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Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri declined to detail his latest capital plan until he submits it to county council at Thursday’s deadline, but he acknowledged funds are tight.
“We really have to crack down on what our priorities are because this fund is dwindling quickly, and we’re not likely to borrow anytime in the near future,” Pedri said Tuesday.
The pot of past-borrowed funding available for capital projects contained $10.2 million as of Tuesday, county records show.
However, only $348,000 would be left if all projects approved to date are completed, the administration told county council in October. At that time, the county had $11.9 million in past-borrowed funding, or $1.7 million more, that report said.
New borrowing is off the table because the county owes approximately $325 million through 2028, and Standard & Poor’s lowered the county’s credit rating two notches in February 2016 from investment grade to a speculative BB+.
Under the county’s home rule structure, capital plans must cover projects anticipated over the subsequent three years, or 2018 through 2020 in the proposal due Thursday.
It’s unclear if the new capital plan will address a major project — an emergency 911 radio communications system overhaul estimated to cost $19.26 million.
A consultant has said the switch from an analog to digital system is crucial because the radio transmitters and receivers that allow emergency responders to exchange messages will become obsolete in 2020.
It’s highly unlikely any state funding will help pay for the switch, officials have said. The current capital plan earmarks only $850,000 to upgrade public safety tower sites and improve radio communication.
Also complicating matters: the new record-storage building in Hanover Township has exceeded its capital plan allocation, according to contracts posted on the county website.
The capital plan earmarked $1.45 million for the project, which included the $750,000 purchase of a former U.S. mail facility, leaving $700,000 for remodeling.
To date, the county has entered into a total of $917,229 in contracts with five entities for construction, flooring, lighting, electrical and HVAC work, the website shows.
Any overruns will be factored into the new capital plan because projects will be deleted, placed in reserve or added, Pedri said.
“We’re looking at every project for priority,” he noted.
Two obvious targets for removal or delaying are construction of a new Division Street Bridge and the outsourced scanning of old civil court records and wills written on paper.
The bridge over Solomon Creek in Wilkes-Barre was demolished in 2014 after it partially collapsed into the creek. County officials earmarked $1 million toward a replacement structure but said they can’t proceed unless Wilkes-Barre agrees to contribute the same amount, arguing the city is responsible for half the span. The city’s legal research concluded the bridge is county-owned.
Another $1.8 million was allocated to scan 13 years of civil court records and 30 years of wills and estate files as part of an effort to increase online access to documents, including those of interest to genealogy researchers. The project, estimated to take five years, was not initiated.
A $400,000 allocation to demolish the former county juvenile detention center also could be redirected if council members put the property back on the market and secure a buyer.
Among the other projects in the current plan for 2017: website upgrade, $150,000; fiber network upgrade, $140,000; courthouse interior restoration, $970,000; road repairs/replacements, $1 million; and security upgrades and renovations at the Water Street prison in Wilkes-Barre pegged at more than $1.3 million.
Pedri said he’s proud of recent capital improvements at the historic courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre that repaired the rear parking lot and crumbling pavement at the south entrance. Fixing past water damage inside the structure tops his priority list, he said.
“I’ve always felt the courthouse is a jewel, and we have to make sure we maintain it. We have to take pride in the facilities we have,” Pedri said, noting the county received a $100,000 gaming grant to offset the cost of the interior courthouse work.
Council members will have until Sept. 1 to amend the capital plan.