With Hazleton officially free of financial distress for more than two years, Mayor Jeff Cusat highlighted a lengthy list of finished, ongoing and future city projects during his latest state-of-the-city address Thursday.
The third-term Republican mayor did not discuss the city’s 22 percent 2026 real estate tax hike and only briefly touched on the ongoing work of the city’s home rule charter study commission.
Instead, Cusat’s 10th annual address focused heavily on numerous past and future upgrades to city parks and plans to pave the streets during the next two years in the city’s northern end.
The city sold $10 million in bonds last year to pay for the paving.
“For the first time, we’re borrowing money to do something for us, not pay old bills,” the mayor said.
Cusat spoke at a Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts on West Broad Street.
As he clicked through slides showing the projects, one click produced a slide of his 1-year-old daughter, Khaleesi, reading and thinking, “Looks like daddy is doing a good job.”
“I don’t know how that got in there,” Cusat joked as the audience of about 100 local leaders laughed.
Parks, paving and more
Other projects in the works include a new pavilion at Roosevelt Park, a flag football field at West Court Playground, a padel court at Arthur Street Playground and an ice cream stand, miniature golf course and new play area for 2- to 5-year-olds at City View Park.
He also promised overhauls of Pagnotti Field and Columbus Court Park.
Paving an extension of Ferrara Avenue will open up land for two new housing developments, Cusat said.
Audience loves the plans
Rossanna Gabriel, executive director of the Hazleton Integration Project, especially liked the plans for new housing.
“It’s good because we are increasing in the amount of people that are living here, a lot of people now in the area,” Gabriel said. “We don't have more houses to offer. Increasing the opportunity for sports, for our children. Renovating parks, that's a good idea. We need that.”
George Leitner, vice president of DHD Realty, who manages six office buildings downtown and moved to the region 30 years ago, said the city’s future looks bright.
“I think we're looking up,” Leitner said. “Last year on leasing, (we) probably had 22 new leases. This year, we started off well, with about four.”
Leitner mentioned all the paving, but said he was especially pleased by the return earlier this month of a downtown standalone street clock on Broad Street.
“That little special thing of that clock, I've been waiting for it to work properly,” he said. “That’s a nice little thing in front of the park, you know?”
In an interview afterward, Cusat credited the availability of state grants that local legislators help pursue for some of the progress.
Cusat explained his ongoing push for starting new projects before others are finished.
“Because it takes so long to get something done,” he said. “If you wait for one thing to get done, it takes so much longer. So, my thought is, if I could start a new project every month, by the time one's done, they'll always be one in the in the hopper, almost like a mass producing or conveyor belt approach. We want to just keep everything rolling.”
The projects enhance the city's attractiveness, he said.
“I don't just want people to come here because they have to or because the housing is cheap,” Cusat said. “I want people to want to come here, want to stay here, want to invest in the ... community, want to be good neighbors. That’s how I grew up.”
