Levee overseer asks Edwardsville to address homeless camp

The Wyoming Valley Levee overseer asked Edwardsville police to address a homeless camp on levee property near the Narrows Shopping Center.

Christopher Belleman, executive director of the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority that operates the levee, said he became aware of the situation several weeks ago when staff had to remove two pickup trucks full of debris left on the levee by camp occupants.

Speaking during Tuesday’s authority board meeting, Belleman said he and authority solicitor Jeffrey Rockman met with borough officials to discuss the matter.

On Feb. 15, the authority sent a letter to Edwardsville Police Chief David Souchick requesting assistance and granting police permission to enter authority property at any time to enforce law violations, such as trespassing, illegal lodging, public intoxication, drug possession and alcohol consumption.

If an arrest is made, Belleman told Souchick he or another authority representative will appear at any legal proceeding necessary to assist in prosecuting arrests.

Belleman also worked with Rockman to draft a notice of trespass that is now under review by the authority board.

When finalized, this notice will be handed out to those in the encampment, Rockman said. No-trespassing signs already were posted on trees in that area, he added.

Belleman said this notice will include a list of alternate housing options.

The authority land is near the authority’s Woodward Pump Station.

Authority Chairman Dominic Yannuzzi said the law enforcement request and pending notice of trespass are the only recourses available to the authority.

“This is a legal matter for police to handle. Our job is to maintain the levee, not to be police officers,” Yannuzzi said.

During public comment Tuesday, Kingston resident Gerald Reisinger complained about drug dealers infiltrating and “terrorizing” homeless encampments in the wooded swath between the levee and Susquehanna River, mainly near the Market Street Bridge.

Reisinger, who helps feed and assist the riverfront homeless, said he cleans up the encampment debris in the cold weather, knowing the homeless will return when it warms up.

He asserted bicycle-riding drug dealers are using the recreational path atop the levee all year when it is dark out as a “highway” to deliver drugs.

Reisinger told the authority board he is confident dealers are responsible for cutting unpopular railroad crossing fencing atop the levee in Edwardsville because it blocked their passage between Edwardsville and Kirby Park.

The crossing is near the Wilkes University women’s softball field and Kirby Park tennis courts.

Regarding Reisinger’s complaints about drug activity, authority officials have stressed Wilkes-Barre owns Kirby Park and Nesbitt Parks and is responsible for maintaining and policing the riverfront portions of these recreational facilities.

Edwardsville fence

Authority officials supported an option Tuesday that may lead to elimination of the fencing in exchange for other options, such as updated signs, pavement markings and arm gates that block the path when trains are coming through.

The authority board voted Tuesday to approve an application with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PUC, to make the Edwardsville levee railroad crossing public.

A public crossing designation would allow the PUC to assist the authority and railroad in identifying a solution that meets current safety requirements, Yannuzzi said. The Edwardsville crossing meets the parameters of a public crossing because it passes through a publicly-owned levee used by pedestrians and bicyclists, he has said.

To the dismay of many recreational path users, fencing was installed last April to stop the public from crossing an intersecting, active Norfolk Southern Railway train line.

Norfolk Southern, which owns the land containing the track, required the fencing as part of an agreement granting permission for the authority to modify the crossing so a gate system could be quickly set up when the Susquehanna rises, eliminating the need for more than 1,500 sandbags, the authority said.

In addition to the Edwardsville crossing, the authority is seeking PUC involvement in two other Norfolk crossings where the levee passes beneath the railroad bridge in Kingston near the Kingston Public Works facility and where the levee access ramp passes under the railroad bridge in Wilkes-Barre near the end of Riverside Drive.

Because the PUC process would take time, authority Board member John Maday asked if the fence will be repaired in the interim.

Belleman said the fence had been cut open previously, and he will again send out staff to repair it. Based on past experience, he cautioned the fence could be vandalized again shortly after the repair.

Authority personnel

Laura Holbrook, the authority’s mitigation and outreach specialist, was promoted to deputy director Tuesday at an annual salary of $63,000.

Holbrook thanked the board for its approval and looks forward to the expanded role. She has worked at the authority approximately seven years.

The authority also approved 3% raises for professional staff that were included in the 2024 budget, resulting in the following annual compensation changes:

• Belleman, $93,097 to $95,890

• Peter Bacumpas, levee operations supervisor, $62,863 to $64,749

• Deana Prochaska, administrative assistant, $31,500 to $32,448