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Resident presses council for costs, oversight after ARPA project managers resign
Summary
A public commenter asked the council to detail costs and timelines for reassigning ARPA project manager duties to existing staff and to explain how a $100,000 emergency operations grant fits with the Serenti Center’s role.
A Scranton resident pressed the City Council on its plan to fold American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) project-manager duties into existing staff roles, saying the proposal’s backup materials lack the final financial-impact detail residents want.
At the city’s public-comment hour, Joan Hodawanitz asked who held the ARPA project-manager posts that recently resigned and why their duties would be reassigned rather than replaced. “I would like you to show me the numbers, how this all works out,” she said, asking whether four or five staff would receive ARPA-backed hours and whether those positions continue after ARPA funding expires.
Council members acknowledged the gap in the packet. The resolution introduced as item 5H would add ARPA project-manager responsibilities to existing positions, referencing the city’s ARPA spending plan (Resolution 69 of 2022). Council asked administration to clarify whether four or five positions are affected, provide the number of additional weekly hours and estimate total costs through the ARPA deadline.
Hodawanitz also raised questions about item 5F, a proposal to apply for up to $100,000 in state grant funds to support an emergency operations and training center. She asked how that request relates to the Serenti Center, which she said was originally envisioned as an emergency-operations hub, training facility and storage site. “What in the world are we doing with the Serenti Center?” she asked, seeking specifics about whether contracting with other entities would produce revenue or only services-in-kind.
Council President Schuster and city staff said they would forward Hodawanitz’s questions to administration and supply the missing financial estimates before final action. The resolution (5H) was introduced to committee; council requested the administration supply the missing final financial-impact section in the backup and clarify whether previously hired ARPA positions were included in the 2026 budget.
