When: Lancaster City Council meeting, Aug. 8.
What happened: Council passed resolutions allowing city administrators to apply for grants that would help pay for two major street improvement projects: the Water Street Bike Boulevard and changes along South Duke Street.
Water Street details: This request will be for a $1.8 million multimodal transportation fund grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Total cost for that project will be about $6.2 million, said Stephen Campbell, the city’s public works director. The city already dedicated $775,000 from a bond issue toward the Water Street Bike Boulevard, and the rest will come from grant funding, he said.
South Duke Street details: The city will apply for a $500,000 Keystone Communities Program grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to contribute to this $3.5 million project, Campbell said, with the rest of the project being paid for through other grant funds. The portion of South Duke Street to be tackled is between Church and Chesapeake streets. The plan includes a new bus shelter to replace an existing one at Dauphin Street.
More: This project falls within the city’s Southeast quadrant. Council has faced criticism this year from some residents who say investment falls short in that part of the city.
Security concerns: Council member Janet Diaz asked if the South Duke Street project budget includes money for security cameras. “That area can get very dark, and there’s a lot of crime,” she said. Campbell said the project scope does include upgraded lighting. For cameras, the city works with the Lancaster Safety Coalition.
Quotable: “I believe the intention, based on much of the input from the community, is for there to be some increased camera visibility,” Campbell said.
Background: A different plan for alterations to the South Duke Street corridor was developed several years ago but was never put in place, Campbell said. “In many ways, some of that was rejected because it did not necessarily engage the community as much as we wanted to,” Campbell said. The first round involved three or four community meetings, and this time feedback was collected from about 16, he said.
What’s next: Construction could begin in 2025 on the Water Street project, and work should begin in 2024 on South Duke, Campbell said. Construction time on South Duke will depend on how bids come back but could take between eight to 14 months, he said.
High-speed deal: Council approved a deal with Virginia-based telecommunications company Shentel, which was selected to revive and build the municipal broadband project that could provide high-speed, low-cost internet service to every city resident.
Budget preview: Mayor Danene Sorace gave a preview of the 2024 budget that will be brought to council this fall. Among fixed costs that will have an effect are debt service payments. Those were $5.6 million this year and will go up to $6.6 million in 2024 due to the full impact of the 2022 bond issuance, she said.
Quotable: “In years past we’ve taken advantage of refinancing our debt to achieve lower interest rates. And we are no longer in a low-interest-rate environment,” Sorace said. “Also, we don’t have any bonds that would be eligible for refinancing at this time.”
Housing project: Council upheld a Historical Commission recommendation to approve plans for a Milburn Apartments LLC project at 607-609 Rockland Street. Those buildings were severely damaged by fire in 2020. One can now be demolished and rebuilt. Council last year allocated $550,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds toward that affordable housing project by Chestnut Housing Corp.
Other business: Council gave administrators the OK to request several other grants including: one that would assist in home rule study commission costs; an emergency solutions grant to help with homelessness services; and a federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant that would be used by police for new cellphone extraction equipment and training, an updated polygraph system, a license plate reader and first aid kits.
