This past week, Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo met with the mayors of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Nanticoke to discuss the state of affairs in each city. Hazleton’s mayor could not attend.
Most people between the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton do not realize there are three other cities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
I was always aware that Pittston and Hazleton were cities, but for the longest time, didn’t realize Nanticoke shared the same status.
My grandfather worked for the City of Pittston for a few decades driving truck or plowing streets. He would never refer to Pittston as Pittston; he always said he worked for the city. Growing up, I knew cities had large populations like New York or Los Angeles, but how was it possible for Pittston to be a city?
There are currently 56 incorporated cities in Pennsylvania, the smallest city Parker in Armstrong County with a 2010 census population of 840.
Most cities are classified as third-class cities of 250,000 or less in population. Second-class cities consist of more than 250,000 in population. There is only one first-city of 1,000,000 inhabitants or more in Pennsylvania and that would be Philadelphia.
The City of Pittston has peaked in population 100 years ago, according to the 1820 census with 18,497 residents. Since then, the numbers have been dropping each 10 years with the largest number exiting the city at 17.4% from 1950 to 1960.
As of 2010, Pittston population is at 7,739, that’s a loss of over 60% in 100 years.
It’s not just the City of Pittston that has lost population; many Greater Pittston towns have as well, but ironically, in the 2010 census, Luzerne County had a .5% increase to 320,918. I’m really curious how the numbers will shake down after the 2020 census. I hope all of you took the time to submit your proper numbers to the census bureau.
Luzerne County peaked for the 1930 census by having over 445,000 residents.
I’m glad Mayor Lombardo has been meeting with other mayors and comparing notes. As the mayor of Scranton, Paige Cognetti, said in an interview with WBRE-TV, “The regional approach is fantastic because really, a win for Wilkes-Barre or a win for Pittston is a win for Scranton. A win for any of us is a win for all of us.”
Mayor Lombardo has acquired a lot of knowledge during his two separate times as mayor of the city. And he will tell you, he doesn’t know everything, but when you get mayors together from other cities, it because a power in numbers game.
It’s a great idea to bounce ideas off of each other to see if something could be done better or more efficient. I know not all boroughs, towns or townships feed off each other and that’s pretty closed-minded.
It’s the second time the city mayors met this year, the first prior to COVID-19 arriving on the scene. There will be at least one more meeting later this year at a third location. The first one was held in Wilkes-Barre, the second at Pittston City Hall. I’m sure Mayor Cognetti of Scranton will hold the third, but that has yet to be determined.
I think it would be a great idea for, let’s say, mayors of West Pittston, Exeter, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Harding and Falls that make up Wyoming Area School District to have some sort of meeting.
Pittston Area towns that make up the district could certainly do the same.
I know from time-to-time, forming a regional police department has been discussed. I know many years ago, there was an effort to organizing a West Side Police Department consisting of all towns and boroughs from West Pittston to Kingston, but talks fell apart.
Think of it, instead of having four or five chiefs of police, you’d have one or instead of dozens of police cruisers, you’d be able to cut that number down as well.
I know many towns struggle with maintaining and keeping the number of police officers that work in each municipality and many law enforcement officers are part-time and many crossover and work at a neighboring municipality. Having a police force encompassing several towns could eliminate a lot of employee issues.
Government just has to think outside the box and come up with a really good solution for all towns and boroughs and even cities.
Consolidation seems to be the way to go anymore. Population is down in towns, at churches, and school districts, why not consider further consolidations in the future – perhaps the time is now to act.
This week has been and will always be important to me. My birthday is Sept. 12 and my re-birth birthday is Sept. 8 when I was given a second chance at life when I had cancer surgery to rid a bad body part.
Having a doctor inform you of cancer in your body is a pretty heavy thing. Experiencing the surgery to rid the cancer was a crazy ride that was uncomfortable, humiliating, painful and quite honestly, my quality of life has never been the same.
When I receive my PSA results, my doctor will congratulate me on another good score.
I went with the odds to have surgery to rid me of the cancer, but I will never hear the words, “you’re cured” from any physician. There are no guarantees in life, just remember that.
Dr. Michael Campenni, I made another trip around the sun thanks to you.
Quote of the week
“It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” – Lucille Ball
Thought of the week
“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Marthe Troly-Curtin
Bumper sticker
“The only joy in the world is to begin.” – Cesare Pavese
