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Williamsport hears broad grant update; councilors debate $500,000 for public-safety design
Summary
City staff and consultants reviewed awarded and pending federal, state and private grants — from Bowman Field upgrades to an $8 million Army Corps flood program — and discussed a $500,000 congressional request for architecture and engineering work tied to a new or renovated public-safety facility.
City officials and outside consultants gave Williamsport City Council a standing-room briefing Thursday on awarded and pending grant funding, including federal, state and private sources, and discussed next steps for a long‑discussed public‑safety building.
The presentation, led by Melanie (grants consultant), Keller Partners (Tom Keller and Andy Garfinkel) and Delta (Teresa Sparacino and Will Lewis), reviewed recent awards and applications: $750,000 and $400,000 toward Bowman Field upgrades, a $365,000 Safe Streets for All award for pedestrian and traffic safety planning, a $200,000 CFA multimodal award for West Third Street, and other state and foundation grants. Consultants said the city has multiple grant streams active and emphasized coordination and compliance to keep the projects moving.
Why it matters: the council and administration said the city has a large pipeline of project funding and that staff are working to align department delivery, reporting and contract compliance so funds are spent on schedule.
Keller Partners described several major federally supported projects: a $2,662,215 Old City Revitalization package split across four components (street-light modernization, pedestrian improvements, Fourth Street utilities and the Basin Street riverwalk connector) and an $8,000,000 package funded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with Army Corps involvement for levee engineering, pump stations and seepage relief work. Keller said the Army Corps’ semi-quantitative risk assessment recently completed internal review and that a chiefs report and work plan could follow, enabling Corps participation in construction.
Consultants and staff also highlighted targeted requests: a $3,500,000 community project funding request for Grafias Run debris-control and stream improvements and a $500,000 congressional request intended to cover architecture and engineering for a new or renovated public‑safety facility. Council members pressed on the $500,000 ask: Keller Partners and administration staff said the $500,000 would cover site identification and A&E only, not construction, and that federal timing might put funds on a roughly 8‑ to 12‑month horizon if Congress funds the request.
Council members voiced differing views. Vice President Eric Beiter and some councilors said they worry about spending lobbying and consultant resources on design funds if no follow‑on construction funding is likely. Others, including members of the administration, argued that securing A&E dollars first would allow the city to have concrete cost estimates and siting information and avoid wasting staff time later. Staff said federal grant awards typically allow 3 years to obligate funds and 5 years to expend them, giving the city some flexibility if a design award is made.
Delta and Keller noted other ongoing or upcoming grant efforts: PennDOT multimodal and ARLE applications for traffic signal and crosswalk work; a pending PennDOT multimodal application for High and Campbell streets (award anticipated August–September); HUD HOME and CDBG reallocations (discussed elsewhere on the agenda) to support Habitat for Humanity construction; and state programs such as Main Street Matters and RACP as matching or leveraging opportunities. Delta emphasized that state funds can often be used to match federal awards.
Staff also reported program-level metrics: the peer‑reviewed co‑responder program supported by a PCCD grant has responded to about 250 calls; Bowman Field improvements include MLB‑related netting requirements (addressed separately on the agenda); and several projects are in RACP compliance stages covering a combined $3,000,000 in funds.
Ending: Council members thanked the consultants for the work and asked staff to return with follow‑up recommendations on priorities — especially whether to pursue the $500,000 A&E congressional request and how flexible the request's language could be so funds could be applied to a combined city‑hall/public‑safety approach if appropriate.
