TheBurg

09.19 | theburgnews.com | 9 news haRRisBuRG chanGes FunDs pRocess Harrisburg agreed last month to switch up the process of how it distributes its annual allocation of federal housing funds. City Council unanimously passed ordinances that will substantially change how nonprofit organizations apply for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. Previously, community groups—called "sub-recipients"—applied for grants that were individually approved by council. Now, the sub-recipients will have to respond to a "request for proposals" that is being issued by the city. All interested applicants then will have to attend a mandatory workshop on Sept. 10 at the city Public Works building and submit their final applications by Sept. 20. Moreover, organizations will have to apply from two separate funding buckets. Of the $1.94 million in total CDBG funding, the city is setting aside $100,000 for "public service activities," which includes most programming activities. It then has allocated another $407,261 for "public improvement/public facilities," which includes most facility and building projects. In the past, funds for these activities had been combined into a single application process and source of funds. However, HUD recently instructed the city to separate operational projects from infrastructure projects. "e primary reason for this change is so we can get those dollars separated properly," said Franchon Dickinson, director of the city's Building and Housing Department. "Nonprofits can apply for both public services and public facilities dollars, but have to apply separately." e city will favor applications that show that a service is new or has demonstrated a quantifiable increase in a level of service over the last 12 months, said Dickinson. In addition, she said that HUD prefers to fund senior enrichment programs or programs geared towards special needs populations. Dickinson said that a scoring matrix will be used to judge applications and determine who will receive funding. City Council then will approve the contracts with the sub-recipients, said city Business Administrator Marc Woolley. Other CDBG allotments included: • $593,423 for debt service, as the city continues to pay down a federal loan it guaranteed under former Mayor Steve Reed for the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project • $387,670 for grant administration • $250,000 for homeowner rehabilitation • $200,000 for emergency demolition Dickinson said that the city is now conducting a reconciliation of disbursals in recent years, matching allocations with expenditures. It's possible, she said, that additional funds could be available following the results of that reconciliation. stop siGn Removals cause conceRn Should Harrisburg proceed with a plan to remove stop signs at two intersections on N. 3rd Street? At two City Council meetings last month, numerous residents spoke out against the planned removal of signs at the corners of Boyd, Harris, Kelker and Emerald streets. "ere are multiple playgrounds there," said 3rd Street resident Laura Harding. "I see kids running across the street every day, multiple times a day without checking both ways." Currently, the intersections stop traffic in all directions. e planned removals are only for 3rd Street. e stop signs halting traffic traveling on the side streets would remain. Residents' remarks echoed similar concerns voiced on local social media pages, and council members said residents also had contacted them. In early August, residents began to notice a second sign attached to several stop sign poles, notifying people that the signs would be eliminated, prompting concerns about safety at those intersections. Some social media posts also posited a theory that the sign removals were part of the planned conversion of much of N. 2nd Street to two-way traffic, presumably because traffic displaced from 2nd Street would flow faster along the 3rd Street corridor. However, according to city Business Administrator Marc Woolley, that is not the case. He said that the decision to remove those stop signs was made back in 2016 when the final design for the 3rd Street multimodal project was approved and that it had nothing to do with 2nd Street. e city, he said, decided that those stop signs would no longer be necessary because the 3rd Street redesign, which includes numerous bump-outs at intersections, would have enough of a calming effect on through-traffic. And that, he said, has happened. "It was determined that these were overused stop signs," he said. "e bump-outs did work." At the second council meeting concerning the issue, council members said they were exploring ways to retain the stop signs. e Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (H*MAC) has offered details of its newest phase of construction, which will include a basement dance club and a new restaurant concept. Co-owner Chris Werner said that some construction has already begun to improve the 34,000-square-foot venue's façade and roof, but that most work on the project will take place over the coming months. "We're really excited to finally complete this unique project, which has been in the works for decades, and serve it up the community for its enjoyment," he said. In May, Werner, along with co-owners Chuck London and Javier Diaz, bought the mixed-used entertainment and restaurant space and the business from owners Bartlett, Traynor & London LLC for $6 million. Last year, the prior owners declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which former co- owner John Traynor blamed partly on a social media firestorm aimed at the venue. Werner said that the first major change will be renovations and rebranding at e Kitchen & Gallery Bar, which has been renamed e Green Room. He said that a Philadelphia-based restaurant consultant, JT Hearn, will lead a culinary team that will roll out a new food and drink menu that will focus on "innovative" and locally sourced items. In addition, the restaurant and bar space will include new furniture and décor. e two existing entertainment spaces will also see significant changes, Werner said. Stage on Herr, which was H*MAC's original venue when it opened in 2009, will be redesigned and rebranded as Stage Right. e 350-person nightclub and gallery will feature a wider stage, stadium seating and sound system upgrades. Upstairs, the Capitol Room will include a new balcony, two new bars and new bathrooms, as well as new green rooms and other amenities for performers, Werner said. Above that, H*MAC plans to finish the rooftop, building out a beer garden. e most significant change will be in the basement, which was built as an indoor pool when H*MAC served as the Harrisburg Jewish Community Center then, later, as the Harrisburg Police Athletic League. According to Werner, the pool room will be converted to a "psychedelic" dance club dubbed "e Deep End." Artists will be able to create installations inside the pool area, viewable from holes above it. "It will be a throwback to the days of dance clubs, while bringing the best of EDM and dance music to Harrisburg," Werner said. In late 2017, H*MAC received a $1 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, which will finance much of the work, Werner said. hmac plans impRovements ResiDents cRiticize pRoposeD WateR system sale Harrisburg City Council is considering holding one or more meetings on the proposed privatization of the city's water and sewer system. Last month, council President Wanda Williams told a crowd attending a legislative session that she planned to schedule public meetings on the city's proposal to sell the system to a private operator. "We probably won't just have one meeting," she said. "We'll probably have two or three." Her statement came following numerous public comments criticizing the proposed sale. Harrisburg is currently asking qualified, private entities to respond to a "request for information" (RFI) to gauge interest in acquiring the system. Companies have until Sept. 16 to submit responses, with interviews slated for the following week. At the council meeting, about a half-dozen residents spoke, uniformly saying that they opposed privatizing the water/ sewer system, which would eliminate the current operator, the municipal authority Capital Region Water (CRW ). "I just wanted to speak out early and often against the idea of privatizing the city water authority, with the understanding that this is the first step to that potential process," said one Green Street resident. "I'm categorically against the idea of privatizing the water authority." Both city Engineer Wayne Martin and Business Administrator Marc Woolley told council members that the request for information was a preliminary step and did not mean that city has decided to privatize the system. "e information that we're gathering is just that— gathering information—about the water system and any potential disposition of assets," Woolley said. "But we have not decided what we're going to do." sales Data mixeD Home prices edged up, while the number of units sold dipped, according to July data from the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR). GHAR reported that, for July, 694 housing units sold in Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties compared to 743 units in July 2018, while the median sales price rose slightly to $190,000 from $187,500. In Dauphin County, the number of units sold was nearly flat at 335, as was the median sales price at almost $175,000. In Cumberland County, 330 units sold compared to 362 in the year-ago period, while the median price rose to $213,450 from $205,690 last year. Perry County sales fell to 29 units versus 44 in July 2018. However, the median price rose to $164,000 compared to $156,450 a year earlier.

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