City Council - Regular Meeting

Mr. Pinnabon?

Here.

Mrs. Rose? Here. Mr. Graziano?

Here.

Mrs. Hartrath-Bittinger? Here. Mayor Panto?

Here. Approval agenda.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion. Hold on one second. To table letter G, 14 under new business letter G. Council would like to get a copy of attendance records. before bringing that back to council.

There's a planning commission appointment on there as well. Will we be able to vote? I think we could vote on that. We could pull that out because that's not. Just the reappointments. Yeah, we're just doing the reappointment.

Just the reappointments. So the appointment we'll take out for planning and we'll vote that so we could turn that into, I guess, H. Do you want that on the next? Agenda?

Yeah.

Yeah, as long as they get, council asked for the attendance. So as long as we have it, we can put it on the next agenda.

Okay, we can do that.

But we'll make H a resolution appointing the individual to planning. Robert McDowell. Robert McDowell to planning. So we'll add that to H and table G. Table G, okay. Second.

Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Who moved it?

I moved it.

And Frank second? Frank second. Frank seconded. OK. Frank and Frank.

GMP.

Any discussion? Roll call.

Ms. Sando-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pennebaum?

Aye.

Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano?

Aye.

Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger? Aye. Mayor Panto?

Aye.

Mr. Brown?

Aye. OK. We're going to get to the presentation. Brandon?

Want to do the minutes?

Good evening, council. Thank you for having us.

Just one second. We have to action on the minutes.

We can do that after he's done.

Awesome.

So I'm here in partnership with the community, Bike Works, with people who are helping work on this project today with the Uncovering the Melee Valley's Hidden Heat and Pollution Islands. This project is granted by the USDN or the Urban Sustainability Director's Network and is in partnership with Penn State's Civic Size Tech Program and the City of Allentown. Our goal here is to be able to create citizen scientists in both of our communities of Allentown and Easton while uncovering the hidden secrets of our heat and air quality issues. Penn State's able to provide graduate students that are gonna help us uncover the data that we're seeing on the ground, and as you'll learn in this presentation, just how we're doing that. To give some background really quickly, we have some level of data or a weather record book. In this image, this is the Allentown weather record book. These are done by the National Centers for Environmental Information. Essentially, the blue are months that were colder records, and the reds are months that were hotter records. You'll notice those reds are picking up the closer that we get to where we are now in 2026, and those blues are ever so not happening anymore. You'll also notice that this isn't Easton's data. Easton's data or that weather record book doesn't exist. The only weather record book we have is from 1894 to 1909. So there's a severe lack of data that's happening within our city and within our region. High temperatures are not just annoying. They have significant health impacts on vulnerable communities and populations. Easton's population has a large amount of vulnerable communities with a lot of environmental justice areas in our city, so it's important that we understand the impact of heat when we're talking about our populations. These things or impacts include tract pollution in our lungs that can trigger asthma or long-term health disease, including various cancers. There's a lot of infrastructure damage that occurs when urban heat really starts to pile up, whether that be weakened power lines, which I know power is something that will continue to be challenged with warming summers and warming weather. Roads and rails and anything metal or cement tend to buckle under high heat that happens over a prolonged amount of time, and our hearts tend to over... tend to work in overtime as well. So whether we're walking or running, they're pumping blood faster and aging us faster as that heat rapids. One of the biggest challenges is that not all neighborhoods experience the same 90 degree day. There's the heat severity map on the right here, and that one through five, basically those lighter colors is where people feel less heat, and that five, those darker reds, are where people feel the most heat or feel more heat in comparison to other areas. You notice there's a lot of disparity in Easton. Areas in College Hill may feel less severe heat compared to Southside, and downtown is a very hot pocket of heat. The same issue also happens with air quality. We don't feel it the same everywhere in our city or in our urban spaces. Things that generally make cities cooler or hotter are really higher building usage or heat absorbing materials like concrete and asphalt. Our water, parks, and plants tend to make our urban spaces cooler. So the premise of this project is measuring all of these things. We have air quality sensors that was provided by this grant totaling $16,000 that we're able to give to our community bike work partners to take with them on their bike rides and on their transportation days. The pollutants we're observing are particulate matter or clumps of solid and liquid droplets in air. There's PM10, PM2.5, PM1. PM1 is the most dangerous and the most unaccounted for because it's the most difficult to measure. It's the smallest type of molecule or particle you can have. That's also what makes it the most deadly. There's carbon dioxide, one that many of us know all too well. It sits in the atmosphere and warms our planet as time goes on. There's also VOCs, which are tiny individual molecules from organic materials and things like bleach. So you may see a VOC from a pine tree. That's the smell you're getting from a candle, from a bleach like that. Nitrogen deoxides are where nitrogen gas form from really hot, interactions in the air. So think of car smog. That's forming in high heat, combining with oxygen and other different things to create a very dense smog and ozone. There's ozone layer and ozone pollution. Ozone pollution is also responsible for the smog you may see on really hot days in high vehicle traffic areas. Another thing we're looking to investigate is what we call the inversion effect. Typically, hot air rises. And what we see here in the inversion effect is that our cold air will sink and can no longer escape. And you're getting these inverted effects of air, where hot air is almost getting trapped below that cold air. Areas with valleys and mountains are very, very prone to this, because they create a natural formation where that air sits and gets stuck in. The Lehigh Valley in total has about 215 healthy days a year, including here in Easton. So for every three days of good air, we only have about two days. Or for every three days of great air, we also have two days of air that is very unhealthy for us. We know all of this, and tracking that is very difficult, but we usually see these in air quality models. We see it in models referring to national trends or state trends, if even regional trends, and that's kind of one of the difficulties is we don't know the lived reality. We don't know what it feels like on a hot summer day, or we don't know the pollution that's happening on a hotter summer day where we're walking block to block to work or from school. The only air quality monitoring station in the whole of the Lehigh Valley is in Allentown. It's actually that little red dot on this map. We don't have one in Easton. This is a co-location spot, we refer to it as. It's run by the EPA, but it's the only operating one in the region. So again, we're lacking severe data, especially here in Easton. Those little sensors on that pole is called a Lehigh Valley breed sensor. They were distributed all across Bethlehem, Allentown, and the rest of the Lehigh Valley, and they were there to monitor PM 2.5. So these little devices measure air quality on the ground for us to better understand, but we don't have any in Easton. And there's a graph on the bottom as well where it shows the PM2.5. The example of the output from that shows that our PM2.5 is increasing overnight and early in the morning and then falls off in the afternoon. That's actually evidence of that inversion effect that I talked about earlier. It makes us believe there might be an inversion effect happening here in Easton. So we, in partnership with City of Allentown, City of Allentown has a sustainability coordinator as well. I mean, we do work fairly closely together because a lot of our challenges are regional. They are not just set here in Easton. And we were talking through sharing the urban heat problem. We talked through sharing the air pollution problem. And we decided to look into getting air sensors in this grant. Luckily, the grant was given, as I said. And these little Atmo ProTube sensors are what are doing the dirty work for us on the ground. So we have 15 in total and five in Easton. The five that are in Easton are with Community Bike Works. so that those kids can take them with their bike rides and with Nella and Flory and the wonderful Community Bike Works team so we can get data on what's happening on the ground on a day-by-day basis on days where it may be hotter than others. And if they go by an area that typically has high traffic, like Pax Inosa, we can understand what that real-time hyperlocal data means. Benefits of that, it helps us in urban conservation sustainability because we have a better understanding of where we could use more green space or where we could plant a tree. Trees are good filters, they're good urban coolers, and when we have data like this that's GPS located, we can understand where we have a need for our new plantings or new projects. These are photos from the project as they're ongoing. We just kind of have carabiners with these sensors that go to the front of the bike. Photos, it is you actually. There's also a picture of me and a City of Easton intern on a tandem bike. I can confirm tandem biking is a lot of fun, and if anyone wants to learn, Community Bike Works will gladly teach you. With that, I will turn it over to them as well. They're the stars of the show.

Thank you for having us. Brandon talked a little bit about the background, why we're trying to get this information. And we came to just share why it's important to us as an organization. And some students wanted to come along and share why it's important to them individually. We, as an organization, are really driven by building community, even more so than bikes. That is a large part of what we do. Part of how we build community is through bikes and riding bikes and sharing bikes and fixing bikes for the community. And that's how we get around to explore our community. So we start... maybe with a bike ride, and then we do neighborhood cleanup. Then we get involved in citizen science projects. And now we're bringing students to see what city council is about. We're always looking to collaborate with friends on projects to support our community, not only within the bike shop, but the city we love. So we want to take on projects. that keep kids interested and involved, curious and connected, and supported and empowered. And so for us, this project does all of those. It's very hands-on. The kids hook up their monitors themselves. They can look in the app and see, just curious if anybody has a guess on what the air quality was today, because we just got back from a ride. And we thought it was better than it has been in the past week, but the sensors reported that it was very polluted today. So we were kind of surprised to find out that reading, because it may look clean, it may not smell bad, but there are still things happening. So I would like to introduce one of our long-time Earn-a-Bike graduates, Trayvon, and he can share why air quality is important to him. You can introduce yourself.

Hello, my name's Trayvon.

Pull the mic down for him. There you go.

Testing one, two, three. Hello, my name's Trayvon. I've been with Biker for like three years. I think the pollution is bad for people with asthma. It could damage people's lungs. It could damage people's lungs. Why is it important for you? It's important for me because I have asthma, and I'm in the hospital a lot because of my asthma. So that's why it's important for me, so it can stop me from going to the hospital. That's it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Trayvon. Hi, my name is Egypt. Me and my sister, Kelly, just started bike works this year. The air quality is bad because people like me, Trayvon, Flory, my mom, my aunt, and my grandmother have asthma. And when the air quality is really bad, sometimes it stops us from going outside because it's really hard to breathe that much. And when we go outside, we start coughing a lot. And sometimes it ends up with us in the hospital. And when the air quality was really bad, that I barely made it to Bike Works. And we couldn't go out because that was a ride day. So we were supposed to go out and ride. And that's when Nella wasn't here. It was just Flory, me, and my sister. We were supposed to go out on a ride, but we couldn't because me and Floyd have asthma, and it was still really bad for my sister to breathe in.

Very good. Can you do me a favor, please? Can you tell the mayor and council on the first day you learned how to ride your bike how far you rode with BikeWorks?

On the first day I learned to ride my bike, I rode 15 miles. Wow. Congratulations. That's awesome.

That's amazing.

That's a lot. Let me say this before you sit down. Through the efforts of Bike Works and the city, I hope this study finds a way forward for you to be able to come out and enjoy the outside, both for you and your families.

Yeah, thank you for volunteering to collect all this data. It's very important and it'll help, all the data will help us and Brandon and his team to help us make better decisions when votes come to city council that can impact this. So really thankful for all your work. And I am curious if you both could tell us some of the things that you like about Community Bike Works. I know a little bit about the nonprofit, but I'd love to hear the parts that you enjoy about going to the rides and and the programming that they offer.

I'll be happy to share. So I've been a biker for three years, like I said. It's just like you earn a bike and you're able to ride. You see the picture in the biggest picture there? Not the kid with, well, you see the ambush? The blue and white bike. Yeah, that's my bike. I earned it from Bike Works. I have another, I have two other bikes. One of them, I earned two from Bike Works. An Ambush and my Jameis. And like today, I didn't stop once when I rode up a really big hill. It was like very good. That's awesome. That's very good.

That's awesome. In Community Bike Works,

We... I reported it.

We... We go on a lot of rides, and if you see next to the picture with the air quality thing, today we went on a ride. We came back to check the air quality, and it was severely polluted. And Bike Works encourages us to, even if we fall, to keep on going. That's awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Mayor, if I may update council. So last week, I had the opportunity to spend an hour with Bike Works. And we were talking about our biking legislation in the city, which I learned after that meeting that it's not really different than the state. So our ordinance for biking is pretty much the same as the state. So Bike Works, the students at Bike Works are going to go through our ordinance for bikes and make some recommendations and some resolutions. And then we're going to bring it to council to update and pass some new legislation to better our biking here in the city.

I'll be looking forward to that. I love that.

Under my report, I was going to talk about e-bikes because e-bikes have become a real problem in the city. And you will have, city council will have an ordinance from the police department in about, two weeks to three weeks about e-bikes. And because the state is not going to address it, we have to address it. In New Jersey, they addressed it on a statewide basis. We're going to address it here on a local basis.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so much. OK. We're on the public comment on agenda items only.

Excuse me, Mayor. We need to do the minutes.

Yeah. Minutes. Move to approve.

Second.

Any additions, corrections, or deletions to the minutes of our July 8th meeting? Roll call.

Mr. Pinnabon? Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger? Aye. Mayor Panto? Aye. Mr. Brown?

Aye.

Ms. Zondo-Dennis? Aye.

Okay, we'll go on to presentation, public comment.

Agenda.

And speak into the microphone, please, and please provide me with your name and your address.

Can I close it? Are you sure? Yeah. We'll let me make that go up. Okay. Good evening. My name is Michelle Volcano Hall, and I reside at 106 Charles Street in Easton, Pennsylvania. Thank you for having me tonight. I'm very short, so this is not. I've been informed that my re-employment to the Easton Area Zoning Hearing Board is being questioned due to concerns about attendance. I find this difficult to understand because I have only missed a single regularly scheduled Zoning Hearing Board meeting since the summer of 2025. I missed this meeting in March of 2026 because my mother, Sandra, required immediate medical attention and was hospitalized for several days. I've attended every special exception meeting that I was invited to attend. Since September of 2025, the board has held more than 10 special exception meetings. I'm not sure if city council is aware of that. But like I said, we've had more than 10 special exception meetings since the summer of 2025. So that's sometimes three meetings in one month. There were only four occasions when I was unable to attend since September of 2025. The first was the initial Wood Avenue special meeting, which conflicted with a mandatory work obligation of back to school night. This meeting was held on a Thursday. It was September 18. I notified the board well in advance of that meeting and requested copies of the meeting minutes so I could be fully informed before returning for the additional hearings that that case was going to have. My request was denied. I was told if I could not be present at the first meeting, I was unable to attend the rest of the meetings. There were three in addition to the first one. So that was four total meetings I was unable to attend because I was not able to be at the first meeting. In March of 2026, when I was suffering from the flu, I requested permission to participate virtually so I could continue fulfilling my responsibilities while I was ill. That meeting was recorded here. and seen online, and we essentially rescheduled it for the next month. So everyone got together and said that they didn't want me to miss it, but they also wanted me to be there because we were already missing a member who was not present for any of those five meetings because he could not attend the first one or had a conflict of interest. I requested permission to participate virtually so I could continue fulfilling my responsibilities while ill, but I was informed that the virtual participation was not permitted as our board does not have a virtual policy to date and still does not. So when we do go on vacation or our children are sick or our parents or our significant other is hospitalized, we have no policy to allow us to listen in to the already streamed meeting and call in a vote. That's very difficult for people who are parents, which I am one of two parents on the board. And I have two small children and have served for the last six years and made this a commitment to be on this board. Given these circumstances, I am concerned that my attendance is being cited for the reason of my potential removal. The record reflects that I have attended every regular meeting in 2026 with the exception of one, which I mentioned, and those special meetings that I was not allowed to attend because I was not at the first one and no policy exists to allow me to do that. According to an email I was sent by our solicitor in September of 2025, all board members have missed one or multiple meetings per year since 2021. According to my notes, every board member has missed two meetings in the year of 2026 from the start. I'm sorry, from the fiscal start of the year. So that would be 2025, September of 2025 until now. Every time I come to a meeting, I keep the agenda. I take it very seriously. I look at my notes before. I make notes. I have my questions ready. And I save my agendas, and I cross off who is not on there as a record of attendance for myself. So if anyone has any questions, I have handwritten notes that go back five years to 2021. I've had the privilege of serving on the Eastern Zoning Hearing Board for more than five years. And throughout that time, I have taken my responsibilities seriously and have always tried to balance my commitment to the board with my professional and family obligations. Like many working parents, there were times, especially during 2020, where issues like technology and sickness did not make it available for me to serve the board. As my children have grown older, those challenges have become less frequent. And I have made every effort to ensure that child care arrangements do not interfere with my ability to serve. Serving on the Zoning Hearing Board has been a rewarding experience. I have appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the City of Easton. And I respectfully ask that you consider my reappointment. I hope that you will all allow me to continue the opportunity to serve on the Zoning Hearing Board for another term. And thank you so much for hearing me tonight. And if you have any questions or would like me to send you my statement, I am happy to do so. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for the information, Michelle.

Anyone else from the public would like to address City Council on agenda items only? You will have an opportunity at the end of the meeting to talk about any item you want. Seeing none, we'll move on in our meeting. And we'll move on to consent agenda, Madam Clerk.

We have the following addresses for approval for certificates of appropriateness. 330 Ferry Street, 502 North Hampton Street, Bushkill and North 3rd Street, 140 Bushkill Street, 123 North 4th Street, 346 Bushkill Street, 62 North 3rd, 52 to 55 Center Square, 36 South 5th Street, 119 North Hampton Street, and 36 North 3rd Street.

Move the consent agendas by Mr. Pinnabone. Anyone else who would like to second it? Second. Second by Miss Rose.

Madam Rose. Madam Rose. Madam Rose.

And roll call, please.

Mrs. Rose. Aye. Mr. Graziano. Aye. Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger. Aye. Mayor Panto.

Aye.

Mr. Brown.

Aye.

Ms. Zonder-Dennis. Aye. And Mr. Pinnabone.

Aye. Okay, we'll move on to reports received by Council of Fire Department reporters in your packet. Reports of Committee's Finance Committee. Council Member Brown.

I just have one item on the agenda for this evening, Mayor, and that's resolution authorizing finance for the OpenGov software. And if anybody has any questions, Director Snickers here this evening.

Okay, Economic Development Committee.

Mayor. Oh, I'm sorry. That's okay. I wanted to give a quick update on the Claring Boy of Francis Catching Park. Due to some changes that had to be made with the saw catching and everything like that. Also, we're going to be putting on a retention wall, another retention wall, on the next corner side of the park. And so we moved the ribbon cutting to after Labor Day to make sure that, one, the grass is catching. Well, it's catching over. It's not really grabbing the way we want it to grab. And also, it gives an opportunity to put down the retention wall.

Good idea. It looks good. The city employees did a great job on it. Planning, Economic Development Committee, Mr. Pettibone.

Thank you, Mayor. A couple of grants that we were awarded and applied for. Awarded was the LV250 fireworks for Heritage Day for $5,000. We applied for the Northampton County hotel tax to fund Easton summer outdoor activation for $50,000. And PCCD for police body worn camera upgrades for $375,355. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, I SPENT AN HOUR LAST WEEK WITH BIKE WORKS. IT WAS A REAL GOOD TIME. IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM AND ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY. AND I SENT OUT TO COUNCIL THIS FRIDAY IS THE RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE SPECIAL NEEDS PLAYGROUND THAT WE BUILT AT MILTON AND ST. JOHN'S STREET AT 4 PM. THEY'RE WORKING ON THE FLOORING NOW. SO IF THERE'S NO ISSUES, THAT WILL STAY FOR FRIDAY AT 4. MAYOR, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

Safety Committee, Councilmember Graziano.

Thank you, Mayor. I spoke with Chief Hennings this morning regarding last week's underground fire on Sickred Street. Chief is awaiting an update from MedEd. Once temporary power is no longer needed, the generator will be removed and Sickred Street will be reopened, hopefully very soon. So on this fire, MedEd's response time remains a major concern. The fire, the initial call came in at 2.44. MedEd was first called at 2.48, and they arrived on scene at 4.02. Chief confirmed that the fire continued until MedEd arrived and shut off power. So because it was an energized electrical fire, firefighters could not use water, obviously. So their primary responsibility was securing the area and protecting the public until MedEd could de-energize the underground electrical vaults. So as a result, the duration of the fire was dependent on how quickly MedEd arrived. And it wasn't very quick. On a staffing note, the fire department's two new firefighters began their first 24-hour shift today. So that is expected to help reduce overtime costs. And finally, the tiller is currently out of service while waiting on a replacement part. Chief expects it to be back in service possibly tomorrow.

That's all I have. Councilman, if I may ask you, we've had the tiller for what, Mayor, a year? A little less than a year. A little less. And this is the second time it's been out. Is there an issue with the manufacturing of this specific part? I don't know.

This one, I believe, was a replacement on this. It was a seatbelt, I believe, in the rear. And it was a specialty part that they're waiting on right now.

Thank you. Mayor, just to update Councilman Graziano and Council, I sent an email last week. I emailed, I spoke with MedEd, who is, Marcella is our, I don't know, she's covering for our. She's covering for Thea. and I asked them to provide a list of infrastructure upgrades that they've provided in the city over the last 10 years and what they have planned for the next five. So as I said to you in the email, I don't expect it to come quickly, but hopefully we'll get it, and once we do, I'll share it with everybody.

Sounds good. Public Works Committee, Ms. Zondo-Dennis.

I have no report today, Mayor.

Administration Committee, Ms. Hartrath-Binninger. Thank you, Mayor. What we have tonight under new business is the renewal of a leasing agreement for 243 Palmer Street. There will be a change made of the lease amount. However, that will then be looked into based off of income. So when the income amount comes in, it'll be based off of 30% of the monthly income minus any of the utilities. That's where we are right now with that. Thank you. That's all I have.

Planning and Code Committee. I'm sorry, Council Member Rose.

Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Just a quick update. I had some questions from the public regarding the foundry project on the Easton Iron and Metal site. It was supposed to be on the zoning meeting this past week, but was moved to the August meeting. So stay tuned for the updated agenda for August's zoning meeting. And I'm also meeting with Samantha, our new certified planner, chief planner for the city tomorrow. So I'm looking forward to sitting down with her and talking through some things I'd like to see as part of, you know, public outreach and transparency and just some things I've noticed over the last two and a half years and also talk to her about some of her goals. So look forward to updating everyone at the next meeting on that sit down. That's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr. Vargas, reporter C. Schlisseler. The council met and I met for an executive session prior to the beginning of tonight's council meeting. The matters discussed involved a potential real estate transaction, some pending litigation, and a personnel matter.

Okay.

Report of the city administrator. Mayor, don't you usually go before me? usually do tonight all right I don't want to steal your thunder but you won't you won't I know I won't I know I won't at all a couple updates first of all BY NEXT MEETING, MR. LISNICKI WILL HAVE UPDATED YEAR-TO-DATE NUMBERS, SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE BUDGET. REGARDING THE BUDGET, WE HAVE STARTED OUR MID-YEAR REVIEWS, THE BUDGET'S ACTUALLY, OUR BUDGET PROCESS ACTUALLY STARTS IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, BUT WE GO THROUGH MID-YEAR REVIEWS REGARDLESS, AND THIS ALLOWS US TO really in detail look at the budgets with the department heads, and then also we ask the department heads to forecast out to see if there's any problem areas. We have identified one problem area right now that we'll talk in more detail at the next committee meeting, and that's regarding healthcare. We have a budget line item for claims of about 5.5 million, As you know, we are self-insured. So we put together an estimate for what the claims amount would be. That was an increase over the prior year of about 20%. And we work with our broker in order to identify what the forecasted amount is for the upcoming year. We had an internal meeting with that broker at the end of last week, and right now we're trending to come in closer to $8 million on a $5.5 million budget. So I just wanted to bring that to council's attention. We will be talking in more detail at the committee meeting regarding this, as well as looking at any other potential problem areas for the budget that we need to be aware of so we can start addressing them appropriately. Mayor, that's all I have for my report.

Okay. As I mentioned earlier in the meeting, we are looking at the e-bikes. They've become a real problem in the Lehigh Valley. Allentown has had a couple deaths. Fortunately, we have not had any major incident, but we're trying to be proactive rather than waiting until something happens. And the e-bikes ordinance, we need to update it. and that'll be at the next meeting. E-bikes on the trails are, we already authorized signs for the trails that they're not allowed on the trails because they don't make any noise. So they scare people who are walking or biking on the trails like Carlson and Arch Trail. The other item I just mentioned is that you probably have noticed the, the board, the wrap that was put on the Hooper House to try to make it look a little bit better. And we'll start to raise the money in about two weeks to do the restoration. And we do have some money set aside from ARPA for that restoration, but it may not be enough. So if anybody knows anybody who would like to donate to the Hooper House restoration, we're more than happy to take your money.

Okay, we have bill number 19 and ordinance amending 435-15

B for A to G, exterior maintenance.

So moved. Second. Second. Move to second the discussion. Roll call.

Mr. Graziano.

Aye.

Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger. Aye. Mayor Panto. Aye. Mr. Brown. Aye. Ms. Sando-Dennis. Aye. Mr. Pinnabone. Aye. Mrs. Rose. Aye. Bill number 20, an ordinance amending 456-18. So moved. Second.

Move to second any discussion? Roll call, Madam Clerk.

Ms. Hartrath-Bittinger?

Aye.

Mayor Panto? Aye. Mr. Brown? Aye. Ms. Sando-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabone? Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye. And Mr. Graziano?

Aye.

Bill number 21, an ordinance amending 435-14 definitions. So moved. Second.

Move to second any discussion? Roll call.

Mayor Panto?

Aye.

Mr. Brown? Aye. Ms. Zonda-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabone? Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger? Aye.

OK, we'll move on to new business.

We have a resolution authorizing Easton DCED to apply for a justice assistance grant.

So moved.

Second.

Move to second. Any discussion? Roll call.

Mr. Brown?

Aye.

Ms. Sando-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabone?

Aye.

Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger?

Aye.

Mayor Panto?

Aye.

We have a resolution authorizing Easton DCED to apply for a multimodal transportation grant. Move.

Second.

Move to second. Any discussion? Roll call.

Thank you. Ms. Zondo-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabone?

Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye.

Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger? Aye. Mayor Panto? Aye. Mr. Brown?

Aye.

We have a resolution authorizing the financing of OpenGov software implementation through Univest Bank.

Move to approve. Second. Move to second discussion. Roll call.

Mr. Pinnabone? Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano?

Aye.

Mrs. Hartroff-Pittinger? Aye. Mayor Panto?

Aye.

Mr. Brown? Aye. Ms. Sando-Dennis? Aye. We have a resolution authorizing Easton DCED to apply for a justice assistance grant.

So moved.

Second.

Move to second discussion. Roll call.

Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartrath-Binninger? Aye. Mayor Panto?

Aye.

Mr. Brown?

Aye.

Ms. Zondo-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabon?

Aye.

A resolution authorizing rest lawn lease agreement renewal with rent adjustment. So moved.

Second.

Can we have that resolution read? Because I understand it was changed. I mean, I read what was in the packet, but after our executive session, we wanted to change it again to $1,700 per month or until the tenant proves her monthly income. If she falls under the workforce housing, she gets 30%. If she works on her low income, it's 15% of her income.

Mr. Vargo, do you want to read that to us?

I believe we're going to have just a second to find it.

Do we need to make the amendment is what I'm asking?

Yes, it would have to be amended from what was in the original packet.

Mayor, I will amend what you just mentioned that we just went over in executive session. OK. 1700. I'll make a motion to make that amendment.

Okay. I'll second that. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Roll call.

Mr. Pinnabone?

Aye.

Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger? Aye. Mayor Panto?

Aye. Mr. Brown? Aye.

Ms. Zondo-Dennis? Aye. And a resolution appointing and reappointing.

No, we tabled that. Disappointing.

But we just tabled the reappointment.

So we're going to go to H. Added H for the appointment.

Reappointment to the authorities, boards, and commissions.

So moved.

Second. Moved and seconded. Discussion? Roll call.

Mrs. Hartroff-Bittinger? Aye. Mayor Panto? Aye. Mr. Brown? Aye. Ms. Zonda-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabone? Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye.

Congratulations, Robert.

Congratulations. Thanks for volunteering your time.

Next.

That's it.

Introduction. Introduction of bills.

Oh, I didn't put that on. Hold on. Hold on.

Bill number 23. Yep.

I didn't add it to this one. OK. All right, we're introducing bill number 23, an ordinance amending chapter 176, affordable housing.

So introduced.

Second.

No second. No second.

Okay. Public comment on any items relating to the city of Easton? Anyone like to? Art?

First of all, before I start my complaint, We're going along very well with the city.

Speak into the microphone, please. Speak into the microphone. Speak into the microphone so we can all, the folks at home can hear you.

Marty Rabbits, is that okay? Marty Rabbits, 144 Church Street. I think that you guys are doing great in the city and running it beautifully. But there's something rotten here, and I want to tell you what it is. I've been eating at the Peruvian restaurant for two and a half years, and They were being abused by their landlords. The code team cited the old landlord, Georgia, about three code violations. She was fined $300 by Magistrate Yetter, paid it off, didn't do a damn thing to fix up the rest of the restaurant, just took the violations, and now they have to wait another six months before they can go back and give her any other, cite her again. Any reluctant landlord will never have to make a report, a repair, the way it's going on with the city, the way the city's administering the laws. As long as the landlord has plans to make a repair, or if he or she has trouble finding a supplier to do the job, they can get a delay in taking care of this repairs. There's been three major repairs needed in this Peruvian restaurant that I noticed two years ago, which is an eight-inch crack in the glass. It's still there in the alleyway at 1126 North Hampton Street. There's a 52 by 53-inch hole in the front of the restaurant that's covered by a three-quarter-inch plywood, which totally is not right. And for some reason, the landlords, the old landlord and the new landlord, which just changed hands a few months ago, don't want to spend the money to put in the new metal door, fire resistant door. I put the prices of these things on the handout that I gave you. The repairs are very inexpensive. The cracked glass would cost just over $1,000 to repair, according to my cheapest glass guy in Easton. And the new metal frame that you have to cover the hole in the floor leading to the basement is $1,400. And there's a big hole in the side that's only going to be $100 to fix. So the new landlord is worse than the old one. The new landlord immediately raised the rent, $1,000, to Lupe Ramirez, who's the tenant in this issue, which she doesn't mind the raised rent, but then she hit her with a $2,000 fee for cleaning out the basement, which this lady is not responsible for all the junk in the basement. I spoke to Robbie, the code team, and he says that the landlord has six months to make the repair, and if he applies for an extension, he'll get the extension with very little effort. My friends at the Peruvian restaurant will never have their restaurant repaired if the city continues to handle this problem. the manner in which they've been handling it. I think to change the system, we have to demand that the landlord, when there's a complaint, the landlord must start making changes within a month and complete the changes in three months. I don't know how this fits with the legal requirements from our attorneys, but I would like to see the city consider this and think about how to Move up these repairs so these small little restaurants and businesses can exist. Good point, Arnie. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Good point. This is the one I brought up at the staff meeting three weeks ago. It's right there on North Hamish Street. They have a piece of plywood covering the hole in the sidewalk where somebody could fall through.

It is a challenge sometimes when I've worked with codes to try to get some things addressed like this, because when it goes to the magistrate, sometimes they even throw out. The magistrates are not supportive of our code. They charge very small fees, which unfortunately can tie our hands at times, even though our code team is responsive. You know, I've even asked Duane to let me know if we had the date of the magistrate so I could go with some of the residents. Luckily, the one issue that we've had recently, the tenants who were causing the issue moved out and things were cleaned up by the neighbors. Sometimes, unfortunately, you know, there's not much we can do on the city side. It's very frustrating.

But, I mean, this is a deep concern because it's in the West Ward, and the West Ward has lost 10 businesses this year. Is there something that we can do to change the ordinance so that for commercial establishments?

I don't think it's the ordinance. I think it's the state law. It's the state.

It's the state.

It's the state law.

If they're showing that they're working on it and making a real effort and trying to hire, it would be state law.

Well, they haven't done anything on this.

Any of these items? No, they haven't. But if they're showing that they're trying, by state law, we get screwed. And then to Crystal's point, Councilwoman Rose, Madam Rose, when we go to magistrate, they throw it out anyway.

So our hands are tied. The magistrates are killing it. The open hole in the sidewalk is a huge concern.

Absolutely. And it's not inviting. That's really preventing the restaurant from being successful. No one wants to walk into something that looks damaged.

Anyone else like to address City Council?

David Brodsman, 828 Philadelphia Road.

On July the 10th, I was walking on the city park of the D&L Trail out of Hope Road at 8 o'clock at night, at which time I ran into a car driving on the trail.

Oh, my God.

To this day, at the Hope Road entrance to the D&L Trail, there's no signs saying it's a bike trail. On May the 4th, the city went out there to start working on the trail, and they moved the concrete barriers. As of 9 o'clock this morning when I walked the trail, the barriers are still not put back. So I wish one of you or a couple of you councilmen would go out there and walk that section of the trail to see how bad it actually is. There's a washout from where a tree fell over four years ago where the path is supposed to be eight foot wide. It's down to three foot wide. And I've complained to Dave Hopkins and nothing's been done about it.

Mr. Bronson, one second. City Administrator Campos, didn't you walk the trail after Mr. Bronson spoke last meeting?

I believe I – well, I did walk the trail, and I think I sent an update to city council. You did? I honestly don't – You did?

I was just – I don't have it on me. I didn't know if you could reiterate.

Yeah, I don't have the details. Okay. But I walked – yeah, I walked a path, and the ranger and Mr. Hopkins told me that they would – fill the grooves, the tire tracks that we saw there. I mean, whatever was in the email, we addressed the issues that were there at that particular time.

Can you just confirm with Mr. Hopkins that it did? I know you spoke to them and they were going to get it done. Can you confirm what the status is of it?

I'll review that email that I sent and I can just respond to it.

I'm not talking about the mud tracks. They were filled in because I went out with a wheelbarrow and shovel and put 40 hours of my own time in filling up the mud tracks. And I can take you out there and show you what I did. I'm talking about at the east end, did you walk all the way down to the public boat ramp?

No, I did not.

Well, that's the problem because that's where the other major problem is. It's 30 foot long.

Well, we can take a look at it.

I would love to meet somebody out there to express my concerns.

If you could tell me the exact location, because the boat ramp was not something you cited at the last meeting.

I think I said between the two boat ramps, the public and private.

You cited specifically... 64.5. Yeah, the marker, and that's where we went to.

All right. Well, if you walk the whole section from the... Hope Road to the public boat ramp, you will see the problem. And I'd be glad to meet anybody out there, and I wish some of you people would go out and see the problem itself. My other concern was a few months back I complained about the Average Street Bridge. I guess it's going to be replaced, and it's only 310. Well, they put up a sign saying 310 only in one direction. People can come from two directions on the bridge. They can come for the railroad tracks, or they can come down the towpath. I'm worried that somebody in a fire truck or an ambulance is going to come through the railway yard to go to an emergency and drive over the bridge. I think you need two signs. Also, in the area of my house, a lot of the streetlights are off more than they're on. They come on for 30 seconds, and then they go off. There's quite a few of them burn out. So I wish somebody would address that area.

Mr. Bronsman, we announced it before. I don't know if you know. So if you go to your MedEd website, there's an option right on the main page. To report outages and they have a good policy of getting it fixed within 24 hours unless it's something more serious I've directed a few residents there and it's they've gotten fixed My experience is if it's just a light bulb or something it's within 24 hours if it's something that needs more work it could take longer file the report I can

There's at least six or seven in my neighborhood that are out.

Yeah, I would definitely file it online, MedEd's website, and let us know if they get it done.

Honestly, I just reported, because a neighbor asked me to, a light that was out on Cattell. And what's that, when you go up Cattell, Mayor? Knox? Knox?

No.

Rob? Rob. Rob. Yeah, there was a light there on Cattell and Rob. And to my surprise, because I submitted it for the neighbor, he thanked me like two days later because I couldn't believe it.

That's the only thing they do right. If it's a light bulb, they get it done right away. If it's something more, it takes longer.

I don't know. That worked in that particular case. It's true. Well, I guess to your point is, did you try going online? It's really simple. If you need some assistance going online, come on into the office. I'll help you out. But regarding, I want to go back to, because try that first before we start spinning our wheels internally, because I'd rather you try first. If it doesn't work, then let us know. But between Hope Road down to the boat ramps, just so I understand this, On the path on the way there, there's a section that should be eight feet and it's four feet wide because a tree was washed out. Is that what you said to me?

Yeah, over four years ago.

Over four years ago. Okay. Either myself or I'm going to ask Public Works. I would like to go myself, but I'm going to ask Public Works for you to go.

I would love to join you and meet you there to show you. Well, you can give me your number afterwards. I will.

I think a big concern, you mentioned that the barrier was removed. I mean, that sounds very dangerous. I can show you a picture of that, too.

I have it on my phone. I also have a picture of the car on the path.

Yeah, I believe you. That's really dangerous. And this time of year, it's heavily used.

When I called, Bethel Township Police responded to the incident. That's all I have. Thank you, David.

Thank you.

Anyone else would like to address City Council?

Mayor, I will make a motion to adjourn.

I'll second.

Moved and seconded.

Roll call. Mr. Brown?

Aye. Okay, thanks.

Ms. Sando-Dennis? Aye. Mr. Pinnabone? Aye. Mrs. Rose? Aye. Mr. Graziano? Aye. Mrs. Hartruth-Bittinger? Aye. And Mayor Pinto?

Aye.

Okay.

Everything that that's why he called 911.