Members of Harrisburg City Council and the Mayor's Office have been engaging in a public back and forth over the Broad Street Market. However, amid the dispute
Pictures from Sky View 21 show the progress of the cleanup inside the Broad Street Market brick building after an emergency declaration was signed in July to address a rat infestation. Members of Harrisburg City Council and the Mayor 's Office have been engaging in a public back and forth over the Broad Street Market .
However, amid the dispute progress on cleaning up and rebuilding the burned down brick building has been taking place behind the scenes. Sky View 21 flew over the brick building on Wednesday, showing a structure that's been cleaned out more than a year after a fire destroyed the building, and debris was left all throughout. The CBS 21 Investigates team received new information from the mayor's office this week. It showed the city has executed six contracts since Mayor Wanda Williams issued a disaster declaration over the brick building on July 23. The declaration was made due to a rat infestation city officials said could've caused a public health emergency. The six contracts were worth more than $340,000 according to a summary report of the emergency remediation obtained by CBS 21. The contracts were for demolition in certain parts of the building, framing and carpentry work, plumbing and taking out water lines, lead window abatement, and covering holes to ensure the building didn't collapse.. The bid was worth more than $1.3 million, and according to a proposal attached to the resolution the company says designs for the brick building aren't expected to be completed until February 2025. This progress at the market has been overshadowed in recent days by a public dispute between members of the Harrisburg City Council and the Mayor's Office. "The mayor mentioned her office is an open door, but it's more like a revolving door. In the mayor's office alone the business administrator role has been vacant since June 7, 2024. The communications director role will be vacant as of next week. There is no finance director, no director community relations and engagement, nor is there a sustainability coordinator. These roles were all vacated over the past month. It's really ironic the current mayor is repeating behavior she once complained about as she sat in this very seat as the president of Harrisburg City Council. The mayor is always quick to proclaim she’s the mayor, she’s the mayor. Yes mayor you’ve become a jack of all trades and a master of none," said Harrisburg City Council President Danielle Bowers on Tuesday's meeting.signed by Bowers and City Councilman Lamont Jones where they questioned the mayor's office and the July emergency declaration.Jones also spoke to CBS 21 following Tuesday's council meeting. "We're not trying to fight the administration. One thing that we agree on is that we should be working together. This is how our city moves forward," Jones said. The letters questioned how the $340,000 in contracts were awarded and the companies they were given to. "We feel as though that our jobs are being circumvented," said Jones. "We have a right to view the contracts that come through and make a decision to make sure that we are doing what we were elected to do." The mayor's office said the declaration was needed to cut through red tape and quickly address the rat infestation. Jones says at every possible chance, contracts for the Broad Street Market should be awarded to minority owned businesses based in Harrisburg. One of the six contracts during the disaster declaration went to a Harrisburg business, others went to businesses in Dover and Elizabethtown. "We are specifically trying to bring back the economic empowerment for the City of Harrisburg. So if you can invest in these local Harrisburg based businesses, in turn those businesses can go out and hire people from this community," said Jones."I find it disheartening that the same three members of Council who voted against starting work on the market in May, are continuing to do what they can to delay construction. Meanwhile, my administration took their words to heart, and hired locally owned businesses with an emphasis on MWDBE to do the job. The ability to expeditiously declare a State of Emergency at the site of the Market’s Brick Building allowed us to not only quickly address the rat issue, but start construction on a building City of Harrisburg residents wanted to start months ago. I do not work for City Council and they do not work for me. We are supposed to work together, and for nearly three years, my office has been an open door for us to work together. Yet, they have shown no desire to work with me. I am committed to working for the residents of Harrisburg, and I would appreciate if they let me get back to work instead of answering to these petty concerns." The mayor's office has pointed to a council vote in May over the company hired to be the project manager as proof they are not making the market a priority. Council members had said they wanted to take a closer look at the process of hiring the company. It was eventually approved in a second vote. Both sides say they want to complete the market as fast as possible, officials have been vague on how long that could take. Saying it could take up to two years to finish the project.
Mayor City Council Broad Street Market Contracts Public Dispute Rat Infestation Economic Empowerment
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