Luzerne County contemplating new approach for American Rescue Plan funding

Luzerne County Council is contemplating a new approach for its $60 million in outside federal American Rescue Plan awards that would cap allocations by category and allow 121 outside entities to receive funding instead of 75.

The plan previously approved by council fully funded the top-scoring projects that fell within the $60 million earmark set by council.

Instead of relying on a council or administrative committee recommendation, the 11 council members screened the applications themselves through an online portal set up by the consultant so they would all have an opportunity to participate.

After the resulting list of top-scoring 75 projects was released to both council and the public, council members realized the consultant’s scoring portal was missing five applications. Wilkes-Barre Attorney Al Flora, who has been assisting a local nonprofit that did not make the top-75 list, said council’s scoring of those five after the public release of other scores violates the process council had set up to individually evaluate each application in a vacuum.

Council members also have expressed concerns about the dollar amounts of some awards and said a few top-scoring applicants have reached out to say they could still complete meaningful projects — or phases of projects — with lower awards to free up funds for more recipients.

Councilman Matthew Mitchell came up with the idea to impose category caps — an idea up for discussion at Tuesday’s council work session.

His proposed caps: municipalities and municipal authorities, $2 million; nonprofits, $500,000; and small businesses, $100,000.

The work session agenda includes the list of entities that would receive awards under this plan (see below), which provides the first public glimpse of applicants that were not included in the first 75.

If this plan is approved, the only projects not receiving funding would be those that were deemed ineligible by the consultant or situations where an entity requested more than one award, Mitchell said. He also omitted a $735,000 allocation to the Dallas Area Municipal Authority due to a criminal complaint recently filed against the entity over allegations of untreated sewage dumping into Toby Creek.

Mitchell said this plan would fully fund 84% of the projects while remaining within the $60 million earmark set by council.

The smaller percentage of entities not receiving their full request would be asked to submit revised budgets and project summaries, he said.

“I was looking for the fairest way to get as much money to as many projects as possible,” Mitchell said. “I think this is a good starting point, and I am getting some good feedback.”

Mitchell also stressed the list he released as part of his plan should not be taken “as gospel” because council as a whole has not discussed it.

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said he sees logic in Mitchell’s plan because it eliminates concerns about potential bias in council’s review of the five missed applications and the impact those scores would have through reshuffling the top-scoring list already released.

The plan also would not throw out all work performed to date because the consultant’s project eligibility determination would be the basis for making awards, Lombardo said.

Other council members may have different ideas on how to proceed, he said.

“This is just another potential suggestion. Everything is still very much in flux,” he said.

Here are the entities that would receive funding under Mitchell’s proposal, with the requested amount listed first and the recommended award listed second:

Small businesses

• Joe Grotto Inc., $250,000 requested/$100,000 recommended

• Patte’s Sports Bar and Restaurant, $155,000/$100,000

• Pizza Associates Inc., $350,000/$100,000

• Shawn Belle LLC, $495,037/$100,000

• Valley Crest Real Estate LP, $999,400/$100,000

• Amy Bezek Photography LLC, $300,000/$100,000

• Power and Success Inc/$100,000/$100,000

• Second Family Memory Care LLC, $203,551.62/$100,000

• Coslett Dental Solutions, $94,366/$94,366

• Ryba’s Auto Sales, $80,000/$80,000

• Michael C Baloga (The Foot and Ankle Center), $63,300/$63,300

• Erwine Home Health and Hospice Inc., $50,240/$50,240

• Lang Beverage Company, $50,000/$50,000

• Dr. Joseph Costello, $50,000/$50,000

• The Wandering Brew, $45,000/$45,000

• Dantone Vending LLC, $38,633.33/$38,633.33

• MDHGH, $27,000/$27,000

• Staggers Southern Cuisine, $25,000/$25,000

• ValentinXStudios, $10,975/$10,975

• DMC Graphics, $8,075/$8,075

Nonprofits (and two school districts categorized as “other nonprofit”)

• Hanover Area School District, $19,999,789/$500,000

• Crestwood School District, $1,187,000/$500,000

• The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, $810,000/$500,000

• Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce, $15,000,000/$500,000

• Jewish Community Alliance of Northeastern Pennsylvania, $15,331,739.40/$500,000

• Along the Way, $2,764,246/$500,000

• Beech Mountain Lakes Association Inc., $500,000/$500,000

• Irem Temple Restoration Project Inc., $1,000,000/$500,000

• Misericordia University, $1,000,000/$500,000

• Mountain Top Area Little League, $500,000/$500,000

• Westmoreland Club, $817,000/$500,000

• Allied Services Personal Care d/b/a/ Allied Services Center City Skilled Nursing, $1,860,856/$500,000

• Common Ground Ministries, $500,000/$500,000

• Ecumenical Enterprises Inc., $1,262,300/$500,000

• F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, $586,150/$500,000

• Fork Over Love Inc., $508,063.52/$500,000

• IBEW Local 163 JATC, $500,000/$500,000

• Keystone Mission, $750,000/$500,000

• King’s College, $1,985,750/$500,000

• The Food Dignity Project, $1,234,172.16/$500,000

• Volunteers in Medicine, $1,500,000/$500,000

• Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania, $578,600/$500,000

• White Haven Fire Company #1, $850,000/$500,000

• Willow Foundation, $675,100/$500,000

• Diamond City Partnership Inc., $494,624/$494,624

• Greater Wyoming Valley Area YMCA, $487,353/$487,353

• Maternal and Family Health Services Inc., $469,141/$469,141

• New Roots, Inc., $409,392/$409,392

• Greater Hazleton Senior Citizens Inc., $385,000/$385,000

• Northwest Area Little League Inc., $253,871/$253,871

• United Way of Wyoming Valley, $210,000/$210,000

• Luzerne County Library System, $204,505.96/$204,505.96

• Dinners For Kids, $200,000/$200,000

• United Way of Greater Hazleton Inc., $200,000/$200,000

• Back Mountain Recreation Inc., $156,900/$156,900

• West Hazleton Fire Company, $155,000/$155,000

• Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania, $150,829/$150,829

• The Institute, $150,191/$150,191

• Dress for Success Luzerne County, $147,150/$147,150

• Ruth Matthews Bourger Women with Children Program at Misericordia University, $140,000/$140,000

• North Branch Land Trust, $122,125/$122,125

• Beaver Brook Association, $120,000/$120,000

• Conyngham Valley Civic Organization, $119,507.34/$119,507.34

• White Haven Rescue Unit, $117,000/$117,000

• Candy’s Place Cancer Wellness Center, $115,900/$115,900

• Geisinger Health, $100,000/$100,000

• Dallas Area Fall Fair Inc. aka The Luzerne County Fair, $100,000/$100,000

• NEPA Inclusive, $95,440/$95,440

• North Lake Improvement Association, $88,980/$88,980

• Oblates of Saint Joseph, $79,868/$79,868

• Avoca Hose Company No 1, $75,515/$75,515

• Wilkes Barre Metropolitan Development Corporation, $72,100/$72,100

• Whiskers World Inc., $66,250/$66,250

• The Philharmonic Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, $50,535/$50,535

• Edwardsville Hometown Committee, $50,000/$50,000

• Michaelene’s Mission, $50,000/$50,000

• Wyoming Valley Habitat for Humanity, $48,615/$48,615

• Swoyersville Little League, $40,000/$40,000

• Wilkes-Barre Area Community Gardens, $40,000/$40,000

• Street Art Society of NEPA Inc., $33,000/$33,000

Municipalities

• Borough of Freeland, $2,000,000/$2,000,000

• City of Pittston/Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance, $2,500,000/$2,000,000

• Hazle Township, $2,000,000/$2,000,000

• West Pittston Borough, $11,006,180/$2,000,000

• Ashley Borough, $6,000,000/$2,000,000

• Plymouth Borough, $2,508,572/$2,000,000

• Municipality of Kingston, $1,824,475/$1,824,475

• Edwardsville Fire Department, $1,475,000/$1,475,000

• Wyoming Borough, $1,138,700/$1,138,700

• City of Hazleton 2 Municipality $995,357.00 $995,357.00 100%

• Harveys Lake Borough, $855,000/$855,000

• Conyngham Borough, $785,000/$785,000

• City of Wilkes-Barre, $771,000/$771,000

• Sugar Notch Borough, $650,250/$650,250

• Lower South Valley Land Bank, $600,000/$600,000

• Wright Township, $583,330/$583,330

• Plains Township Fire Department, $539,854/$539,854

• Butler Township, $500,000/$500,000

• Lower South Valley Council of Governments, $500,000/$500,000

• Wyoming Area Regional Police Department, $500,000/$500,000

• Courtdale Borough, $475,410/$475,410

• Larksville Borough, $400,000/$400,000

• Newport Township, $395,738.50/$395,738.50

• Borough of Shickshinny, $358,000/$358,000

• Edwardsville Borough, $341,170/$341,170

• Swoyersville Parks & Recreation Board, $250,000/$250,000

• Yatesville Borough, $224,100/$224,100

• Jenkins Township, $122,000/$122,000

• Dupont Borough, $99,861/$99,861

• Laflin Borough, $64,546/$64,546

• Sugarloaf Township, $35,500/$35,500

Municipal authorities

• Borough of Freeland Municipal Authority, $227,400/$227,400

• Luzerne County Convention Center Authority, $5,845,843/$2 million

• City of Wilkes-Barre Industrial Development Authority, $3 million/$2 million

• Greater Hazleton Joint Sewer Authority, $5,093,150/$2 million

• Municipal Authority of Hazle Township, $3,368,750/$2 million

• Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, $2 million/$2 million

• Parking Authority of the City of Wilkes-Barre, $975,000/$975,000

• General Municipal Authority of Harveys Lake, $500,000/$500,000

• Berwick Area Joint Sewer Authority, $408,195/$408,195

• Sanitary Sewer Authority of the Borough of Shickshinny, $387,000/$387,000

The original list of top-scoring 75 is available in this Feb. 9 Times Leader article.

The county has not released details of the projects on the list because the applications are still accessible only through the consultant’s portal, although Lombardo said he is pressing for a way for the public to have access to project descriptions.

Tuesday’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Lombardo said council may schedule a special session at a later date to further review the American Rescue plan, with a goal of voting on awards at the March 14 council meeting.