SHAMOKIN - City council voted Tuesday to approve $1.78 million in interim financing for the restoration project of the channels of Shamokin Creek and Carbon Run.
The loan and accompanying 3 percent interest will be reimbursed in full by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Steve Bartos, city clerk, who explained the financing will be used to make timely payments to contractors on the job and will be drawn down as invoices are submitted.
FEMA will reimburse the city incrementally with previously approved grant funding totaling $3,402,111. Bartos
had previously estimated reimbursements taking between six and eight weeks to arrive upon submission.
Language in the paperwork with Susquehanna Bank will reflect a loan amount approximately equal to the total grant, but Bartos said the city would only borrow a little more than half of that, $1,787,985.50.
The project was pursued after the Flood of 2011 caused severe damage to the stone creek channels, which were believed to have been a project of the Works Progress Administration dating to the mid-1930s.
Earlier this year, officials working on the project explained that particular detail to historic preservation and restoration - fixing the stone and returning it to its previous state - will be paid to the city's downtown district, between the confluence of Shamokin Creek and Coal Run near Washington and Water streets and the area of the Independence Fire Association on Market Street.
Basic flood prevention will be the focus on the project's northern and southern ends, they said.
Bartos said Tuesday the design phase is in its beginning stages and that a meeting would be held with council members in the coming months to review designs.
The project has not yet been put out for bid. According to an ordinance authorizing the loan, it is to be fully completed by Dec. 31, 2016.
Councilman R. Craig Rhoades credited Bartos and staff inside City Hall for their work over a 22-month period to finalize the federal grant.
FEMA had originally awarded the city nearly $1.8 million for the project. The city then sought an additional $1 million as the estimated costs grew. FEMA added to that, Bartos had previously said, bringing the total above $3.4 million.
In other business, city council:
- Accepted eight bids to demolish seven homes damaged in the Flood of 2011. Vince Madonna Enterprises, Port Carbon, submitted low bids of $20,520 to take down six homes on North Rock Street and $4,500 to fell one on South Third Street. A contract was not yet awarded;
- Agreed to a contract with Eric Brightbill, of Shamokin, on a concessionaire contract for the basement of the American Legion Building. The agreement is contingent on the city being given copies of LLC filings for Brightbill's firm and a letter from his attorney acknowledging him as a representative of the LLC, along with a $1 million general insurance policy. The three-year lease agreement would bring the city $69,000 in rent, according to the contract, and require Brightbill to pay all utility costs. The Shamokin man is working to open Echo Lounge, billed as a casual lounge for youth on the weekdays and an underage club for people age 16 to 20 on Fridays and Saturdays. Brightbill hopes to open Aug. 20;
- Renewed a liability insurance policy with Weiss-Schantz Agency Inc. for city buildings, vehicles, equipment and workers compensation. The premium totals $136,619. Workers compensation coverage increased $13,929 due to state law allowing cancer to be considered an occupational disease for firefighters;
- Permitted Solicitor H. Robert Mattis to file a response and a counterclaim in an ongoing lawsuit filed against the city by Robert Gusick Demolition related to the emergency demolition of a partially collapsed commercial building in June 2012 in the 700 block of North Shamokin Street. An attorney for the demolition firm filed an amended complaint earlier this month. The decision came after an estimated five minute executive session by council;
- Allowed the Shamokin 150th Anniversary Committee to open a checking account under the city's name. The anniversary celebration will come in July 2014. Inquiries are being made by Bartos with the state to see if committee members or city officials - the treasurer, controller and director of public finance - must sign off on checks written from the account;
- Agreed to meet with two downtown businessmen, Richard Wright of Ye Olde Coin Shoppe and Kyle Lahr of the newly opened The Game Shack, to discuss potential ordinance revisions monitoring the sale and trade of secondhand goods. Both men believe the existing ordinance is harmful to their businesses, specifically hold periods - five days for some items, 10 days for others like precious metals - before they can be resold or altered. Rhoades said he believes there is room for adjustment in the ordinance. The business owners are expected to meet within the week to discuss the issue with city officials;
- Heard from city resident Carolyn Smith, of 621 N. Second St., who spoke of overgrown weeds and trees in her neighborhood surrounding blighted properties. She asked that trees growing from neighboring properties into her backyard be trimmed. Councilman William Strausser, interim mayor, said her concerns would be addressed but made no promises. Mayor George Rozinskie was hospitalized last week after a fall at his home.