SHAMOKIN - City council and the Shamokin Housing Authority's executive director are at odds over a request that, on its surface, seems routine.
Thousands of revenue dollars from a cell tower lease agreement are mixed up in the dispute.
Ron Miller, the authority's executive director, asks that council members sign off on a letter of support for a federal funding opportunity to rehabilitate Madison Court Apartments on Shamokin Street. He made the same request in February.
The project would restore Madison Court much to its original state, Miller has said, and create between 30 and 40 housing units. It would also place the building back on the city's tax rolls, according to a letter Miller sent to city council. The federal government rejected the authority's bid earlier this year.
Municipal authorities seek such support from governing bodies on all manner of projects. In Shamokin's case, no local tax dollars are involved. It's a matter of a signed letter.
However, Mayor William D. Milbrand and council members Barbara Moyer and Charles Verano have questions they say Miller has not answered. They'd like to know who belongs to the Shamokin Housing Development Corp., a private entity they say is involved in the proposed project.
Milbrand especially wants to know if additional low-income public housing is needed in Shamokin. He would like to know the occupancy rates at the authority's complexes on Raspberry Hill and Harrison Street.
Since Madison Court is owned by a municipal entity and would offer public housing, Milbrand also wonders how the project would make the building taxable property - another question he says has not been answered.
Tower issue
The owner of a cell tower on Raspberry Hill is interested in renewing an existing lease agreement and building a new tower, Milbrand says. It pays the city about $1,000 monthly, according to city Treasurer Brenda Scandle.
The tower is located on authority-owned property. The authority had allowed City Hall to collect the funds from the lease agreement. Milbrand said that arrangement has come to an end, which has proved an irritant to the mayor. The authority will keep the funding for itself, he said.
Milbrand, Verano and Clerk Robert M. Slaby attended an authority meeting in October to discuss the matter. Miller noted the meeting in his letter.
Council talk
City council invited Miller to Monday's council meeting. He didn't attend, citing short notice. In his letter to council, he said he was "taken aback" by council's response to the authority's request, calling the tenor "hostile." If council has questions, he asked its members attend the authority's own public meeting later this month.
Milbrand called the invitation inappropriate. Miller is making the request, not the city. The questions are simple, and he said answers should follow.
"I don't think it's our responsibility to go chasing down answers," Milbrand said.
Moyer said she doesn't oppose the rehabilitation project. She and Verano were on council only two months when Miller first sought support in February. Neither were familiar with the proposal. She thought it prudent to ask questions. Verano said he showed no disrespect in his line of questioning at the time. He simply wants to know who's involved from the private Shamokin Housing Development Corp.
Councilman R. Craig Rhoades remained quiet on the matter Monday until prompted by Milbrand for comment. Rhoades' wife, Pamala, is an authority appointee. After saying he had no comment, he said he has "a whole different viewpoint."
"The project will move forward without the city's support," Rhoades said.
The Shamokin Housing Authority is a five-member board. City council appoints its members. Currently serving are Malcolm Farrow IV, Suzanne Kopitsky, James Picarelli, Donald VanShura and Pamala Rhoades.
Other business
Charles Sosnoskie was appointed Monday to serve on the Shamokin-Coal Township Joint Sewer Authority. Milbrand, Verano and Moyer voted in support. Councilman Rhoades opposed the motion.
Council will move forward with a new credit card system for tax payments. The payments can be made online or in person beginning in March. Details are pending.
A $400,000 Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note from Susquehanna Bank was approved. The loan has a 3.25 percent interest rate. It's a loan municipalities can take annually, and is used to pay day-to-day expenses in lieu of tax revenue that doesn't begin to be collected until March. The 2014 TRAN totaled $350,000.
The Rescue Fire Co. was permitted to sell its utility trailer and use the funds within the company. City council will release the title on the trailer.
Milbrand said the city hasn't abandoned the idea to adopt and enforce ordinance barring anyone convicted of a felony drug distribution charge from renting residential property in Shamokin. Council members had been discussing revising the existing landlord-tenant ordinance to add the drug-related provision.
Upon hearing a citizen's concern, Moyer said city council should revisit the issue of controlling Shamokin's feral cat population. She is a proponent of the Trap, Neuter and Release system.
