Wilkes-Barre council mulls FNB building sale, flood plain study [The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.]

Apr. 12—WILKES-BARRE — City council members had little to say Tuesday about the proposed sale of a downtown bank building for $450,000, but they were curious about a $76,500 flood plain study.

Topping Mayor George Brown's agenda of requests at the work session was authorization to award a contract to Borton-Lawson Engineering for a study of the Solomon Creek flood plain that he hopes will result in reduced flood insurance rates for at least some city residents.

Council Chairman Mike Belusko, whose council district encompasses the flood plain and most of South Wilkes-Barre, asked "what has changed" to prompt a study now.

Fire Chief Jay Delaney, who also serves as the city emergency management coordinator, spoke of changes to the flood control system over the past several years.

"Borton-Lawson, in writing their recommendation to us, talks about the improvements the City of Wilkes-Barre has done along Solomon Creek, along with all the floodgates (and) all the new infrastructure we put in place," Delaney said.

Delaney said the engineering firm performed an initial review of data to determine if a full-fledged study was worth pursuing and recommended conducting it.

Once complete, the firm would present a Letter of Map Revision application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency along with a report of study findings to support it.

If recent improvements have made the flood plain significantly safer, as city officials expect, it could mean FEMA would designate the area as lower risk, which could lead to a flood insurance premium reduction for more than 700 properties in the area.

Joyce Morrash-Zaykowski, director of the Office of Economic and Community Development, said the study also could potentially help Planning and Zoning Director Bill Harris prepare an annual report for FEMA that helps determine the city's flood risk classification in a community rating system.

Based on the city's classification, which is the highest in the state among participating municipalities, residents get a 20% discount on flood insurance premiums.

Next, Brown asked council to authorize his administration to sell the former First National Bank building at 59-63 Public Square to Bricklynn LLC for $450,000.

Although Bricklynn lists a Montgomery County address with the state corporation bureau, Brown said the developer is from Delray Beach, Florida, so he did not ask the developer to travel to attend the work session.

Brown said last week that Joseph Frederick, a representative of Bricklynn, said the developer "plans to convert the building into a creative retail space for the community which will stimulate economic growth and neighborhood revitalization to the surrounding area of downtown Wilkes-Barre."

Councilman John Marconi asked the amount of the building's most recent appraisal, and Brown said it was the same as the agreed-upon sale price.

The building has been vacant since 1974. The City of Wilkes-Barre acquired it in 2005 and officials tried unsuccessfully to market it to developers for several years.

Also on the agenda for Thursday's council meeting are resolutions authorizing the administration to:

* Sell a wooded parcel behind East Main Street to AMGG General LLC for $5,000. Zaykowski said developers want to use a small part of it for a used car sales lot.

* Apply for a $500,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grant on behalf of King's College to renovate the lower level, first and second floors of the D. Leonard Corgan Library to create a "Center for Student Success." The project would bring together services currently distributed across the campus to create a "hub of mentorship."

* Temporarily suspend enforcement of the open container ordinance for wine tasting at the Fine Arts Fiesta on Public Square on May 18-23.

* Appoint Stanley Jackson, a resident of Lincoln Plaza, to the city housing authority board of directors.

Brown also asked that council vote to adopt the city's Community Development Block Grant 2023 budget.

Contact the writer:

smocarsky@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2110, @MocarskyCV

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