Harrisburg council could reverse rejection of Broad Street Market construction contract as soon as Tuesday
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Reject, reconsider, rebuild?
abc27 News has learned Harrisburg’s city council could vote as soon as Tuesday — during a regularly scheduled meeting — to reverse its decision to nix a contract to rebuild the Broad Street Market’s brick building, which a fire gutted nearly a year ago.
Mayor Wanda Williams called last week’s 5-2 rejection of a contract with Alexander Building Construction Co. “careless” and “reckless.”
Council members in the majority complained of insufficient racial diversity on the Alexander team. But Williams — who, like a majority of council members., is also Black — said council’s decision would send the project “back to square one.”
The possibility of a one-time-only reconsideration Tuesday — under city code, the same proposal could not be considered a third time — remains only that: a possibility.
“We have not been informed by council that there will be a motion to reconsider,” said Harrisburg City spokesman Matt Maisel, reached Thursday afternoon.
Maisel said the item isn’t on Tuesday’s agenda, meaning one of the council members who voted in the majority against the contract would have to make what’s called a motion to reconsider.
“Whether that happens is up to them,” Maisel said. “We have been having productive meetings with members of council in the event a motion to reconsider is filed.”
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Earlier Thursday, a temporary tent housing some former brick building vendors opened next to the market’s stone building, which remains open. The tent currently have eight vendors, of which five are former brick building vendors; three are new to the market.
A few other former brick building vendors moved into the stone building following the fire and remain there. About half of the more than 20 vendors who occupied the brick building before the fire are no longer part of the market.
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