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1 SCRANTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING
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5 HELD:
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7 Tuesday, JUNE 23, 2009
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9 LOCATION:
10 Council Chambers
11 Scranton City Hall
12 340 North Washington Avenue
13 Scranton, Pennsylvania
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CATHENE S. NARDOZZI, RPR - OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
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2 CITY OF SCRANTON COUNCIL:
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MR. ROBERT MCGOFF, PRESIDENT
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6 MS. JUDY GATELLI, VICE-PRESIDENT
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MS. JANET E. EVANS
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9 MS. SHERRY FANUCCI
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MR. WILLIAM COURTRIGHT
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12 MS. KAY GARVEY, CITY CLERK
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MR. NEIL COOLICAN, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
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15 MR. AMIL MINORA, SOLICITOR
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1 (Pledge of Allegiance recited and moment of reflection
2 observed.)
3 MR. MCGOFF: Roll call, please.
4 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans. Mrs.
5 Gatelli.
6 MS. GATELLI: Here.
7 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
8 MS. FANUCCI: Here.
9 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: Here.
11 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
12 MR. MCGOFF: Here. Dispense with
13 the reading of the minutes.
14 MS. GARVEY: 3-A. CONTROLLER'S REPORT
15 FOR THE MONTH ENDING MAY 31, 2009.
16 MR. MCGOFF: Are there any comments?
17 If not, received and filed.
18 MS. GARVEY: 3-B. TAX COLLECTION
19 COMPARISON REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE SINGLE
20 TAX OFFICE JUNE 18, 2009.
21 MR. MCGOFF: Are any comments? If
22 not, received and filed.
23 MS. GARVEY: That's it for third
24 order.
25 MR. MCGOFF: Announcements from
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1 council? Anything? Just very briefly, I
2 would like to thank all of those who
3 participated in and helped with the Father's
4 Day five-mile race. We had a number of
5 sponsors that I would like to thank. Also,
6 the runners we had a number of father and
7 son -- or father and daughter teams that
8 ran, a number of prostate cancer survivors
9 that ran, all in all it was a very
10 successful day, and again, thank you to
11 everyone who helped and participated, and
12 with that we will go to citizens,
13 participation. Austin Burke.
14 MR. BURKE: Thank you. Mr. McGoff.
15 Ladies and gentlemen of council, I wish to
16 thank and commend Scranton City Council for
17 the valuable public hearings held yesterday
18 on the Keystone Opportunity Zones. I'd like
19 to take this opportunity to relieve some
20 concerns that were raised during the
21 hearings. A major concern is the possible
22 relocation of potential tenants to KOZ's for
23 the purpose of avoiding taxes. The
24 Pennsylvania Department of Community and
25 Economic Development, DCED, has adopted
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1 protections to prevent such actions. DCED
2 states that any business existing in
3 Pennsylvania that moves from it's current
4 Pennsylvania location into a KOZ may not
5 receive any exemptions unless it increases
6 it's full-time employment by at least
7 20 percent or makes a significant capital
8 investment in the new KOZ property. This
9 prevents simple relocations. It does
10 provide an opportunity for growth. We
11 believe that Scranton businesses should have
12 the opportunity to continue their growth
13 here in the city. There are no Scranton
14 companies, no Scranton companies considering
15 our Mount Pleasant Corporate Center. There
16 are three medical clinics from elsewhere and
17 four financial service and information
18 technology operations considering Mount
19 Pleasant. These are quality jobs,
20 family-sustaining careers, the pay ranges
21 from $15 to $35 per hour and $30,000 to
22 $90,000 per year for these positions.
23 Another concerning is to ensure that
24 these properties will one day be on the tax
25 rolls. Again, the Pennsylvania Department
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1 of Community and Economic Development limits
2 this KOZ exemption. It is temporary. The
3 properties at Glenmaura, for example, are
4 now fully on the tax rolls generating more
5 than $4 million in real estate taxes
6 annually. KOZ's accelerate the pace of
7 development. Non-KOZ properties remain foul
8 for many, many years. We need investment
9 now. This is a brutal economy that we are
10 in. We need investment now. We need
11 construction now. We need jobs now not five
12 years down the line. We urge you to extend
13 the KOZ benefits so that our good people can
14 get to work now. Thank you very much for
15 the opportunity.
16 (During Mr. Burke speaking Mrs.
17 Evans enter council chambers.)
18 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you, Mr. Burke.
19 Sam Patilla. Excuse me, Mr. Patilla, before
20 you speak, I would just like the record to
21 reflect that Mrs. Evans is present at the
22 meeting. Thank you. I'm sorry.
23 MR. PATILLA: Good morning,
24 Mr. Courtright and Mrs. Evans. I would like
25 to go into this KOZ thing real quickly.
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1 Yesterday when I attended the meeting, you
2 know, there were certain questions I was
3 looking for you guys to inquire, you know,
4 to make the taxpayers a little bit more
5 aware of exactly what's going on.
6 Now, one of those questions was in
7 regards to the thousand jobs that were
8 created, exactly how many of those jobs were
9 actually created or will be created for
10 Scranton residents? Are some of those
11 positions going to be held or created for
12 people living in Archbald, Taylor, Dunmore,
13 outside of this area, and if so will those
14 other municipalities give Scranton some type
15 of rebate for the tax brakes that their
16 constituents are receiving. Like you
17 yourself you know, you go out, you get a cup
18 of coffee, you eat lunch. That's not going
19 to amount to $100,000 at the end of the year
20 because you're not going to eat your dinner
21 in the city, you are going to eat your
22 dinner where you live at, where you reside
23 at. It's not going to be bring any benefit
24 to us.
25 Now, another thing that jarred my
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1 attention was the lack of businesses that
2 are actually Scranton businesses interested
3 or being pursued for that Mount Pleasant
4 site. We have enough businesses here to
5 fulfill the need that is going to be
6 required by that college. We all know that
7 college is going to generate money
8 regardless of who comes here or who doesn't
9 come here. That college will generate
10 money. If they have to deal with businesses
11 outside of Scranton, it's not going to stop
12 the show. The party will go on, okay?
13 Now, in regards to Mr. Rinaldi, all
14 right, we don't need to spend another
15 taxpayer dollar, be it the city, the county,
16 the state or the federal government on the
17 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue. They have
18 gotten another freebies. If you can't do
19 what you can do in ten years it will never
20 get done, all right? An average person
21 opening a small business give them between
22 three to five years and realize whether or
23 not they are going to fail or succeed. We
24 don't need 20 years to know if we are going
25 to make it or break it. Five years is
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1 enough time and those organizations and
2 individuals who have existing KOZ's or
3 looking for extensions, the party is over.
4 You had your opportunity. There is no more
5 freebies. We got to start taking care of
6 the citizens in this city and the people
7 that actually pay the bills, not the ones
8 looking for handouts.
9 You know, even if you deal with
10 county welfare, city welfare or state
11 welfare, whatever programs they have out
12 there, they cut those people off after
13 awhile. All right? Throughout the nation
14 they stop giving women who were just having
15 babies money for having babies, and we
16 should do these same things to these people
17 coming in with their hands out.
18 Now, with regard to Scartelli, okay,
19 one of the questions I wanted you to ask for
20 them was -- I'd looked for you ask of them
21 was, okay, you've got a number of contracts
22 with the City of Scranton, how many times
23 have your project come in at or under
24 budget? How many times have you went over
25 that budget costing the taxpayers more money
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1 because every time you put a contract out to
2 bid, the lowest bid does not necessarily
3 mean that we as taxpayers are going to get
4 the biggest bang for our buck.
5 Since I have gotten here all I hear
6 is Scartelli, Scartelli, Scartelli. There
7 are other companies out there that can do
8 that same work. We're recycling the same
9 people and the same individuals and the same
10 corporations and the same organizations and
11 the same businesses over and over and again.
12 If you want to grow, you have to include
13 everybody, not just the small circle of
14 individuals and businesses. It would have
15 to be an entire city. We all need to reap
16 the rewards from this, okay?
17 Now, in closing and getting off that
18 KOZ thing because I already know as many
19 other people know that it's going to come
20 down to a 3 to 2 vote, we already know this,
21 all right? Our only hope is the school
22 board, but I couldn't sleep last night.
23 This Brenda Williams has really taken me for
24 a loop, all right, and I request that you go
25 to the mayor and you tell that mayor because
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1 Mrs. Williams was allegedly suffering from
2 mental problems, all right, I myself and
3 Phyllis and quite a few other members of the
4 Afro-American Community don't utilize the
5 doctors and the hospitals in this city. We
6 do not. We go out-of-state and we go out of
7 the area, so what Chris Doherty is going to
8 do is he going to take some of that money
9 sent to this city for minorities, all right,
10 and open up a mental health and medical
11 center and name after Brenda Williams if he
12 wants to, I'm preferenced to the 1862
13 Center, but operate it and fund it by
14 Afro-Americans Puerto Ricans and poor
15 minorities and non-minorities in this city,
16 somebody who can help us with the problems
17 that we are facing, be it mental or medical,
18 because evidently that woman did not get
19 what she needed in this city.
20 MR. MCOGFF: Thank you. Nancy Krake.
21 MS. KRAKE: Good morning, Council. I
22 am of two minds here actually, so I don't
23 know how connected my speech will be so I
24 apologize for that. I listened to the
25 people explaining their reasons for their
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1 KOZ requests yesterday and I understand if I
2 were getting a tax break that I would want
3 to continue getting it and I can see that
4 they want to use that to make their
5 businesses grow, which would ultimately
6 trickle down to the citizens of the
7 Scranton. Unfortunately, though, this
8 council and previous councils have supported
9 Mayor Doherty's duplicity in everything. He
10 draws the line down the middle. The
11 citizens are forced to take a 25 percent tax
12 increase and incur devastating penalties and
13 interest that go to Abrahamsen, Moran and
14 Conaboy. That was voted in many times over
15 the interest by Mrs. Gatelli, Mr. McGoff and
16 Mrs. Fanucci. They were not -- two of those
17 people were not reelected as were previous
18 council people who are in all fairness were
19 supporting the mayor's legislation. He has
20 continued to be elected, but they have not
21 been, the council people.
22 There should be reciprocity. There
23 is something drastically wrong with the
24 picture when you will continue to give tax
25 breaks to businesses and continue to punish
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1 citizens, severely penalizing them.
2 I don't think there is a citizen in
3 Scranton that doesn't want more business,
4 but I do think there are many who would love
5 to have tax breaks. Mrs. Evan's budgets
6 over the years have created those. We have
7 seen none of that from Mayor Doherty. In
8 fact, we have seen no cost of living raises,
9 for unions until recently, whereas we have
10 seen millions in cost salary increases for
11 his people.
12 We were closing in on the $2 million
13 mark for arbitration fees and we are also
14 closing in on the $1 million yearly payment
15 for double pensions. We have a $16 million
16 annual debt payment. None of this has been
17 attacked -- I'm sorry, is something --
18 MR. COURTRIGHT: I apologize, Mrs.
19 Krake, somebody wanted Mr. Minora outside.
20 MS. KRAKE: That's okay. I would
21 hope that if this council is going to
22 support KOZ's that they rethink all of the
23 times they have hurt the citizens. Thank
24 you.
25 MR. UNGVARSKY: Good morning, City
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1 Council. I'm Tom Ungvarsky and I have been
2 a property taxpayer in this city over
3 50 years. Mr. McGoff, yesterday I sat here
4 and I listened to wealthy developers and
5 businessmen give a pitch as to why they
6 should get tax relief. Mr. Rinaldi has
7 already received over $30 million for his
8 project. Mr. Bob Burk stood before you and
9 wouldn't answer your questions as to whose
10 coming as to why he won't pay the money he
11 owes the city.
12 We also heard Mr. Burke from the
13 Chamber of Commerce, and I hope you people
14 aren't so naive as to believe everything he
15 says. He could have told you he was going
16 to provide as many as $6,000 jobs and
17 matched the mayor, but he doesn't have to
18 back that up. I think it's time now that
19 this council did what's right for the people
20 of the City of Scranton. Give us a little
21 bit of relief instead of continually raising
22 our taxes. I thank you.
23 MR. MCGOFF: David Dbrozyn.
24 MR. DBROZYN: Good morning, Council.
25 Dave Dobson, resident of Scranton, member of
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1 the Taxpayers' Association. First I'd like
2 to start out with the question that has been
3 unclear, will employees of KOZ's be eligible
4 for deferred income taxes? Can anybody
5 answer that yes or no?
6 MR. MCGOFF: Yes.
7 MR. DOBRZYN: Yes. In other words,
8 there will be nothing forthcoming from any
9 jobs that are created? Well, I would just
10 like to point out a couple of points and
11 number two is no obvious compensation has
12 been sought for tax exempts as a collective
13 basis by council and I'd also like to note
14 to anybody purchasing home properties,
15 balloon payments are a big danger in your
16 continuing to own this property. They come
17 at a bad -- they could come at an okay time
18 or they could come at a bad time.
19 No action was taken and this goes
20 right up to the state level for a retrieval
21 of former coal reclamation despite a one
22 dollar per ton tax. Now, somebody out in
23 Wyoming may feel that Pennsylvania doesn't
24 deserve this and decide to build roads to
25 just about no where instead of letting the
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1 money go, but during World War I and World
2 war II a lot of the coal in this area was
3 requisitioned for ships, and so that the
4 U-boats couldn't follow a smoke plume, and
5 from what I could see that's started the
6 decline of the anthracite industry because
7 the citizens couldn't depend on anthracite
8 coal in a viable supply.
9 And I'd also like to note that there
10 is no counseling for those eligible for
11 reverse mortgages if in arrears of property
12 tax and hopefully this will change before
13 it's turned over to NCC. I think we should
14 have a city government individual help some
15 of these people that are in arrears and are
16 having a hard time making ends meet because
17 their taxes aren't going to change or
18 possibly go up and once it's turned over to
19 a collection agency it's, as we know, it's
20 another balloon payment.
21 And I'd also like to point out that
22 our tax office is still not reformed,
23 hopefully in the future somebody will get
24 elected to the tax office that will make the
25 necessary changes, and also our state
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1 government is in dire straights, so we
2 really can't expect to hear any good news
3 from them in abundance. They are obviously
4 not going to help us even though they have
5 extended this KOZ. So, you know, I feel sad
6 if development isn't progressed, but in
7 fairness to other taxpayers would you please
8 consider that they're stuck paying the taxes
9 while other people are getting the break and
10 hopefully either way it goes it will work
11 out. Thank you and have a good day.
12 MR. MCGOFF: Brett McCloe.
13 MR. MCCLOE: Good evening. My name
14 is Brett McCloe, homeowner and definitely a
15 taxpayer. Why could anyone want to be
16 against a parent providing their children
17 with a better standard living and a chance
18 to live in a safe KOZ community? The least
19 of the offensive statements that were very
20 shallow I heard while riding on an elevator.
21 I shook my head and thought to myself, I
22 guess this means the rest of the parents in
23 this city who don't live on a cul-de-sac in
24 a KOZ must be doing a pretty crappy job at
25 raising their children. This conversation
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1 forced me to think about KOZ's and take it
2 on a personal level, so to Mr. and
3 Mrs. Shallow, whoever you are, wherever you
4 are, my wife and I are homeowners and pay
5 taxes on our house. We have four children,
6 a 17-year-old who is on the National Honor
7 Society and has an interest in the culinary
8 arts. A 14-year-old who is as strong as she
9 is beautiful, and she has a quirky sense of
10 wisdom which leaves me with a just what
11 happened look on my face. A-seven-year-old
12 who once a week sits in an advanced class by
13 himself making a 20-sided object called an
14 inverted hexahedron. In time my son will
15 have much to offer this world;
16 a-five-year-old drama queen whose voice and
17 infectious smile will ensure her life will
18 be filled with love and laughter. I love
19 them all very much.
20 All that being said, I think the
21 real question is, is do families who live in
22 KOZ's deserve a better future and a better
23 standard of living at the expense of mine or
24 the thousand other families who work hard to
25 raise their children who have to cut back on
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1 their standards of living while being forced
2 to pay the taxes others can, but don't want
3 to pay. Even families that rent are not
4 immune to the adverse affects of too many
5 KOZ's and nontaxable entities. Every time
6 this city has to raise taxes landlords have
7 to raise rent in order to compensate.
8 Paying five times higher than
9 average in taxes in the future is spin and
10 fuzzy math. You can't compare the tax value
11 of a brand new home to a 50, 60 or even
12 100-year-old home. All of the homes in the
13 KOZ have nearly three times the value of
14 mine and will only pay twice the amount in
15 taxes. The amount of money the city will
16 get back will mean nothing if Mr. Rendell
17 and Mr. Doherty raise taxes in order to fill
18 budget gaps and pay off debts. With future
19 tax increases on the horizon, it's not
20 unthinkable that my taxes will be slightly
21 less or maybe the same as the $5,000 in
22 taxes a brand new KOZ will pay 8 to 10 years
23 from now. What a bargain. Build a brand
24 new KOZ home, save 40 to 50,000 in taxes and
25 in eight years pay the same, slightly more
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1 or in some case pay less than people who
2 have been paying the increases in taxes all
3 along that same period. What a deal.
4 Please correct me if I'm wrong, the
5 city doesn't own those lots, commercial or
6 residential, developer's do, so regardless
7 if those lots have anything on them, if the
8 KOZ is denied taxes on those properties will
9 still have to be paid by the developer not
10 by the citizens, not ten years from now, but
11 in 20011. Bottom line is if you can't
12 afford to build a home or run a business
13 without a KOZ, most rational people would
14 suggest you rethink your priorities, so
15 forgive those of us who did pay taxes and
16 experience higher rents if we don't see the
17 greatness of your tax generosity. We, who
18 for the prestige of others, are waiting for
19 the return on our tax investment. We need
20 to take a stand. All KOZ's do is allow the
21 people to live and businesses to operate
22 outside of their meetings seven to ten years
23 longer than maybe they should. I just hope
24 that a little bit of common sense, which
25 seems to be uncommon -- we all have to vote
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1 "no" on those things.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Breett, I only have one
3 question, how many businesses do you run in
4 the city?
5 MR. MCCLOE: It doesn't matter. I've
6 worked -- I'm an employee --
7 MS. FANUCCI: No, I'm asking you a
8 question. Do you have any?
9 MR. MCCLOE: No, no, no.
10 MR. MCGOFF: Mrs. Fanucci --
11 MS. FANUCCI: Okay. Thank you.
12 MR. MCCLOE: No, no, wait a minute.
13 MR. MCGOFF: Now --
14 MR. MCCLOE: She posed the question
15 to me. I am an employee, I'm not just a
16 name tag.
17 MR. MCGOFF: Okay.
18 MR. MCCLOE: I work.
19 MS. FANUCCI: It's a "yes" or "no,"
20 sir.
21 MR. MCCLOE: It doesn't matter.
22 MS. FANUCCI: "Yes or "no."
23 MR. MCGOFF: Please.
24 MR. MCCLOE: You can't have a
25 business without it's employees.
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1 MS. FANUCCI: There's my answer.
2 Thank you. Step down, please.
3 MR. MCCLOE: You cannot run a
4 business without employees.
5 MR. MCGOFF: Please. Kristy Kizer.
6 MS. KIZER: Good morning, Council.
7 My name is Kristy Kizer and I am a city
8 resident and taxpayer. I am here today in
9 reference to receiving the KOZ on my Lot No.
10 120 or also known as 1508 Euchlid Avenue in
11 the Village of Tripps Park Community
12 Development. I have already spoke yesterday
13 and the meeting before that, so I won't take
14 much of your time. My family has never
15 received any type of KOZ in the past. I am
16 only asking that we receive the same
17 benefits that has already been enjoyed by
18 all our neighbors in the Village of Tripp
19 Park Community Development.
20 As I stated to you all yesterday, if
21 my family does not receive the KOZ on our
22 lot it will remain vacant for at least the
23 next five years that we can save enough
24 money to start the construction of the home.
25 I am begging you that you will all grant our
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1 KOZ. I hope that you all can kind find it
2 in your hearts to approve our KOZ so that we
3 can provide a better life for your children.
4 Thank you.
5 MR. MCGOFF: Bill Bradiken.
6 MR. BRADIKEN: Good morning. My name
7 is William Bradiken, proud resident of the
8 great City of Scranton. Among other things
9 I am a developer. I have zero involvement
10 in any of the KOZ's in front of you today so
11 I'm talking to you more as a resident, as a
12 citizen. Last time I was here I talked
13 about a legion of hope, so I'm a hopeful
14 citizen with hope in the future of the city,
15 with hope in the body that I'm looking at
16 and that I'm addressing, with hope of your
17 vision, of your sanity, of your equality.
18 I think somehow in this city
19 developer and development have become dirty
20 words. They are not. What's the word?
21 Develop, create something, you know, a lot
22 of people that want to create a lot of
23 things. Some, all, none, are going to make
24 money. Some, all, I pray not none are going
25 to create something for your, for your kids,
24
1 for your grandkids. The girl that spoke
2 before me wants a home for her family.
3 That's unbelievable. Ludicrous. Where does
4 she come up with that? A home for her
5 family, how could they deserve that?
6 Beautification of a block of a
7 downtown that was dank and desolate into a
8 beautiful thing. A corporate center that's
9 going to be bring how much business in?
10 You've got to slow down the political
11 machine and we got to look at things as
12 people. Take half a step back and just let
13 everything stand on it's own merits. Don't
14 worry about what somebody thinks, don't
15 worry about what somebody told you, don't
16 worry about the little group that you are
17 in. Worry about the City of Scranton.
18 Worry about your grand kids. It's not that
19 hard. It's a simple task in front of you.
20 You are a board of citizens with all of your
21 own individual experiences, just use them to
22 the best of your God given ability and there
23 is no way you could do anything wrong.
24 That's all. Thank.
25 MR. MCGOFF: Joe Hillson.
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1 MR. HILLSON: Good morning, city
2 council. I'm not used to coming here that
3 much so I wrote my -- it's going to look
4 like I'm writing it, but I just wanted to be
5 coherent with what I was saying to get it
6 out, so I'll probably be reading, but I mean
7 what I say I was only able to attend your
8 meeting yesterday and got to listen to the
9 developers. I only have the facts from one
10 day, I'm only speaking to you about what I
11 know about one day so I hope I don't get
12 sued and everything else, but here I am.
13 My name is Joe Hillson, I'm a
14 lifelong resident in Scranton. I'm a
15 property owner and I'm a member of the
16 silent majority since everybody seems to be
17 a member of a club. Our club is full of
18 working people. We are too busy to come to
19 meetings, we work two and three jobs. We
20 try every means possible to feed, cloth and
21 educate our children. Family and condition
22 of our neighborhood is the two paramount
23 things we -- and political things that we
24 experience daily. We know the names and the
25 faces and the political names of the shakers
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1 of the area. We know them well. We know
2 how they get a political job in Scranton, we
3 talk amongst ourselves, we connect the dots
4 and we know that it is the way it is and so
5 enough said on that.
6 Suffice it to say, the coal barons
7 who pillaged the lands around us for years a
8 and the prior years have nothing on the
9 saviors of the brownfields that come before
10 you today. Many here have had cause for
11 years already. The cause is now our savior.
12 Just look at it's monument, the Southern
13 Union building. It's sat down there after
14 we -- years and years and years with
15 one-lane traffic. It sat idle for years and
16 another well-known local party stepped in
17 and saved us. Again, it was a bargain
18 basement price.
19 I have only one day to listen to the
20 facts presented at your caucus here
21 yesterday. These are our local businessmen
22 we read so much about. These are the people
23 who speak and it's done. It is pretty clear
24 at yesterday's meeting that they have and
25 had had land dealings, KOZ treatments,
27
1 contractual problems and not total success
2 stories in their past, yet they are here for
3 more free taxes.
4 A lot of members in my club, the
5 silent majority, sit home yelling at their
6 TV screen while trying to balance the bills.
7 They complain to their friends and their
8 family daily. They use code words. Job
9 means just over broke. Scranton, it means
10 are you still living there? City council
11 means 3/2 vote. Channel 61 means out with
12 the civic minded donating time service
13 people, next to free at the KOZ and in with
14 the $100,000 program that gives us pictures
15 of all our accomplishments.
16 Enough said, I digress from the
17 issue at hand. I'm here to speak for the
18 members of my club, the silent majority. We
19 are your wage slaves. It's getting nasty
20 where we live. The people here in our
21 neighborhoods aren't bringing lunch boxes
22 with them. The cops and ambulances are seen
23 frequently in our neighborhoods and they
24 live close to us, and while I realize that
25 there is very little crime in Scranton as
28
1 one of your applicants stated, he is glad it
2 wasn't Wilkes-Barre.
3 I feel confident in telling you
4 today that these people will not be the
5 recipient of the $10.50 an hour jobs that
6 they presented, that was the applicants, I
7 meant presented the $11 to $50 an hour they
8 presented. Along that line, jobs, the real
9 point of my being here. I ask you, do you
10 really think that the people who get the
11 better jobs, the higher range, $25 to $50
12 are going to live in Scranton? Are they
13 going to live in $1,200 to $1,500 loft
14 apartments that we are hearing about? Are
15 they going to pay the 3.4 percent age tax on
16 their earnings to this city or are they
17 going to use the kind of economic power that
18 they have in their lives and are they going
19 to move to the surrounding communities like
20 so many have done before them? I bet the
21 latter, because they still can use Scranton
22 for free. Enough said on that, too.
23 The purpose of my being here is to
24 ask city council members to explain to me
25 how you are going to pay for the these deals
29
1 that are you likely going to pass. We have
2 a structural deficit. We are a distressed
3 city. Does that mean anything to you? We
4 are in dire need of new money. We are in
5 debt up to our eyeballs. We are in trouble.
6 We live in KOZ land. If I may, I only have
7 one more page.
8 MR. MCGOFF: Briefly, please.
9 MR. HILLSON: It's shameful that you
10 try to push this through like so many other
11 things in Scranton's history. We have to
12 rush this before the ink is even dried
13 because you got to meet a deadline. The
14 local radio stations and over of the trustee
15 newspaper here list tonight's 7:00 p.m.
16 council. Sadly, a lot of people that might
17 have got the gumption to get out here are
18 going to miss it. I urge you to tell me
19 where you are get the money for these
20 giveaways. I fully expect to be dead when
21 these properties start paying taxes.
22 However, that said, I urge you to
23 send all of these local projects that you
24 deem so viable and so necessary to our local
25 bank, preferably, some of the other banks
30
1 that exist in this city and if they are
2 really the good deal in these hard times of
3 our brutal economy, like they say, they will
4 fund these projects on their own dime
5 through a bank.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you, Mr. Hillson.
7 MR. HILLSON: My opinion is the
8 older people -- I only have one more line.
9 My opinion is the older people who own the
10 homes and the properties left in this area
11 in for a very rough ride in the future and
12 taxes are going to break their backs. I
13 thank you for your time.
14 MR. MCGOFF: Any other speakers?
15 Yes? No?
16 MS. FRANUS: Fay Franus, Scranton.
17 Last week during the meeting, Mrs. Gatelli,
18 you could have ended this right here and
19 then, but you chose not to. You put all of
20 us through all of this, everybody coming, it
21 could have ended last week. But what did
22 you do? You threw Mrs. Fanucci under the
23 bus. How did you like the tire marks?
24 MS. FANUCCI: Wait, I'm not even
25 aware, so tell me?
31
1 MS. FRANUS: Judy said, "I'm not
2 going to let Mrs. Fanucci or Mr. Courtright
3 off the hook, I'm going to wait until they
4 have to vote. Why should they not have to
5 vote."
6 That was her excuse for not voting
7 last week, which it was, it was an excuse.
8 And whether Mr. McCloe had a business or
9 not, Mrs. Fanucci, it makes no difference.
10 I don't have a business, but I'm not stupid
11 enough to know that I pay taxes like all of
12 these people here. One woman pays taxes for
13 32 years, not like myself.
14 MS. FANUCCI: Fay, you know the
15 reason I want to put that out there is
16 because people out there watch don't know
17 who is a developer, who is not a developer,
18 and who is saying, so I think it was
19 important and vital for people to know who
20 are watching what qualifications people have
21 when they come in here. I wouldn't assume
22 that I would know, I wouldn't assume you
23 would know.
24 MS. FRANUS: I know, I don't need to
25 be a developer or a business owner to
32
1 understand what's going on here. See, all
2 of these men in these suits?
3 MS. FANUCCI: Yeah, with millions of
4 dollars they are putting in our city.
5 MS. FRANUS: Millions of dollars
6 they are putting into their pocket.
7 MS. FANUCCI: Oh, not into our city?
8 MS. FRANUS: See my ten dollars
9 here? You want it? Do they want it? It's
10 my last $10 until my retirement check. Oh,
11 Mr. McGoff, maybe you want to give me some
12 of your money. I have to go to my sister's
13 for leftover. Oh, real funny. Some people
14 don't even have people to go to leftovers
15 for because what you people are doing up
16 there. We don't have to be business people
17 to know what's going on here.
18 MS. FANUCCI: Fay, I totally agree,
19 but don't you think we'll have more
20 opportunity for better jobs is something
21 that's worth it, maybe you wouldn't have to
22 walk around with $10 in your pocket?
23 MS. FRANUS: No.
24 MS. FANUCCI: Why?
25 MS. FRANUS: These people are
33
1 millionaires. These developers and stuff
2 are millionaires and then they want more.
3 No.
4 MS. FANUCCI: But don't --
5 MS. FRANUS: Sherry, you can talk
6 until you are blue in the face.
7 MS. FANUCCI: You don't think job
8 creation means anything? You don't think in
9 times right not where economic --
10 MS. FRANUS: Southern Union did
11 nothing. No. Many of these people came
12 yesterday and said even though, even though,
13 even if we don't get the KOZ's they still
14 will develop it. Well, then let them. This
15 is like blackmail. I see what you are doing
16 up here. You are taking care of the rich
17 people. DeNaples, Bob Burke. Bob Burke
18 who, by the way, owes $600,000 in taxes and
19 he hasn't paid it back yet, but yet you want
20 to give him a KOZ. Nice. Real nice. Take
21 care of the rich, but you were elected to
22 represent the people like myself and all of
23 the other people, just like that man that
24 came, the silent majority. That's probably
25 why you didn't get elected because you are
34
1 doing all of these things for the rich
2 people constantly.
3 MS. FANUCCI: Don't say something
4 like that, that's just -- first of all, it's
5 off base, it's wrong --
6 MS. FRANUS: No, it's not.
7 MS. FANUCCI: It certainly is wrong.
8 MS. FRANUS: Who are you
9 representing?
10 MS. FANUCCI: Who am I representing?
11 MS. FRANUS: You're representing all
12 the people coming --people that live at
13 Tripp's Park, for example, they have
14 $200,000 houses. I wish I could go there,
15 you know, I have a like a $30,000 house.
16 How come I don't get taxes -- no taxes. I
17 mean, how do you pick and choose.
18 MS. FANUCCI: You had an opportunity
19 to move to Tripp's Park if you wanted to.
20 MS. FRANUS: I couldn't afford it.
21 There is no way in hell I could afford it.
22 Most of us couldn't, that's what I can't
23 understand. These people that can afford to
24 go to Tripp's Park are getting no taxes.
25 Amazing. But, please, I don't have to be a
35
1 business people to understand -- a business
2 person rather to understand what's going on
3 here. You are taking care of special
4 people.
5 MS. FANUCCI: I want 1,000 jobs. I
6 don't think that's rude, I don't think it's
7 wrong, I don't think it's not an
8 opportunity.
9 MS. FRANUS: And you can't say -- we
10 were waiting all of these years for the
11 people at Tripp's Park to finally start
12 contributing to the taxes.
13 MS. FANUCCI: They will be.
14 MS. FRANUS: When?
15 MS. FANUCCI: I'm glad you brought
16 that. You are wrong in that assumption.
17 The first phase of Tripp's Park will be
18 paying in two more years. We're getting all
19 of that money, so I'm glad you put that out
20 there because it's not that we are extending
21 their opportunities.
22 MS. FRANUS: We are giving it to
23 more people that are going there. This
24 should end. How do you give to some
25 residential people and not others when other
36
1 people, 90 percent of the people in the city
2 are paying their tax.
3 MS. FANUCCI: Opportunity is
4 everyone's. It's who chooses to take it and
5 who doesn't.
6 MS. FRANUS: Yeah, who chooses.
7 It's who you choose.
8 MS. FANUCCI: It has nothing to do
9 with I do. I can't say that you can apply.
10 If I decide to say let's do Tripp's Park you
11 have the opportunity to go in and do it.
12 MS. FRANUS: How come you don't come
13 to the regular neighborhoods for the average
14 person and say this week -- you know, this
15 year you don't have to pay taxes? When are
16 you going to go to the average person that
17 takes care of this city? Yeah, the average
18 person. We are not all rich like these
19 developers. It's a disgrace.
20 MR. MCGOFF: Anyone else? Good
21 afternoon.
22 MR. RINALDI: Good afternoon, Donald
23 Rinaldi, representing 500 Lackawanna
24 Development Project. Council, I just wanted
25 to come and just set some of the misnomers
37
1 -- to correct some errors in this. The
2 particular property that we are looking at
3 was not a KOZ that received benefits for ten
4 years, as I mentioned in caucus yesterday.
5 The particular property has been on KOZ for
6 four years and we are respectfully asking
7 for an extension with the KOZ to use it as
8 the economic development tool that it is.
9 As far as Lackawanna Avenue goes,
10 certainly there has been millions of dollars
11 put in the project. There has been millions
12 of dollars put in the project by our
13 development company and our family to
14 stimulate, strength and sustain the
15 community where we do business, where we
16 choose to do all our business. With that
17 said, the KOZ extension should be looked at
18 what is the net gain. If you have something
19 that produces nothing for the city, and we
20 ask for a seven-year extension, which would
21 amount to $28,000 as I said yesterday, the
22 net gain will be hundreds of thousands of
23 dollars to help be a catalyst to the rest o
24 the project, so I just feel I need to set
25 that straight. We are not asking for a
38
1 handout. We are asking you to help us grow
2 and ease tax burden and grow business in
3 this town. It will not cost the taxpayers,
4 it will create more revenue to ease taxes,
5 that's what we are all about. We all pay
6 taxes, we all want to see the community
7 grow, that's what we are attempting to do.
8 So I again respectfully ask you to take this
9 into consideration and help us continue our
10 mission to strength the City of Scranton.
11 Thank you.
12 MS. SUETTA: Good morning. Jean
13 Suetta. Bob, thank you very much for
14 getting ahold of Jerry Langan, the monument
15 is going to say much. As you people know,
16 we have had a lot of rain, there is nothing
17 being done on the river project. Did
18 anybody find out?
19 MR. MCGOFF: I did call to the flood
20 control and spoke to Mr. O'Hora, he has been
21 in contact -- constant contact with the Army
22 Corp of engineers. The city has been
23 attempting to I'll say pressure them into
24 starting. Their answer was that they were
25 waiting on stimulus money that was not yet
39
1 allocated to them and until they received
2 those funds they were not going to begin or
3 continue the project. I know that's
4 probably not an answer you want to hear --
5 MS. SUETTA: I thought they already
6 had the money for the --
7 MR. MCGOFF: Well, they -- as I said,
8 Mr. O'Hora indicated to me that they have
9 been constantly asking them to start, to
10 start, to start, and they keep getting
11 answers that it will be next week, next
12 week, you know, that type of thing.
13 MS. SUETTA: That next week means
14 nothing to me.
15 MR. MCGOFF: I agree. They have lost
16 two months, two good months of construction
17 time and it's very unfortunate. I don't
18 have a better answer for you, I'm sorry.
19 MS. SUETTA: All right. Thank you
20 very much. Did anybody go to Coney Island
21 yesterday? They reopened? Now, there is a
22 business that was arson, burnt down, the man
23 brought it back, but no loans from the city
24 and no KOZ and he did the establishment very
25 good. Now, how come all of these people
40
1 want KOZ's where this man did it on his own,
2 and that's down in --
3 MS. GATELLI: He had insurance.
4 MS. SUETTA: No, he didn't have no
5 insurance because it was arson and he didn't
6 get no KOZ's. No response. Maybe --
7 MS. FANUCCI: Jean, I can give you
8 some insight on that if you want. I mean,
9 we are talking about a much smaller project.
10 I mean, we are talking -- I mean, it's
11 apples and oranges and when these developers
12 develop it's not about them and I think
13 people seem to misunderstand, also the
14 businesses who are going to come in from
15 them get the opportunity, so it's not just
16 about this developer looking for all of
17 this, it is creating opportunity for the
18 small business guy who maybe could not start
19 on their own because they don't have the
20 funding or the type of capital behind them,
21 so it's a double opportunity.
22 So what I'm saying is maybe, you
23 know, 20 years ago or how long is Coney
24 Island been there it's -- since --
25 MS. SUETTA: Since Moby Dick was
41
1 minnow.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Exactly, since Moby
3 Dick was a minnow as Jeannie said, but they
4 have been there forever. And is something
5 like this -- if they could not start off
6 like my family in their small business, now
7 this would give them the opportunity to do
8 that, so it is a definitely a two-fold
9 story, so I agree that it's not for
10 everyone, but people who are looking for
11 bigger business or doing technical
12 businesses where they are going to need a
13 lot more funding, you know, it is a better
14 opportunity, and I know it's contentious,
15 and it should be. It should be, so I agree.
16 But, also, I want to tell you that the
17 contract for the flood project is going to
18 be awarded within the next three weeks, they
19 are actually rebidding that now.
20 MS. SUETTA: Do you see if anything
21 going on over at the railroad station?
22 MS. FANUCCI: No, actually I didn't
23 and I was -- I just actually was there the
24 other day and had a -- I think that they put
25 that on hold for awhile because they haven't
42
1 put anything in so I definitely will let you
2 know on that, too.
3 MS. SUETTA: I got to tell you, I
4 had a near tragedy at my house. Got a new
5 weedwhacker and I got a little chihuahua,
6 long-hair, her name is Petunia, "Petunia,
7 get out of here, I cut her tail off."
8 MS. FANUCCI: Oh, Jeannie.
9 MS. SUETTA: But I grabbed the tail
10 and the dog and went to Wal-Mart and
11 everything was okay.
12 MS. FANUCCI: Wal-Mart?
13 MS. SUETTA: Well, they are the
14 biggest retailers around. Sherry, got ya.
15 MR. COURTRIGHT: Sit down. That was
16 a bad one, Jeannie.
17 MS. FANUCCI: You know what, it's
18 early though. If it was the night meeting I
19 might have caught on quicker.
20 MS. SUETTA: I got to brighten yous
21 up a little bit.
22 MS. FANUCCI: That's right. That's
23 right.
24 MS. SUETTA: You pitched beautiful,
25 Sherry.
43
1 MS. FANUCCI: Thank you, Jeannie.
2 MS. EVANS: Ms. Suetta, two points I
3 wanted to make, please, before you are
4 seated. First of all --
5 MS. SUETTA: There's no cop today.
6 MS. EVANS: No, isn't that amazing.
7 What a wonderful change.
8 MS. SUETTA: Everybody is smiling.
9 MS. EVANS: Yes. Well, anyway,
10 Jeannie, first of all with regard to the
11 flood project, certainly I would agree with
12 you, funds had been evidently set aside for
13 that project or construction would never
14 have begun. It's also quite important that
15 none of the projects that are funded through
16 the stimulus, the federal stimulus package
17 are receiving those funds as a replacement
18 for original funds. I believe the president
19 has stated that very clearly and there will
20 be problems with any project that tries to
21 use those federal stimulus dollars as a
22 substitute for the original dollars that
23 were in place for a project.
24 Secondly, with regard to Coney
25 Island, as you said, that's a business that
44
1 has been paying taxes to the city for well
2 over 40 years. They are not included in the
3 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue --
4 MS. SUETTA: More than 40 years.
5 MS. EVANS: -- in that project, and
6 when you look at that magnificent project
7 you should be very proud of yourself because
8 it's your tax dollars that built it, that
9 put those facades on, that created that
10 park, that put in those sidewalks,
11 constructed this streetlights, right down to
12 the island in the middle of the Lackawanna
13 Avenue. And so, you know, I would say our
14 tax dollars have already constructed this
15 lovely project. And at both ends, however,
16 sandwiching that project, Jeannie --
17 MS. SUETTA: Yeah.
18 MS. EVANS: Are two tax paying
19 businesses that were not included in that
20 project, so any improvements that they make
21 they are make being out of their own pockets
22 while simultaneously paying taxes in this
23 City of Scranton and those are the type of
24 businesses we need more of.
25 MS. SUETTA: Right. No. Come on.
45
1 They took all my time, Amil. How about my
2 rollover minutes?
3 MS. FANUCCI: No roll over minutes
4 today.
5 MS. SUETTA: Have a good one. Go to
6 Walmart.
7 MS. FANUCCI: All right, I will.
8 Thanks.
9 MS. SUETTA: And I got you good,
10 Sherry.
11 MS. SCHUMACHER: Good morning. Marie
12 Schumacher, resident and member of the
13 Taxpayers' Association. It was raised
14 earlier that the delinquent property owners
15 are subjected to Draconian penalties, that's
16 true, and yet these KOZ recipients suffer no
17 penalties if they to nothing. They have
18 nothing to deliver. All the risk is on
19 those who do pay taxes which is all of the
20 non-KOZ people.
21 A matter of administrative effort, I
22 don't know if Mr. Minora has checked all of
23 these applications, but according to the
24 legislation the application must contain the
25 information required under Section 302 (a)
46
1 (1) (2) (3) (5) and (6) and I --
2 MR. MINORA: OECD has their own
3 attorney that does the checking, I. Do not
4 familiarize myself with those are
5 regulations, so --
6 MS. SCHUMACHER: Okay, thank you.
7 MR. MINORA: -- I assume that the
8 attorney for OECD looks at that, I do not.
9 MS. SCHUMACHER: Thank you. I don't
10 believe that Section 302 was complied with
11 and I would hope you would check that out.
12 Also, Section 310 of the law extending the
13 KOZ's or providing for extension provides
14 for payments in exchange for approval, yet
15 none of those with their hand outs yesterday
16 and today were even asked for payments in
17 exchange for approval which is most
18 disappointing. I wonder how many of you up
19 there even bothered to read the legislation
20 that authorized you to do what you may be
21 doing today.
22 And as I pointed out last week,
23 there are alternatives available. LERTA's
24 provide tax exemptions based on actual
25 improvement costs, not imagined improvement
47
1 costs or pie in the sky jobs. I mean, I
2 almost came unglued yesterday when I heard
3 we are going to have 150 jobs at a fast food
4 place. They are probably four-hour shifts
5 by part-timers. What we are looking for are
6 full-time jobs preferably that are family
7 sustaining.
8 Residential KOZ's create only an
9 spurt of construction jobs, but provide for
10 tax benefits for the duration, which is
11 according to your seven years. That's a
12 lot. Compare seven years of tax free
13 everything, your property taxes, your
14 earnings, and compare that to the poor 85
15 and 95-year-old people who are living on
16 social security and maybe even small wages
17 that are trying to make a go of it, yet if
18 they go delinquent what happens? Draconian
19 penalties. Kick them out of their house,
20 what the heck. Maybe one of these
21 developers can build a nice place where they
22 can get 800 to 1,500 to $7,000 a month from
23 the government to put these people up. They
24 want to stay in their own homes. That's
25 their lifetime dream. I waited -- I know
48
1 how long I waited to get a down payment and
2 nobody gave me any hand up. I was proud to
3 do it myself and I would do it again. I
4 think -- I don't even think I would even
5 consider accepting such a gift from the
6 taxpayers. I think it's abominable.
7 The threat, of course, is that
8 Jessup, Pittston, Throop, they have all
9 provided KOZ extensions according to what we
10 heard. Well, they are not supporting three
11 hospitals, four higher education facilities,
12 and countless other nonprofits. At least we
13 would get property -- we would get taxes
14 from the wages if people -- if they want --
15 if they don't want to be close to the
16 medical schools and the hospitals then let
17 them move out there. We will still get
18 the -- we'll still get the benefits in the
19 form of wage benefits, wage taxes. Scranton
20 residents can leave.
21 With respect to the Ice Box, that
22 property is owned by the city, so I would
23 question whether you can even vote yourself
24 an extension because the city owns the
25 property, so I think that's sort of a
49
1 conflict of interest.
2 Now, on the Mount Pleasant, and
3 these things aren't unique, we get the same
4 threats. And medical clinics, what about
5 the medical clinics we already have? Are
6 they going to rob their people? It's just
7 wrong, they were all wrong, it's
8 discriminatory, you are picking winners and
9 losers and I don't think you have the
10 ability to do that. Thank you very much.
11 MS. MURPHY: Morning, my name is Ann
12 Murphy. I'm a property owner, I have lived
13 in the city most of my life, 62 years of it,
14 anyway. If new KOZ's and KOEZ's are to be
15 proposed that's okay, but the ones that are
16 here right now had ten years almost to
17 accomplish whatever it was that they had
18 intended to do. They have been given ten
19 years of tax exemptions in a lot of areas
20 and now it's time for them to pay back to
21 the community.
22 For the last year I have heard
23 council say that, well, pretty soon we will
24 start reaping taxes from the KOZ people
25 because their time will be up, but now they
50
1 want an extension. Some have already left
2 the city.
3 MS. FANUCCI: No, that's not -- I
4 don't want to stop you, but that's not --
5 MS. MURPHY: Please do not stop me.
6 MS. FANUCCI: That's not correct.
7 MS. MURPHY: You can speak later.
8 MS. FANUCCI: Okay, so you don't want
9 to know the facts. That's not correct.
10 MS. MURPHY: You can tell me the --
11 MS. FANUCCI: There is no one that
12 was --
13 MS. MURPHY: You can tell me the
14 facts later when it's your time. Thank you.
15 MS. FANUCCI: It's always my time.
16 MS. MURPHY: Some have already left
17 the city, some went elsewhere. In regards
18 to the Connell building he received his KOZ,
19 he went up to Petersburg, he went up and
20 built his apartments up in the Petersburg
21 Silk Mill. Now he is coming back to work on
22 the Connell building and he wants his
23 extension. Time is running out for their
24 extensions, we will not get extensions on
25 our taxes, all we get are more taxes and
51
1 fines. Thank you.
2 MR. SLEDENZSKI: Hi, Billy?
3 MR. COURTRIGHT: Hi, Chris.
4 MR. SLEDENZSKI: Hi, Bill. Hi,
5 Judy.
6 MS. GATELLI: I like your new shirt.
7 MR. SLEDENZSKI: Thank you. Billy, I
8 want to say something to one guy, I want to
9 say this thing to one guy, Bill, that I
10 know, all right, Bill? Do you mind if I say
11 it to him. If I goof let me know, Bill.
12 Hi, Buddy. How is that, Bill, is that
13 perfect?
14 MR. COURTRIGHT: That's beautiful.
15 MR. MCGOFF: Anyone else to speak?
16 Mrs. Evans?
17 MS. EVANS: Good morning. In light
18 of Governor Rendell's recently announced tax
19 hike I strongly urge taxpayers to contact
20 state representatives Ken Smith and Kevin
21 Murphy and Senator Robert Mellow and ask
22 them to oppose the state income tax
23 increase. This flat tax is inherently
24 unfair because it taxes the poor, middle
25 class and the rich at the same rate and
52
1 significantly contributes to Pennsylvania's
2 continued ranking among the ten most
3 regressive tax systems in the nation. I
4 understand that the Pennsylvania State
5 Constitution presently forbids a graduated
6 tax, however, at one time the United States
7 Constitution forbid women from voting until
8 the effort was made to amend the
9 constitution to include women's suffrage.
10 A similar movements by taxpayers and
11 state representatives throughout
12 Pennsylvania must be made to amend our state
13 constitution to enact a graduated system of
14 taxation which is fair to all taxpayers.
15 Local property taxes plus Pennsylvania sales
16 tax and income tax devour approximately
17 11 percent of the income of the poor, 9
18 percent of the income of the middle class,
19 yet only 4 percent of the income of the very
20 wealthy, the top 1 percent wage earners.
21 This tax increase will hit the
22 middle class the hardest since it is the
23 middle class who is not eligible for any
24 percentage of tax forgiveness from state
25 income tax. As the budget deadline nears,
53
1 again, I urge you to help protect yourselves
2 by contacting your state representative and
3 telling him to vote against the state income
4 tax increase.
5 Further, I move that Scranton City
6 Council send letters of opposition to the
7 proposed state income tax hike which will
8 unfairly financially burden the middle class
9 taxpayers of Scranton as well as the entire
10 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to
11 Representatives Smith and Murphy and Senator
12 Robert Mellow.
13 In addition, we respectfully request
14 their votes against this proposed tax
15 increase.
16 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
17 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
18 MS. FANUCCI: I'll abstain from the
19 vote.
20 MR. MCGOFF: I actually would -- I'm
21 not sure how I feel about the idea of
22 uniform or graduated taxes and whether --
23 and the benefits or faults of each and I
24 don't know that at this time I could vote to
25 say "yes" or "no" to advocating either, and
54
1 so to the motion I would at this time I
2 would have to vote "no" simply because I
3 would like to have more time personally to
4 evaluate.
5 MS. EVANS: Mrs. Gatelli, I had made
6 a motion that city council send a letter of
7 it's opposition to the proposed state income
8 tax increase which so unfairly burdens the
9 middle class taxpayer asking that our state
10 representatives and Senator Mellow would
11 oppose such a tax increase.
12 MS. GATELLI: Did you get a second?
13 MS. EVANS: And it's been seconded.
14 MR. MCGOFF: We are on the question.
15 MS. GATELLI: I don't see a problem
16 with that.
17 MR. MCGOFF: All those in favor
18 signify by saying aye.
19 MS. EVANS: Aye.
20 MS. GATELLI: Aye.
21 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
22 MR. MCGOFF: Opposed? No. And one
23 abstention. The ayes have it and so moved.
24 MS. EVANS: Next, council received
25 the June report of the Scranton Tax Office.
55
1 The results of the latest distributions and
2 latest comparisons between 2009 and 2008 are
3 as follows: Real estate tax, $10,601,198,
4 an increase of $358,084 over 2008
5 collections; the wage tax, $9,367,000, an
6 increase of $1,590,000 over 2008; the LST,
7 $827,162, an increase of $633,656 over 2008;
8 and the business privilege and mercantile
9 tax, $1,501,448, a decrease of $35,512 under
10 2008's collections.
11 As we have an excessively lengthy
12 agenda to accommodate 21 KOZ extensions, I
13 will withhold further comments at this time.
14 That's it.
15 MR. MCGOFF: Mrs. Gatelli?
16 MS. GATELLI: I have nothing, I'll
17 make my comments later.
18 MR. MCGOFF: Mrs. Fanucci?
19 MS. FANUCCI: You know I'm going to
20 talk. I'm not going to -- I promise I will
21 keep it short since we do have a long
22 agenda, but I do want to clarify a lot of
23 misconceptions that were put out already
24 today which seems to be the normal for our
25 council meetings.
56
1 To sit here and say that you as
2 taxpayers get nothing out of these KOZ's is
3 just -- it's an absolutely ludicrous
4 assumption. Do you realize that you are
5 paying for it anyway regardless? And this
6 is what I keep saying over and over again
7 with every opportunity that we have these
8 grants, you are paying for it. Do you want
9 it here or do you want Allentown to have it?
10 The 500 block, beautiful. Yes, you
11 contribute and Mrs. Evans is right, but it's
12 here in your neighborhood, in your city,
13 it's going somewhere. You can sit here, you
14 can dig your heels in, you can scream all
15 you want, it is going somewhere. Do you
16 want the jobs, do you want the unions to go
17 down and build every day in your city, do
18 you want to the opportunity for the jobs
19 that are created after for your family, for
20 your friends, or do you want it to go to
21 somewhere else? Thirty other states offer
22 tax benefits, tax breaks everywhere. This
23 is not unique to Scranton, this is not
24 unique to Pennsylvania. It's everywhere.
25 When you deal with big business on a
57
1 daily businesses you will realize the first
2 thing they want, the best deal for them.
3 Why? Because you compete for big business,
4 not any different than you go and you try to
5 find the best deal for whatever you are
6 buying. It is normal business practice. To
7 sit here every week and say that these
8 people who are investing millions of dollars
9 for you, whether you like it or not, for
10 you, is a bad deal is ridiculous, so we
11 should send them packing: Thanks for coming
12 all you guys, you know, sorry you are the
13 ones with the money who want to invest here,
14 but can you take it somewhere else, please?
15 Scranton wants nothing to do with you.
16 Is that -- is that even
17 comprehendible? No. So will I sit here and
18 fight every week for these jobs, you are
19 darn right. 1,000 jobs, like it or not.
20 I'm single mom, I work two jobs, and I'll
21 tell you right now, I can go for a new one.
22 Wouldn't it be nice to have better
23 opportunity to grow. I am not like other
24 people up here. I don't have an $85,000 a
25 year job. I'm not driving one of the nicest
58
1 cars in America, but I'll tell you what, the
2 opportunity is out there. I don't know how
3 you can say you are for the people, but not
4 want job creation. You cannot talk out of
5 both sides of your mouth. You can't.
6 You can't sit here every week and
7 say, "We have the lowest -- you know, nobody
8 has any jobs. Nobody can get a job in
9 Scranton. Unemployment rate is ridiculously
10 low, but don't create any jobs. Don't do
11 it. I want my tax dollars to go somewhere
12 else, not to Scranton so don't create them
13 because you know what, that might create
14 opportunity."
15 Now, misconceptions that we are
16 extending KOZ's for people who already have
17 it, that whole statement was absolutely
18 wrong. If you are already occupied and you
19 already live in a KOZ zone or if you already
20 have a business that is occupied you are not
21 getting an extension on KOZ, the state made
22 that mandatory. We can't do that even if we
23 wanted to do that. So, yes, you will be
24 getting your benefits from your KOZ in two
25 years, KOEZ in two more after that.
59
1 Millions of dollars will be coming in that
2 weren't even a thought.
3 Do I believe that these developers
4 can do this on their own? Probably.
5 Probably. But do they need to be
6 competitive for all the other areas that
7 said, yes, and they are all out there
8 because so far we are the only ones who are
9 having this problem. Everyone else, you
10 know, you know, nobody in Archbald came
11 screaming saying "no way." They want the
12 opportunity.
13 And I'm not going to turndown
14 opportunity tore the city just because there
15 are certain people here who believe that
16 this is wrong. It is our job to find out
17 and educate yourselves. I went to every
18 meeting. Not everyone up here can say that,
19 I can tell you that. I want to every
20 meeting, I went to every caucus to educate
21 myself for you, and I understand that you
22 don't have to know all this, it's okay, but
23 we do. We have to look for ten years down
24 the road. We have to worry about 20 years
25 down the road, and I will do that.
60
1 I'm not saying I'm voting for every
2 KOZ because I'm certainly not, but there are
3 definitely merits to a lot of them, and I
4 have looked individually and I believe that
5 it is irresponsible to turndown opportunity
6 for other people because you are turning it
7 down and giving it away to other parts of
8 our state, and that is all I have. Thank
9 you.
10 MR. MCGOFF: Mr. Courtright?
11 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yeah, I'm not going
12 to talk about the KOZ right now. I'll just
13 ask Mr. Minora a question, obviously I
14 wasn't here last week, I was out of town and
15 the question has been brought up more than
16 one time and being that there is a
17 possibility that I might be going to the tax
18 office I would ask you if you believe that
19 it would be illegal for the tax office over
20 there to have a solicitor? Is that against
21 the law in your opinion and if you can't
22 answer it now I'll wait.
23 MR. MINORA: The issue has been
24 around for a long time. Obviously, the
25 city, school district and the county
61
1 contribute money to the operation of the
2 Single Tax Office and have been aware for at
3 least 25 years that I'm not aware that there
4 is a solicitor there. I think the first one
5 was Paul Kelly under Mr. Walsh, that goes
6 back to the 80's, so if it was prohibited,
7 that's different than illegal or criminal,
8 if it is prohibited by law it can be waived.
9 Clearly having paid money over 25 years to
10 employ a solicitor to me seems to be a
11 waiver. I don't how any judge in a Court
12 would see it any other way than a waiver.
13 Now, that doesn't necessarily mean
14 that there will a waiver the next year or
15 the year after, the issue can be raised, but
16 as to past practice it has clearly been a
17 waiver. It's been done with full knowledge
18 of all of the taxing bodies. I don't know
19 if that answers your question, but --
20 MR. COURTRIGHT: And I'll tell you,
21 you know, I wondered myself for awhile, but
22 somebody asked me a question this week and I
23 certainly couldn't answer it and I knew I
24 couldn't ask it without an attorney or
25 asking. Does the tax office have a right to
62
1 run credit checks? I don't know if they do
2 or they don't so evidently somebody must
3 have got a credit check run on themselves
4 from the tax office.
5 MR. MINORA: Credit check?
6 MR. COURTRIGHT: What's the
7 individual asked me. They didn't come right
8 our and say they had a credit check run, but
9 they asked me does the tax office have the
10 right to run credit checks on people and I
11 didn't know the answer to that, and if I was
12 sitting over there I certainly wouldn't know
13 the answer to that so I would have to refer
14 some attorney.
15 MR. MINORA: I would like to look
16 into that. That sounds incorrect.
17 MR. COURTRIGHT: They did not tell me
18 that they had one run on them, but that's
19 the impression they had given me, so that's
20 what prompted me to ask you this question.
21 MR. MINORA: I'm sure they would
22 have -- I don't know where you would get a
23 right to do that from the tax office. You
24 have a right to collect taxes, send out
25 bills and collect the taxes and do whatever
63
1 is necessary to collect those taxes.
2 MR. COURTRIGHT: I know it's not
3 your job to answer that question. I thought
4 I would use you while I have you.
5 MR. MINORA: I'd rather look into
6 that, but my gut is off the top of my head
7 is that's not right.
8 MR. COURTRIGHT: Thank you very much.
9 I appreciate that.
10 MR. MINORA: You are welcome.
11 MR. COURTRIGHT: That's all I have,
12 Mr. McGoff.
13 MR. MCGOFF: Thank you,
14 Mr. Courtright. Just to continue very
15 briefly on the KOZ items, some things that
16 were said, everyone says that we are putting
17 of millions of dollars into the hands of
18 developers, that's not necessarily true.
19 The developers don't make money until they
20 rent or sell the property that they
21 developed. The money that has been
22 received, for example, at Lackawanna Avenue
23 or any other development goes into the
24 project and not into the hands of the
25 developer. I think that's somewhat of a
64
1 misnomer.
2 As far as the KOZ extensions, I
3 think, as Mrs. Fanucci said, these are not
4 for existent developed or occupied
5 properties. The extensions are only for
6 unoccupied, undeveloped or undeveloped
7 properties. So something like Tripp's Park
8 where the land has been developed where
9 people are living in the homes these
10 properties will pay taxes when the KOZ
11 program runs out.
12 Another example, the Ice Box. The
13 property on which the Ice Box is located
14 will pay taxes when that -- when that
15 program runs out. The extensions are for --
16 that are being asked for are on the
17 undeveloped, unoccupied parts. They have
18 subdivided or subdivided those parcels of
19 land.
20 As far as voting for or against, I
21 think it's -- I arrived at two
22 qualifications, I believe, for the KOZ
23 extensions. The first was when I looked at
24 each one I wanted to see was there a plan to
25 develop the land. If there was a plan to
65
1 develop, I believe that that was the first
2 thing that was important. I wanted to see
3 something was going to happen and that it
4 was not that land was not going to sit idle
5 for another however long.
6 The second was did the plan offer a
7 benefit to the community, be it short-term,
8 long-term benefit to the community, and if
9 it did, if it met those two qualifications,
10 I felt that it was worthy to be considered
11 and to vote for.
12 And with that, I would like to move
13 to our agenda and begin the task.
14 MS. GARVEY: 5-B. FOR INTRODUCTION -
15 AN ORDINANCE - REMOVAL OF PARKING METERS
16 LOCATED IN THE 700 BLOCK OF QUINCY AVENUE,
17 BETWEEN GIBSON AND PINE STREETS, AND IN THE
18 900 AND 1000 BLOCKS OF PINE STREET BETWEEN
19 MONROE AVENUE AND COSTELLO COURT, AS MORE
20 PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN THE CORRESPONDENCE
21 AND ON THE DIAGRAM FROM MOSES TAYLOR
22 HOSPITAL ATTACHED HERETO AND THEREAFTER, TO
23 INSTITUTE DAILY PERMIT PARKING FOR MOSES
24 TAYLOR HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES.
25 MR. MCGOFF: At this time I'll
66
1 entertain a motion that Item 5-B be
2 introduced into it's proper committee.
3 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
4 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
5 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
6 in favor signify by saying aye.
7 MS. EVANS: Aye.
8 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
9 MS. GATELLI: Aye.
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
11 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
12 ayes have it and so moved.
13 MS. GARVEY: 5-C. FOR INTRODUCTION -
14 A RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND
15 OTHER APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE
16 AND ENTER INTO ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF
17 SCRANTON A SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
18 FOR TRANSACTIONAL SERVICES TO THE BANK OF
19 NEW YORK MELLON WORKBENCH SERVICES ("BNYM")
20 AGREEMENT TO AUTHORIZE ACCESS TO
21 TRANSACTIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE CITY
22 REGARDING SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION PAYMENTS
23 CURRENTLY MADE TO DESIGNATED RETIRED POLICE
24 AND FIREFIGHTERS.
25 MR. MCGOFF: At this time I'll
67
1 entertain a motion that Item 5-C be
2 introduced into it's proper committee.
3 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
4 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
5 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
6 in favor signify by saying aye.
7 MS. EVANS: Aye.
8 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
9 MS. GATELLI: Aye.
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
11 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
12 ayes have it and so moved.
13 MS. GARVEY: 5-D. FOR INTRODUCTION -
14 A RESOLUTION - APPOINTING STEVEN KOCHIS, 531
15 HICKORY STREET, SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA,
16 18505, AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF ZONING
17 APPEALS FOR THE CITY OF SCRANTON. MR.
18 KOCHIS WILL REPLACE BILL MACDONALD, WHOSE
19 TERM EXPIRES ON JULY 15, 2009. MR. KOCHIS
20 TERM WILL COMMENCE ON JULY 16, 2009 AND
21 EXPIRE ON JULY 16, 2014.
22 MR. MCGOFF: At this time I'll
23 entertain a motion that Item 5-D be
24 introduced into it's proper committee.
25 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
68
1 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
2 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
3 in favor signify by saying aye.
4 MS. EVANS: Aye.
5 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
6 MS. GATELLI: Aye.
7 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
8 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
9 ayes have it and so moved.
10 MS. GARVEY: 5-E. FOR INTRODUCTION -
11 A RESOLUTION - APPOINTING SUZANNE ANDRES,
12 323 BIRCH STREET, SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA,
13 18505, AS ALTERNATE NO. 2 MEMBER TO THE
14 BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS FOR THE CITY OF
15 SCRANTON. MS. ANDRES WILL FILL THE
16 UNEXPIRED TERM OF STEVEN KOCHIS WHOSE TERM
17 EXPIRES ON JUNE 1, 2010. MS. ANDRES TERM
18 WILL COMMENCE ON JULY 16, 2009 AND WILL
19 EXPIRE ON JUNE 1, 2010.
20 MR. MCGOFF: At this time I'll
21 entertain a motion that Item 5-E be
22 introduced into it's proper committee.
23 MR. COURTRIGHT: So moved.
24 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
25 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
69
1 in favor signify by saying aye.
2 MS. EVANS: Aye.
3 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
4 MS. GATELLI: Aye.
5 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
7 ayes have it and so moved.
8 MS. GARVEY: SIXTH ORDER. 6-A.
9 READING BY TITLE - FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 72,
10 2009 - AN ORDINANCE - PROVIDING FOR THE
11 ACCEPTANCE AND DEDICATION AS PUBLIC ROADS
12 WILLIAMSBURG LANE, NORFOLK WAY, ROANOKE
13 LANE, ARLINGTON WAY, CHESTERFIELD LANE AND
14 HUNTINGTON WAY, AS WELL AS ALL THE STORM
15 DRAINAGE SYSTEM UNDERLYING SAID STREETS AND
16 RIGHTS-OF-WAY; ALL OF THE AFOREMENTIONED
17 IMPROVEMENTS BEING LOCATED IN THE KEYSER
18 TERRACE SUBDIVISION IN THE CITY OF SCRANTON,
19 PENNSYLVANIA; ALSO AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND
20 OTHER APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO ACCEPT
21 FOR THE SUM OF ONE DOLLAR ($1.00) AND TO
22 RECORD IN THE OFFICIAL RECORDS AT THE OFFICE
23 OF THE RECORDER OF DEEDS FOR LACKAWANNA
24 COUNTY A DEED FOR THE AFORESAID PUBLIC
25 STREETS AND IMPROVEMENTS.
70
1 MR. MCGOFF: You have heard reading
2 by title of Item 6-A, what is your pleasure.
3 MR. COURTRIGHT: I move that Item 6-A
4 pass reading by title.
5 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
6 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? All
7 those in favor signify by saying aye.
8 MS. EVANS: Aye.
9 MS. FANUCCI: Aye.
10 MS. GATELLI: Aye.
11 MR. COURTRIGHT: Aye.
12 MR. MCGOFF: Aye. Opposed? The
13 ayes have it and so moved.
14 MS. GARVEY: SEVENTH ORDER. 7-A.
15 FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC
16 SAFETY - FOR ADOPTION - FILE OF COUNCIL NO.
17 69, 2009 - ESTABLISHING AN ORDINANCE
18 PROHIBITING THE USE OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
19 BRAKE RETARDERS (I.E. JAKE BRAKES) ON
20 CERTAIN DESIGNATED STREETS WITHIN THE CITY
21 OF SCRANTON.
22 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
23 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
24 Committee on Public Safety.
25 MR. COURTRIGHT: As Chairperson for
71
1 the Committee on Public Safety, I recommend
2 final passage of Item 7-A.
3 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
4 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
5 call, please?
6 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
7 MS. EVANS: Yes.
8 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.
9 MS. GATELLI. Yes.
10 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
11 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
12 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
13 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
14 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
15 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
16 Item 7-A legally and lawfully adopted.
17 MS. GARVEY: 7-B. FOR CONSIDERATION
18 BY THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - FOR ADOPTION -
19 FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 70, 2009 - AMENDING FILE
20 OF COUNCIL NO. 49, 2008, AN ORDINANCE
21 ENTITLED "GENERAL CITY OPERATING BUDGET
22 2009" BY TRANSFERRING $50,000.00 FROM
23 ACCOUNT NO. 01.401.10070.4299 (GENESIS
24 WILDLIFE REFUGE) TO ACCOUNT NO.
25 01.100.00000.4550 (DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND
72
1 RECREATION-CAPITAL EXPENDITURES) TO
2 SUBSIDIZE THE RECONSTRUCTION OF HANLON'S
3 GROVE AT NAY AUG PARK.
4 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
5 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
6 Committee on Finance?
7 MS. GATELLI: As Chair for the
8 Committee on Finance, I recommend final
9 passage of Item 7-B.
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
11 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
12 MS. EVANS: The city must begin to
13 curb it's nonessential spending. These
14 dollars are needed in the operating budget
15 for expenditures.
16 MR. MCGOFF: Roll call, please.
17 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
18 MS. EVANS: No.
19 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.
20 MS. GATELLI: Yes.
21 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
22 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
23 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
24 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
25 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
73
1 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
2 Item 7-B legally and lawfully adopted.
3 MS. GARVEY: 7-C. FOR CONSIDERATION
4 BY THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - FOR ADOPTION -
5 FILE OF COUNCIL NO. 71, 2009 - CREATING AND
6 ESTABLISHING SPECIAL CITY ACCOUNT NO.
7 02.229593 ENTITLED "DEP FLOOD PROTECTION
8 GRANT PROGRAM" FOR THE RECEIPT AND
9 DISBURSEMENT OF GRANT FUNDS FROM THE
10 DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (DEP)
11 FLOOD PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE
12 PURCHASE OF A VEGETATIVE SPRAYER AND TWO (2)
13 PUMPS.
14 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
15 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
16 Committee on Finance?
17 MS. GATELLI: As Chair for Finance,
18 I recommend final passage of Item 7-C.
19 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
20 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
21 call, please?
22 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
23 MS. EVANS: Yes.
24 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.
25 MS. GATELLI. Yes.
74
1 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
2 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
3 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
4 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
5 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
6 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
7 Item 7-C legally and lawfully adopted.
8 MS. GARVEY: 7-D. FOR CONSIDERATION
9 BY THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - FOR ADOPTION -
10 RESOLUTION NO. 128, 2009 - A RESOLUTION
11 EXTENDING THE TERM OF REAL PROPERTY, EARNED
12 INCOME TAX, NET PROFITS, MERCANTILE TAX, AND
13 BUSINESS PRIVILEGE TAXES WITHIN A SPECIFIC
14 GEOGRAPHIC AREA MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS MOUNT
15 PLEASANT CORPORATE CENTER, SCRANTON,
16 PENNSYLVANIA, WHICH IS A PORTION OF THE
17 PROPERTY CONVEYED TO SCRANTON LACKAWANNA
18 INDUSTRIAL BUILDING COMPANY (SLIBCO) BY DEED
19 DATED MARCH 5, 2008, RECORDED IN THE
20 LACKAWANNA COUNTY RECORDER OF DEEDS OFFICE
21 AS REFERENCE NO. 2008-05077, CONSISTING OF
22 LOTS 2,3,4 AND 5 AS SHOWN ON PRELIMINARY
23 SUBDIVISION PLANS RECORDED ON SEPTEMBER 30,
24 2008 IN MAP BOOK 6A, PAGE 6265, DESIGNATED
25 AS A KEYSTONE OPPORTUNITY ZONE IN ORDER TO
75
1 FOSTER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, STIMULATE
2 INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND RESIDENTIAL
3 IMPROVEMENTS AND PREVENT PHYSICAL AND
4 INFRASTRUCTURE DETERIORATION WITHIN THE
5 ABOVE DESCRIBED AREA OF THE CITY OF
6 SCRANTON, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, UPON
7 CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
8 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
9 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
10 Committee on Finance?
11 MS. GATELLI: As Chair for the
12 Committee on Finance, I recommend final
13 passage of Item 7-D.
14 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
15 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
16 MS. EVANS: Yes, the Chamber of
17 Commerce and SLIBCO have been planning in
18 project since at least 2006 according to
19 dates contained in the Scranton Plan.
20 Clearly, they believed in the viability of
21 this project years in advance of the
22 Governor's action to extend KOZ's. Three
23 years later in 2009, the Chamber and SLIBCO
24 do not believe that any business will locate
25 at Mount Pleasant without a KOZ.
76
1 Further, nameless, faceless
2 businesses have issued an ultimatum to
3 council and the school board. It is not
4 good business to apply for a loan, a grant
5 or a KOZ extension without identifying one's
6 self. If this is the manner in which
7 business operates, then I would imagine
8 anyone to approach banking institutions and
9 government with a general outline of a
10 project without naming the businesses who
11 participate in the project and expect to
12 receive funding. Small wonder the national
13 and global economies are failing when one
14 considers the deals and ethics of big
15 business.
16 Finally, I believe Mr. Burke is
17 protecting SLIBCO's and the Chamber's
18 multi-million dollars investment in Mount
19 Pleasant, nothing more, nothing less.
20 MR. MCGOFF: Anyone else?
21 MS. GATELLI: Yes, I just have a few
22 comments. I do believe in this project. I
23 believe that it will bring the necessary
24 jobs that we so sorely need in our
25 community, some high quality jobs to
77
1 accommodate the medical school that is
2 certainly on it's way to Scranton. I have
3 to say that I have not always agreed with
4 Austin Burke. If anyone would go back in
5 the records some 30 years ago I probably
6 fought more projects than he brought before
7 us in our neighborhood than I supported, but
8 this is a quality project like the one on
9 Stafford Avenue that was approved many years
10 ago. We were going to get a garbage
11 transfer station there and now we have a
12 beautiful flex building and a nursing home,
13 etcetera, back in that area, so I do believe
14 in this project, I do believe in the jobs.
15 I have a list here of some 40 states
16 in the United States that have tax incentive
17 programs for businesses. We are not the
18 only state that has tax incentives, so if we
19 don't offer tax incentives to the businesses
20 that are out there we are not going to get
21 them. It's not a matter of going to Throop
22 or Carbondale, they are going to go to New
23 Jersey, New York, Ohio, Maryland, all of the
24 states around us and some of them have gone
25 there. You can check the record, they are
78
1 gone and they are not coming back, so I do
2 believe in this project, and I will be
3 voting for it.
4 MR. MCGOFF: Anyone else on 7-D?
5 MS. FANUCCI: Yes. It's very easy to
6 sit here and -- I almost am baffled that
7 the assessment that Mrs. Evans has made
8 considering the fact she did not come or
9 attend any of the meetings that we had to
10 enlighten herself on what this is all about.
11 I think it's imperative to realize that when
12 these no votes come down today, you sit and
13 you realize that it's a no vote to your
14 unions to work in your city, it's a no vote
15 for you to have an opportunity for jobs,
16 it's a no vote for you to be able to grow as
17 a city. This is a thousand jobs in a time
18 where we can't afford to lose one and we are
19 creating them.
20 This is a time to be proud. It's a
21 time to celebrate because look around,
22 nobody else is doing it. Nobody else is
23 creating, nobody else is building. We have
24 a lot to be proud of in Scranton and instead
25 of putting a conspiracy theory on everything
79
1 that happens in this city it's time to say
2 hard work, dedication, working together, and
3 actually having a vision beyond what is
4 about your needs is taking place and that's
5 when you are going to benefit later on. I
6 don't expect any of you to realize until 10
7 years down the road how wonderful this is,
8 but I do expect elected officials to see it
9 now and have a vision and clearly go after
10 that vision and not just bash everyone so
11 that they can look like they are doing a
12 job. Thank you.
13 MR. MCGOFF: I would just like to add
14 one thing, I should have mentioned before,
15 we did receive a letter from Mr. Jack
16 Flannigan and the president of IBEW, I
17 believe, in support of the Mount Pleasant
18 project and also speaking in general of the
19 support for any projects that would bring
20 additional work to the area. He spoke for
21 himself, his union, and also mentioned that
22 other union leaders were in favor. Anyone
23 else?
24 MS. EVANS: Yes. First, I wanted to
25 explain, as I thought perhaps President
80
1 McGoff had to members of the chamber who
2 were present at this meeting, that I was
3 unable to attend because I had a medical
4 appointment which could not be reschedule,
5 otherwise, I certainly would have
6 participated. I should add, however, that I
7 did attend the following day a town meeting
8 that was hosted by Representative Kevin
9 Murphy for the discussion of the proposed
10 tax hikes and the Commonwealth's forthcoming
11 budget. I did happen to be the only member
12 of council, in fact, the only elected
13 official from the City of Scranton and the
14 County of Lackawanna County to attend that
15 meeting.
16 In addition, I don't believe that
17 anyone at this dais or in the audience has
18 ever stated that they are in opposition to
19 business, to new business, to job
20 opportunities. However, the job
21 opportunities mentioned by Mrs. Fanucci are
22 certainly not guaranteed to Scranton
23 residents unless, of course, Mrs. Fanucci is
24 suggesting illegal discriminatory actions.
25 MS. FANUCCI: Oh, now you are getting
81
1 paranoid again. Now, come on. Of course, I
2 wouldn't. We know that everyone can move
3 here. Everyone can work here. Now, come
4 on. Start again.
5 MS. EVANS: And similarly, although,
6 I wouldn't have anticipated the
7 interruption, similarly, anyone in Scranton
8 is able to seek employment in neighboring
9 communities as well.
10 MR. MCGOFF: Roll call.
11 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
12 MS. EVANS: No.
13 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.
14 MS. GATELLI: Yes.
15 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
16 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
17 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
18 MR. COURTRIGHT: No.
19 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
20 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
21 item 7-D legally and lawfully adopted.
22 MS. GARVEY: 7-E. FOR CONSIDERATION
23 BY THE COMMITTEE ON RULES - FOR ADOPTION -
24 RESOLUTION NO. 132, 2009 - AUTHORIZING THE
25 MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS
82
1 TO EXECUTE AND ENTER INTO AN ASSIGNMENT
2 AGREEMENT AUTHORIZING THE ASSIGNMENT OF ALL
3 RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES UNDER THE PRIVATE
4 POLICE CRUISER LEASE OF OFFICER RICHARD
5 IANNUZZO TO OFFICER ROBERT HEGEDUS.
6 MR. MCGOFF: As Chair for the
7 Committee on Rules, I recommend final
8 passage of Item 7-E.
9 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
10 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
11 call, please?
12 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
13 MS. EVANS: Yes.
14 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.
15 MS. GATELLI. Yes.
16 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
17 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
18 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
19 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
20 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
21 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
22 Item 7-E legally and lawfully adopted.
23 MS. GARVEY: 7-F. FOR CONSIDERATION -
24 BY THE COMMITTEE ON RULES - FOR ADOPTION -
25 RESOLUTION NO. 133, 2009 - RE-APPOINTMENT OF
83
1 MICHAEL C. SALERNO, 1200 BRYN MAWR STREET,
2 SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, 18504, AS A MEMBER
3 OF THE SCRANTON PARKING AUTHORITY FOR A TERM
4 OF FIVE (5) YEARS. MR. SALERNO'S CURRENT
5 TERM EXPIRED ON JUNE 1, 2009 AND HIS NEW
6 TERM WILL EXPIRE ON JUNE 1, 2014.
7 MR. MCGOFF: As Chair for the
8 Committee on Rules, I recommend final
9 passage of Item 7-F.
10 MR. COURTRIGHT: Second.
11 MR. MCGOFF: On the question? Roll
12 call, please?
13 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
14 MS. EVANS: Yes.
15 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.
16 MS. GATELLI. Yes.
17 MR. COOLICAN: Ms. Fanucci.
18 MS. FANUCCI: Yes.
19 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. Courtright.
20 MR. COURTRIGHT: Yes.
21 MR. COOLICAN: Mr. McGoff.
22 MR. MCGOFF: Yes. I hereby declare
23 Item 7-F legally and lawfully adopted.
24 MS. GARVEY: 7-G. FOR CONSIDERATION
25 BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - FOR
84
1 ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 134, 2009 -
2 AUTHORIZING REVISION OF THE EXISTING TRAFFIC
3 SIGNAL ALONG 7TH AVENUE/PROVIDENCE ROAD (SR
4 3029) AT THE INTERSECTION WITH MUNCHAK WAY
5 AND OLIVE STREET TO INCLUDE A NEW DRIVEWAY
6 APPROACH FOR THE SCRANTON RECREATIONAL
7 COMPLEX WHICH IS PRESENTLY REFERRED TO AS
8 THE ICE BOX COMPLEX.
9 MR. MCGOFF: What is the
10 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
11 Committee on Public Safety?
12 MR. COURTRIGHT: As Chairperson for
13 the Committee on Public Safety, I recommend
14 final passage of Item 7-G.
15 MS. FANUCCI: Second.
16 MR. MCGOFF: On the question?
17 MS. EVANS: Because of the failure
18 this legislation to past several months ago,
19 the school district finally was able to
20 discuss the project with the owner and city
21 representatives and gain much needed safety
22 improvements to the streets surrounding
23 Scranton High School. In fact, prior to my
24 objections against this legislation, the
25 school district had never been notified by
85
1 Mr. Burke, owner of the Ice Box, about any
2 changes he had applied for despite the very
3 close proximity of the high school to his
4 KOZ Ice Box property. I have spoken with
5 the superintendent of the school district
6 who indicated his approval of the project at
7 this time, thus, I am now satisfied that the
8 safety our school children will be
9 protected.
10 MR. MCGOFF: Roll call, please.
11 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Evans.
12 MS. EVANS: Yes.
13 MR. COOLICAN: Mrs. Gatelli.