SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

The City of Williamsport has an $8 million federal government earmark for the repair and improvement work on the river levee.

City Council recently approved a measure to use a portion of the city emergency and reserve funds to pay for administrative assistance from SEDA-Council of Governments, specializing in ensuring compliance of bid documents and use of the grant.

This will be for about $10.7 million in upcoming repairs and projects on the levee as part of a levee recertification and accreditation process.

The city is expected to spend 2 % on administrative and services fees to SEDA-COG for each reimbursement that is done on the levee project, said Valerie Fessler, executive director of the city Department of Community and Economic Development.

“This project is reimbursement-based so we’re going to be doing about $10.7 million dollars worth of projects and we get reimbursed for the funds that we’ve spent,” she said.

The city has to make sure it is meeting every bid document and compliance item and crossing every T and dotting every eye, she said.

“We are really excited to have SEDA-COG alongside us so that we don’t face a repayment,” she said.

Council Vice President Eric Beiter asked for any other examples of projects that SEDA-COG has worked on of this magnitude.

“Sure, they are currently managing the $5.5 million grant that Lycoming County has from the Economic Development Administration for the cross pipe project,” she said.

Betsy Kramer, program manager for community revitalization and resiliency, has extensive experience managing complex state and federal projects across an 11-county region.

Kramer has secured or advanced more than $34.5 million in grant funding for local governments.

Kramer is supported by a highly-skilled SEDA-COG team specializing in labor standards, federal and state grant compliance, fiscal management, project and administration and ensuring thorough oversight throughout the life of the project, Fessler said.

Kramer has been working with Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (linked to FEMA) on the city’s extension request and has reported positive indications that the grant period may be extended through spring of 2028. That amount is expected to provide enough time for the successful completion of a 26-month-long project, she noted.

“We know they will move this project really fast for us,” Fessler said.

The work that is scoped with this money will be right up against a deadline, even though the city asked for an extension, she added.

Councilwoman Bonnie Katz, chair of the public works committee, asked Fessler about the timeline.

“This is the $8 million allocated to us,” she said. “It has to be five or six years ago.”

Fessler noted how this $8 million was allocated to the city in 2023.

It was to be expended in September of 2026. A request is being made to extend that expenditure deadline through spring 2028.

Nothing on the city end has held up the project and allocation, Fessler remarked.

“We are just now under contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the funding has just been released,” she said.

The second the city received the contracts and it was signed, the city reached out to SEDA-COG for the professional services agreement, she noted.

It was not until after the federal government shutdown was over that the city received the final contract, she added.

“That is what I kind of remember,” Katz said, adding that she was just wondering if it was the same allocation.

“It’s about time we shoveled some dirt here,” Katz said.

“Yes, we are ready,” Fessler replied.

Councilwoman Liz Miele, chair of the city finance committee, noted how the contract is not to exceed $215,000 for the match and payment to SEDA-COG comes from the emergency and reserve fund.

“Correct,” Fessler said.

Miele responded, “Which strikes me as a totally fair and appropriate place for it to come from.”

“That was the idea behind it,” Council President Adam Yoder said.

“Are there any other portions of this project coming out of the emergency and reserve fund?” Miele asked Fessler.

“Yes, so the overall project is $10.7 million and the grant is $8 million, so we were required to put up a 20% match,” she said. Money has been put into the emergency and reserve fund for this purpose.

“Good, we moved some things around and there was the payment to the Federal Transit Administration,” Miele said, referring to the repayment to the FTA of more than $1.4 million for a separate issue related to misallocation of transit grants by a former city administrator.