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By Eric Veronikis
Harrisburg City Council plans to hire independent counsel to
review Mayor Stephen R. Reed's 75-year lease proposal of the Harrisburg Parking
Authority's parking facilities and meters, council members said last night
during their legislative meeting.
The independent counsel should include an attorney and a
financial consultant not connected to the city, which can make an unbiased
recommendation to the legislative body, said Dan Miller, council vice president.
"The decision cannot be reversed once we make it," Miller
said. "I encourage council to hire independent counsel and hope we are not
forced into any artificial timelines."
After an ordinance was read, which introduced the proposal to
council, President Linda D. Thompson placed the ordinance in council's
administration committee. It will be further discussed in committee, she said. The
next administration committee meeting has yet to be scheduled, said Beth Ann
Gabler, city clerk.
Council is obligated to take a piece of legislation like
this and perform the due diligence necessary to make sure the deal is in the
best interest of Harrisburg,
Thompson said. She said it is the third largest deal that has come before her
on council. The deal would deliver $215
million to the city up front but hands parking operations over to an outside
company.
"I have been through similar situations. The first was the
incinerator. The second was the incinerator," Thompson said of the failed
retrofit of the Harrisburg Authority's incinerator, which left the authority
buried in approximately $300 million
in debt. "The incinerator went through 14 public hearings. This one will not go
without expert review."
Council members Wanda R.D. Williams, Gloria Martin-Roberts
and Susan Brown-Wilson said before the meeting they also feel the deal should
be analyzed at length before a vote takes place.
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