##VIDEO ID:RUIM06ni4Kw## thank you Mr Miller good evening everyone we're going to get tonight's city council meeting started I ask that we all rise for the pledge to the [Music] flag pledge allegiance to the flag the United States of America and to the rep stands one nation under indiv with lice Mr Miller please call the role Mr Callahan present Mr Smith present present M present M Leon pres Miss Wilhelm present and Mr clone present thank you Mr Miller before we go on I do want to recognize our local Boy Scout Troop 318 that's in the broad Center here tonight for their citizenship and Community badge so welcome and as I tell everyone if you have any questions I don't know what time we're get out of here tonight but if you need to follow up with any questions you can email our city clerk or any of us council members if you have questions about what you see are here tonight moving on to the approval of the minutes for the January 21 2025 city council meeting any comments on the minutes I don't see any the minutes stand approved we're going to start with our public comment as is custom this is for any subject that is not being voted on tonight it's our first public comment anything not on the agenda and I will ask I will remind everyone we have a five minute time limit especially given the size of the audience tonight I think we're have a number of speakers so I'll start our first speaker is Harry Faber hello everyone Harry Faber it's kind of nice to see such a lovely turnout today um there wasn't so much at the last one but I believe at the last meeting I was pretty clear and so um since no one addressed the approval of the minutes I will uh at the last council meeting I addressed how in the approval of the minutes where they go over what everybody said in their public comment Um how my comments are often generalized when I speak pretty clearly and again I'm just asking if I was clear or not I speak about Palestine and I speak about Gaza the genocide in Gaz now you did use the word genocide again like you did uh in the last meeting but again I said that when you refuse to use the words Palestine and Gaza you are effect effectively being complicit in Israel's genocidal policy where they are trying to wipe away the history of Palestine and again we can talk about the history of the their Prime Ministers going back as far as golden Meir trying to say there is no such thing as a Palestinian so when you refuse again and I addressed you guys uh I came up to you too um cologne uh after the meeting and we had us we had spoken about it and you said that this isn't a transcript and I acknowledge that but it's two words same as Middle East Palestine and Gaza and I hope I didn't want to have to speak about this but I hope that in the upcoming meetings again you will do what is right and you will use the words that I'm saying I'm talking about Palestine I'm talking about Gaza and although we had the ceasefire uh I don't know if anybody's been keeping up but there's still bombing there was a bombing in the West Bank uh this week so so again we're talking about Palestine not the Middle East not let's stop generalizing it uh another thing I wanted to address um crampsey Smith I heard you are running for mayor Mr Faber I'll remind you to address all of counselor well I heard that a member of council is running for mayor and although no one asked I just wanted to fully endorse and again I have my quarrels with Willie Reynolds but he has some things that uh KY Smith does not he is Young and he is smart and I fully endorse him um addressing uh everything I think why everybody else is here uh hey William um I I think that we need to do something um addressing Trump's recent policies and the uh procedures going on with ice um I know there's a meeting tomorrow at Allentown city council and we're going to be addressing that trying to push for a sanctuary City I do not know the status I got in a car accident after the last city council meeting so kind of been recovering from that but um I let everybody else here take it away from me thank you thank you Mr fa I wish you well in your recovery I wasn't where your accident our next speaker signed up Karen Vasquez and everyone who signed up if you don't mind stating your name for the record so when our clerk keeps the record of the meeting thank you you hi my name is scotten Vasquez um and I'm here on behalf of my mom my sister and my younger brother uh my sister's a miner and I'm here to share my experience as a daughter of undocumented immigrants who's been living here in Southside Bethlehem almost my whole life we came here from Los Angeles when I was five and I was actually barely 5 years old when I began to fear the police not the kind of fear that you feel when you see a scary movie and the only way I can actually describe that type of fear fear is when I accidentally fell into a river and was drowning it's a fear of survival of hoping you can make it out alive and thankfully I learned how to swim that year um and I was no longer scared of drowning yet I still feared the police because my parents were undocumented and I was carrying a secret so they wouldn't take them away I held my breath every time we drove by a cop car making sure my siblings and our seat belts were buckled sitting still and quietly and in those moments I felt like a fugitive and was constantly planning on what to do if my parents were ever to be detained our humble family here in Bethlehem constantly in a deep paranoia of being ripped apart and yet staying grateful for the food on our tables and the roof over our head because it was more than we would have had in Mexico and this past month has resurfaced that deep trauma and fear that I've been carrying since then ingrained in my brain is this visceral fear of my parents being deported and me being left all alone to fend for myself and my siblings in a strange place where I had no other family and no one could understand me um and since then I've learned English and I'm all grown up and yet here we are in 2025 with the same racist anti-immigrant hatred that continues to run rampant in the United States it has always been present and yet now it's even more loud and clear I fear even more now that people don't understand me and my family and there are millions of kids with un documented parents in this country seeing and watching this unfold I think about them every day knowing they are having these same thoughts and conversations that I once had yet now I know that this is not our burden to bear alone and that we've done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide or be afraid of this country the government and the greedy corporations are the ones who have failed me and every other child and person in this situation the government has intentionally and endlessly villainized Brown undocumented humans for trying to live by not allowing for any path to residency our very existence is criminalized driving without a license criminal working without a social security number criminal and I know personally that the Bethlehem police department has over the years incarcerated and deported many undocumented immigrants under the guise of criminality in situations where others would have gone away with a ticket and I know that the real source of this rhetoric is rooted in white supremacy and racism and hatred meant to keep people divided and distracted from the real villains which include the current president in office and his billionaire puppeteers and despite everything we are still here in Bethlehem and across the US learning to live in the most hostile of conditions adapting like we always have we continue to thrive to dance to sing to learn to joke to laugh and to bring so much livelihood and spirit to this country and even when I fear and even then I fear that most of you will enjoy the fruits of our labor Savor our food listen to our music and discard us as cold leftovers when all is said and done all I can say is if you are prish enough to be a US citizen please support undocumented immigrants and speak up for them it might not seem like a lot but a 5-year-old girl is out there listening to you to the Bethlehem city council please consider passing a executive order which states that police is not to comply with ice detainer requests unless they are supported by a Judicial warrants and pertain to a person convicted of a felony involving violence and we also urge you to adopt the welcoming City's policy and even as far as going as providing your um con constituents with know your rights information as well as immigration lawyer resources and defend us as is your duty as city council and the oath that you took to defend every constituent in Bethlehem thank you so much for your time and consideration thank you m Vasquez before before we move on to the next speaker I know there's a little bit of a gathering in the hallway if you have an open seat next to you do you mind raising your hand and if anyone who's out in the hallway wants to filter in into an open seat I'll take a quick break to give you an opportunity to find a seat if you'd like one I just ask that we don't block the doorways or put chairs in the doorways okay thank you thank you to everybody that raised their hand just to offer a seat to those who might be looking for one I know there's a few scattered throughout the audience thank you while people are finding a seat I'll move on to our next speaker Arty Kura hi I'm Arty CA AKA J Creed resident of Bethlehem Pennsylvania for over 76 it appears I've been banned barred and blacklisted from performing comedy or music at our Bethlehem Arts Quest and from the city of Bethlehem now this appears to be true because I haven't been asked or accepted to perform at any venue paid venue for the city of Bethlehem for at least the past seven years even though my music is in all major libraries in the city of betham the Lehigh Valley the entire country and other countries including Mexico and uh uh because I'm known as the king of flamingo surf guitar but however that's the irrelevant the thing is I can't perform at Arts Quest because because his phone would work that'd be great because anyway Jak Creed and the ray Surfers the last time we performed on stage at the TD stage was in July 26th of 2017 and I was banned and blacklisted barred for over almost seven years now at Arts Quest from performing comedy and music because I told a joke at a comedy show in the bankle cinema for a packed house that didn't cause anyone to leave they considered it racist but you know what I perform Mexican restaurants all over to try to stay area and dens some and I haven't lost any Latino friends that are alive from any of the jokes that I made but it appears that this guy who started Arts Quest music comedy a comedy section not music has considered it racist so I was barred forever from Arts quest to the day I die but anyway you could see me at the library with my band every Monday with other bands from 5: until 7 and arts Quest or the city of Bethlehem if you don't want to hire me that's okay my book is now out on Amazon and you know what you're not in it but however it's very good high energy packed in a screenplay format Quinton Tarantino would ever get hold of it it'd be the best thing he ever got and my music is in every major Library all over I've got 10 CDs out but I can't perform in my own city of Bethlehem but you know what I just may be the next mayor of the city so anyway I wish you all well and keep on [Music] rocking thank you Mr carola our next speaker signed up is Sean oh there my name is Sean I've recently come to learn about the major homeless encampment that is down along the DNL trail that has been there for who knows how long in doing so one thing that they've brought up to me to ask today is the trash cans that are along the trail is there some way that can be done to increase the cleaning out of them whether it be weekly or bi-weekly or whatever as the residents that are down there do their best to try to clean up the trail both from themselves and whatever tracks that is left by people that are just going along the trail or use it to dump whatever that they don't have the easy to put into their own trash or whatever so they're just looking to see if there's a way to make it where they can get more assistance and helping keep keep everything clean for where they live and make it clean along the entire Trail for everybody else that enjoys the same space as well thank you Sean so this is typically just for everybody in attendance who normally may not come to council meeting this is everyone's opportunity to address Council I will say that all of our department heads including our head of Public Works is here or if you want to talk to anyone individually after the meeting but then after public comment we have our new business portion where it's kind of council has an open discussion so some of those questions or any other questions that come up during public comment typically are brought up during the new business so now is not the time we're going to engage in that back and forth but you're welcome to stick around for the rest of the meeting or as I advise the boy Scouts follow up with any of us you know after the meeting thank you Sean thank you our next speaker is Valerie nunin hello um I have a few points to get through today um so I'll go right in um first one is in relation to what my friend Karen just spoke on so movingly and so eloquently before um and I really applaud her courage for that um so there is a proposal on the table in Allentown which had been mentioned at the last council meeting here to make allent toown adopt a welcoming City's policy and to limit City cooperation with ice I said last time I would support a similar policy in Bethlehem it turns out that local student and Community organizers had the same thought and are here today to bring that to council I continue to be in favor of this I've been made aware that Bethlehem already does a lot of the things included in welcoming Ci's criteria which is great but as the federal government has taught us anything that's not codified can be stripped back very quickly um so let's get it in writing and um put a policy in place here um the second point I have um is kind of to Echo what Sean was just saying um I've been familiar with the encampment of unhoused neighbors under fahe bridge but recently learned there's a much larger encampment under the miny Trail bridge to the tune of about 200 people and um what I'm about to say may not be representative of everyone there but um the person I've been in contact with um who's been trying to organize Mutual Aid efforts for that encampment uh was not familiar year with Community connections or efforts from the city in general and she had a fear of homeless sweeps which I've been previously assured is not something that Bethlehem does she did want to ask as Sean said if there is a way to get weekly trash pickups to this area um and she's also mentioned that public bathrooms being locked are a big problem for people who don't go to the winter shelters and continue to live outside during the winter months um then my third and last thing I want to speak on tonight um is a note on conduct in city council and I promise to keep it classy um I have a speech disorder called spasmodic dysphonia it is a neurological condition that causes my vocal cords to spasm randomly while I speak which causes my voice to sound disjointed and wobbly at times I was noed at the age of nine which is weird because I was told that this is a progressive condition usually seen in middle-aged and older people it can't be cured but it can be managed with rigorous speech therapy if it isn't managed properly with speech therapy the patient's voice will eventually shake so badly that they can't be understood at all when they speak at that point the treatment is to get regular Botox injections in your neck for the rest of your life in speech therapy I was taught to regulate my breathing and speak as slowly as possible when I speak quickly or feel tense my speech disorder is exacerbated public speaking is a perfect storm for this I have the same level of anxiety around public speaking as most people do but I might sound like I'm more upset or nervous than I really am and it's not me it's just my voice and if I let it B me that much I would never speak at all so I choose not to let it bother me and I should not have to explain that to anyone I have gone nearly a year of speaking at Council meetings without feeling the need to and I'm sad that this has changed people should not be judged by the way their voices sound no matter why they sound that way it is so disrespectful and inappropriate to comment on someone's voice appear or any other personal trait and frankly it's very much contradictory to the duty of a public official whose job includes Fielding comments from the general population so I'm waiting for my public apology without any deflections or excuses thank you thank you our next our next speaker this evening Tommy paresi good evening my name is Tommy pesi uh I'm here tonight like many others to speak about a very serious threat to our community in Bethlehem and a way that Council can be proactive to mitigate it the Trump Administration has already begun its deportations and attacks on immigrants we've seen ice raids around the country at workplaces at schools at places of worship we know that ice has daily arrest quotas in many instances uh they've targeted people solely based on their appearance Trump has also restricted legal methods of immigration like suspending the US Refugee admissions program and shutting down a tool used by Asylum Seekers to to book appointments and apply for legal entry all this is to say that these attacks on immigrants aren't truly about safety or the economy the real motives are simply Flatout racist it's a way for Trump to scapegoat an entire group of people to distract from his dismantling government services and enriching himself in billionaires but nevertheless these deportations are a very real threat and are dangerous the federal government has recently passed legislation and directives that violate the constitution uh Senate Bill 4 was signed into law last week and it requires ice to detain any non- US national who's accused of theft that accused meaning not convicted or even charged with the crime uh and this is of course a blatant violation of due process Trump has also attempted to revoke Birthright citizenship through executive order uh and Birthright citizenship of course is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and is long staying precedent this order right now has been blocked by a federal district judge but we don't know what could happen if it gets appealed to higher courts we've seen this current Supreme Court revoke rights recently before the moves already made by the Trump Administration are so incredulous it's not hard to imagine them going further we don't know if they will attempt to revoke citizen status retroactively or Target people specifically from any particular country but it's very possible the US government has forced its own citizens into concentration camps before in the 1940s and I would urge you not to forget that history because it can happen again and it is being uh enacted Again by the reactionaries in our federal government uh in part this is by sending thousands of people to guantan Bay which is a military prison that's Infamous for the use of torture against its prisoners so a reasonable thing to do in this situation is to have multiple of protection in place on all levels of government especially here in our city and I want to urge that you that there is something tangible that Council can do about this do not go along with Trump's project of deportations make it so that City resources are not being used voluntarily to do so uh I would recommend like others have mentioned that Council looks at uh Allentown legislation Bill four uh is is currently being considered that would have some of these protections i' just like to read a few excerpts from it real quick to give idea of what we're speaking about quote no official or employee of the city shall inquire into an individual citizenship or immigration status nor shall the city retain any information related to an individual's citizenship or immigration status unless required to do so by state or federal law or court order another part reads that except when otherwise required by law no official employee or agency shall support or assist ice CBP which is Customs and Border Patrol or other agencies in any capacity with immigration enforcement operations which includes providing information like contact info custody status uh release date or their address uh this could also uh mean to that uh City officials should not be investigating or interrogating persons for the purpose of immigration enforcement or establishing traffic perimeters or otherwise be present to assist or support immigration enforcement operation so to me these these policies are very reasonable there are no-brainer for Council to enact um we don't want our neighbors targeted and taken away from their homes we don't want families torn apart it does not make it safer to kick people out of our community and upend their lives and there's just one final point I'd like to make the council um if you agree that City resources should not be voluntarily used to facilitate deportations but or maybe on the fence you know maybe is it is it redundant to have legislation about this because maybe there's Norms or existing internal policies in the bethan police department or other agencies to not be assisting ice I would ask you how can you be completely sure that these Norms are adhered to how can you be sure that they will be in the future and I would conclude that the only way to be certain about that is exactly to codify these protections into city law do not leave it on the table don't allow unnecessary risk for these for our fellow neighbors I would urge Council to please take this threat seriously and demonstrate that by being proactive and acting swiftly on this issue thank you thank you our next our next speaker signed up I'm going to say Regina P because I don't want to mispronounce your last name Padia yeah thank um hi my name is Regina Padia and I'm born and raised in South Bethlehem I'm a current allent Town resident due to um bethlehem's housing cost but that's different conversation for another day um I'm here to ask you to make bethleem a welcoming City and limit our cooperation with immigrant um immigration officials I have Mexican and Puerto Rican roots and during the last Trump presidency I was called a SPI a wet back and a taco insert hard erer um when Trump was in Allentown for his rallies his supporters told me numerous times to get out of their country and I hope that you can understand why experiencing things like this in any place let in Bethlehem it's uncomfortable and scary while it hasn't occurred in Bethlehem yet there have been Native Americans and US veterans that have been detained by Ice regardless of anybody's political stance on immigration I think that we can all agree that it's disgusting and Bethlehem police should have no part in that um we should keep our residents safe whether or not they're documented and I'm going cut it there thank you thank you our next speaker tonight dear Ja hi my name is dearra jao and I'm a resident of Bethlehem and I'm also here to voice my support of the Immigrant Community I'd like to urge the city council to do everything in its power to protect the Immigrant Community regardless of documentation status they're a valuable part of our community and deserve our protection and support thank you thank you next is Leah tagano hello my name is Leah Tagle Reno and I'm a resident of Bethlehem and I'm also here to voice my support of the Immigrant population in Bethlehem I think we should limit any any uh support from Ice and regardless of documentation status all of our residents should be supported and welcomed in our community thank you thank you next speaker Jordan bold hello excuse me uh Jordan bold I'm from Broad Street in Bethlehem born and raised uh I just came out to invite you guys and everyone to a freedom rally that I'm holding uh on February 16th at the Rose Garden I just figured I'd let you guys know uh as a courtesy uh it's going to be at 1M on February the 16th uh at the Rose Garden thank you come voice your opinions thank you next speaker Daniel carapezzi good evening my name is Daniel carapezzi um tonight I am joining my friends in demanding that the city of Bethlehem sponsor measures to affirm its commitment to its immigrant residents and illuminate itself as a sanctuary City that will protect its Community from the terroristic raids of immigrations and Customs Enforcement we want enforcable guarantees that ice will not be allowed to do its heinous job in the city of Bethlehem since losing its election the Democratic party is now in the ostensible position of being the main opposition party in America this means that it is time to take political stands and draw lines that cannot be crossed if not it will only signal that Trump can continue to tramble people's human rights without any kind of resistance without people on the ground looking out for one another this would be about as good as agreeing with him outright after stiffing us on the ceasefire resolution for Gaza I am pessimistic that this Council will find its courage to act progressively on the matter of immigration but I urge that you are responsible for the rights and wellbeing of every single person who resides in the community regardless of documentation and status because we have a higher duty to humanity that sees no borders and no barriers through Swift and tangible action we can create a newer and better tradition for what it means to be an American thank you thank you the last person who signed up this evening Tina can tell me hello hello Council and um I'm Tina K tell me and I I'm a resident of Bethlehem and I'm here to speak about a few things but one is the affordable access accessible housing in Bethlehem um it has come to my attention that when they talk about affordable housing in Bethlehem the word housing is often a misnomer because all of our any of the affordable housing there is or they're planning or try to have it's rentals which is sad because that means people will be forever indentured to be renting and not be in a home um there's never talk about like a starter home or homes that are you know affordable but that you actually own or condo and I'm not really sure how policies can affect that and with developers and and how this all works but anyway I just find that and then also the demand for affordable accessible housing is growing but many current policies discourage such development leading to a growing shortage in many communities particularly in growing cities and we're a growing city and the other issue is there have been a few glimmers of people wanting to have projects that were further out which means people would require an automobile and it's not fair to people that need affordable housing to be required to have um an automobile to go get groceries or to their job or for medical offices um walkability is very important in fact as neighborhoods like the Southside become gentrified they become luxury which is beautiful and I know a lot of people live there and I love it um but once again we're pushing people out that were originally from this outside and that's what gentrification does do I mean gentrification can be really good for a city but there's also the downside um how to actually you know increase that I'm not really sure but I'm here and I know Rachel has gotten some affordable housing on the southide which is great thank you so much I do have a letter here that was actually written January 23rd 2023 like two years ago um to all the members of council and to Mayor Reynolds and it was about Martin Tower and how that developer and it's a eight-page letter um and everyone here got it like two years ago um wanted to put and had worked really hard to and spent money to get affordable housing over in Martin tower now why am I bringing this up on that property because that is walkable to jobs the grocery store uh Medical Offices you know people could be you know you know be studying a nurse and they live in a affordable housing and they can rise up and and gain a career and don't really need a car and the um I just wanted to share that so I just wish there would be more push for downtown setting it into projects um I know above the food co-op that's not open yet there's beautiful Apartments it's a beautiful project it's stunning but you know why are affordable housing not with near the groceries and I just also wanted to mention with the automobile comes um not only repairs and people can barely afford or they you know could get fined if their car is not inspected is this uh lehab Valley News which is a really good article just on January 30th by Molly bolinsky but this is about our in allent toown but which would be Bethlehem because it's green our greenhouse gas inventory um and these Penn State students in this article um mentioned this kind it's equivalent in Allentown the air is equivalent to a gas powerered car driving two 2.6 billion miles or about driving around the world 150 1,50,000 times so this um I could leave this article somewhere out there if people or any of these studies I have um that I think are interesting and thank you for listening to me and um I just hope this some solutions thank you so that that exhausts our list of who had signed up before the meeting as his custom I'll go around the room again this is public comment for anything that Council was not voting on tonight so it's not on tonight's agenda I'll start to the left was there anyone who want to make comment who has not had an opportunity yes in the third row hello um name is wellow I will not be giving my address um I usually don't come out here when I have to it's usually for a very good reason um somebody isn't doing their job usually um in this case I'm here to speak on behalf of my community and the Immigrant Community um I don't think we should be collaborating with ice on any capacity um the Ken Administration and DC has made it clear that it will take every opportunity to expand deportation the Pres the president has said that immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country and has said that he will carry out the largest deportation effort in US history the Administration has even talked about revoking the status of legal immigrants this isn't just a matter of for undocumented members of the NCC or of the community at large a locations isce is targeted more than just undocumented people even veterans moreover this issue has already reached the Lehi Valley Community student of mberg college was targeted by Ice recently we need to be ready for this reality and ready to resist people will feel unsafe if policies are unclear or neutral will I a certain legal authorities we should not grant them more power than they actually have when we fail to enforce the rights and limits that do exist we open the door to losing more and more of our freedoms in the face of the administration's rhetoric now is in the time to cooperate with the fight back and we are asking all of you to listen and to do something thank you thank you is there anyone else to the left who wanted to make comment tonight that has not had chance yet I'll turn to the wide Center is there anyone in the center I'll I'll start in the front row and then I'll work my way a second then the third Miss [Music] mol mayor J mol 449 Grand View Boulevard and I'm proud to give my address tonight I once again would like to address the city's response to the recent snow I and my neighbors appreciate the plowing of Grand View Boulevard there were two two or three plows working my issue is how is with how the city addresses tertiary streets I realize they do not receive high priority every resident along the west side of grandv Boulevard except for a few has detached garages on the rear of their homes with the only access via tertiary streets this past storm while not while it was not a large amount the city saw fit to plow if the plow trucks are already on secondary streets to me it seems to make sense to plow make one pass on the tertiary streets they're they're already in the vicinity if outside contractors are utilized I would ask if they know what they are doing because the past storm basum was a sheet of ice they left debris from tearing up the lawn all over the place so they're not really doing a proper job and sidewalk are not being shoveled the entire project of the Handover Apartments the entire sidewalk the entire all the way around was not shoveled I contacted allent toown my friend Terry contacted Bethlehem and it it was unshoveled for 10 days now if that were my sidewalk I would be cited I mentioned the S the woman across the street from me she has a corner property she shoveled part of it it's a school bus stop it needs to be shoveled completely the kids stand there in the snow now um and the owner of the Handover Apartments project is a billionaire out of Florida he certainly can afford to pay a fine and the other thing I want to address I know I'm going to beat in the minority in this room I am a product as I stated at the last meeting of immigrant grandparents and great-grandparents they immigrated to this country from Austria in 1900 in 1905 they lived in Ohio they stayed there they had to stay there for a minimum of a year residents then they had to apply notify the proper authorities that they were going to even apply for citizenship part of requirements for gaining their naturalization citizenship is not only maintaining a residence they had to denounce any allegiance to their prior country's Authority totally they had to be avoid from any criminal activity they had to I mean the list could I could go on and on and on I have the documentation the legal court document and it lists everything in there I read in the paper today that there was a member of the Venezuela gang Trend Al however it's pronounced arrested in Easton now if these there's a difference between legal immigration and illegal illegal according to the Constitution if you were here undocumented you are not not called an illegal immigrant you are called by the Constitution an illegal alien that is the term in the Constitution and if you do your fat checking that is what you will find I am not against immigrants I am a product of it and I am a proud product of it but there has to be some control on it people are talking about housing well a lot of the housing and a lot of the government benefits we work for we have to work for they get them scot-free that's not right that's not fair to those that are here legally I urge you not to approve a welcoming City a Amendment if it's so Chosen and I also want to remind you that when three of you took your oath of office and were sworn into Council a year ago January you swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States if you go and favor this you are I believe you are violating your oath of office thank [Applause] you is there anyone else in the front row Mr [Music] sh he's battling a cold so if he needs to somebody to continue he asks me to St in yeah if I have a coughing fit I'm going to ask her to finish my statement yeah I don't know the U bshar 1898 Avenue uh first things first on affordable housing I'm going to have a radical proposal at the next meeting just stay tuned um I was started to cry what they hear these people talk about their parents being deported it's not right it's heartless this Administration is heartless and arrogant Democrats have got to get their act together because they're the only force of resistance that can do it as Robert B says we've got to resist however and whenever we can in many ways it's already started at the agency for International Development as you may have heard my source on this is Marco Rubio not the best source but uh they when this memo that was withdrawn said that all Assistance programs had to be halted they were tasked with the job of coming up with all their programs they're operating in 102 countries 40% of the humanitarian Aid in the World At Large comes from the United States talk about heartless so 50 senior officials there were put on leave or the head of Human Resources was told to put them put them on leave and he refused used so he was put on leave so now what has happened as many of you know the the agency has been put under lock and key like the freedom cheering Squad would say at a basketball game with Liberty you can't do that it violates a law of Congress this guy thinks he can ignore congressional laws he thinks he can ignore the Constitution 14th Amendment you're born in this country and subject to the jurisdiction of the states where you're living you are a citizen he cannot do that even this Supreme Court uh might agree with me though I'm not totally sure so we just have to resist however we can can I'd like to close with a lighter note in view of the scouts that are here tonight I would like to remind you that a scout is trustworthy loyal helpful friendly courteous kind obedient cheerful Thrifty Brave clean and Reverend thank you thank you Mr sh is there anyone else in the front row who ought to make comment Who's not had an opportunity I'm going to move to the second row is there anyone in the second row who ought to make comment and then I'll go to the third row I'll start on from my left to right so we'll work our way down to anyone who wants to make comment yeah I'm not familiar so the folks to my right is anyone leaning near a light switch by chance that may have hit a light switch I don't know where they're all right we're okay we'll keep going thank you my name is brillan um I'm a student at Lehi University and I wanted to also talk on the topic of a sanctuary City but um unlike a lot of my PE I don't really like to use emotion because I fear the hard truth is a lot of you don't care and you're not going to care with emotion you're not going to care if I cry you're not going to care if you see somebody's family ripped apart so I have to break it down step by step there's no such thing as an illegal immigrant I fear bethleem itself was a city based on immigrants majority of your grandparents great-grandparents came here to work an industrial job in the steel stxs on a boat on a plane but they came here as an immigrant there's no difference between now and then and I fear just because the Immigrant is now black or brown doesn't make it a crime um on to the woman who had said that a lot of immigrants are using resources immigrants work jobs they pay taxes sometimes they don't even get to use these benefits I don't really see what's the problem the US has $820 billion in the military complex I fear we can shed a couple meals for people who need them um I think it is very disingenuous to say you're bethleem native and discriminate against people who still build your community who build the life the school the people life is always about growing and just the fact that you're so hesitant to codify something that protects people people that protects your citizens is very telling whether you don't think these people are legal or not they still pay taxes they still contribute to the community so the fact that you can't protect them is very eye openening to me um I just think it's really sad this is a community center we came here to talk about our issues but what's the whole point of Us coming here if we can't protect our community why else are we here uh I implore the council I implore everybody here not only to go ahead with the sanctuary City but also to decolonize your mind and learn more Google is actually free um any thoughts you may have about immigrants look them up first cited sources I looked up illegal immigrants use more benefits than United States citizens migration policy.org said no they don't it was that simple I just want everybody not only to protect their neighbor I don't know if you're Christian you're Muslim it doesn't matter every type of religion always cares about his people and whether you're religious or not to not care about somebody who is going to give more to you than the billionaires who are playing with our lives right now is outrageous the people here who are getting deported are the people that would have given you a meal the people that would have car pulled with you and your kids to school so I challenge everybody in the this room to think about what has been said about illegal immigrants and challenge themselves once again to learn just because you may be 50 plus you may be 10 doesn't mean you can't learn and if anybody in this room can't speak English sign significativa what I just said in English is people who stole this land from indigenous people have no right to declare somebody else as illegal people who genocided others and stole their land don't get to decide who is actually legal don't let anybody's words Define you much less the people who robbed others to gain their wealth thank you again going from my left to right whoever in the third row what to speak next um hello my name is Jasmine ba and I'm a staff member of Lehi University um I wasn't originally going to come up so I'm very nervous so thank you for hearing me out um so um I am a US citizen I have a US passport um I was naturalized many years ago and I am a proud Chinese American um however this doesn't mean that recent activities and po IES from the Trump end Administration doesn't make me feel fear still despite my U my status as a CH as a American citizen um I think that respecting and protecting anyone from our community regardless how of how they look of their documentation status um regardless of whatever papers they have lying in wherever they live say um it these policies will protect everyone because you just never know from looking at someone and um when when issues of immigration and stuff um are brought up immediately like what pops into people's minds are like oh black and brown people right but obviously there is so much more populations within the us that are discriminated against and targeted and obviously there's especially given the Trump Administration there's a lot of fearmongering around China and um Chinese people and um and this list will only grow um if these policies and the these beliefs remain unchecked um and I fully believe this isn't like going against these policies and these beliefs isn't about upholding the Constitution or the laws because as we have seen since Trump took office um that that admin those people in power the oligarchs will bend the laws to their liking um the laws that we've always taken for granted like Birthright citizenship um free speech the First Amendment um interracial marriage samesex marriage equity and diversity protections um abortion rights etc etc um they can all be gone the next morning we wake up and we just never know and um the law are fickle and they're designed to protect whoever the people in power want to protect um and to say that you are to say that you're against protecting these targeted vulnerable groups isn't actually about up I'm sorry everyone um and to say that you're against protecting these groups um isn't actually about upholding the laws I think it's about upholding your fear of the unknown and upholding racism um and I believe that by um following the Footsteps in the footsteps of Allentown introducing concrete policies um this will create a wave that serves as inspiration to to other places around the country but most importantly um within each other within the community so thank you thank you while we're waiting for our next speaker to come up I just want to share I appreciate everybody we've heard some difference of opinion tonight but I appreciate everyone showing courtesy to everyone who's speaking and hope we could continue that same courtesy as we continue on through public comment to wrap up please thank you president Council um my name is Regina um I am a Seventh Generation Bethlehem resident um my family actually original moravians and I wanted to speak a little bit on immigration um the laws that are currently being um uh enforced with the ice raids and with cpb um CBP um are newer laws that they they're not within the spirit of what Bethlehem was originally founded to be um we've always been a very welcoming area um and the laws that were being enforced now with the immigration is really difficult it's a very hard process to get through um and when people especially when parts of our federal system get Ri ripped away either with the app being rescinded for people to do documentation to be able to schedule appointments to be able to get papers so they can be documented um I believe that no person is illegal um you know they may have less documentation because it's difficult for them to get documentation there's very long waiting times um but you know in the spirit of what we originally founded here to be and to do it is uh important that we protect our citizens um regardless of documentation uh they contribute to your economy they pay taxes they are they have businesses they feed people um these are the people who clean your like facilities um I have known so many been blessed to know so many immigrants from this area through working locally all the way up to the state level um that uh if they didn't have the protections that we give them at the local and the state level they wouldn't be here and it's really traumatic to have to the entire Community to have this level of unease um and not have something in paper that we can say yes you are protected we care about you um they provide they pay taxes a lot of them can't get the benefits because they still have their undocumented um status so they're still paying in they're still contributing members of your Society we have lot of agriculture in the area a lot of our agricultural workers are undocumented and um they work a lot of the construction jobs in the area like these are people who will without them you will grind your economy to a halt and I know that like we all need those tax mes especially now with the way that we're dealing with all of the federal aid um and the uncertainty with all of that um they commit less crimes um than natural born citizens and it shouldn't be a matter of a piece of paper from that from a biased imig immigration and federal government that should prevent them from having the protections that they need here um thank you so much for your time really appreciate it thank you was there anyone else in the third row who wanted to make comment this evening to my far rate hello Council I actually my name is Michelle I'm a social worker and a nurse here in betham for the last 15 years um I had no idea everybody else was coming here to say anything that was said tonight I actually came because I was emailing Council I had some questions about uh the welcoming City policy and I have to say that this is exactly what government is supposed to work like and I love living in betham I love that we make this work in betham um a few things that I want to clarify in case nobody has read the policies I have copies here on my phone of the welcoming City policies that were passed this week in Erie Pennsylvania and Alexandria Virginia they're very similar to the one that I want to pass in Allentown tomorrow I have copies for anybody who wants to read them um the in all three cities um the policies all very clearly state that it is the policy of the local agency to abide by the federal law so in no way is any body asking Beth police or anyone in the city to violate a federal law or an immigration law it talks about how we can make our cities safer I also have on here the policy that um the California police Chiefs Association just put out today they listed their own documentation which is for California I understand it's not betham but it's very interesting statistics where police have come forward and said that it is in their best interest to pass a welcoming City policy because office ERS report that they get better interaction with the community and that they are safer in the community when they have good working relationships with immigrant communities and people feel free that they can come forward and tell the police when there's been a crime happening in their community and that's coming from the police themselves and people did mention you know some other things that that I mean we have had an incident a local student who had an incident with ice we had an incident in Philadelphia last night where college students were arrested for harassing people impersonating um impersonating themselves as ice officers um nobody's asking anybody to you you can believe whatever you want to believe about the federal laws and immigration but welcoming City policies make us safer as a city our police can do their jobs public health is better when people feel like they can go see a doctor or they can go to a hospital because they're sick and not have to worry about being deported or about their immigration status public health is better and when families can send their kids to school and not have to worry about if somebody's going to be home when their kids come home from school at night our whole Community is better when we educate the children who live here and are going to be our next future so those were the questions I came to ask city council and apparently everybody else has a lot of the same questions that I do so I appreciate everybody being here and again I very much appreciate the city of betham thank you thank you was there anyone to the right who want to make comment so I'll start with everyone who's seated then I'll open it up to anyone who's out in the hall that didn't have an opportunity I'll start uh my left to right in the second row so in the far far end and then I'll just work to to my right okay welcome hello my name is Victoria and I am a current leh High University student I'm coming here today to to implore the council to please pass the executive order to not give ice information about legal status I come from an immigrant family my roots are from Colombia and Spain and I'm proud to show my Heritage in a place that is supposed to be for the American dream we come here to have better lives for our children and be able to take care of our families back home my grandfather is one of the most hardwork men I know and he takes care of his family back in Puerto Rico by sending all of the money that he can and I want to do the same for them and for my community because we go through a lot not many of us have the opportunity to dream about college and very many very few of us are able to actually make it happen and we do whatever we can to be able to take care of our parents and we take on the jobs that nobody wants that are dirty or seen as second class class and it's important we are people just like everybody else and just because we speak with an accent or we speak a different language does not make us any less of a person we are just as Brave and as strong as anybody here and it seems like a lot of us do come from families of immigrants and to deny us protection when everything else is being Stripped Away it's wrong and it's scary I may be of legal status but what about my family what about my friends I watch on the internet my neighborhood getting raided by ice and I don't know who I'm going home to see I'm not originally from Bethlehem but I come here for schooling and I from Philadelphia I see my community is in fear and we have no prote the people I go to school with they don't know if they're going to be able to stay longer or they're going to be deported we are all living in fear right now and everything is unknown please give us the protection that apparently the government is stripping away from us because even even this little bit of protection goes a long way to making us feel that much safer in a place where we're supposed to be able to dream as big as we can so I implore Council to please consider passing this bill not only for me but for the community that I stand for and for the people that I come here to speak because they can't in fear of getting deported thank you thank you working to your left the next person who wanted to make comment tonight hi my name is n you mean and I'm also a current student at Leigh University I coming here also implore the same policies and the same empathy that many have come here to speak today on the immigration policies the immigration process itself is very complex and long it's a lottery system where families are given random chances at going through with the process I feel that a lot of undocumented immigrants that chose to come here didn't a lot of illegal undocumented immigrants didn't come here out of choice people love to preach the Constitution and doing the right thing in the comfort of their homes yet when it comes to living and surviving your first thought isn't the Constitution it's about whether you will have food to eat or if you will live how dysphoric and upsetting it is to see that many Americans in the in the comfort of their homes equate their supposed wasted tax money to the lives of people I implore that you please look at the situation with empathy and not with a written paper thank you thank you next person in the second row what to make comment hello uh my name is Ruban Gomez um I'm Gonna Keep it nice short and sweet because I'm doing this off the top of my head uh I am Colombian I'm a proud Pisa um I am the son of an immigrant I am the grandson of two immigrants who came here first illegally then legally and I am the great-grandson of German immigrants um yeah I'm here to talk about um the I situation uh whatever happens know that this is the first step this the uh undocumented immigrants they're going to go for they're gonna go for them first but they're going to comfort everyone I for the past couple weeks I've been going to sleep with the thought of my do my my my father getting his citizenship revoked my grandparents getting their citizenship revoked my uncle my aunt my family getting their citizenship revoked these people are human beings all these people are human beings it doesn't matter if they came here legally or they have documents or if their grandparents uh came here legally uh or sorry just want you guys to know everyone on the council to know when you make this decision know that you are juggling with the lives of millions of human beings thank you thank you next speak hello I'm Evelyn and I am also a student of Lehi University a citizen of Bethlehem born and raised and as a transgender woman I am scared under this current Administration um along with uh people who may have you know illegal immigrant families if you can even have illegal immigration that's so uh so I implore you to consider the most vulnerable and least protected members of your community your constituents in making any decisions that you will on uh passing legislation and uh I would like to read a poem by the pastor Martin NE Moyer first they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist then they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me and I implore you to consider if you are somewhere in any of the categories that this Administration may be looking at hampering the rights of that you consider empathetically passing legislation to protect those who are the most vulnerable in your Society thank you thank [Applause] you was there anyone else in the second row who would to make [Music] comment hello I'm Alex margules I'm a student at leehi and I apologize because this is off the cuff I was not expecting to to speak but I feel it's important um I would like to read a headline that the Trump Administration says it has begun deporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay and I would like to also mention that the 13th Amendment states that uh involuntary servitude is in fact legal for those in prison um I would just like to say that history does repeat itself and we must take as much action as we can to resist this thank you thank you was there anyone else in the second row who to make [Music] comment I look to the third row was there anyone in the third row anyone in the hallway that would to make comment in the uh I'll start with the person whose hand I saw up sorry I couldn't see hello my name is Cameron I'm a resident of Bethlehem and I'd like to thank the people who have shown up today and shared their very real personal painful stories I'd also like to thank the council for listening and continuing to feel compassion for your constituents and remind you that although this is a routine meeting for for you you are legislating on people's lives and you are legislating on our fear my first comment is in support of the idea many people have brought to you today that Bethlehem city council should follow the lead of Allentown City councelor CC garach and commit to protecting our immigrant neighbors if Council Claims to represent us you must declare that Bethlehem be a sanctuary City no one is illegal on Stolen land and it is inspiring to have seen so much testim testimony today recognizing this fact you're governing on traditional lappi land land that was stolen and destroyed by the white nationalism this country was founded on the white nationalism that is rapidly increasing in this country once again and you have the opportunity to reverse that with your positions maybe you made a verbal commitment to uphold the Constitution but you made a moral commitment to protect the people of Bethlehem to protect your community and that is more worth respecting than a centuries old document there is no humane way to argue for the rights of people to be here to live a safe life to not live in fear to not be put in concentr concentration camps for God's sake if I have to argue with you on this issue it is an indictment on both of our humanities I could point out the indigenous people of the Navajo Nation who have been deported or the many detentions ice has committed upon legal documented immigrants or the fact that they enforce an aura of fear and distrust on our communities that will cause suffering and isolation for all of us whether we are in a marginalized Community or not but ultimately these are just casualties in the eyes of a fascist Administration if not intentional and I cannot ignore the humanity of the people most targeted undocumented immigrants just to make an argument as I must remind those here to share their painful traumas the administration already knows these things they know that this is traumatizing for th us and they know that you are scared they demonstrate that in their hypocrisy why else would they claim that that the issue with immigration is the laziness and crime while approving executive orders to raid schools churches and workplaces these raids aren't meant to Target criminals they are meant to take away the people who hold our community together this is not something to argue about anymore this is something to resist and we're here to demonstrate that resistance second I would like to Second the concerns about a local homeless encampment under the minsy trail bridge and fahe Bridge these encampments are asking for the city to reopen the bathrooms on Sand Island for 24-Hour use they use these bathrooms to get drinking water to shower and to clean their laundry this bathroom also has potential to be a community space frankly I wonder why the city has a bathroom there at all if it isn't available to the public if anything we should be opening up a second bathroom uh near the Music Fest Festival grounds and sending garbage pickup and Public Utilities to the area without disrupting the encampment I look forward to hearing public comment from you on all on this and this is an issue I will be insistent about without a response thank you so much thank you hello my name is Chris delin West Bethlehem resident uh maybe I came in a little late but I'm just kind of confused about a word that you you use with all due respect distinguished councilman uh you said differences plural I only heard one difference I only heard one person um speak a different opinion from what everyone else in here is saying tonight which is we care about our immigrant community and we want them to be protected we want you to protect them that's what happened here tonight to be clear maybe again maybe I came in a little late we'll play the tape back later and see if I missed another opinion that would have you know made it a a plural situation difference is but it seemed like the vast majority of people here are in support of the Immigrant Community that's what we want that's what we expect as another uh speaker has said tonight the city was built by immigrants the Southside is only there for immigrants to come and build Bethlehem Steel and people have been saying this a lot that undocumented immigrants migrants come here for work and they work in the Farms they work construction they uh do housekeeping all these different types of labor jobs and I'm a laborer myself I'm a carpenter uh but check this out my girlfriend my partner of 13 years she's a civil engineer she moved here from Colombia with her family when she was was 9 years old and went through all the things that undocumented immigrants need to go through if you know you know if you don't maybe educate yourself on that and see what people go through to become Americans we're born here we're lucky I'm just an American I'm just a guy and I don't have to worry about that yet maybe I don't know is this being recorded You're Gonna Play It Whatever uh getting off track here but um some of you are Democrats right I think I voted for some of you you really think you're not next you know anyway getting back to my girlfriend the love of my life I can't think of what would have happened had this happened just earlier in American history and she wouldn't be here not only to share this life with me that I love so much with her in this city of Bethlehem but also to build our roads engineering our buildings not to mention paying a lot of taxes civil engineer she makes good money she worked hard to become an American and a lot of people are doing that same thing right now in this country and we've heard it voiced here tonight this is what the people of Bethlehem want I'm from the West Side Man 8th Avenue Blue County I don't know what's going on with Northampton County I was disappointed to see that redness but I I guarantee you I don't have the data in front of me right now I know know Bethlehem is a democratic City we voted blue and we are not in support of what the Trump Administration and his and his Nazi cohorts are up to and yes what Elon Musk did was a Nazi salute let's call it what it is we need someone to stand up for us and stand up for the people we care about that's you now is your chance to be the hero that you swore an oath to be thank you for your time thank you was there anyone else in the doorway yes with your hand raised hi my apologies for my tardiness here um I'm here because uh I'm a resident of the city of Bethlehem and an employee of Lehi University uh and I'm also here uh as someone who is Jewish and as someone who is queer myself and I'm here because I want to be standing up for the rights of the immigrants and for the rights of the marginalized communities here in this country and in the Lehigh Valley uh my great-grandparents came to this country on a boat shortly after the sinking of the Titanic uh they had to take a more southerly route and some of them in the family members were able to come in on Ellis Islands because this country let them in and was open to new peoples coming in and new peoples making this country a better place some of them did not make it into this country and they fled and they had to go somewhere else uh they had fled from Russia and Ukraine and Poland uh right during the revolutions uh as the as the Stars was falling and as as the Communists were coming in some came here some went to France some went to other places um a lot of them went to Cuba uh and were there in Cuba until they had to flee once again because of the revolutions and the violence and because of the issues that they were facing as a resident and as a Jewish person here I feel it is my obligation to stand up for those who are fleeing violence who are fleeing persecution who want to be here so that they can better their lives and better this country I shudder to think about what would happen if they were unable to escape the violence and oppression that they ran away from during the revolutions or worse when they're fleeing Nazi Germany in the Holocaust or fleeing violence or oppression from wherever they come from we have so many people that have been fleeing from various circumstances whether it be queer refugees fleeing from unaccepting countries whether it be people looking for Better Lives people fleeing violence in the Middle East or violence in Latin America we need to accept these people my Jewish tradition teaches that we need to accept as stranger as our own Because We Were Strangers in the land of Egypt and I understand that this is not a Jewish country this is a a secular Democratic country but I believe that we need to uphold our morals of welcoming The Stranger as ourselves welcoming our neighbors as ourselves and living by the morals that guide our values we need to accept these immigrants we need to make Bethlehem a safe and welcoming place for everyone thank you thank you was there anyone else else out in the hall to my right out there over here good evening Peter hosi Bethlehem uh just wanted to say that it's a shame that we're even at this point uh given the history of our country that we haven't learned uh not in favor of the current uh seditionist mafia boss um I also just just wanted to say that um also the reason why I was here first of all was looking forward to hearing more about the lead in our pipes where the city is moving forward on that where we submitted our information and looking for more information on that um and back to our current politics I guess I just wanted to say also look out for the Department of Education which I understand is already being undermined by musk uh being a private citizen I don't even know if he's a citizen of the United States so that's a whole different issue um so again it's kind of an attack on our education and from history we kind of know where civiliz civil some civilizations were torn down and that's through tearing down the intellectuals you undermine that you become an ignorant Society susceptible to whatever political power you're at that's all I had thank you thank you is there anyone else out in the hallway or I'll go around the room one last time is there anyone who wanted to make comment who did not have an opportunity to yet oh yes in the center thank you hello everyone my name is Melanie AA um I was kind of just walking around and remembered that on Tuesdays we have city council so I popped in and um I just wanted to say that I am in favor of U making Bethlehem a sanctuary city um my parents were both born in Syria and for recently became American citizens um and it sucks that I have to feel really thankful for that uh that they did it before now so um yeah just want to say that really cool to hear everyone say their say their peace and and come up with like so much emotion and yeah that's it thank you so I'll scan the room one more time because I want to anyone to be left out was there anyone else who would to make comment who did not have an opportunity all right so that's going to conclude our first public comment that was for anything that we're not voting on tonight so now we'll move on to our second public comment second public comment is reserved for anything that is on the agenda to be voted on we have three individuals who signed up I'll start with Connie I'm gonna say Connie P because again I don't want to mispronounce your last name good evening my name is Connie poac I am the chair of harb I'm here to ask you to consider what harb has voted uh down as far as the W Woolworth Building history was made at the wwor Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro hundreds of students civil rights organizations churches and members of the community joined in a six-month-long protest their commitment ultimately led to the desegregation of the Woolworth lunch counter on July 25th in 1960 when I wrote that I had no clue how that would into all the conversations previous to this according to Historic preservation law the goal of historic preservation is to keep properties and places of historic and cultural value in active use accommodating appropriate improvements to sustain their viability while maintaining the key character defining features which contribute to their significance as cultural resources preserving this historic property is not just looking at the streetcape but also it is a focal point for conversation to embrace history retaining elements of the original design that hold significant history which in turn maintains character and supports livability within the city recognizing historic preservation is compatible with goals of creating housing and fosters Community Fosters Community growth the property to be new use with minimal change is recognized ized as a physical record of its time differentiated the proposed new construction does not have to replicate the existing style of the surrounding architecture but it should be compatible and differentiated from the old harb denied this project based on bethlehem's guidance guidelines for height proportion and materials the architectural relation to existing buildings showed a lack of detail which is inconsistent with the district we saw a photo of someone holding a brick sample board an exact match to the existing brick no presentation was made for details or finishes on the west side of the building the coal of the goal of historic preservation is to keep properties and places of historic and cultural value in active use accommodating appropriate improvements to sustain their viability while maintaining key character divining def ing features which contribute to their significance as cultural resources without compromising the architectures unique personality herb applauds the team in their efforts to respect this building making it usable can be achieved thank you for your time thank you our next speaker signed up Diana Hodson good evening uh I too am a member of harb and for anyone who doesn't know what harb stands for it is historic Architectural Review Board um harb wants you to hear why we denied this proposal for 550 or 555 main it is based on Bethlehem historic design guidelines uh in page 16 both scale height and width proportions and size of addition of new buildings compared with existing building bus neighboring buildings and number two is building form and massing three-dimensional relationship and configuration of the addition new building footprint its walls and roof compared with existing building and neighboring buildings and then we also denied it because of the National Security of in or Secretary of interior standards for re Rehabilitation um their uh Point number one is uh a property will be used as it was historically or been G or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials features spaces and spatial relationships we also cited um uh standard number three each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time its place and use changes that create a false sense of historic devel development such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties will not be undertaken number nine new additions exterior alterations or related new construction will not destroy historic materials features and spatial relationships that characterize the property the new work shall be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with historic materials features SC size scale and proportion and massing to protect the Integrity of the historic property and its environment and the last is number 10 new additions and adjacent to new construction will be undertaken in such manner that if re if removed in the future the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment will be uh will be unimpaired or not impaired harb is trying to make maintain the architectural Integrity of Our Fair City and adding three stories to the iconic Woolworth Building does not fit in this criteria thank you thank you last person signed up I believe it's Mary Russo Wilson again apologies if I'm misreading hi it's actually Mary Rose Wilson was close um and I am a Bethlehem resident I live on Wall Street and actually live in the historic district and I'm here to support harb's decision about the Woolworth Building on Main Street um couple of reasons first of all it is about maintaining the historic just everything about Main Street and that's what makes Main Street in Bethlehem so special and it's you know we have all these great things that draw people to our city we have Music Fest and all our festivals and everything but a lot of it is that historic three blocks or what however big it is and you know and that's what makes it special and unfortunately feel like since covid the street has taken a bit of a drubbing and you know people have businesses down there and it's like you know talk of that you know their business is down 37% over the last year I mean it's been it's gone through a lot but it's the beauty of that street and everything that makes it special with the historic buildings that we have to maintain that and work to as they want to do to preserve it and to you know work within the confines of these buildings and you know because if they they go away then there's just you know what memory of there will there be of that beautiful Main Street and we know as living in the historic districts what we have to do to go and keep our houses historically appropriate and can preserve what was there because it's something special I was we were on that house tour our house is on the house tour and 1,200 people came through our house like that's that's huge that people want to see these homes and want to see that people care and love them and we should feel the same way about our our main street as well and I just want to add to that I just feel like we don't need another apartment building like I just we have the boy that just went up which is absolutely stunning but it's also if you go online there's a ton of vacancies because if you look at the prices of these apartments so they're sitting there vacant and now we're going to build another 25 unit apartment building that's already going to put a tax on parking for people where you have the Walnut Street is going to be taking you know that's going to be less parking for people that are going to be coming into town for tourism because there's going to be Apartments there and know it's just at some point it's just it's it's too much and it's really going to think I take a hit where people might just stop coming to town because if it's too expensive to park or there's no parking or a lot of the charm is not there anymore that's just going to just gut the whole historic district um yeah so I thought I was going to say a whole lot of other Grand things and I'm just losing my trade of that so but anyway I would just say I'm very much in support of harb's decision that um to keep the wellworth building as it is we don't need three more stories thank you for your time thank you so that exhaust our list of those who had signed up in advance now again this is public comment on anything on the agenda tonight so I'll go around the room is there anyone to the left who want to make comment on anything we're voting on tonight sir and then I'll I'll work my way around Michael biano uh 424 Center Street ALS also in the historic district also was on the Holiday House Tour um and I just want to Echo the thoughts that harb is there to protect the historic nature of Bethlehem and they've made a decision that this does not reflect that and I'm asking you to accept their hard work for whatever reason you were very gracious and gave us your reasons but we now should listen to that whether you agree with those reasons or not it's not about that it's about respecting harb respecting the people in the historic district by keeping the historic district just that that's all thank you thank you was there anyone else to the left who want to make comment I turn to the wide Center up in the corner to my left yes hi I'm back um I'm Tyler Catz I live once again in Bethlehem up on the North side um I'm not as knowledgeable about the the WW worth building issue as as um some of the other speakers I'm sure are um I know a little bit about it um but I do want to make some comments just regarding it um I do have some concern regarding the historic nature of the art deco building potentially um having a modern addition put on put on to it and I do want to Echo concerns about keeping the historic nature of um of the building uh I also want to make the point that we had earlier comment sections talking about um PE or in in the public comment section before this um talking about people living under the fahe bridge and under some of the other Bridges um and I do think that we really need more housing um I think we do need more apartments and more lowincome housing and abilities to help people with that now is the WW worth building the solution for that I don't know I'm not knowledgeable on it um but when I'm hearing comments regarding the W worth building saying we don't need more housing we don't need more parking I think we do need more infrastructure for people who don't have cars we do need the infrastructure uh for people who need those housings and so uh maybe if people are opposed to the WW worth building issue um maybe there should be a compromise that is made to where if the Woolworth Building is not done we need an alternate plan for how are we going to put more housing in uh so that the people who need housing like the people who are living under the F bridge and needing using the public bathrooms for their laundry are getting the housing and the economic Justice that they deserve thank you [Applause] so now I go to the center yes to my far left good evening uh Nick nikolov 130 East Wall Street I'm a professor of architecture at Lehi University I'm a practicing architect I'm also a member of harb um I have a simple um suggestion for you um harb um follows a very open and um diligent process for review and I'm here to advocate for the protection of the process of public review where presentations and materials are presented public is invited to comment we consider a very wide range of um guidelines um the board is uh comprised of experts um we have two architects we have a city official we have um interior designer we have a commercial real estate um uh broker and uh I think residential real uh and real estate um and Commercial Real Estate um Brokers um we are residents of the community um we volunteer and we understand fully that um our role is advisory to this Council however um the president's already been set and I think it is a not a it's a negative precedent in which city council um overturns um the diligent process that we go go through and has opened the door for anyone who disagrees uh to pursue a higher instance um I would suggest that unless uh the process is deemed um faulty in some way um uh that you recommend that uh the project come back to us and we diligently will work with the Architects and the clients to achieve the goals of the historic preservation guidelines um I personally as all of us um feel that it's an unfortunate um binary opposition when we adopt the language of new versus old in such um hostile terms or contradictory to each other terms um we are not against development we are not against growth renewal upgrading and updating our Urban environment it is um very shortsighted to think that the historic nature of the city is a is a is going back to a set point in time we are a tapestry of histories and change over many um many periods many ages upheavals and and downfalls um and uh we are not against development but we have to maintain certain guidelines certain standards we are quite open everything is online I invite you all to read them um not always a fun read but it's very instructive um and um I want to just communicate to you uh advocate for har we are committed to work with anyone that comes to us and um respectfully ask that you consider sending us send sending the project back to go through the process uh in which we will arrive to A Beautiful addition to Main Street um overturning our decision is um disrespecting our work our time and also the public comments that we've heard from so many so I urge you also to refer to them as well in your deliberations tonight thank you thank you is there anyone else in the wide Center who Els make comment I'll start in the third row hi brillan again um student from Lehi unlike everybody else I wanted to talk about the just the budget adjustment um that I was just reading about and I just noticed that like Community Resources and programs like Community recovery the homeless initiative and affordable housing would be getting decreased and then I also had saw like that the Halloween parade would receive like a $250 increase I think and I just want to advise the council that while the decrease is not something on a grand scale it sets this precedent about what we value in our community and not to say that the Halloween parade isn't important but historically as time always goes on our most disenfranchised people are are canaries in the cave um disabled people trans queer people homeless people they are the guinea pigs of society and when legislation is created to discriminate against people it always starts with society's most disenfranchised people and so I think having this President precedent where we're going to decrease initiatives that help homeless people not even homeless people but affordable housing which would help a lot of citizens in bethleem especially just with how Lehi deals with housing and the increase in Market just not even from that but also from the current economy as well I think we should put more emphasis on our community a lot of people said in the non-related issues as well talking about the um encampment and you know trash services but I feel like this is already tied into it and we just need a bigger emphasis on this um taking care of unhoused people disabled people etc etc is always going to lead to the betterment of our community data shows that when you have unhoused people and they need medical care they go to the emergency room and it's just going to be cheaper if you focus more on services that help care for the community and not a lot of people care because let's face it not a lot of you guys are disabled but what everybody fails to realize is that can all be gone in the snap of my hand you could lose your leg you could become paralyzed you couldn't speak and just that quickly you will see how disenfranchised you are in society how our society PRI prioritizes people who work people who make money and do service instead of you as a human being and I think we just need to put a little more emphasis on treating all of our community members better and if we are going to view it in the lens of our capitalistic society and making money if you give unhoused people houses give them a stable background they're going to get a job they're to commit to helping the economy so even if you don't care it's still in your best interest to actually take care of these unhoused people not even the unhoused people your own citizens with affordable housing because it's always going to be for the betterment of community and with this it's a domino effect with this decrease in the budget for these Services it's just going to set a president of how things are going to move in the future how we treat people in comparison to other things thank you so while and I'll the person here in the front to my right but I will address that the spending we'll talk about it when we get to the agenda item but the spending doesn't change we'll talk about we had a finance committee meeting before this meeting these are budget adjustments to reflect budget changes and monies for the fourth quarter of 2024 and that'll be explained when we get to the agenda item but actual spending or money out the door uh isn't changed so we'll we'll highlight that and talk about that in Greater detail when we get to it the so continuing on anyone who want to make comment on anything that we're voting on this evening in the front row hello my name is Scott hmel I live at 415 Long Street here in the historic district and coincidentally I'm going to see you all at harb tomorrow night I'm on the agenda I have some changes that I plan on making to my house and I I must say it would be a lot easier to make those changes if if harb didn't exist I could just hire my contractor and we'd be done right I could do it the way I wanted but that's not the way it works I knew that's not the way it worked when I purchased my home and I need to have my alterations meet the guidelines of the historic district in order to maintain the Integrity of the historic district in fact that's one of the reasons why I bought the home that's one of the reasons why the Woolworth Building wants to make the alterations too is the beauty of the historic district and if harb doesn't approve of the changes that that we would like to make I'll work with harb and they'll work with me and we'll come to an agreement I'll change my Al alter my plans so that we can work together and I don't think that the Woolworth Building should be any different than the changes that I want to make I need to work with harb they should have to work with harp thank you thank you anyone else in the wide Center what make comment on anything we're voting on tonight Mr sh s 1898 and Avenue excuse me um I've made done some fine tuning since the last meeting uh 50 or 100 years from now historians will write about whether the city council voted to uphold a historical context for the Moravian buildings or whether it voted to override its historical architecture review board once again after it voted for a new smaller and taller parking garage which may enable a seven-story apartment building that will Loom over historical Main Street I grew up in this city playing on the Westley Methodist youth basketball team with Gordy Mauer after returning to my hometown some 22 years ago and 400 Council meetings ago Gordy and I talked a couple of times about the city its history and its future not long before he died Gordy told me that his biggest mistake as mayor was urban renewal then he realized that the future was around the corner on Main Street those were his exact words Gordy's view has been borne out which was dramatically evidenced on the Saturday after this past Thanksgiving When the Crowds on Main Street were so thick one had to pick his way among the sidewalk and if chour from find Main Street attractive I would imagine that many residents like it as well is the wool worth building a contributing structure most people would argue or would agree that is so plain as to be virtually ignorable if that's a word but the banality if that's pronounced correctly of the architecture is precisely why it does contribute because its plainness is another example of the Myriad of architectural styles on Main Street showcasing the rich history of commercial architecture over the years in Bethlehem what about the future history of what will be built now well that is already taking place on steroids as the ethnic history of the souths side is being eradicated by new structures Main Street is among the little that is left it is true that the roof line of WW worth Edition would would match the roof land line of its Neighbor Next Door if similar argument was made for the so-called Boutique Hotel on West Third Street which will have 16 more rooms than the Hotel Bethlehem but any planning decision is a precedent just as judicial decisions are we don't I think want to encourage similar roof line adjustments up and down Main Street perhaps other adjustments and maybe a demolition or two even eventually duplicating the many Canyons being constructed on the south side if you override the har once again the president will have been set and Main Street will eventually become indistinguishable from what is happening on the South Side the historical context of the mariban buildings will have been lost and Bethlehem will have a reduced quality of life if that happens I will not be opposed to a reconfiguration of the light bulbs on South Mountain transferring the Star of Bethlehem into a dollar sign which would at least exhibit transparency about which we often here thank you thank you Mr sh Mr Cara hi I'm Mar Kura 813 laer Street Southside of Bethlehem I have a that uh the city can really help a lot of the homeless people and uh what agenda item are you ref then we're not we're we're not doing anything upon helping homeless we're talking about agenda items right now Mr Carle well the agenda is supposed to be where the money is going for different things if it goes more for helping the homeless and I got an idea that can make it work and it won't cost the city any money but the thing is it May cost a little bit but maybe not much could you hear want to hear the idea Mr Carol if you want to tie it to a specific agenda item that we're voting on like all the other agenda item is going according to uh um where your expenses are going what you are doing with your money the city here what we're doing with our taxpayer dollars here that's what we're talking about aren't we Am I Wrong we're talking about tonight's agenda Mr katola if you want to cite what something that's on tonight's agenda I'm happy to hear you out that's not on tonight's agenda upon what we're doing with our tax the tax sers of the people again I'm gonna ask Mr Cara if you are speaking about specific agenda item that you want to site I'm happy to hear you if not I'm gonna continue on with tonight's meeting okay so you don't want to hear the you don't want to hear what I have to say um okay sticking to our Council rules about this is on things that we're voting on tonight Mr I thought we were voting upon uh what we're doing the tax dollar of the city in some in different things where the money's going for different things we're voting on different budget adjustments yes so what budget adjustment are you talking about Mr car okay anybody have any ideas I'm gonna I'm gonna politely continue on with the meeting I I understand where you're coming from but as you know from attending these meetings this is not a broad discussion on Broad matters Second courtesy of the floor is about is everyone has specific items on tonight's agenda so I I thank you Mr katola I'm going I really had a good idea that can help that that could help you with the situation of the homeless happy to hear it after the meeting if you like to speak okay for the next meeting is Mr shy as a member of the audience referenced thank you Mr thank you very much is there anyone else in the wide Center who wanted to make comment on anything that's being voted on tonight miss n hi um just a quick addendum to um some of the comments that have been made about the WW worth building um you this might be surprising to some people because I am very in favor of increasing housing Supply and affordable housing I'm also a fan of uh good urban planning um and I don't think this sounds like an example of good urban planning I think seven stories is too high um when you get to a certain number of stories you are increasing traffic congestion we are not unfortunately at the point of walkability and the point of public transportation where we can just build really high and it's not going to affect the traffic and the parking situation which is already pretty um stuffy in Bethlehem so I I just think that when we are making these adjustments we should be considering that um and many others have probably put it more uh eloquently than I but that is my opinion thank you thank you anyone else in the wide Center want to make comment on anything that's being voted on this evening turn to the right anyone want to make comment on anything on the agenda so that's going to conclude our second public comment thank you everyone who came out to speak if you're going to exit I just ask you do so quietly as we move through the meeting and of course everyone's welcome to stick around as we work through tonight's agenda old business any old business for members of council I don't see any we'll move on to new business any new business for members of council start with councilwoman Leon I think there's obvious topics we all want to talk about but um so some direct ones this is a question for Mr alol I believe I'm wondering how often we do collect trash in our parks and what that kind of looks like do we do it once a week do we do it every other week how many times are we down there empting the receptacles along the trail typically at least twice a week twice a week um did wasn't there a point in which we had additional dumpsters for uh trash that might be down there or is that still a thing that's happening where specifically are you speaking about you know what it's I'm talking about a couple Council meetings ago so I'm not going to be able to I I don't recall having dumpsters at any locations no worries maybe I'm remember look into it I'm probably just remembering wrong so no worries thank you um and uh I had a couple questions for chief cot if you don't mind um all well before I get into my very uh specific questions we've talked quite a bit about immigration and I was just wondering if there's a general statement or stance that the BPD might have on what's going on at the federal level absolutely um so I'm going to give some comments that I'm hoping are going to dispel some rumors and quell some fears um the betham police Department's mission is to ensure the safety and well-being of all residents regardless of their immigration status we are committed to fostering a community where everyone feels safe supported and where individuals can trust law enforcement to protect and serve without fear of discrimination we understand that fear of deportation can prevent many in our community from reaching out for help when they are victims or witnesses to crimes to ensure Public Safety it is critical that all members of our community regardless of their background feel confident in coming forward to report crimes seek Assistance or cooperate with law enforcement without the concern that doing so could result in deportation immigration enforcement is the responsibility of federal agencies the betham police department's focus is on forcing local and state laws while the department will of course enforce all federal warrant and court orders we do not routinely inquire about an individual's immigration status as part of our regular duties nor do we participate in Isis 287g program which allows selected state and local Law Enforcement Officers the ability to enforce Federal immigration laws in closing the Bethlehem police department is dedicated to building and maintaining trust with all community members trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential in a democracy it is key to the stability of our communities the Integrity of our criminal justice system and the safe and effective delivery of policing Services we remain committed to protecting and serving our community while ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and I just wanted to add that we're doing our best to stay on top of things there's a lot of orders there's a lot of policy changing changes that have been occurring these past couple of days there's a lot to sort through and though it's been challenging we're committed to serving our community so we're going to continue to take the time to review and work through it all I've been in constant contact with Dr Silva from the bethlem area school district as well as I reached out to the members of big the Bethlehem Interfaith group that is comprised of members of our houses of worship here in the city so we can work together to make sure that our citizens feel safe be happy to answer any of your questions right now councilwoman um yeah I I'm gonna have a couple but since the administration is here is there a statement the administration wants to before I start asking questions just just to add to that first of all I want to thank the people that came and spoke tonight I'm not sure if other people any of the other speakers talking about the other issues just thanked the people for coming to talk about what are the important issues that we are facing here in America today um and it is what we are spending um upwards of 90% of our time on right now is the chaos that's going on in Washington and what it means for people and what it means for families and what it means for the city of Bethlehem this is a situation that um as far as the chief is concerned talking to Mr spurk talking to me you know information is constantly changing but I will say this is that we have a police department that is um CIA certified that we hire police officers who understand what it means to use common sense and use discretion but also uphold the law and there's a reason why Bethlehem is the safest city in Pennsylvania is we because we combine enforcement when we need it with the idea that ideas like community policing investing within our community supporting uh people and supporting services is at the center of who we are and the best thing that I think we can say is a that this is the number one priority for us is understanding how what's going on in Washington right now is going to affect us and I'll talk more about the finances during the mayor's report um but as I said it's at the Forefront of the chief's mind and everybody within the police department is how we can continue to be a place that keeps people safe um where we obviously uphold what are our federal responsibilities but at the same time create a culture by which people understand um that we do treat people with dignity here and I think that one of the most important things that we can do is to say that you know the stories tonight from so many different people and they reminded me of the stories I used to hear when I was teaching in Allen High School for so many years of of Blended families and combination of immigration statuses and people that are working and paying taxes and they're never going to get any of that money back and they're scared if are assaulted or whatever to come forward um that should be at the Forefront of what all of us are thinking about right now and I think it starts by prioritizing that this is obviously a problem and also for the young people that are here today and I know many of you are here is like I want to apologize on behalf of the people in America that allowed this to happen to get to this point because many people knew that this day was coming and they were okay with it and they sat and they watched it happen and they supported it and now we're living with the consequences on a day-to-day basis and I can tell you that it is as as I said at the Forefront of who we are as a city and the comments about what it means to be part of a community or that we're all immigrants those are things that people within this Administration within this Police Department within the city feel and the this is the way council members feel as well so the energy and the spirit that we take and tackling what's going to be an ongoing issue it's not going away next week or the week after but but it is something that we are incredibly engaged in Council Malone I know we talked for a while today about these issues um and I have faith in Chief cot and in Mr spurk that we are GNA going to continue to follow all of our legal responsibilities but also continue to set the precedent and set the tone that in the city of Bethlehem we are a community and whether or not you've been here for a week or 50 years or 70 years or whatever it means is your value valed and we're not going to judge you by how long you were here or what story it was that took you in that brought you to this space um and I will I will take any questions now councilman all right thank you um I think one of the things that I wanted to to ask you about and it's okay if you don't have this readily I'm sure this predates your time um but there was someone said that the BPD incarcerated and deported an undocumented person under the GU of a crime so if you can look into that and just let us know if that that did happen within what just know that we do not have the ability to deport people yeah that's always a contact ice thing okay um I had specific questions let me just reference um my notes uh do we have any policies in place where the primary purpose of that policy is to detain or Deport immigrants you already answered that to be negative do we have programs I remember we talked about this when we were discussing a memorandum of understanding do we have any programs that allow people that might be in an undocumented status to report a crime um without fear of Retribution yes absolutely um there's a t visa as well as I believe it's the U Visa uh that an individual can apply for that the police department will vouch for that individual uh their involvement in uh whether it be human trafficking if they're a victim of human trafficking if they're a victim of domestic violence or another crime or if they witnessed uh a criminal act occurring um we would vouch for them to try to assist them in in getting that Visa okay you know I'm a fan of police training um do you guys have any training specifically for any of our officers that might be in contact with um our migrant community that could uh talk them talk to them about resources or anything like that we have various training that we attend um whether it be for example part of our yearly updates that we have to go through for our certification with the state right now one of the um blocks of training is on dealing with the unhoused population um there has been past training on dealing with individuals that are undocumented um that we've received but that is something that you know we're we're looking to put out again to our officers because a as mayor Reynolds mentioned this is constantly changing and evolving and with the turnover at the police department we're going to make sure that everybody is on the same page um that everybody is is protecting and serving and providing the highest quality Public Safety Services that they can to our community members so so they'll be trained on their responsibilities on interacting with ice what they can and cannot do yes as well as as being a member of Kalia uh the accredited agency one of our our most important policies I believe it's 1.1.4 or 1.4.1 don't quote me um is on the uh the biospace policing which prohibits it and there is a a number of um restrictions that our department uh to this end we shall exercise our sworn duties responsibilities and obligations in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of race ethnicity natural origin religion gender sexual orientation gender identity age economic status cultural affiliation or any other identifiable categor categorization um members shall not stop detain arrest or search any person based solely upon the persons and it goes through everything again so that is one of our Forefront policies as an accredited agency um training that all of our officers receive and that is on a yearly basis as well um and uh another question I have which I'm not immediately aware of something that Council would oversee this feels more like an internal process or maybe something at the state level but is there a policy in place that clarifies the jurisdiction and the separation between local law enforcement and federal law enforcement or state law enforcement you know me and my jurisdiction it's kind of getting really pissy about it right now so I'm just curious about where are the clear guidelines of who has jurisdiction where is that something we do as a city is that a state level thing that would be state and federal level um the the city could if the city decided to um do some type of legislation obviously that would apply at the city level but ultimately that that federal law that state law com down I I've reading into some things that I keep coming across local emergency management which I'm sure means BPD but I'm curious if local emergency management also means the fact that we have that County you know how everything centralized at the county so if you see something that says local emergency management do you think that means Bethlehem or is that more a county thing so because of our city size we have to have an emergency management director and that is my friend Chief Reich over there um but yes basically depending on City sizes municipality sizes there has to be a local emergency management coordinator director uh that works with the the county that works with other organizations to get resources and so in emergency situations uh are the emergencies like if there's something that needs to be broadcast would it be broadcast in multiple languages would it be are there second languages third languages that we might be broadcasting in or is it just like if there's an emergency within the city of Beth I'm not even thinking about this specific situation but if there's emergency within the city of Bethlehem how are we getting it out to people who predom like whose first language is not English so along the lines of what we do with the the website which allows individuals to view it in English or Spanish um I I believe I can't speak for chief re but I believe that something would would probably be put out um we we are a very diverse City I I believe the last I checked uh 30% of our population is Hispanic um I don't know how much is only uh Spanish speaking but I I do believe that we would put something out that would reflect our our diverse background and and allow that message to get out to the individuals that need it and to add to that Council woman we are currently as we've talked about before undertaking a uh kind of communications plan through funding through the health Bureau um that's going to look at a lot of these particular issues you know this is something that we've talked about and I've talked about for a long time people get their information in many different ways I do think that if you look at our Census Data the percentage of individuals in the city who do not speak English as their first language is somewhere in their 20s um and traditionally the city of bethl is both not acknowledged that we haven't done a good job of reaching those people but also not taken the systemic um uh prior prioritization or change to make sure that we're able to get to people where they are um and that's really at the center of the work that Miss wenrich um is leading through the health Bureau and the health Bureau Grant but in that process is somebody from each one of the Departments to be able to improve the way that the city um communicates to be able to get to people so along those lines thank you Chief those are all the Like Chief specific questions that I have okay um but along those lines uh is the my Bethlehem app also available in in Spanish I know there's an emergency response thinking there it's available in Spanish as well um okay the last question I have is for any of the solicitors who might want to answer this one um if if the county is a sanctuary County whether it's leh or Northampton does that by default make the cities within those counties Sanctuary counties or do the cities have to pass their own additional ordinances just a question of curiosity Sanctuary cities and Sanctuary counties are two separate distinct you know cities neest and counties it feels confusing um I think those are all the questions that I have and I just want to finish my before if anybody else wants to you have the floor thanks um there was a statement made by a wonderful lady who came that said that I made affordable housing in South Bethlehem I absolutely did not make affordable housing um in South Bethlehem um I as a um I as one single coun council person can't do anything I'm one of seven votes um I support affordable housing initiatives wherever they're at South Bethlehem North Bethlehem I don't care where they're at I support affordable housing initiatives all the affordable housing that was done by the city way predates this Council well maybe not everybody on this Council but definitely my time on this Council um so while it was a wonderful thought I did not create affordable housing in South Bethlehem I'm just in support of it thank you any other new business for members of council I I'll go councilwoman lard okay um well thank you for the information about uh the policies that Rachel uh brought up I also had a lot of those similar questions um my one outstanding question would be um we've heard about impersonation um and is is the police department aware when there are actions from other jurisdictions happening within the city where if someone would be approached by someone who says I am with another agency they could call and say just like if somebody knocks on my door and says they're from a utility company I can call that utility company and say do you have people out in this area is there a mechanism for helping people identify um if somebody they should they absolutely should it's common courtesy it's something that many law enforcement agencies engage in uh however I would be lying to you if I said that it happens all the time um so so it it would be worth someone calling like the police department though and saying do you know of something absolutely I would encourage someone if uh they feel uneasy about someone who has showed up at their residence and is claiming to have a warrant um claiming to be the Bethlehem police department do not hesitate to call 911 uh called the Northampton County not emergency number call the service center number uh and and we will we'll verify that um because I I am familiar with what happened down at temple with the student that was impersonating the The Ice agent and uh I have no problem with people verifying thank you um don't go away um this is a different topic but um there well similar there was a jurisdiction uh uh crossover where there was a crash in West Bethlehem uh that was the result of a police pursuit in a residential area um State Police it was right this was State Police um and it raised the question in my mind of what are the Bethlehem police policies about police Pursuits uh why they can happen where they can happen um when they're called off Etc and are other jurisdictions allowed to come in and go against our policies so the Pennsylvania State Police have jurisdiction Statewide so we cannot restrict PSP from coming in and actively pursuing a vehicle uh there have been times where heler toown or lower sck has pursued a vehicle into the city however uh in my 20 years they will usually cancel that Pursuit um because of the jurisdictional issues because of our accreditation there are strict policies that we adhere to when it comes to vehicle Pursuits they are extremely extremely dangerous uh not only for the individuals involved but also for the general public so there are reasons that we're going to call off a Pursuit whereas some other agencies may not because of their policies uh you'll often hear me say that no two law enforcement agencies in the country are are the same in the state in the county are the same uh they're going to be different policies and procedures but there are various bullet points that when an officer with the betham police department engages in a Pursuit he or she needs to be able to relay the information over the radio to their supervisor to ad why they're pursuing the vehicle um is it just for a summary traffic charge is it worth potentially killing or or severely injuring somebody over a stop sign violation um is it densely populated at that time of day what's the weather like how many vehicles are involved um all of that comes into play all of that are or contributing factors as to whether the betham police department will continue or or um cancel a pursuit of a vehicle okay so uh it's sort of Case by case there's not like a blanket you're you're strict about it but there's not a blanket policy correct there is a policy in place however the the policy and and any policy I feel can't handle every single circumstance that is why why as the mayor mentioned discretion is so incredibly important the training that we provide to our officers I'm so incredibly proud of our police officers that we have uh that take it upon themselves even to attend training courses to better themselves um so that when they are put in these these highly Dynamic situations they're able to respond appropriately uh for the good of themselves for the good of the individuals involved and for the good of the community thank you um and then my last question on that topic was um how has there been any communication with uh PSP about this specific incident and the aftermath um you know like how does that work like there was a lot of damage Etc um to our residents property um is that on PSP is like to there was communication they are taking the accident they are handling all the reporting that was involved they are going to handle uh the after action review of the vehicle Pursuit um okay so that that was the the result of the communication we had with them in regards to who was going to handle what because of the damage that was okay C thank you did you have something to add just two quick things one is that Mr spurk had pointed out that like only 4% of police departments in America are Kia certified um which is and I forget how many there are in Pennsylvania um but it really is a it really is a special thing for our city as far as having these standards as far as like when you do Pursuits and when not but the second thing is like we've talked a lot too about how you know we CH we have a challenge sometimes being able to recruit police officers it's also because we have high standards and I think we've shown those numbers before sometimes you will have 110 applicants and by the time the chief cot and everybody is done going through the process like psychological backgrounds is like there's two job offers because we don't hire police officers that we don't think can live up to the standard of using that discretion and that's the single best thing that we can continue to do to be able to make sure that we have a safe community and that we minimize these situations and I can say this with confidence that you know watching our hiring process with the people that then are forced to make quick decisions on the run is that that process that we have that our Police Department goes through the training just the the way that we bring other officers on really is second to none and I think you see that in a lot of different statistics but you really see it on a day-to-day basis with the professionalism of our of our officers thank you thank you um okay that was all I had for you uh Mr basca could I ask you a couple questions um sure thanks uh okay so uh one of our uh public commenters had inquired and um it's a a good time as any to ask for an update on the lead uh letters and the program that went out uh asking people to I you know check their uh pipe inlets to their house Etc has that been have you been getting a lot of people who are doing that and self-reporting um what sort of progress reports do you have uh the program is still active we do not get a lot of feedback to be perfectly honest um out of 37,000 customers probably less than couple hundred um but we do as part of our sort of normal routine like for example when we replace water meters we do our own assessment of service lines and so forth so um this is going to be a long-term project current guidelines current federal guidelines require us to identify as many service lines as we can by 2027 and then come up with a plan to replace and with the goal of identifying as much lead as possible that's the ultimate goal we want to identify all the lead in our system and then from that point forward then they give us 10 years to replace all the lead so by 20 so the goal is by 2037 all the lead will be out of the system it's not just us not just us it's everybody across the country so all the all water utilities are in the same boat if you will with this with this program if people do self-report um as the instructions uh prompt and they discover they have lead does that kind of expedite their replacement not necessarily it just goes into the database uh we're not in a reactive mode yet so any every time everybody calls up and says oh I got a lead line you got to come out and replace it no we would only replace it if it's if it's damaged or if there's a leak um we ensure we try to reassure people that the lead levels in the city's drinking water are below Federal standards and they've been below Federal standards for at least the past 35 years when the lead and copper rule was first instituted back in 1990 um we conduct lead testing every year if if customers are uncomfortable with their if they know if they think they have a lead line we can come out and do and test their water um upon request but we try and reassure the public that for the past 35 years our drinking water has tested below Federal limits for lead in drinking water and that's because we add a corrosion inhibitor okay it was part of part of the Mandate with the original lead and copper rule if you have lead in your system you have to test you have to sample you have to analyze you have to meet Federal limits and in order to keep lead levels low you added a corrosion inh inhibitor that prevents the lead from leeching out of the pipes into the drinking water so um okay thank you and then um the other thing I I was reading about um the sinkhole in Northeast Bethlehem today I think it was today um and the um shift from cold to warm weather kind of putting the ground in flux and therefore everything in the ground INF flux um is there any information that you I just wanted to kind of ask it in general if there's any information you wanted to put out there about um that challenge at this time of year so we go through this every winter uh some Winters are more challenging than others this is becoming a challenging winter the last couple of winters if everybody recalls were pretty mild on the weather side this year it's been cold very cold then it gets warm cold again so that those fluctuating temperatures I think tend to uh create freeze thall conditions and it just disturbs the um the ground uh expansion and contraction of the earth which affects puts stress on the pipes and causes breaks it happens every winter um like I said some Winters are worse than others this winter right now is on the worst one side compared to others um historically speaking but we'll get through it I tell I try and tell people Spring's right around the corner um I know it be it can become a hardship for people you know if there's a water main break in their out the street in the front you get a sinkhole I know it's a big inconvenience um we try and respond as quickly as POS possible fix the problem uh we get inspectors out there right away to do a structural evaluation if there's if there's property damage um those people have re get resources whether it be through the Red Cross or they you know we we we advise them to contact their insurance company right away they can talk to the city about filing a claim and and to to try and get repairs made to their properties as soon as as soon as possible okay thank you for that info and and to your Crews for you know how how much they are having to respond to this year with that um all right that was all for you and then um Chief Reich you don't need to get up but I did just want to um say you know thank you to to all of your crew for um the response and assistance uh for the fire on uh North Street um three days ago five days ago time is a blur this week but um I understand that there were injuries and we we talked about that a little bit and um I hope that everybody's recovering well and thank you all for for your service to the community Mr Callan yeah I got one um question just bouncing off a councilwoman L's uh line of question mayor Reynolds um and just moving forward in the next week and months if ice um off officers are making raids within the city of Bethlehem and they're asking for our Police Department's cooperation and assistance what is your direction towards Chief cot and our police officers I'm asking you the question it's a chief cot question no I'm asking you the question because you're the head gentlemen I'm not going to get into a Mr calan I'm just gonna say this Mr Callan you're welcome at ask any questions you want and I defer to however the administration chooses to answer I don't I'm not going to get into you can ask whatever you want I'll some followup questions then go ahead it depends if there's a Judicial warrant or a court order we're going to do what's ever best for Public Safety here in the city of Bethlehem so if they come with that court order and they're asking for our assistance your assistance what's the the directive from the mayor I can't speak for the mayor but I I can't speak for what our Police Department's going to do and it's going to adhere to keeping Public Safety uh we cannot Deport people we cannot um exercise any immigration laws so our our involvement would be very limited uh I imagine if there was something going on we we would probably be trying to do some like traffic control uh and and try to figure out if there is a legal reason uh for those individuals to be there to begin with um like I said uh with the impersonations and the hoaxes going around there's a lot of fear in the community right now people are very scared and I think not I think I know that a huge part of our job is maintaining Public Safety and keeping people safe so coming into tonight's meeting I think what everybody here wanted to know tonight is the city of betham going to cooperate with ice agents if they're coming into the city and they're asking for our city resources to cooperate with them and I'm assuming that coming in here tonight with the statement that you had and I guess we were told beforehand that you would have a statement I'm assuming that you and Mr Reynolds had a meeting or or you discussed what you were going to say tonight correct I I did have a meeting with him as well as solicitor spurk uh where we discussed that we are going we have to adhere to federal law we have to so if ice Agents come in the city and they're asking for our cooperation our city resources uh per your discussions with Mr Reynolds we will be cooperating with ice agents and assisting if they so have the appropriate paperwork we're going to follow federal law so that's a yes if they have the appropriate paperwork they have they have the warrant is that is that what you said they needed the warrant court order or judicial warrant yes sir then then you're under the direction from Mr Reynolds no direction there's no Direction would you like to answer that question I would like to answer the question and as always it's not too hard to figure out what your motivations are here no I'm just listen to me this is question over other Mr Callahan Chief Cod is the police is the chief of police Mr spurk is the city solicitor just like I don't tell you're the mayor you're the boss Mr Callan I'm going to ask Mr rynolds to finish any follow-up questions you have you know you have presid appreciate if he would would not interrupt me Mr rynolds I ask you to continue so it is a situation where once again the extent of this conversation is to ask Mr spurk and chief cot for their opinion their recommendation for their update on what the policies are and that will continue to be this I have nothing but the utmost confidence in Chief cot I don't tell Chief cot however what to do as far as being the police chief is concerned so the question is and it will continue to be is that we will follow federal law but Chief cot is that police chief Mr spurk is the city solicitor and they will continue to lead our responses as far as policies are concerned my job is to make sure that we have an organized response that we have a sophisticated response and that when we are asked the question that they are able to respond with what our policy is and I think Chief cot's done a pretty good job of doing that tonight mayor I uh I could line up a 100 different solicitors and get different answers from everybody and in times of Crisis like this when we have a lack of Direction this is when we need leaders to step up and direct people that work for them what their policies and feelings are on this and all the people that showed up here tonight and I know the statement that you both had was crafted very finely but it never really got down to the point of answering the questions of the people that we're in here is our resources our city tax resources going to assist and cooperate with ice if they come in here with the appropriate paperwork are we going to allow them to have jail space if they need it use cars use police vans what what is your position on that to if they have the appropriate paperwork are you directing are you okay with the police department and assisting and and and and cooperating with ice agents yes or no we when a question is asked it we are allowed to answer it with the right amount of nuance well it's a short question gentlem pleas please don't speak over each other the questions on the floor May Reynold and there's no speaking over him I'm trying to answer the question he continues to interrupt I'm trying to have a debate here we go again again with let me just read for let me interject for a second as relates to debate we're we're on new business we're going to ask questions however the administration chooses to answer this is not a trial and this is for any question this is not obviously where Mr Callen has the floor just a question questions could be posed the administration answers them we don't need to reframe the same question two three four five times so I not answered though I well you but the answer is the answer get my point and and Mr call please let me finish before I I understand you can ask whatever question you want but if you the answer is the answer and that that applies to anything so again I will allow Mr Reynolds to answer and then we'll go from there thank you and I I will say for one final time is that we will respond in the way that we think is the best way to respond to the situation as it presents itself Chief cot has laid out the situation that if you have a 100 days you might have a 100 different situations and you don't exactly understand how you're going to respond until you understand what the situation is we use our judgment we use the fact that we're Kalia certified we use the fact that we need to follow state and federal law and then we also need to work with our legal Bureau in an everchanging environment like every day is this tied to this grant or what is going to happen as far as if you do this then we're going to have to deal with that it is a continuing changing legal environment and a changing law enforcement environment so once again we will be as engaged as we humanly can be but to be able to answer this level of complexity without understanding what's going to happen with the chaos in Washington doesn't come down to yes or no questions but I will say again I trust Chief cot I trust all of our Police Department leadership I trust our officers I trust Mr spurk I trust his almost 50 years of being a lawyer to continue to operate the city in a responsible way thank you Mr colon so FL is still yours so they work for you correct I I'm asking a question do they work for you did you hire them they work for the citizens of Bethlehem right and and they work under your direction it's it's a I'm allowed to ask questions I still have the floor he he doesn't want to answer a tough question and I'm asking a very fair question it's not an unfair question you you hired them they work for you if the I if ice officers into the city of Bethlehem and they have their appropriate paperwork is it is it their is it your determination that they should cooperate with them it's just it's a simple question we have leaders all throughout the country that are being asked the same exact questions and I don't know why you can't answer it it fairly it's not an do you think it's an unfair question if they if ice has the appropriate paperwork Like Chief Cott said are we too are we just spend our taxpayer dollars assisting and cooperating with police officers whether it's Vehicles Manpower or city jails or whatever it's that that's all my question was the whole entire time yes that's it we have to abide by federal law okay and you're okay with that the judicial warrant and a court order we as the chief just said we need to apply we need to follow federal law so if a situation occurs and the police have dealt with it or Mr spurk has dealt with it and they come and they read the situation and they say this is what we have to do then that is what we have to do I do not I do not and this is consistent across the board I don't tell Mr alcohol how to be an engineer I don't tell Mr spurk how to be a lawyer I don't tell Chief cot how to be a police chief I respect and I honor their professionalism when it comes to individual situations and whatever it is that they think is best for their individual apartment after conversation but what often happens is I will ask what's the rationale what's the law say why do you feel this way and then when when they come forward to that recommendation and that's definitely true in hypothetical situations without being able to say if we looked back at a situation that happened six months ago or two years ago or five years ago to say was that handled correctly or do you agree with this or do you not agree with that and so on and so forth but we're talking about a hypothetical situation as an everchanging legal environment like that's what the situation is and the best thing that we can do and we might have a difference of opinion on this the best thing we can do is have faith in the people that run our police department and run our legal Bureau and I will continue to work with them and I will continue to have conversations and if there's a disagreement that comes up at some point then we will have a disagreement but by and large they are professionals and they and the staff around them not just just Chief cot but our other police leadership they have worked up through the ranks they've gotten promotions they've worked through the civil service test they have my confidence and I will continue to follow their Direction about what they think is best to keep us safe and Mr Spur's direction as far as what we need to do to to be able to comply with the law and and I would just hope that if that situation arises in the weeks to come months to come that you are involved with that decision making because at the end of the day the buck stops with you thank you very much any other new business members Council councilman ksey Smith um I just wanted to clarify I think it was um young man Bray Lyn talked about decrease um funds for housing affordable housing and we had a um finance committee meeting before this meeting with 17 agenda items and the reason that there were so many items is because there are funds that are used and there are funds that are received for the last fiscal quarter of the Year from October to December so the budget is already prepared for 2025 so the reason that we had the finance committee meeting and we have so many items on the agenda tonight is we have to reconcile the budget and it doesn't mean that we spent less so we have less in the budget for housing it means that we may have spent some of the budget between October and December therefore the budget will go down so I want to clarify that okay um and I and I have one um question for chief cot I'm sorry it's your night but and again you may not be able to answer this um but I am very curious uh there has been some uh some things in the paper but nothing solid as far as I know and I know you've talked about working with uh talk speaking to the Interfaith community and Dr Silva and as far as collaborating with them as can you say what what the policy is or what as an entity you all plan to do if ice does try to come into um places of worship or schools I don't want to speak for them but I know that the betham mar School District did have its policy um publicized on the morning call website uh the reason that we had those conversations is because we want to be prepared it's incumbent that you know we are being proactive rather than reactive and again I I I I I can't stress enough the the school district is in a very very tough position too because we have to abide by that federal law if there is a court order if there is a Judicial warrant um so I believe their policy that's online States um that you know first and foremost they need to contact Dr Silva uh and they also the pr they as being the principal needs to make sure that a war warrant or court order is in place um but what we're speaking about is you know what is going to what is that going to look like from a community standpoint from a public safety standpoint it how is that going to affect our our Greater Community a as a mom of a of two schoolage children how is that going to affect our our our school district family so you know really trying to make sure that we have the proper measures in place so God forbid if that does happen um we can respond effectively to try to make it as least traum traumatizing is possible for all those involved um because again I know the policy says that it schools and houses of worship um will only be in play Under common sense but what I consider common sense and what somebody else may consider common sense are two very very different things so that's why it's incumbent on us to to have these conversations early again I can't stress enough like the mayor said we are constantly influx with all this information that's coming at us every single day every morning it seems like um so that we have to stay on top of these things we have to rely on our community uh members and and our our Partnerships to to get through this very scary phase in in our history okay thank you thank you very much and I just want to say thank you to everybody come out came out tonight it's very apparent that you have such compassion and commitment to all other members of the community and I think um that's wonderful and and my heart truly breaks for all those who are being averly affected by the travesties that are happening in DC um I have worked in the school as a counselor for years and most of my students were immigrants and refugees and many undocumented and um I had them you know shake in my office because they were afraid of ice and fortunately um when Trump was originally elected in 2016 even though there was a lot of um stating that ice was going to come fortunately ice never did come to our school and while I know we um we have to take things seriously um I just hope that I think most importantly um one thing I want to say is last week at the press conference I was really um grateful that Chief Cott said no matter what that we have to deal with that um her police department will protect and serve the people of this community and I believe that and while these are really really difficult times I think that it's really important that we pull together and be strong and you know I liken it to terrorists that they want to instill fear and anxiety and they want to break us down and I think it's really important that we um be strong and we do not we not not sucumbir and anxiety we have to stay United together so thank you thank you councilwoman any other new business councilwoman wih so uh all of my questions were asked by vice president Leon and uh councilwoman leair but I I wanted to sort of just make a couple of comments first to Echo thanks for those of you who came to speak tonight uh we heard your passion we heard your emotion we heard your critical thinking and commentary and your pain as well um we know how much it takes to come to a meeting like this and speak especially when you're speaking about issues that mean a lot to you so we we really appreciate it um I also just for the sake of Public public paying attention um I just I do want to clarify that um just because a a response that we receive is not satisfactory to one member of council that doesn't mean that it's not satisfactory to all members of council I um want you to know that there is Nuance up here um and that's one of the great things about uh being on this body in fact but I I just also want to express my thanks to Chief cot and mayor Reynolds for your thoughtful responses um the the nuance and the intention with which you respond certainly means a lot to me not just as a council person but as a a citizen of Bethlehem um one of the big questions I had has been addressed and I I want to underscore and it it was really related to a lot of the personal stories that we heard tonight the the everyday experience living in abject fear um something most of us cannot comprehend was very powerful tonight so I think about how these messages get to those people and you have mentioned that you mentioned that there's a Communications plan I think that's extremely important I hope that there are ways for us not to wait until until the plan is complete until the emergency occurs to think about what resources we have in the community to impact now as soon as possible the day-to-day experience of somebody living in fear right now um how can we begin to assuage that and let them know even before policies are made official put into writing uh to think about how we can get those messages to the people who really need to hear them who are living that dayt day um uh I think the the the last thing I wanted to say is is in response to a comment that was made during uh during public comment um about housing and homes and rentals and I I just want to say that rentals are homes there are many she's a you're right I am a renter and I was going to say that I know what's fun your your whispers are a little louder than you might think um there are many reasons that people rent there are many reasons that people choose to rent some people don't choose to rent but it's what they are able to do uh I think we need to be very cautious about home shaming uh I my apartment is my home and I'm very proud of it thank you thank you councilman Wilhelm any other new business members coun councilwoman quch I promise I'll be brief because um as someone once said you know everything has already been said but not by everybody um but uh so I will try to avoid doing that so thank you to um councilwoman Leon and and uh vice president Leon and and councilwoman leair and councilwoman Wilhelm and councilwoman C kmy Smith for saying a lot of the things that I was already going to say and I I align myself very much with your remarks um I wanted to go way back to the very first public commenter tonight and I wanted to defend my colleague uh councilwoman kmy Smith uh because agism and insults really have no place in this uh this setting and so I want to say that um age is not a factor in our uh our politics and and whatever campaigns that we have going on here tonight so I wanted to make that very clear uh Chief cot thank you very much for all the work you're doing in particular for your respon responsiveness regarding the situation um about four blocks from my house that happened uh apparently at midnight last night that I didn't hear I don't know how I missed the sound of that crash uh but I do actually have several uh neighbor friends who live on that block um who uh were of course very concerned and are concerned with um a somewhat of a pattern of uh incidents happening there in terms of uh Traffic Safety um some near Miss uh one fatality and now this um and so I do appreciate you and Mr alal uh talking about uh perhaps looking into some measures to uh make it a bit safer in that area of the West Side so thank you very much for that and that that is where I will leave it thank you any other new business for members of council Mr Callahan I'd one to thing that um I wanted to bring up um that now that we're talking soon about the uh Main Street uh development um is there any update on the white box at the parking garage I'm not sure what you're talking about the white box at the parking garage the wner street park the parking garage is coming along on schedule and should be open by November um as far as any adjacent development piece um there is not any particular update no plans have been filed no no discussion has happened as far as that's concerned because of the staging of the properties um being able to complete the Wallner Street garage has been the parking Authority's priority and that's where it's at I'm guessing at some point in the next several months there will be some type of update but I don't believe that anything is imminent as far as anything being filed or talked about and I can tell you I have not had any conversations about it uh at some point though there there's going to have to be uh your Administration is going to have to come to us and ask us to uh or the Parking Authorities going going have to ask us to uh subdivide the lot and then sell it correct to the developer I'm not sure about that honestly we've been trying to make sure the parking garage stays on schedule as far as that project has been concerned trying to make sure that it's open for the holiday season so as far as the timeline and those actions that need to be taken I'm not I'm not sure what they are when they need to happen but I can tell you that we obviously will come or the parking authority will come whenever it needs to happen all right so I I mean the Parking Authorities is not going to keep um that portion that onethird portion where the white box was on the on the on the drw they're not going to stay in the rental business right I mean at some point they're going to sell it I I can't speak for I think there were different things that were talked about as far as leases or sale sales and things like that but I would have to have that conversation with the parking authority to see what the the options were there I'm not sure who who is the um the lays on for the parking authority me who is it me councilwoman will do you have any update on that at all no none okay thank you you Mr Callan any other new business for members of council I'll just make a couple brief comments and I appreciate everyone's comments who came out tonight or members of council who so other the things about being council president you're the last to speak so so councilwoman qu Tex Point everyone asked all the good questions already but I will thank Mr bosa's Department my neighbor two houses down for me the night after our last council meeting had a a serious water leak that a crew had to come out very late and what could have been rather disruptive just by the nature of operating heavy machinery I would say they were as gracious as possible with my two-year-old sleeping upstairs not knowing who I was or what I do for work I came out and just asked what was going on to make sure there were no safety concerns and everyone was very communicative and my neighbors were texting me if I knew what was going on and they were um you know nice enough to engage me and just put me at ease and I could put my family at e and my neighbors as it relates to some the questions that came up that Chief Cott and may Reynolds answered I I will say I appreciate you know the feedback with the recognition that we're we're really going into unchartered territory here in the in the history of this country especially our own personal professional political whatever would be experience my my ask is and I know we didn't get to the mayor's report yet and I'm sure mayor Reynolds will touch on some of these things as you did um you know public is it related to the confusion and Chaos that came out of DC with the funding freezes and how communities across the country were impacted there's so much now the way we we get our information has changed obviously with social media and people I use social media and someone I know might post something I just appreciate hearing from the administration whoever be in the different departments updates as appropriate whether it be the mayor's report and there's just so much chaos coming out DC and things changing all the time that as we all try to keep up with our trusted local media and Publications just anything that can be shared relevant to just what we should know as a council what we should know as a city what we could share with our own community that reach out to us sometimes for updates I appreciate again all the questions that came up previous to me having the microphone and the answers that we got but I would forecast that we're far from peace and that we're far far from understanding and that things can only get more confusing not just budgetarily which is important of course as we talk about commitments that that we're putting forward that have already been awarded to us but just again going back to the Peace of the community going back to some of the the comments that we heard from speakers that came out tonight that don't necessarily put people at ease and the language that's coming out from the federal government certain press conferences that doesn't help that doesn't help communities that doesn't help people move about freely in search of his I always say peace and joy so as we as there's things worth knowing things changing updates coming out that that you're all aware of I appreciate this being a forum where we could be updated on on really what's going on and just things to be aware of and what we might be able to expect in an unexpected world and I I recognize that that being said we're going to move on Communications communication 6 6A Mr Miller Janu anuary 2nd 2025 memorandum with an attached resolution from Human Resources Director Michelle sickey Miss Sicky recommends a contract with St Luke's Hospital Occupational Medicine for the administration and compliance reporting of Department transportation drug and alcohol testing is mandated by the Federal Department of Transportation cost is $7,000 per year and the contract would run through December 31st 2025 and resolution 10A is on the agenda 6B the January 28th 2025 memorandum with an attached resolution from Public's Works director Michael alol Mr alol recommends an contract with Bon Associates Incorporated of Bethlehem to provide the preliminary engineering design for the lyen street two-way conversion project from Fairview Street to Church Street final design and construction services agreements will be negotiated and awarded after completion of the preliminary design cost is 1965 $ 7353 work is to be completed within 365 days upon issuance of the notice to proceed there are no renewals resolution 10B is on the agenda 6C January 29th 2025 memorandum and proposed resolution from Public Works director Michael alol memorandum seeks authorization to execute a general reimbursement Grant agreement for federal aid Highway projects city has been awarded $26,000 in federal funding to be used toward preliminary design and environmental clearance for the lyen street two-way conversion project resolution is required to receive the money resolution 10f is on the agenda 6D January 24th 2025 memorandum with an attached resolution from assistant city solicitor Matthew desler attorney desler requests council's review and approval of proposed amendments to the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Board relating to the fire department attorney desler notes that the Civil Service Board voted 3 to Zer at its January 21st 2025 meeting to recommend the enactment of these amendments resolution 10g is on the agenda tonight communication 6E January 29th 2025 memorandum with an attached resolution from Public Works director Michael alal Mr alol recommends a contract with wsp USA Incorporated of Bethlehem to provide assistance in transitioning the climate action plan implementation and coordination responsibilities to the sustainability manager costes $20,000 work is to be completed by December 31st 2025 there are no anticipated renewals and resolution 10h is on the agenda tonight moving on to reports I have nothing to report this evening Mr Mayor just a couple things uh one is just to get back to the topic at hand uh last week um on Wednesday morning I had held a press conference that talked about uh the vast consequences of the uh Federal funding freeze um at the time and what it meant for us and how it touched every part of our city whether or not it was our police department whether or not it was our infrastructure um as well as our nonprofits I think that you know our estimate that we came up with at some point some estimate in the next couple years is we have you know 40 some million dollars that's been awarded and contracted to us um you know the majority of our health Bureau I want to say 80 to 90% is federal funds that either come to us directly or move through the state um so it is you know the number one thing that we are working on is trying to make sure that among other things that we get reimbursements and I said this last week that you know we have paid out based on contracts um and then when they freeze some of these different portals through HUD and so on and so forth it doesn't allow us the opportunity to get back our money um and you know some of that you know may be intentional some of that might not be one of the stories I told last week was how when you free some of these HUD portals and say the Housing Authority can't get their money on a monthly basis they pay for five of our police officers or our Jag grants that Council approves um we put the money out and then we get the reimbursement but when we get that reimbursement and we get our cash back it allows us then to purchase other things that are in our budget so this not only freeze but also the whatever slowdown there is is in awarding and this is connected to the police conversation as well is constantly there is other guidance coming out and potential guidance coming out that what the reasons were why you necessarily got particular funds or what is in that particular contract and certain words that kind of trigger reviews in a way that you can have that money taken away um and quite honestly I think a lot of people in positions of you know uh leadership right now are afraid to talk about some of those things because they think it will put those particular programs you know on a pedestal that will allow people then to be like this is what we're going this is what we want to go after and things like that and the intended or unintended consequences of things like you know we have a um lead and healthy homes program the way that program works is that we hire small businesses so we hire Joe or Jane small business to come in to be able to remove that lead paint using this Federal Grant from people's houses but they don't get paid by us they get re we ask for the reimbursement and then the federal government gives us the money and gives that to Joe or Jane small business so they're the ones that are getting stiffed they're the ones that are getting stuck and then that really has a lot of consequences for the idea that we need people to want to be a part of these programs there's nothing that makes Jane or Joe construction have to be part of this lead and healthy homes program so it's hard not to look at a lot of these programs and not think that the purpose by pausing them by freezing them is not to help to kill them because people that are working in these spaces not just within City Hall but within our nonprofits and things like that obviously the instability is lowering the confidence and the trust and I know we all have our priorities and there's things that we care a lot about but like if you've talked to me recently as like I don't want to talk about the Eagles I don't want to talk about anything like this should be the number one thing that is making all of us rep prioritize what we care about because of the effects it has on people within our community and no matter who you are Democrat Republican whatever whoever you voted for if you care about the city of Bethlehem and us being able to do our projects and do things like remove lead pipes and build parks and keep our keep our contracts this is an issue that's affecting you it's affecting a 100% of the people all 78,000 people within the city of Bethlehem um and that doesn't even touch things like potential education funding and things like that it is the dominant issue it's going to continue to be the dominant issue and I would just ask that when we prioritize issues as a city that we focus on the idea that this is the thing that's going to affect people for years and a weak of damage to some of these programs outweighs months of trying to build up the trust and the confidence and one of the things that we have in the city of betham that people don't have in a lot of other places is that people believe us when we say that we're going to build a park or we're going to do West Broad Street or we're going to remove those pipes and we have that ability to be able to you know keep the confidence and work with our nonprofits and work with our school district and be able to keep those promises and build that trust and we are not trying to spend money that the federal government maybe promise us down the road this is contracted money this is awarded money this is money that Miss wrik and Mr basca and Mr alcohol and Miss Collins have planned as part of the way that we deliver basic city services so it is going to be a many of us had asked questions during the budget process about what this necessarily meant whether or not some of this is and leverage for future budgets and I guess the next you know they're right now talking about what the next federal budget might look like um that they're going to propose we're hopeful and we've seen that from the Democrats in Congress that they are saying it's a red line that we need to make sure there's no federal funding free or not break contracts who would ever thought that was something you had to negotiate um but it really is the number one thing that all of us are focusing on and like I said the one positive about it is it does help to prioritize and put in perspective what people think are really really important in the city of Bethlehem and is the number one issue it's going to continue to be I believe for years going forward and that's that's kind of what we're focused on um just two quick things is a couple weeks ago we had our community Recovery Fund event which was once again wildly successful we you know we build Bethlehem talked about systemic Investments talked about the lessons that we learned from the pandemic um and we have been able to help out nonprofits whether or not it's food access um whether or not it's housing whether or not it's mental health whether or not it's all these different Services um and the people there are are really really inspired by the fact that other organizations are there and they're working together and we've been able to bring people in the same room to be able to make um progress on a lot of these issues um and then the last thing I would say is last Thursday we also had a great meeting over to talk about our South betham Community Center um and I want to thank many of you that showed up many of you that asked questions many of you that showed support um that's a really exciting project that we have moving forward um you know we have some potential private partners that are are talking to us um but then we're also obviously talking to our state and federal officials about potential funding if such things exist so we're going to continue to kind of take that take that be very intentional about how long that process is taking but that really has the possibility to be a hub of services and Recreation um and it was exciting if you haven't had a chance to watch the community anthem from people from the uh South Bethlehem um really it's about five minutes long but it'll it'll leave you um feeling very inspired about our future and very inspired about that project thank you Mr GL thank you mayor Reynolds councilwoman ksey Smith thank you the fin the finance committee met earlier this evening at 6 PM in town hall 15 proposed ordinances involving year- end budget adjustments and budget additions were discussed two resolutions also were discussed involving Golf Course rates and transfers to cover negotiated salary increases as I said before most items would just um reconciliations based upon reimbursement from Grants Insurance donations and rollover funds thank you thank you councilman we don't have any ordinances for final passage so we'll go on to our new ordinances Mr Miller Bill one 2025 ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and North ampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the 2025 capital budget for non utilities bill number one 2025 is sponsored by Miss kmsy Smith and Miss Liam discussion call the rooll Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi Miss grmy Smith I m quch I miss lard I Mr colum I pass 70 Bill 2 2025 ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the 2025 capital budget for sewer utilities bill number two 2025 is sponsored by Miss crampy Smith and Miss Leon discussion call the rooll Miss Leon I miss willhelm hi Mr Callahan hi Miss grmy Smith hi Miss quch hi Miss lard hi Mr colom I pass 70 Bill 3 2025 ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the water Capital fund budget for 2025 bill number three 2025 is sponsored by Miss cron Smith and Miss Leon discussion call the rooll Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi Missy Smith hi M qu hi M lard I Mr colog I I pass seven zero Council yeah sorry uh I'd like to introduce a motion in the interest of time and everyone's uh respect for you know people who are waiting for other things on the agenda too uh could I move to group these agenda items since they are routine uh and went through committee earlier this evening yeah there's nothing sign so the motion would be a motion to group agenda items 9d through nine o o I believe is your intention those were all uh considered by committee earlier this evening correct yes yes all of them except for n and O were um they were not Consolidated they were considered separately so e through M were Consolidated in the committee but we could consolidate all I'm just cloudy I defer to the committee chair if she says they can all be uh consolidated then yeah they they were all related to the general fund so n and o or golf fund and Grand fund so they were not under the same funding okay they were all considered so does anyone want to introduce a motion to group them well can't do um just point of order I think we're still on D right we are on D which is a water fund uh which is a water water fund not general fund so that we voted on that though did did we votee on d c n c we vote on not yet no do D I would say we council could do any grouping it chooses to right if if we if you want to keep it to what was that committee I'll defer again councilwoman cramy Smith because I don't want to missp but we could vote on 9d and then group the remainder let's go with that by fund yes so I move to consider uh well can we vote on 9d sure and then we'll make any thank you sorry Mr Miller she need to withdraw the motion I withdraw I don't know if a motion was ever officially made yeah I I said I'd like to so should we vote on 9d and then a motion when we get I let's do that Mr Miller any motions were withdrawn correct councilwoman L Mr Miller Bill 4 2025 ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton wealth of Pennsylvania amending the Waterfront budget for 2025 bill number four 2025 is sponsored by Miss kmy Smith and Miss Leon discussion call roll Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi M grmy Smith hi miss quch I miss lard I and Mr colog I pass 70 uh I move to uh consider 9e through 9M as a group uh considering they are all associated with the general fund as routine budgets that were considered by committee second motion by councilwoman L second by councilwoman cramsey Smith any discussion on the motion to make them a group Mr Miller please call the RW on the motion Miss Leon hi Miss willhelm hi Mr Callahan hi Miss grmy Smith hi Miss quch i m l i and Mr col I passes 70 Mr Miller please read the group agenda items 9 e through 9M ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 correction uh 9f an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 9g an ordinance of the city of betham counties of Lehigh Northampton conwal Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 9h an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 9 I an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund for budget for 2025 9j an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 9k an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general budget for 2025 9 L ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 and 9M in ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2025 all bills are sponsored by Miss kmy Smith and Miss Leon thank you Mr Miller discussion on the group we'll call the rooll Miss Leon hi Miss willham I Mr Callahan I M kmy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I and Mr cologne I pass 70 n9n Mr col yes Mr Callan if there's no objection I'd like to do the same with 10 a through h i I would say when we get to that part of the agenda I would entertain that motion if we just conclude the uh first vote ordinances right and then we could tackle that when we get to that part of the agenda was that favorable to you Mr C Mr Miller bill 14 of 2025 an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth in Pennsylvania amending the gulf fund budget for 2025 bill number 14 2025 is sponsored by Miss kmy Smith and Miss Leon discussion call the rooll Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi Miss grmy Smith hi Miss quch hi M lard hi and Mr cologne I pass 70 0 ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the Community Development block grant fund budget for 2025 bill number 15 2025 is sponsored by Miss KY Smith and Miss Leon discussion call the rooll Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi M Callahan hi M grmy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I and Mr colom I passes 7 Zer so moving on to resolutions Mr Callahan did you want yeah I I would like to uh propose that we uh group together 10 a through 10 H if there's no so there's motion on the floor to group resolutions 10 a through 10h as a group is there a second I'll second the motion and then at least the discussion right you are correct councilwoman yeah I'll second that all right there's a second from councilwoman Leon so discussion on the motion to group resolutions a through H has a group I'm fine with that except I do have questions regarding three just simple questions I I would say what we would do if we do it is then just ask ask all those questions in one discussion period yeah and it's atypical but we've done it before to be honest with you one it's getting late so any other discussion on the motion Mr Miller please call the roll on the motion M Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi M grimy Smith hi Miss quch hi Miss lard hi Mr colog all so the motion passes we're going to group 10 a through 10 H Mr Miller please read those resolutions 10A 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 hereby authorized to execute an agreement with St Luke's occupational medicine for administration compliance reporting of Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing 10B be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem at the mayor and controller Andor such other City officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with penon Associates Incorporated to provide preliminary engineering designed Lindon Street two-way conversion project 10c be resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem in accordance with Municipal records manual that the disposal of public records in the controller's office as set forth in exhibit a is hereby authorized and D be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem that the golf fees listed in exhibit a shall be affected for the 2025 golf season 10e be resolved by the council in the city of Bethlehem that the SEIU collective bargaining units contract has been negotiated for a new term and transfers are needed for SEIU labor contract settlement which includes Tams NC and contract employees salary increases for 2025 whereas the administration anticipated the wage increases and has recommended sufficient budget transfers into salary accounts and that no other funding sources will be necessary now be it further resolved that the wage increases shall be affected for 2025 10f 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 are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with pendot for the purpose of acceptance of federal funds resolution 10g be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem that the council hereby approves amend m ments to the rules and regulations recommended by the Civil Service Board of the city of Bethlehem on January 21st 2025 which are attached to this resolution as exhibit a and which shall take effect immediately in resolution 10h 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 an agreement with wsp USA Incorporated to provide support with ongoing transition of climate action plan implementation coordination responsibilities to the sustainability manager these resolutions are sponsored by Miss Grampy Smith and Miss leam thank you Mr Miller so any discussion on the group councilwoman KY Smith I just had questions I guess for Mr alol um for TB I just wanted to clarify is for the lynen street conversion actually it would be 10B and 10 f um I just wanted to clarify where the funds are coming from the one is 196,000 and and 206,000 yeah that project we successfully were able to place on the transportation Improvement plan for the planning uh organization which essentially encom as the leive valley nearby townships so do we already have the money because I'm just concerned again if it's Federal reimbursable money is it fedro reimbursable or do we already have the money there various sources um as as as far as funding uh to the tip but they're not individual grants that we applied for and and and got so I don't believe that it's subject to the same conditions that's that's my concern I mean it's a great project although prioritizing wise I mean that you know people are complaining about the the streets and everything else and I just want to prioritize our limited dollars but I'm just really worried about getting into a project where if it's Federal money and we don't know if we're going to get it back you know do we want to go there so no I I don't believe that it's at risk okay great thank you and the only other question I have was on 10 the uh climate action plan um we do have a sustainability manager so I'm just wondering I guess I assume when the sustainability manager would be hired then we would not be paying um for consultative services anymore now is this going to be the 20,000 and this will be the end of consultative service for wsp or will that be continuing as you may recall in the past past years we had $60,000 to support the City by way of if we needed special expertise like to do our ghs G um inventory and other related work to assist with the implementation of the CL the the climate action plan um since we hired to sustain many of those Duties are are be transferred to that individual um this 20,00 000 which is a lot less than the 60 is just to assist with that transition uh and to provide any services that we don't yet possess and can do ourselves uh it doesn't mean we're going to spend the entire $20,000 uh this is an as this would be expended on an as needed basis to assist with that uh transition process after that uh it would only be on a Case by case basis whether we would go out for any Services okay thank you only instances where we don't have the internal inside expertise to do it okay thank you that's it any other discussion for members of council call The Raw on the group Miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr gallahan M gry Smith I miss quch I miss lard I Mr colum I resolutions a through H pass 70 resolution 10i certificate of appropriate under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature Bethlehem resolution is hereby granted for 555 Main Street to construct additional stories of the existing building resolution is sponsored by Miss gmy Smith and Miss Liam you say denied or granted can you repeat your reading for clarification thank you Mr Miller I State I I stated granted however the harb is recommending denial thank you that clarify your question councilman yeah just want to make sure we're getting the language right thanks so this is agenda item 10 I this is the COA from harb that came with a recommendation for denial before we get into discussion on it the the ordinance that creates this process is very explicit that an applicant will have an opportunity to address Council there was Outreach from the applicant and their representatives to address Council so I will give them the floor before Council opens up any discussion thank you so much Julie Bernstein of Kaplan Stewart uh we represent rubel Street 2 LP in connection with their application for a certificate of appropriateness to allow them to pursue byright improvements of the property in accordance with Bethlehem zoning regulations we greatly appreciate your agreement to allow us time to present more information especially given the time of night it is right now I do have packets with we submitted them earlier by electronic but since we're talking about an addition I really hope that you guys will take these so that you can see what it is that we're talking about because this is about Aesthetics yeah you could bring them forward thank you so while this is these are being handed out I will just recognize this is a typical for any COA review couple things I'll note denials are atypical so it's usually pretty straightforward and then the the language is in the ordinance about an applicant will be given the opportunity to address Council we're honoring that opportunity thank you so I do have Todd Chambers with me tonight um he is the lead architect on this project to further explain this proposal um but as a brief overview Rubble street is proposing to improve its property which is in need of major Repairs by taking steps to preserve the existing building located on the property commonly known as the Woolworth Building and to construct a permitted two-story addition along Main Street does go up to three in the rear and this addition will not be taller than the neighboring Main Street Commons and it is proposed to be set back from the facade of the existing building to preserve and highlight the existing roof line and design features of the Woolworth Building while providing for more housing on site and preserving the retail restaurant use of the Main Street floor while we are not here to discuss zoning this is mixed a mixed use that's being permitted that's being proposed and it is permitted by right in the CB Central business district the proposed improvements are also all permitted by right within the City Zoning code as a result there's no relief that's required in connection with these improvements the reason why we're here tonight is because the property's located in bethlehem's historic district and a certificate of appropriateness must be obtained from Council before any alterations are pursued to ensure that the aesthetic improvements coordinate with the historic neighborhood in which the property is located as you likely are familiar and as har members acknowledged at multiple meetings held on this proposal Main Street is a perfect example in which different styles different methods of construction and different formal languages overlay and mix mksd architect which to Todd Chambers is a part of has implemented and designed this proposed addition in a considerate manner of the architectural Rhythm and each of the hard board members comments as they have reviewed the proposal along the way um it comple complements the neighborhood it showcases and preserves the W worth building and as such it's architecturally appropriate as is required further as can explain better than I can the proposed design visually distinguishes the new from the old in a careful and thoughtful manner that ensures it is distinct in accordance with the secretary of interior's guidance for additions while proposing design elements that allow the addition to blend in with the rhythm of the existing streetcape the code directs Council to consider when making this decision a the effect of the proposed change upon the general historic and Architectural nature of the district the appropriateness of exterior architectural features which can be seen from a public Street or way only and the general design Arrangement texture material and color of the building or structure and the relation of such factors to similar features of buildings or structures in the district while a majority of the members that did attend the most recent harb meeting decided over objection of Mike Simmons and your Chief Building official not to recommend an approval of the certificate of appropriateness we do ask that you reconsider as this proposed is permitted and it has been redesigned to be extremely considerate of the existing Woolworth Building and historic neighborhood I have just handed out a series of packets with exhibits in them to kind of help explain the appropriateness of this addition um it also as you can see is pretty thick because this does reflect the kind of procedural history and process that Rubble Street has gone through in order to redesign its proposal and come to what it is here and seeking a certificate of appropriateness for um just quickly to go run through this tab one includes a copy of Todd chambers's resume he's the principal architect on this project as I mentioned he has extensive experience working on historic preservation and adaptation projects and as such I'm optimistic that you'll view um him as an expert in this field in particular in talking about this project tab two I've included just quickly an aerial map and street view of the property I know that you all are very familiar with the property but I included it to orient everyone as to its location and then tab three includes a copy of the meeting minutes from a pre-application meeting that was held with harb to discuss the initial plans for the property and obtain their feedback Tab four is a copy of the initial application plans and presentation materials that were submitted and presented to harb at the December 4th 2024 meeting tab five includes the meeting minutes from that December 4th 2024 harb meeting tab six includes a copy of the revised application and plans that were presented at this January 8th meeting and reflect the current proposal that Rubble street is s seeking a certificate of appropriateness to pursue tab seven includes a series of streetscape images reflecting how the variety and scale of the historic district as well as the rhythm of the block this further shows how the proposal will ordinate with existing streetscape that's there Tab 8 includes a copy of the meeting minutes from the January 8th 2025 meeting minutes and then finally tabs nine and 10 um are transcripts of the harb meetings these were taken from as you guys know these are all on YouTube and publicly available and to make it a bit easier for reference we had these kind of transcribed to go through and um with that I'm going to ask Todd to help discuss the process rubal Street followed to come to this plan and how it does comply with both the Bethlehem historic design guidelines and the Secretary of interior standards for treatment of historic um properties now uh Todd can you just briefly explain what compelled the owner of 555 Main Street to retain your services uh certainly um the loss of a major anchor tenant at the property combined with the poor conditions of the existing building which requires major repairs uh to items like utilities and roof and windows and um just to be clear I know I mentioned this there is no zoning relief required in connection with this proposal for the property is that correct that's correct and instead we're here tonight because the property is located in bethlehem's historic district and pursuant to bethlehem's code no alterations to properties located within the historic district are permitted unless a certificate of appropriateness is issued is that correct that's correct and the Bethlehem historic district design guidelines provide that the review should also be guided by the principles set forth in the Secretary of interior standards of Rehabilitation is that correct also correct and do these guidelines allow for additions to Historic structures uh yes they do they specifically contemplate this and address factors to consider in connection with additions and did you and your team follow these guidelines when you designed the proposal for this property yes we did and did you also meet with bethlehem's historic Architectural Review Board harb before applying for the certificate of appropriateness to get feedback on the initial design yes we did so um I do have a copy for you but I think you've seen this a million times you flip to tab three um if needed for reference this includes the meeting mittance from that harb meeting can you just briefly describe the feedback that was provided at this pre-application meeting sure the pre-application meeting um was an informal meeting with the uh historic officer and the chair of harb um and they advised to preserve the existing parit perhaps step the addition back from the street facade um you know to differentiate the addition from the existing ww worth building they also wanted um or or requested that the design consider the impact on viewsheds along the rear of the property as well as that buts up to the uh historic industrial quarter that's uh below and did you take these comments into consideration when you prepared the design that you submitted for an app appliation yes absolutely and uh can you walk the board through the initial proposal which we included at Tab four this was submitted to harb and reviewed at their December meeting uh certainly the The Proposal includes uh building addition of two stories above the existing TW storyworth building uh for new apartments and to be clear uh the addition is an additional two stories on Main Street uh bu on Rubble Street which is the street that's between uh Main Street Commons and the parking deck that overlooks the old industrial quarter the addition is three stories because the existing wellworth building has two stories currently at the front and one story at the back um our initial proposal included a more contemporary design that contrasted the Woolworth Building facad and an attempt to further differentiate the new from the old the scale of the proposal was in keeping with the neighboring building Heights and the upper level facade was set back six feet from the street facade of the Walworth building details like brick color and window patterns were contemporary in nature but still in keeping with the Rhythm and scale of Main Street and can you just briefly describe the feedback that was provided at the December harp meeting um we have included again the meeting minutes at tab five for reference yes harb generally provided positive feedback but expressed concerns about the windows uh in particularly the asymmetry that we had designed into them and which made them have more of a contemporary aesthetic um the color tone of the addition was also a concern although the guidelines provide for a distinction I think feedback that we heard was that they wanted the tone to speak more to the existing building and uh suggestions were also made regarding the setback of the addition and after receiving this feedback you agreed to this at this meeting to incorporate their comments and update the design for the property is that correct yes that's correct and as a result the board agreed to defer making any recommendation on this application as that correct correct and so now turning to tab six this includes the revised proposal um which we're here seeking your approval of um tonight is that correct yes and um can you describe this proposal and specifically the elements that were changed and how they addressed harb's feedback uh sure in response to harb's comments uh we res revised the design to utilize a more traditional window configuration um so instead of the asymmetrical window designs we paired two double hungs um side by side uh we also selected brick that closely matches the brick on the Woolworth Building we revised the brick detailing according to harb's comments uh the configuration of the upper level addition was revised so that it relates more strongly to the wallworth building uh specifically we updated the massing so that the upper levels are not a straight wall uh but instead have a further recess area at the midpoint of the wall and this relates to uh the articulation of the existing parit on the Woolworth Building we also provided additional information about the rear of the building and how much of the addition would be visible from York Road below uh the existing parking deck and provided an additional view of the project from the Broad Street bridge and finally we Revis the proposed materials for the rear of the building and um just for council's reference if you go to tab six and head to um sheet 11 illustrativo would look like when it's added to kind of give you a sense of what he was just talking about and how the visual the setback would appear and what it would look like um this was all presented har correct correct and as mentioned we did also include a Tab S uh streetcape exhibit and can you just walk the board through I know this is also many photographs um included but can you kind of briefly walk them through how uh the proposed design considers these this kind of streetcape and what it looks like sure so um the the packet that uh describes the streetcape is basically a visual inventory of all the buildings La Main Street um you know I find that it's helpful to refresh everyone's memory uh about the context of the project um but the proposed design is sensitive to the main street streetscape and that it's in keeping with the scale of the streetscape so we're matching um the building height of the addition to the adjacent Main Street Commons almost exactly and then two doors down from um the the 555 Building which is the Woolworth Building there is another four-story building so we're right in line uh with the heights of those buildings and just to cut you off quickly again I know we're not in the zoning context but what height is permitted in this District so zoning permits 150 feet tall structures in this CB district and what height is being proposed here 60 feet and this is considerate of the um surrounding properties is that correct correct I'm cut you off no that's okay um so furthermore the addition is sensitively detail to fit within the context of Main Street it's clad in Brick the window openings relate to the windows on other Main Street buildings and the top of the facade includes uh a cornice detail and does this design comply with bethlehem's historic guidelines I I believe it does and uh it it also uh was generated in collaboration uh with harb based on their feedback Sor can you walk the board through how this design addresses each design principle that should be considered in connection with the new addition sure I I've touched on the scale and building form and massing um in in saying how it's similar height to neighboring buildings um in terms of the setbacks and site coverage uh this principle doesn't really apply since the building is an existing site and it's fully covered with zero setbacks in an urban environment however it's worth reinforcing that the addition to the upper level is recessed from the front facade the orientation of the addition U and proposed interest or entrances uh there's no change obviously the the um proposed orientation of the building um matches that of the existing building with the primary facade facing Main Street the architectural elements of The Proposal such as Windows cornices and brick detailing are all consistent with the existing building and with similar elements found along Main Street with respect to size shape proportion and location and again these were uh elements that were reviewed by harb and um revised accordingly uh through the process with them um alignment uh Rhythm and spacing uh the the alignment of the addition we've spoken about the rhythm of the facade is very similar to other facades on Main Street um and the facade proportions are also consistent with Main Street and then finally the trim and detail and materials um were all selected uh to uh Adorn the um based on their consistency with the materials and trim on the wellworth building and the context of Main Street and these were also modified based upon hard comments is that correct that's correct and now the code directs the council to consider the effect of the proposed change upon the general historic and Architectural nature of the district can you provide your expert opinion on how this design will impact the historic and Architectural nature of this District absolutely um in my professional opinion the design enhances the district uh I went to Temple University where a great deal of focus is placed on good Urban Design and the best thing you can do for anyone in an urban community is to create opportunities for people to live there which is something I believe Main Street and the surrounding area needs more of the Aesthetics of The Proposal are certainly in keeping with and fit in nicely with the main street streetscape for the reasons I just outlined and the code also directs counsel to consider the appropriateness of exterior architectural features which can be seen from a public Street or way only can you discuss how this design and the visible features are appropriate yes the building and scale and massing along with materials and window patterns are all are the elements that are the most critical in terms of dovetailing the design with the public street because this project was intentionally designed to do no no harm to the street gate my professional opinion is that the design is entirely appropriate we were purposeful in our sensitivity to collaboration with harb and their comments were taken seriously and well integrated into the proposal and finally the code directs the council to 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 or structures in the district I realize some of this has been discussed but can you again address how these factors relate to the features of the other buildings and structures in this District sure the general design of the addition is in deference to the wellworth facade below while the arrangement of Windows and materials relate to other buildings on Main Street specifically the windows in the addition are double units similar to those found on 504 Main Street and Main Street Commons clad the addition in Brick as that is the dominent material on Main Street and lastly we borrowed brick uh detailing from Main Street Commons Hotel Bethlehem and the cornice detail is done in a way that the scale of it relates closely to that of the Moravian Bookstore building uh 470 Main Street uh and others along the the streetcape now these updates were all presented to harb at their Janu 8th meeting is that correct yes and did the board acknowledge that you Incorporated all of their comments into this updated design uh I believe they did and however they still voted to deny recommendation to approve this application is that correct yes um over the objection of Mr Simonson and the hard meeting minutes included a tab at tab eight document reasons for their recommendation to deny can you go through these and explain how the proposal Act actually complies with each of these do you think you'd be able to go through the rest of this in the next five minutes yes absolutely um I I just want to pause here and say thank you so much for hearing us out on this in the context of everything that's going on in Washington DC and everything that they're dealing with uh this seems rather minor uh in the context of everything but it's important to our city so thank you you're eating into your five minutes Mr I know I know thank you Mr clone um so the the historic design guideline um that um The Proposal I believe complies with our scale with the height and width of the structure I've already touched on that the building form and massing we went over that I'm not going to belabor the point um and the Secretary of interior standards for rehabilitation um specifically um number one um there's a list of them I'm not going to read them but um this property is proposed to continue to be used as it has been um preservation of the retail restaurant on the first floor but the the standards also um include language for rehabilitation of a structure and that's what we're doing here um standard number three um the setback makes clear that this addition is separate and distinct from the original will worth building so we're differentiating the new structure from the existing um standard number nine the design is perfectly purposely differentiated and the original building is being preserved apart from the repairs the only proposed change is to replace the windows which are in very poor condition with windows that will provide better insulation Etc and aesthetically appear similar to what presently exists and then standard number 10 the addition has been carefully designed so that if it was removed the original building could be restored to appear as it currently does and it is possible at some point if somebody wanted to take this back to a single story or two-story structure as it exists it could be done and just as a quick followup I know we have very little time but these were the elements that were cited as not um being compliant in The Proposal but there were no actual suggested changes to bring the proposal into compliance is that correct yes that's correct and as a result in your professional opinion do you believe that harb's recommendation aligns with these guidelines and principles uh yes I do no oh oh I'm sorry I I read the wrong one I don't believe harb's recommendations and deny the COA for this project aligns with their guidelines and principles and that's as because as you just described each of these elements has been considered and this proposal does actually comply with each of these standards I believe it does yes and so just to reiterate in your professional opinion do you believe the code direct do you believe the code directs that this application should be approved as the design complies with the code standards and requirements I I believe it should be approved um I I also believe that if it's not approved we're we're owed some um further discussion uh as to why I don't have any further questions and we did keep this brief I as you see we gave you really kind of thick packets um and did have you know include testimony to try to expl explain how harb did kind of respond and react to this proposal um they went there multiple times and they really did incorporate all of the um guidance into this design that's what your code requires and they've complied with that and that's why we're here seeking um and hoping that you guys will kind of reconsider um harb's recommendation and approve this application so that this permitted by right restoration and addition can move forward thank thank you I am going to open up now to discussion amongst city council that concludes your comments to council correct all right well and thank you so now we'll open it up to comments from Council I'll start with Mr Callahan thank you um Can Can you guys stay up at the uh microphone are you guys under Any Time Guidelines tonight like or in terms of the project right I think the owner could probably talk about that right sir do you mind going to the microphone for the record please or for the audience at home and not to keep this go going longer than it should but a little bit of History I bought this building 19 199 6 for the purpose for record this blor uh right after I bought Main Street Commons I bought this I put Social Security in here back then the administration really wanted to have social security downtown we made a concerted effort with GSA to get Social Security in this building so they were the anchor tenant and we've managed to keep them there for over 25 years so this has been a real effort to maintain Social Security as the as the sea anchor for that building now the building is basically obsolute I've got to redo it to redo it I need to do with economies of scale that it actually makes sense I propose a plan here that would spend about $8 to1 million in redoing this building in a way that I thought was fashionable with the rest of Bethlehem and Main Street for some reason we've gotten into this no change of lock step here with with harb we went through harb's recommendations we went through Solutions we went through details colors windows Styles and then there was a 180 where they didn't want anything and it really is a front of I I took Main Street Commons from what was the WW worth building and work through with that Administration back then it was Ken Smith and then it was Callahan and then it was Cunningham I mean Cunningham and then Callahan and we did nine buildings within two blocks we did the Liberty Place building I did one East Broad I did F far over I did the Walworth building over we did the tiger hall building over we did the Jack Jones building over everyone we sat down and worked with the people that were making decisions and work through the issues here we sat down with the people that were making the recommendation work through their issues they did a complete 180 and I can only say for some lobbying effort and some group of citizens who didn't want anything to happen no change and spawn the talk about a skyscraper disturbing the skylines none of which are true we're we're not exceeding the height of adjacent buildings we're not building a skyscraper it's it's sort of atrocious as to what's been spawned as to this I think innocuous addition to this building my my my my question about uh the timeline is that this is obviously a lot of material which you know I'm not sure if we could have gotten at an earlier time or not but I also did not know and was not aware that that and and I I I would like to talk to the people at harb oh I I think in that regard it's not issue you know no I know but I didn't know that you that that you had met all of their demands and and and requirements that they had asked and then went back with that is that correct that is correct all right well I didn't know that so I think a lot of people don't know that well I one of the things I would like to do is is have the opportunity I don't know if anybody else on Council would like to but I if at some point and I'm sure there's gonna be other questions uh I would like to have the opportunity to maybe table this so we can go back and talk to the harb and find out what what was the final I know you what was the final proposal was it this one or the or the darker was it was it this one or the darker um brick that's the final one yeah I'm not worried so I mean I mean if you look at the elevations in the back I'm not worried about the elevations especially with the with the size of the buildings to the right and to the left of it and with the um with the setback in the front so so my concern is is harbs um wants as far as what the exterior of the of of of of the new project is going to look like and I don't think we've had it I don't know if anybody else had a chance to talk to harb this the first time I'm really seeing all this so um I I'd like to especially with the hour that we're looking at right now uh if we maybe tabled it it gave everybody on Council um I I don't want to personally I don't want to have to vote on it right now uh because there's a lot of information here and especially it's 11 o'clock at night and I don't think anybody from harb is still here right now which I'd like to talk to but we're not this we're not turning this into a hard meeting I just want to make sure that we're clear on that and and and I recognize I see it chomping out the bit over there ladies but and I do recognize everybody that this is atypical like I said we don't get a lot of denials and I don't remember my decade on Council anyone um essentially reaching out to council too to Mr Callahan and not to cut you off as you finish your thought but I'll just remind all members of council you included as you have the floor I ask everyone to hold any motions until everyone has a chance to speak on what's in front of us yeah thank you I appreciate that so um again I'm not that concerned about the height what I would like to do is talk to harb members and find out exactly what their um Direction was going and asking you to meet all those things and you came back and you met you're telling me you met every one of of the recommendations yes the the redesign after the first meeting did meet every request and this was stated by har members at the meeting it's in the transcript well the the the only thing I don't and this is what I like to talk to Har about the only thing I don't like about this here and this is just my personal opinion is if you look at the surrounding buildings the the particularly the top floors of the second floors of the surrounding buildings they have those square 90 degree angle Windows these windows here on the new on the new project they're also square and I think it's way too modern for Main Street way way too mod I mean you know for my look so I don't know if it's possible to put in if you look at the uh the build if you look at the top windows at this building here how there's um a deck decorative corn at the top of the window I mean this is just getting down to my thought process I'm not sure about anybody else but there's no way I'm be honest with you there's no way I would have approved that on Main Street just because of the windows itself uh if the bricks the same the height doesn't bother me but it's it's the it's these top level this is a very modern looking project versus these type of Windows here at the top of this building and even uh if you look here Mr pector I think you own this building here right I do the commons if you look um at at these windows here and the these windows here are square 90e angles and the ones that are across the street on the second floor but the third floor Windows have that rounded top to it with some type of decorative corners but that's that's just my opinion I would prefer that um after everybody speaks Council and I I don't want to take any more time that we um maybe table this and come back this after we have some time to speak to the hard members uh yeah I mean I think my point is we've been willing to work with the city of Bethlehem even the Main Street Commons building if you remember the ORS building it was just horizontal paneling we ripped all that off reconstructed what was the turn of the century look of the old Bush and bull building and we it took a lot of work you know and I don't think there was any har back then I don't maybe there was maybe there wasn't I don't remember having this sort of difficulty where we couldn't have interaction and constructive thought to come up with product that worked at the end that's what I find frustrating about this so this this got caught in some political thing that I don't quite understand but here we are yeah I don't know if it was political because I I mean I I didn't hear anything about it you know to be honest with you I I really didn't so usually if there's if there's something going on everybody gets a little wi whiff of of something's going on gentlemen I want get into the weeds of subjectivity people's motivations and own life that's I'm just trying to be fair about it you know I didn't hear anything about it so I I'm done my questions I and before everybody else speaks I would just prefer that we we table it and get back to it maybe next month next meeting you know when you say time we have time we're not here to thank you to fight you on time if it if if knowledge is important take the time to get the knowledge and I would rather react to that just one thing to clarify yes sir was anything presented tonight different than what was presented at har in terms of the design in terms of terms of the design no understood the only addition are some streetscape they're like Photo they're Google photographs so it's what if you walked along the block and I don't think it's it's specifications aren't different understood councilwoman L thank you um so I I have been following uh this project uh in in the news I have watched harb's uh meetings which are available online so I am familiar with the plans that were submitted and have had time to to think about um what's here one question my my biggest outstanding question two questions one is um are you aware and I think you covered this but I just want to make sure are you aware of any thing that was presented to you to make to make this fit the guidelines are you aware of any options that you could pursue to fit the guidelines any in connection with the most recent meeting and the current proposal yes no the feedback that was provided that was responded to was provided at the December meeting and each of those comments were addressed and incorporated into the current proposal okay so my second uh question and I guess it kind of has Parts um because I am relatively new to this process is as Council if we deny a certificate of appropriateness we are required to say what could be done to make it appropriate correct so I will turn to our solicitor if few want to correct me if I misspeak but there there's an ordinance like anything that creates harb BC and the way the ordinance reads is in two part and I'll have in front of me I'm going by memory attorney Stewart has in front of her but one is that a disapproval from harb shall come with recommendations of what would win an approval and then but then so that that relates to harp and then it prescribes coming before Council says the applicant could address Council but then there's language in there that disapproval from Council will indicate changes in the plans and specifications essentially what what would meet the conditions for approval so solicitor is that you almost verbatim yeah okay yeah I've read it a lot in the last few days um my you know 2B then would be I am not an architectural expert or history and I don't think anyone on our uh council is um so we have the option to approve we have the option to deny we you know um may be able to table things or whatever are we allowed to say harb can you talk to the more can we go back a step and say can these conversations continue to a point where the experts all around can make a plan that works for the space here's what we can do and we did this with the HCC for council members who are here a couple years ago remember with the project on Fourth Street Council can motion to send it to send the application back to harb it would include a memo uh requesting uh essentially suggested changes in citing the language in the ordinance that reads because Council so there are certain mechanisms in the ordinance too including the applicant's ability to appeal a denial if Council denies the application per the ordinance we have to provide what could have been done what changes could have been made to win an approval so I would say that yes we can and I would you know gladly entertain that discussion about sending the application as is back to harb with a memo requesting and citing the um legislation the ordinance that that creates this scenario um asking for what would what changes can be made to the specifications or plan that would win a favorable recommendation to council okay so I I understand everyone uh will have their chance to to speak before we make any motions but um I think that at this moment that is what I'm feeling comfortable with is seeking more guidance from the experts that we uh receive advice on and and asking for re-engagement at that point understood and again thank you for allowing everyone opportunity to speak does anyone else want to weigh in during discussion councilwoman quch thank you um I uh want to thank you for making this presentation I too like uh councilwoman lared had uh been thoroughly U you know exam examining the documents and the items that we had uh online there were the minutes and minutes from both meetings as well as uh the you know all of the images and the plans and everything so um um it was my interpretation from from that reading uh like Miss L's that um there was not uh recommendations in the second uh meeting um for to help you to help guide the the developer the owner um in how they could uh change this from a denial to a an approval um so that um is does leave me in the same place that it left uh councilwoman L which is uh not feeling equipped to uh vote on a in in a you know vote for a denial uh that I would not be able to you know offer options for for what would would turn the minds and so I'm I'm kind of left in that limbo as well wanting um another opportunity for the for the parties to uh engage and and and find a way forward thank you any other discussion from members of council I'll start with councilwoman Leon and then back to the left I'm assuming that this would be on March's harb meeting and not the meeting tomorrow I'm assuming that that's how that would work I I would think it's impractical I me I would think so too I'm just I'm just addressing um table versus Kickback uh to harb and the amount of time that we would be given to review this if it was on tomorrow's harb versus March's um harb I believe a gentleman from the HCC or from the harb did speak tonight and he I I wrote it down he said we follow a rigorous process um and and I I agree with that I think we need to follow the rigorous process through to completion and what we saw on the the south side is similar an Architectural Review Board is different than a commission but it is that point the curing is the same so I think we should follow the process that we're supposed to follow so I just I just agree with councilwoman lar thank you any other discussion I I just had a question about parking where did you say there's going to be parking in the back is it going to be underneath the building on behind the building no well yeah I can I can answer that um per zoning there's no parking required for this project in the central business district there is a garage directly behind it um that I think has plenty of space yeah okay so the existing garage will have some space for these okay the Central Business dist District uses the kind of principles of that District encourage uses that are discourage the use of a car and encourage walking I think is why there's no parking requirement there right well thank you for your presentation all this extensive evidence this is great and and thank you for hard for all your efforts um you know I I have concerns that um I just feel looking at it that I feel that it it's not congruent with the historic Aesthetics of Main Street um like councilman Callahan said like the windows especially and even you know the the color I mean I'm looking at the windows of Main Street Commons and they're OVO on the top and they just look more historic than the square Square Windows so um just looking at like that I just have concerns but um those those are my only comments I mean we can continue the discussion anything else members of council councilman will I'll just quickly say that my my comments have been made already by Miss quch councilwoman L and vice president Leon um I feel similarly that I am not equipped to make the recommendations necessary so I would support uh sending this back to harb for their re review and recommendations as well thank you any other discussion from members of council that being said I would say councilwoman leair if you wanted to introduce the motion I would say I would I would welcome a motion followed by a second to send the application for the certificate of appropriateness back to harb requesting their report include what changes in the plans and specifications would meet the conditions for approval I would like to move that we do then second all right motioned by councilwoman leair second by Mr Callahan any discussion so I'll just say then what we'll we'll call the role in a second but what we'll do then I'll work with attorney Stewart Mr Miller we'll draft a memo send it to the chair of harb and then send it back to harb similar to the action we took for the East for stre HCC application any other discussion questions um can I just make one quick comment before I would like to thank everybody involved in the willingness to talk to each other and keep going um you know this is everyone's best efforts uh to make our downtown um you know better while honoring our past and so I you know I'm really hopeful that uh a solution that meet everybody's uh needs comes to be so thank you any other discussion before we call the roll on the motion can I yeah I just want to clarify so if we send it back to ARB we're basically saying harb needs to re review it and then give recommendations on how it can be approved is that correct what what we'll be looking for is recommendation what could the applicant have done to want approval by the board or a positive recommendation to council okay because we're saying that that did not happen correct okay can I just chime in quickly that there is it's a bit of an assumption and a leap that's being made here but that a lot of the comments have been associated with the height of this building and that if we go back and the response is that the only way we would get a certificate of appropriateness is to not have an addition this feels unproductive and which is why we here now because we did incorporate all of their I hear what you guys are saying about Windows this is very kind of you know subjective what people think and so the windows were changed to be more in line with the historic district and it did take into account comments that har made about those windows and so the concern here is that if we go back we are going to not have a path forward so we want to ensure that that's possible that there is a real path forward that the guidelines do allow specifically and your ordinance allows for an addition in this neighborhood and that this is permitted we're not seeking zoning relief so I'm not sure how you guys tailor that but since you guys are kind of asking us to go back I would really you know want this to be productive to that I would say ultimately now harving an advising body as we cited before in previous Council actions per our ordinance if there is a denial we have to give those specifications that I think I heard from my colleagues tonight and I would agree with I'm not reading specifics that were said you know this subjective change would have won an approval and and that is so in terms of productivity my motivation is to follow what the ordinance says be confident that whatever council's action is going to be whether it's to um adhere to the recommendation or go against the recommendation that we're prepared to follow what the ordinance says we need to do which is give that um explanation to a denial to a COA if that makes sense it does any other discussion from Council Mr Miller please call a ro Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I and Mr colog I the motion passes 70 the application for the COA will be sent back to Har with the memo that we had discussed that concludes tonight's agenda 11:19 interesting have a good night everybody --------- ##VIDEO ID:kE5WOLVhFi8## I am Grace kampy Smith chair of the finance committee the other committee members are Hillary quch and Rachel Leon the clerk will please call the role Miss grmy Smith present Miss quch present and Miss leam present there are 17 agenda items on tonight's meeting agenda the first 15 agenda items involve budget adjustments and the final two involve resolutions YouTube reminder if you are starting to stream this meeting at after 6 pm. please make sure to scroll ahead so that the YouTube stream is current rather than a recording of an earlier portion of the meeting we do not have anyone signed up for public comment correct okay is is there anyone from the public who would like to speak on any of the agenda items tonight with a five minute limit anyone here this side anyone over on this side no okay agenda item number one the first agenda item is to review proposed annual adjustments to the non-utility capital fund I will call on a representative from the administration to discuss this request I'll take that one it's an annual adjustment that we do um every year at year end we reconcile um the cash the arpa funds loss Revenue reimbursement funds and bond proceeds to what was actually spent when we put the budget together we took the numbers as of September 30th so the budget didn't resp um reflect the spending that took place from October 1st through December 31st so that's I'm reconciling those expenses into the cash balances to this fund okay thank you is there anyone else from Administration that would like to speak on the item okay do any committee members have any comments or questions yes I have just one quick question and it's the library um column restoration project um there's $150,000 balance that's being um I guess uh that that exists that you that perhaps wasn't known to exist or um I had thought that that project was done so I was just curious about that yes yeah that project is complete that's just in a holding spot now until it's reallocated to uh a project or purchase that's identified in the future great thank you how was it Council Leo okay I just had a couple questions um the one the lynen Center Street two-way conversion for 2 million um I know on the council meeting tonight on the agenda there are some funding for that Linden Street is this is that inclusive of this money is this the 2 million is that is that part of this going to be covered under the well this is the adjustment back to the budget but I believe what's in tonight's agenda is the approval of the spend um local money okay so this is just getting the project back to the um the balance okay so right now we have two million in that ear marked for that project yes so now they're getting permission to um I believe it's a contract that spend local money okay and then for the orpa money so right now the balance is um under the loss Revenue 1.2 million and then that is Ora money is that correct yes okay and then um 5.1 again under 35138 yes that was the allocation from um the 5.87 was the allocation from 2024 and the 1. 1284 was the allocation that was passed in the 2022 budget okay so is that the total amount left in or for this um that's the amount that has been allocated to nine utility there's all projects in 0901 under Civic um it's affordable housing homelessness and Community Connection recovery I always okay and those that money's there okay and that's that those accounts are reconciled under a item number five which you be getting to shortly the 090 and the Civic expenses okay yeah okay I will accept a motion in a second to recommend approval of administration's request and the place the appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda the clerk so moved second the clerk will please call the role M quch I miss Leon hi Miss grmy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's count Council agenda the second agenda item is to review proposed annual adjustments to the Sewer Capital fund I will call on a representative from Administration to discuss the request Edward bosola director of water and sewer resources so the changes to the Sewer Capital fund these are to reconcile the accounts to the end of the year so much much as Lenny indicated on the non- capital or the non um utility capital we do the same on the capital the the utility Capital funds so um the cash position reduced about a little over $100,000 uh to $6.1 million in the bank as of January 1 and then there were some additional um or some commensurate changes in the expenditure side to match that that cash change than nothing I would say on the sore side nothing major or out of the ordinary here other than reconciling end of year budget adjustments thank you does anyone else from Administration have any comments do committee members have comments or questions no I'll take a motion and a second to place um to recommend approval of the administration's request on tonight's Council agenda so moved second clerk will call the role please is quch I miss Leon I miss gmy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda the third agenda item is to review proposed annual adjustments to the water Capital fund I will call on a representative from the administration to discuss this request okay so the water Capital Fund in much the same way as the sewer Capital fund gets adjusted these are endof year reconciliations uh water capital is a little bit more involved uh in that actually the next two agenda items are kind of linked together between the water Capital fund and then the water fund because of a of a cash transfer here but the cash balance construction fund and capital appropriation accounts all are reconciled to the end of year and then there were some commensurate changes in projects for the year so we're we're P we're pouring more money into lead service line replacement security enhancements and the 2 million gallon Southwest Reservoir which admittedly the cost estimates are coming in higher than anticipated that's why there's a big increase in that Capital line item and that's reflected in the money um the uh capital or the cash transfer from the operating fund to the capital fund which is reflected in the next uh line item yeah on the agenda okay thank you was there anyone else from Administration that wants to comment on this agenda item do committee members have any questions or comments okay I will accept a motion in a second to recommend approval of the administration's request to place appropriate legislation on tonight's agenda so moved second clerk will please call the rooll Miss qu I miss Leon I miss KY Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda the fourth agenda item is to review Ann annual adjustments to the water fund Mr boscola sure so this is linked to the one we just talked about so this is the transfer of the million five so we're pulling from the cash Reserve in the water fund of which there is over $10 million in that cash account which we which we reserve for Capital so this is this is the whole purpose of that c that cash Reserve is to use it for Capital expenses so we're moving a million5 from the capital fund cash account cash Reserve over to Capital appropriation and then that gets transferred to the capital fund so okay that's what we're doing there do any committee members have any questions or comments um just so just to confirm thank you yeah sure um so just to confirm this is as we discussed when um the rate increase took effect that uh you actually do purposely try to set aside the fund so that you don't have to borrow so you can move it from the cash Reserve into that which you know over the longer term is is a savings correct every year we try and end our balance sheet in the black if you will meaning revenues exceed expenses uh ideally and then that that net cash balance just adds into the capital account and we keep that as a reserve to pull from so we don't have to borrow money correct thank you anyone else have any questions committee members nope I will accept a motion and a second to recommend approval of the administration's request to place appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda moved second clerk will please call the r miss quch I miss Leon I and Miss grmy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda thank you the fifth agenda item is to review proposed annual adjustments to the general fund I will call on a representative from the administration to disc discuss this request um this is the year in reconciliation of last Revenue reimbursement for um on general fund this is what I speaking of when I said the Civic accounts the community recovery the homelessness initiative and affordable housing we're reconciling um to our year in balances unspent balances do any community members have any questions or comments no I don't no no okay I will accept a motion in a second to recommend approval of the administration's request to place appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda so moved second the clerk will please call the role M quch I miss Leon I miss grmy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda unless unless there is an objection um we will consider I will take a motion and a second to consider agenda items 6 to13 as a group does anyone object if there if there's if someone wants to discuss one particular item we can do that otherwise I'll take a motion in a second to consider them as a group because these are all proposed budget adjustments to the general fund so moved second clerk will please call the r Miss quch hi Miss Leon hi and Miss grmy Smith I motion passes if the administration will please um discuss these group requests and if you could as we said give a little um you know explanation of each of them sure Char thank you I'll move through six through 13 as you said these are all budget adjustments out of the general fund so they have the same impact the first five were all Recon reconciliation or housekeeping that's done each year these are a little bit different number six is uh addressing a change in a grant that was received from Northampton County they called The Grow Norco Grant and in explanation you'll see that the fire Grant was reduced we applied for 20 received $110,000 however the uh EMS Grant which we applied for we did not include in the uh 2025 budget because in 2024 we did not receive funding so was not added into 2025 budget we found out after we went to print with the budget book late in the year in December that we awarded 17,800 so you'll see the revenue uh increase to to reflect those two it's reducing fire increasing EMS and the associate this is a two to one match where um for every $2 you need one dollar of local money to um put that Grant together the far is for improvements to some of the garage doors that need to be repaired and replaced and the EMS are for cardiac monitors number I'll just move through all of them okay chairwoman and then we'll would you like questions go through each one would that be simpler I think we go through each one yeah does anyone have does any c committee members have questions or concerns about agenda item six no go ahead if you can seven please there are um we have escro accounts there are times when we receive funds and for example agenda item number seven each year in 0901 we have a Halloween parade fund that pays for and some of you may have attended the award ceremony mostly for schools and other people that other parade there's a an award ceremony and prizes are given one of the groups in 2022 turned their money back back they donated it back to the city so it it lied in escrow until it's now going to be reapplied this year so this one simply doing is taking out of escrow once it was turned back in uh the revenue item shows up and then the expense is going to go right back into that same account the Halloween parade which we budget every year for 12,500 will simply be 12,750 so it's just to activate that that funding for the parade any committee members have questions I'll just say thank you to the group that donated that money that was awfully nice yeah I think it was an individual that won uh first second or third prize they do the different categories and divisions and they get a great turnout the event is um in early November after the parade you know they they the judges work on the prizes that day and then they invite in almost everyone shows up it's a nice event great thank you number eight is uh transfer funds for radio upgrade this is a carryover for police equipment you remember we had a large radio upgrade last year police fire and EMS were included this remaining funding was in escro at the end of last year so 27,000 will be reapplied uh in revenue and uh this $27,000 will be spent entirely on the 0601 accounts which is the police department that's the radios that will be addressed with the funding thank you any questions committee members NOP nine is a new Grant this is a women's health I'll take this don't take this one this is a rollover from from last year it's advertising dollars and um it's just adjusting their budget to the year and balance this is and Kristen told me to tell you what I'm sorry oh um then um Kristen told me to tell you that it's all state funds and also it's not an immunization it's Women's Health Services thank you wel any Comm committee members have any questions no thank you move to item 10 uh Chief cot is with us tonight and she'll take agenda item 10 so similar to what we did last month because theou wasn't approved when we completed the 2025 budget we had to add funding in case we had any overtime incurred for the task force cooperation between the betham police department and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office and similar to that last month's Financial committee transfer we're going to do the same thing this month um to make sure that the funding is there in case uh there's any overtime that's incurred by our officers uh during their duties with the task force great any questions from committee members yes so Chief does that mean that um this is sort of a regular occurrence on a month-to-month basis where you almost sort of Bild back to them for the overtime so we should expect to see this hopefully we don't go over um what we have budgeted here it's uh estimated that it should last us uh a good majority of the rest of the year of 2025 um at which point then we can put it into the 26 budget um but yes what would happen is our officers would work the overtime and then we would we would Bild the Attorney General's office and they would we would get that funding back okay but now that we have it in here we won't need to make adjustments anymore you'll just bill and they'll reimburse and we won't even see it's just a transaction that happens correct okay thank you thank you any other questions nope okay thank you Chief and that was item number 10 item number 11 11 is from the electrical Bureau there was a street light just next to just born we on stepco that was hit you may have noticed it was knocked down knocked out need to be replaced and this will Place Funding into that account 420 41b where we purchase the equipment the revenue will be uh replacement Revenue will be provided by the insurance proceeds as they're collected we will be reimbursed for by the accident for the driver who caused it thank you any questions from Council me or committee members so just to understand the cost of the replacement is $1,500 or is it more than that um I'm just for the equipment it's about that there's some there's some pieces that we had inhouse this was a different for some of the custom you know the pieces they need but some of the nuts and bolts and the other miscellaneous is carried in general inventory for electrical so we do from time to time fix and repair in general maintenance but when something like this happens at large he did he knew he' it would he wanted the funing to be replaced so this is why we put it in there I have to admit I thought it would be more so yeah well it's our crews you know they're going to do it so I I think if you're Contracting it would be different but true something that we do ourselves thank you sure questions okay thank you agenda item 12 Tiffany Wismer the business manager for CED will handle this one uh the city of Bethlehem was awarded $400,000 in a as an emergency Solutions Grant on behalf of seven nonprofit members of the Lehigh Valley Regional homeless Advisory Board um funding which will support rapid rehousing Street Outreach homelessness prevention emergency shelter and operation of homeless management information system in the Lehigh and Northampton counties um this grant will be a pass through Grant and the city will receive reimbursement for administrative costs thank you any Comm members have any questions thank you so agenda item number 13 get that yeah um these are just yearend adjustments to account for activities between October and December uh it's for the Lura affordable housing we are requesting to make a change of $323,900 marked for a specific project or yes I believe it's for the project I'm happy to to take that so the lorda affordable housing fund we've grouped in with our overall affordable housing spending plan that we had presented um last budget season and then talked about this budget season um but this bucket specifically we anticipate going towards the Gateway on Fourth project thank you okay do you have questions I'm sorry question I'm just thinking about the the Gateway projects and thinking about the way Federal funding is moving and stuff like that and if at any point um any of our like our major project uh becomes not viable then what happens to the affordable housing I know that's very much a hypothetical but I'm just curious does would Council then have a say in what we would do with the remainder of that money or if is there another project that we're considering if the Gateway project isn't feasible anymore well so with respect to the Gateway project and we are still moving ahead with that one um it is you know the a major component of the of the capital stack is the um uh litec um housing tax credits our application for that is due or penrose's application for that is due um on the 11th of the month um and that is still proceeding as normal and our understanding at this point is that those tax credits seem pretty secure um which you know would would help make the project feasible but we won't really know that for many months until we till we get um uh an answer on the application and then we also have other um State uh funding um applications that are that are pending currently that'll contribute to that project so the short answer is it will take many months to really determine like you know do we have all all the money in place to make that um project possible um I think you know hypothetically if you know for some reason the project could not go through I think yes then we would come back to the to the table but what you'll probably recall from our housing plan is that a large component of our dollars were meant to be for uh a revolving Loan Fund or other gap financing for projects um like Gateway so you know this project Falls within you know that kind of bucket of of um recommendations in the housing plan for Gap financing so if this project in particular couldn't go through I think we would continue to look at other um viable affordable housing projects in the city okay thank you any other questions no okay thank you so that is agenda item 13 I will um accept a motion and a second to recommend approval of the administration's request to place all the appropriate legislation from agenda items 6 through 13 on tonight's Council agenda soov second CL will please call the role miss quch I miss leam I miss gmy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda agenda item 14 is to review a proposed adjustment to the golf fund I'll call on a representative from Administration to discuss this request okay um thank you I'll take this one uh after after 6 to 13 Al de with General we now move into the different funds and agenda 14 is the golf fund St Luke's hospital has an ongoing sponsor agreement with the golf course they provided then that's where you'll see the is it $10,000 10,000 yeah there it is there's $10,000 in the escrow account labeled from St Luke so we're increasing sponsorship from 25 to 35 in the St Luke sponsorship from 25 to 35 in the golf expense account they use that to purchase golf balls at the driving range that's exclusively marked with St Luke's branding they purchase uh the score cards with St Luke's sponsorship on it and they purchase um clothing for the staff workers this is you Municipal Golf Course City Beth municipal golf course that also has a St Luke's branding on it that's what the how the provides the sponsorship and make like a you know a win-win uh for us here at the city thank you do any committee members have any questions or comments I just so basically St Luke's gave 25 last year and they increased it by 10,000 is that for the last yeah yeah the agreement that they did this year because it was a renewal the contract set is for 25 last year during the year we renewed it and they added 10 as a signing as a you know threee signing uh agreement so it was actually 35 last year but 25 was in the budget we didn't move it into the budget last year at s in escrow and now moving it into activating it putting into the golf budget for 2025 so the the go the balls at the driving range I think the singular l i mean Paul could be um clar confirmed that for me but the little ball they hit all over the place to get a lot of loss a lot of damage because they're used constantly all day 365 247 3 65 and by the end they're they're they're not that cheap so I think that's the largest expense that they use for that thank you I will accept a motion in a second to recommend approval of the administration's request and to place appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda so moved second the clerk will please call the role miss quch I miss Leon I and Miss gmy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda agenda item 15 the 15th agenda item is to review proposed adjustments to the Community Development block grant fund I will call on a representative from the administration to discuss this request uh we are requesting a change of 635,000 4 74332 um these are all yearend changes expenses that happened between October and December from the time that we submitted the budget in October do any committee members have any questions or comments no okay thank you I will accept the motion in a second to recommend approval of the administration's request and to place appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda so moved second the cler will please call the role miss quch I miss Leon I Miss gmy Smith hi the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda agenda item 16 is to review a proposed resolution involving proposed rate increases for the upcoming golf season I will call in a representative from the administration to discuss this request thank you I'll I'll take this uh explain as far as I can and then I'll note that our general manager of the golf course PA Viola will attend the city council meeting he's on his way now but he was at an appointment so any follow questions he can address at the 7 o'clock meeting uh you'll notice in the Mema golf courses are proposing to increase rates for 25 season in order to keep up with increasing expensive labor chemical there a lot of chemicals that are placed out uh on the grass operting supplies as well as Utilities in addition our engineering Bureau is evaluating the existing maintenance Barn for renovation or replacement either optional result and considerable expense to the course the the barn that's right next to recycling you you may have seen it the RO roof is you know starting to show the the walls are starting to show so engineering's been made several trips out it's on their list of items to uh scope out in the spring as a weather breaks and make a decision whether it's salvageable in which case needs a lot of repair uh if not it would need to be demolished and replaced somewhere on site this is part of the golf course property it's paid for with the golf course funding it's not part of the general fund so um in addition to the other line items I I uh mentioned is the reason for the increase I will also say that Paul Viola does a comprehensive review of all local golf courses that that we do consider our peers to make sure that we're equal to or in most cases below in regard to rates and on the rate sheets quite extensive because I I think any golf course looks the same way there are green fees for seniors for students or Juniors there's nine hold there's 18 hole Twilight means if you're playing late in the day there are discounts weekends are a little more expensive there are options for a golf cart or walking so the combination is is provided on the attached page so I'll answer any questions I can if not I will defer to call at 7 o'clock do any committee members have questions or comments I have a question I I really just don't remember this is there a different rate for Bethlehem residence then for um people coming in to play on the golf course there is with the season season pass if you look at the bottom of the sheet there's a resident non-resident it's broken between standard senior and Junior rates but the dailies no the daes yeah thank you yeah it became too much ministr burden trying to track all that that was removed about 10 years ago this went to straight rates daily but citizens on season pass all right thank you and I was going to question regarding that maybe I'll wait for Mr Viola but um I was wondering why the car fees did not increase at all and also the nonresident and the resident rates the increase is the same of $100 and I was just wondering if it um made any sense or I'm sure there was rationale as to why the non-resident rate didn't increase more yeah ask him that yeah he's spent a pretty good amount of time uh working through this with his team before he brought it to us then we went through it again but I would defer to Paul at 7 o'clock if he would be able to do that that'd be great thank you okay I will accept the motion in a second to recommend approval of the administration's request and the place appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda so moved second clerk will please call a ro miss quch I miss Leon I Missy Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda I now that was 16 right okay T last agenda item agenda item 17 to review a proposed resolution involving proposed budget transfers resulting from the SEIU collective bargaining agreement I'll call on a representative from the administration to discuss this request thank you this um memo had a little bit to it that's why it's set up a little bit different we tried to be descriptive and explain the situation best we could uh as well as of course outlining the items the accounts and the amounts on uh the attached Pages uh in all uh we enter budget season in September and went into print in late October so the budget could be proposed by the mayor to councel in November it was after that when we were able to sit down with the SEIU the negotiating group for non-uniformed employees and I believe it ended up with can't quote me exactly maybe five sessions five baring sessions they went well they were constructive some were lengthy like any negotiation sessions they had their ups and downs but we believe um in the end and we announced this I think last month and even in December that uh we came to terms with SEIU it was actually after our last budget our last council meeting of December so was our first meeting in January when we were pleased to announce that we did reach a settlement with him it's a four-year deal so um in the budget at budget time we did not know what they' be so rather than guess and guess high or low we did not add raises to anybody in any of the salary accounts what what you saw in 2024 is what was there in 2025 year to year so what we now need to do is um reapply the increase for 2025 into each of those salary buckets and there are a number them across the city I think there's over 30 different bureaus that are impacted so you'll see in the general we even use the term various 41 account will require transfers and then we also need transfers in the water fund the sewer fund the golf fund and the storm water fund every fund that that includes those employees uh were impacted so if you have any questions the way we set it up so the funding was there we built into the budget as we have in the past in several different accounts existing accounts including unforeseen contingency and we also bumped up workman's comp a little bit and medical insurance up a little bit more than we may have in order to kind of move around the accounts but make them available we had plans a b and c on how much we would need from each one but still feel comfortable of where we were where we would have been originally you know we had we had the amounts placed there on purpose and plan so it wasn't like we're pulling something that we now think we're going to be short in those accounts that makes sense thank you do any committee members have any comments or questions no just congratulations on uh the four-year agreement and thank you and on kind of hitting the mark on the money that you set aside your estimates and everything so well done you similar it's just it's it's the memo just proves how hard you guys work it was a ton of information to to take in not gonna lie but you guys do an amazing job with these these bargaining agreements and just incredibly grateful for your team thank you and I'll triple that I know it can be sometimes challenging and it's great to have a labor agreement to be uh satisfactory and agreed upon so thank you I will accept a motion in a second to recommend approval of the administration's request and to place the appropriate legislation on tonight's Council agenda so moved second the clerk will please call a roll Miss qu I miss Leon i m gon Smith I the appropriate legislation will be placed on tonight's Council agenda thank you everyone for your patience for 17 agenda items did it this meeting ised appr thank you awesome pretty efficient too Michelle