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Wilkes‑Barre officials describe $600,000 emergency repair need for collapsed sewer and culvert
Summary
City officials and residents discussed a proposed borrowing item tied to immediate repairs of a collapsed combined sewer line on Horton Street and a failing corrugated culvert that carries stormwater to Cunningham Avenue; the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority has agreed to allow drawdowns that would partially offset costs.
City officials said the city needs about $600,000 now to respond to two recent, major failures in Wilkes‑Barre’s sewer and stormwater infrastructure and that the total program could reach about $1.2 million.
“...a very deep combined sewer stormwater line that's about 30 feet deep on Horton Street. We've had 2 major breaks there, in the last year, year and a half. Is now totally collapsed in certain areas,” Administrator Charlie McCormack said, describing the Horton Street failure. He also described a “corrugated metal” culvert that funnels water from Wilkes‑Barre Township under Scott Street and Cole Street out to Cunningham Avenue, and which has collapsed in places after repeated breaks.
The city placed a borrowing resolution on the consent agenda, which residents urged council to delay so they could get more detail. “Why does the city have to go further into debt?” resident Sam Troy asked during public comment, pressing whether the sanitary authority could contribute and whether the borrowing would come from the general fund. Troy said he was concerned that routine charges paid by customers were not being set aside for these repairs.
McCormack said the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority (WVSA) has been cooperative and “passed at their last meeting, the authorization for the city to draw down their quarter of a million dollars, $200,000 for 3 years in order to pay for that,” which would cover part of the program. He said spreading emergency costs over time would reduce the immediate borrowing need. The administration also said the Horton Street line serves roughly half of the city's sewer flow on that side of Wilkes‑Barre and that the failure previously backed sewer and water up toward South Main Street.
Council approved the consent agenda, which included routine resolutions and minutes, by a voice vote before the public‑comment discussion concluded. The record shows a separate ordinance was approved on first reading that night for the city’s 2025 action plan; the transcript does not record a separate, roll‑call vote expressly adopting a standalone borrowing ordinance outside the consent agenda.
Officials and residents discussed next steps in public comment and during administrative explanation, including outreach to WVSA and county partners to identify additional funding. McCormack said the county had not yet taken a vote on a related funding request. There was no record in the transcript of council directing staff to delay or to take a specific alternate funding action beyond the items on the consent agenda.
Community members at the meeting asked for clearer identification of which lines were sanitary versus stormwater and whether user fees they pay help fund repairs. McCormack identified the lines involved and the immediate public‑safety and service risks posed by repeated collapses. The transcript does not record more detailed engineering schedules, contractor selections, bid awards, or final borrowing terms.
Residents and the administration said they intend to continue coordinating with WVSA and county officials to finalize funding. The council did not record a separate vote declaring an emergency procurement or the final loan terms in the publicly available transcript of the meeting.
