City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight's Williamsport City Council meeting. Today is Thursday, September 3rd. The time is 7.02. Please rise for the invocation by Councilman Jonah Milliken, followed by the flag salute.

I want to start with a brief reading from the book of Dolly Parton. What is it?

who once said, I think it's important for everyone to do their share and to help their fellow man. This world is so crazy. I don't think we even know what we're doing to each other and to this world. But when you help somebody, it helps them, but it can help you more. That's what we should be doing as human beings. I never quite understood why we have to let religion and politics and things like that stand in the way of just being good human beings. So dear Lord, keep us humble. Help us listen to each other. Keep our hearts open and our minds open. Help us help our community. Give whatever you can and help people in our community affected by that flooding last night. And say hi to Dolly for us. Amen.

Item number three on the agenda tonight is approval of city council meeting minutes dated 8-13-26. Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Are there any questions, comments, concerns about the minutes? Seeing and hearing nothing. Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dussinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Polizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Reiter?

Yes. Motion to approve the minutes passes 6-0. Item number four is a pre-bid meeting for invitations for bid. We're going to have Councilwoman Liz Mealy take over from here.

Okay. There's nothing super exciting about this, but it was the suggestion of our solicitor that we... offer the opportunity to open up a conversation about the invitation for bids that the city released about 30 days ago, seeking bids on the property formerly known as City Hall at 245 West 4th Street. And so I'm kind of taking the lead on that. opening up that conversation. As I think everyone is well aware, the property is about 42,000 square feet located at the intersection of Hepburn Street and 4th Street and has been available for tours. And do we have any group tours or anything like that organized in the upcoming weeks? Or have we completed that? But it could be available once again for tours upon demand. It was previously occupied by both the city's administrative arms and its police department and codes department. And the invitation for bids was relatively descriptive. The property will... pending acceptance of one of the bids be sold to the highest bidder. And I think the only other things of note about the parcel are obviously it is It is a protected historic structure. It will also be protected within the deed if and when the property is sold. That does mean that it is eligible, at least currently, for tax credits at both the federal and state level. Um, in the amount of 20 to 25%. Um, and, uh, and, um, I confirmed just before the meeting that, uh, the city in the event, um, of a successful bidder, if the building is sold, um, the city would of course be open to working with said successful bidder to seek grant funding to help with the reconstruction. No guarantee that we would succeed, but that would be, um, That would be one component of the sale is our assistance in trying to find funds to renovate the building. The price tag for renovation is heavily dependent on the developer, that is to say their own company. whether they bring any kind of contracting abilities to the development. But I think we'd estimate at the low end probably $5 million, and it could go up. The estimate the city received for rehabbing the structure was $20 million, but that... was based on the city's requirement to pay prevailing wage. So we would anticipate that it would be significantly lower than that for a private developer. And I think with all of that said, the basic purpose of this is to open up city council and members of the administration to questions that anyone in attendance who is interested in potentially bidding on the structure or who is simply interested in the structure might have about the invitation for bids and the and the structure itself and other components of a potential sale. Does anyone here have any questions they would like to ask about the City Hall structure? Anything that they would like to explore more fully?

I assume that's why you're all here tonight.

My goodness, we thought you were all bidders.

No.

We incorporated this into the body of a city council meeting, partly because we weren't certain whether or not we would actually receive any questions. So we thought that the best approach was to be able to simply move on and start with something else. If I hear no questions regarding the structure and no inquiries, then I think if anything were to arise, Austin, would we be in a position to take questions later in the course of the meeting or once we close the pre-bid item, is it?

I mean, if something came up, we could always talk about it later. Or, you know, there's always the opportunity if you have individuals who have submitted interests, if something is covered in this meeting, whether it's now or at the end, It is a public record. There'll be a video of it. And we can always email blast out information if it's exchanged here to anyone who may have submitted a letter of interest or asked for the bid documents or something like that. So I think it's fine if something comes up.

We can address it later.

Yeah, because it's still this public meeting. Right.

The one question that I would then ask maybe put on the record now just is something that I think might be asked by potential future developers is how do my fellow members of city council feel about the idea of city government potentially being a tenant in that structure if someone were to purchase it and fix it up?

I'll go first and say that it's always a possibility, but it's nothing that I would commit to at this point in time. I won't disclose what the details of the conversation are, but I know the administration has been looking at potential homes for city government operations. Whether that's going to be a permanent solution or a temporary solution, we just don't know yet. Yeah. So I don't want to commit to anything at this point. But I also will say that committing to something like that could potentially be harmful for the bidder with prevailing wage and so forth. Absolutely. The question that I do, what kind of a deadline do we have for bids to be submitted? Where are we at with that? September 30th is the deadline for bids to be submitted. So by the end of the month, they do all have to be in.

Got it. And the one other thing I would say is that the bids will be sent to Janice Frank, but I know Scott Williams kind of masterminded the IFB going out. Do you have anything that you'd like to add to what I said, Scott? I think we all are. Okay. Thank you.

Wonderful. Thank you very much for organizing this. Moving on then, we'll move to item number five, which is an informational presentation from the intern of community development. We have Ms. Emily Barna coming up.

I'll just introduce Emily really quickly. We were so thrilled to have her this summer. She's a student at the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg. Yay, Huskies. She's been a fantastic addition to our office. Eric joked, how many coffees did she get? her skill set and the level of knowledge and expertise that she brought from her coursework. It was really neat to watch that align with specifically Scott Williams expertise with GIS and mapping and planning so that she was able to actually integrate the coursework and the things she learned in the books and the actual planning environment. So I'm going to ask Emily to tell you all about her internship and thank you.

Hello, I'm Emily, like she said. I interned this summer. It was a great experience. I learned more than I ever thought I would. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had. Scott and Valerie and the rest of the people in community and economic development were fantastic to work with. They were there every step of the way. Whatever silly question I had, they had an answer. It was awesome. Scott made it clear that he was going to show me what it was like to be a city planner, the real life of it. And he did. And I loved it. And I'm so grateful for that experience. I never expected to learn so much in two and a half, three months. It was awesome. He's a genius with GIS stuff. He taught me. so much. We made a 3D map showing the land value per acre of the entire city by zoning. It was amazing. Hopefully one day everyone will be able to see it. It's very cool. He had me involved with the Downtown Williamsport Alliance. I was working directly with them to draft a five-year downtown strategic plan to hopefully get them to Main Street affiliation with DCED. And with that, I also wrote a job description for a downtown manager. So hopefully they'll be able to hire one in the next two years or so. And that'll help with revitalizing the downtown central business district. So that'll be awesome. I also made a map this summer of the unimproved parcels in the city to show places where development could occur that could help the city become more revitalized in a vibrant economic downtown. Overall, I'm so thankful for the experience and I'm really glad grateful for everyone that I got to meet along the way. Like I met Jonah twice this summer. I met David and the fire chief and the police chief. And there was a lot of connections made and everyone was super helpful. So I really appreciate that. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Emily. Before you run away. So this is our turn to ask you a couple of questions. So what year are you going into at Bloomsburg?

I'm a senior.

You're a senior. Congratulations on that. This is the time you get to see all your hard work come to, you see the fruits of your labor, if you will. What are you looking forward to doing then after your time at Bloomsburg?

I would be happy to be in a position like Scott. Also, maybe working with it in the county level would be great, whether that's city planning, transportation planning. I'm also minoring in emergency management, so I'd be happy to work as an emergency management planner, whether that's for a city or for a hospital or anything like that.

Wonderful. Well, we wish you the best of luck and thank you very much for spending your time with us this summer. Thank you. Item number six tonight is limited courtesy of the floor. I believe we've had no requests related to agenda items. So we will move to item number seven.

An ordinance transfer ordinance number three and final reading.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Ms. Livermore, how are you this evening?

I'm good. How are you?

Very well. Thank you.

Like Janice said, this is the second reading of ordinance number three. This was the ordinance to move some funds from the sales of the police cars into capital projects to purchase a new police car for one that is no longer in service. I believe it was a canine police car.

Are there any questions about the transfer ordinance? Seeing and hearing none, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dessinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beiter?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number eight, please.

An ordinance transfer ordinance number four in final reading.

Could I have motion, please? So moved.

Good evening again. This transfer ordinance was to allocate some funds for the match or a larger match for the Arlie grant. We had discussed at the last meeting that the grant has been taken longer than expected. Costs have gotten a little bit more since we started. There was an 18-month, I believe, lapse in time. So the match, we're using Act 13 funds to pay that increased cost.

Any questions about the final reading of this ordinance? Seeing and hearing none, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey? Yes. Mr. Dussinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beiter?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number nine, please.

An ordinance, transfer ordinance number nine in first reading.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved.

Second.

I was busy on ordinances, as you can see. This one is a big one. So later in the agenda, you will see that we're going to discuss the 2025 audit, which is a wonderful thing. And this ordinance adjusts the budget to anything that went over slightly on a line item here or there. We take... funds from a line item that had a surplus and put it to the overage. So we do that each year when we go through the audit. And this is standard. We've done it multiple times. It just takes lots and lots of time to put it down on paper.

Are there any questions from members of council? Liz Mealy.

we really done it have we really done it for one dollar before my goodness um yeah because we have to have because some of some of them are 17 cents but we have to round it to a dollar yep since tracy started i'm not sure what they did before that but when when tracy started the ordinances are all for so they we can bring everything into a positive category well that looks like a human's effort thank you anything else from members of council

I'm just glad to hear that we have money in surplus somewhere.

We do. Yeah, I mean, I can't say that all the time, but unless there was surplus to move it into the non-surplus areas.

Thank you. Seeing and hearing nothing else, Mrs. Frank.

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dussinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beiter?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number 10, please.

An ordinance amending Article 197, Veterans Memorial Park, establish member qualifications and provide standards and procedures for removal. And first reading.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved.

Second.

Mayor Slaughter, are you out there?

I am good evening, president Biter, vice president Palizzi members of council and administration. This ordinance was brought forward to me for council's consideration by John Markley from the veterans park. Uh, really just buttoning up the ordinance a little bit. I believe that had been, uh, some time since we made a, I guess, just tighten it up some nothing really, really major. Um, takes the membership from nine to seven. Uh, and he said the reasoning that he's asking council to consider that, or the veterans park commission is asking for your consideration on that. Is two fold one. Uh, they're having a little bit of trouble finding members to fill some openings, but also then with nine, if they have a member on vacation or a couple of members that might be out, they're having difficulty, they might run into quorum issues. And so with seven that helps build all the positions, but also allows them to keep a quorum. If they have anyone missing a meeting for one reason or another, um, qualifications are pretty straightforward, but wanted to make sure they had those in there. Clearly veteran United States armed forces who received an honorable discharge and then, uh, a citizen or taxpayer like coming County. Or maintain, shall maintain a business within Lycoming County. And then just some standard removal procedures that we have. Austin did review this. It made a few changes that you see before you this evening. But really that was, I think the main thing that Mr. Markley was concerned with was the nine to seven to just ensure that they have a quorum.

Thank you very much, Mayor Slaughter. All pretty standard things that are listed in the revised version of the ordinance. We do appreciate that John Markley did bring this forward through you so we could get this done. We have done this with a number of different boards throughout the city as well over the past couple of years because it is very difficult to find individuals, but also we had things like lifetime appointments, which became problematic as well. So this is just keeping in lockstep with what we've been doing. Do we have any other questions from members of council or comment? Seeing and hearing nothing then, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan.

Yes.

Mr. Mackey.

Yes.

Mr. Dussing.

Yes.

Ms. Mealy. Yes. Mr. Palizzi.

Yes.

Mr. Ryder.

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number 11, please.

Resolution authorizing an agreement between the city and Barry Isaac for general engineering services.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Mayor Slaughter, you're up again.

Yes, good evening again, President Beiter, Vice President Polizzi, members of council administration. The next two are similar, but slightly different. This one is for general engineering services, and this would be for technical. If we run into a situation where we would need some sort of technical expertise, whether that would be some type of land use review or if that would be, you know, Council did a curative amendment a few meetings ago, uh, for the, uh, the data centers and things of those along those lines. Uh, Barry I said has engineers that this is what they do. This is their specialty. This is their expertise. So this would simply be on an as needed on call basis. So if we don't need them, if nothing comes up where we need this level of technical expertise, uh, we don't use them. And so, but we just felt with obviously everything going on right now, plus there's been a lot of talk just in general about us updating our zoning ordinances and things along those lines, working with community development. And so that may be coming down the line. Anyway, that's what this is. So if we run into something where Bill Scott and that's not really his wheelhouse, this allows us to bring someone in where this is their, this is what they do. But, again, just to drive this home, this is not something we'll be using, you know, like each week or each month solely if or if council has a question, that type of thing. So that's all this disagreement is here. The one we talked about during Committee of the Whole is the next one that's related to the SALDO, the subdivision land development. This is just general engineering services if we need specialty input.

Thank you very much for that. Are there any questions from the Council regarding this item? Liz Mealy.

I think it might be helpful if we set some sort of a timeframe, say the next three months or six months, to see exactly how often we're using these services just to get a sense of kind of what our exposure is here. I wouldn't mind... I think, honestly, in some ways with both this item and the next item, kind of understanding how much time we're paying for. And I'm sure that's a pretty easy report to get, but could we set a timeframe of, say, it sounds as though you're really not planning to use the engineering services very frequently. Is that true?

That's correct. I would say... Sorry, go ahead. Sorry.

I'm trying to figure out whether three months is going to be a sufficient timeframe or whether we're not likely to utilize their services within the next three months.

I would say let's just do three months. And if it's not, if we haven't really utilized it, then I can just touch base with city council and say, there's no report necessary because we haven't utilized it. But if we have, then I can give you, so we can put that, I'm fine with putting the three months in there and just getting a report and update to you either way.

Okay, I think that'd be good. Yeah, I just kind of want to understand how that element of our budget is going to play out if this continues to be a contract that we're maintaining over the next couple of years, what it's going to be worth to us. Yeah, so you'd like to see that actually in the resolution, Derek? I was wondering if you want to amend it.

No, I'm fine. I mean, I'll bring it. I promise I'll bring it to you. You don't have to put it in the resolution.

Yeah, I mean, that's a matter between the city administration and city council. There'd be no reason to put that in the resolution.

Yeah, why don't we just say that we have a look back at this at budget time. Jamie, maybe if we could outline those items kind of when we're looking at the budget in November and say this is what we've spent so far on. engineering services and subdivision and land development services okay um all right that's all i got wonderful great points great questions seeing hearing nothing else mrs frank

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dessinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Polizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beiter?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number 12, please.

Resolution authorizing execution of agreement between City and Barry Isaac for subdivision and land development review services.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Mayor Slaughter, last one.

Yes, good evening once again, President Beiter, Vice President Polizzi, members of the council administration. This one is specifically for subdivision and land development review services. It came to our attention, and we talked about this for a little while on Tuesday, but Barry Iset, once they were with the city for a few months, approached us and said, You know, we're spending some time doing these subdivision land development reviews. It's well known in the development community that developers pay these fees and they are used to paying these fees and they put contingency money aside for plan reviews. And the city always paid these fees. And so this is really just essentially... I guess, again, kind of twofold. One, it's giving us an engineer that this is what they do. They do plan review. They do the subdivision and land development review. And they can go over it with a fine-tooth comb, know what to look for, understand what they're looking for, and then provide feedback to the planning commission, the developer. And then also, this is no cost to the city because Right now we're paying these costs, whether Bill or Barry Iset review this, and that's not necessarily his wheelhouse because he's more on the zoning end, but also we're absorbing. The city is eating those costs right now, and we shouldn't be. And so that's what this is. That's what this resolution, it gives us a person that this is what they do, and also those costs, will be passed on to the developer, which is standard practice in the development community. I believe if there's technical questions, and I should have said this on the last resolution as well, but I believe Phil Prout is there or available to answer any technical, but that's the basis of this resolution, and we did discuss this on Tuesday at the Committee of the Whole.

That we did. I believe that pretty much summed everything up. But Phil, I know you're out there. So if you'd like to add anything that the mayor may have missed, by all means.

Good evening, counsel. Thank you so much for allowing me to join virtually this evening. No, I think we touched on everything pretty completely. One thing, Ms. Mealy, you did ask at the Committee of the Whole regarding how this would stand up to some of the other local municipalities nearby the city. I did do some of that research just to give you some reassurance. The websites are limited, but from what I found, Loyal SOC, Old Lycoming, and Muncie Township are some of the ones that have published their fees online, and they do explicitly list that engineering costs are reimbursed by the applicant. Outside of that, I just want to clarify, typically in permitting and zoning, the planning and the subdivision and land development reviews are typically not reviewed by the zoning officer the zoning officer may provide a consistency review based on the zoning regulations but by and large these types of reviews should be done by a specialist or you know a real senior engineer depending on

the level of the project so that's all i would say thank you very much thank you very much if i could add one other thing my apologies it does not we talked about this a little bit on tuesday but it does not change the process at all uh councilwoman amelia asked about is this because um the county uh planning is no longer anything like that no this so the process does not change we do the review it still goes to to our planning and all that. So it does not change anything related to the process. Sorry about that.

That's okay. What I will add is we had an ordinance that we passed in April of last year, regarding the fees, the fee schedule. I just want to make sure that that's up to date. So I would ask the administration take a look at it and see that we are actually trying to enforce what we are passing and so on. So I would you

Sorry. The next council meeting, next council meeting, it actually, you're going to, Austin and Phil and myself are working in community development. Probably the next council meeting will have an updated fee schedule as well for your review.

I appreciate the being on the ball for that one. So is there anything left then for members of council? Seeing and hearing nothing, then, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dussinger? Yes. Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beyer?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Mayor Slaughter and Phil, thank you very much for joining us.

Thank you, Phil, for doing that research for me.

Thank you so much.

Thanks. We'll move to item number 13, please.

Resolution to accept the fiscal year 2025 audit reports.

Can I have motion, please? So moved. Second. Mr. Livermore, welcome back.

It's me again, this time with a resolution and not an ordinance. This is a wonderful resolution that I think. Today, the resolution before you is to accept the fiscal year 2025 audit reports. This has taken a very long time to come. And of course, people before me have definitely helped make this happen and the whole finance department. But the 2025 audit will be the first audit in a very long time that will be filed on time. So this is a very good thing. Um, we did discuss this at the committee of the whole Dustin is unfortunately not able to join the meeting tonight. That's why he wanted to make sure he answered everybody's questions on Tuesday. Um, we had very minimal findings. We had, um, component unit, the parking authorities, um, Audits aren't up to date. So that's 1 of our finding that's been continual and we had a slight finding for the reporting, which was similar to last year's finding.

Um, but everything with not an issue with the spending of the funding.

No, just the reporting. I will say that out of all reporting portals, the ARPA reporting portal is extremely challenging. So this was a very minimal finding with just the actual reporting. All the expenditures were all in line. Everything else was good. He did note that our 2025 budget to actuals were in surplus, I think he said. So I have the actual number. So the expenditures were down by $900,000 less than we had planned to expend, and the revenue was up by $2.5 million. So that was a good estimate. That was something good that we found when we did the audit. I did work on some of the numbers, and it does make what we did for 26 look a lot better. So I don't have it all done, but that should put us in a better position for 27 than what we thought. But of course, I'm not... it's not time to be able to figure out what position we'll be in yet. We have a lot, we have a large chunk of the budget as much done as we can, but without the third quarter numbers, we can't really go much further. But anyway, the audit was very good and, um, I'm glad to bring this resolution to you.

Thank you very much for that. This, we did discuss this at the committee, the whole meeting, um, It was very reassuring. The one thing that I will say is the elephant in the audit is the parking authority. That is something that we need to figure out what we're going to do there, whether it's start to figure out, are we going to maintain the parking authority as its own separate authority? Is the city going to look at absorbing the parking authority? There's a lot of different pieces of that puzzle that I don't even know what we would begin to think about doing at this point in time. However, they have not had an audit done according to the auditor since 2018. That's a big problem. And I don't want to see that continue to be a hindrance for us going forward.

And I can't say anything on their behalf. I do know that there has been discussion that they were working on it, but I can't say anything on their behalf, where they are with that. I know the mayor said that he communicates with them as well, so hopefully we'll come to some understanding of where they're at.

You were just in front of me, so I apologize if I was saying that to you. Anything else from members of council that they would like to add? Liz Mealy.

Just a note for the record. Well, the mayor did say that he would arrange a meeting between some members of the parking authority, members of city council, and members of the administration to try and get a handle. The last time that we had members of the parking authority in front of us, I didn't have any confidence that they were working on the financial situation um so uh i think right um the first step toward sorting out the lack of audits there is is definitely to engage the parking authority in some capacity and then we move from there um but uh but yeah it is uh holding back the city's financial abilities, I think. And that's problematic. So anyway, other than that, congratulations, Jamie, for ending the purgatory of financial uncertainty that has marked the last five years.

We are so glad about it.

Right. And for doing it three weeks early. Yeah. We weren't required to submit the audit until September 30th. So not only are we timely this year, but for the first time we are First time ever, to my recollection, we are actually ahead of schedule on finalizing the audit. Also, it is a remarkably good audit by anybody's standards. Finding $3.5 million, which means that we only ended $25 million earlier. I think, according to the audit, we had prophesied $4.5 million in deficit spending, and we wound up with only $1 million in deficit spending.

I couldn't tell you at this point, but I've seen so many numbers.

Yeah, the numbers start to swim a bit, but I think that was what it said. But anyway... You are to be applauded. Thank you for your stewardship of the finance department. And thanks to everyone from the mayor's office on down who made this a reality.

Yes, everybody in all the departments were very helpful and people that came before me and the people in my office have been so helpful. So we are just glad that this time has come.

Okay.

Remind me of the length of contract that we have with the current auditing firm.

I think it's one more year and then we do another RFP. Okay.

I just want to say very good. Thank you very much. You're also setting a pretty high precedent of expectations.

Thank you.

Seeing and hearing nothing else then, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dessinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beiter?

Yes. Item number 14, please.

Resolution real estate exoneration on Isabella Street.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Thank you. Mr. Walteroff, how are you this evening?

Good. Good evening. I'm well. President Beiter, members of council, before you today for a resolution for real estate exoneration for a property that has been purchased by the Redevelopment Land Authority. And that will be going from $968.94 to a $0 exemption because it is a municipal government outfit.

Could you remind me of the address? The file will pull up and drop.

Yes, it is 1158 Isabella Street.

Thank you for that. Are there any questions from members of council regarding the real estate exoneration? Seeing and hearing none, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan.

Yes.

Mr. Mackey.

Yes.

Mr. Dessinger.

Yes.

Ms. Mealy. Yes. Mr. Palizzi.

Yes.

Mr. Beyer.

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number 15, please.

Resolution real estate reduction.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Mr. Welterhoff.

Council members, before you is a real estate reduction resolution for four different properties. This is a result of a repository sale that was done by the county. Statutory rule under the PA real estate sales tax law, if the property fails to upset and be sold at a judicial sale, it is then sold at the county repository sale. when that happens the price of the repository sale is is deemed the new fair market value and that's what it is taxed at so this is the purpose for this resolution in front of you very interesting i didn't know that's how that worked when it went to repository sale um but hopefully it won't matter when it's reassessed by the county here in the next A couple of months. Which will be happening soon. Their findings will be coming out soon. Yes.

Are there any questions from members of council? Seeing and hearing none, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey?

Yes.

Mr. Dessinger? Yes. Ms. Mealy? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Ryder?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number 16, please.

Resolution real estate interim exoneration.

Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Mr. Welterhoff?

Before you is the final resolution. It is for real estate interim exoneration. This is a result of Property 51, Mysterio Lane, as the result of a LERDA request that came from the Department of Community and Economic Development.

This is our LERDA in action on the residential side of things. We put this in place a couple of years ago. to hope to have new homes built. And this is one of those homes that was done up in the Newberry section of Williamsport, beyond Williamsport High School. So any questions from members of council? Seeing, hearing none, then Mrs. Frank.

Mr. Milligan.

Yes.

Mr. Mackey. Yes. Mr. Dessinger.

Yes.

Ms. Mealy. Yes. Mr. Palizzi.

Yes.

Mr. Beiter.

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Thank you very much, Mr. Wallerhoff. Thank you. Item number 17 is a certificate of appropriateness from Harb McCormick Law Firm. I don't know about that one. So you've got 835 West 4th Street. They've got some repairs they're going to be doing. Scrape loose paint. Prep and apply new paint as needed to the cedar shakes. Remove damaged steps on the side porch. Build new steps with pressure-treated stringers, Trex deck boards, and so on and so forth. Paint all of that as well. There's some repairs to the pieces of rotted fascia trim on the side porch. Paint the same as existing. Reinstall pieces of lattice on the front porch. And then reinstall fallen pieces of siding to the south side. uh are you going to be doing all this work mr white you know it sounds so bad you should probably just condemn the building i'll work from home there very fair can i have a motion on this please so move second do we have any questions regarding the item seeing hearing none then mrs frank

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey? Yes. Mr. Dessinger? Yes. Ms. Mailey? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Biden?

Yes. Item passed at 6-0. Item number 18, except for filing, we have the hard meeting minutes from August 2026. 2026, excuse me, and the controller's report from June of 2026. Could I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Are there any questions, concerns, or comments about the accepting for filing? Seeing and hearing none, Mrs. Frank?

Mr. Milligan?

Yes.

Mr. Mackey? Yes. Mr. Dessinger?

Yes.

Ms. Mailey? Yes. Mr. Palizzi?

Yes.

Mr. Beiter?

Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Item number 19, announcements. The next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be held on Thursday, September 17th, 2026 at 7 p.m. here in Trade and Transit 2 on the third floor. We have Tuesday, September 8th at 12 p.m. is the Planning Commission. Wednesday, September 9th at 3.30 p.m. is the O&E Pension Board. Tuesday, September 15th at 1 p.m. is the Committee of the Whole Meeting. 6.30 p.m. is HARB. Wednesday, September 16th at 10 a.m. is Blighted Property. And Thursday, September 17th at 10.30 a.m. is the Zoning and Hearing Board, followed by the 7 p.m. City Council Meeting. We will open it up now to comments from members of the public. If you do have any, please step up. Please state your name and address. And your time is limited to three minutes.

I'll do my best. I've been talking all day trying to get it to three minutes. But my name is Dana Rich Collins. Good evening. And I live at 614 Valmont Drive in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. And before you start timing me, I just want to say when Jonah brought up about Dolly Parton. that actually another woman joined her, unfortunately, yesterday, and that woman talked to us a lot about the fact that we are all full human beings, and I think that's something that directs us in the comments that I'd like to make tonight. Thank you. Some background. Just about a year ago, local citizens became concerned over ice activities in the city and the county. Lack of information from authorities, confirmed ice pickups of locals, and fear and concern for our neighbors brought us together. We began studying the situation, verifying the information we were hearing, and talking to our law enforcement and elected leaders. Some of you are here tonight. and trying to get assurances that those charged with protecting the residents of our county and in this case our city were in fact going to serve and protect us all all of us while in those talks we have been assured that the city of williamsport has no intention at this time of signing a two eighty seven agreement a formal partnership that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to delegate certain federal immigration enforcement powers to train state or local law enforcement officers. And we do appreciate that insurance. But in our discussions, we have realized that all involved parties aren't totally familiar with the 287 and its ramifications and false promises. and wanted to share with you what we have learned and reiterate the plea that the city not sign such an agreement we have gathered over five hundred and still counting signatures of voters imploring the city of williamsport as well as other governments within the county to refuse to sign a 287 agreement to those who already have such as hughesville and montoursville we would ask them to resend them we look to our neighbors ceilings grove and state college to name a few for inspiration as they have enacted preemptive legislation which is a source of comfort to their residents we have been told we have never been about asking you to disregard the law signing a 287 agreement is above and beyond what the federal law requires of you In pro and con comparison, we suggest there are only cons. The signing incentives for 287 agreements are bait and switch. And in the end, the local agencies are responsible for the financial reimbursement required and the liability that arises. And mind you, that liability is real. Violations of individual rights and injuries have resulted in numerous lawsuits being filed and settled across the country, including in our own state, resulting in millions of dollars being assessed to local governments, i.e., that would be you in this case. Also note in the handout we gave you that insurance companies excluding coverage where there is a 287 is a concern. and it is predicted that liability claims will only get worse we can see with our own eyes the treatment of individuals on the streets of our country by ice agents Police groups, including neighbors like Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department, Bucks County, and our own Pennsylvania State Troopers have spoken out against these agreements. They point to an erosion of community trust, drain on their resources, increased racial profiling, and the tactics employed by many ICE agents runs contrary to the model of local police to serve and protect. We do not have deportation data exclusive to the city of Williamsport, but in the region where we are included, which is comprised of 19 PA counties, mostly rural, of which we are the largest, 219 individuals have been picked up by ICE between January 26 and August. 26. We have had several sad stories in our area. To speak to some of the major cons of these agreements, the erosion of trust and the safety concerns, I yield to my friend Maria Benalla Weaver. Thank you for your time.

Thank you as well.

Good evening members of City Council. My name is Maria Bonilla Weaver. I'm a retired WASD teacher, a US citizen, a member of our vibrant immigrant community, and a resident of Williamsport for 37 years. I urge this Council to continue protecting our community and rejecting any consideration of a 287 agreement. While neighboring boroughs in Lycoming County have recently signed these pacts, we must choose a different path. We must choose a path that prioritizes public safety, fiscal responsibility, and community trust. Although the financial risks are frightening, I am particularly concerned that these agreements destroy community trust in our local police. When local police officers are deputized to act as federal immigration agents, it compromises the many programs our police have implemented to help build trust between law enforcement and our neighbors. Our immigrant community makes up a small but vital part of Lycoming County. Right now, our anxiety is high. Two of my former students, both born and raised in Williamsport, American citizens, have made Williamsport their home with families of their own, all contributing members of our diverse community. their nightmares began when their spouses were abducted by ice and placed in detention camps they had documentation proving immigration status now they are all living in fear a fear as we as a community must address not ignore i checked up on them this week and asked them how has this changed you they have given me permission to share their responses student a honestly it has opened me to a level of paranoia i never knew existed i'm scared of getting pulled over with my husband in a car i'm terrified of unknown visitors i'm just on high alert twenty four seven my husband has ptsd from the prison he was kept in he wakes up at night swearing he hears keys and guards yelling it's been hell His immigration process is moving, but moving slowly. It's been very hard on us. Our son too, he gets visibly worried when he comes home and he doesn't know where his dad is. It's been something I'd never thought I'd go through, but we're doing our best to keep going. I've lost hope in my country, honestly. I don't see how we can come back from any of this. I don't see how normal could ever be a thing again. My other students shared this. I'm severely paranoid and I can no longer trust anybody. I'm constantly afraid that it will happen again. Anytime I see trucks or SUVs that look like ice, I get immense anxiety. I absolutely feel no trust in our community, in our country whatsoever. What we were taught only applies to white people, and even then, not really for anybody. So you see, together with local faith leaders, social agencies, local schools, community networks, our wonderful mayor and members of city council, together we will continue helping our families, our friends, our neighbors. We also depend on our police force to continue serving our community, We value our police force. However, if Williamsport police begin enforcing federal civil immigration laws using dangerous tactics, our fears will deepen and grow. Victims of domestic violence, assault, and witnesses to serious crimes will stop calling 911 out of fear of deportation. When people are afraid to talk to the police, crimes go unreported and our city becomes less safe. I urge you to follow the example of Pennsylvania cities like Ceilings Growth and State College by formally affirming that our local tax dollars and police personnel will not be used to do the federal government's job. Please protect our community. Please protect community policing in Williamsport and continue to say no to 287 g thank you thank you are there any other members of the community for public comment

Seeing nothing else then regarding public comment from the public, we'll move on to comments from members of council. Jonah, what's going on in Brandon Park?

I'm not prepared to talk about Brandon Park. I didn't know there was a picnic or something. No, not yet. Earth Day 2027, though, is going to be great. No, I just want to say thank you to Dana and Maria for your words. Eric tells me that I'm not allowed to speak on behalf of the full council, so I won't. I want Williamsport to be safe. I guess I want to reiterate a point that you made, Dana, that there is no talk of this agreement in Williamsport right now. Our police are busy. They're working hard trying to keep our community safe. But I hear you loud and clear. I want a safe community where people aren't afraid to call 911. And that's really all I have to say about that. So thank you for speaking tonight. Thanks for everyone for coming out tonight. Message received.

Any other comments from members of council? The comment that I have for this evening is please be very aware that next Friday is September 11th. Obviously, 25 years ago, that was a date that changed our country in a very tremendous way. So take a moment when you wake up that morning, be thankful for your presence here on earth. Remember those who lost their lives. Remember the loved ones who remain and don't have that person in their life any longer. And just take an extra second and hug your family.

Thanks.

I just wanted to let everybody know, obviously this coming weekend, Labor Day, I hope everybody has a safe fun, happy weekend. Please don't drink and drive. Other than that, have a fun time. Thanks.

Are there any comments from members of the administration tonight?

Good evening, counsel. I'll keep it brief. I know in prior meetings there has been some Discussions about the mercantile business privilege tax and I wanted to prepare a little bit of a report for you guys tonight To do a comparison from last year's figures to this year's figures Last year there was three million one hundred ninety five thousand three hundred and fifty five dollars and four cents it was collected and for 2025. Currently to year, the date on September 3rd, we have collected $3,387,256.58, which is currently a difference of $429,704.67 plus from last year overall. at September of this year. Currently, we are $191,901.54 above last year. We do have the October 15th IRS extension deadline. Interesting enough, a lot of businesses will file for an extension and they feel that that extends the time that they have to pay That's not the case. It's just the extension on the actual filing. They're still supposed to pay ahead. Um, there's a lot of businesses that don't, and we have an education component that we need to get out there and, and, uh, tell that more. So hopefully in October, we'll see another big push. Um, The amount of money that we've collected, that is also minus the refunds that we've refunded. Unfortunately, some businesses were taxed improperly, so that is something that we had to clean up. We are seeing a difference in the ebbs and flows, just reestablishing different businesses at different tax rates within that mercantile business privilege. We have refunded to date for this year $52,596.64. Only 1 company ate up most of that, which would have been a, it was a 38,000 dollar. Refund that we were funded basically we had a, um. A business that had multiple employees for multiple years, and that was just a 3 year look back that was filing business privilege tax in the city of Williamsport, even though they did not commence any business in the city of Williamsport. Some of the business they commit the commenced was a lot of it was even out in Athens. So those are some things that we're cleaning up, and I hope you guys are excited to hear that we have more money than we had last year coming in. Hopefully, I would like to get it to $4 million. I don't know if it's going to get to that point, but we're trying. We're trying to clean it up and make sure that we rectify past years. Any questions?

Wonderful report. Thank you very much. Thank you for your effort. Are there any comments from the news media? I don't believe I see anybody here this evening. Then I will move on to item number 20. I'll make a motion for adjournment. So moved. Second.