SUNBURY - Mayor David Persing says he and others have worked tirelessly to improve the city and develop new and exciting recreational opportunities. Despite those efforts, the 240-year-old municipality, the seat of Northumberland County government, has an image problem.
What the mayor is fighting is related through a story he heard from a couple from Doylestown.
They were looking for somewhere to retire and toured the area.
"They met with a real estate agent, who showed them homes in Danville and Selinsgrove," Persing said. "When they asked about Sunbury, the agent told them that they didn't want to live in Sunbury. Nothing goes through me more than when I hear that."
But the Doylestown couple checked out the city for themselves, including Cameron Park along Market Street. They would eventually purchase a property along that main drag.
"They don't even know what they want to do with it yet, but they are tired of big-city life and are looking for a place to retire," Persing said.
The Doylestown couple had to learn for themselves what the city should be telling perspective newcomers, Persing believes.
"We need to market the city better, and our first step is to talk about the positives. The city recently launched its Facebook page, and I want to match up a positive for every negative," he said.
"We are three hours from Philadelphia and three hours from New York City and four hours from Pittsburgh, so we can see all the major sporting events," but not have to live in a metropolitan area, he added. "We have a great quality of life here."
Such optimism fuels Persing's desire to polish the city's tarnished image.
"There are a lot of positives going on here, and we want to leap from positive to positive," he said.
Housing fixes
Key issues in the city revolve around housing, according to Persing.
Because of a glut of rental properties - currently, 54 percent of the city's housing units are rentals - a permit to create a rental property is now $1,000.
Persing suggested the high fee as a means of improving the quality of rental units.
City council also continues to pursue a new series of ordinances designed to have landlords and tenants take better care of their properties. It stemmed from the mayor's frustration.
"You open up the paper and see 100 people picked up in a drug bust, and it's the same names over and over," Persing said. "I wanted to nail a sign on the door calling them a drug dealer, which the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) told me the next day I can't do."
Reaction to the ordinance has been mixed, but a series of public information sessions on the matter has helped, he said.
"We are looking at parts of Berwick's ordinance and the biggest one, to eliminate the drug trade, is that if you are convicted twice for selling drugs, you will not be able to get an occupancy permit in the city of Sunbury," the mayor said.
Another topic Persing wants to see addressed in the ordinance is if something happens at the home, landlords are partly responsible.
"They are the people that rent to them, so why shouldn't they shoulder the burden?" said Persing, who would like to see the first reading of the ordinance be held in June.
Another problem is absentee landlords who allow their properties to become run down. Through some help with the court system, Sunbury has had the opportunity to acquire such properties and tear them down. From there, a new plan has developed.
"We want to sell some of the better properties and the ones that need to be torn down as building lots," Persing said. "The proceeds for that will stay with the property program to do more revitalization."
Persing said the city is looking into an unprecedented program that would bring construction and housing to the area.
"We hope to work with some construction companies that will give us three options for homes to build, and if someone can provide the information that they have the means to build and maintain a property, and enter a contract with the construction company, we could give them the land for free to revitalize the neighborhood, and put it on the tax rolls."
Staying positive
The silver lining seems to never dim for the mayor, even in the wake of controversy. Recently, city residents have expressed concerns about Clean Harbors Environmental Services of Norwell, Mass, using part of the former Celotex grounds as a proposed waste transfer station for 1,000 tons of residual waste from the Marcellus shale industry, either in liquid or solid form.
"People seem to forget that, two years ago, there was this huge empty building that may have sat empty for 50 years," the mayor said. "I don't think that Moran Industries (the owner of the site) would invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into the site to just put in a waste pit that is going to bring toxic waste and incur millions of dollars in fines."
Persing said he understands the public's concerns, but said there is a lot of misinformation.
"Everyone is talking about frack water coming in, but nowhere in the permit does it say anything about 'frack water,' but frack water waste," he said. "The industry is so regulated currently if we find some wrong waste, DEP can track where it came from due to its composition. There is nothing corrupt going on here. The city won't allow that."
Northumberland County Commissioners Vinny Clausi and Stephen Bridy attended a Sunbury City Council meeting Monday night and offered their help. The county hired an engineer Tuesday to look over the permit Clean Harbors filed with DEP.
"I know people have 100 questions about this, and I know that some people will not be satisfied anyway," Persing said. "I feel this could be a positive thing for the city and help to attract more industry to that site and the city. We are cautious and have concerns, but we can look at it positively as well."
Not a fairy tale
Persing, who served as mayor from 1990 to 2006 and returned to office in 2010, said he'll continue to pursue new projects.
"You have to believe and make the people believe that this isn't a fairy tale or a dream, this is something that can happen," Persing said. "I'm not the type of person that invests in plans or gets behind something that I know realistically can't happen."
Asked where he sees Sunbury in five years, Persing said he would like to see it continue to be what it already is - the center of the Susquehanna Valley.
"I can give you 10 good reasons to live in the city of Sunbury," he said.