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City officials look to upcoming projects

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette From left, Chelsea Myers, city planner; Liz Miele, city councilwoman and daughter Daisy, 9 months; Mayor Gabriel J. Campana; Adam Winder, director of city parks and recreation; and Chad Eckert, city forester, stand on Little League Boulevard near the corner of Memorial Avenue on Wednesday. The group hopes to have more trees planted along the street in the future

The levee recertification, tree plantings to replace dying and diseased ones, and neighborhood revitalization are among the long slate of projects city administration officials are taking on to improve the lives of residents and visitors alike.

Chelsea Myers, who has been the director of planning in Williamsport for a year, joins a team of individuals who are tackling age-old issues. As planner, she is coordinating many of the projects under the direction of Mayor Gabriel J. Campana.

Myers said she and others are working with various partners on projects, including the recertification of the levee, revitalization of areas east of Market Street, neighborhood redevelopment along Park Avenue, between Hepburn and Walnut streets, and the ever-nagging annual crow roost.

In addition, she’s putting a grant together to pay for planting 80 trees, many of them replacing ash trees succumbing to damage caused by an insect called the emerald ash borer.

The trees will be planted throughout the

city including on: Little League Boulevard, Hepburn Street, Mulberry Street, First Avenue, Second Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Huffman Street, Louisa Street and High Street. Trees also will be planted in city parks to include: four in Memorial Park, two in Young Wood’s Park, and six in Shaw Place Park.

Meanwhile, the next step in the levee work is to follow rules established by the Army Corps of Engineers, and that is to complete a systemwide improvement framework plan, she said.

The levee has received an “unacceptable” rating from the Corps, and the initial process to remedy this involves getting “relief wells” under design by the engineering firm Wood Inc., Myers said.

Many of the relief wells, which distribute flood water and prevent undo pressure on the levee wall, need to be replaced or repaired, she said.

Blight removal and making neighborhood improvement along Park Avenue is another top priority.

“Our consultant has been doing stakeholder interviews and analyzing the economic context of the area,” Myers said.

The work includes but is not limited to identifying problems to solve and desired outcomes, completing housing field surveys, compiling demographics and recognizing regional competitiveness, she said.

The city plans to do a public outreach initiative in August at a date and time to be determined.

As for the yearly crow roosts, Myers is organizing volunteers to assist in early evening mitigation efforts, which she expects will drive the crows from the downtown and other pedestrian traffic areas.

Myers said she has reached out to several specialists on crows including those from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s APHIS Wildlife Services.

Mitigation efforts could include the use of low-powered lasers, effigies or high-pressurized water. Some of these method have been used in the city of Lancaster, which has one of the largest populations of urbanized crows in the state, she said.

A public outreach meeting on roosting reduction efforts is expected to take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 10 at the James V. Brown Library, with the assistance of the Lycoming Audubon Society. Among the guests is Dr. Margaret Brittingham, a professor of wildlife resources and a Penn State Extension wildlife specialist. The meeting is open to the public.

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