HARRISBURG — The Shapiro administration has spent more than $6 million in public dollars over the past four months to fix extensive damage to the governor’s stately residence following a brazen, middle-of-the-night arson attack.
Despite using taxpayer money, state officials are shielding information about nearly a quarter of those expenses — including who was paid and exactly what the money was spent on.
The secrecy adds another layer of mystery to feverish efforts to restore multiple fire-damaged rooms inside the 29,000-square-foot residence overlooking the Susquehanna River, as well as replace furniture and other household items destroyed by smoke and flames on April 13.
Private donors have separately contributed to a fund managed by a Harrisburg-based nonprofit to help restore the mansion. So far, neither the organization nor the administration has disclosed the donors’ identities or the amount they contributed to the privately run fund, nor provided a general description of what that money has or will be used for.
A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has said state officials intend to release a list of donors to the fund in the future, though it is unclear when or how detailed the disclosure will be.
Administration officials have also declined to say how much they estimate the entire renovation will cost, or when it will be completed.
The state Department of General Services is overseeing the publicly funded repair efforts. It has purchased a variety of items, including new leather sofas, wallpaper, ductwork, drywall, cooling foam mattresses, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures, according to more than 250 pages of records obtained by Spotlight PA through a public records request.
But nearly $1.5 million of the $6 million spent is publicly unaccounted for. Department officials redacted portions and even large swaths of invoices and other records turned over to the news outlet.
In some invoices, they blacked out both the name of the contractor and the goods provided.
When turning over the records, administration officials said they redacted information that would be “reasonably likely to result in a substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm to, or the personal security of, an individual”; or because disclosing that data would create “a reasonable likelihood of endangering the safety or the physical security of a building, public utility, resource, infrastructure, facility or information storage system.”
Asked to elaborate, a DGS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder wrote: “Just this spring, a violent arsonist attacked the Governor’s residence, attempted to assassinate the Governor of Pennsylvania, burned and destroyed entire rooms and religious heirlooms. This attack left a level of pain and destruction at the residence — a public, historic Commonwealth property — that is still being recovered from.”
Since then, Bonder said the administration and law enforcement “have been working constantly to rebuild and restore the building and ensure the first family and the Governor’s residence are safe.”
“This work is being done diligently and with a clear focus on saving taxpayer dollars,” he added.
He and other administration officials have also noted they are working with the state’s insurance carriers to determine which expenses are covered under its plan and can be reimbursed.
In early July, Spotlight PA requested copies of all invoices, contracts, receipts, and other records involving the restoration of the governor’s residence.
The news organization also asked for an inventory of all items destroyed in the fire. The administration denied the request, arguing it relates to communications it has with the state’s insurance carrier, which are exempt from public disclosure. (Spotlight PA is appealing.)
The administration did provide a spreadsheet listing 17 contracts, invoices, purchase orders, and receipts related to the renovation. It did not provide the underlying documentation until pressed by Spotlight PA to turn that information over.
The underlying records show that most money has been paid to one contractor, Lobar Associates.
The York County construction company has received more than $4 million from the state, including nearly $3 million for initial cleaning and fire restoration services, more than $300,000 to restore damaged chandeliers, and another $300,000 to clean the mansion’s air ducts.
Other services provided included carpentry, painting, and installation of new acoustical ceilings and flooring. Lobar was also paid a $90,000 “design & engineering” fee, according to invoices.
Invoices also show the state paid just over $10,500 for four couches from Pottery Barn, $7,294 for two chesterfield sofas, $2,594 for six cooling “green tea memory foam” mattresses, $428 for pillows, and $18,405 for wallpaper installation.
Information about security-related expenses was almost entirely redacted in the records (the exception: an invoice that disclosed tree and shrub trimming and removal from the residence’s grounds).
One contractor, whose identity was withheld, was paid $1.1 million for “residence security upgrades” to the mansion.
In the early hours of April 13, police say 38-year-old Cody Balmer of Harrisburg scaled the mansion’s perimeter fence and hid in the trees before breaking a side window and deploying homemade Molotov cocktails. Shapiro, his family, and some friends were asleep inside when the attack occurred, but were unharmed.
State officials have publicly acknowledged some security upgrades, including a new anti-climb fence and landscaping changes, such as tree trimming.
Public procurement documents also show Pennsylvania State Police requested nearly $400,000 in emergency funds to pay for security equipment from companies CEIA USA, which specializes in metal detectors, and AMP Global Strategies, in addition to new vehicles for the governor’s security detail.
Officials also paid former State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller, who now runs a security consulting firm in California, $35,000 to conduct a security assessment. That assessment’s findings were not publicly released.
State House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) asked the Shapiro administration for an unredacted copy of Miller’s final report and to make portions of it public. Neither has happened.
The administration has also steadfastly declined requests by Spotlight PA to provide a list of donors who attended an invitation-only fundraiser hosted by the state’s five living former governors in May to raise money for residence repairs.
The private dollars raised at the event went into a fund managed by Team Pennsylvania, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit organization that keeps its donor names secret despite managing several funds that benefit the governor or his office.
A spokesperson for the nonprofit has said it intends to “publicly thank” donors and provide a list of names at a later, unspecified date. A Shapiro spokesperson has also said that donors will be listed on a display inside the residence (portions of which are open to the public).