Hazleton mayor and Luzerne County manager announce southern county annex plan

Plans to create a southern Luzerne County annex in county-leased space at Hazleton City Hall were announced Monday morning in a joint release from Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat and county Manager Romilda Crocamo.

County council must approve the lease for the plans to take effect.

Council is set to discuss the proposed lease at Tuesday’s work session and would then vote at a subsequent meeting.

The lease for the property on Church Street (Route 309) would be $6,450 per month, or $77,400 annually. The lease would start Jan. 1, 2024 and expire the end of 2026.

The expense was factored in the administration’s proposed 2024 budget.

Space will be available in Hazleton City Hall because the city is relocating the police department to another property through funding from the American Rescue Plan.

The Hazleton City Police Department started relocating this month to the new space, also on Route 309. If the lease is approved by council, the county offices would start making accommodations to begin moving at the end of this year.

Monday’s joint release said this would be the first time in nearly two decades that county government services are available for Hazleton area residents closer to home, showing a commitment to improve the quality of life for all county residents.

“This significant development aims to bring Luzerne County’s exceptional services and resources closer to the residents of the Hazleton area, fostering greater accessibility and convenience for all,” the release said.

Representatives of the following county offices would be stationed at Hazleton City Hall, it said: recorder of deeds, register of wills, prothonotary (civil court records/filings), clerk of courts (criminal court records/filings), treasurer’s, assessment and elections.

A central court and probation services also would operate at Hazleton City Hall, and gun permit applications also are set to be processed there, the release said.

The move aims to streamline administrative processes, reduce travel time and “enhance the overall experience of engaging with county departments,” it said.

“We are excited to make this announcement of expansion and the positive impact it will have on the residents of the Hazleton area,” the release said. ”We look forward to Luzerne County Council’s support for the expansion of services in southern Luzerne County.”

Cusat, county Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora and others have been working for months to coordinate the expansion, it said.

Last annex

Elimination of the last southern county annex was controversial.

Past county commissioners Todd Vonderheid and Greg Skrepenak evacuated a rented southern county annex on Broad Street in September 2005 on a suspicion of toxic mold that was later deemed unfounded.

Commissioners announced their plans to search for a new Hazleton annex around the time of the evacuation. That December, Val-Mar Holdings bought the former Security Savings bank building a few blocks away on Broad Street for $330,000.

Val-Mar was owned in part by Frank DeGaetano, a former county planning commission member who had donated $850 to Skrepenak’s election campaign and also did business with the county through his Valley Testing and Balancing Inc.

In July 2006, Skrepenak and Vonderheid publicly announced their selection of the Val-Mar building for the new annex, voting to lease the place for $2.58 million over 10 years, or $21,487 per month, with utilities and some initial renovation included.

Skrepenak had denied any inside track or political involvement in the decision, but commissioners switched to plans to buy the building after public outcry over the lease amount. They voted in May 2007 to purchase the property for $605,000 through eminent domain, but a court panel later ordered the county to pay $700,000.

The property was never converted into an annex because the next administration didn’t want to spend an estimated $1 million on renovations. It was listed for sale for an appraised $625,000, but there were no takers.

In 2014, two years after the implementation of home rule, county council sold the former bank building for $25,000 to the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress, Inc. to create an arts center.