SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The City of Scranton is working to preserve the future of its parks and historic buildings. Wednesday night, they announced a new charitable fund that you can be a part of.
Preserving the past, to protect the future. With more than 20 parks and 100 historic landmarks, there’s a lot to maintain in the City of Scranton.
In Nay Aug Park Wednesday night, Mayor Paige Cognetti announced the creation of the newly established Electric City Fund.
“Nay Aug has an incredible history and we think an incredible future, but it’s very expensive especially for a park of this size,” Mayor Cognetti explained.
Many gathered in Hanlon’s Grove, a picnic area located in the eastern section of the park. It is an open area with picnic tables and charcoal grills.
“It’s basically looking at how charitable giving and ways for charitable dollars to come in and benefit these institutions in our city,” said Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO Laura Ducceschi.
The charitable fund is intended to support the long-term development of Scranton’s parks and the preservation of its historic buildings.
“We know that there’s never going to be enough funding, from the local level for us to preserve all of our city assets, especially city hall,” said Mayor Cognetti.
Scranton City Hall on North Washington Avenue was built in 1888.
It’s a Victorian Gothic style, three-story building, featuring an eight-story bell tower and stained glass windows.
Made out of West Mountain stone, limestone, and slate, the municipal building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Beyond that this fund is flexible, we could add other sub-funds beyond historical preservation, beyond our parks, as things come up, because local city dollars are never gonna go all the way for all of these things,” Mayor Cognetti added.
The Electric City Fund will create a charitable fund through the Scranton Area Community Foundation to accept donations to support future development of these community priorities without placing a burden on taxpayers.
So far, at least $16,000,000 has been invested through grants and the American Rescue Plan Act.
