SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton City Hall is currently going through some renovations to restore its towers, stained glass, and other projects.
Mayor Paige Cognetti says it's important to preserve the city's history, including buildings like City Hall.
"These things take a lot of funding. The stained glass, for example, it's millions of dollars to replace all of the stained glass in a building like City Hall, so we need to continue to raise funds. We don't want it to always be local tax dollars. That's just not going to be possible," said Mayor Cognetti.
City officials announced the creation of the Electric City Fund to receive donations to support Scranton's parks and historic preservation projects. The current focus will be City Hall renovations and Nay Aug Park's pool complex.
"The maintenance costs of things, especially water features, splash pads, and especially pools, a lot of money to maintain those. We're hoping that these private dollars might give us more confidence as we go into building out amenities in Scranton parks."
The Electric City Foundation will utilize donations so city officials don't have to raise taxes to fund such projects.
Mayor Cognetti says they seek out and apply for grants when it comes to big projects, and many times those grants require a monetary match. The additional money will be donated by people interested in preserving what draws so many people to Scranton.
"The majority needs to be government-funded, and they need to take care of their own buildings, but there is a sense of community pride and people who live and visit to be able to contribute towards that," Lawren Maris said.
The Scranton Area Community Foundation will manage the fund, receiving donations and deciding what projects will need the most investments.
"It's a very different thing than donating to the city. How it goes through city council, and then goes into the general operating fund. That's not necessarily the way that a private donor would want to give money. This goes through philanthropy and never touches the city coffers," the mayor explained.
Those interested in contributing to the new charitable fund can donate online at www.safdn.org by clicking on the “Donate” tab and searching for “Electric City Foundation.” Donors can also send checks payable to the Scranton Area Foundation with a memo that reads “Electric City Foundation” to the Scranton Area Foundation, 615 Jefferson Ave., Suite 102, Scranton, PA 18510.