Proposed new capital plan projects presented to Luzerne County Council

Approximately $5 million in funding must be identified if Luzerne County Council wants to complete all new projects recommended over the next three years in the latest proposed capital plan, officials said.

Council Chairman John Lombardo said he and his colleagues will discuss funding options.

Council must approve the annual capital plan by Sept. 1 under the county’s home rule charter. If funding is not locked in at that time, council could amend the plan later as funding becomes available or conditionally authorize projects that would require funding to proceed, he said.

The capital fund has dwindled since the 2012 implementation of home rule because money from prior borrowing was exhausted and council was committed to getting the county out of debt in 2030.

Approximately $26 million will be freed up when the county no longer must repay the debt, and Lombardo said he’d like to see a percentage of those savings earmarked to the capital fund annually to address future needs.

In the interim, council has periodically infused the capital fund with transfers from portions of budget surpluses and one-time revenue sources.

Lombardo said that may be a partial solution again this year because the county ended 2023 with a $1.63 million general fund operating budget surplus, according to the newly released audit.

Other funding solutions could be grants and millions of dollars in interest the county has accrued on federal American Rescue Plan Act revenue, he said.

“I’d like to see most of these projects completed in a timely manner. Some seemed like priority one projects,” Lombardo said, citing a courthouse sewer project and new automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use in medical emergencies at all county buildings.

Nick Vough, who was hired as county operational services project manager in February, briefed council on the proposed projects during last week’s work session. The plan covers 2025 through 2027.

Among the projects, with details presented by the administration and project estimates:

• Courthouse sewer repair/replacement, $1 million

Some of the piping in the sub-basement of the structure on River Street in Wilkes-Barre is corroded and must be replaced.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo had cited this project as an example of the need for greater infrastructure management last fall because the sewer pipe deterioration was detected by Council members Kevin Lescavage and Brian Thornton and prior Councilman Tim McGinley when they were in the sub-basement for another purpose relating to a water infiltration problem that has since been fixed.

Vough told council the project must be completed.

“If the courthouse sewer goes down, it’s not going to be pretty. I can tell you that,” he said.

• Safety security entrance for the county prison, $1 million

This project would upgrade the lobby of the county prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre to keep the public and workers safe, Vough said.

Crocamo told council members she will discuss security issues with them but must be careful providing public details so she does not jeopardize staff safety.

“There is a logic and reason we’re doing this, and it should have been done a long time ago,” Crocamo said.

• Safety Security Entrance for judicial staff at the courthouse, $1 million

Crocamo told council she requested this project and said many courthouses she has visited in Pennsylvania and New York have separate entrances for judges and their staff “because judges are targeted.”

“We don’t publicize when the judges get threats, but they do. There are issues sometimes,” Crocamo said.

• Additional courtroom space on the second floor of the Bernard C. Brominski Building near the courthouse, $1.5 million

Another courtroom area is needed because a new county Court of Common Please judge will be added in 2026, Crocamo said.

State legislators added the judge based on statistical case analysis. The county currently has 10 Court of Common Pleas judges. The new eleventh judge will be elected by county voters in 2025 and seated the first Monday in January 2026.

• Penn Place brick-and-mortar façade work and creation of a budget/finance office area, $250,000

This building at the corner of Market Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre houses multiple offices, including some moved there to free up additional space for the court branch at the courthouse.

• Electrical work and new lighting in the pedestrian tunnel that links the courthouse and Water Street parking garage, $10,700

Vough said the current lighting is inadequate and run by a generator. The lighting system will be rewired to improve public safety, he said.

• Replenishing AED machines for county buildings, $150,000

Most of the AEDs checked are expired or not functioning, Vough said. The purchase estimate is approximately $3,000 per unit, and additional AEDs are needed to provide adequate coverage, he told council. For example, the courthouse has one in the basement and should have one on every floor to prevent response delays, he said.

• Additional work to stop water from infiltrating the courthouse sub-basement, $19,500

This project was completed, but there is an outstanding invoice for work not covered in the original scope that exceeded the $205,000 council had earmarked.

Other projects

The proposed capital plan also keeps a $1.1 million request previously approved and funded by council to address windows at Penn Place.

Vough told council the estimate was compiled two years ago and must be updated. The initial plans were to replace third-floor windows and first- and second-floor windows with the greatest weather exposure, he said.

Lescavage said he examined all rooms with window area water damage and is confident the problem stems from windowsills pitched to pool water instead of drain it away from the windows.

“If you look at every window that has water damage, it’s from the windowsill down. There’s not one window leaking from the sill up, not one inch,” Lescavage said.

Lescavage said he does not believe any windows need to be replaced and instead suggested a material that is poured into a form to reshape the sill so it is sealed and has the proper pitch.

Vough told Lescavage a contractor was scheduled to look at that issue later in the week. Vough said later in the week the contractor agreed there are issues with window sills, which will be addressed through an updated project scope. Some window replacements will be necessary, but it may be fewer than originally anticipated, Vough said.

At least two projects in the original proposed capital plan are now off because the administration has identified other funding or solutions to address them, Vough said.

For example, $30,000 won’t be needed to cover labor to fix an inoperable Penn Place elevator because the funds were identified in the building/grounds budget, he said. Work on the elevator should start in a week or two, he said.

The initial plan requested $60,000 for a generator and locks at the county’s Hanover Township records storage building, which also houses the coroner’s office and morgue. Vough said the county’s emergency services department has a generator that can be used at that building.

For clarification purposes, the capital plan does not include more than $10.9 million in recent “wish list” requests from county departments for remaining American Rescue funding. These projects are still under review.

County Operational Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora said the administration is prioritizing capital plan needs as it works to address a backlog of neglected infrastructure.

“We’re hunting down every grant and looking under every stone seeking funding. We’ll get there. It just takes time,” Vough added.

In one example, the division presented a request last week for council to seek a $2.75 million multimodal transportation grant from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority to reconstruct county-owned Church Road in Wright Township.

If successful, a $239,340 county match would be required, which could come from county Liquid Fuels receipts, Vough said.

The $2.99 million project would include drainage work, milling and resurfacing and shoulder widening to accommodate bike lanes along the 2.8-mile stretch.

Vough said Church Road was selected for the grant request due to its deteriorated condition and connection to the Crestwood Industrial Park.

Council already allocated $9.96 million in American Rescue funds to address stormwater issues along multiple county-owned roads, and the administration had said in June 2023 that several in or around the Crestwood Industrial Park would be tackled with the funding.

Pecora said more funding is needed for road resurfacing at the Crestwood Industrial site because the previously programmed American Rescue earmark cannot be used for general paving of sections without runoff issues.

Vough told council he agrees with Crocamo’s plan to target projects in location clusters.

“That way this whole area you can check off the list and move on,” he told council.

Crocamo said many county roads have “very serious drainage” problems that must be fixed. Repetitive paving without taking care of the “root of the problem” does not make sense, she said.

Vough concurred, saying continued runoff erodes paving.