 effective January 1st, 2026.

Ms. Mays and Ms. Chapman were both

present to discuss resolution 25 of 2026

and resolution 26 of 2026.

Ms. Mays introduced herself as a

lifelong resident of the city of

Harrisburg. She has worked in state

government as a budget analyst for the

Pennsylvania Department of Public

Welfare. She currently serves as the

executive director of the Fair Housing

Council.

Ms. Chapman introduced herself

as a lifelong resident of the city of

Harrisburg as well. She shared her

background as a HUD-certified housing

counselor.

Council members asked the following

questions: What impact do you hope to

make as a member of the Redevelopment

Authority Board?

Uh

What pathways are available for renters

to homeowners?

Are there any conflicts of interest?

And were you aware of the 5-year term?

Ms. Mays shared that her interest lies

in making our community more attractive

for everyone. She explained how the HRA

has a lot of power. It is our community

resource. We want the authority to work

well and work well on our behalf.

Ms. Chapman shared that making sure the

focus stays on the residents.

In reference to the question regarding a

pathway from renter to homeowner, Ms.

Chapman shared that it is important to

start

young in educating young people on the

importance of home ownership and

supporting investments into programs

that support this effort. Ms. Mays

shared that knowledge is power and

stressed the importance of education.

She shared how the Fair Housing Council

has assisted 15,000 residents through

their first-time homebuyer course.

In addition, $1 million

worth of loans per year

has successfully

been received.

Uh Ms. Mays also reminded us that April

is Fair Housing Month. And finally, Ms.

Mays shared that uh we want people to be

successful homeowners. There is no

shortcut to homeownership. Both Ms. Mays

and Ms. Chapman did not have any

conflicts of interest. Ms. Mays was not

aware of the 5-year term, while Ms.

Chapman was aware of the term length.

In reference to Resolution 34 of 2026,

Mr. Antonio Magna, Business

Administrator, was present on behalf of

the administration to discuss the

resolution.

Um I reviewed the resolution and shared

that the adoption agreement amendment

does not change the benefits that will

be received by beneficiaries of the

plan, but solely extends the rule of 80

until December 31st, 2028.

Council members did not have any

questions regarding Resolution 34 of

2026.

I recommend my colleagues support

Resolution 25 of 2026

and Resolution 26 of 2026

to ensure the Redevelopment Authority

Board is full of residents who are eager

to serve with extensive backgrounds in

this issue area addressed through the

work with the Redevelopment Authority

Board.

I recommend my colleagues support

Resolution 34 of 2026

to continue to offer the rule of 80 to

City of Harrisburg employees. This

concludes the work of the Administration

Committee.

The next committee report that you will

hear will be delivered by our public

works committee chair, Chair Rodriguez,

on the work session of April 21st, 2026.

Thank you, Madam President. On April

21st of 2026, the public works committee

met to discuss resolution 24 of 2026.

Resolution 24 of 2026 is a resolution of

the city council of Harrisburg

reestablishing Hotspot Saturdays, a

community beautification and public

safety initiative designed to encourage

city residents and community partners to

participate in five community cleanup

events throughout the summer of 2026.

Uh those dates, uh just to remind

everyone, will be May 16th, the Allison

Hills uh in partnership with Wild Heart

Ministries, June 27th, the Southside

cleanup in partnership with Dauphin

County and CEO, July 25th, the Shipoke

cleanup in partnership with CRW, August

29th will be our Midtown cleanup in

partnership with Friends of Midtown, and

of course, finishing up will be

September 19th in the Uptown area in

partnership with the YMCA. There were no

questions from our colleagues on

councils, just uh a lot of love,

support, and words of encouragement, and

I highly encourage my colleagues on

council uh to support resolution 24 of

2026. And that concludes the report from

the public works committee from the work

session of April 21st. Thank you. Thank

you.

The next report report you will hear

will be delivered uh by our parks,

recreation, and enrichment committee

chair, Chair Ross, on the work session

of April 21st, 2026.

Thank you, President Hill. Good evening,

everyone. On April 21st, 2020 2026,

the parks, recreation, and enrichment

committee met to discuss two

resolutions. Resolution 31 of 2026, a a

resolution authorizing the city of

Harrisburg to negotiate and enter into a

lease agreement

>> [snorts]

>> with the city with the Harrisburg School

District for a certain track of field

track of land with a parcel ID of

09063005,

commonly known as the Veteran Street

Park.

Said track of land being improved with a

playground pavilion

and recreation area in order to allow

the city to make certain improvements

and continue the operation thereof. And

we also met to discuss resolution 32 of

2026,

a resolution ratifying the submission of

a grant application to the

National Environmental Health

Association in the amount of $16,500

for the purpose of attending training

opportunities and initiating initiating

a risk factor study to determine trends

in the occurrence of food-borne illness

in certain facilities within the city

of Harrisburg.

Ms. Sasha Ross, deputy director, and Mr.

Kevin Saunders, park director, explained

that resolution 31 is simply a land

lease extension agreement for

Vernon Street Playground with the

Harrisburg School District for another

25 years so renovations can be conducted

to update the playground.

My colleagues had the following

questions. How was the attendance at the

community meetings and what concerns and

or ideas did residents raise? Mr.

Saunders explained that the attendance

at both meetings were not exceptional in

numbers, but that there were surveys in

English and Spanish with 52 responses.

For resolution 32, Ms. Wright, the

city's health officer, was present to

discuss.

She explained that the city is

undertaking a project to assess trends

and the currents of key risk factors

within restaurants and retail food

establishments throughout Harrisburg.

Ms. Wright noted that since 2020, the

city has successfully applied for and

received grant funding to support

ongoing food safety initiatives. For

2000 For 2026, the city has been awarded

16,500

in grant funding, which will be directed

towards strengthening food safety

efforts across restaurants, food trucks,

and other food service establishments.

She further explained that these funds

will be used to support targeting

targeted training and education for

individuals who directly handle food

with an emphasis on compliance with

health regulations. In addition, the The

incentives initiatives will include the

development implementation of a scoring

and rating system to conduct a

comprehensive risk factor study aimed at

improving overall food safety standards

within the city.

Questions from my colleagues were the

following.

How will the reduction of funds affect

the services? Ms. Wright explained that

the $2,000 reduction was not significant

enough to stop the work she can do. Are

you able to visit every restaurant and

food truck with the funds? Ms. Wright

explained that they are using the

funding to just start the process. Uh

when do you go into the facility? Are

you looking When you go into the

facility, are you looking for the

employees that have Are you looking for

employees that have correct qual-

qualifications to serve the food? Ms.

Wright explained that some uh someone

with food safety training is to be on

site at all times.

Last question was, do we have training

for some of these smaller restaurants,

etc., that do not have the funds to go

after the food certifications? Ms.

Wright explained that with the cuts the

city is unable to sponsor individuals to

obtain the certification as they did in

the past.

I recommend my colleagues pass pass both

resolutions 31 and 32 as a way to aid in

the continued growth and safety of

Harrisburg and that concluded the

business of the Parks, Recreation, and

Enrichment Committee on April 21st of

2026.

Thank you.

Uh the final committee report that you

will hear this evening will be delivered

by our public safety committee chair,

Councilwoman Green, not Chair Jones. So,

there's a typo on the meeting agenda.

Uh so, uh on the work session of April

21st, 2026.

Thank you, President Hill. Uh during the

work session of April 21st, 2026, the

Public Safety Committee met to discuss

Resolution 35 of 2026, a resolution of

the Council of the City of Harrisburg

ratifying and approving the 2026 to 2028

collective bargaining agreement between

the City of Harrisburg and the Fraternal

Order of Police Capital City Lodge

number 12.

We had a presentation from Mr. Jack

Dean, the outside labor council

representing the city, um an overview of

the contract. This is a 3-year contract

with a 7% salary increase each year

based on the existing salary schedule.

Each increase will be effective on the

1st of the year. This year's increase

will be retroactive to the 1st of this

year only for officers employed on the

date of ratification by City Council.

There is an increase of the Medicare

supplement by $10 per year.

And the city will continue to pay the

$75,000, excuse me, $7,500 raise on the

final date of the retiring officer.

The contract was voted on and passed by

the union.

Uh the goal of this contract was to

increase recruitment and retention of

officers in the City of Harrisburg. Uh

this contract looks to do so by

increasing the base salary gradually

over the next 3 years to make Harrisburg

competitive with surrounding

municipalities, but noting we would not

be able to increase pay to compete with

some of the regional departments that

have much higher base salaries. Uh this

is important to the city because we

continue to lose officers to surrounding

departments at a rapid rate with current

comp with our current complement being

around 40 officers below the budgeted

complement.

There were questions from council

members, especially regarding the letter

received by retired recently retired

Harrisburg police officers who would not

receive the out salary increase due to

the language in this contract. After

discussing this with outside counsel, uh

as well as the city solicitor, the only

way that we would be able to make that

change would be to reopen the entire

contract for negotiations again. Uh and

it's taken us about a year to get to

this point, so at this time I don't

think that's feasible. Uh I would ask

that my colleagues support this

resolution and that will conclude my

report.

Thank you.

We do not have any ordinances for first

reading, ordinances for amendment, or

ordinances for final passage. We will

move to resolutions. The first

resolution for consideration this

evening is resolution 24 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 24 of 2026, a resolution of

the city council of the city of

Harrisburg reestablishing Hotspot

Saturdays, a community beautification

and public safety initiative designed to

encourage city residents and community

partners to participate in five

community cleanup events throughout the

summer of 2026.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any final questions, comments, or

concerns related to resolution 24 of

2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote? Ms. Davis. Yes.

Ms. Green. Yes.

Mr. Jones. Yay.

Mr. Lawson

Yes.

Ms. Rawls Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez Yes.

Ms. Hill Yes.

Resolution 24 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yays to zero nays.

Thank you.

Next we have resolution 25 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 25 of 2026, a resolution

appointing Ms. Rhonda E. Maize to serve

on the Redevelopment Authority Board of

the City of Harrisburg.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any final questions, comments, or

concerns related to resolution 25 of

2026?

Seeing and hearing none, Mr. Humphrey,

could you please call the vote? Ms.

Davis Yes.

Ms. Green Yes.

Mr. Jones

Uh

yay.

>> [laughter]

>> Mr. Lawson

I won't play with you. Yes.

Ms. Rawls Yes. Mr. Rodriguez Yes.

Ms. Hill Yes.

Resolution 25 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yays to zero nays.

Thank you. Next we have resolution 26 of

2026.

Council members, are there any final

questions, comments, or concerns related

to resolution 26 of 2026?

Seeing and hearing none, Mr. Humphrey,

could you please call the vote?

Resolution number 26 of 2026

Call the vote, ma'am. Oh, I'm sorry.

Could you please read it into the

record? Resolution 26 of 2026, a

resolution appointing Ms. Salima H.

Chapman to serve on the Redevelopment

Authority Board of the City of

Harrisburg. Thank you. I was moving too

fast. There are If there are no further

questions, comments, or concerns related

to resolution 26 of 2026

Okay, can you please call the vote now?

Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones? Yay.

Mr. Lawson?

Yes.

Ms. Rawls? Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution number 26 of 2026 passes by a

vote of seven yays to zero nays. Thank

you. Next we have resolution 31 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 31 of 2026, a resolution

authorizing the city of Harrisburg to

negotiate and enter into a lease

agreement with the Harrisburg School

District for a certain tract of land

with the parcel ID of 09-063-005,

commonly known as the Vernon Street

Park. Said tract of land being improved

at the playground, pavilion, and a

recreation area in order to allow the

city to make certain improvements and

continue the operation thereof.

Thank you, council members. Are there

any final questions, comments, or

concerns related to resolution 31 of

2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote? Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones? Yay.

Mr. Lawson? Yes.

Ms. Rawls? Yes. Mr. Rodriguez?

>> Yes.

Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution 31 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yays to zero nays. Thank you.

Next we have resolution 32 of 2026. Mr.

Humphrey, could you please read it into

the record? Resolution 32 of 2026, a

resolution ratifying the submission of a

grant application to the National

Environmental Health Association in the

amount of $16,500

for the purpose of attending training

opportunities and initiating a risk

factor study to determine trends in the

occurrence of foodborne illness in

certain facilities within the city of

Harrisburg. Thank you, council members,

are there any final questions, comments,

or concerns related to resolution 32 of

2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote? Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green?

Yes.

Mr. Jones? Yay.

Mr. Lawson?

Yes.

Ms. Rawls? Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez? Yes.

Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution 32 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yeas to zero nays. Thank you.

Next, we have resolution 34 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 34 of 2026, a resolution

ratifying an adoption agreement

amendment for the non-uniformed

municipal employees retirement system

with the Pennsylvania Municipal

Retirement System to extend the

superannuation retirement, known as the

rule of 80, effective January 1st, 2026.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any questions, comments, or concerns

related to resolution 34 of 2026?

Okay, seeing Oh, I'm sorry.

Councilwoman Rawls. Yes, I just wanted

to say I know this was a

tough conversation last week. Um

uh and it it brought up a few concerns

um and some retired officers did reach

out to us and

um

I

>> This one. Sorry, I didn't mean to

interrupt you.

>> I'm so sorry. No.

Okay.

Are there any questions

related to resolution 34 of 2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote? Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones? Yay.

Mr. Lawson? Yes.

Ms. Rawls?

Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Ms. Hill?

Yes. Resolution 34 of 2026 passes by a

vote of seven yeas to zero nays.

Thank you. Next we have resolution 35 of

2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 35 of 2026, a resolution of

the Council of the City of Harrisburg

ratifying and approving the 2026 through

2028 collective bargaining agreement

between the City of Harrisburg and the

Fraternal Order of Police Capital City

Lodge number 12.

Thank you. Council members, are there

any questions, comments, or concerns

related to resolution 35 of 2026?

Councilwoman Rawls? Sorry, I just saw

January 1st and retirement and

it all went together for me.

Um but I I think um

things were said in rooms that uh

agreements were made and I think it's

hard for us to figure out what was said,

what wasn't said in order to give

everybody a fair shake. I know that's

where it was difficult for me.

Um I

I just didn't know what happened and I

think moving forward, whoever gives you

information, whoever says yes to

something, make them put it in writing.

Make them put it in the email. Make them

say yes to it in email so it's easier to

go back and say, "Well, this is what was

promised." because um you know, it's a

this is a difficult call one and like uh

Councilwoman Green said, we would have

to open everything back up and it took a

year just to get here.

Um and it would affect a lot of people,

but I can I understand the importance of

what the retired officers are saying

um and how uh we're trying to retain

officers and retirement is a big deal.

Um it's just it it it's hard to go back

and and rectify what was said and what

wasn't said without without proof. So,

going forward and for everyone, my mom

always taught me make them put it in

writing.

Write down your notes so that when you

go back, you you have it and you can

stand on it. So, um I just wanted to say

that because I know this is a tough

decision and I know the people it

affects. So, thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any other questions, comments,

or concerns related to resolution 35 of

2026?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, Mr.

Humphrey, could you please call the

vote?

Ms. Davis? Yes.

Ms. Green? Yes.

Mr. Jones?

Yay. Mr. Lawson?

Yes. Ms. Rawls?

Yes. Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Ms. Hill? Yes.

Resolution 35 of 2026 passes by a vote

of seven yeas to zero nays.

Thank you.

Next, we have resolution 36 of 2026.

Mr. Humphrey, could you please read it

into the record?

Resolution 36 of 2026, a resolution

authorizing the city of Harrisburg to

negotiate and enter into a professional

services contract with Long Nyquist and

Associates for strategic guidance and

intelligence gathering for lobbying

related services.

Thank you. Um I will entertain a motion

to suspend the rules for discussion.

>> So moved. Is there a second? Second.

Thank you. Um who from the

administration is present to discuss

resolution 36 of 2026?

I was about to say I don't have somebody

here.

Hello, Council. Antonio Vagno, business

administrator. Charles Lewis Biagi from

Long Nyquist and Associates.

Thank you.

Um

first, I would

to ask the law bureau or perhaps

the potential lobbyist here,

the need to vote. Why

Why do we need to vote on this

resolution this evening?

Well, I think their representative can

speak to it, but in our mind,

the hill now is about to do the budget.

So, at some point it becomes irrelevant

if we're not at the table at the time

the budget is being set. If we're not

having our representative sitting there

when it's happening, then we're like out

of luck until next year, which I'm sure

he can expound on.

Please.

Good evening and thank you for the

opportunity to speak and

again, my name is Louis Biacchi Long and

Knight Quest, a

very prominent lobbying firm in the city

and across Pennsylvania.

To

Madam President, your specific question,

the

we have two months. Now, I say

it's because we're supposed to pass a

budget

for the Commonwealth by July 1 of each

year. We didn't pass it till

mid-November last year, so you might

think, well, we got still plenty of

times, but

from our perspective, we would have two

solid months to

most importantly identify the priorities

of the city

in our conversation with the mayor.

There was a lot of uh

wants

and frankly, there's a lot of needs for

the city, but they need to be

prioritized because we're not going to

be able to get you everything in one

year.

And uh

it's going to be a very difficult year.

The governor's proposed budget is about

4 billion beyond revenues and that's

before

you know, the legislature gets its asks

and wants up there. So,

um we we just encourage you to make a

decision at your most expeditious

opportunity.

Thank you. I just like to clarify so