Holbrook promoted to Wyoming Valley Levee System oversight position

Laura Holbrook was promoted Tuesday to the Wyoming Valley Levee System oversight position.

The five-member Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority Board unanimously approved Holbrook’s appointment as authority executive director at $92,500 annually.

An executive director was needed following Christopher Belleman’s retirement on Jan. 9 after 12 years in the position.

The board also approved a $500-per-month contract with Belleman Tuesday that will ensure he is on call to provide institutional knowledge and other assistance for six months.

A Kingston Township resident, Holbrook is a certified floodplain manager and has worked at the authority for nearly a decade, initially as a flood mitigation specialist and, since February 2024, as deputy executive director.

Authority Chairman Dominic Yannuzzi said Holbrook’s promotion was “well deserved” and noted she has been assuming extra duties and thoroughly reviewing policies and procedures as deputy when Belleman’s departure plans became known in recent months.

“We look forward to what you will help the authority with for years to come,” Yannuzzi said.

Holbrook thanked the board for its confidence.

Erosion repair

The authority has reached a solution to address erosion creeping toward part of the levee wall in Wilkes-Barre near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Academy Street, adjacent to the Black Diamond railroad bridge.

Yannuzzi said the fix will replace dirt with large stone rip-rap to restore stability to the bank.

The board unanimously approved a contract up to $59,700 with Verdantas, a Wilkes-Barre-area-based company, to complete an engineering design of the solution.

Verdantas is expected to complete the design in February, Yannuzzi said.

When the design is finished, the authority will promptly, publicly seek bids to perform the work, he said.

Authority Board member Jay Delaney, who is Wilkes-Barre’s fire chief, emphasized that Verdantas also must develop an emergency action plan outlining procedures that will be taken if the Susquehanna River rises before the project is completed.

Delaney said authority representatives verified temporary emergency measures would be needed and that the project cannot be put off. Engineers and authority representatives had inspected the site, and an engineer confirmed a river rise to approximately 25 feet could dislodge more dirt and “move the river closer to the levee,” Delaney said.

Board Vice Chairman William Hardwick agreed, saying the project cannot be pushed back.

Yannuzzi said the emergency plan is nearly complete.

The project will cost an estimated $375,000, and Delaney said he wants the public to be reassured that the authority already has the funding in place.

Still, Yannuzzi said he will reach out to some funding agencies to determine whether financial assistance is available.

Belleman has said the affected section was stable for decades but began sloughing in recent months. On slopes, slough is soil, rock, and debris that has moved downhill, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.