A majority of Luzerne County Council agreed on Monday to give a real estate tax break to a distressed 16-acre area on Wyoming Avenue in Exeter.
The Wyoming Avenue Development Group requested tax assistance under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program for blighted properties. This means the property owner still pays real estate taxes on the land but gets a tax discount on the new development part for up to ten years.
Wyoming Avenue Development will receive these reductions on new construction: 90% in the first three years; 80% in the fourth and fifth years; 70% in the sixth year; 60% in the seventh; 50% in the eighth; 40% in the ninth; and 30% in the final year.
Councilman Harry Haas suggested shortening the break to five years and decreasing the reductions to 70%, 60%, 50%, 40% and 30% over those five years, stating “I think that’s a good compromise to get that property going.” No council members supported his proposal.
Apart from Haas, two other council members — Jimmy Sabatino and Brittany Stephenson — voted against the break. Councilwoman Patty Krushnowski was not present, and the remaining seven council members voted yes: LeeAnn McDermott, Kevin Lescavage, Chairman John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Joanna Bryn Smith, Vice Chairman Brian Thornton and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.
Bryn Smith mentioned that she generally does not support LERTAs, but she believes this project is deserving because it has been an eyesore for many years.
“I don’t think it’s likely to be developed without help,” Bryn Smith said.
Exeter Borough Council and the Wyoming Area School Board both approved reductions for the four parcels located at 1714, 1800 and 1946 Wyoming Ave.
Raymond A. Hassey, the attorney for Wyoming Avenue Development Group, has stated that he took on the project to address years of complaints about the deteriorated property, which had attracted criminals and a 40-person homeless camp.
The location is not in a high-traffic retail center and has challenges that will increase development expenses, including two mine shafts requiring mediation and degraded infrastructure from a former mobile home park set up for those displaced in the 1972 Susquehanna River flood, he has mentioned.
Early development plans indicate that four buildings will be constructed at the site — a grocery store, convenience market and two retail stores, along with associated parking areas.
Church lot
Nine out of 10 council members present voted to give a $280,000 allocation from the county’s natural-gas recreation funding to the Diocese of Scranton to create a parking lot in front of the Wyoming Area Catholic School in Exeter. Haas was the only member who voted no.
According to the submission from Monsignor John J. Sempa, pastor of Corpus Christi and St. Barbara parishes and the clergy member assigned to the Wyoming Area Catholic School, the parking lot would also serve youth sports teams and Memorial Day parade veteran ceremonies and other community events.
The current lot in use is part of the now-closed nearby St. Cecilia’s Church property planned for eventual sale, the submission stated. Bids obtained last July revealed that the new lot project will cost $450,000 before permit fees and contingency allowances, and the school system and parish are only able to cover the original $240,000 estimated price
Judicial chambers
All 10 council members agreed to use $169,570 from federal American Rescue Plan funds to fix mold and lead problems in the courthouse chambers of county Court of Common Pleas Judges Lesa S. Gelb and Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo stated that the county’s American Rescue consultant confirmed that the work qualifies for the federal program’s assistance.
The issue was reported to the county’s insurance provider, but the administration has not received a decision about whether any part of the work would be covered. There was also a mention of a $25,000 cap on insurance payment.
Heating/ventilation/air conditioning
Nine council members postponed a decision on the administration’s request to allocate an additional $441,415 in American Rescue funds for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning replacement project. Lombardo voted against the delay.
The agenda stated that the previous request for $1.5 million, which was approved, was “significantly underestimated” and that equipment costs have gone up. Without more funding, planned improvements cannot move forward at the courthouse and county-owned Penn Place building in downtown Wilkes-Barre as outlined in the original application.
So far, the county has signed contracts for new Trane HVAC units at two county-owned properties as part of the American Rescue project — the courthouse annex on River Street in Wilkes-Barre and the record storage building/coroner’s office in Hanover Township.
Both contracts were given to United Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. in Pittston Township — $176,952 for eight Trane rooftop units at the courthouse annex and $124,254 to replace four Lenox rooftop units with new Trane ones at the records/coroner’s building, records show.
Crocamo informed council that the administration was told the price of the units would be lower if it deals directly with Trane instead of going through a “middle man.”
Lescavage said he will personally contact Trane to ask about a price reduction.
Council agreed to vote on the matter at its next meeting in three weeks to make sure units can be obtained in time to meet American Rescue project completion deadlines.