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Mayor Derek Slaughter recently remarked how 2024 will be a year when folks will be seeing a lot of work done related to the Greater Williamsport levee project.
As the city and Lycoming County and federal and state partners work together toward the recertification and accreditation of the levee with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a recent $8 million federal earmark will go toward the next round of project improvements.
"We are getting to the point where we can start to see some of the fruits of our labor," Slaughter said
In the works has been relief well design and testing and these were among the issues tackled by the administration and City Council this week.
Bill Scott, city engineering, presented council with an American Rescue Plan transfer ordinance on final reading for transferring $19,000 from public works contingency to public works levee.
The original cost of $158,000 for GeoTech Associates was for 26 relief wells which expanded to a total of 102 relief wells, Scott said.
The work involves testing and sediment readings etc.
Meanwhile, WSP, engineers, were approved through a resolution authorizing an agreement on the new relief well design work, a project expected to take about three years, according to the firm's officials.
Several milestone markers were presented to council as the project works in conjunction with a risk assessment and feasibility study by the Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District.
Along the way the administration vowed to keep council abreast of the jobs getting done.
Residents may soon notice operators using heavy equipment, such as vehicle that test soil and do test borings into the ground, and they may see more individuals in and about the levee area along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and along Lycoming Creek.
City financial matters solidified
In matters of finance, council approved a $2 million tax anticipation note. If the note would require borrowing from the interest rate is at 6.7 %, according to M&T Bank, said Heather Jacoby, city finance director. The note covers any expenses before the taxes are returned starting in March.
Real estate broker services were re-extended to Fish. City Hall, 245 W. Fourth St., has not been sold and the company is being kept in place for when a decision is made on the building.
CGB Solutions was hired to provide technical assistance to the council for its meetings at a price of $250 per meeting.
An agreement was authorized between the Williamsport Bureau of Fire and Essential Personnel Inc.
A revision was approved in natural gas fee adding $200,000 toward the resurfacing and rehabilitation of city streets, as presented by Scott Livermore, general manager of the city public works department. This was needed due to the city in 2023 unable to do some environmental sitework because of the resignation of a former city engineer, he said.
Heather Jacoby, city finance director, presented on final reading an ARPA transfer ordinance related to what council worked out during the 2024 budget for capital projects expenses related to police firearms and fire support equipment.