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WILKES-BARRE — City Council will meet Tuesday night in a work session with a full agenda of items ranging from the sale of land to an updated ordinance on the use of consumer fireworks.
The session is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Council’s chamber on the fourth-floor of City Hall. The public can attend, but cannot participate in the session at which Council discusses the agenda items to be voted on at Thursday night’s meeting.
The land sale involves a vacant lot owned by the city at 110-112 Prospect St. The prospective buyer is Milagros Corporan and the purchase price is $1,900.
The fireworks ordinance before Council contains changes enacted in the law Gov. Tom Wolf signed in July. It increases the fine for the first-time summary offense to $500 from $100 and makes it illegal to use consumer fireworks within 150 feet of a building or vehicle.
Mayor George Brown and the other mayors making up the regional group that meets regularly expressed dissatisfaction with House Bill 2157. They have called for repealing Act 43 in 2017 that legalized the sale of consumer grade fireworks in Pennsylvania and provided additional revenue for the state from an increased sales tax on the fireworks.
Another ordinance up for the first of two readings required for approval by Council would repeal the existing $75 fee to tap into the sewer system.
Council has already approved the city’s Stormwater Management plan in a first reading, moving the ordinance ahead for a vote Thursday night.
A big-ticket item looks forward to next year and the health insurance coverage of city employees. Highmark responded to a Request for Proposals and submitted a contract price of $7.8 million. Council’s approval of the contract would tie into the general fund budget Brown will present Friday.
The city has found a new use for a 2006 KME Fire Engine with a broken pump. The age of the fire engine and the extent of the repairs make it cost prohibitive. With Council’s permission, the city will donate the fire engine to the local Irem Shriners organization for use in parade, children’s events and philanthropy efforts.
With the help of the city the Osterhout Free Library could make repairs to its roof, install energy efficient windows and new flooring through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Keystone Grant Program. Pending Council’s approval the city will prepare and submit an application for a $157,500 grant for the library.
The remaining agenda items are:
• Hiring Borton-Lawson to provide engineering services for the downtown streetscape project at a contract price of $49,065.
• Awarding the contract for traffic signalization maintenance to Richard Mellow Corp., the most qualified service provider.
• Awarding the contract for street light maintenance to the lowest responsible bidder, Richard Mellow Corp. and the second lowest responsible bidder, Delta Electrical Systems, Inc.
• Awarding the contract for landscape and ground maintenance services to the most qualified service.
• Designating the city Operations Director to give approvals for all agreements through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Reimbursement Agreement System.
The resolution regarding the cornhole tournament to support the city’s new special needs park was pulled from the agenda.
Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.