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City Council will be asked to authorize naming city police Chief Justin Snyder as public safety director tonight. The director is listed in administrative code to oversee public safety departments including those involving the police, fire and codes offices and working together with those individual department heads. However, earlier indication from a city finance committee meeting this week indicated the naming of Snyder with the title and unpaid role will be a challenge for the administration and require further examination of city administrative code as well as reviewing the role and need for a public safety director.
Council also is expected to look at a change order as the city seeks to have a scoreboard foundation installed at Bowman Field. The price of the foundation is about $65,000, which is half the cost than originally anticipated for a rebuild in the $125,000 range, according to Jon Sander, city engineer. The challenge, however, is there's nothing in the budget for covering the cost.
"The money is not in there," Sander said, adding he went over the budget with Joseph Pawlak, city interim finance director.
Keller Associates, one of two economic development consulting firms, which indicated the city could use its American Rescue Plan funds of $25.4 million to cover the foundation expense.
"I would feel more comfortable looking at areas in the budget where we could find it," Councilman Adam Yoder said earlier this week in a finance committee meeting. The foundation work in left-field is expected to begin in about two weeks, Sander said.
"I would think in the future it would be worth it to kick the tires more in the future funding-wise," Yoder said.
"We need to find that money in the budget," Councilwoman Liz Miele said. "I am not comfortable designating what is coming from American Rescue Plan funds."
Council also is expected to look at a proposal to use $60,000 of funding from Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act as a means of paying for a company that wants to install five electronic signs at $12,000 apiece to be put in low to moderate income neighborhoods for informational purposes.
The "Soofa Signs" are essentially like kiosks and they include city and government information along with advertisements.
Skip Memmi, director of the city community and economic development department, told the finance committee that he saw potential to reach out to neighborhoods affected most under federal guidelines through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development by the coronavirus in a unique manner that Lycoming County and the Williamsport/Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce may also be exploring in the future.
Further items for consideration include an agreement between Janetta Green, the proposed accessibility coordinator and the city and Mark Derry, the proposed accessibility consultant with the city. Their work involves an estimated $20,000 that will be necessary to locate within the budget, city finance committee members said.
Recreation coordinator Kayla Drummond will present a resolution to approve this year's James David Robinson Cultural Arts Program recipients and to propose renewing a parternship agreement between the city and STEP AmeriCorps for a full-time service member.
Earlier discussion on the service member indicated members prefer having that individual work in public works as well as on recreation since most of the existing recreation activities, events and programs are under a six-month timeline.
The proposed street line painting and bituminous seal coating contracts for the city also will be presented by Adam Winder, acting general manager of city streets and parks department and general manager of River Valley Transit.
The meeting is held strictly by remote and accessible on YouTube by going to the city website homepage at www.cityofwilliamsport.org.