According to the Times Leader Newspaper, the (now strapped for cash), Wilkes-Barre
Parking Authority, seeking bids to repair its aging parking structures, that
according to a recent Penn Eastern Engineers, LLC report cited four main areas
of concern including two of those are listed as in “critical status” that need
to be completed before this winter. However
the Parking Authority is running low on cash, and only able to barley address
the two “critical” issues.
Authority manager Tom Torbik stated “I’ve told you in the
past. You can’t give any more money away,” he said. “You’re done giving money
away as far as I’m concerned. First of all, you don’t have it to give away.”
The most recent audit also advised the authority that their reserves
were “low”, and the authority needed to focus on building or maintaining its cash reserves in order to meet/address upcoming/needed repairs. Yet at the beginning of this year the board (all
but one member) voted to dip deeper into its cash reserves in order to give $150k to
the city, (likely under mounting mayoral pressure), in two $75k installments. The
first payable in the beginning of 2015 (PAID) the second to be paid this month,
however at Tuesday’s meeting the board stated it will not have the extra cash to bail
out the mayor this time.
So after all the looting of the parking authority (still under Federal
Investigation) resulting from the failed lease debacle, orchestrated
by Mayor Leighton, J.J. Murphy, the Fox Rothschild law firm where J.J.’s brother works, (all designed to cook up
a quick cash scheme, for the mayor and the then out of work J.J.). One has to wonder if not for that looting, and mayoral pressure
by Leighton to give, give, give, would these repair not have been done sooner (perhaps at a lower cost),
and not have reached the now “critical status”? Inquiring minds want to know!
Wake Up Wilkes Barre
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