Council - Regular Meeting

[laughter] Yeah, exactly. Good evening, everyone. We're going to start this uh council meeting. I ask that we all rise for the pledge of the allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. [clears throat] The clerk will call the role. Mr. Aean, present. Mr. Callahan, present. Mr. Palone, present. Miss Daniels, present. Miss Quiet, present. Miss Leairard and Miss Leon,

uh, moving on to citations. We have three citations this evening. Um, they are not with us, but we are going to be thanking Thomas Riddick, Richard Pfield, and Lieutenant Michael Duzio for years of dedicated service to the city. [clears throat] on to public comment.

Oh, yep. We're going to approve the minutes. Thanks. If there's no questions, the minutes stand approved. On to public comment. The first public comment on subjects not being voted on with a fivem minute time limit. Turning to my sign-in sheet. The first person I have is Robert. I am sorry, I'm not going to mispronounce your last name. And can you pronounce your name again for me so I pardon me? Can you pronounce your name again for me so I can hear you? Robert Robert Drexinger. Drexinger. Thank you. Good evening and thank you. Uh sir, can you your mic so I I can hear you. I'm sorry. I'm a little hard of

I reclaim my time. We won't start your time. Can you reset that? Start it already. We're going to reset it. Don't worry.

Okay. Thank you. Good evening and thank you for this opportunity to expose systemic problems and misconduct by certain members of the Bethlehem Parking Authority. This pertains to the unlawful parking ticket number 396685 which was issued on August 8th, 2025 at 5:46 p.m. My wife and I parked at Seal Stacks to hear our neighbor play in his band at the Arts Quest stage. We paid $5 at the streetside kiosk adjacent to the ice ring without any problems using my credit card. We then drove to center city, parked on East Market Street, and attempted to pay for parking no less than 10 times on two different kiosks the exact same way we had just paid at Steel Stacks. That was from 5:00 until 5:10 p.m. We kept getting the same message on the display each time. [snorts] maximum allowed time usage. Park in another lot slash area. End of quote. I then snapped this picture at 5:10 to document the problem. After all, it was Musicfest and the meter maids were out in full force. Lo and behold, we returned to the car around 6:30 only to find that a $30 ticket, twice the normal parking fine, had been issued for exceeding parking time. End of quote. despite the fact that the car had been parked there for only 36 minutes prior to the ticket being issued. Upon returning home on August 8th, I immediately went online and disputed the bogus ticket along with the aforementioned facts and my complete contact information. To my utter amazement, I received a response from Garcia on August 12th which stated, quote, "After reviewing your dispute of ticket number 396685, it has been determined to be a valid ticket." end of quote with the words valid ticket in bold letters. I was livid. After reaming out Garcia for his

ineptness, I was contacted by his supervisor Wells on August 13th who among other things openly admitted that and I quote, "I understand that there was a problem with the kiosks." Her exact words. With that, I immediately demanded a magistrate hearing. At the December 3rd, 2025 hearing before Justice Manwearing, I presented all of my evidence, including the fact that BPA had somehow inflated the original fine of $30 to $65 on the summons. More on that later. The judge grilled the two BPA representatives until one of them was forced to admit that BPA was fully aware of what she termed, I quote, a glitch in the third party software which controls the kiosk. At that point, it was game over for the BPA. Justice Manwearing proceeded to rule that since we had made multiple attempts to pay in good faith and that the BPA was fully aware of the third party software issues, we were found not guilty. One could tell that he was less than happy with BPA's inept handling of the entire situation and that their continued malicious prosecution was totally out of line. He also admonished BPA for unlawfully inflating the fine from 30 to $65 on the summons, pointing out to them that according to the statute, the clock stops. The fine is locked and frozen whenever a defendant requests a hearing within 14 days. My demand for a hearing came 5 days later. I still want the face-to-face meeting with the mayor that I was promised by Salag White back in September so they can turn over all of my proof and correspondence which clearly demonstrates misconduct on the part of BPA members Garcia Wells and Fernstrom. The unlawful ticket should have been dismissed way back on August 12th when it was originally disputed. A fifth grader could have figured out without

any problem. Fernstrom even responded by email to me that he was instructing his IT person to block my email. Why didn't he tell his IT guy to fix the damn problem with the third party software? So, has a glitch been fixed or are more people falling victim to this egregious behavior? I do have more pertinent information and documentation pertaining to this issue, but due to the time constraints, I'll have to save the rest for my meeting with the mayor. The other lack of transparency and accountability on the part of BPA must cease and desist immediately. Not only does it reflect poorly on them, which doesn't seem to bother them, but Bethlehem City government, which oversees it as well. Thank you for your time and attention. I expect to hear from the mayor's office in the very near future. Up until now, my further uh attempts to contact him have been ignored, and that includes a registered letter, which according to the US Postal Service, he received on the morning of January 16th. I'll now be glad to answer any questions you might have. If anyone wants to view any of my exhibits, you are more than welcome to. And as Mr. Aman said, I am able to present my information to the board. Uh would that be through mail? Uh

well, thank you uh Mr. uh Draxinger. I I will say that you can speak with our uh parking authority liaison and we're here after the meeting to speak as well. Um so if you want to hang out until after the meeting, I'm sure any number of council people will be more than happy to talk to you. And also feel free to forward any information to the city clerk's office, whatever exhibits you have. Is that the clerk's office? The city's office. The emails online. You can forward anything and I'll make sure that like I said, I have emails, uh photos, uh documentation, uh the whole nine yards. I'm an engineer. Very thorough. Gotcha. Feel free to to hang out after the meeting so we can discuss further. Or if you have to head out to the building. Actually, you could head out to the hallway. Our parking authority leazison will speak with you now. Pardon me.

Uh you can head out to the hallway. Our parking authority liaison will speak with you now. I'll meet with you. Oh, okay. Okay. All right. We're going to head on to the next public comment. Say say again.

I speak in the first public I just ran in the door. Oh, I I'm I'm not we're still in the list. So, yeah, we're I'll get to you there. Don't worry. Don't Don't you worry. Um I'm actually going to welcome troop 820008 that meets out of Calypso Elementary School for uh their their time with us. So, troop 820008, welcome to city council. Thank you, council. Uh the girls have been working uh these juniors out of Calypso uh Elementary are working on their bronze award where they have identified a problem within our community and they have researched this problem and come up with some solutions and they are here to ask for your help in um their solution of this problem. So, I'm going to let them talk to you about what they've been working on. Uh hello, my name is Remy from Troop 820008 and we are here to talk about um snow and ice on places like corners of sidewalks for our bronze award um project. Hi, I'm Beatric and we have a problem. Corners and neighborhoods are are not always traveled, making taking a walk hard for kids walking to school, people in wheelchairs, older people, and others too. Hi, I'm Viv from the same troop. But there is a solution. There are ordinances about shoveling corners such as property owners must clear snow and ice within 24 hours and shows a minimum minimum minimum of 3 ft clearance. Two, snow may not be shoveled into street. And three, properties next to handicap ramps are responsible for ice. We will spread the word by one making fly and or posters showing who is affected when they affected and how to fix it. Two making videos

about what's happening and how to fix it. That's what the video was before this. Bye.

Hi, I'm Kora. This is how you can help. We've already researched the laws, made a video, and made posters. Now, you can help by sharing our posters and video on the department social media pages and sharing what people can do to help on your social media page. Hi, I'm Fiona and I'm going to be showing you guys some examples of what we mean by non-shoveled corners and shoveled corners. So, this is an example of a non-shoveled corner. Sorry about that. So then this is another one that is not a shled corner. [snorts] And then this is not a shoveled corner either. So the last two I'm going to be showing you guys are uh actually two shoveled corners. So, this one is a good corner. And then this one, the last one that I'm going to be showing you got you is a good corner as well.

Hi, my name is Becca and we appreciate your time and encouragement. We just want to say thank you very much one last time and we look forward to working with you to spread the word to shovel corners for for pedestrians. Bye. [applause]

Do you have any questions for the girls? Uh we uh our council roles we don't engage in the the question and answer portion but great use of your time ladies. I know we discussed and you did amazing. Um, feel free to hang out and speak with our director of public works if you have any interesting ideas. I'm sure Mr. Alall would absolutely love to hear about it. Um, and continue to send any information to council, the videos, any type of infographic that you would like shared. We'd have to talk with our like with the administration about it policies, but I as a council person would be more than happy. I don't have a big social media following, but more than happy to share uh whatever infographics you all worked on. And excellent job, ladies. Thank you for coming out. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. [applause]

just gives you the warm fuzzy. Yeah. Yeah. Just giving them a moment to clear out and then we'll move back out to public comment.

Knock it off. All right. So, continuing on to public comment on things not being voted on this evening. Uh that exhausted our list of signins, but we will go around the room. So, anyone to the left have a comment? Mr. Faber.

Hello. Harry Faber, 321 Georgia Avenue. Earlier earlier in the week, Lehigh County passed a resolution condemning the rise of fascism in the country. It was a very close vote, five in favor, four against. It was certainly much closer than it should have been. I was quoted in WFMZ saying, quote, "Condemning fascism is really not that hard." End quote. I know, I know I am groundbreaking. Uh, what I really wish was quoted, however, is that condemning the rise of fascism is the bare minimum. I brought up in the meeting that fascism is a process with different degrees of intensification. It isn't an all or nothing phenomena. It doesn't occur in a vacuum out of nowhere. It slowly but surely encroaches and imposes itself. Every inch acquired, it will never give back without a fight. Fascism depends on ordinary people doing ordinary things, going about their days as if nothing is new. Fighting fascism requires extraordinary things. It requires courage in the face of uncertainty. And that is what I saw at Lehigh County on Wednesday. And that's what I'm calling on you all to follow suit. follow the footsteps of Lehi County and pass a resolution condemning the rise of fascism in this country. It is imperative now more than ever that we rise to the occasion. Opposing and resisting fascism is not just the bare minimum. It is our civic duty. As Dr. Martin Luther King said in his letter from Birmingham jail, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Do the right thing." Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Favor. Anyone else to the left? Good evening. My name is Alex Miller. I live at 810 Monoxy Street. I'm here to speak once more about flock safety. Um, I'd like to express my appreciation to those council members who uh followed up with me via email and for the dialogue that Chief Cot was willing to have with council at the last meeting. Uh, last meeting, my comment was quite broad in scope. So, I'd like to reply to some of the points that were raised and make a more specific case for terminating the city's agreement with Flock. Uh, one major consideration that we have not heard yet in recent discussion is any sort of positive case for continuing to do business with this company. Um, I think it would be worth interrogating whether this service is so instrumental to the work of our department that we can overlook the mountain of evidence that flock turns a blind eye to civil liberties abuses by ICE and police departments across the country. We've contracted for the we've contracted for these services uh for a few years. Surely we now have something to show for it. Uh to the chief's credit, it seems that Bethlehem Police Department has been a lot more thoughtful and measured in its engagement with Flock than other municipalities have been. However, Flock has also recently deceived much larger, much more well-resourced municipalities into accepting modifications to the company's updated terms of use. What will this city be able to do if Flock violates the terms of the city's agreement? The company raised $275 million in its latest fundraising round. It's simply not enough to be content with the fact that nothing has gone wrong yet. The city is simply outmatched. Even if the administration can make a convincing argument that flock is of public benefit and very useful to the police department, we must still overcome the moral and ethical concerns that the administration itself has raised. We have an abundance of evidence

that Flock will do what it wants, that it's at best ambivalent about supporting the work of ICE and providing a platform for abuses of Fourth Amendment rights. You'll recall last summer at the council meeting immediately following the horrific kidnapping behind 510 Flats, one of the broader takeaways was just how powerless this city was in that moment. That the forces at play were so far beyond our control. Flock and its peers are part of these forces. We shouldn't be fearing what Flock's cameras and software purport to capture and solve. We should fear what this infrastructure means for our futures. One of the largest present threats to our freedom is our own federal government and the surveillance tools it harnesses to instill fear. Timothy Snider conceptualizes freedom as a state of unpredictability, of mobility to explore our values and to live our truths. That the constant surveillance to which we are now subjected erodess our ability to be free and worsens the state of fear for our most vulnerable neighbors. Let's make the smart smart responsible choice to make Bethlehem a little bit freer. End our work with flock.

Thank you. Anyone else to the left want to make comment on something not being voted on? Um turn to the broad center on not being voted on. I'll turn to you sir. You were not done until he [clears throat] Thank you. You want me to take them and pass them down for That's okay. Guess I need [laughter] Thank you.

Martin Ramroll, 26 West Marcus Street. Um, dear elected leaders of the city of Bethlehem, on Tuesday, October 5th of 1976, city council passed and then the mayor signed ordinance 1713 to establish the advisory board known as the historic architectural review board. The board was slated to have nine members per subsection 1713.04. Currently, the board only has six members, a high vacancy rate of 33% despite a number of once in a-lif generation decisions being made that have and will significantly affect the character and quality of life of the residents of this neighborhood for decades to come. as a resident of the North Side Historic District neighborhood since June of 1975, experienced in the renovation, restoration, and maintenance of a residence approved for construction by the Moravian Board of Elders on February 9th, 1809, and as an avid student of local history since I moved here. I offer my services to our community as a voting member of the Volunteer Historic Architectural Review Board to fill one of the three seats that were vacant at the beginning of this calendar year. It would be an honor to help preserve the architectural character of this historic neighborhood where the first Moravian settlers chose to make their home in the winter of 1741. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Martin Remro.

Thank you. Anyone else in the center want to make public comments on something not being voted on this evening? Miss Mayor Joe,

I didn't plan on speaking, but I have several concerns as far as the understaffed fire department. My father was a firefighter in Allentown, and when our my I have three sisters. When our mother passed, my father, we were all minors, and we cringed every time that siren went off. Fortunately, Allentown had full staff, so it wasn't as much of a problem as in Bethlehem. And watching one of the city council meetings where a council woman asked the fire chief what the majority of calls were that they received and they said mostly medical. I'm here standing before you to say that I experienced three calls that were not medical. Two were for safety valves blowing on propane tanks and one occurred in a heatwave in the middle of the summer. The firemen were passing out in my backyard. I was running water to them constant and it didn't it just didn't seem to phase them. The other another propane tank at the car dealership across the street from me also blew and they were worried about that. And I also had them for a carbon monoxide leak in my house that I could not figure out where it was coming from. So they're not all for medical reasons as one council woman seems to think. So I wish we did more for public safety instead of while there's a a housing crunch. I get it. You got to work on the infrastructure before you can work on more housing. Otherwise, more people means you're going to need more public servants. Thank you.

Thank you, Miss McCle. Anyone else in the Broad Center want to make public comments on something not being voted on? To the right. Anyone want to make public comment? Mr. Antsalics. [clears throat]

[laughter]

bit of advice. Don't get old. It really sucks. But anyway, Stephen Analics, great job. [clears throat]

As at the February 3rd meeting of council, council approved the award of a contract to center for public safety management LLC for the study of fire and EMS services. According to their website, policy, procedure, and standard operating policies are their main area of expertise. They also include police. If we recall the November 18th, 2025 city council meeting, the vast majority of speakers were firemen and their family members who clearly delineated the major problems of the fire department. It was not equipment or any material needs. It was clearly a major staffing problem. A problem which could impact public safety and a risk to the firemen for the rec as a result of excessive overtime. This study group will certainly speak to members of the fire department regarding any deficiencies, but we have already heard from them at this council meeting. The picking group included not only basic firemen, but a number of high department officials. The problem is well identified by the public comments which is staffing. So why not enlist the appropriate agency to address this problem? Might this not be the International Association of Firefighters? An agency whose chief focus is fire department personnel since the center for public safety covers too broad an area of civic activities while the

former covers the fire department only. The public knows the problem. The administration knows the problem. [clears throat] The fire department knows the problem. So why not do directly to to the solution and solve the obvious problem by replacing the dismissed fireman. Let us ask the mayor why he is not doing this since the problem will be solved and the city will save $83,000. Sadly, this council has dropped the ball. It has not supported the two council members who originally offered the obvious solution. So, will this present council have the courage and will to support the lone council member who's doing the right thing by asking the right questions and pushing for the department to be properly staffed. It is a public safety issue. So, council, do your job.

Thank you. Anyone else on the right want to arty? [clears throat] [cough] [clears throat] Hi, I'm Art. I'm Marty Keratollah, 813 Lford Street, Beth, Pennsylvania. Uh, I was once told when I worked for the horse in Elmo, I could be be a main man. They should have made me taller. Yeah. Can you get a little closer to the mic party?

The thing is, I want to talk about the city here in the streets. The street department. Now years ago, I wound up coming to city council for [clears throat] over 35 years and found w finally wound up getting surveillance cameras all over the city where I was after to be h happened. I didn't get any credit for it. I probably won't get credit for this one either. Here we go. When we go when we put when we we have a lot of snow, the city goes ahead gets the snow and moves it about two miles or more away to unload it. Come on, we don't pay our taxes. Let's get heaters into the trucks to melt the snow and let it go down the nearest sewer. We'll move more snow a lot quicker, less manpower, less cost for the city. Let's get some heaters into those into those trucks that go with the snow. But however, um maybe that will be done in another 30 years. [snorts] But however, thing is I'd like to say something. Miss Quayotic isn't here, so she won't walk out on me. I want to say one thing about Jesus before uh before I go. Jesus was a humble, humble man. He was and the most written about and talked about person who ever walked this earth and maybe other earths as well. He didn't plan that to be. He was humble. He wasn't Democrat. He wasn't Republican. And he wasn't a politician in any way. He was for the people, not for politics. And he didn't get offended if someone said something that he didn't like about his Jewish race and throw the anti-semitic

word at them like it was a bullet coming from a gun. Actually, Jesus never carried a gun. He carried a cross and he let himself be crucified by arrogant, belligerent, stupid people. But God bless you who use this anti-semitic word as a bullet from the gun or you condone the use of this word. But keep in mind, it doesn't make us individuals like you any better. But we love you all the same. As [clears throat] Christians love you all the same, I should say. For the record, I got to know a lot of Jewish women throughout the course of my years. I'm going to be 78 in June 22nd. But I have to say one thing. Throughout the course of the years of all the Jewish women that I love that I no knew, let me correct that on the earth. I [snorts] loved them all the same as any non-whites. I I want to make a statement here also. We need to correct the political situations going on in Facebook. And this has been going on for years, saying Jesus was a black man. He was from Jerusalem. He was white. Jewish people are white. They're not black. I want to make that clear. There's so many things on Facebook that need to be rectified. And maybe in our city, we need to be an example [laughter] and try to correct those things that are being offensive to people.

[clears throat] You have a blessed day. God bless.

Thank you, Mr. Keratollah. And to correct the non-existent record, Miss Quietitech is with us and guns weren't around till the 12th century. Um, does anyone else have public comment on something not being voted on? All right, moving on to to public comment on things being voted on. I have no one signed up, so turning to the left, does anyone want to make public comment on something being voted on? To the center, does anyone want to make Sir [clears throat] [laughter] to do with it? Thank [clears throat] you.

I actually have one for you so you don't get locked down. Thank you. [clears throat] Have enough. Let's see what I got here. One for you.

Thank you. I'll bring airplanes that one.

Okay. I apologize for running in late out of breath, but the young ladies from the Girl Scouts working on the bronze award were correct. Hurtling unshoveled corners in wing tips in the dark uh takes the breath out of me unlike it did 50 years ago. including the two northern corners of New and Church Street opposite the plaza. Um, dear President Leon and members of city council, on Tuesday, October 5th of 1976, City Council passed the and then the mayor signed ordinance 1713 to establish the advisory board known as the historic architecture review board. The board was slated to have nine members per subsection 1713.04 04 17 section 1713.05 states clearly that a quorum will consist of at least five members. If this uh and the document I've given to you all, if this accompanying council manatic appointment is correct that one member named as participating and voting at the HARB meeting on February 4th, 2026 had their 5-year term expire where it says in that council medic appointment, quote, "This appointment is effective through January 2026 period, and no action to reappoint this one member to the board has been taken." and none could be found in the previous eight city council meeting agenda stretching back into October of 2025. Although I may have missed it, I'm not perfect. Then the meeting occurred with only four members with clear authority to act as members of this advisory board to city council. If these facts are correct, then there clearly was not a quorum to conduct business and there can be no vote on any of the certificates of appropriateness sent by harb to city council that emerged from the meeting

held in this rotunda on Wednesday, February 4th, 2026. Although this is an this is unfortunate for those members of the community who thought they had obtained a coveted certificate of appropriateness, it is a reality that the guidance of the authorized members of HARB still impacts the decisions of city council and therefore the board's actions impact the property rights of individuals of both those seeking approval for renovations, construction, and modifications but also of their neighbors. So due process requirements attached to both the applicants appearing before HARB and the citizens whose neighborhood is affected by the board's advice to city council to ensure that the actions of the board cannot be challenged for failing to adhere to council's published ordinance and therefore risk putting any later decisions at risk for uh due process challenge. The board should take every action to ensure that a clear quorum is present. Possibly HARB could institute procedures to review and ensure that all members have a clear and currently valid appointment and also by making sure there is more than just the bare number of uh members present to meet a quorum. Uh maybe HARB could request that the administration and city council diligently fill multiple vacancies on the same boards. As a taxpaying citizen of our fair city, I respectfully request that you obtain a ruling from your solicitor regarding the legality of proceeding with any items under section 10 of tonight's agenda. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Anyone else in the center have public comment? Mr. Sher, [sighs] [clears throat] 1890 Eaton Avenue. Many [clears throat] people in Bethlehem agree that there is something special about the city of Bethlehem. Many of those would agree that our history is a significant part of that. And many of those would agree that Main Street is a significant part of the history. It is a primary reason why people enjoy living here and enjoy coming here. Former mayor Gordon Mau once told me that his biggest mistake as mayor was urban renewal and later he realized the future was around the corner on Main Street. There is some similarity between urban renewal and the present pens to build apartment buildings almost anywhere. For make no mistake about it, a sevenstory apartment building immediately behind Main Street businesses will irrevocably detract from the Main Street ambiance. There is no way that a person will be able to look at Main Street and not also notice a sevenstory building hovering over the shops in the middle of the block. Not at the end like the Hotel Bethlehem, which also contributes to the ambiance. [clears throat] If the building is approved, it will be a precedent cited by other developers who will further detract from the historical charm of Main Street. This reminds me of the fable about killing the goose that was laying golden eggs.

So why do some people think this oversized building is a good thing? [clears throat] First, there are some people who may like change for its own sake. Anything different can be interesting. For such people, I say that not at all not all change is progress. Other people say we have to either grow or die. This, I'm afraid, is boulderdash. There are many places that aren't growing but are thriving. I have some familiarity with two such places, Westfield, New Jersey and Larchmont, New York. True, they are rather wealthy suburbs andor exerbs of New York City. But the latter is what Bethlehem is starting to become.

[clears throat]

What kind of exerb do we want to be? And when I say we, I mean [clears throat] all the people of Bethlehem. Still other people may like the idea that as Bethlehem grows, it becomes more important. Being important is nice, but more important is being a meaningful place to live. Other [clears throat] people may be intrigued by the notion that more people will mean more activities and new kinds of activity with additional stimulation. This argument has some validity, but like so many other things in city planning, there is a trade-off. [clears throat] Is additional stimulation worth the reduction of a sense of calm in Bethlehem, especially as compared to Allentown? Calmness invites reflection which is a fertile context for creativity. There is a reason why many authors do their writing in the country and then come to the cities for marketing and awards. Another argument that has been made is that even luxury apartments help with affordable housing by [clears throat] providing opportunities for existing residents to move up and provide vacancies in housing that is less expensive. This might be called the trickle down theory of housing. I believe this effect to be rather small. Besides, it is much more productive to attack the problem of affordable housing head on. As an economist, I have developed a few ideas on this to be presented at another time. Another argument that has been made is that more residents mean more tax revenues. This is true, but what is not as well known is that residents consume more in services than they pay in taxes. Businesses, on the other hand, pay more in taxes than they consume in services.

This is why cities all across America compete for more businesses. They do not compete to build more and more apartment buildings. One more paragraph. Still another argument that has been made is that the United States is a welcoming country. [clears throat] So Bethlehem should be a welcoming city for the immigration from New Jersey and New York City. But the two thoughts are not comparable because there is plenty of open land in the US but not in Bethlehem. So substantial immigration to Bethlehem means bigger and taller buildings. Is that what the people of Bethlehem want? If not, where is it written that people who do not live here now get to dictate what the Bethlehem of the future will look like? And Mary Joe will lead read the last two paragraphs.

Thank you, Mr. Sh. Turning to the center again. Anyone else want to make public comment? Got it. All right, Miss Mary Joe,

the final argument is made on behalf of the developers so that they can make more money. I wonder if a six-story building would still be profitable, perhaps a five-story building or even a four-story building. A three-story building would not be visible from Main Street. It has even been suggested that a city park would be nice there. It could be a playground for children supervised by one parent while other parents are shopping. This would be a good would be good for the main street businesses. I often think about Churchill's remark that the invasion of North Africa in World War II was not the end, nor was it the beginning of the end, but it was perhaps the be the end of the beginning. If this se sevenstory building is built in this location, it will not be the beginning the end of the beginning. It will be the beginning of the end for Bethlehem as it as it has been known. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in the center want to make comments on something being voted on this evening? Anyone to the right want to make public comments on Mr. Antalix? Stephen and Alex bridge. I didn't intend to speak tonight, but from the speakers who spoke on 10E, I would like to add this. Some time ago at council meeting, article 1714, historic preservation of the southside has turned into a paper tiger. it doesn't mean anything. As a result of that, the southside has suffered a rape. And I mentioned then that if a person left Bethlehem for 50 years and came back and took a walk on Main Street, they would see Main Street the way it was when they first left. If they took the same walk at third and new, they probably would die of a coronary from shock. I mean, it's a different city. It's a different city. Why?

Because the developer dollar overruled article 1714. From New Street to the entrance to the bridge used to be beautiful area and a lovely diner, auto dealer, a taxi cab company. What's going up there now is a sevenstory. It's ugly. It's overpowering. I drive by quite routinely. And I'm shocked. So in a sense that cancer that has eaten up the south side has cross is crossing the river. Why? Because article 1713 is also becoming a paper tiger. Why? because it appears that developer dollar is beginning to take reign on Main Street area and the argument that hold Bethlehem defies that. Well, it was built in 1926. There were no ordinances then to cover that. And as a result, the hotel acts as the endpin of the street. It's a fitting building for the site it's at, and it adds to the to the charm of this north side. So

if council [snorts] agrees with what's been said in terms of Bethlehem having a special charm, then the vote should be accordingly preserved 1713. Thank you. Anyone else on the right want to make public comment on something being voted on? Mr. Carl, [clears throat]

I'll use this one because you can't see me over there anyway. So everybody that's watching on, you know, on the internet, I'm here. Arty Curata, 813 Lawford Street, Betham, Pennsylvania, Southside. Now, sure the developers are raising the point probably change has to come. Look at New York City, the Empire State Building, all the big buildings in New York City. Manhattan, not New York City, Manhattan. I lived in the Bronx. I also been to Queens. I've been to Brooklyn. They have areas where there's two, threetory buildings still kept to the historical way that the city was in Brooklyn, in Queens, in the Bronx. They don't have skyscrapers all over the place. They don't have skyscrapers going ahead and uh uh ruining the areas. Uh we have historical landmarks in Bethlehem. they could find places to build those large buildings somewhere else, not where the historical landmarks are on Main Street and where we have on the south side. It's been destroyed enough. We don't need this. Not in our city. Why don't they move their buildings in the areas where there's trouble in Allentown and get rid of the ghetto situation, where there's violence happening? We have one of the most safest cities in the country. Not Pennsylvania, the whole United States. We don't need to have to make oursel a New York City. We are Bethlehem, the little town of Bethlehem. Maybe not exactly that little town, but

we still are Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We are have a historical city. We ought to keep that. We should try our best to keep it. Let them move to Easton. Let them move to I don't care. But not here in my city or in your city. Why should they destroy the appearance and historical landmarks of your city? say no to it. God bless.

Thank you. Does anyone else want to make public comment on something being voted on this evening? That concludes public comment. Moving on to old business. Do any members of council have any old business they would like to Councilman Callahan. Chief, did um have you gotten any of that data together for the the trips up to Lehi and St. and uh St. Luke and Raven.

Now, [clears throat] aside from the five years of data we provided back in November, December, we have had no time to try to acquire additional data. Um, I explained the complexity of all the different numerical addresses that would have to be searched and based on things we've been dealing with have not had any time to to try to do that. So, did did the 5-year data show that? Yes, it did. Yes, that was all provided uh November, December to the clerk's office. We ran five years of data for both universities and referenced both on and off-campus properties.

All right. I I I'll get it from uh our clerk. But there's no I'm not talking about the off student or off-campus student housing. I'm just talking about on the campus itself. Isn't that pretty easy to find though? Just for onampus? No, because every every building and property has a separate numerical address that has to be searched for calls. All right. So, it is all included in that data that was previously provided. I I I would presume though that most almost all most or if not all of the calls going up to Lehi are the Schwer House over on the uh southside. Correct. No, I I wouldn't agree to that. No.

No, it's it's pretty fairly spread across the across the campus. Different dormitories, fraternities, sorarities,

classrooms, and labs. It's very spread out. I'm just trying to get like an accurate reading without having you to do a lot of research on it. So, if you could talk to the the houses themselves in, you know, the guys in charge of the different firehouses and just have them take a running tally every time that they're running up to Lehi or Moravian or up to St. Luke's, you know, on a daily basis and and maybe I mean, it's something they could just text you at the end of every week. I mean, it's it's not it wouldn't be that hard to, you know, tally. We'll see what we can do. I' I'd appreciate it. I'm just trying to get an accurate number of of the amount of services that that Lehi University is using, um, Ravens using, and St. Luke's is using.

Yeah, I don't and I don't think the historical data that we provided would would change very much. I think you could base that on the data that was was previously provided. Um, I think it's pretty fair and accurately displayed over the number of years on as far as an average is concerned. And I would be willing to bet that those numbers really haven't changed dramatically this year from last year. Yeah. Is there someone in each house that you could um possibly just send them a text say, you know, starting next week, could you just keep a tab on on how many times?

We run four different platoon of personnel who run in and out of each firehouse differently. So that would be a little little challenging. We can we can look at trying to come up with a solution. Yeah, I'm just I'm trying to get data for like a month, you know, a month or two, just so we have an idea of I mean, I told you I was told by

fire department personnel that on some days they're running up there three, three times a day, which to me seems like that's astronomical. Uh they say, but it's every day. They say, you know, every day it's at least once. Sometimes it's two and three times a day. If it is, we need to have sit down and have a discussion with them about, you know, trying to compensate somehow. And maybe it's something that a council and administration and Lehi University could get together. And again, I don't know if it's something, you know, that that that we could charge uh uh a yearly fee to, you know, students, what it's a $50 fee or whatever. I don't know. But there's got to be a way there's got to be a way to do it. I talked to our solicitor uh about um she she had has written ordinances for um cities and townships locally that every time a fire department or EMS goes out to a crash uh there's a bill that goes to that person's, you know, whoever was in whoever was involved with the crash or was responsible for there's a bill that goes to that insurance company and they're compensated. I'm going to be presenting that later on. uh probably in the month or early next month uh as a new ordinance because I I want we have to try to find a way and I think you would totally agree with this. We just had a a fire the the other day which we had to call in we didn't have enough personnel on so we had to call in Allentown and Betham Township. Correct.

Ner run fire company of Bethleam Township. That is correct. Right. And Allentown. Yes. And I remember when my brother was mayor, which I was against at the time, not him being mayor, but um he closed down he closed down the Deubberry uh fire station. I was totally against that, right? And but I, you know, I wasn't involved with city politics at the time. And I told him at the time, you know, I think it's a bad move because everybody, all the neighbors and all the citizens, uh, and I don't know if you were part part of the force at the time, but yes, I was.

This place was filled up and people worrying about response times. If that Deubberry facility got shut down, I can't imagine the the uh response times of coming from Allentown and Betham Township versus just having one little station on Deubberry Avenue closed down versus using Katakua Road um station or the um uh East A Avenue a Avenue station or or Broad Street if they're having to come. There's got to be a a delay in response if we're calling in people from Allentown and it's got to be a longer delay, a longer time for them to get there if they're coming from a longer distance. Correct.

Well, there's a multitude of reasons that we we start off with the city of Allentown and and one being as part of the the collective bargaining agreement, which we we must abide by when we're doing callouts of our personnel. We call in offduty personnel and then we also call other IIAFF local departments as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement once our personnel have been called. Um so that is something that can't be resolved here tonight. That's something that has to be discussed between the union and the city administration. No, no, no. I agree. I agree.

One advantage to calling Allentown, for example, is they're already in the firehouse. They're there. They're ready to go. We provide them mutual aid. They provide us mutual aid. The response time, yes, is greater than a company that would leave Broad Street, for example, but they're all there. They're willing to go. They're ready to respond, and they can do so pretty quickly. Yeah. But as you know, um minutes are hours when you're involved with a fire, especially if you're I'm aware. Yes. Right. So, my whole goal is to make sure we're staffed properly uh in the city of Betham. So, we don't have to uh call in people from outside of the city of Betham, which is taking a longer response. That's my only goal with this. So, um it's something we'll have a further discussion on it as we move forward.

Absolutely. But I appreciate So, on the study, uh mayor, on the study, is there any idea is will the study be completed before Councilman Callahan, you're dipping into new business? We were going to that that's the old business. You can ask about the study under new business, but we were closing the loop. So, can you just save that for sure the next one? Yeah. All right. Cool. Um All right. Um and and one more thing under old.

Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. Uh, mayor, I don't know if it's possible, but when when it's not not just me, but I know there's other people on council that that feel the same. When when council comes up with some questions or is there possibly that you could have somebody just jot down the notes of what the questions that council has asked for responses from and then make sure that they're being followed up on. Can I can I interject real quick because there was uh something that I wanted to talk about with the agenda in general when it comes to new and old business and that was part of the conversation that I was going to have. Okay. So, like I know that we've talked about appropriate when are appropriate times for discussion. Um and we had talked a little bit sometimes with council members one-on-one about what new new business is for and what old business is for. I think old business is a really good time to close the loop on existing questions. Um, sometimes we discuss things as a council, uh, ask requests from the administration or other council members. So, I think new old business would be a really good time.

If you're bringing that up, I I have no problem waiting. I just want to make sure that if there's anybody on council that's asking a question that there's followup and feedback from the administration at a later date. Yeah. Which I I think uh old business is the appropriate time to do it. So, all of council is operating with the uh with the same information. And I know a lot of times these things lie as internal memos or emails, but it's it's not a bad idea to just readress it at council under old business to just close any existing loops with outstanding questions. Thank you. Okay. Any other old business from members of council? [clears throat] Okay, moving on to new business. Any council member have new business that they would like to address? I do actually. Um

Councilman Daniels. Yeah, this is uh actually regarding the snow. Miss Collins, you might be able to assist with this pos. Well, it's snow related somewhat. Um, [clears throat] so I'm sorry. A number of people, as you know, have complained about the snow removal. Um, I know, you know, we're limited with people and equipment and things of that nature and the way this storm took place with the the freezing temperatures literally for weeks after it was hard to get rid of. I understand that. Um, but my concern is property owners not clearing the snow at all or a very narrow path where you literally have to put one foot in front of the other to walk down the street.

My Oh, sorry. My question to you is, is there any possible way where a code inspector, and I I brought this up a long time ago about other issues, can literally go out and find these people because and and and it's not that I want people to pay fines. I don't, believe me. But I don't think they're going to get it until they get a fine and realize that, you know, it's not just about clearing the snow. It's a safety issue. It's an accessibility issue. You know, there's handicapped people that were literally stuck in their homes for weeks at a time um because of this

because they couldn't navigate the sidewalks. I I will defer to Mr. Alkal who's the director of public works and and people do ask this often you know does the the housing inspection department handle snow removal for individual property owners and actually under the ordinance um the department of public works does handle uh enforcement of that ordinance with respect to property owners talking about side snow on the sidewalk the sidewalk right away yeah our ordinance calls for purview over that would be the department of public works okay My apologies. I didn't realize that.

And we do we don't aggressively sort of [clears throat] we don't go out there and look for issues and site folks, but um we have in the past and we continue we get complaints from property owners that someone's sidewalk has not been shoveled within 24 hours after the end of a storm.

Uh we do send inspectors out. Uh we notify them to address immediately. If they don't comply, we have we have cited uh but like I said, we we do it on a complaint basis. Um mostly because of lack of um resources to be able to go around and and do that more proactively and aggressively. And just just to add to that, Councilman, is there's also the issue that just like there are it's a challenge for people that are moving, we also at times try to be sensitive to the homeowner because the homeowner might be 80 or 90 years old or might also have a dis disability. So trying to balance those two things is something that I know Mr. Alcohol tries to do. um because it is a balance between wanting to make sure that all of the sidewalks get safe as soon as possible but also understanding that for some people it is a it's a physical challenge to do it. So we try to um be sensitive to that situation but also balance the public safety but it is it is a hard balance to as far as those two things are concerned

and I understand that completely especially for the seniors. I actually clear sidewalks for my senior neighbors. So I understand that completely. But

and I will say in in in general most of the time we have good compliance. Unfortunately for extreme events like we just had and again the key part was the extended cold after uh the event. It made some a lot of areas very very difficult to address. not just for, you know, older folks, but even younger folks just because of the nature of snow and the freezing temperature u and that that sort of thing. And, you know, we try to work with the residents like we do on many other issues that are difficult to tackle, sidewalk deficiencies, trees, what have you. Um, and we just stay on it until there's compliance. [clears throat]

I And I appreciate the answer, sir. I I do. And Mr. Um, Mayor Reynolds, my my concern again is that it's continuously happening. Um, and it's not just snow. There's a lot of ordinance issues, codes that are being violated that people are consistently, continuously getting away with, and it's devaluing our communities. And I understand that, you know, there might be uh a lack of available inspectors. Uh I know we just hired two and it's a fee uh payroll for them, right? They're paid by fees for services or what fines or whatever else is coming in, inspection fees and things of that nature. So, I'm I'm just lost as to why we can't have a dedicated person to make sure that codes are being enforced.

In this instance, that's not how it's funded. It's it's funded basically by Well, it's I'm not speaking just on snow, though. I'm speaking on everything in its totality. Um, I'll let that go. I'm not going to beat the dead horse with that. My second thing is I want to thank you for getting to Broadway. Um, but only half of Broadway was done and I don't know if your guys are still out there clearing snow or not. We are. Okay. Is there any schedule for the remainder of Broadway southeast of Five Points to Fountain Hill? Okay, perfect. Thank you. That's all I have. Any other new business from council members?

Councilman Kelly. Um, I I would like to um t I don't know when we can fit this in, but um I I've talked to um President um and um Leon and we uh I'd like to call for at some point if we can try to fit on our schedule. I know I know we're kind of busy, but but some in you know within a couple months uh a committee of the whole meeting uh on the parking authority if possible. There's a couple issues. Uh, mayor, you weren't here earlier, but there was a gentleman on that that was here that, you know, had a major problem with um the parking authority went to court and the court ruled in his favor. So, I just think that there's um there's an issue going on with the Walnut Street garage that uh bids were accepted uh and bids were open and then um the the research that I'm seeing sees that there was after the bids were open uh there was uh another bid that was allowed to be put in and the piping on the in the specs that the Betham Parking Authority had asked for uh on the piping of the um fire um water system on the sprinkler system was very specific and uh I I've had conversations and emails with our solicitor and uh and uh um President Leon and also Mr. Fernstrom and Mr. Brockl and uh there's uh there's just been a a little bit of a lack of transparency I feel like on their part on some of the questions that I'm asking. So, my main concern in doing this is just to ensure that the company that got the bid on the sprinkler system installed the proper um uh piping, the piping that was on the job and that was halfway installed at at the halfway point. Um some of PE some other

professionals went over there and took pictures of the piping and it wasn't the proper appropriate piping that was in the bid and I brought it up to Mr. Furn. He according to the solicitor for the parking authority, they found it on the punch list when they were going through the punch list and the and apparently it's being looked at. But I want to make sure that the citizens and residents of Bethlehem, the taxpayers of Bethlehem and the parking authority got the proper piping. There's one piping that was on the bids was very specific. It was a more expensive piping. I think it's like a 30 25 or 30 year life piping. And the piping that was installed according to the pictures uh was a cheaper piping. So I want to make and along with some valves also. And you know it's a million-dollar job you know on the piping itself. So I want to make sure that the the correct piping my only goal in this is ensure that the parking authority got exactly what they paid for. It was put in specs. Uh I talked to Mr. Fernstrom about it. At no time during the construction did the company um that got the bid on the on the sprinkler system ever request a a change order on the specs. So my whole thing is just make sure that we got what we paid for. And I think everybody would agree with that that that's a kind of important thing to make sure we we specked out this. They quoted it on that spec, but apparently that's not what was delivered. And I just want to make sure that we are getting what we paid for. So 15 years down the road, there's not a failure in the piping system because of of of of the of the less um capable piping. So, that's my whole goal. And the other thing is um is dealing with some of the responses from the Betham Parking Authority to citizens and things like that. I don't know. I'm going to do some research on this, but I know at some point, Mayor, I don't know if

you've got the answer to this either, but uh I know at some point the parking authority was in house. It was in the city. I'm not sure when we created the parking authority. And um I like our solicitors. I don't know if your solicitor wants to look into it also, but I I just feel like that parking authority is if you listen to anybody that deals them, they're they're a little unresponsive in dealing with people. And I want to have a committee of the whole meeting to discuss a lot of these things and possible changes that could be made. I don't know if it's even legally possible to bring the to dissolve the parking authority and bring it back in house under your administration. I think I think it'd be I I think personally that they'd be a lot more respons responsive towards citizens and residents and city council members if it was under your authority and and I I and it's just a matter of you know it's not I'm not sure it would be an easy thing to do but there's just a lack of response in uh from the parking authority that I feel almost every citizen I have to deal with um just feels like they're not being listened to at all and I have had that experience experience. I I asked them for a right to know request on the piping and the the the um the procedures that made they made me go through and then sending me the information with a one-time code I and I opened it and I couldn't open again. Then I had to ask them again to send it again and then they wanted to charge the city of Betham $747 for the right to know paperwork. And I told him in no uncertain terms, you are out of your effing mind if you think that you are going to charge the city of Bethlehem for you to copy papers on a right to know request from a city council. I mean, that to me was bizarre. And then they folded and they agreed to email it

uh again and to to some professionals that who are a little bit more knowledgeable than I am. So, I I I just think that there's some discussion that needs to have and I'd appreciate if Mr. Fernstrom and maybe even his solicitor could come in here and and deal with some of the questions that that uh I have and I'm sure other people on council have about the parking authority and the lack of responses. So,

I think the parking authority was created probably about 50 years ago. And um I'm just being completely honest with you. It's like I have no intention of going down a road of dissolving the parking authority. They have long-term debt structures as far as their garage is concerned. They are a separate authority. They are um they are operating um independently even though they are a creation of the city of Bethlehem as authorities are I believe under the Pennsylvania Municipal Authority Act. Um once they are created there, the idea of unwinding one of them, especially if it's not like a special purpose authority, which you have the ability to be able to unwind more quickly, is just both not something that is feasible. And I also don't really have an interest in in doing that. Um, I will tell you as a whole, and this predates Mr. Fernstrom, is 20 years ago, I would say that I thought the parking authority was a financial disaster as far as how much money we were losing. The fact that they were operating under a very like 1964 parking mindset where you could say yes to everybody, understanding rather than understand that parking is a system. Um, and I think there's been a lot of progress that's been made as far as understanding about how we turn cars over, how we encourage long-term parkers into the garages, how we turn over cars on the street and things like that. Um, and as far as the the bid stuff, I mean, we don't have any I don't have any idea about what happened on what bids there. And I think that's a conversation for the parking authority um, as far as that's concerned. Um, but I would say as far as individual individual complaints and things like that, um, you know, I would I would take those up with the parking authority as far as as far as what they as what they

and and I couldn't agree with you as far as uh there's been a lot of great things that the parking authority has done. I think going to digital system is a huge thing versus the cash system that was there before with the coins. Uh, I think they've done a great job with uh the uh mobile parking and the apps and all that stuff. There's a lot of great things that that have happened, but I think with them getting bigger and bigger and bigger, their their ability uh to respond to people um and especially council members asking questions. Mhm.

I mean, I was I was a little floored back by, you know, the attitude that that I got back from them and just asking some simple questions about, hey, was this was this the proper piping put in and asking for the right to know requests for the specs and the bids

and uh the loopholes that I was put through, it seemed a little extensive. And I I I mean I would think that everybody uh on this in on this dis here and also the parking authority and Mr. Fernstrom would want to ensure that the proper piping for our safety system our our fire safety sprinkler system was exactly what we speced out. I mean, it's very clear on the on the spec sheets that a specific piping had to be installed, and it's pretty clear that a specific piping, a much cheaper piping was not installed. So, uh, and again, to be fair to the parking authority and the solicitor, they after I brought that up, they started looking at it and that was one of the things that they said is on their punch list. So, I don't know how long it's going to I I I know that the uh garage is open. It has a CO. So, I don't know how how long of a time the punch list would be or at the tag. You would think that the punch list would be done prior to getting the CO and opening up the garage. But my whole goal is to find out uh and the problem is this, and it's not even a big problem. You can't tell the type of piping that was installed by the outside of it once it's closed up. So, the system has to be drained. It's like five minutes s you know uh um procedure just to drain it of water and then a couple of the pipes just have to be opened up so pictures can be taken in certain areas to to to check to make sure that the higher quality piping that was on the on the parking authority bid was what was uh delivered and is solved.

Yeah. And I can't speak to that individual situation. I know the punch lists often and there's a different process and you know Mr. Simson's a good person to talk about this as far as what you need to be able to get a co to open and then what you need to be able to like close out your contract and things like that afterwards with your general contractor and your subcontractors and things like that. So oftent times those like punch list items I mean they're designed to take three, four, five, six months. I don't know if that's the situation here, but of often times it's not a you just don't have the time and then you would have a building that would be being able to be occupied as far as people going back to be able to take a look at things about whether or not you put in the right clocking that you want to to make sure to close out your contract and things like that. So sometimes things pop up there and once again I'm talking generically because I don't know as far as this individual situation is concerned that like they go through the systemic kind of this takes couple months, three, four, five months to close out a contract and then sometimes what happens and I've seen this in almost every construction contract I've ever helped worked with and so on and so forth is somebody will come back and if especially for the larger bids and let's say it's $ 8.7 million and there's a conversation where it's just like hey you didn't put this here, you didn't put this here or we said we were going to have the rubber stoppers there and they either do it or there's a reimbursement or there's like kind of those things back and forth. So once again, I can't speak to this, but I can speak to the idea that like whatever is the process that you know, Mr. Brockl and them need to follow to be able to close that out. They're going to they're going to they're going to go through it.

Yeah. My again my my whole goal in this is to make ensure that the city of Betham that we all got including the parking authority got exactly what we paid for. I would just I would just make one point is that like it's not the taxpayers, it's the rateayers. So the taxpayers, which is going back to the Long Street garage, like they only come to the taxpayers when somehow they need to have some debt backed or whatever and so on and so forth. The parking authority is funded by rateayers, right? So that could be people in the city of Bethlehem, that could be people in New Jersey, New York. But the city does does back some of the bonds on some of the parking garages. I think there's only one left that we

street new street I think is the last one because we've because once again to their credit their financial situation has improved. So there were previous bonds that we backed that then the city got out of but as far as like the backing of the bond is concerned as far as being you know the financial support as far as that's concerned like that's not the same as like the taxpayers paying taxes to the parking authority because they are a separate entity and authority that are funded by rateayers. Right. So, like you could be somebody like my mom who's never parked in a garage and paid in 50 years after she moved from Westfield, New Jersey, by the way. Beautiful place. Um, and the and then you have somebody else that goes down there every weekend that pays a lot that would then be somebody that is a a a rateayer. But so, I I just want to it is it is a is a nuance, but it's important that it's not taxpayers,

right? But there's also a little nuance too that you as the mayor uh I'm not exactly sure. I think we're in charge of raising the rates in on the meters and you are in charge of the what the garages or is it the opposite? Correct. It's that it's it's a bad system that never should have been designed this way. But city council handles the fines. Right. Right. Right. The mayor handles the um uh meters, right? And then the parking garage parking authority handles the garage or any of the off street parking.

Right. So my again my only concern is that we have um a a bone in that fight, you know, because if if there's a struggle financially on the parking authority, city council is going to be asked to raise the fines, which we've we've done. I think I've done it twice in the 11 years I've been on council. And I think the mayor has been asked by the parking authority, not you. I'm not sure if you did it yet, but No, I I did. I did. You did and I think Mayor Don has did it twice in eight years. So I think I think President Leon wants to move on from this. Yeah, I know. But I would just I just want to finish on that is like

like you don't raise rates to bring in money. You raise rates to increase parking turnover. So like the reason why we chose to raise rates and create the demand pricing for the first time was this idea that we were trying to create turnover. But I think it's an important thing that a lot of people think about with the parking authority is like I got a ticket because they want money. Like Mr. Fern from the parking authority would like it if they got no money other than what they needed to pay off their personnel and pay off the bonds. Like the meters and everything else are only designed to regulate how long people stay there. And I just it's an important distinction because we don't the parking authority doesn't look at us like how do we bring money in because nobody gets paid by commission. their whole function. And this is why we went to demand pricing and we've done the electric the the signs outside the parking garages to be able to get long-term parkers into the long-term facilities and short-term parkers onto the street. It's not about the money.

Sorry, President Leo. I just wanted to make sure that we're capping the actionable steps because we talked we've talked a lot about parking. So, I just want to make sure that we're talking about uh the committees um and we will have that conversation about how that's how that's going to play out and there are actionable steps. I have talked to the parking authority director about that punch list and where they're at within that process. So there is something that has to play out, but we will have um that conversation. So I just wanted to make sure that you know we there is an actionable list that we will we will get to.

Yeah. Again, I just I' I'd like to have a sit down with with council and the parking authority and just let some grievances on our part that we hear on a regular basis from the parking authority. I mean, not not just the gentleman, you know, that came out tonight, but just to have a discussion with them. Yeah, parking has been a topic of conversation quite quite a lot lately. And I appreciate that. Thank you. No worries. All right. Anyone else on uh Councilman Co?

Thank you, President. As as we talk about the parking authority, I just want to note two things. Not that I don't enjoy coming out for a committee meeting, but I'll have my council rules in front of me. I think the parking authority falls under community development by by council rules rather than committee of the whole. And then also I would advise anyone whether member of the public member of council not that there's not merit to some of these conversations that's for the at the committee level to figure out scheduling and and agenda and such but I think these should and maybe they already have I don't know should start at their board meetings which are also public meetings as is as a board of the city which was already referenced the parking authority operates kind of quasi private quasi public operates independently as the mayor pointed out there the user fees are what pay the bills there. Uh they have their own board that you know every so often we appoint the folks to the parking authority. So I think that if there's any issues especially as it relates to potentially their procurement process or anything like that which I have no insight to but I think that and maybe these again these conversations can already be happening. I hear they're happening with their executive director but they also have a governing board that uh holds public meetings I believe once a month. So, uh, I would encourage anyone in this room, outside this room to start any conversations there to to their board.

Thank you. Any other council member have new business to address? Okay. All right. Moving on to our um, communications communication 6A. The February 4th, 2026 memorandum with an attached resolution from public works director Michael Alcohol. Mr. Alcohol seeks authorization for the mayor and/or other authorized city officials to execute documents required for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation expansion of the Hill Bridge. Resolution also would authorize necessary rights of way and easements for the project. Resolution 10A is on the agenda. Communication 6B.

February 10th, 2026 memorandum from Police Chief Michelle Kant with an attached resolution and agreement for the purchase of a duty weapon by a retired officer of the Bethl Police Department. Pursuant to the third class city code, [clears throat] retired officers may purchase their duty firearms at fair market value. Resolution 10B is on the agenda. Communication 6C, a February 11th, 2026 memorandum from city solicitor Johnsburg Jr. and an attached proposed rightaway access agreement and resolution. Solicitor Spur recommends the agreement with Greenlight Networks BA LLC to install fiber optic cables. Resolution 10C is on the agenda communication 60.

The February 11th, 2026 memorandum and attached amendment to bill number 1226 from Lenny Lazar, director of budget and finance. Miss Lazarek notes that the annual adjustment to the East Broad Street corridor accounts in the non-utility capital improvements fund should be reduced by $30,000

and orance 8J is on the agenda. Moving on to President reports have a few. Um this is a reminder that the committee of a whole will meet on Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 for [clears throat] ethics training provided by the state ethics commission. This training session will be open to the public and will meet city article 104. The meeting will be forformational purposes only and no actions will be taken. Um also uh the March 8th council meeting uh will be cancelled. I will still be here for March 3rd cancel. Thank you. The March 3rd council meeting will be cancelled. I will still be here for president hours. So if there's any community member with any concerns, I will be here. But the city council meeting for March 3rd will be cancelled. Moving on to mayor's reports.

I have nothing. President Leon. Thank you. Moving on to committee reports. Uh Councilman Cohen. Thank you, President Leon. The finance committee will meet again on Tuesday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, at 6 p.m. here in town hall. Several budget adjustments will be discussed, including 2025 year-end reconciliations for the water and sewer funds. Thank you, Councilman Cologne. Moving on to ordinances for final passage. I will accept the motion and a second to consider 8A through 8 I as one agenda item. So move second. All right. Do you got those?

All right. The clerk will call the role on the motion or sorry discussion on the motion. Mr. Cologne I Miss Daniels I Miss Quitech I Mr. Amen. I Mr. Callahan I Miss Leon

I passes 6. The clerk will read the ordinances. 8 A, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8B, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8 C, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, Counties of Lehigh and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8 D, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8 E, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8F, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8G, the Ordinance of the City of Bethlehem, Counties of Lehigh and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the general fund budget for 2026. 8H, an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the water fund budget for 2026. and 8 I an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the com community development block grant fund for 2026 all bills are sponsored by Mr. Aean and Miss Kuitech

discussion the clerk will call the role Mr. Cologne I miss Daniels I miss quite I Mr. Aean I Mr. Callahan. Hi. And Miss Leon. I passes 6 8J. An ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehi and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the non-utility capital fund for 2026. Bill number 12, 2026 is sponsored by Mr. Aemon and Miss Quiet. Discussion. The clerk will call the role. There an amendment to that. remember.

Oh, do we have to move on to that? So, I sorry. Give me one sec. I got to read my script. Thank you. Second. Okay. All right. I got discussion. Read the amendment. Yeah. The clerk will read the amendment to bill 12 2026 to be amended to read that total appropriations in the 2026 budget for non-utility capital fund be increased from 39,25,323 to 41,248,119. Sponsors are Mr. Aean and Miss Quuitech. Discussion on the amendment.

The clerk will call the role on the amendment. Mr. Cologne. I. Miss Daniels. I. Miss Quitec. I. Mr. Raymond. I. Mr. Callahan. Hi. Miss Leon. I. Moving on to ordinances for new packet passage. There are no new ordinances. It [clears throat] needs a read as amended. Now you have three. 12 as amended. now needs and do we go ahead point of order if I may. Yeah, of course. Come [laughter] on. The um I apologize if I kind of lost. I wasn't sure of the procedure here. Did point of order. Point of order. Did we knock it off? Brood. Kidding.

The uh did we have a first and a second on the amendment before we voted on it? So if I'll turn to It's dimminimous. It's understood what it was in nature. So there was no need for a readver. I just want to make sure we're doing that. Yes. Okay. All right. So, now we read it as amended. Read it as I believe. Yes. The clerk will call No, that's not where I'm at. The clerk will call the role on bill 12 2026 as amended or read it as amended. Don't worry. Don't worry. I did. Yeah, you read it as amended. So, we're voting on it as amended. Voting on as amended. Yeah. The clerk will call the role. Mr. Cologne. I. Miss Daniels. I. Miss Quiet. Hi. Mr. Aean I. Mr. Callahan.

I. Miss Leon. I passes 6. Right. Moving on to new ordinances. There are no new ordinances. Moving on to resolutions. Resolution 10A. Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and/or such other city officials as deemed appropriate by the city solicitor hereby authorized to execute documents required by PENDOT to facilitate the Hill Bridge expansion project. Be it further resolved that the mayor shall sign any required documents convey rights of way and easements related to the project. Resolution is sponsored by Mr. Aik uh Mr. Aemon and Miss Quitech. Discussion. The clerk will call the role. Mr. Cologne, I. Miss. Daniels.

I. Miss. Quiet. I. Mr. Aean. I. Mr. Callahan. I. Miss. Leon. I. Passes 6 10B. Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and/or such other city officials as deemed appropriate [clears throat] by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement to effectuate the transfer of the cityisssued handgun assigned to Captain Michael Liser, a retired city police officer. Resolution sponsored by Mr. Aemon and Miss Quitech. Discussion cler call the role. Mr. Cologne I. Miss Daniels I. Miss Quiet. Nay. Mr. Raymond, I Mr. Callahan,

I miss Leon. Passes 51. Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller andor such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute a right-of-way access agreement with Greenlight Network PA LLC to install fiber optic cables. Resolution is sponsored by Mr. Aean and Miss Quitech. Discussion. Clerk will call the role. Mr. Cologne, I. Miss Daniels, I. Miss Quiet, I. Mr. Aeman, I. Mr. Callahan, I. And Miss Leon, I. Passes 60 resolution 10D.

Certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature. Bethlehem resolution is hereby granted for 33 West Walnut Street to construct a sevenstory mixeduse building. Building's first floor will contain commercial, retail, restaurant, and/or personal services spaces and the upper floors will house 107 dwelling units. Resolution is sponsored by Mr. Aean and Miss Quitech. Right. Before I turn to council for discussion, I'm going to turn to our solicitor to talk a little bit about uh these approvals, the denial, and uh if council does deny this, what we have to sight and all that jazz. So, if you'll talk us through this a little bit.

Okay. Give me just a moment. A lot of paper here. So, just a reminder. Um, and and maybe a refresh. Uh, pursuant to se section 8004B of Pennsylvania's municipal historic districts law, when considering whether or not to grant a certificate of appropriateness, city council shall pass upon the appropriateness of exterior architectural features which can be seen from a public street or way only and shall consider the general design, arrangement, texture, material, and color of the building or structure and the relation of such factors. to similar features of buildings and structures in the district. It shall not consider any matters not pertinent to the preservation of the historic aspect and nature of the district. Article 1713 of the city's codified ordinances establishing the HARB and related procedures say the same thing. Under subsections 11 and 14 of that article, when considering a COA, both the HARB and council shall consider consistent with section 8004B of the municipal historic districts law. The effect of the proposed change upon the general historic and architectural nature of the district and then the same language from 8004, the appropriateness of exterior architectural features which could be seen from a public street or way. the general design, arrangement, texture, material, and color of the building or structure, and the relation of such factors to similar features or buildings um or structures in the district. Neither the statute or the ordinance with regard to council's uh consideration of a COA make any reference to department of interior standards. uh nor do they empower council to consider the height of a building um on review of a COA. Height and other dimensional

regulations, just a reminder, are found in our zoning ordinance and are regulated through that process. The other thing I wanted to say, there was a question this evening with regard to um whether council can consider

these recommendations by HARB and HARB is a recommending body. It is a nine-member body and until somebody new is appointed, the people who are on the board continue to serve. That's that's the way our authorities, boards and commissions operate here in the city. So irrespective of that article 1713 is very very clear as to council's directive

upon the receipt of a written council of the board which you have received council shall consider at a at a regular special meeting whether or not to grant a certificate of appropriateness pursuant to the standards that I've already read to you. Okay. And there were some questions about quorum. So, if we can address those before we open it up to general counsel or was that your take on quorum as well? Well, [clears throat] and M solicitor Spur, if you could weigh in on this as well, the the question of quorum. [clears throat] Would you like to go first? Since you're up. [laughter] I was about to speak, but you're up. So, [gasps]

uh, yeah. The members hold until their replacement is named. So, they they can hold over beyond their term. And indeed almost all of our authorities are like that. And the Municipal Authorities Act in Pennsylvania state statute provides that. Okay. And and as your solicitor said, it's it's a recommendation only. They they don't make binding decisions, of course. Okay. All right. Thank you for that. So, I'm going to open it up to council for a discussion. Uh, Councilman Cologne.

Thank you, President Leon. Thank you, Solicer Stewart and Solicer Spur. So ju just on that matter, I also want to point out because it came up uh harp specific and as earlier um our solicitor Steuart and I were having a little bit of a sidebar which my understanding was what Mr. Spur said as someone who has previously served on different boards or waited to reappoint people. Sometimes we want to reappoint people in groups so the the carryover members continue past their term. That's not atypical as Mr. Spur said. And related to um the particular appointment which we were all handed earlier as it outlines in the first sentence, this is a city of Bethleam building inspector which by article 1713 a city of Bethleam building inspector is required to be a board member for HARP. So by virtue of they were they were going to stay on anyway by by the point of the ordinance or presumably this particular inspector but an inspector for the city. I had a couple uh questions for Miss Collins I believe would be the most appropriate person. If you want to redirect me, Miss Collins, by all means. I was not able to u attend any of these meetings, but just can can you give me uh if you know exactly or I know it wasn't a a one meeting plans were presented, they were voted on and approved. Can you give myself and and the room just a little bit of background about what the process looked like for this particular COA application?

Sure. Um the process for this COA application actually a bit abnormal in the amount of dialogue that they had, you know, with the HARB in the public setting also with HARB, with the community, with neighbors, even leading up to um going going before the board publicly. And we had talked about, you know, years ago when we when we were talking about an RFP, finding a a trusted and qualified developer that having those conversations and being engaged with the community was a pretty critical aspect of of who we wanted to do the project. And I think we made a really great decision with this this group. So starting I would say two years ago, the group was meeting with um the neighbors. They were meeting one-on-one with folks who are immediately adjacent to the property and then after they um worked through some of that initial like listening to what would be good for their development um put forward some plans for HARB had sitdown meetings with HARB to to talk through the plans initially which is that's part of the process for for more complicated projects for both HCC and HARB um or it can be but um you know they met with all the members of the board and then their first public meeting was in August of 2025. The second public meeting was in December of 2025 and then the third meeting was um just earlier uh this month in on February 4th. So through that process, you know, there were revisions to the plan. They were extremely responsive. Um, Harb after that first meeting in August said, you know, hey, what what can you do on the the Walnut Street garage side to, you know, make it look um, you know, what what kind of trick can you do to make the eye u pull down essentially? And and so that the the building itself, even if it is seven stories, like how how do you make it look a little bit smaller? They they took a lot of feedback from the board, came back in December. At the December meeting, the board still had some questions about the western edge of

the building, the part that you could see if you're walking up Walnut Street from Maine. Um, they got some feedback from the board about, you know, possibly again looking at stepbacks on that part of the building um to reduce the overall uh look and feel of the building as well as the actual height on that side. And then that's what they came back with in February and what uh the board ultimately recommended for approval for you guys. And I I know by zoning the building could be up to 150 feet, correct? Am I correct? And then the documents we receive references seven stories. Can you give me a ballpark of how high seven stories is?

I can. It's a little complicated because of the grade. Um so there there's different ways you can calculate, but so if you look at what the old garage was like on the western end, which is kind of the tallest because of the way the grade falls, I believe that was about 71 feet. um with their setbacks, what you're looking at at the tallest port part on the western side is I think 69 feet 6 in. Um but if you're calculating across uh with I forget what it's called like the average grade height of some kind based on the average slope. Um I believe it is with a setback on the northern part about 75 ft. And if you're doing the whole building, like even the part that's stepped back and they can't really see, I think it's about 86 feet.

And just to add to that, Mr. Clone, the setback we've seen in South Bethlehem, and you can see it now most prominently when you're driving down Third Street and we're going west and taking a look at the new uh banana fac. The banana factory brought to you by PPNL. Is that what I'm saying? Creative fac Sorry. Creative factory brought to you by PPNL. Um, so but when you're walking when you're driving down Third Street, you don't even know the setback exists. And one of the things that the HC has talked about is how important the setbacks have been. And um, it really gives you a different view as far as when you're driving down the street and you're next to the next to the building. It's been a very important part of why the buildings in South Bethlehem have started to get much better reviews from the HCC is because of those setbacks. And I just add one thing to Miss Collins is so when this group first um entered into their tenative contract or whatever with uh the parking authority, it wasn't this is what we want to do. It was a question to us about what should we do and what do we need to do and it was who do we need to meet with? who do we need to talk to and how often do we need to talk to them? And I would just say because this might be a theme that comes up over and over again both with the HARB and I hope everybody's had a chance to listen to some of the HARB meetings if you haven't. Um I I I mean I would if afterwards um because it really gives you an opportunity to see the evolution from the comments when they first went in August um to what happened at the subsequent meetings as far as like thank you for doing this and thank you for doing this and thank you for doing this. Um and that's that's a testament to their commitment to the process. if it was business owners, if it was neighbors, if it was HARB members, if it was the historic officer, it wasn't just meeting, but it was listening. And there's there's a difference there. And I think that you saw that in the HARB's recommendation was the fact that all of the things that they had suggested had made it into um what the final product

was. And that couldn't have happened in one meeting. They went to three meetings, but I think the first reach out um once they were initially designed a building ready to go was almost a year ago. So, it took months and months of meeting with people to make sure that it was right and make sure it was accurate and make sure it was what people were looking for. And as I said, I think you saw that in the ultimate recommendation.

And do you have anything else you want to add, Miss Collins? I don't have any other questions. Thank you. I I just wanted to say more broadly, I think this is how the process is supposed to play out. I won't reference the specific project because it's not relevant, but we had uh within the last year a project come before council that they had rejected and at the time we decided we sent it back to HARB. They engaged with the applicant. It came back to council with HARB approval. So it's not as if in recent memory we have not um engaged with HARB when they had a a you know negative support of a pro I don't know that might be a double negative like where they didn't support a project that here they went to the applicant had multiple meetings and now it comes before us with a u positive recommendation from HARB. So I just want to say I I thank the volunteers on HARB for the the engagement with the applicant and the applicant for their engagement with HARB so that everybody come to where we are today with a support from HARB on this project.

Thank you. Uh any other uh Councilman Kellian?

Um the the the the uh the company that's building this it's a Larkin Associates. So I have nothing against Larkin Associates at all. I think uh I think the building uh I I think it's a beautiful building to tell you the truth. Uh from what [clears throat] I've seen it, you know, they've done a great job on it. Uh I've been but I've been against this. Everybody knows I've been against this uh um project. Uh not because of Larkin just because I don't think we should be selling historic Bethleam land. I've said this numerous meetings. Um this the garage was and still is in the historic district. I'd have a problem if we were just selling city land, but the fact that it's historic Bethleam land, I have a major problem with it, and I'm not going to support it. Again, it has nothing to do with Lark, and it has nothing to do with uh the um um structure or the uh building itself. I think they did a great job with it. I just think it's in the wrong spot. Um and I don't think the city I don't think we should ever be selling historic Bethlers. So, so little of it, you know, to begin with. So, uh, and I just had, and mayor, I just hope this is a real easy question. Did you ever take any campaign donations from anybody from Larkin?

You've asked this before and the answer was no then. And the answer is still no. I didn't ask that question by Yeah, you did. Not by Lin. You you you did you've asked You've asked me before. You go back and listen to the meetings and you asked me You also said, "Let's wait to see what happens as far as whether or not any campaign contributions were considered." Yeah. And did from anybody at Lark and even like any associates there? No. Nobody. Okay. I don't know who their janitors are, but I I I don't I don't I'm just asking a quick question. Thank you. Any other comments from council members? Councilman Qu.

Hi. Yes. I just want to um ask [clears throat] solicitor Stewart um are are uh views on the appropriateness of selling the land part of the process of um you know appropriate things that we're supposed to consider when we're deciding whether or not to um um accept a recommendation from HARB. No, you're you're looking at architectural features. You're looking at all of the things I already talked about. And of course 804B says that you shall not consider any matters not pertinent to the preservation of the historic aspect and the nature of the district.

Thank you. And the reason I ask that is um in terms of um covering ourselves legally um if we were to um make our decision u based on things that were not in the in the statute and the ordinance um and the developer this is hypothetical this could happen you know on any of these um if the developers um if the COA failed and the developer uh chose to they could appeal bill and we could wind up um being deposed and having our our comments about how and why we voted on this uh considered in in um in some kind of litigation. Is that correct? Do I have that right?

That is correct. Okay. Thank you. Uh any other comments from council members regarding this specific

Okay. Um, I will say that my uh my support of this comes from uh a very specific kind of conversation I had with um someone I called from the secretary of the interior standards which is under parks department and they said when it comes to height not only is that considered zoning but if you were considering height within the historic district as long as it's compatible if carefully designed and visually subordinate then it is an appropriate design which I believe harb has done in this specific case. I have not voted against our historic boards many of times. I think probably only one. Um I continue to support AARB. I do not believe they're cowtowed as evident by some of the comments they made after our previous vote. So I believe that they made this decision of sound mind and clear. Um I would say this is an aside if there are um I would like to see the boards beefed up to their capacity. if like I I understand that these boards are hard to serve on. It's it's a lot for community members who are already doing a lot of things. Um but I would like to see the boards brought up to uh to full compliment. Um and if there's any desire for input from council for community members that we might know that want to serve, more than happy to slide some names over to the administration for anybody who might want to be considered for an authority board or commission. I don't think it's gerine to everything that Miss Ste just said at the time, but as always, if there are names or resumes to pass along, we will certainly consider them.

I saw movement to my left. Does anyone else have public or comment that they want to make on this? Yeah, I will just

Yeah, I will just quickly say that um to to quote kind of what Harp said, I I just think it it they've done a really good job in terms of the building itself. I I think it's beautiful. Um, and at the same time, I I would also uh say, you know, to councilman to Councilman Cologne's uh point earlier about the parking authority and being almost like a quas public private partnership um and and understanding uh Councilman Callahan's concerns as well. I I'll just say I think this is a great example hearing from the mayor's office of a quas public private relationship and and seeing um what happens when when a private entity um like Lark and Associates and and the city get together and in seeing something that uh and and through the harb and seeing something that would really be a a great project um that looks great and fits uh downtown. Um and for that reason, I'll be supporting it because I I appreciate the way the process has been done.

All right. If there are no more comments from council members, the clerk will call the role. Mr. Cologne, I. Miss Daniels, I. Miss Quiet, I. Mr. Aman, I. Mr. Callahan, a nay. And Miss Leon, passes 51 resolution 10E. Certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature. Bethlehem resolution hereby granted four 72 East Market Street to construct a stone fireplace surround with gas fireplace insert and construct a pergola to be painted a color to match the trim color of the main residence. Resolution is sponsored by Mr. Raymond and Miss Cleuitech.

Discussion clerk will call the role. Mr. Cologne I miss Daniels. I miss I. Mr. Raymond I. Mr. Callahan. Hi. Miss Leon, I passes 60. Resolution 10F.

Certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature. Bethlehem resolution is hereby granted for 400 Main Street to replace existing slate shingles with new slate shingles. Replace existing copper gutters and downspouts in kind. Replace existing snow guards in kind. Replace four eyebrow flat roof sections with new metal roofing. And replace horizontal wood siding in kind. at the base of Belelfrey. The resolution is sponsored by Mr. Aean and Miss Quitech. Discussion. Clerk will call the role. Mr. Cologne, I. Miss Daniels, I. Miss Quiet. I. Mr. Aman. I. Mr. Callahan. Hi. Miss Leon.

I. Passes 6. That concludes city business for tonight. Get home safe, everyone. Thank you. Rachel, I was playing Candy Crush when