Council making space for a park

Before something old can become new, it must first be destroyed.

That's what the Harrisburg City Council decided to do during its regular meeting on Thursday. The Council approved a bid to demolish the building at 25 E. Poplar St. To make room for a public park.

"The park would be a great place for people to sit and read, hangout, or sit and drink coffee," said Beth Montfort, commissioner of public property.

The bid chosen will cost the city $18,280, the lowest of the four bids. City officials hope to get the project underway as soon as the beginning of December. A few tasks still need to be completed by neighboring businesses before the demolition can begin. The project will not cost tax payers a dime as the money for the project will come from a Tax Increment Financing fund.

Also, the building and property was donated to the city, which also allows taxpayers to avoid any additional costs for the project.

The City Council on Thursday also approved of the police department using part-time officers to help alleviate overtime spending with its full-time staff. The part-time officers will cover shifts the full-time officers can't because overtime hours. This will cut the city's spending over half for the remainder of the calendar year by dropping hourly pay from the standard overtime rate of $40.00 to $15.00 per hour for the part-time officer, police Chief James Johnson said.

In other business …

Mayor Dale Fowler took the time during the meeting to inform the audience that despite the rumors that he will step down as mayor after his announcement to run for state senate, he will not be resigning anytime soon.

The city of Harrisburg has several plans to beautify the city and the surrounding area. Officials are in talks to soon improve the old smugglers property, though nothing is set at this time.