TheBurg

08.16 | theburg | 9 NeWS HoUsinG FUnds disBUrsed Harrisburg City Council last month selected seven nonprofit groups to receive federal housing funds, but not before overriding a mayoral veto. Council President Wanda Williams called members back from their summer recess to vote to override Mayor Eric Papenfuse's first-ever veto. Papenfuse objected to several parts of the bill, but especially opposed a lack of public input on changes that council made to his original bill. "ere was no public comment on any of these specific changes, many of which drastically altered the funding amounts requested by the sub-recipients," he said. Originally, Papenfuse proposed that the city retain all $1.9 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds for its own needs. However, council unanimously decided to carve out $295,000 and distribute it to a handful of service organizations, as it has in past years. e following groups received funds: • Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area, $80,000 • Heinz-Menaker Senior Center, $40,000 • African American Chamber of Commerce, $30,000 • East Shore YMCA, $30,000 • MidPenn Legal Services, $30,000 • Fair Housing Council, $25,000 • Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries, $25,000 MidPenn Legal Services was the only group that received all the money it requested, while others received considerably less. Council also awarded $35,000 to the Ferguson Group, which helps nonprofits with grant writing. Papenfuse had earmarked $165,000 to restart a school resource officer program for the Harrisburg school district. Council, citing a lack of buy-in from the district, killed the proposal in favor of funding the nonprofits. Smaller amounts were taken from grant administration, housing rehabilitation and emergency demolition. e city reserved the single-largest amount of money—$641,113—to repay a federal loan it backed for the once-bankrupt Capitol View Commerce Center, as well as for other federal community development loans dating back about 15 years. e Papenfuse administration has sent a letter to Julian Castro, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, asking for relief from the remaining balance of the Capitol View Commerce Center loan, as the developer, David Dodd, defaulted on the loan and was later convicted on federal fraud charges. At press time, no response had been announced. seWer line CleaninG Capital Region Water has begun cleaning out major sewer lines in its service area, work that will continue through November. Crews from CRW, Terra Contracting and CDM Smith will be accessing manholes along the lines, called interceptors, to perform the pipe-cleaning work, said Andrew Bliss, CRW's community outreach manager. e project includes the Paxton Creek, Paxton Creek Relief, Hemlock Street, Spring Creek and Front Street interceptors. Bliss said that disruptions to traffic flow are not expected, but that CRW would provide notification through social media if they do occur. CRW interceptors are up to 60 inches in diameter and convey about 20 million gallons of sewage every day. Bliss said that initial analysis determined that some sections of the interceptors are 50-percent clogged by sediment, adding that the cleaning will remove about 2,300 tons of sediment. According to CRW, there is no record of when the interceptors were last cleaned. Bliss said that the $1.4 million project will allow for more storage in the interceptors, which will help reduce combined sewer overflows. Cleaning also will allow for a more detailed condition assessment of the interceptors, which will identify necessary repairs, he said. JUdGe sides WiTH Bar A Dauphin County judge last month ordered Harrisburg to issue a business license to the 3rd Street Café, allowing the embattled bar to stay open. In his opinion, Judge Andrew Dowling stated that state liquor laws trump the city's own restrictions, limiting the extent to which the city can regulate a business that serves alcohol. Dowling also criticized the cases cited by the city to support its contention that the bar serves as a magnet for crime, saying that most of the alleged criminal activity took place entirely outside of the bar, with few involving bar patrons. Harrisburg had declared the 3rd Street Café a nuisance and refused to issue it a 2016 business license. Last year, it also revoked the Midtown bar's 2015 business license, but a court injunction allowed it to remain open through the end of the year. GUn sUiT disMissed A judge last month threw out a longstanding lawsuit over Harrisburg's gun ordinances. Dauphin County Judge Andrew Dowling dismissed a lawsuit by a group called U.S. Law Shield, which had sued Harrisburg over five of its gun control laws. Dowling ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit, as none lived in or had been cited by the city. U.S. Law Shield filed the lawsuit after the state passed a law known as Act 192, which gave entities automatic standing to sue Pennsylvania municipalities over gun restrictions. e Commonwealth Court later declared that law unconstitutional. Many municipalities had already repealed their gun control ordinances under threat of a lawsuit. However, Harrisburg and several other cities chose to fight the suits. Harrisburg last month joined several other cities in Pennsylvania in reducing penalties for marijuana possession. A unanimous City Council lowered the penalty for possession of small amounts of cannabis from a misdemeanor to a summary offense. e penalty for possessing marijuana paraphernalia likewise was lowered. Fines were set at $75 for possession and $150 for use. After a third offense, the penalty reverts to a misdemeanor, but only if all three citations occur within a five-year period. e vote came after several public meetings in which dozens of residents voiced their opinions for and against lowering the status of possession. Many residents supported the change for recreational or medical use of marijuana, while others argued that pot can lead to the use of harsher drugs. PoT PenalTies eased video CaMera daTaBase Harrisburg police last month urged residents to register their video cameras as part of a new database aimed at battling crime. Increasingly, businesses and even residents are setting up surveillance cameras outside their stores and homes. Police would like to know the location of these cameras as footage could help to investigate crimes that occur near them. Separately, police unveiled a new crime-mapping website that allows residents to see where crimes have occurred and even offer crime tips to police. e website can be located at www.raidsonline.com. Miller sWorn in Long-time Harrisburg official Dan Miller took the oath of office last month as the city's new treasurer. A split City Council selected Miller in June over three other candidates: former city Councilman Brad Koplinski and attorneys Karen Balaban and Peter Marks. e position was open following the resignation of Tyrell Spradley, who served as treasurer for just 18 months. Miller, a CPA who runs his own accounting practice, has previously served as city councilman and controller. ree years ago, he ran for mayor, but lost in a hard-fought race to Eric Papenfuse.

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