Jerry Smurl for Scranton City Council

Our city’s parks, playgrounds and pools remain a top priority. These public spaces are the heart of our community—where families connect, children play, and neighbors gather.

We have already invested tens of millions of dollars— $26.7 million in federal, state, and local funds—into our parks and recreation facilities, and the results are now visible across every corner of our city.

This past summer, we saw some of the biggest transformations yet. We proudly opened the newly refurbished Connell Park pool in South Scranton. We celebrated the completion of the Weston Field pool complex and Weston Park , Oakmont Park, and Robinson Park.

Our investment in Nay Aug Park continues, with new aquatic features on the way and a beautiful Butterfly Playground already delighting our children.
Throughout the entire city, we’ve introduced a new pocket park, new pickleball courts, new skate park and even a new cricket pitch!

And we are not finished yet. As we look to the year ahead, we are excited about even more projects on the horizon, including:

A new splash pad at Capouse Avenue Park; A new dog park, playground, soccer field, and multi-courts at Clover Field; and a new dog park at Lace Village, and more!

Our parks are a reflection of our community. Investing in them is an investment in our local quality of life, property values, and economy. I will continue fighting for investments to revitalize our parks and pools, expand recreational programs, and create places that truly serve everyone in our community.

Our neighborhoods are the heart of Scranton. We’ve held dozens of “Sprucin’ Up Scranton” clean-up events, bringing city services and residents together to beautify our streets and green spaces. And just last month, we launched the “Good Neighbor Program” to recognize the residents and business owners who take pride in their properties and help make our city so vibrant.

But improving our neighborhoods is also about holding absentee landlords accountable and removing blight. That’s why we’ve continued to demolish dangerous and abandoned structures, with nearly 75 properties taken down.
Recent and ongoing projects include a street paving program, upgrades to over 4,500 street signs, and the installation of solar-powered, flashing stop signs for increased safety.

A new partnership with Verizon is also expanding fiber-optic internet access to every neighborhood, with low-cost options for eligible households.

While our public spaces are the heart of our neighborhoods, our infrastructure is the backbone of our city. For too long, we have deferred critical investments, but we are changing that.

This year alone, we launched a city-wide paving program and will continue to work on proper road restoration through improved paving ordinances.
We’ve also made significant investments in our stormwater infrastructure, using federal funds to make our neighborhoods more resilient to future weather events.

Through our expanded Public Works department, we have also focused on the smaller, yet critical, details like repainting of crosswalks and replacing outdated street signs. Also this year, we launched a new city-wide street paving project covering key streets and alleys. Using data to track our progress, we’re making our roads safer and smoother.

Thanks to federal and state grants, we completed a $4.8 million City Hall renovation project including repairs to the facade, roof, and tower of the 1888 historic building, and we’ll soon begin a major streetscape project to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in our downtown.

We’ve made public safety a cornerstone of our efforts. The investments we’ve made in our police, fire, and public works departments are unprecedented and more than what’s been invested over the past two decades combined.

– We have purchased new fire equipment, including a new $1.4 million ladder truck.

– We’ve added 51 new police vehicles equipped with modern technology and are deploying new body cameras for our officers.

– We have added new full-time officers to our ranks and are focusing on better training.

These investments allow our first responders to do their jobs more effectively and ensure the safety of both our citizens and our officers.

Scranton has introduced more efficient city services, including improving recycling collections with a new contract and commingled paper recycling, implementing new software for managing public works overtime, modernizing the Bureau of Code Enforcement by streamlining online access and processes, and initiating a Downtown Scranton Connectivity Plan focused on walkability and public safety.

– Code Enforcement Overhaul: The Bureau of Code Enforcement has been improved by streamlining the contractor licensing process, reducing permit costs, and adding inspectors to increase efficiency and responsiveness.

– Online permitting: The online portal for permits helps to reduce red tape and has led to a significant increase in local construction projects.

– Online procurement portal: The city uses an online bidding portal to ensure a transparent bidding process for projects.

When I first took office, our city was facing a growing problem with abandoned and neglected properties. We’ve since championed new initiatives and streamlined the process for addressing blighted homes, resulting in the demolition of 75 properties in our neighborhoods, with dozens more scheduled for demolition.

I also introduced two good-paying union jobs to help fight blight and clean up our city; I wrote an ordinance on a vacant property registry; and I introduced a conservatorship program to rehabilitate blighted properties while helping create the blighted property review board.

I also worked with the city’s Code Enforcement and Police departments to have 130 abandoned and junked vehicles towed from our neighborhoods.
While we have made strides, the work is not finished. My plan for the next term includes further strengthening the city’s code enforcement team, increasing fines for absentee landlords, and working with local non-profits to turn vacant lots into community gardens and green spaces.