TheBurg

01.20 | theburgnews.com | 7 Harrisburg last month passed a 2020 budget that spends more money on police salaries and debt reduction but does not raise taxes. City Council approved Mayor Eric Papenfuse's proposed spending plan with no changes. "I think this is a sign that the government is working well together," Papenfuse said. Councilman Ben Allatt, chair of the council's budget and finance committee, concurred that this year's budget process was a smooth one. "We had a lively discussion [during the budget hearings]," he said. "I think there's general agreement about the budget priorities going forward." Council voted 6-1 to approve the budget, with a lone "no" vote by council member Shamaine Daniels. e proposed 2020 budget, which contains no city property tax increase for a seventh straight year, totals $120 million, which includes a $74.3 million general fund, a $17.5 million neighborhood services fund and a $15.3 million debt service fund. Papenfuse expects the city to run a 2019 surplus of about $1 million. He has attributed the surplus mostly to earned income and business taxes that exceeded expectations, which indicates a healthy jobs climate in the city. Harrisburg will use much of that surplus to increase salaries for police officers, with the hope that a pay boost will help the Police Bureau, which has long struggled with retention, keep its young officers. In fact, City Council last month also approved a new, six-year collective bargaining agreement with the police union to affirm the new pay schedule. Under the agreement, the entry-level salary for a police officer will remain the same at almost $49,000 a year. However, an officer would be able to move up in pay quickly, so that officers, in year six, would be able to earn as much as $70,000—some $6,000 more than previously. In all, the city hopes to add 10 to 15 officers to the force, bringing the personnel count to a budgeted 153 officers. e police union contract didn't expire for another year. However, the city opened it up early to create the new salary regimen. "at will hopefully provide an improved retention for our police force," Allatt said. Two contentious building projects are closer to breaking ground after Harrisburg City Council approved their development plans. Council last month approved the land use plans for both a medical marijuana dispensary on Allison Hill and an AutoZone store in Uptown Harrisburg. e dispensary generated the most criticism by council members, who passed the building plan by a slim 4-3 margin, with council members Ausha Green, Danielle Bowers and Shamaine Daniels voting against it. Members who voted in favor stressed that they did so not because they support the dispensary at 137 S. 17th St., but because the building plan itself met all city requirements, which was the issue at stake. "e project is in compliance with all the city laws and regulations," said Councilman Dave Madsen. A company called WH RE LLC plans to build a 3,000-square- foot medical marijuana retail store directly across the street from Hamilton Health Center on what now is an empty lot. Over a year ago, the state Department of Health awarded a dispensary license to Local Dispensaries, a related company. City Council has no authority over licensing but had to approve the land use plan for the building. Green said that she voted against the plan to "send a message" that she was unhappy with a process that, she believes, excluded neighborhood residents. Development plan FoR Bishop mcDevitt A former professional football player from Harrisburg is leading an ambitious effort to build eco-friendly, mixed-used developments in Harrisburg and beyond, with sights first set on the former Bishop McDevitt High School. Former NFL lineman Garry Gilliam, a Harrisburg native, is heading up a four-person development team comprised of long-time friends who all attended the Milton Hershey School and Penn State. "We're going to build what I believe will help a lot of inner city people who don't have the means or the resources or the education to do something like this for themselves," said Gilliam, CEO of the company called e Bridge. Gilliam spent five years in the NFL playing for the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, which released him earlier this year. Gilliam's concept for e Bridge is wide-ranging. In sum, he wants to take existing, aging urban structures, such as obsolete school buildings, and repurpose them for sustainable, 21st-century needs. For instance, e Bridge first will create co-working, maker and event spaces within the former Bishop McDevitt, which is located at 2200 Market St. in Harrisburg. Gilliam said that he expects those projects to open in 2020. Other elements of the proposed "Eco Village" project include sustainable, zero-energy housing, commercial areas and indoor urban agriculture. ese pieces, which require more planning and engineering, are planned for future build-outs, Gilliam said. e Bridge is leasing the Bishop McDevitt site from its owner, William Penn Holdings, which bought the sprawling, 115,000-square-foot building last March from the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. e building has been empty since 2013, when the diocese moved the school to a new campus in Lower Paxton Township. Gilliam said that he also has a proposal before the Harrisburg school district to purchase the former William Penn High School, which includes 25 acres of property near Italian Lake. He said that, over the years, he had thought up the various elements that he combined together for the overarching concept of e Bridge. en, last year, he discussed the concept with his friend, Corey Dupree, who came on board as chief operations officer. e pair then brought on two other friends: Dezwaan Dubois, who now serves as chief information officer, and Rob DeJarnett, who is now is chief financial officer. All attended Milton Hershey and Penn State together. Gilliam said his funding comes from himself and other investors, mostly other "athletes and entertainers." e Bridge plans to engage the community before embarking on its plans, said Dupree. "Having the community input for everything will be very important," he said. is is the second time this year that professional football players from Harrisburg have announced plans to develop in the city. Over the summer, brothers LeSean and LeRon McCoy bought the former Curtis Funeral Home at the corner of N. 6th and Boas streets and are renovating it into three market- rate apartments, with retail space on the first floor. e McCoy brothers have ambitious plans to build dozens of apartments on that block of N. 6th Street and the adjoining 400-block of Herr Street. e Bridge also has very ambitious plans. After starting in Harrisburg, the partners hope to expand to other cities. On its website, e Bridge lists such cities as Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Houston and Seattle as "pending areas." The budget also adds four firefighter positions, mostly paid for by reductions in overtime for existing staff. That would bring the Fire Bureau complement in 2020 to 86 total personnel, plus command staff. Council also approved a resolution that will amend the city's agreement with its bond insurer, Ambac Assurance Corp. Under the agreement, the city will prepay $5 million in debt using its substantial reserve funds. With Harrisburg pre-paying, Ambac has agreed to a "multiplier" that would actually reduce city debt by $6.9 million, Papenfuse has said. He also said he would like to refinance existing general obligation debt that extends through 2022 at a lower interest rate. e budget contained several other notable provisions. First, the city and the school district have reached an agreement to split the cost of two school resource officers. The district's SRO program expired in 2009 when funding dried up and was never renewed. Papenfuse also is proposing renovating the first floor of the MLK City Government Center. Money for that work would come from federal Community Development Block Grant funds. For 2020, the city is focusing on five capital improvement projects. ese include: • Beginning the conversion of much of N. 2nd Street to two- way traffic. • A roundabout, improved crosswalks and a partially protected cycle track on N. 7th Street. • Road and curb improvements to the MulDer Square area. • Safety improvements to State Street on Allison Hill, pending cooperation and approval from PennDOT. • "East-West connector" project, which consists of improvements to the area around Walnut and Chestnut streets downtown, funded with a state grant. ese debt reduction and capital improvement measures will tap into the city's budget reserve balance, which now sits at about $24 million, saved up over the last several years. At the end of 2020, the city expects to draw down the reserve to about $15.6 million, Allatt said. haRRisBuRg appRoves 2020 BuDget "I would like to see more community input even before the application gets to the state," she said. With the approval, WH RE LLC hopes to break ground on the facility in spring and estimates a four-month-long construction process. "I'm hoping the company will be good neighbors to the residents in Allison Hill," said Bowers. Council last month also approved the land development plan for AutoZone, a Memphis-based auto supply chain, to construct a new retail store at the corner of Maclay and N. 7th streets. Some council members, as well as the city Planning Bureau, had objected to AutoZone's original proposal for an access point off of N. 7th Street, saying it would create safety issues. AutoZone later agreed to eliminate that driveway, leaving two others—one on Maclay Street and the other on Peffer Street, Madsen said. "We had multiple discussions regarding this resolution with the applicant, " Madsen said. Before it can break ground, AutoZone needs to return to council to have several streets vacated on the four-parcel, 1.13-acre site. AutoZone made its original proposal to locate on the property, now owned by the Vartan Group, about 16 months ago. It plans a $935,280 project consisting of a 6,816-square-foot store and 37 off-street parking spaces. autozone, DispensaRy plans appRoveD news All stories by eBurg staff |

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