Lancaster City receives federal funds for program to reduce lead-based paint exposure

When: Lancaster City Council meeting, Oct. 8. Council member Lochard Calixte was absent.

What happened: The city learned it has received $7.75 million in its latest round of federal funds for its Lead Hazard Control Program and the Healthy Homes Program , from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Mayor Danene Sorace said in comments to council.

Background: The city has received $17.45 million in federal Lead Hazard Reduction Program funds since 2019, Rebecca Geiser, Lancaster's community planning and economic development deputy director, told LNP | LancasterOnline.

Quotable: "We have remediated over 300 homes, and this is work our team is particularly proud of," Sorace said. "And tonight, we are adding $7.75 million to the push to remove lead in homes south of King Street."

Replacement requirements: The Biden-Harris administration also released on Oct. 8 guidance by the Environmental Protection Agency that requires water providers to replace all lead pipes within 10 years, Sorace said. This requires the city to determine the material of pipes from the city water mains to the curb, and from curbs to the homes. The city will be responsible for any pipes made of lead, Sorace said. The cost for replacing pipes for the city and 10 municipalities in the county is estimated at $125 million to $150 million, she said.

Quotable: "I don't need to tell you that this is a tremendous amount of money ... and that we will need to financially plan for," Sorace said, adding that this is a preview of a discussion on the city's capital budget.

You can help: City residents can help Lancaster reduce these costs by submitting information about the material of their waterline.

How?: To inform the city of the waterline material, residents should fill out a "simple online form" and upload a photo of the waterline to cityoflancasterpa.gov/lead-service-line . To date, 11,600 city water customers have done this, Sorace said.

Potholes: Work crews have begun to dig potholes down to waterlines in priority areas to determine curb-to-house materials, at the rate of about 40 lines per week, the mayor said. Water customers who receive a door-hanger notice can avoid such potholes in their sidewalks or yards by submitting the information on the material used in their lines, which saves the city a "considerable amount of money," Sorace said.

Recruiting the law: The city has received 366 applications for police officer openings, of which 320 have registered to take the physical agility test, Sorace told the council. For context, she said, the city last year had 418 police officer applications, resulting in six new officers, a sign of Lancaster's rigid recruitment standards.

Home upgrades: In three resolutions, council unanimously approved $3 million in Commonwealth Financing Authority grants to fund projects to improve affordable and low-income housing in the city. The projects of up to $1 million each are for exterior improvements to 15 to 33 homes operated by Partners With Purpose throughout the city; upgrades to 270 units at Church Street Towers and Farnum Street East communities; and upgrades to 199 family units at the Susquehanna Court and Franklin Terrace communities, operated by the Lancaster City Housing Authority. While the mayor's office executes the grants, grant funding would go directly to the agencies.

Quote: "Even though they are affordable houses, we want them to be as nice as any house on the block," Barbara J. Ellis Wilson, housing authority executive director, told council at its Oct. 1 meeting.