Most likely Luzerne County American Rescue outside allocation plan released

With a vote set for Tuesday, it appears a Luzerne County Council majority is getting behind a plan that would provide $56.2 million in American Rescue Plan awards to 114 outside entities.

Council also is scheduled to vote on earmarking millions of dollars to provide some form of a public relief program and a small business grant program.

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said it’s possible $5 million will be allocated to provide direct payments to qualified individuals, although council has not yet hammered out whether income-eligible residents would have to meet minimum age and home ownership requirements.

A figure of $6 million has been suggested for the small business grant program, which would be administered by the Greater Pittston, Greater Hazleton and Wyoming Valley chambers of commerce, Lombardo said.

Lombardo stressed a council majority ultimately will decide whether to offer these programs and, if so, how much will be allocated.

Tuesday’s meeting is at 6 p.m. at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for a remote attendance option posted under council’s online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.

Allocation plan

Councilman Matthew Mitchell came up with the proposal that is drawing the most support since last month, and he has been working individually with council colleagues to update it.

It would fund more projects than council’s original plan by capping allocations by category. Even with the caps, 77 requests would be fully funded.

The remaining 37 applicants not receiving the amount they sought would have to submit revised budgets demonstrating how they would scale back their projects or provide additional funding through other means to complete them as originally proposed. Those unable to adjust would be deemed ineligible and removed from consideration, freeing up those funds for other purposes, council members said.

Lombardo said he likes Mitchell’s proposal because it is fair, spreads out funding to more entities and leaves surplus funds for other uses because it falls $3.8 million below the $60 million council had earmarked for outside entities.

Some highlights of Mitchell’s proposal and changes from past versions:

• The highest cap would be $2 million for municipalities and municipal authorities.

That means West Pittston would receive $2 million of its $11 million request to help fund Susquehanna River levee flood protection for the borough.

Mitchell also applied the $2 million cap to a $15.3 million request to complete recreational enhancements along the west side of the Susquehanna River, including wooded areas of Nesbitt Park and Kirby Park. Although this request was submitted through a pass-through entity, the Jewish Community Alliance of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Mitchell said he applied the municipal/authority cap because multiple municipalities are advancing the project.

• Little Leagues that had applied would be capped at $250,000 based on council concerns about providing more for such organizations.

• Small businesses would be capped at $200,000, or double his original suggestion of $100,000.

• Nonprofits would be capped at $500,000.

• School districts have been removed from consideration because they already received their own American Rescue allocations, he said.

• A $32,450 allocation for The Lands at Hillside Farms was added. Although its application had been deemed ineligible by the county’s American Rescue consultant, Mitchell said he reviewed the submission and consultant notes and saw no applicable reason stated for excluding the nonprofit educational dairy farm in the Back Mountain.

• Although municipal authorities would be capped at $2 million, the award for the Berwick Area Joint Sewer Authority was reduced from $408,195 to $81,639, which amounts to one-fifth, because only one of the five municipalities served by that authority — Salem Township — falls in Luzerne County, Mitchell said.

Full awards

If a council majority approves Mitchell’s proposal as is, here are the 77 projects that would receive all requested funding, along with the dollar amounts:

• Avoca Hose Company No 1, $75,515

• Back Mountain Recreation Inc., $156,900

• Beaver Brook Association, $120,000

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

• Borough of Freeland, $2 million

• Borough of Freeland Municipal Authority, $227,400

• Borough of Shickshinny, $358,000

• Butler Township, $500,000

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

• City of Hazleton, $995,357

• Common Ground Ministries, $500,000

• Conyngham Borough, $785,000

• Conyngham Valley Civic Organization, $119,507.34

• Coslett Dental Solutions, $94,366

• Courtdale Borough, $475,410

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

• Dantone Vending LLC, $40,000

• Diamond City Partnership Inc., $494,624

• Dinners For Kids, $200,000

• DMC Graphics, $8,075

• Dr. Joseph Costello, $50,000

• Dress for Success Luzerne County, $147,150

• Dupont Borough Municipal Government, $99,861

• Edwardsville Borough, $341,170

• Edwardsville Hometown Committee, $50,000

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

• Geisinger Health, $100,000

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

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

• Greater Wyoming Valley Area YMCA, $487,353

• Harveys Lake Borough, $855,000

• Hazle Township, $2 million

• IBEW Local 163 JATC, $500,000

• Jenkins Township Board of Supervisors, $122,000

• Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania, $150,829

• Laflin Borough, $64,546

• Lang Beverage Company, $50,000

• Larksville Borough, $400,000

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

• Luzerne County Library System, $204,505.96

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

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

• Michaelene’s Mission, $50,000

• Municipality of Kingston, $1,824,475

• New Roots Inc., $409,392

• Newport Township, $395,738.50

• North Branch Land Trust, $122,125

• North Lake Improvement Association, $88,980

• Oblates of Saint Joseph, $79,868

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

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

• Plains Township Fire Department, $539,854

• Power and Success Inc., $100,000

• Ryba’s Auto Sales, $80,000

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

• Staggers Southern Cuisine, $25,000

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

• Sugar Notch Borough, $650,250

• Sugarloaf Township $35,500

• Swoyersville Parks & Recreation Board, $250,000

• The Institute, $150,191

• The Lands at Hillside Farms, $32,450

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

• The Wandering Brew, $45,000

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

• United Way of Wyoming Valley, $210,000

• ValentinXStudios, $10,975

• West Hazleton Fire Company, $155,000

• Whiskers World Inc., $66,250

• White Haven Rescue Unit, $117,000

• Wilkes Barre Metropolitan Development Corporation, $72,100

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

• Wright Township, $583,330

• Wyoming Area Regional Police Department, $500,000

• Wyoming Borough, $1,138,700

• Wyoming Valley Habitat for Humanity, $48,615

• Yatesville Borough, $224,100

Partial funding

As previously stated, Mitchell’s proposal would partially fund 37 projects due to caps.

Here are the those projects, with the amount requested listed first and the recommended allocation listed last:

• Allied Services Center City Skilled Nursing, $1,860,856/$500,000

• Along the Way, $2,764,246/$500,000

• Amy Bezek Photography LLC, $300,000/$200,000

• Ashley Borough, $6 million/$2 million

• Berwick Area Joint Sewer Authority, $408,195/$81,639

• City of Pittston/Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance, $2.5 million/$2 million

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

• City of Wilkes-Barre, $771,000/$350,000

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

• F.M. Kirby Center, $586,150/$500,000

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

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

• Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber, $810,000/$500,000

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

• Jewish Community Alliance of Northeastern Pennsylvania, $15,331,739.40/$2 million

• Joe Grotto Inc., $250,000/$200,000

• Keystone Mission, $750,000/$500,000

• King’s College, $1,985,750/$500,000

• Lower South Valley Land Bank, $600,000/$ 500,000

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

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

• Mountain Top Area Little League LLC, $500,000/$250,000

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

• NEPA Inclusive, $9,544,000/$500,000

• Northwest Area Little League Inc., $253,871/$250,000

• Pittston Chamber, $15 million/$500,000

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

• Second Family Memory Care LLC, $203,551/$200,000

• Shawn Belle LLC, $495,037/$200,000

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

• Valley Crest Real Estate LP, $999,400/$200,000

• Volunteers in Medicine, $1.5 million/$500,000

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

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

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

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

• Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, $10 million/$2 million