The Reader Beat: City Council Notes March 5, 2025

The following are our notes on City Council on March 5.

I attended the City Council on March 5 at 9 a.m. The meeting was open to the public and Council member Ed Brzezinski was absent. The meeting included a presentation honoring City Council President Mel Witherspoon by the Police Athletic League (PAL) and a public hearing to field testimony concerning the transfer of a liquor license from Lakeside Tavern in Waterford to be utilized at a Country Fair retail store in Erie on East 38th Street. The meeting centered around the following ordinances and resolutions: 

• An ordinance in the sum of $40,000 from Erie Insurance to be used by the Bureau of Police was passed 6-0. 
• An ordinance in the sum of $127,000 through a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acting through the Department of Community and Economic Development to be used for a Police Crisis Communications Vehicle was passed 6-0. 
• An ordinance approving the editing and inclusion of certain ordinances as parts of the component codes of the codified ordinances was passed 6-0.
• An ordinance in the sum of $50,000 administered by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a Community Partnerships program Grant was passed 6-0.
• An ordinance in the sum of $21,600 administered by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a Community Partnerships program Grant was passed 6-0 on first reading. 
• A resolution sponsored by Chuck Nelson that Erie City Council designates the 900 block of West 4th Street. as "Tom Hoffman Way," after Tom Hoffman who led the "Bay and Harbour Neighborhood Watch" decades ago was passed 6-0. The Hoffman Family spoke during public comments to commemorate Tom Hoffman. 

At the beginning of the meeting, members of PAL honored Witherspoon for his work in youth programs for nearly 45 years. Witherspoon received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the PAL League Ball on Feb. 22. "PAL is a very important part of our community. It's an excellent program," Witherspoon said. "A lot of kids need direction and many of them don't get hugs when they go home." 

In public comments, Associate Attorney with Amicangelo & Theisen, Immigration Law Alexandria Iwanenko (40 Under 40 Class of 2024), brought up concerns about immigration, mentioning that Erie is a Certified Welcoming Community which means that local law enforcement does not have policies in place that detain or deport immigrants. "The police don't have the ability to detain and deport but they can call immigration law enforcement agencies," Iwanenko said. "The mayor had stated that Erie PD would only call if a person was engaged in a violent crime or was being investigated for a violent crime." However, Iwanenko explained that she received information from community members that people were being stopped by immigration law enforcement and that in an ICE 213 form that details how a person was apprehended, describes Erie Police calling Erie Border Patrol station due to the person lacking an ID. 

City Council Member Chuck Nelson addressed this concern in committee reports, saying, "Immigrants are a vital aspect of our economy, for so many different reasons. And they're humans, I think a lot of that is getting neglected in the midst of this." City Council Member Tyler Titus echoed this in their report as well, saying, "I truly hope there are not some individuals who are carrying out a different plan and vision based on personal values versus what the city is trying to create."