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Wilkes-Barre council approves consent agenda; residents press for action on plowing, zoning and trash
Summary
At its Jan. 23 regular voting session the Wilkes-Barre City Council approved the consent agenda. During public comment residents raised safety concerns about snow plowing on Luzerne Street, questioned zoning-board eligibility and reappointments, and reported ongoing trash problems at neighborhood locations.
The Wilkes-Barre City Council approved its consent agenda during the Jan. 23 regular voting session, with Councilman Barrett moving the motion and Councilman Belishko providing the second; a roll call produced affirmative votes from Barrett, Belishko, Merritt, McClay and Brooks.
The approvals covered resolutions and minutes included on the consent agenda; the agenda text did not specify individual resolution numbers or subjects. Councilman Barrett moved the consent agenda and Councilman Belishko seconded. The council conducted a roll call and recorded “yes” votes from Barrett, Belishko, Merritt, McClay and Brooks.
The session included several public comments focused on city services and board appointments. Dan Emplitt, a resident who said he lives on South Empire Street and spoke about Luzerne Street, showed photographs and told the council the street remained uncleared 14 hours after a light snow, saying the storm produced "2 inches 2a half" of snow and that his 91-year-old father and 82-year-old, wheelchair-bound mother were affected. Emplitt said plows repeatedly stopped short of his parents’ house and that crews left about "a quarter to a half inch of salt" in front of the property.
Council members and city staff acknowledged the complaint and said staff would follow up. Councilwoman McClay directed residents with zoning complaints to Bill Harris, saying, "If it's a zoning issue, if they're doing something that they weren't supposed to be doing on a zoning approval, it's Bill Harris." Administrator Charles McCormick was identified earlier in the meeting as a member of city administration.
Several speakers also raised concerns about a zoning-board reappointment and about historic-preservation work. One commenter questioned whether a zoning-board member who may have lived outside city limits was eligible to participate in past zoning decisions and asked whether the council or administration had known about that status prior to recent reappointment. City Attorney Tim Henry addressed the legal risk, saying he had "extreme confidence that no decision made by the zoning board" would be "open to litigation." He added that, based on his review, he could not see how past decisions would be subject to successful legal challenge.
Other neighborhood concerns reported to the council included an accumulation of garbage at the corner of West Hollenback and North Main Streets and a private-hauler pickup problem at a property on South Franklin and Academy Street (the "grama property"). The administration said staff would monitor those locations and pursue follow-up as appropriate.
The meeting also recorded the routine motion to adjourn later in the session; the transcript does not record a formal vote on that motion within the excerpt provided.
Votes at a glance
- Consent agenda (resolutions and minutes): Motion by Councilman Barrett; second by Councilman Belishko. Roll call: Barrett — yes; Belishko — yes; Merritt — yes; McClay — yes; Brooks — yes. Outcome: approved. Specific resolution numbers and items were not specified in the transcript.
What happened next
City staff committed to follow up on the plowing and trash complaints. Councilmembers directed residents with zoning-related enforcement issues to contact Bill Harris.
