Jun. 11—WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Following a 15-minute executive session on Wednesday, the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority board said negotiations are continuing on the sale of a 7-parcel that would bring another hotel to the area.
Authority Board Chair Patrick Patte Jr. said the authority’s solicitor Christopher Slusser said an appraisal of the property should be completed within one week, then negotiations would resume with Sonny Singh of ONVB, regarding his request to purchase the land from the arena authority to build a second hotel.
Singh built a Residence Inn extended-stay hotel four years ago, and this parcel adjoins that site. The authority has stated it hopes to get at least $1 million for the property.
In other business on Wednesday, the board:
—Approved a $1.3 million contract with CMTA, Inc., for a cooling tower for its HVAC system. Steve Poremba, ASM Global’s general manager, said the arena will not have air conditioning during the length of the project, which will begin July 21 and run through August Poremba said the arena will not host any events during that time. The board decided to consolidate its July and August meetings to one on July 30.
Poremba said the next live show at the arena will be Cole Swindell on Saturday, Sept. 13.
—Approved a citation in memory of the late Tom Woods, who passed away in May. Woods served on the board since May 2014, and he was lauded for his dedicated service and significant contributions to the arena authority. The board will attend a service for Woods on Saturday, June 21.
—Discussed the process for filling Wood’s seat on the board, Luzerne County Council will fill the seat at a future meeting. Up to seven citizens will be considered for appointment.
Three citizens already were on the eligibility list because they were publicly interviewed by council’s Authorities, Boards and Commissions Committee in the past — William Barrett, Scott Letcher and Michelle Reilly.
Four more citizens have completed interviews and are in the screening phase to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, according to the county. They are Charles Jones, Vincent Argenio, Joseph Jones and Carl Kuren.
—Approved $281,000 for an air handler unit.
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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. Jennifer Learn-Andes contributed to this report.
