At the 2020 reorganization meeting of Lebanon’s City Council on the first Monday of the month, Wayne Carey was again voted in as Council Chairman. The upcoming year will be Carey’s third as Chairman.
Also re-appointed was Joseph Morales, who will once again be serving as vice-chairman of the Council. This will be Morales’ second year as vice-chairman.
Carey welcomed two new faces to City Council; newly elected Council members Amy Keller and Christopher Miller.
The reorganization meeting was the first official meeting for both Miller and Keller, who take the places of Wiley Parker and Cornell Wilson.
Former Council member Wiley Parker chose not to run for another term and Councilman Cornell Wilson was not re-elected.
The two new members join longtime Council member Richard A. Wertz.
City Council faces some exciting challenges this year, Carey noted.
The biggest among them is the possibility of moving city offices, including the police and fire departments, to Downtown Lebanon.
Read More: Council greenlights HACC purchase; Capello lays out downtown vision
Mayor Sherry Capello is in the process of negotiating a satisfactory price for the Harrisburg Area Community College building at Seventh and Cumberland streets.
Capello was not at the meeting Monday, due to illness, Carey said.
If the HACC building is sold, the community college will continue to hold a variety of classes on an upper floor of the building.
More room was needed for several city departments and Mayor Capello wanted a bigger, centralized downtown presence for the city offices.
Other administrators through the years have searched for a more central location in the city and when the HACC building came up for sale, it seemed like the perfect solution.
A parking garage is also on the drawing board, to be located at Seventh and Willow streets, with a capacity for 300 vehicles.
At a recent Council meeting, Mayor Capello noted that Lebanon is the only city of its size in the state without a municipal parking garage.
The Lauther Memorial Pool Complex in Coleman Park is also nearing its last days, as the pool would need major repairs to continue to be used and attendance has dropped in recent years.
Read More: City Council reluctantly votes to demolish pool at Coleman park
A demolition date has not been set at this time.
One of Council’s responsibilities this year will be to decide what type of recreational substitute will take the place of the pool.
A few alternatives have been bandied about, Carey said, including a splash pad for the area, but no decisions have been made.
A biking trail may also be added to the park this year.
Lebanon’s City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of the month and the next meeting will be Jan. 27.
All Council meetings are open to the public.
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