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2 council members question transfer of gas impact funds for scoreboard

Two city councilmen voiced their disapproval of how the city administration is preparing to leverage existing and hoped for funding for a video scoreboard at Bowman Field for baseball games next year.

The city will match $600,000 it received as part of a state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Projects grant using funds it collected, including from the general fund, and have a company put in a videotron. But Councilmen Adam Yoder and David Banks said Thursday during a remote council meeting on Zoom they aren’t excited about the method the administration found it had to use to pay for it.

“Are we comfortable leveraging any kind of general fund money outside of the Bowman Field account, given over the next couple of years what we are going to be looking at?” Yoder asked, a reference to the potential negative financial impact on city budget(s) due to COVID-19 and other factors.

“It doesn’t sit well,” Councilman David Banks said, referencing the administration’s intention to pull out general fund dollars to pay for costs associated with the video entertainment at Bowman Field.

The city’s top financial official explained how it was a transfer of funds.

It doesn’t limit the amount, but rather switched it because the state officials said it was ineligible toward matching the grant, said Joseph Pawlak, city interim finance director in answer to the councilmen and council.

The funding for the matching portion of the grant will be coming from $190,000 in the general fund, $130,000 that was spent on engineering and design work for other projects at the stadium, a $100,000 of commitment from the Crosscutters and $225,000 from the existing Bowman Field account, including any revenue produced next year, Pawlak said.

Yoder said he appreciated how the administration lined up the grant match, but had reservations because of the involvement of street paving money.

“The street paving money will stay the same as it would have been, but what is different is how we are offsetting sources for it,” Pawlak said.

Yoder did not appear to be convinced.

“In essence, we are moving natural gas money and we could double down on streets,” he said. “We could do more on our streets than we were originally planning.”

Pawlak said in a reminder that it was a plan in 2019 after the city was notified it was a recipient of a $1.25 million grant award by Gov. Tom Wolf’s Office of Budget and obtained through efforts by state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township.

It was council’s expectations not to borrow money for any match, an important factor that had been pushed for by Councilwoman Liz Miele, who wanted any deal done to use available city funding.

Adding to the complexity of the scoreboard project were two failed attempts to get bids out for the scoreboard last year.

Construction, however, was done and the press box was expanded and locker room facilities updated.

In the vote taken Thursday, council approved spending $93,000 toward making the scoreboard project come to light. It will be used by Larson Design Group that will prepare engineering, bid specifications and do limited construction design on the scoreboard.

A Larson official said the plan is to work with a sub-contractor that specializes in these kind of scoreboard entertainment features.

Another related question hanging in the air, that was discussed by council and the administration, is whether the Williamsport Crosscutters — in some form — or whether professional baseball will be played at the stadium as Major League Baseball contemplates a 40-team reduction of its minor league affiliates.

Councilwoman Bonnie Katz said one prospect is the games could be adjusted to start at the end of April. “There’s going to be something going on in the field next year,” Katz said.

It depends on the negotiations with the Minor League, Major League and impacts of COVID-19, Mayor Derek Slaughter said, reiterating what Gabe Sinicropi, Crosscutters’ vice president of marketing and public relations, told the administration and council earlier in the week at a working committee. “I’ve been in regular contact, but it’s just a waiting game at this point,” Slaughter said. “I spoke with ownership of the Cutters and they have no plans to move the team out of Williamsport,” Slaughter said.

The scoreboard bids could be out and a company selected by the end of the year, according to Jon Sander, city engineer.

In other business, council:

• Appointed Hannah Darrow to a three-year term on the zoning hearing board.

• Approved a subdivision request of Rowland, McManus, Loman and Bad to the Bone Auto Restoration, which is reducing a lot size north of East Willow Street. It was an approved subdivision cleaning up of zoning deficiencies and moving property line and allow all three parcels to access from East Willow Street.

• Approved a certificate of appropriateness for business interests at 236 Basin St. to put a 22-foot-long sign on the property. The sign fits with the design of the building, said Joseph Gerardi, city codes administrator.

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