Postal Service: Scranton Distribution Facility To Close Next Year

USPS service delivery truck in a residential area of San Francisco, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday reaffirmed its intention to close the processing and distribution facility on Stafford Avenue in Scranton.

The nearly bankrupt agency unveiled plans to consolidate 140 mail processing operations over the next year, including the Scranton plant. The facility employs 300 people, and the mail service plans to transfer the work to a center near Allentown.

“The plan is under review to move operations to the other facility beginning after January 2013,” Ray Daiutolo, regional spokesman for the postal service, said in an email.

The revelation came as Congress remains deadlocked over a postal reform bill, assuring more political activity over the agency’s future.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/postal-service-scranton-distribution-facility-to-close-next-year-1.1316809

Default Looms For Scranton Parking Authority As City Council Refuses To Pay SPA’s $1.4 Million Debt

Default is looming for the Scranton Parking Authority as city council refuses to release $1.4 million the authority needs by June 1 to pay debt, officials said.

SPA notified the council last fall it would have a budget deficit in 2012 and would need council to fill the gap. Council set the funds aside in a contingency account that only council can release, thus forcing SPA and Mayor Chris Doherty’s administration to come back to council for the funds.

As the city backs the SPA debt in question – and with the June 1 deadline fast approaching – the administration on May 10 requested emergency legislation from the council for the $1.4 million.

But the council refused and demanded that SPA executive director Robert Scopelliti and city Business Administrator Ryan McGowan first appear before council on May 17 to explain why the funds are needed. Councilman Pat Rogan and council Solicitor Boyd Hughes went so far as to say SPA should be allowed to go into default.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/default-looms-for-scranton-parking-authority-as-city-council-refuses-to-pay-spa-s-1-4-million-debt-1.1318104

Scranton Recovery Plan Won’t Meet ‘Soft’ Deadline

Scranton‘s revised recovery plan, which is supposed to be due today, will be late.

But the tardiness won’t mean much, Mayor Chris Doherty said.

“That’s not a hard deadline,” he said.

The deadline was imposed in January by a consortium of wary banks when they loaned the city an $11.5 million tax-anticipation note, because the banks wanted assurances that the city has a viable recovery plan to deal with its historical structural budget deficits and be able to repay any future loans, officials said.

While council members said Thursday a failure to meet the deadline technically could be considered a default, Mr. Doherty said there are no penalties for tardiness and the more important aspects are that the TAN is repaid and progress is made on a recovery plan.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-recovery-plan-won-t-meet-soft-deadline-1.1308000#ixzz1tXKaWkbb

Scranton Embroiled In Dispute Over Another Short-Term Loan

Facing yet another cash-flow crisis, Scranton is trying to borrow a $2.75 million tax-anticipation note to pay routine daily bills and payroll.

The city administration has been negotiating with Landmark Community Bank for the TAN, but city council has balked at the bank’s demand that, in exchange for a TAN, the city must back an unsecured $2.95 million loan that the bank gave to the Scranton Parking Authority last year, council members said at Thursday’s meeting.

TANs are fairly routine, short-term loans that municipalities borrow to cover cash-flow gaps until tax revenues come in. However, the TAN dust-up is another example of how little is routine when it comes to the city’s long-standing fiscal challenges and divisions between the administration and council.

City held hostage?

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-embroiled-in-dispute-over-another-short-term-loan-1.1293590#ixzz1qqTjMwfK

Scranton Teacher Will Strike Monday If Negotions Fail Today

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Editor’s note:  The Scranton School District serves over 9,000 students!

Negotiations will continue this morning between the Scranton teachers union and the school district, but a strike is still scheduled for Monday.

After a full day of negotiations on Friday, the union president said she was “disappointed” by the lack of movement from the district.

“They thought they made progress,” Rosemary Boland, president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers, said. “We didn’t feel that way.”

The union made a “huge concession” for the first year of the contract, and for the second and third years, gave district negotiators an option “we thought they could deal with,” Ms. Boland said.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-teachers-strike-still-on-for-monday-negotiations-to-continue-saturday-1.1276677#ixzz1nPk52Jwc

Moody’s Withdraws Lackawanna County’s Bond Rating

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More than six months after Lackawanna County asked Moody’s Investors Service to withdraw its bond rating, the rating agency has complied.

It is what happened in the interim that the county hoped to avoid.

In the past 12 weeks, the county has borrowed $21 million to clear its books of unfunded debt, including repayment of last year’s tax anticipation loan; increased property taxes 38 percent to balance its 2012 budget; and completed the overdue audit of its 2010 finances.

But all of that financial housekeeping came too late for Moody’s, which quietly withdrew its rating on the county’s $202.7 million in outstanding general obligation bonds two weeks ago after downgrading the debt to the equivalent of junk status back in September.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/moody-s-withdraws-lackawanna-county-s-bond-rating-1.1270446#ixzz1m6HXW5GI

Scranton’s Leaders Brace For 2012 Staff Cuts

Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty’s reaction to staff cuts contained in city council’s 2012 budget was simple.

“We will do more with less,” Mr. Doherty said Wednesday, reflecting on how his administration plans to grapple with looming personnel reductions after lawmakers on Tuesday night overrode his veto of their $85.3 million 2012 budget.

Despite a wide-ranging list of cuts – including 29 firefighter layoffs proposed by Mr. Doherty himself – the mayor maintained there could be delays in nonessential services, but stressed garbage collection will continue uninterrupted.

“We have to live in the budget they give us,” said Mr. Doherty. “We are going to make it work.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/scranton-s-leaders-brace-for-2012-staff-cuts-1.1250766#ixzz1i37DSzKa

First Night Scranton Gears Up To Ring In 2012

First Night Scranton, the alcohol-free, family-friendly event will take place for the 13th year Saturday, Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. on Courthouse Square, offering an alternative to the traditional alcohol-soaked ideal of the holiday.

“There aren’t many options for families and younger people to do things on New Year’s Eve,” said Doug Smith, entertainment chair of this year’s event. “You can either go to a bar and there’s alcohol and all that stuff, or you just stay home and then you’re not going out to do anything. So it’s a great thing for families to do and for teenagers to be able to do on their own.”

First Night is a trademarked event held all over the country, promoting arts, culture and family activities. First Night Scranton was established in 1998 by Scranton Tomorrow and was turned over to the city in 2008. Now, it’s a nonprofit run by volunteers that relies on fundraising and corporate sponsors.

Read more: http://www.theweekender.com/cover/Old_times_not_forgotten_12-20-2011.html

Friday’s Storm Causes Widespread Damage in NEPA

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Friday’s wicked thunderstorm carried a punch in Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties. 

The National Weather Service issued a preliminary report that an EF-1 tornado touched down near Honesdale, Wayne County.  There was significant tree damage along Route 6 and buildings were damaged.

In Montrose, Susquehanna County, straight-line winds were responsible for damage from the same storm.  Straight-lines winds are non-tornadic in nature and are sometimes called microbursts or downbursts.

Scranton experiences widespread damage from straight-lines winds Friday evening as well.

Wind speed estimate information should be available Sunday.

Community Health Systems Changes Name Of Scranton Hospital

For-profit hospital corporation, Community Health Systems (CHS) has changed the name of Mercy Hospital in Scranton.  The new name is Regional Hospital of Scranton.  The other two Mercy locations will be called Tyler Memorial Hospital (Tunkhannock) and Special Care Hospital (Nanticoke).  Mercy Health Partners was a private, Catholic-based hospital system that operated in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton metropolitan area.

CHS also owns Wilkes-Barre General, making it the dominant health care provider in NEPA.

CHS owns Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and Phoenixville Hospital in the western Philadelphia suburbs.

More Copper Thieves In Scranton

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There is no substitute for hard work and common sense.  Some people try to take the easy way out by resorting to crime for a big payday.

Two men were apprehended by Scranton police after burglarizing several homes in the Hill Section of the city.  Police could see copper sticking out of a backpack in the car and were obtaining a search warrant.  The two men tried to elude police on foot but were captured in short order.

Two homes were burglarized and a third had the front door kicked in but the perpetrators left the scene before taking anything.

Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty Invited To The White House For St. Patrick’s Day

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Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty received a letter from the White House inviting him and his wife to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the President and First Lady.  Mayor Doherty was surprised by the invitation.  V.P. Joe Biden was born in Scranton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s father was born in Scranton, so there is a Scranton connection in Washington, D.C.

In March of 2008, during the presidential primary, then Senator Obama spoke at the Irish Women’s Dinner at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station Hotel in downtown Scranton.  In April of 2008, Senator Obama returned to Scranton for a meal at the Glider Diner.  Mayor Doherty supported Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary and raised money for her campaign

It should be noted that Scranton’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is reported to be the fourth largest in the United States.  150,000 people pack Scranton for the parade and festivities.  The good news is that the parade in Scranton will be on March 12^th so Mayor Doherty will still be in town for the celebration. 

In 2008 Hillary Clinton was Grand Marshall for the parade.  Mayor Doherty would like the President or Vice President to come to Scranton and be Grand Marshall of their parade.

Congratulations to Mayor Doherty for this high honor.

Community Health Systems Buys Up Three More Hospitals In Northeast Pennsylvania

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As residents of Pottstown and Phoenixville know first hand, things change when Community Health Systems (CHS) buys your local hospital.  CHS owns Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and Phoenixville Hospital.

CHS is continuing to expand their presence in Pennsylvania with the purchase of three hospitals in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Metropolitan Area.  CHS, who already owns Wyoming Valley Health Care System since 2009, has entered into an agreement with Mercy Health Partners to purchase Mercy Hospital in Scranton, Mercy Tyler Hospital in Tunkhannock and Mercy Special Care Hospital in Nanticoke.  Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is part of Wyoming Valley Health Care System and already owned by CHS.

The standard CHS rhetoric has followed: hire all employees in good standing at the time of the sale (same position, pay and seniority), CHS promised to invest $68 million in the first five years, set up a community foundation and donate $2 million, maintain the status quo for five years and treat employees with dignity and respect.

All I can say is, based on what happened in Pottstown, things will change.  We narrowly averted a strike because employees were disgruntled, claimed to be overworked and salary/benefits changes were proposed.  CHS does invest in hospital infrastructure, equipment and recruit physicians as promised.

Wyoming Valley Heath Care System in Luzerne County’s largest employer.   http://www.wvhcs.org/About/Pages/About%20Us.aspx

Developer Charlie Jefferson: A Driving Force Behind Scranton’s Downtown Renaissance

 Connell Building exterior

My trip to Scranton included meeting and touring with Charlie Jefferson, along with Mayor Doherty.  Charlie is a Scranton developer who has a passion for his work and a desire to see Scranton blossom.  Charlie is responsible for the dramatic transformation of the Connell Building.  Charlie, like Mayor Doherty, is very down-to-earth and approachable.

Charlie took us inside the Connell Building.  The eight-story building sat vacant for 10 years before being developed.  The building’s occupancy rate was about 20 percent for ten years before becoming vacant.  Now there are 89 new 1 – 2 bedroom, market-priced, luxury loft apartments.  The building has been beautifully restored, while maintaining historical integrity and bringing the building up to code.  Every loft is rented.  There is a waiting list!  I have no interior pictures of any apartments because there is no model and Charlie was unable to contact anyone who might have let us tour and photograph their apartment home.  Maybe next trip!

The bottom two floors of the Connell Building will be used for commercial/retail/office.  This will be a great example of mixed-use development when this part is finished.  Charlie said he is working with a grocery store to move into the building along with other tenants to fill the remaining commercial/retail/office space.  Imagine the convenience of going down an elevator to the grocery store.  No driving, parking and traffic!  City living at its finest!

Another nice feature of the Connell Building is the attached parking garage.  Secure garage parking is available to all the residents of the Connell Building if they choose to rent a space.

Over 50% of the Connell Building’s tenants are new residents to Scranton and Lackawanna County.  There is a growing segment of people who want to live in a redeveloped heritage property.  These people are usually well-educated professionals who want the best urban living has to offer.  There are looking for walkable downtowns with fine restaurants, shopping, cultural events, services and entertainment.  Concentrated pockets of people in a downtown, with disposable income, will greatly increase the customer base for stores, restaurants and other businesses in general.  This phenomenon is not necessarily limited to the 20’s – 30’s demographic.  There are more middle-agers and seniors who want to sell the house, downsize and become urban dwellers entering this emerging market.

The Connell Building’s first tenant is a grandson of the building’s original owner.  He was very excited to see his family’s former building redeveloped and wanted to be part of the renaissance in Scranton.

Charlie’s newest project is the redevelopment of the former Chamber of Commerce Building, not far from the Connell Building.  The building is now vacant.  Like the Connell Building, the old Chamber Building was constructed during Scranton’s King Coal heyday.  It is very opulent.  Charlie plans to do the same thing with this building as he did with the Connell Building.  It is expected that Scranton will need 600 more apartments/condominiums in the next 5 years because of the medical college and spin-off development.  If the law school becomes a reality, that number will substantially increase. 

Charlie took us inside the old Chamber Building and we poked around.  Structurally it is in great shape and ripe for development.  The building has amazing architectural features and many of the apartments will feature spectacular views of downtown Scranton.  There will be balconies!  This project will rent out quickly because of the location and unique features of the space.  The success of the Connell Building has paved the way for further mixed-use development downtown.

I am looking forward to the completion of Charlie’s newest project.  It promises to be amazing.

Having a great developer, like Charlie Jefferson, to work with is a huge part of the redevelopment process.  Mayor Doherty has surrounded himself with some very competent people to help turn his vision for Scranton into a reality.

 

Chamber Building pictures below, currently vacant awaiting development!

Scranton: Northeast Pennsylvania’s Economic Growth Engine (Part Two)

(Continued from yesterday’s Part I below)

I asked Mayor Doherty if the population decline in Scranton was a concern and was he focused on trying to reverse it.  The mayor said the population is growing and becoming more diverse.  There are now two dozen languages being spoken in the Scranton School District and over 70 ESL teachers.  When the mayor took office ten years ago there was one ESL teacher in the school district.  I recently read that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area is the least diverse of any metropolitan area in the United States over 500,000 people.  It would seem this may be changing.

We talked about the significance of what having a medical college and possibly a law school would mean for Scranton.  Bringing in and retaining college educated people will help stop the “brain drain” and grow a population with more disposable income.  This in turn fosters economic development and reduces crime.  Medical schools and law schools bring a certain amount of prestige to any city lucky enough to have one.  Perception is a hard thing to change.  These types of accomplishments will tangibly demonstrate that Scranton is not a rust-belt, blue-collar, post-industrial casualty.  Instead, Scranton has pulled itself up by its bootstraps and seeks to reclaim her proud heritage and rightful place as an economic powerhouse in Pennsylvania.

With a new governor in Pennsylvania things will most likely change.  Ed Rendell was a friend to Scranton and poured $140 million into the city for economic development.  Governor Corbett is still an unknown, only just taking office.  Many who received funding from Rendell are worried that money might be harder to come by under Corbett.  The good news from Scranton is private sector funding for economic development has reached a level that will sustain Scranton in the event that money from Harrisburg dries up.

One of Mayor Doherty’s mottos is “invest in yourself”.  Two examples of this are the restoration of the municipal building lobby and fixing the broken “Scranton The Electric City” sign that is perched atop on of the city’s taller buildings (pictured above).  The mayor feels strongly about the message neglect, disrepair, messy, dirty and cluttered can send to residents and visitors.  The first-floor lobby area in the historic Municipal Building was cluttered with soda/snack machines and was in need of a major spruce up.  The mayor did just that.  (While I was waiting outside the mayor’s office, I took a picture of the lobby because it was so impressive – see Part I photos).   The “Scranton The Electric City” sign had been broken for decades.  Now the sign lights up every night and makes a positive statement about the Scranton of the present, while honoring the city’s past accomplishments.

Having frequent events is an important tool Scranton uses to promote itself, attract tourists and prospective residents.  Scranton has a huge list of events like First Night, St. Patrick’s Day Festival (3^rd largest in the U.S. and draws 150,000 people), La Festa Italiana (draws another 150,000 people), Komen for the Cure (10,000 people), Steamtown Marathon (2,500 people), Scranton Jazz Festival and the Pages and Places Book Festival.  These events are helping to make Scranton a “destination”.

My last question to Mayor Doherty was “What has been your greatest challenge?”  His answer was “changing the way people think”.  People need to believe that things are possible instead of falling into the “it can’t be done here”, “it will never work”, “we can’t afford it”, “we never did it that way before” and the litany of excuses to maintain the status quo.  The status quo is why Scranton hit bottom and had 22 empty building in its downtown. 

Mayor Doherty has a vision for Scranton and is undeterred by criticism and negativity.  Nor is he content to rest on his laurels.  He always has future projects on the back burner and showed me some of them while we walked.  The mayor is taking the revitalization of Scranton one project, one building at a time. 

I will share one last thing Mayor Doherty said to me, which is important to always remember.  These things take time.  It took seven years to get to the Connell Building project completed.  Construction took less than one year.  All the planning, committees, red tape etc… took six years.  Rome was not built in a day and neither will Scranton (or any other city) be magically revitalized.  The mayor has accomplished all these things over ten years.  It takes a dedicated team of people to make all this happen.  It also takes someone like Chris Doherty to lead the team with a positive, can-do attitude, a never give up mentality and most of all a healthy dose of patience.

The Electric City has a bright future and is poised to again become one of Pennsylvania’s most vibrant and important cities. 

 

Scranton: Northeast Pennsylvania’s Economic Growth Engine (Part One)

I recently had the pleasure of being given a tour of downtown Scranton by Mayor Chris Doherty.  Here are some thoughts and observations from my experience.

Mayor Doherty is a very down-to-earth person.  I was impressed by his friendliness towards the residents of Scranton and his commitment to the city.  We were joined by developer Charlie Jefferson.  Charlie developed the Connell Building and is working on some other projects in Scranton.  I will be writing a separate article about Charlie and his projects.  These two gentlemen made my trip enjoyable and highly productive!

Mayor Doherty gave me some basic information, before we left the office, about what has gone on in Scranton during the ten years he has been mayor.  When Mayor Doherty took office there were 22 empty buildings in downtown Scranton.  Scranton had hit a low point.  He decided his focus as mayor would be finances, the parks system and the downtown.  Former Governor Ed Rendell gave Scranton $140 million during the eight years he was in office.  It has certainly been put to good use.

One thing which pleasantly surprised me is the walkability of the downtown, for a mid-sized city.  The nice grid pattern of the streets, good signage and cleanliness were huge pluses.  I felt completely safe.  Scranton has a low crime rate for a mid-sized city.  As we walked and talked it became readily apparent that Scranton has turned the corner.

There are plentiful and diverse restaurants in the downtown which include things like Thai, Lebanese and Vegan.  A high-end steak house is also under construction downtown.  It will be along the lines of Morton’s or Ruth Chris.  We walked through the construction area that is being framed-out.  The influx of new center city residents, the Commonwealth Medical College, the University of Scranton, two courthouses, a municipal building, Steamtown Mall and new companies setting up headquarters downtown have swelled the demand for goods and services.  There is substantial foot traffic downtown, a key ingredient to redevelopment.

Mayor Doherty has built three new parking garages and rehabilitated one to make sure adequate parking is available for downtown visitors, shoppers and workers.  Lack of parking had been an issue that kept people from coming downtown.

Several companies have relocated or grown their businesses downtown.  An old Woolworth’s store is now home to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney & Fax Serve, which combined employ 200 people.  A high-end salon opened downtown that has grown to 80 employees.

Downtown Scranton has a Hilton Hotel and a Radisson Hotel.  The Radisson is the former Lackawanna Railroad Station.  Talk about an adaptive reuse success story!  We went inside so the mayor could show me around.  It is fantastic!  Both hotels are large and well-kept.  I asked Mayor Doherty what the occupancy rate averaged and he said “85%”.  Scranton hosts many events, conferences and meetings which help keep the hotels full and visitors coming into Scranton.  The mayor made a good point by saying people visit Scranton, leave impressed and spread the word!

The University of Scranton is located downtown and home to 7,000 students.  The university is growing by leaps and bounds.  Currently there are two enormous construction projects taking place that total more than $100 million.  The university is also considering the establishment of a law school which would be another huge economic boost for Scranton.  The University of Scranton is a key partner, along with the city, in transforming the downtown.

Commonwealth Medical College is building a campus downtown.  This is Pennsylvania’s first medical school to be built in 50 years.  The school is now leasing space and is in their second year of operation.  In September, the student body will move into the school’s new permanent downtown site.  The medical school will be responsible for bringing 800 new jobs and 600 students into downtown Scranton.  Six hundred new apartments/condos will be needed in the next five years as a result.  (If the law school becomes a reality; housing demand will sharply increase above the current projection for 600 units, fueling further economic development downtown.)

During our tour, we walked past the building used as the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company headquarters in NBC’s hit mockumentary, The Office.  Scranton was on the list of possible locations being considered.  When it was discovered the bar across the street from the building was named The Office, Greg Daniels decided it was perfect.  The Office has brought a great deal of free publicity to Scranton and has increased tourism.  There are monthly tours offered (March through December) and conventions, for fans of The Office, that bring many people to Scranton.

There is more to come in Part II on Thursday



Pottstown Is Not The Only Municipality With Fire Department Budget Woes

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Pottstown has struggled with its Fire Department budget for some time.  The debate over merging fire companies to cut overhead has been suggested.  Currently Pottstown has four fire companies with paid drivers and administration.  The majority of the firefighters are volunteers.  The borough gives the four fire department money and pays the health insurance for the drivers.  Each fire company must then raise any additional funds themselves.

Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Allentown have obviously larger fire departments with more paid staff.  Volunteerism is down.  A huge problem these three cities have experienced is a drastic increase in overtime.  Scranton’s Fire Department racked up just under one million dollars in overtime for 2010 (more than double what was budgeted).  The Scranton Fire Department had a budget of $14.3 million for 2010.

Allentown’s Fire Department overtime budget was blown in 2010 when $1.4 million was spent on overtime.  Wilkes-Barre spent $322, 958 on overtime which was nearly double what was budgeted.

A big culprit is sick time.  Sick time use in Scranton has been rising for the last three years.  When one firefighter calls out sick, another firefighter is called in and paid overtime to cover the shift.  Scranton is changing their schedules, minimum manning requirements per shift and instituting fire company brownouts to save money this year.  Only $83,950 was included for Fire Department overtime in the city’s $74.9 budget for 2011.

The Scranton Fire Department blames being a 168 man department with only 150 firefighters on the payroll.  Overtime was being used to “make up the difference”.  Like Scranton, Allentown also has minimum manning requirement per shift which contributes greatly to their overtime.  Wilkes-Barre Mayor, Tom Leighton said his city experiences a 25-30 percent call off rate in every shift, which burns up overtime.

In Scranton, the average firefighter costs the city $84,000 in salary and benefits every year. This will increase substantially after the arbitration award kicks in.  Mayor Chris Doherty’s salary and benefits come to about $65,000 per year, as a point of reference.  Firefighters get 18 sick days per year, which can be accrued up to 120 days, 240 days or unlimited, depending on their hire date.  Firefighters get paid for unused sick days at the termination of their employment.  They are reimbursed anywhere from 25 percent to 100 percent, depending on their date of hire.

I hope Pottstown Council carefully studies these issues before making the paid drivers employees of the borough.  If this comes to pass, we need to learn from these three cities to avoid a bill we cannot afford.

Scranton Police Department Gets New Crime Fighting Software

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Scranton has purchased new software that will enable their police department to get a better handle on crime.  

For a very low price tag, $6,000, this software will enable police to do crime-mapping, tracking and facilitate anonymous tips from residents.  This sounds like something we could easily do in Pottstown.  The $6,000 price tag is a blip on our $3 million police budget. 

Anonymous tip reporting will get citizens more involved with law enforcement which is something that has been discussed here.  Citizens can get on their computer or phone, from the safety of their home, and report crimes or suspicious activity to the police.  It is completely anonymous.

The software pinpoints crimes on a map by location, type of crime and the time the crime was committed.  In Scranton’s case the data will go back as far as 2003!  What an awesome tool for such a rock-bottom price!  This technology will give police the opportunity to analyze trends and find creative ways to combat crime.

Scranton had a crime index in 2009 of 306.7, which is slightly below the US average of 319.2.  Pottstown had a crime index in 2009 of 454.7.  Scranton falls into the low category.  350 – 699 is considered moderate which is where Pottstown scores.  A score of 700 – 999 is considered high. 

The point of my comparison is that even with a lower crime rate; Scranton is being proactive and spending a few thousand dollars to reduce crime in their city with the use of technology.  It would seem this is something Pottstown should seriously consider.  I bet Scranton PD would give us a demo

Statistical information is from City-data.com

One Of My Adaptive Reuse Posts Catches Eye Of Scranton Mayor

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This is one of those moments that makes sitting here blogging away every day worth the effort.

I wrote a post for Code Blue’s The Pulse blog about an adaptive reuse project, here in Pottstown, that would transform the old armory building on King Street into luxury apartments.  This would be significant as there are several other projects lining up along the same lines.  If this project is successful, it could jump-start redevelopment in the central core neighborhood.

As an example of adaptive reuse in a central downtown neighborhood, I cited the Connell Building project in Scranton‘s central business district.  My post and reference to Scranton’s renaissance caught the eye of Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty.  As a result, I am traveling to Scranton on Tuesday to meet Mayor Doherty and get the mayoral tour of Central Scranton.  I am more than a little excited!

Here is a link to my post about the armory project:

http://codebluepulse.blogspot.com/2011/01/pennsylvania-state-armory-building.html

There will be a posting and lots of pictures from my trip!

Center City Living In Scranton Is Taking Off

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The demand for Center City Scranton housing is heating up.  Another blighted landmark building in Central Scranton is being converted into more than 35 apartments with retail space on the first floor.  The 5-story Chamber of Commerce Building was built in grand style in 1926.  Brass rails, marble floors, 14-foot tall built-in bookcases and rollout doors are featured in the beautiful interior.  The building served the Scranton Chamber of Commerce until 1998.

Developer Charlie Jefferson, is the force behind this transformation.  Jefferson was also responsible for the Connell Building’s transformation into loft apartments.  All of the loft apartments were leased before anyone moved in.  Jefferson’s total investment in downtown Scranton is $35 million.  This Chamber of Commerce building sale was some where in the vicinity of $1 million according to Jefferson.

The former East Scranton Junior High School will be converted into 24 apartments.  A $3 million grant from Ed Rendell will help to transform this property into more apartments.  The school has been closed since 2001, according to a Facebook alumni page.

The construction of The Commonwealth Medical College is going to drive demand for 600 additional apartments in central Scranton in the next five years.  The amount of recent development in Scranton has been astonishing given the economic downtown during the last several years.  An increased population in the central business district will spawn the need for stores, restaurants, clubs and services like banks, dry cleaners, grocery stores and other conveniences for residents.  The Commonwealth Medical College is building an 180,000 square foot building in downtown Scranton that is opening this year.  The new facility will house the school’s educational and research programs.

Mayor Chris Doherty said “the success of the city will come from life downtown, and the trend is well on its way.”