CRIZ, Grants the Focus of Attention at Recent Pottsville Candidates Rallies

Pottsville’s failure to be designated as one of Pennsylvania’s latest City Revitalization & Improvement Zones (CRIZ) last year was the focus of election rallies on both sides of the aisle last week.

At a town hall event on Wednesday night, Republican candidates for council and the Mayor’s seat said the failure to land the CRIZ designation represents the opposition’s lack of urgency and its unwillingness to “go out from within their little hub” for help.

Conversely, the Democrats – who hosted a rally Saturday night – vying to retain control of City Hall say CRIZ is in the past and it’s time to move on from it.

What’s CRIZ?

The City Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) Program was created in 2013 to help communities grow and create jobs. A CRIZ is a special area—up to 130 acres—set aside by local officials for economic development.

Within a CRIZ, the state and local taxes collected are funneled back into that zone to support new projects. The goal is to take unused, empty, or rundown spaces and turn them into places that bring in businesses, jobs, and visitors.

By doing this, the program aims to boost local economies, raise incomes, increase tax revenues, and improve the quality of life for people who live and work in these areas.

A municipality remains a CRIZ for 30 years.

In Schuylkill County, Tamaqua achieved CRIZ designation as part of a pilot program for smaller municipalities and in the last year, according to CRIZ Authority chairman Dan Evans, the borough received $2 million in revitalization funding.

Pottsville and the CRIZ

In summer 2024, Pottsville was told to prepare for the CRIZ application window to open.

That time came and eventually, Pottsville submitted its application and there were numerous flaws with it, according to a rejection letter sent by the state’s Dept. of Community and Economic Development that was acquired through a Right to Know request by Coal Region Canary.

Some business leaders say that Pottsville likely missed out on about $45 million in revitalization funding over the next 30 years.

It’s at the discretion of the Pennsylvania Governor to reopen the CRIZ program.

Republican Candidates Criticize Pottsville’s Handling of CRIZ Application

At their town hall last week, the GOP hopefuls for City Hall in this November’s General Election, slammed the current administration for the way it handled the CRIZ application process, saying Pottsville was ill-prepared.

Mayoral candidate Tom Smith said the city’s inability to get approved for a CRIZ designation was due to officials’ insularity.

“They refused to go out from within their little hub and expand and ask people to come in and work this,” Smith said.

Council candidate Jonathan Marsh added, “That apathy … I don’t know what to call it. That inaction, that can’t happen. If we’re up there representing you, that doesn’t happen.”

Council candidate Scott Price said that lack of preparation led to a rush near the application deadline.

Price said that if the GOP sweeps the election and assumes control of City Council, they’ll establish a CRIZ Authority and begin preparations as if that application window were reopening even if it isn’t.

Democrats Say Pottsville Needs to Move On From CRIZ

At the Democrat rally on Saturday night, Mayoral candidate and current City Councilman Andy Wollyung agreed with his opponents that Pottsville needs to do more to acquire grant funding in the future, certainly more than has been done in the past.

“There is no doubt that we could have done better along the path of Pottsville’s history of taking advantage of having taxpayer dollars come back into the city,” he said.

However, when it comes to CRIZ, he said, there’s no sense in litigating the past.

“The CRIZ is here and gone,” Wollyung told supporters gathered for the rally. “That opportunity is past us. We can no longer look into the past. We are not archaeologists. We’re no longer going to dig that up and put blame on it. We’re going to learn from it and move forward.”

Wollyung said he wants to bring a grant writer into City Hall, either as a part- or full-time position “to make sure those things are addressed and addressed properly.”

Balance of Power at Stake

On Nov. 4, Smith, Marsh, and Price are attempting to swing the balance of power at Pottsville City Hall to the Republicans for the first time in decades. They’d need a clean sweep to do so. They’re facing Wollyung and Democrat council candidates Tom Wood and Mike Weres in the 2025 Municipal General Election.

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