COUNCIL — Scranton, PA
Date: 2025-07-01

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 1 COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF SCRANTON

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 4 HELD:

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 7 Tuesday, June 24th, 2025

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10 LOCATION:

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12 COUNCIL CHAMBERS

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24 Maria McCool, RPR
 Official Court Reporter
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 1 C O U N C I L M E M B E R S:

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 GERALD SMURL - PRESIDENT
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 MARK MCANDREW, VICE PRESIDENT
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 JESSICA ROTHCHILD
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 THOMAS SCHUSTER
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 WILLIAM KING
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 FRANK VOLDENBERG, CITY CLERK
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 KATHY CARRERA, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
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 THOMAS GILBRIDE, ESQ., COUNCIL SOLICITOR
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 1 (Pledge of Allegiance.)

 2

 3 MR. SMURL: Please remain standing

 4 for a moment of silent reflection for our

 5 service men and women throughout the world and

 6 for those who have passed away in our

 7 community, especially Father Patrick

 8 McLaughlin, Nancy Hetman, our Moosic Council

 9 President George Bieber and Joseph McCracken.

10 Thank you. Roll call, please.

11 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

12 MR. KING: Present.

13 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

14 MR. SCHUSTER: Present.

15 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

16 DR. ROTHCHILD: Here.

17 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

18 MR. MCANDREW: Present.

19 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

20 MR. SMURL: Here. Dispense with the

21 reading of the minutes.

22 MR. VOLDENBERG: THIRD ORDER.

23 3.A. LACKAWANNA COUNTY PLANNING

24 COMMISSION SUBDIVISION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT

25 EVALUATION REPORTS REVIEWED MAY 16, 2025 AND
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 1 MAY 27, 2025.

 2 3.B. MINUTES OF THE SCRANTON

 3 FIREFIGHTERS PENSION COMMISSION MEETINGS HELD

 4 APRIL 16, 2025 AND MAY 21, 2025.

 5 3.C. AGENDA FOR THE NON-UNIFORM

 6 MUNICIPAL PENSION BOARD MEETING HELD JUNE 18,

 7 2025.

 8 3.D. MINUTES OF THE NON-UNIFORM

 9 MUNICIPAL PENSION BOARD MEETING HELD MAY 21,

10 2025.

11 3.E. MINUTES OF THE SCRANTON POLICE

12 PENSION COMMISSION MEETING HELD MAY 21, 2025.

13 3.F. MINUTES OF THE COMPOSITE

14 PENSION BOARD MEETING HELD MAY 21, 2025.

15 3.G. OVERTIME REPORT FOR ALL

16 DEPARTMENTS FOR JUNE 2025, AS PROVIDED BY CITY

17 CONTROLLER, RECEIVED JUNE 23, 2025.

18 MR. SMURL: Are there any comments

19 on any of the Third Order items?

20 MR. SCHUSTER: Just one comment.

21 When looking at the firefighter's pension

22 committee meetings in April and May, it was

23 great to see that Mr. Morgan has been appointed

24 and he's started work on that board. That's

25 all.
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 1 MR. KING: Agree.

 2 MR. SMURL: All right. That's it.

 3 MR. KING: Oh, just one thing --

 4 oh --

 5 MR. SMURL: All right. Received and

 6 filed. Do any Council members have any

 7 announcements at this time?

 8 MR. KING: I have the -- I know it's

 9 five weeks early, but the -- I guess it's the

10 20th year of the Scranton Jazz Festival.

11 That's going to happen August 1st, 2nd, and

12 3rd, 3 days, 20 venues, 80 musicians here in

13 Scranton.

14 So it's pretty exciting, look

15 forward to that. It's coming up in about five

16 weeks here in Scranton. That's all. Thank

17 you.

18 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Mr. King.

19 Anyone else?

20 DR. ROTHCHILD: I have a few

21 announcements just for some of the past events

22 that just happened over the weekend. It was a

23 really busy weekend in Scranton. And I wanted

24 to congratulate Miss Jeffries and the other

25 organizers of the Electric City Flower Show
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 1 which also went very well again this year.

 2 It was a pretty hot day, so we did

 3 take some refuge in the Everhart Museum that

 4 day. And it was nice and cool in there and it

 5 was I think free admission that day for the

 6 Everhart. So it was a great opportunity to be

 7 able to check that out in addition to the

 8 Flower Show.

 9 So that happened Saturday as well as

10 the Juneteenth celebrations, several of them

11 that they had that were another success this

12 year. And Jimmy Connors Day they were going to

13 have on Sunday, Susie was here last week to

14 announce that was happening. But because of

15 the storms and the weather, they did have to

16 reschedule that.

17 I don't know if they had a date on

18 it yet. But once we find that out, we could

19 announce that for anyone who is interested in

20 being able to go to that at Nay Aug Park. And

21 last night I had the honor of attending an

22 event that I've gone to in the past and that's

23 the Governor's Pride Reception that he has

24 every year.

25 And Governor Wolff had that in past
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 1 and now Governor Shapiro is doing that as well.

 2 And typically he would have the event at the

 3 residence which now because of the arson that

 4 occurred there more recently, that is not being

 5 used for events currently.

 6 But it was at the State Library

 7 which I never had the chance to go to before.

 8 And it is just so impressive and beautiful

 9 inside. So if anyone ever gets the chance when

10 you're in Harrisburg to go to the State

11 Library, I encourage you to do so.

12 And then I don't know if other

13 Council members were going to mention it too,

14 but I think we're all excited that the pools

15 are open in the City of Scranton. So you've

16 got Connell, Weston -- Weston Park and Weston

17 Field, all of those pools being open as well as

18 the splash pad as Novembrino Park.

19 So that came just in time for this

20 heat wave that we have for people to be able to

21 go into the pool and into the water. So that's

22 all that I have. Thank you.

23 MR. SMURL: Thank you.

24 MR. MCANDREW: I have a couple. I

25 too attended the Electric City Flower Show on
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 1 Saturday. And it was a great event. I want to

 2 congratulate Miss Jeffries and her whole crew.

 3 They did a great job. It was really nice. And

 4 also, I want to congratulate and recognize the

 5 Scranton Police Department and the Fire

 6 Department.

 7 So last Friday on June 20th, Officer

 8 Dippre responded to a report of woman in labor

 9 at her residence. She was first to arrive on

10 scene followed shortly by members of the

11 Scranton Fire Department. Officer Dippre and

12 the Scranton Fire Department personnel assisted

13 with the delivery of the newborn and cared for

14 the baby until Pennsylvania Ambulance arrived.

15 And also which was really nice,

16 Officer Dippre visited the hospital to check on

17 both the mother and child. They're both doing

18 well. I just want to congratulate them. This

19 is something that you see on TV or on a TV

20 show. I just think it's pretty cool. And I

21 wanted to make sure they were recognized.

22 And next, so this Thursday, June

23 26th over in West Side the Victor Alfieri,

24 they're in their monthly lunch from 11:30 a.m.

25 to 1. It's chicken parmesan, pasta and
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 1 meatballs or half and half.

 2 For members it's 12 dollars. For

 3 nonmembers it's 14. It's a great lunch. I

 4 attend as much as I can and try to support

 5 them. And, you know, for a lunch for, you

 6 know, 12, 14 dollars, it's very hard to get a

 7 hoagie and a bag of chips for that nowadays.

 8 So it's really -- it's a really good deal. And

 9 that is all I have. Thank you.

10 MR. SMURL: Thank you.

11 MR. VOLDENBERG: FOURTH ORDER.

12 CITIZENS PARTICIPATION.

13 MR. SMURL: First, Joan Hodowanitz.

14 MS. HODOWANTIZ: Joan Hodowanitz,

15 Scranton. You know what this city needs? We

16 need more people like Norma Jeffries. That

17 woman puts her heart and soul into supporting

18 this community. And one of these days I would

19 like to see a proclamation thanking her for all

20 of her wonderful work. But boy, too bad we

21 can't clone that woman.

22 Is it hot or what? It is so hot out

23 there. I see people walking their dogs and the

24 dogs are whimpering because the sidewalk is so

25 hot which brings to mind the fact that the kind
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 1 of heat we're experiencing now is basically

 2 life-threatening for some people.

 3 And I wish that everyone would check

 4 on their neighbors, especially the elderly.

 5 Many people have access to air conditioning.

 6 But they won't use it because it's one of those

 7 expenses that they, you know, can't afford or

 8 they don't have air conditioning.

 9 What about the homeless, you know,

10 so one thing I would like to remind people,

11 please check on those who may be in danger from

12 this kind of heat, number one. And number two,

13 if you are looking for a cooling center, I

14 would recommend the public library.

15 It's a two-for. You could cool

16 down, be there all day long and read or you

17 could use a public computer. They have all

18 kinds of things that you could do while you're

19 down there.

20 But we don't want to read stories

21 about people who, you know, suffer heatstroke

22 or heat exhaustion. Please, please make sure

23 that your family members, your friends, and

24 your neighbors are not suffering in this heat.

25 Word is that tomorrow we will be
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 1 back in the 90s and then it's going to go down

 2 for the foreseeable future. So but if we have

 3 90 degree heat waves this early in the summer,

 4 I think we're going to have more than one.

 5 I hope the city is working on

 6 finding a new director for DPW. Has anything

 7 been announced?

 8 MR. SMURL: It's advertised, yes.

 9 MS. HODOWANITZ: Oh, it is, who is

10 it? Oh, it's advertised. But we haven't

11 gotten a candidate yet.

12 MR. SMURL: Not that I know of.

13 MS. HODOWANITZ: Okay. That's good.

14 And hopefully the labor contract negotiations

15 are progressing because it's almost six months

16 now that the previous contract ended. And I

17 was thinking, you know, this morning, do you

18 know how long it took to negotiate the

19 contracts for the police and the firefighters?

20 About a year and a half or longer.

21 So since their contracts expire in December of

22 2026, they probably should start negotiating

23 right now. But we shall see. Anyway,

24 everybody take care until this week passes.

25 That's all I have tonight.
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 1 MR. SMURL: Thank you. Angela

 2 Ramone.

 3 MS. RAMONE: Hello. It's good to

 4 see everybody again tonight. I'm sure we're

 5 going to hear many, many comments tonight about

 6 the heat wave that we've been experiencing, I,

 7 myself have been experiencing.

 8 But unlike many people in our

 9 community during the day when I'm at work and

10 during the night when I'm at home, I have

11 access to air conditioning, to portable water.

12 I have access to things like ice packs, fans,

13 to keep myself cool.

14 But many, many in our community do

15 not. I am aware that the county operates code

16 red and code blue shelters. So the city does

17 not have the authority to unilaterally change

18 anything about that. However, I would like to

19 know if the city has any plans on either

20 independently making it easier for people

21 struggling with the heat to find shelter or

22 cooperating with our county, perhaps assisting

23 with funding for our code red shelters to make

24 them easier to run.

25 I know that currently the conditions
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 1 that are required for our code red shelters to

 2 open in Lackawanna County is that it needs to

 3 be 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It has not been 100

 4 degrees here.

 5 However, given that we have -- we've

 6 had heat in the 90s with incredibly high

 7 humidity, it's put many, many people at risk of

 8 heatstroke and death. And I believe that our

 9 county should update its rules to lower the

10 temperature requirement to open up our code red

11 shelters and also account for humidity when

12 determining whether or not to open the shelter.

13 But that does cost additional money.

14 And I believe that our city should look into

15 cooperating with the county and possibly

16 allocating funds to help lower that -- lower

17 that temperature threshold and add a humidity

18 threshold for when we open our shelters.

19 In addition, I'm sure that all of

20 you are aware and many of us in attendance are

21 aware that the Keystone Mission is going to be

22 closing its locations in Scranton and in

23 Wilkes-Barre.

24 They provided so many services and

25 have provided so many services to our homeless
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 1 and unhoused population for years. But because

 2 their federal grants have been frozen, they are

 3 no longer able to operate. And that leaves us

 4 with a crossroads in our city where we have a

 5 decision to make.

 6 Are we going to step up and make

 7 sure that the most vulnerable people in our

 8 city, our homeless, our sick, our elderly, our

 9 poor are able to get the assistance they need

10 to survive with dignity?

11 Or are we going to do nothing and

12 let people suffer and die of heatstroke, die of

13 hunger, die from a lack of access to healthcare

14 in our own city where we have the ability. We

15 have the means to help these people. I know

16 coordinating efforts like this is no easy task

17 and especially with these types of services.

18 It's not easy to find people that

19 are willing and capable and skilled in

20 providing the care and just services that are

21 needed to these vulnerable populations.

22 So I'd hope that the city is willing

23 to work with the people who have experience at

24 the Keystone Mission and better understand what

25 their needs are right now at this moment and
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 1 what we could do to best help them in their

 2 mission to provide our homeless population with

 3 food, with emergency shelter and help get them

 4 connected with other important services so that

 5 they can have their needs met. So thank you

 6 and have a good night.

 7 MR. SMURL: Thank you. Les

 8 Spindler.

 9 MR. SPINDLER: Good evening,

10 Council, Les Spindler, city resident and

11 homeowner. In the past, Mr. Smurl, when

12 somebody is talking in the back you reprimand

13 them. Yet this child is here tonight

14 disrupting the meeting. And you're letting

15 that go on.

16 This isn't a daycare center. They

17 shouldn't be allowed to stand here with a child

18 and disrupt this meeting or else you should let

19 people talk when they want to talk. In the

20 past you've stopped people.

21 Why are you letting that child stay

22 here and not ask them to leave? You don't

23 think that is disruptive to the meeting?

24 Crickets. Moving on, I'm going to talk about

25 these pave cuts until they're taken care of.
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 1 I've said it for years and years these cities

 2 are -- these street -- the utilities are

 3 killing our streets.

 4 The one on the 1400 block of Bulwer

 5 where I live, it's getting worse by the week,

 6 just went by it today. You have to stop and

 7 just go through it really, really slow. It's

 8 getting worse and worse every week. I think it

 9 was the gas company but I'm not sure.

10 There's another one on North Main

11 Avenue before Catalano's. It's in front of the

12 barber -- Dick's Barbershop. It's on that side

13 of the street. That's another one. One on 7th

14 Avenue going towards U-Haul, it's just past the

15 Outreach Center. It's something called the

16 Outreach Center. It's just past that.

17 They're all over the city. It's

18 ridiculous. The cities should hold these

19 utilities accountable. They are not holding

20 them accountable and cars are getting damaged.

21 It's ridiculous. We're letting these utilities

22 get away with murder.

23 Lastly, a friend of mine told me

24 yesterday that he saw in the paper that they

25 are changing the recycle schedule. I guess the
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 1 paper and cardboards will be picked up at the

 2 same time?

 3 MR. MCANDREW: I'm going to bring

 4 that up in Fifth Order. I have the same

 5 question as you.

 6 MR. SPINDLER: Okay. Is that true?

 7 MR. MCANDREW: Well, I'm going to

 8 ask for clarification. I know it says it on

 9 the new calendar, but there's -- we've had

10 calendars with errors so --

11 MR. SPINDLER: My friend called DPW

12 and they said that's happening.

13 MR. MCANDREW: I reached out and

14 they weren't clear.

15 MR. SPINDLER: They said we don't

16 have a schedule.

17 MR. MCANDREW: Well, they didn't get

18 a director. So in Fifth Order I'm going to ask

19 for clarification.

20 MR. SPINDLER: Is the city going to

21 let people know when this is going to take

22 place? Like, I don't get the paper anymore. I

23 stopped it a year ago because it's a waste. So

24 are they going to let people know or are we

25 just going to have to guess?
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 1 MR. MCANDREW: I'll address that in

 2 Fifth Order for you. I got it.

 3 MR. SPINDLER: Well, I won't be here

 4 for Fifth Order. They should let people know.

 5 They should send a notice to everybody's house

 6 and let them know ahead of time, whatever.

 7 This administration is unbelievable. Thank you

 8 for your time.

 9 MR. SMURL: Thank you. Ron Ellman.

10 MR. ELLMAN: Good evening, Council.

11 Do you people really realize what another four

12 years of Cognetti means to the people of this

13 city? It means this, foreclosures. Some of

14 you are probably familiar with this.

15 Thousands of them have happened to

16 people. Some of them -- some of these people

17 we know and some you could care less about like

18 the city government.

19 You keep following her policies,

20 therefore, a nonprofit paradise for the

21 wealthy. It won't stop. You see in five

22 years, nothing for the people of this city, a

23 couple streets paved the last few months and

24 now grants for pools.

25 Grants were available for the last
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 1 five years. No one seemed to care that much

 2 about the children. Two hundred forty thousand

 3 dollars to learn how to walk around downtown.

 4 I've been here ten times. You can't walk down

 5 North Main. Cars are parked on it because of

 6 illegal boarding houses. You people, nobody

 7 cares.

 8 Today there was a car against a

 9 fence. And I saw some little -- I don't -- not

10 real little kids, walking in the street around

11 it. North Main Avenue is like a racetrack.

12 Like Birney Avenue, cars are going 70, 80 miles

13 an hour at night, especially the motorcycles.

14 There -- I think the worst thing in

15 this administration is the zoning board that

16 have just -- just allowed so much adversity

17 upon this city. There's a solar farm inside

18 our city limits. Cities and villages are

19 fighting the blight from solar farms all over

20 the country.

21 And we got one in our city because

22 of the Mayor because nobody read the paper. I

23 stood here and said it's in the paper for a

24 solar farm. Somebody should have protested it.

25 Who on that solar -- that zoning board told
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 1 them about that property?

 2 Do you realize talking about graft

 3 and corruption in this administration reeks

 4 of -- the reassessment by some 20 year olds

 5 from Ohio, they had the authority to raise our

 6 prices. I told you a year ago my insurance

 7 had -- they raised the price according to what

 8 information they got and it was true.

 9 You didn't believe me. A year ago I

10 had the same figure that most -- the

11 reassessment was. What happened, dozens and

12 dozens and dozens of properties were turning

13 from single family to two, three, four, six

14 units. They weren't reassessed. Why?

15 Why didn't somebody know about that?

16 Look at all the property -- what happened to

17 all the income from this property? Some of it

18 should have gone to the city. That's why we

19 need some -- a new voice. I certainly don't

20 believe in changing horses midterm.

21 But I don't believe in some

22 on-the-job training for some newcomers. If I

23 could get that seat up there in November, I

24 will be a voice for the people of this city

25 that they -- they won't be able to complain
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 1 about. You know, this is just a shame what

 2 this city's come to.

 3 Like I said, why doesn't somebody

 4 try to find out where all of this

 5 reassessment -- why these houses weren't

 6 reassessed for crying out loud? You know, we

 7 sure need some changes in government. In

 8 November there's a time to give it. Thank you.

 9 MR. SMURL: Thank you. Lee Morgan.

10 MR. MORGAN: Good evening, Council.

11 The first thing that I have here is as I always

12 say, I respect everybody's opinion. But

13 tonight I'm going to say that I'm fairly happy

14 that child showed up here today because I think

15 it's a good idea for residents to come here and

16 even if they're little children, we should

17 acknowledge that that's where our obligation is

18 in the future, not to ourselves.

19 I mean, you know, look at your own

20 age and realize that your time is here,

21 whatever time you have left. But you should

22 make a better city for the next generation

23 that's going to take it. And it's just not

24 happening here and you have to face that

25 reality.
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 1 And on a side note, I'd like to say

 2 Donald Trump is becoming one of the greatest

 3 Presidents we've ever had. Even the UN is

 4 talking about giving him the Nobel Peace Prize.

 5 He's a man that sees problems and solves them.

 6 And he's not worried about polls and

 7 how people feel but what reality is. But now,

 8 onto another issue which is ECTV. I served

 9 them with discovery. Your attorney knows what

10 that is. Well, they haven't -- they haven't

11 returned it yet. They're way over their time

12 limit. So they must not care much for my

13 questions.

14 But I think the community should

15 realize that that's a major problem that our

16 city has because the government is muzzled the

17 people by controlling the public access channel

18 and by giving the other channel away.

19 We just have a government that only

20 wants to hear its own thoughts and they are

21 almost all misguided because we've elected

22 people over the course of an extended period of

23 time that wanted to run for public office and

24 be elected.

25 But they never attended a public
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 1 meeting. And they have no real continuity or

 2 understanding of their neighborhoods or the

 3 pain and suffering that everyone in this city

 4 is experiencing.

 5 And the reassessment is only a very

 6 small part of that because the reassessment is

 7 isn't being driven to make the community

 8 better. It's being driven to answer for debt.

 9 The county is in massive debt. The

10 city is in massive debt. You know, the

11 craziest thing you'll ever see is when

12 Mr. Gervase used to come here and talk about

13 the city and his war with Mayor Doherty.

14 And then he allowed the city's

15 pension fund to be pillaged. And the poor rank

16 and file firemen, policemen, DPW workers, you

17 know, you're either ignorant or you're stupid.

18 But if you're ignorant, you educate yourself.

19 They've lost so much money in the mismanagement

20 of their pension funds.

21 It's almost beyond comprehension.

22 And, you know, the general condition of the

23 city, I don't know, we've wasted hundreds,

24 hundreds of millions of dollars. And then you

25 got people that are going to complain about the
 24

 1 flooding they've experience lately and why the

 2 federal government didn't come in and rescue

 3 them.

 4 And my message to them is, you

 5 should have rescued yourself decades ago when

 6 you elected people and they didn't respond to

 7 the problems you had with water runoff and

 8 still haven't. The city is for lack of a

 9 better term completely out of control.

10 And all of this mess you're going to

11 give to that child in the back there because

12 you're not going to respond to anybody -- any

13 of it and you're not going to fix it. The

14 Scranton School District is a complete fiasco.

15 Their educational product is beyond

16 stinks. You know, the greatest thing I did

17 for my children was take them out of the

18 Scranton School District. It really was.

19 One's a visionary for a multimillion dollar --

20 billion dollar corporation guiding the whole

21 company.

22 My other children are all educated

23 and have great jobs. But I told them you have

24 to leave here. There's nothing here. We lack

25 leadership and vision. And the Mayor, she's
 25

 1 not capable of doing her job. And she hasn't

 2 been capable. And instead of the Council

 3 bringing up legislation and sending it down to

 4 the Mayor, they don't do that.

 5 And the one reason they don't is

 6 because they don't know the problems the city

 7 needs to solve. And we need to elect

 8 independent candidates to give them a shot.

 9 That's our future. The Democrat -- there is no

10 Republican party.

11 And it's not a personal thing

12 because outside of these meetings, you're fine

13 people. But as far as directing the city, it's

14 not happening. And you're not the only ones.

15 It's been going on for over 40 years that I've

16 come here and there needs to be some kind of

17 change and vision for the city. Thank you.

18 MR. SMURL: Dave Dobrzyn.

19 MR. DOBRZYN: Don't worry, I didn't

20 fall asleep tonight. Okay, last week -- I

21 don't know if it's on here tonight or if it was

22 passed, but Mr. Hart was known down at

23 Steamtown as the commodore. And he was

24 disabled so he had his jazzy.

25 Well, that was his ship. And he was
 26

 1 a pretty colorful character. He used to dress

 2 up like an admiral in the revolutionary army.

 3 And, you know, I haven't heard anything about

 4 the FBI being around.

 5 And you could disagree or agree with

 6 the way money gets spent. But funny thing

 7 about it is when every middle class is -- they

 8 have their kids out of school and they're

 9 reasonably successful or maybe not. But, you

10 know, they don't realize what they were given

11 over the years.

12 Once upon a time I sat with a member

13 of the taxpayers. We were talking and I

14 mentioned that Al Gore -- Al Gore -- Al

15 Sharpton was one of my most favorite Christians

16 because he's also a libertarian. And you got

17 to be into Catholic, you know, Mickey Mouse

18 degree, okay, well, you know, I still -- and

19 I'll get around to something else here that I

20 had in mind.

21 But I approve of what's going on

22 with the Mayor. And I plan to vote for her

23 this fall because anybody else I vote for, I

24 wouldn't be surprised if we had a Trump rally

25 in town if they weren't hooting and hollering
 27

 1 like a bunch of Johnny reds on the way to

 2 Gettysburg. Pave cuts, let's have something to

 3 say. We do have to hold the utilities

 4 responsible.

 5 And a little idea popped into my

 6 mind. I get told that that's a state road.

 7 Well, we have to get in touch with our State

 8 Representative Kyle and try and get something

 9 done with this before the state steps in and

10 tells these people, no, we can't have a big rut

11 in the middle of Moosic Street.

12 And tax exempts, we must form a

13 committee nongovernmental to seek compensation

14 for tax losses. And tax exempts should

15 participate. We have to accept them under the

16 PA Constitution and it's at 40 percent. It's

17 very, very, draining on our loss of taxes.

18 And a little tidbit on the tax

19 exempts, last week the Southeastern Baptist

20 Convention entered the federal court in a

21 lawsuit to outlaw once again gay marriage for a

22 Supreme Court decision. Do those type of

23 people really need a tax exempt? They are not

24 doing anything for anybody but marginalizing

25 people.
 28

 1 So, you know, I'm very confident, 49

 2 years in an opposite sex marriage. I could

 3 talk for anybody. And I don't like to see

 4 people marginalizing, hate it.

 5 Our -- yesterday or a few days ago I

 6 watched the news and nonuniformed ICE agents,

 7 no badges beat an immigrant with three sons in

 8 the Marine Corps. And when his son finally

 9 got to visit him, he had no food, no water, a

10 dislocated shoulder and no medication attention

11 in 24 hours.

12 Now, you call that honest

13 government? I don't. And once again,

14 unqualified people heading committees and

15 different organizations within the government,

16 anti-vaxxers. Here, 22-year-old election

17 worker just out of college is placed in

18 domestic terror committee to investigate

19 domestic terrorism.

20 Now, you know, excuse me, I don't

21 dislike the guy, but somebody asked me if I

22 could shoot somebody one day when I brought

23 pepper spray in pictures --

24 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Mr. Dobrzyn.

25 MR. DOBRZYN: And --
 29

 1 MR. SMURL: Thank you.

 2 MR. DOBRZYN: He sold 20 million.

 3 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Mr. Dobrzyn.

 4 You're time is expired.

 5 MR. DOBRZYN: Thank you. Have a

 6 good night.

 7 MR. SMURL: Have a good night. Rik

 8 Little.

 9 MR. LITTLE: Hello, Council. I'm

10 Rik Little, Scranton, still running for Mayor.

11 I'd like to talk about the caretakers. It's

12 big business around here, especially when you

13 include the hospitals and homeless shelters.

14 And, you know, drug rehab and everything,

15 Treatment Court.

16 It's a lot of money and it sounds

17 good, you know, Friends of the Poor, collecting

18 food and giving it to -- but there's a problem

19 here. And nobody's thinking stuff through with

20 solving the problem.

21 And, I mean, I should be able to go

22 and watch -- court watch, watch judges in

23 court. But I'm told, oh, the judge has the

24 right to keep you out of the courtroom. And

25 although I did start watching court, all of it
 30

 1 was about ERAP fund, American Rescue Act Fund.

 2 Every single case take I watched in Judge

 3 Moyle's court was about that. And I got such

 4 pushback from the sheriffs, from the court

 5 administration and everything.

 6 But that's the branch of the

 7 government that's wrong here in the Home Rule

 8 Charter of our government because it's all

 9 about stuff that people don't understand. I

10 mean, the other thing is the media.

11 We're living a fishbowl, lost souls

12 living in a fishbowl year after year. I read

13 in the Times-Tribune, you know, that the editor

14 is from the St. Louis dispatch today. And days

15 ago it was the Baltimore Son. And all of

16 these news outlets that have been paid big

17 money by USAID, Associated Press, Reuters, New

18 York Times.

19 People have no idea what's going on

20 in this town. And, you know, and our public

21 access has been taken. I've been following

22 this story from March 20th, 2025, police --

23 homeless man attacks hospital staff. And I'm

24 going there trying to go into the court trying

25 to just look at the papers.
 31

 1 They're supposed to be public

 2 records in the courts. And I've made

 3 applications to the President Judge Corbett

 4 before. And they go, no, you can't talk to her

 5 unless you buy an index number, you know,

 6 because the courts are a business.

 7 I also called Judge Gibbons's court

 8 and the guy on the phone said, oh, it would be

 9 unethical to talk to you. But the whole place

10 is run like that. You know, they're talking

11 about, you know, closing down the mission

12 shelter. And in combination with the media,

13 they're conflating what's happening in Luzerne

14 County and what's happening in this county.

15 The mission shelter was never a

16 night shelter here. You know, it was supposed

17 to be in Luzerne County. And the only thing it

18 did different from the CIC, the Catholic relief

19 which is, you know, the savior of the homeless,

20 which is the most pathetic thing I see here is

21 the way they're criminalizing the elderly.

22 They disabled the homeless.

23 It's just a HUD -- they're just

24 stealing HUD money, you know, and making it all

25 seem official. But we -- you know, I mean, I
 32

 1 lived at Adams Avenue High Rise. I'm not

 2 getting my US mail. I'm fighting for my child

 3 in the New York State Family Court thing.

 4 If I can't get my mail, you know,

 5 I'm a loser. And that's just one of the legal

 6 tricks that they use. They don't -- they don't

 7 give due process. They have all of these forms

 8 that are like, you know, affidavits. That's

 9 how you get into court. You make a sworn

10 affidavit.

11 They have these forms and they check

12 off the boxes and everybody gets in front of

13 it, including this homeless man Corey McNulty.

14 And now he's in the Treatment Court.

15 MR. SMURL: Thank you.

16 MR. LITTLE: Thank you.

17 MR. SMURL: That's all for the

18 sign-in sheet. Anyone else wish to address

19 Council?

20 MR. COYNE: Good evening, Council,

21 Tom Coyne, Minooka. First of all, I want to

22 address something I failed to address last

23 week. I was talking about whether or not

24 responses should be given in Fourth Order when

25 asked for and what the Sunshine Act and how
 33

 1 it's saying that that's really the way it

 2 should be done to make communication clearer

 3 back and forth.

 4 I noticed last week, the week

 5 beforehand when I had asked a question that Dr.

 6 Rothchild leaned forward in Fourth Order as if

 7 she had wanted to respond to it, held back and

 8 then sat back. But she did respond to it in

 9 Fifth Order, the question. I thank you for the

10 response.

11 Part of the issue involved in that

12 response is -- what I had asked was, what

13 legislation have you proposed, have you brought

14 forth before the body. And there seems to be

15 some confusion between talking to Mayor and the

16 Law Department and everyone else to bring

17 something before this body and something

18 originating in this body itself.

19 When citizens come before you and

20 they think they have an issue and you look at

21 it and you say, you know what, that's a valid

22 issue, that's the point when someone on City

23 Council should stand up and go, I need to

24 represent that person. I need to take it

25 forward. I need to make this change. And I'll
 34

 1 put my name on that.

 2 And in most legislative bodies, you

 3 have people who come forward and request it.

 4 And then you have a Council member, a Senator,

 5 a delegate who sponsors that before the

 6 legislative branch. We have no sponsors. We

 7 have communication in the back room.

 8 And the problem with having no

 9 sponsors is we have no intent behind the law.

10 We have no idea of why it was actually put

11 forward. We have a piece of paper saying it

12 will cost nothing. And it's for the good of

13 the whole, but really does not give any idea to

14 why that was important to bring forward.

15 And I would love to see this Council

16 as a legislative body actually bring something

17 forward and not have it be signed by OECD or by

18 the Law Department. But maybe Mr. McAndrew

19 signing it that he was the one sponsoring it or

20 Mr. Smurl or anyone up there of taking

21 ownership of that bill.

22 It doesn't matter if it fails or

23 goes forward. At least it shows that you took

24 some action in creating legislation for this

25 body in this city, what you're here for.
 35

 1 Moving on, it was mentioned that

 2 the -- about the Keystone shelter. And

 3 unfortunately we know where that's going from

 4 the newspapers. It's going into nonexistence.

 5 And I looked at the weather report today and it

 6 was 98 degrees in some areas in Center City.

 7 With the -- it was probably a little bit more.

 8 With the heat index, it was up

 9 around 106 degrees and in the shade around 100

10 degrees. Last time when Canada had the wild

11 fires, we asked about code red, what is the

12 city going to do, how is the city going to get

13 shelters. The wild fires may have ended.

14 But that hasn't stopped for the need

15 for a place where they can -- where people who

16 are outdoors and people who are seniors who may

17 not have the ability to come besides the

18 library because there is only so many that can

19 fit.

20 We need to take a look at not the

21 unsheltered task force, which I believe

22 Keystone was one of the major entries in who

23 are no longer there, but they are not

24 unsheltered. They're homeless. They're street

25 people. Let's not use kind words to say
 36

 1 something that's not a kind way to live.

 2 Let's deal with the harsh realities

 3 by making moves forward to actually better the

 4 lives and put support systems in place. And

 5 maybe for money, we charge people who work in

 6 Scranton and who live elsewhere. Scranton gets

 7 a tax for that.

 8 Have we ever thought about

 9 out-of-town landlords who collect rent in

10 Scranton and who make money in Scranton through

11 rents who live outside the city? Maybe there

12 should be an equivalent tax for landlords in

13 the City of Scranton that could go to the

14 coffers. It's just an idea. Maybe someone

15 will float it. Thank you. Good night.

16 MR. SMURL: Thank you.

17 MR. MANCINI: Good evening, Scranton

18 City Council, Mike Mancini, Scranton. Tonight

19 prepare to be dazzled. I did some homework. I

20 also have a big announcement. Mr. Smurl, is it

21 true that you plan on running as an Independent

22 Democratic candidate for City Council?

23 Those are your own words based upon

24 an e-mail circulated to friends. You also plan

25 to seek Council for Philadelphia. Is that
 37

 1 because one of your petitions was circulated

 2 like a chain letter without proof of signature

 3 just to have a family member sign it along with

 4 yourself, notarized. How about another one

 5 that was circulated after a group event

 6 witnessed by someone just add signatures after

 7 the fact.

 8 Now, I'm not an attorney, but voter

 9 fraud is a very serious felony. Based upon my

10 homework, that's fraud. The city deserves the

11 truth. For extra credit, I will be filing an

12 ethics violation against you and the other two

13 rubber stampers who approved Scott Gassenmeyer

14 to DPW Director after six months and one day in

15 violation of our approved requirements, both

16 Mr. Schuster and Mr. McAndrew voted against

17 this based upon the timeline. They were

18 correct.

19 Now the big announcement, I will be

20 suspending my campaign for Mayor for City of

21 Scranton effective immediately. My apologies

22 to those who I have not spoken to personally

23 about my decision. The time is not right for

24 me. I'd like to give it 100 percent plus

25 whatever I try to accomplish.
 38

 1 Personally I put my life on hold for

 2 closure after my son's passing. The person

 3 responsible for his death is another

 4 continuance. September 12th it will be three

 5 years since this guy was found guilty. I'm

 6 looking for closure.

 7 I chose to run for Mayor because of

 8 the current climate and the abrupt change for

 9 the worse in a short period of time. Now, we

10 witness blighted blocks, the worse road

11 conditions in my 56 years, Scranton Police

12 calls, unwanted opioid-related deaths without

13 justice, an extra set of doors because our

14 Mayor feel unsafe in her own city, four less

15 deep ends pools, closure of Nay Aug Park pool

16 complex after seven years, gang activity,

17 expansion team, the homeless. The words of the

18 Rolling Stones, give me shelter.

19 I also chose to run for Mayor

20 because of amazing people who reside here. But

21 I had so many great memories of our city.

22 Scranton abruptly changed over the last several

23 years. Many of us like to leave things better

24 for future generations.

25 Ask yourself is Paige Cognetti the
 39

 1 answer? Where will we be four years from now

 2 with an expansion team? I hope that everyone

 3 will get out and vote in this general election.

 4 Your vote is critical to your future. Let's

 5 get this one right.

 6 This is not about national politics,

 7 which the incumbent seems to have her attention

 8 on currently. This is not about red or blue.

 9 It's about you. This election is about

10 character and how you carry yourself. It's

11 about always choosing to do the right thing,

12 someone who embraces people, not parties.

13 Let's make history. This will be

14 the first election where two women will look to

15 become the next Mayor of Scranton. I will say

16 this once, so hear me twice. I will not vote

17 for Paige Cognetti. Trish Beynon has my full

18 support. Whatever experience I have will be

19 given to the Friends of Trish Beynon for Mayor.

20 Current stigma in our city is that

21 Scranton is supposed to be like this. Things

22 will not change. There's 44,000 registered

23 voters in Scranton who truly need to get this

24 one right or possible rain tax, privatize

25 garbage pickup, who knows what else she will
 40

 1 break along the way or get sued over.

 2 Scranton deserves the best because I

 3 see the best in people. Even with our

 4 diversity, the city is about people. We

 5 deserve better. Pay attention. Get out and

 6 vote. Just like I shut down Mr. Smurl tonight,

 7 each of you need to shut down Paige and her

 8 expansion team.

 9 Let me end this with humor and a

10 little joke. Knock knock, who's there? Paige.

11 Paige who? Exactly. With your vote, this

12 will be her past. Good evening, Council.

13 MR. SMURL: Thank you. Anyone else?

14 MS. SCHUMACHER: Good evening, Marie

15 Schumacher, resident of the city. I also went

16 to the Flower Show on Saturday. And it was

17 really quite enjoyable. So I hope everybody

18 had a chance to go.

19 Now two things that aren't as nice,

20 our roads. When you come down Spruce Street

21 after you cross Jefferson Avenue, the very

22 first alley has -- there's an opening all the

23 way across the street. It's quite deep. You

24 have to -- if you like your car, you have to

25 stop and go very slow across it.
 41

 1 And I don't know how do we do things

 2 like that? I can't tell that there's been any

 3 difference in the many, many weeks that that

 4 has been the opening. And it seems to me that

 5 they should be required to put something in

 6 there if they are not going to do the actual

 7 conclusion for weeks or maybe even months, who

 8 knows. We'll know sometime.

 9 And then, of course, there is the

10 one down too on Lackawanna Avenue across the

11 street from what was the door of the dry --

12 Scranton Dry Goods. It's had a big metal thing

13 over whatever is underneath the thing. And

14 it's been a long time and nothing seems to

15 happen.

16 And now closer to home, there's

17 about five blocks on the corner where I live.

18 And on one side there is nothing said when you

19 come onto -- if you come up East Mountain Road

20 and you go onto Seymour Avenue, there is

21 nothing, just go and do it.

22 If you are on 307 and you want to

23 come into Seymour Avenue, there are conditions.

24 And I don't understand why it can't be the same

25 for both sides. What is a truck, you know, no
 42

 1 trucks, only trucks for delivery. And how do

 2 you know that? So I think something needs to

 3 be done there.

 4 And then finally I think -- oh, this

 5 weather that we've been having, I don't know if

 6 any of you are familiar with Geoengineering,

 7 but they're -- I personally feel that it is

 8 being -- that our weather is being done by

 9 something other than God. I think there are

10 people that are doing that.

11 And here is a thing Geoengineering

12 that has a lot about climate and what is

13 happening in our climate that I'd like to hear

14 some -- some things that they're saying could

15 be happening and are they really -- are they

16 really -- are we -- do you believe that we are,

17 our government possibly is doing the

18 engineering, our climate?

19 Do you think it's even possible? I

20 do. And I think that there -- that has to be

21 looked into. So thank you.

22 MR. SMURL: Thank you.

23 MR. KING: Frank, can you check on

24 that Biden Street just past Jefferson Avenue.

25 I know exactly what Marie is talking about
 43

 1 there.

 2 MR. VOLDENBERG: That was reported.

 3 I'll follow up, Mr. King.

 4 MR. KING: Thank you very much,

 5 right across the whole street. Thanks.

 6 MR. VOLDENBERG: That's correct.

 7 MR. SCHUSTER: Kressler Court.

 8 MR. VOLDENBERG: Kressler Court,

 9 yes.

10 MR. SCHUSTER: And if you could add

11 the 100 of Main Avenue. I did put that in for

12 the pothole. I may have sent an e-mail on that

13 one as well. But it's in front of the, like,

14 yeah, barbershop across from the post office

15 there by Catalano's and then the Bulwer Street

16 one as well.

17 MR. VOLDENBERG: I've added them

18 all. I'll take care of it.

19 MR. SCHUSTER: Thank you.

20 MR. SMURL: No one else?

21 Mr. Voldenberg.

22 MR. VOLDENBERG: FIFTH ORDER. 5-A.

23 MOTIONS.

24 MR. SMURL: Mr. King, do you have

25 any motions or comments?
 44

 1 MR. KING: Just a few quick ones. I

 2 often hear some individuals come up and

 3 criticize the Scranton School District. I

 4 wholeheartedly disagree. I don't know how a

 5 person that lives in the city just picks up and

 6 sends their kids to Abington unless they live

 7 in Abington.

 8 I don't know how that works unless,

 9 you know, there's another parent or somebody

10 that's living up there; but which Abington is

11 also a very good school district. I have three

12 daughters who graduated from the Scranton

13 School District.

14 One went to Manhattan College and

15 received a medal for top student in history and

16 international studies. She got a foundation at

17 Scranton High School South Intermediate,

18 Whittier Elementary, had some great teachers.

19 She's doing fantastic.

20 I have another one that is an

21 architecture student at the University of

22 Hartford, going to studying in Florence Italy

23 this fall. Once again, Whittier,

24 South Scranton High School, great teachers,

25 great education, challenged in their
 45

 1 classrooms.

 2 And my third daughter is at Thomas

 3 Jefferson University studying health sciences.

 4 And every one of them got minimum of half

 5 academic scholarships. They were the products

 6 of a great public school education that they

 7 got right here in the City of Scranton. So I'm

 8 sick of the criticism.

 9 It's -- Scranton's one of the

10 largest public urban school districts in the

11 state, probably number seven or eight in the

12 state, lots of challenges, lots of kids that

13 speak probably 37 different languages I think

14 was the last count.

15 They have flags representing each

16 country down at Scranton High. We have a large

17 percentage of students that are English

18 language learners, a large percentage of

19 special ed students, a large percent of

20 students economically disadvantaged.

21 And guess what, our teachers embrace

22 each one of them and challenges them and teach

23 them and really help provide them with the type

24 of education where they could go on and be

25 successful in their lives and be great
 46

 1 citizens. So I get criticism of the Scranton

 2 School District. Do they have issues, yes,

 3 they do, no doubt like any other school

 4 district.

 5 But they also have a lot more

 6 challenges than other more suburban or

 7 wealthier school districts are. I just want to

 8 stick up and praise our teachers in the

 9 Scranton School District. I think they do a

10 great job.

11 And I have three beautiful

12 daughters, intelligent daughters to prove that.

13 And that's all I have to say. Thank you.

14 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Mr. King.

15 Mr. Schuster, do you have any motions or

16 comments?

17 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes, I have a few.

18 Mr. Voldenberg, I sent a few water issues in

19 via e-mail over the last few days, some were on

20 East Mountain, some are on West Mountain. I

21 don't believe we got any updates, but I'll

22 continue to follow up on those.

23 MR. VOLDENBERG: I will. Thank you.

24 MR. SCHUSTER: We asked last week or

25 the week before -- actually maybe two weeks in
 47

 1 row about recycling calendars. Is there any

 2 update on -- did we receive any update on our

 3 recycling calendars?

 4 MR. VOLDENBERG: We haven't received

 5 one for print as yet. I believe something is

 6 on the website.

 7 MR. SCHUSTER: Okay. So if we could

 8 see when they are going out to print and just

 9 get an update with the department on that.

10 MR. VOLDENBERG: I will.

11 MR. SCHUSTER: Thank you very much.

12 We talked about Dorothy Street. We talked

13 about Bulwer Street. We're going to get a date

14 in July for the Scranton Recreation Authority

15 Director to come in and meet with us in caucus.

16 So that will be coming up in July.

17 I would like to thank DPW. I did,

18 like I said, I sent in some water issues and

19 other issues with some of those issues or about

20 half of those issues they were very quick to

21 respond and got out to them. So I would like

22 to thank them for that.

23 Last week I did mention about

24 Roselynn and Colfax Ave., the basin there and a

25 basin on West Gibson. The water company did go
 48

 1 out. They are water company basins. I

 2 announced it but I didn't get an opportunity to

 3 thank them. So I thanked the water company for

 4 doing that work in clearing those basins on

 5 Colfax and West Gibson.

 6 And then we also -- last week there

 7 was some talk here about feral cats on Golden

 8 Avenue. And we received an e-mail. It looked

 9 like you had responded to that e-mail over on

10 Harrison Avenue.

11 MR. VOLDENBERG: That's correct.

12 MR. SCHUSTER: All right. That's

13 all. Thank you.

14 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Mr. Schuster.

15 Dr. Rothchild, do you have any motions or

16 comments?

17 DR. ROTHCHILD: I do. I have quite

18 a few. First, I just wanted to go off of

19 something that Councilman King had mentioned

20 about the Scranton School District. When the

21 speaker was discussing the school district I

22 thought to myself, I've been really excited for

23 the day that we can send our children to the

24 Scranton School District.

25 I talk to my daughter about it all
 49

 1 the time because she's like a year away from

 2 that. And we're one block away from our

 3 neighboring school. And we'll pass by it and

 4 I'll mention, like, this is going to be your

 5 school because I'm genuinely excited for her to

 6 be there.

 7 So, you know, I'm proud of the

 8 school district that we have here in Scranton.

 9 And I also understand that it does need work.

10 And there are things that I'd like to see

11 offered within the school district. And I'm

12 hopeful for the future of our students. But

13 that's where I plan on sending my children.

14 And on the note of children, I

15 wanted to mention because it was also brought

16 up in public comment about a child being

17 disruptive. I think it's funny that we expect

18 a baby to understand the rules of Council but

19 not adults who blatantly ignore our Council

20 rules of decorum and act more inappropriately

21 than a baby would.

22 I also find it to be uplifting when

23 there's a baby in this room. Maybe it's just

24 the mom in me. But I don't -- I don't mind at

25 all. And I also understand that there might be
 50

 1 parents out there who want to participate in

 2 their local government and not have the

 3 childcare to be able to do so.

 4 And I don't want them to be

 5 dissuaded from being able to come here to

 6 participate. So onto a few other things that I

 7 had, there's a place that I've been bringing up

 8 for several weeks now. And I've been told that

 9 I think it's been five weeks and counting that

10 the recycling has not been picked up from their

11 street.

12 And I don't understand why. I don't

13 know if it's an error with Rubicon, like, if

14 it's a software problem or if they are just

15 ignoring the street or why it is that they

16 cannot get their recyclables picked up. It's

17 on Fairview Avenue, the 100 block. So the

18 neighbors are quite upset with this.

19 And I wanted to make sure that they

20 could get their recyclables picked up. And if

21 it hasn't already been escalated to the

22 administration and the Mayor, Mr. Voldenberg,

23 if you could please make sure that's done.

24 MR. VOLDENBERG: I'll escalate that.

25 DR. ROTHCHILD: Thank you. And I
 51

 1 think not having a current DPW director

 2 shouldn't get in the way of that either. So I

 3 don't know why this can't corrected. And there

 4 is a vehicle on the 200 block of Harrison

 5 Avenue.

 6 I know I keep passing by it. And

 7 the windows are blown out. The back of the

 8 vehicle is all burned. There must have been a

 9 fire in the vehicle.

10 And I can't imagine -- I don't

11 understand how it's still there and hasn't been

12 towed yet. But it's been sitting there for the

13 past several days just with no rear window and

14 the burnt back side of the vehicle. So if we

15 could have SPD get over there by tomorrow to

16 take care of it.

17 MR. VOLDENBERG: I will. I'll have

18 them handle that tomorrow morning.

19 DR. ROTHCHILD: Excellent. Thank

20 you. A number of people had mentioned the

21 weather being an issue and having concern for

22 people who could be suffering. And I have that

23 concern as well.

24 And I would like us to look into the

25 possibility of code red shelters again and
 52

 1 discuss that and see what role the city might

 2 be able to take in something like that. But in

 3 the meantime, the question about the county

 4 having those code red centers, discuss with

 5 them about the possibility of changing the

 6 temperature adding the humidity as a factor and

 7 find some more information about what the

 8 county is offering.

 9 I do know that I saw from the county

10 Facebook they were making people aware that

11 they have cooling centers. So those are, like,

12 daytime centers that are open specifically for

13 older adults to be able to come. And they have

14 them throughout the county.

15 But Scranton locations include the

16 Scranton Senior Center over at 1004 Jackson

17 Street in West Side and the JCC Jewish

18 Community Center. That's located at 601

19 Jefferson Avenue in Scranton. And now the --

20 just so people are aware for the JCC they do

21 have like a bell that you have to ring and then

22 you could speak to someone on the speaker to

23 ask them to let you in because you're there for

24 the cooling center.

25 And another complaint that I had was
 53

 1 there are some parking issues up on the 900

 2 block of Prescott Avenue. And one of them

 3 being there is a business that's at 958

 4 Prescott Avenue called Lulus Couture Spa.

 5 And they have these lovely signs out

 6 in front of it that say they have reserved

 7 parking and that people will be towed if they

 8 violate it.

 9 Well, they have those signs right

10 next to street parking so I don't understand

11 how they could do that because that's not legal

12 in the City of Scranton. And I think they

13 even -- there's even pictures up on Google of

14 those signs there in front from, like, a couple

15 of months ago.

16 So if we could have those removed,

17 because the street parking is for anyone, not

18 just a particular business. I mean, Mansour's

19 doesn't have signage out front for people to

20 only be able to park for there for Mansour's.

21 So I don't see why this business would be able

22 to.

23 MR. VOLDENBERG: I'll have the

24 traffic officer out tomorrow.

25 DR. ROTHCHILD: Thank you. And one
 54

 1 last one. I know we had discussed Biden and

 2 Kressler with that large pave cut that goes

 3 across the street. Another one that is

 4 similar, if not worse, is over on Pine and

 5 Forest Court over near Cooper Electric. So if

 6 you go Pine off of Wyoming, it spans the

 7 street.

 8 It's quite deep. And then there are

 9 other potholes in that area too and like sunk

10 in sewage covers. So if we could get someone

11 out there. And I did bring it up to the former

12 DPW Director. But I don't think anything's

13 been done with it since I never have received

14 any information.

15 MR. VOLDENBERG: I will, Dr.

16 Rothchild.

17 DR. ROTHCHILD: It does have

18 markings on it. So I don't know if one of the

19 utilities companies was planning on going back

20 or what.

21 MR. VOLDENBERG: I will.

22 DR. ROTHCHILD: Okay. Great. Thank

23 you. And that's all that I have.

24 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Dr.

25 Rothchild. Mr. McAndrew, do you have any
 55

 1 motions or comments?

 2 MR. MCANDREW: I have a couple

 3 comments. So I'll start with the concern that

 4 Mr. Spindler brought up. So I sat here. We

 5 all sat here a month, maybe a month and a half

 6 ago. And the administration came in because

 7 they wanted us to amend the ordinance for pave

 8 cuts, tighten it up.

 9 It was a big pep rally, sat here.

10 They told us it's going to be streamlined.

11 It's going to be -- it's going to be the

12 procedures and processes are going to be better

13 for everybody. I was excited to hear you.

14 I'll be honest with you because we get the most

15 complaints we get from all of you are pave cuts

16 and potholes.

17 So in that same meeting they said,

18 oh, yeah, we got the pothole line. We got

19 this. So to be honest with you, about a week

20 ago, two weeks ago in front of Gerrity's in

21 West Side it was torn up, right. And within, I

22 don't know, less than a week there was a pave

23 cut done and it was repaved.

24 And you know what, it was the nicest

25 one I've ever seen, right? It's tarred on the
 56

 1 edges on the perimeter. So my concern is, are

 2 they only paying attention with this new

 3 ordinance and this new streamline and this new

 4 trackable process for all the pave cuts with

 5 our pave cut inspector crew because it looks

 6 like they are just paying attention to the new

 7 ones. All right?

 8 That's not good enough because at

 9 that same meeting I asked, I said, what about

10 all the old ones that are out there? There's a

11 ton of them. They're brought to our attention

12 every day. They said, oh, we're going to take

13 care of them too.

14 So it doesn't look like it's being

15 done. I'm going to give them the benefit of

16 the doubt. But residents come every week and

17 either tell us about ones that we kind of

18 already know about or the administration and

19 the city should know about or potholes, you

20 know, that keep popping up that should have

21 been taken care of.

22 So with that said, I mean, you know,

23 I have faith. I'm trying to have faith in this

24 new process. You know, it's online. It's

25 trackable. It's all this. Since their
 57

 1 presentation and their rollout of this new

 2 procedure, could you please ask

 3 administration -- I want an update. I want to

 4 know what has been done.

 5 How many potholes on the pothole

 6 hotline have been fixed, how many of the old

 7 pave cuts versus the new ones that are being

 8 done are being satisfied?

 9 MR. VOLDENBERG: I'll ask those

10 questions.

11 MR. MCANDREW: All right. It

12 doesn't sound like it's moving quick enough or

13 maybe it's -- maybe there's a kink or two in

14 it. But we need this fixed, okay? Thank you.

15 So also with regard to recycling, so we have

16 legislation tonight.

17 We're going to -- it's the final

18 vote for the recycling contract. And it was

19 brought to my attention that -- I got a

20 picture. I did not get a new recycling

21 calendar. All right. But I know in the past

22 there's been errors in them. So someone sent

23 me a picture of one that said paper and

24 cardboard.

25 And there is only two colors, blue
 58

 1 and red now. So I don't know about you, but --

 2 and I guess it was in the paper. I couldn't

 3 find it in the paper. So the public should be

 4 made aware of this. And I agree, this is a

 5 change that everybody should know. I mean, you

 6 know, on Facebook there's all of these little

 7 pop-ups or this talk or the Mayor's thing or

 8 the pop-up.

 9 I think this information should be

10 included in that or put on the website or even,

11 you know, announced not necessarily in the

12 paper to the residents on some network, one of

13 the news channels. Because think about it, I

14 don't know about you, I have three daughters

15 and a wife that packages come every day, almost

16 hourly, boxes.

17 And if they're going to be picked up

18 every two weeks with the paper I could live

19 with that. But saving them for sometimes

20 three, four weeks to have cardboard picked up,

21 I think this has increased level service for

22 our residents if this is true, the paper and

23 cardboard is going to be picked up every other

24 week, you know, outside of the commingled.

25 So can we get justification or
 59

 1 clarification from the administration if this

 2 is going to happen? So let's try to inform the

 3 public. Maybe we're informing some people

 4 right now. You tell everybody you know if

 5 that's the truth. But I think it's increased

 6 some service for us and I like it. But we need

 7 to be educated and aware of this process.

 8 Also, guess what, you know what,

 9 it's easy to stand there and take shots at the

10 Scranton School District. It's a punching bag.

11 It's been a punching bag for the past 10, 15

12 years and it's not fair. I also have three

13 beautiful daughters who are products of the

14 Scranton School District.

15 And they are successful in their own

16 right. And they are very civic-minded

17 productive citizens. Was there a great support

18 at home, yes. Does the school district have

19 challenges, I was on a board there for six and

20 a half years. I witnessed it.

21 But I also witnessed the dedication,

22 care, and devotion of the teachers there. Are

23 there a couple other bad apples? There's a

24 couple everywhere. But the straightest path or

25 the quickest path to success with these
 60

 1 students is, you know, not just the teachers,

 2 but they need a good partnership with the

 3 parent or the guardian should take some of the

 4 ownerships for that path to success.

 5 All right. It's easy to take shots

 6 at the teacher. It's easy to take shots at the

 7 school board. It's easy to take shots at the

 8 administration. But, you know, I -- no pun

 9 intended, but if you are going to take shots at

10 the district, do your homework, all right, and

11 be prepared to, you know, to be rebutted from

12 us, all right?

13 We have the same famous speech in

14 Fifth Order that you have in Fourth, okay.

15 Also, what else? So I have something else --

16 two more things. I'm sorry, but I get them

17 faxed -- I mean, text to me, e-mailed to me,

18 like, minutes before the meeting and that's

19 okay.

20 I mean, it's still my responsibility

21 but sometimes I have to pull them from

22 different devices. So, Mr. Voldenberg, this is

23 an issue that remains. It's the property right

24 next door to -- next door to Gerrity's, all

25 right? This is two years, three years in a
 61

 1 row.

 2 It's the address is -- no one is

 3 clear of the address. It's 1138 Eynon because

 4 the structure's gone. It's been torn down.

 5 But I have pictures that I will forward to you

 6 after the meeting or tomorrow. If I forget,

 7 remind me, please.

 8 But this happens every year. They

 9 come and maybe take care of it once, you know,

10 and then the rest of the summer or until a year

11 later it's not touched. And the pictures I

12 have are the grass is very high and shrubs.

13 All right, so can we finally get this situated?

14 MR. VOLDENBERG: I will, sir.

15 MR. MCANDREW: -- code enforcement.

16 Thanks. What do I have left here? I have one

17 from the Wright Center. I apologize. Like I

18 said, I have stuff all over the place here.

19 All right. So my understanding is there's been

20 complaints from the Wright Center itself that

21 there's an increased amount of standing parking

22 tractor-trailers at the edges of the Wright

23 Center on 501 South Washington Avenue, which

24 obstructs the view of the patients, employees,

25 visitors entering and exiting the parking lot.
 62

 1 And, you know, it's a line of sight

 2 issue. It's a public safety issue. So my

 3 understanding is, folks from there reached out

 4 to the Scranton Police Department and requested

 5 a traffic study because they're looking at

 6 signage or requesting -- I mean, that would be

 7 determined by the study, but 30 feet -- I don't

 8 have it exactly here, but I can't find it, but

 9 30 feet from each side.

10 And not at the -- you know, so

11 they'd have that line-of-sight. But the

12 response they got from the police department is

13 oh, yeah, okay, but in order to do that, it has

14 to be brought to Council if you need -- because

15 I know we need in tandem with highways if

16 there's a traffic study, it has to be with the

17 City Engineer.

18 So the e-mail they received back

19 was, okay, we'll have to bring it to Council.

20 So I'm bringing it now. Can you request --

21 are you copied on this e-mail?

22 MR. VOLDENBERG: That's correct.

23 No, I wasn't copied, but I had a conversation

24 with the traffic officer today --

25 MR. MCANDREW: Regarding this?
 63

 1 MR. VOLDENBERG: -- with SPD and

 2 then I submitted it to the City Engineer.

 3 MR. MCANDREW: All right. So --

 4 MR. VOLDENBERG: They're going to do

 5 the sight traffic study.

 6 MR. MCANDREW: All right. Well,

 7 thank you. I wasn't aware of that. But I will

 8 definitely forward you for your notes this

 9 e-mail that I have if you need to explain

10 better to them or --

11 MR. VOLDENBERG: Please do. I

12 believe it went to different sources.

13 MR. MCANDREW: All right. So that

14 is all I have. Thank you.

15 MR. SMURL: Thank you, Mr. McAndrew.

16 I have a few items. The first one was received

17 today from the Scranton Housing Authority

18 payment in lieu of taxes, they have five

19 payments, 8,966.56, 8,566.12, 14,581.84,

20 18,706.40 and 12,785.

21 And the total for their check we

22 received on the 18th was $63,605.92. That is

23 from the Housing Authority for the pilot

24 program for 2024.

25 Also, 817 Crown Avenue, we sent code
 64

 1 enforcement up there. I believe they had

 2 stopped the work of the cars and stuff in the

 3 yard. They were cited and it stopped for a

 4 while. But it had -- it has started again. So

 5 we had to send code enforcement back up there

 6 to try to stop it again. Also, the address on

 7 this property is 1639 Alder Street.

 8 It looks -- neighbors say it's a six

 9 family unit, Mr. Voldenberg, and it's

10 registered I believe as a four. But we are

11 picking up the garbage up. So if it is a six,

12 can we find that out -- have code enforcement

13 know.

14 And if it is a six, six units, then

15 they need to get a private hauler. The city is

16 not responsible for six units.

17 MR. VOLDENBERG: That's correct. I

18 sent that out today.

19 MR. SMURL: Thank you. Also 114-116

20 Crown Avenue, I know this one has been going on

21 a while because I've seen a lot of citations.

22 Right now it is pending citation. It looks

23 like it's at Magistrate Corbett's office. So

24 that's -- all right.

25 And also the corner in South Side,
 65

 1 this is the 330 South Irving. I remember a

 2 large house on that property. But they thought

 3 the building -- the property was cut in half.

 4 But according to this, it was not cut in half.

 5 So they were cited for quality of life ticket.

 6 And I believe they paid it. But

 7 it's back to overgrown again. So they will

 8 receive another one. That is all.

 9 MR. VOLDENBERG: 5-B. FOR

10 INTRODUCTION - AN ORDINANCE - AUTHORIZING THE

11 MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OF THE

12 CITY OF SCRANTON TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY ACTIONS

13 TO IMPLEMENT THE HUD 2025 CONSOLIDATED ACTION

14 PLAN FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

15 PROGRAMS TO BE FUNDED UNDER THE COMMUNITY

16 DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM, HOME

17 INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (HOME) PROGRAM AND

18 EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS (ESG) PROGRAM FOR

19 THE PERIOD BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2025.

20 MR. SMURL: At this time I'll

21 entertain a motion that Item 5-B be introduced

22 into its proper committee.

23 MR. MCANDREW: So moved.

24 DR. ROTHCHILD: Second.

25 MR. SMURL: On the question? All
 66

 1 those in favor of introduction signify by

 2 saying aye.

 3 MR. KING: Aye.

 4 MR. SCHUSTER: Aye.

 5 DR. ROTHCHILD: Aye.

 6 MR. MCANDREW: Aye.

 7 MR. SMURL: Aye. Opposed? The ayes

 8 have it and so moved.

 9 MR. MCANDREW: I make a motion to

10 table Item 5-B.

11 MR. SCHUSTER: Second.

12 MR. SMURL: There's a motion on the

13 floor and a second to table Item 5-B. This

14 ordinance is the HUD 2025 Consolidated Action

15 Plan. It is being tabled to allow for

16 advertisement of a public hearing to be held

17 Tuesday, July 29th, 2025 at 5:45 p.m. On the

18 question? All those in favor signify by

19 saying aye.

20 MR. KING: Aye.

21 MR. SCHUSTER: Aye.

22 DR. ROTHCHILD: Aye.

23 MR. MCANDREW: Aye.

24 MR. SMURL: Aye. Opposed? The ayes

25 have it and so moved.
 67

 1 MR. VOLDENBERG: SIXTH ORDER. No

 2 business at this time.

 3 SEVENTH ORDER. 7-A. FOR

 4 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC

 5 WORKS - FOR ADOPTION - FILE OF THE COUNCIL NO.

 6 79, 2025 - ESTABLISHING A "NO PARKING ZONE"

 7 ALONG THE EASTERLY CURB LINE OF SR3025 KNOWN AS

 8 WYOMING AVENUE FROM SEGMENT 0020 OFFSET 850 TO

 9 ITS INTERSECTION WITH OLIVE STREET FOR A

10 DISTANCE OF 370 FEET TO ITS INTERSECTION WITH

11 OLIVE STREET TO ALLOW FOR SAFE SIGHT DISTANCES

12 FOR A PROPOSED DRIVEWAY.

13 MR. SMURL: What is the

14 recommendation of the Chairperson for the

15 Committee on Public Works?

16 MR. SCHUSTER: As Chairperson for

17 the Committee on Public Works, I recommend

18 final passage of Item 7-A.

19 MR. KING: Second.

20 MR. SMURL: On the question? Roll

21 call, please.

22 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

23 MR. KING: Yes.

24 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

25 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.
 68

 1 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

 2 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

 3 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

 4 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

 5 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

 6 MR. SMURL: Yes. I hereby declare

 7 Item 7-A legally and lawfully adopted.

 8 MR. VOLDENBERG: 7-B. FOR

 9 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY

10 DEVELOPMENT - FOR ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO.

11 230, 2025 - RATIFYING AND APPROVING THE

12 EXECUTION AND SUBMISSION OF THE GRANT

13 APPLICATION BY THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND

14 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY OF SCRANTON

15 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC

16 DEVELOPMENT'S GREENWAYS, TRAILS, AND RECREATION

17 PROGRAM (GTRP) FOR UP TO $250,000.00 TO BE USED

18 TOWARDS THE WHITTIER SCHOOLYARD PROJECT.

19 MR. SMURL: What is the

20 recommendation of the Chairperson for the

21 Committee on Community Development?

22 DR. ROTHCHILD: As Chairperson for

23 the Committee on Community Development, I

24 recommend final passage of Item 7-B.

25 MR. SCHUSTER: Second.
 69

 1 MR. KING: Second.

 2 MR. SMURL: On the question? Roll

 3 call, please.

 4 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

 5 MR. KING: Yes.

 6 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

 7 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.

 8 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

 9 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

10 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

11 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

12 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

13 MR. SMURL: Yes. I hereby declare

14 Item 7-B legally and lawfully adopted.

15 MR. VOLDENBERG: 7-C. FOR

16 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY

17 DEVELOPMENT - FOR ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO.

18 231, 2025 - RESOLUTION FOR PLAN REVISION FOR

19 NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT 1230 NORTH

20 KEYSER AVENUE.

21 MR. SMURL: What is the

22 recommendation of the Chairperson for the

23 Committee on Community Development?

24 DR. ROTHCHILD: As Chairperson for

25 the Committee on Community Development, I
 70

 1 recommend final passage of Item 7-C.

 2 MR. SCHUSTER: Second.

 3 MR. SMURL: On the question? Roll

 4 call, please.

 5 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

 6 MR. KING: Yes.

 7 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

 8 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.

 9 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

10 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

11 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

12 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

13 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

14 MR. SMURL: Yes. I hereby declare

15 Item 7-C legally and lawfully adopted.

16 MR. VOLDENBERG: 7-D. FOR

17 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC

18 WORKS - FOR ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 232,

19 2025 - AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND OTHER

20 APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE AND ENTER

21 INTO A CONTRACT WITH RUTLEDGE EXCAVATION TO

22 PERFORM THE TRIPP PARK STORMWATER PROJECT.

23 MR. SMURL: What is the

24 recommendation of the Chairperson for the

25 Committee on Public Works?
 71

 1 MR. SCHUSTER: As Chairperson for

 2 the Committee on Public Works, I recommend

 3 final passage of Item 7-D.

 4 MR. KING: Second.

 5 MR. SMURL: On the question? Roll

 6 call, please.

 7 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

 8 MR. KING: Yes.

 9 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

10 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.

11 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

12 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

13 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

14 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

15 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

16 MR. SMURL: Yes. I hereby declare

17 Item 7-D legally and lawfully adopted.

18 MR. VOLDENBERG: 7-E. FOR

19 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC

20 WORKS - FOR ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 233,

21 2025 - WAIVING RESPONSIBLE CONTRACTOR ORDINANCE

22 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF TRIPP PARK

23 STORMWATER IMPROVEMENTS.

24 MR. SMURL: What is the

25 recommendation of the Chairperson for the
 72

 1 Committee on Public Works?

 2 MR. SCHUSTER: As Chairperson for

 3 the Committee on Public Works, I recommend

 4 final passage of Item 7-E.

 5 MR. KING: Second.

 6 MR. SMURL: On the question? Roll

 7 call, please.

 8 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

 9 MR. KING: Yes.

10 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

11 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.

12 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

13 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

14 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

15 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

16 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

17 MR. SMURL: Yes. I hereby declare

18 Item 7-E legally and lawfully adopted.

19 MR. VOLDENBERG: 7-F. FOR

20 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC

21 WORKS - FOR ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 234,

22 2025 - AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND OTHER

23 APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE AND ENTER

24 INTO A CONTRACT WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT OF

25 PENNSYLVANIA, INC. TO PERFORM RECYCLING
 73

 1 PROCESSING.

 2 MR. SMURL: What is the

 3 recommendation of the Chairperson for the

 4 Committee on Public Works?

 5 MR. SCHUSTER: As Chairperson for

 6 the Committee on Public Works, I recommend

 7 final passage of Item 7-F.

 8 MR. KING: Second.

 9 MR. SMURL: On the question? Roll

10 call, please.

11 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.

12 MR. KING: Yes.

13 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

14 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.

15 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

16 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

17 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

18 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

19 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

20 MR. SMURL: Yes. I hereby declare

21 Item 7-F legally and lawfully adopted.

22 MR. VOLDENBERG: 7-G. FOR

23 CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE ON RULES - FOR

24 ADOPTION - RESOLUTION NO. 235, 2025 -

25 AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND OTHER APPROPRIATE
 74

 1 CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE AND ENTER INTO A

 2 CONTRACT WITH PEOPLEGURU, INC. TO PERFORM

 3 PAYROLL PROCESSING SERVICES.

 4 MR. SMURL: As Chairperson for the

 5 Committee on Rules, I recommend final passage

 6 of Item 7-G.

 7 MR. MCANDREW: Second.

 8 MR. SMURL: On the question?

 9 MR. SCHUSTER: On the question, last

10 week several questions were raised about this.

11 We put those inquiries into the administration.

12 We haven't heard back yet. So I'm going to

13 make a motion to table until we get those

14 answers.

15 MR. KING: Second.

16 DR. ROTHCHILD: Second.

17 MR. SMURL: All right. I have a

18 motion and second to table Item 7-G. Do you

19 want to do a roll call --

20 MR. KING: On the question --

21 MR. SMURL: On the question.

22 MR. KING: -- on the table. Now a

23 roll call.

24 MR. SMURL: Okay, roll call, please.

25 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. King.
 75

 1 MR. KING: Yes.

 2 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Schuster.

 3 MR. SCHUSTER: Yes.

 4 MS. HERBSTER: Dr. Rothchild.

 5 DR. ROTHCHILD: Yes.

 6 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. McAndrew.

 7 MR. MCANDREW: Yes.

 8 MS. HERBSTER: Mr. Smurl.

 9 MR. SMURL: Yes, so 7-G is tabled.

10 MR. VOLDENBERG: EIGHTH ORDER. No

11 business at this time.

12 MR. SMURL: If there's no further

13 business, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

14 MR. MCANDREW: Motion to adjourn.

15 MR. SMURL: This meeting is

16 adjourned. Thank you.

17

18

19

20

21

22

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 76

 1 C E R T I F I C A T E

 2

 3 I hereby certify that the proceedings and

 4 evidence are contained fully and accurately in the

 5 notes taken by me of the above-cause and that this copy

 6 is a correct transcript of the same to the best of my

 7 ability.

 8

 9

10
 Maria McCool, RPR
11 Official Court Reporter

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22 (The foregoing certificate of this transcript does not

23 apply to any reproduction of the same by any means

24 unless under the direct control and/or supervision of

25 the certifying reporter.)