Latest news with #Huchel
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Johnstown City Council holds work session on Central Park Project
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ)– Before the regularly scheduled monthly meeting Wednesday night, the Johnstown City Council held a work session for the Central Park Renovation Project. The project has received criticism from community members and current and former council members. As the project inches closer to the bidding process, which council members had hoped to accomplish by August, there's a new firm taking over the project. 'Scape Design disassociated themselves with the city,' said City Manager Art Martynuska. 'We got the official word from them on March 31, and CJL Engineering was always a sub, but now they became the prime.' Now CJL has proposed what Martynuska describes as minor changes to the original design, with changes to lighting, walkways and where the Christmas tree will sit during Light Up Night. 'The original plan from Scape required the tree to be in the corner of the park, we thought that, from a public appearance perspective, it would be best in the center of the park.' But not everyone on the council agrees with the changes. 'It does not need to be in the center of the park,' Council Member Laura Huchel said. 'There's no safety concern with the tree being in the location that Scape originally planned.' Huchel said that CJL is a great local company, but that they were not directly involved in the public outreach process that helped form the plan. This, she said, could potentially set the project back even longer. 'The fact that we are moving back to the design phase of the project by saying 'oh we had a few changes we're just going to put a few more in,' we're effectively going back a year in the process,' Huchel said that he is still confident that the project will remain on track and is hopeful that it will come in under budget. 'The original plan was calling for about 6 million dollars; we hope to be around that same amount, if not lower,' Martynuska said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic candidates gather
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Democratic Party candidates for Johnstown City Council and mayor explained their reasons for seeking office and general political goals Wednesday during a meet-and-greet at Bottle Works. The primary for mayor is a head-to-head race between two current council members – Laura Huchel and Deputy Mayor the Rev. Sylvia King. Four regular four-year seats are being contested. Five Democrats are running for those positions. A special election is also being held for the remaining two years of a seat that became vacant when Michael Capriotti resigned to become assistant city manager. 'To have this many people running is fantastic. … I think it's a great way to have all the candidates come together and put their ideas out there so that more people can get involved and hear them,' Cambria County Democratic Party Chairwoman Nina Licastro said. Each candidate was given five minutes to address the audience. Council candidates spoke first, then Huchel, followed by King. • Huchel, a Princeton University graduate, was the first millennial ever elected to Johnstown City Council. She has been active with the City of Johnstown Planning Commission, Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, arts community and Johnstown Animal Welfare Society. 'Before I was elected to council, I promised different conversations would happen around the council table,' Huchel said. 'I spent four years on council – until Taylor (Clark's) appointment (to council a few weeks ago) – as the youngest person on council by 20 years. So there was a different perspective going on. I was very pleased to bring that perspective and to hear the perspectives of others.' • King is pastor at Christ Centered Community Church. She has been involved with numerous organizations, including Greater Johnstown United Neighborhoods Association, Cambria County Drug & Alcohol Program, NAACP Johnstown Chapter, Vision Together 2025, and Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. 'All these things and more have uniquely qualified me to serve as the mayor for the people of Johnstown,' King said. 'I offer wisdom, knowledge, experience, servant leadership and grace. But most of all I offer myself. I am the Johnstown of yesterday. I am the Johnstown of today. And prayerfully I will be your Johnstown of tomorrow.' The following council candidates are listed in the order that they spoke. • Clark was appointed by council to fill Capriotti's term through the end of this year before the special election winner takes on the position for the remaining two years, beginning in 2026. Clark, who co-owns Coney Island Lunch and high-end men's clothing store Miller's of Johnstown, said he wants to promote transparency, honesty and small business development. 'When I say 'honesty,' I'm not saying that former council members, or city managers or anything like that have been dishonest,' Clark said. 'What I'm saying is I am going to be honest with you. And what I mean by that is if I don't know something I'm going to tell you. … But what I can promise you that I am going to do is I'm going to find out and I'm going to get back to you.' • Gregory Brown has been involved in real estate, web development and data analytics. 'I'm very versatile,' Brown said. 'I expect people to talk respectfully and legitimately to themselves and to others, too. … You've got to offer to people resources, where they can go for help, what's going on in the city, what's not going on in the city, how they can get involved. It's just a lot. If elected, he plans 'to collaborate with people, and listen and see what I can do.' • Lorraine Brandon-Taylor owns America's Tax Office. 'I have had the opportunity of working with people in all income brackets in this city,' Brandon-Taylor said. 'I've had the ability to listen to them, understand where they're coming from, and I am able to hear the voices that are unheard.' One of her goals would be to address the amount of 'misguided information' in the city with hopes of providing better services to residents. • Samuel Barber is a former city codes enforcement officer. 'I'm running for City Council because I believe in the promise of our city and the power of its people,' Barber said. 'I'm not here to make any empty promises or offer quick fixes. I'm here to work with you, to roll up our sleeves and do the real work of restoring Johnstown to a strong, and safe and thriving community we all know it can be.' • Jasmine LaRue is a published author who said she wants 'to be a change agent for the city.' 'My goal is to bring practical solutions for everyday problems,' LaRue said. 'I want to honor those that the city was built on, which were our elderly, our senior citizens, who worked the steel mills, who worked the coal mines, and also honoring our young people, and if we honor our young people and the elderly and our senior citizens who built the city, everyone else in the middle would flourish.' Cambria County Court of Common Pleas Judge Tamara Bernstein and Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer also attended the event. Bernstein has a retention vote in the general election. Neugebauer is running unopposed for a judge position. He cross-filed. The Republican Party field of City Council candidates consists of Joseph Taranto, Charlene Stanton, Nick Spinelli and Mike Hamacek. Republican John DeBartola is running for mayor.
