Luzerne County Council approves lease, loan and veteran tax exemption

Luzerne County Council voted Tuesday to expand real estate tax exemption for disabled veterans, approve a court-requested lease of a Kingston property and loan Wilkes-Barre $500,000 for emergency infrastructure work.

The votes for the veteran tax exemption and city loan were unanimous, with Councilman Harry Haas absent.

Six of the 10 members in attendance approved the court lease after lengthy discussion: LeeAnn McDermott, Chris Perry, Jimmy Sabatino, Joanna Bryn Smith, Brittany Stephenson and Greg Wolovich.

Three council members voted against the court lease: Patty Krushnowski, Kevin Lescavage and Vice Chairman Brian Thornton. Council Chairman John Lombardo abstained, citing his relationship with a different building that had been considered for leasing.

Court officials sought the lease of an 11,900-square-foot former bank property at 310 Market St. in Kingston to house the county’s Domestic Relations office, which would free up space to fit all family court judicial operations inside the county-owned Bernard C. Brominski Building on North Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Lease payments to owner JDP Realty Inc. will be $25,783 per month, or $309,396 annually, which factors in renovations.

Thornton maintained the lease is too expensive and does not reflect market values in the area. While court representatives said they explored multiple buildings and found this was the only one suitable, Thornton said the court should have publicly sought proposals to ensure no viable options were missed.

Lescavage also argued the lease was too high because it will total $3 million over a decade.

Bryn Smith, an attorney, came to the court’s defense, saying she has personally observed problems caused by the insufficient family court space in the Brominski Building. The court “desperately needs” to relocate Domestic Relations, she said.

“I think this is the best we can do,” she said of the proposal, adding that she is confident sufficient due diligence was performed.

McDermott said she also toured both the existing and new spaces and is satisfied with the proposal because the Kingston property meets all state guidelines and will require minimal renovations.

Perry said he was initially against the lease but changed his position after listening to Tuesday’s discussion, including points made by court representatives.

Wilkes-Barre loan

Instead of an outright allocation as requested by the city, the county administration had agreed to seek council approval to loan the city $500,000 in community development funds without charging interest and require the city to repay the county $8,333 per month over five years.

City officials are trying to round up an estimated $1.2 million to address two antiquated systems that have collapsed at times: a metal culvert running under Scott Street to Conyngham Avenue that channels stormwater from Wilkes-Barre Township and a large and deep terra cotta combined sewer and stormwater line on Horton Street that services about half of the city.

Several citizens objected to the loan, with one claiming the city is not transparent enough about the state of its finances.

Thornton said one citizen suggestion for the city to seek a Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, loan to fund the repairs would not work in this situation because the process of seeking such a loan takes months.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo sent council an email before the meeting citing examples of city services provided to the county, including city fire and police response to county buildings and the city’s sacrificing of revenue from parking meters around the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre during elections and employee training.

Failure to address the city infrastructure could “lead to widespread disruption, affecting homes and businesses near the damaged pipes,” Crocamo said.

Veteran exemption

Honorably discharged veterans are eligible for real estate tax exemption if they were disabled during a period of war, and council voted Tuesday to add disabled non-wartime veterans to the program for county taxes only.

County Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott sought the expansion after learning about the issue from Wilkes-Barre resident Anthony Hall, a veteran disabled outside a period of war.

Council had delayed voting on the matter at its June 10 meeting due to an internal legal analysis questioning the county’s authority to alter eligibility requirements.

Council recently heard from several veterans seeking the expansion and noted that some other counties already have implemented the expansion to non-wartime veterans without any legal problems.

An estimated 19 non-wartime disabled veterans currently would be eligible to collectively stop paying $14,660 in county real estate taxes, officials said. The county cannot mandate expansion for school and municipal taxes.

Hall, who nearly lost his leg from injuries, spoke during public comment Tuesday, saying he received the tax exemption in New Jersey and Georgia and joined the military because he loves this country. Hall said he should not have to publicly plead for an exemption to help veterans who sacrificed.

“It’s sad. It’s really sad,” Hall said, adding it should be an “open and shut case.”