##VIDEO ID:jZHXlrr9JA4## all right we are recording just everybody knows good evening everyone we're going to start tonight's meeting I ask that we all rise for the pledge to the flag pledge allegience to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under godice on it thank you everyone Mr Miller please call the rooll Mr Callahan pres M grmy Smith present M qu present Miss L present Leon Miss Wilhelm present and Mr clone present just a a note if you've been following our past few Council meetings the petitioner attorney requested that tonight's public hearing concerning a privately proposed zoning text Amendment be canell his December 13 request was received after council's agenda deadline that's why you'll notice that agenda items 6A and 6B as well as our public hearing itself have been removed from the agenda and the communication starts with 6C so that's why that explains that and of course if it does get rescheduled we'll take a vote on it and announce it here at a future city council meeting should the uh public hearing get rescheduled moving on to approval of minutes for the December 3 2024 meeting any comments on the minutes not seeing any so those minutes will stand approved moving on to public comment we will start with any subjects not being voted on I remind everyone of our five minute time limit this evening anyone following along at home if you want to watch live you're welcome to scroll ahead to the live portion we have three folks signed up to start we'll start with Harry Faber happy holidays everyone last city council meeting of the Year feels kind of special to me you know um Bethlehem looks beautiful as always as it does every year the big tree the lights oh man we love Christmas here in Bethlehem but to hell with the people where Christ was born the hell with the Palestinians we have so much to be thankful for you know we're the of the Empire we get to have all of this because we subjugate half the planet you might not see it but that doesn't mean it's not happening be happy we're on this side we get to celebrate instead of being bombed we get to open up gifts instead of our bodies being opened up by shrapnel doesn't it make you sick doesn't it drive you crazy that our time our money our resources our labor are all being spent on mass destruction Devastation on massacring people just like you and I people in this room I can't stand it it drives me crazy I I feel like I'm mad I come here every every meeting and I speak on the same thing I wrote on the sheet uh take a guess because guess what I'm gon to keep on speaking about it this means a lot to me it means to a lot of people these are people being massacred with our money our tax dollars and we're not doing anything about it I'll be the first person to say I don't think I'm doing enough do not think I'm doing enough I'm trying but I'm not doing enough and I don't know I don't know if the same can be said about you guys I don't know if if you guys are doing anything I I really don't know what are we doing I I've been reading a lot of Howard Zin lately and he's right uh you can't be neutral on a moving train um I wasn't I was not alive during the Vietnam War I wasn't conscious during the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan but I am now and I see a genocide it's live streamed we can all see it and I'm not going to be silent and i' encourage everybody else not to be silent too this is our money this is our resources think about it half of our resources we spend trillions upon trillions of dollars on destruction on massacring on bombs on weapons and that in turn forces the rest of the world to compete with us where they will spend a majority of their resources on bombs and destruction and and murder imagine what that money and those resources that time that labor everything that goes into the creation of these weapons of mass destruction what that could be used on instead alternatively think about all the infrastructure that we need to get done think about the healthcare the people that are needy the housing the housing I mean people that not even a thousand feet away are living under the bridge are leaving in camps and you know we're we're here we're happy we're good it's I mean just recently a few days ago they Dropped a Bomb on oh the Syrian rebels you know they over threw the Assad regime but now Israel and the US who the rebels so don't quote unquote are uh not enemies with they don't have enemies they don't want to be enemies with Israel they don't want to be enemies with the West they only hate Iran and Hezbollah and the Assad regime but yet we're bombing them we bombed them over 600 times in like the last week just recently three days ago they Dropped a Bomb so big it created a 3.1 uh RoR scale uh earthquake I don't I think you guys remember the earthquake back in April we all remember how crazy that felt I think it was like something like a 4. 4.2 4.4 we dropped a bomb that created an earthquake and that's our resources and then we see how blatantly corrupt our federal government is I believe the same can be said about the state government many of us have seen our governor Josh shapir condemning the United Health CEO killer but at the same time he's a guy who went and signed bombs for zalinski so it's obviously he tweeted a video of it it's obviously doesn't care about human life so where does the corruption end does it make its way back here I know you guys I've spoken with many of you extensively and I don't think of you guys as killers I don't think of you guys as horrible people I don't think of you guys as corrupt but the question needs to be raised what is being done how are we divesting what is being done and how are we going to explain oursel to our future Generations I wasn't here you know when slavery was happening I wasn't here when segregation happened but I'm here now and our money our resources our time is being spent committing a genocide and what are we doing what are we doing how are we my favorite city on earth Bethlehem city named after Palestine what are we doing what are we doing people are dying every day and then we're starving them and H like what are we doing I just want change I want help these people need it they're just like us they just were misfortunate and born on the halfway across the planet thank you you Mr favor next person signed up this evening Doug royon hi Doug royon 421 2 Avenue thanks for having me and um I'm here number one uh to thank the city of Bethlehem and for their continued support of the ice house uh particularly with we just received another American uh rescue fund and that's a big deal for us and while I'm busy thanking people uh I just want to specifically thank the people over at the recreation department of bethley and Pennsylvania uh Jody Evans and Judy and the rest of the gang there uh when I describe where we're at with the uh coming 2025 season I want you to know that those people make it possible the ice house next year uh we're looking at almost 200 shows from the Bethleham Performing Arts collaborative we're going to host something like 54 Arts organizations all local or arts groups and the best statistic of all I think we are going to put between 900 and a th000 local artists on The Ice House stage next year um artists uh there'll be people from B that means people in bands uh magicians uh comedians uh actors uh musicians all those artists now they don't get on that stage out of nowhere there is a set of principles that are behind that has evolved over a number of years and particularly in the last four or five years that structurally makes the Ice House work first thing we have a group of committees we have a Latin committee a black committee a jazz a rock and an Irish committee on one side we have about 20 annual participants at the Ice House house together these artists make the decisions about what and who goes on stage in other words the ice house is evolved into an artist Le venue now supporting that artist Le venue is first of all a mission statement that is not at all uncon uh that is totally conscious totally aware of it self and it says and this is very important for the city of Bethlehem uh genuine real cultural places have develop and grow and support their own artists they have their own artist community and when you have an artist Community that's rich as ours and you saw the I hope you saw the uh page I sent out to everyone that long list and you have it rich which is ours there's a deal that goes on you can go there's a line that goes from the ice house floor off to the public schools there's a line that goes off to plays that would have to do with the local history or local night life or Community uh diversity and inclusion all of these public sectors have some artistic cont uh uh bite to them through the ice house we don't get that when we bring in people from Chicago however good they are we don't get that from people in California they come from California building our own artists so finally uh what I want to say is we've gone long way uh with our team our team Kira and Sheila and uh era barley the main people in the middle uh and we have come to a new place we have a a very clear package of what the ice house now is and a good structure under it it's time to walk away from that creative business and start talking to other people in Bethlehem about long-term sustainability of this program this building and uh it begins right here with this little speech to city council it is time to get input from a lot of different people thanks thank you Mr wion last person who signed up Ry Kera hi I'm Marty Kur AKA J Creed in the music business many people know me as J Creed uh actually in most cities New York Philadelphia Chicago California they know J Creed you can go in any library and get to J Creed's Christmas album which I was the first one to put a CD together for Christmas and if you heard it if you did not think it was equally as good as anything of Elvis I'll give you one of my quality guitars that's how certain I am but you will never see me play in the ice house you will never see me play in arts Quest cuz I'm forever because on the comedy stage I made a joke about the Mexican people and the Irish people so I'm a racist because I made those jokes and I'm barred from the music stages as well blacklisted in the in the whole city of Bethlehem you won't see me playing at any events for Bethlehem because I'm blacklisted I am no good I'm a rotten SOB that's what I am because I made a statement about the Irish mainly I think that's why I was blacklisted not because of the Mexican thing because I play Mexican restaurants all over the tri-state area but yet I'm blacklisted in my own city of betham Pennsylvania and one other thing eliminating that thing continuing what Harry was saying our tax dollars are going for killing innocent women and children in Palestine Gaza the Ukraine when are we going to stop putting our tax dollars to go towards people being killed and inoc innocent women and children there's a thing in every city when there's a jury in somebody's held for murder if one person in that jewelry in the winds up saying well we don't think so it's a hung jewelry but how comes us taxpayers if one of us taxpayers say no we don't want to give our money we still give our money but yet it'll go towards everything for the city that could be done but not to help to eliminate the guns the weapons the bombs going in Palestine and Ukraine and other cities yeah I went to Vietnam I wasn't in Vietnam I went I was going to serve I was going to be in Vietnam I did serve I served my country I went I didn't draw the draft but I didn't believe in the war in Vietnam but since I come from a military family of war heroes it was engraved in my mind yeah your country right or wrong so I went and they sent me to Birmingham Alabama well with the Birmingham Alabama Boys in in uh Fort Benning Georgia and however there I was uh going in a long hair past my waste but I was you know I had some problems a few years later I go to Birmingham Alabama trying to find some of those guys and I couldn't find them I'm a small guy but I can take care of myself very well but however the fact remains we are using our money to go towards killing innocent women and children keep that in mind while you're celebrating your holidays our money is going towards killing innocent women and children I can't stress that enough and also the fact remains the homeless people all over the place most of those homeless people are very intelligent they can have have jobs if we give them them but they can't get jobs from regular companies because they don't have a home but if you gave them jobs they would to be homeless we could do something for the city to give these homeless people jobs and some of them could work a computer better than you better than me I know that I'm pretty sure that uh Sterling can do a very good job and many of the others but you don't give them a chance and then we'd have less homeless people more productive people towards our society so rather than using all our money for to build the roads for the casinos and bike racks for the rich people let's help the homeless people and let's stop giving our money to support people innocent people being killed you have a happy holiday God bless you all thank you Mr Kera that exhaust our list of who had signed up already so I'll go around the room was there anyone to the left who want to make comment on anything we're not voting on this evening turn to the wide Center anyone who would yes ma'am may Jo mol 449 Grand View Boulevard for the record Bethlehem is actually called the city of David and King David was Jewish the first meeting of this year I gave a suggestion for a New Year's resolution humility as I reflect on this year I can honestly say I tried didn't always succeed but I've tried to be more cognizant of it as a result I'd like the council and the administration to find time for self-reflection Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah thank you m m is there anyone else in the wide Center who wanted to make comment Mr sh Mr Bill Shire I don't know what you were saying there but I'll uh sees the opportunity um I missed the last meeting but people four people have asked me since two meetings ago how Stephen talx is doing so I got in touch with him a couple of weeks ago and the boot has come off he was feeling very encouraged and and saying that he was going to be back here soon but apparently it's things haven't gone quite as well as he was hoping but at least things are going better uh I want to start with a a rave about the celebration of the lighting of the Christmas tree my first time there in many years because my son was here for a visit and I've been wondering what these swingtime dolls were like and they are incredible when they go into harmony it sounds very much like the Andrew sisters now none of you probably ever saw the Andrew sisters in live and I never did either but I've heard them on records and they're very they're very good they were followed by what a friend says sounded like the who wasn't there but based on my description she said it sounded like the homes family singers who are related to the retired heavyweight champion Larry Holmes they were very good too and then there was the Cunningham and Associates doing their usual impersonation of Bruce Springstein and there was the hot chocolate and the little marshmallows for free and it was cold but there were enough people there you didn't feel the cold so oh and our mayor made some remarks s that were very timely and and opportune and mercifully brief and so that's a rave so now we get into the negative stuff um the new uh hot hotel that you have approved on West Third Street the so-called Boutique Hotel I understand that will'll have 141 rooms I was struck by a sign in the lobby of the Hotel Bethlehem which by the way is just Decor they have a professional decorator now and it's just it's something to see the uh it's about the um best hisor Historic Hotel in America and it gives the top 10 and the number of rooms in each 12 125 for the Hotel Bethlehem 16 rooms fewer than this so-called Boutique Hotel so why is it call a boutique hotel I imagine so it made it easier for you guys to approve it okay number three traffic I've been passed again on Broad Street going 35 miles an hour which apparently to some people is not fast enough and passing on Broad Street there's no passing on the right because the park cars I was passed on the left in the opposing Lane fortunately there was nobody coming that close that there was a head-on collision this is the second time it's happened recently and that brings up the situation on conastoga road which runs from Union Boulevard to Spring Street along the Mony Creek the problem is there's a double house uh away from the Creek closer to Union Boulevard that in itself was not a problem but there's sometimes three cars parked in front of it that is a problem because it reduces the two-lane road to one lane uh that in itself was not necessarily a problem except it's on a curve and you can't see around the curve so um I still use it because it's such a shortcut than going through town to the library but uh so I approach it cautiously slowly I toot my horn if it's night time I flick my lights on and off so far so good it's just a matter of time though there's going to be a head-on collision there and that combined with the Broad Street situation and other things going on we do need those 10 additional police officers so we can spend more time on traffic enforcement 10 seconds left so I won't get to uh oh no that's that completes my list thank you thank you Mr sh was there anyone else in the wide Center who want to make comment on anything we're not voting on this evening anyone to the right yes ma'am hi everyone Teresa Vera Circle Bethlehem um I actually did didn't mean to speak today but since I know um they'll be voting on some traffic things I was actually thinking about some of the experiences I've had um I was wondering and I was curious about um between ilix Road and shers Ville that intersection where there's like a Mobile gas station and you want to turn left that left Arrow tends to be very quick and maybe lasts less than maybe 7 seconds and so when there's a lot of high traffic around the 8:00 p.m. to 5 the 5:00 pm area um there'll sometimes be a lag and it will back up traffic you know it typically takes a couple seconds for that left turn um and so it can be a bit area of congestion that I would recommend city council look into to just lengthen the left Arrow sign for a couple more seconds um the second thing would also be a consideration of maybe a three-way stop sign between East Washington and pen Brook Road um so once you enter Pembrook Road say if you're coming from stepco and you're making a left and you want to get into that Pembrook Road and you're someone who wants to turn left into Penbrook a lot of the cars will be coming very fast and it can be difficult when you're trying to see visibility on the right and then you want to make a laugh you're like oh there's a car coming let me slow down so somewhere to maybe kind or even a speed bump or something to kind of slow down the traffic as it's coming um to that intersection with East Washington I would highly recommend and then the last thing would be um you know I haven't been in Bethlehem for a while but I did notice uh this time around on Main Street that there was like valet parking ac across from Tapas I believe on Main Street and as we know you know uh Main Street is getting a bit congested um you know not having the parking garage parking is very tight I also noticed the um on on Market Street um the new parking Arrangement um and so maybe if we can strategize ways to kind of make especially during those hi traffic times um think about where would we best to have something like valet or you know if there's any restrictions or things like that because it can get very tight um around there especially when there's deliveries and you know Uber Eats and all these kind of things and a lot of traffic uh so those are the three things thank you thank you Teresa and then Mr Mike alol here in the center row is our Public Works director I saw him taking notes as you were speaking to is there anyone else to the right who want to make comment want me try to miss anybody thank you so that concludes our first public comment we're going to move on to Second public comment which is any ordinance or resolution that we're voting on tonight first Speaker Valerie Nunan hi hello um so I was looking at the agenda for tonight um and I know noticed all these budget items took a look through um most of it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before um of course you might recall I'd been to the first couple budget meetings I did miss the last one that included the police budget um and I don't know if this was brought up then but I was looking at 80 and it looked familiar to me because I remembered it from November the first meeting in November and that was with regard to the organized crime drug enforcement task force um I'd commented on that at the time um just kind of trying to get more information about it and at that meeting we established it is you know a federal program that the Bethlehem police department is participating in by way of the state of Pennsylvania and it was established that this is going to be paid as overtime and it the budget for that to my understanding was to come through the Commonwealth through the state um and now I'm seeing a budget adjustment here where it's $5,000 from the city budget um and that that is different from my understanding if I'm reading it correctly here of what it was originally said to be so I kind of wanted to point this out because this was originally not supposed to be a city budget item to my understanding thank you thank you so that exhausts our signup sheet for anything that's being voted on tonight so again I'll go around the room anyone to the left who want to make comment on any ordinance or resolution again I turn to the wide Center any comment I'll start with Miss mol you okay I want to I'm grateful for the uh City addressing the issue at Pennsylvania Avenue Union Boulevard and neon Avenue it's long overdue I also hope that with the upgrades that are being you know possibly discussed that there's signaling like at Maine and Broad with The Pedestrian walking and no walking because you've got pedestrian traffic there as as well as everything else hopefully the timing of those traffic lights will improve I'm hoping that's part of this whole issue because the left turn light going on to pennsylv Pennsylvania Avenue 7 seconds before it changes you can't even get one car through so I'm hopefully unfortunate this this address addressing this issue is unfortunate it's being done unfortunately because of a death that occurred at that intersection with which boggles my mind but it happens I would like to also see Bethlehem allent town and the state collaborate on a solution to the intersection with hover Avenue West Broad Street Eaton Avenue and Club Avenues there has to be something done there because there's still accidents happening there's it's a 25 M hour around the curve and they're just going I mean I don't even walk my dog on that right on Broad Street or Handover no I move in and if that building apartment complex goes through I'm not even G to have that so I'm going to be limited as to where I can walk so and if this comes to fruition there I would like the the cost of this upgrade at that particular point to be passed on to the developer he should pay because it's he's the one that's going to increase traffic tremendously at that point and I hope it doesn't wait until there's a fatality at that point Thank you thank you m m Mr sh I believe I saw your hand up Bill jar 1898 Avenue I also want to speak on the traffic situation at the conjunction of Pennsylvania Avenue Union Boulevard and Eaton Avenue a couple weeks ago I was coming south on Pennsylvania intending to turn left on Eaton and I was faced with a blinking red light and which was a clear malfunction and I got through okay but it was a bit of a mess as you might expect and then of course there was the case of the woman killed about a year ago and I don't know the particulars of that particular accident because I was out of town but you have these three uh roads coming together there and not only that but they all continue on and you have a total of three signalized intersections and uh I do suspect that if the synchronization between the two lights on Pennsylvania Avenue one at Eaton one at Union Boulevard just a few feet away we're synchronized better that might help things but clearly something needs to be done there so I want to encourage you to approve that budget item if such an encouragement might be necessary thank you thank you Mr sh anyone else for anything we're voting on tonight Mr katola in our city and mostly all cities 25 miles an hour is supposed to be the speed limit if there's no signs posted where there's areas where there's where there dangerous intersections or something of that nature or uh streets where people are flying by I would suggest that we use some of the tax dollar to put some speed bumps on and put the sign after the speed bump you just hit a bump and let them lose their axles or their Cal or let them have problems with their vehicles like when we hit potholes I could show you my last week's Bill $700 for caliber and an axle because I hit a pothole that wasn't taken care of forget the fix the potholes put the speed bumps up where you're needed that's my suggestion you're probably not going to take it but that's okay thank you Mr Cara was anyone else in the center for anything we're voting on tonight again I turn to the right anyone want to make comment any ordinance or resolution that concludes our public comment for this evening old business any old business from any members of council move on to new business any new business from members of council councilwoman ksey Smith thank you um I just wanted to address um for Mr Al call I was going to bring it up before when we vote on that intersection but um can you give us any up are there any updates on the intersection at e in and um club and um Broad and Handover I mean I know it's Allentown and the state and the city but has there been any discussion on looking at improving that or is it dependent on what happens with the um the development that may eventually be going there we have been we made some improvements at that intersection minor improvements signage improvements uh renewing some lime painting to try to improve the safety at the intersection but uh we also looked in the past uh about the possibility of a roundabout at that intersection to improve conditions um there's nothing concrete um in our Capital plan yet but we're still evaluating and we're still looking for ways to address that and we're working with Allentown as well order because the intersection is half in each jurisdiction so is there a discussion with Allentown and the state as far as because everybody's involved in that area okay do you have any idea what a roundabout would cost approximately I'm sure it would be pretty extensive it's a couple of million dollars a couple million okay but more critical than that would be whether or not we have the uh the rideway or can acquire the rideway that would be necessary in order to implement something like that the roundabout feasibility rather than so at this point is it safe to say that discussions will continue with Allentown and the state regarding it okay thank you and that's all the only thing I just want to say is happy holidays to everyone um and I appreciate everyone and I'm sure we all do um coming out that you do all year long and providing your input thank you thank you councilwoman any other new business councilwoman Leon actually these are for Mr alcohol as well um so I was just curious as to on on the lines of traffic um does the city have the right to put speed bumps where we want to put speed bumps or what does that process look like and also who determines the amount of time um that a light is doing something whether it's yellow or an arrow or who determines that amount of time and does the city get to decide that too yeah as far as the speed humps certainly on all city streets the city would would make that decision whether to um construct speed HPS uh I mean the purpose we started that program maybe 10 years ago the purpose of it is to place those on streets that tend to be cut through traffic where speeding is also occurring you know streets that are not intended to be collectors or um main roads um so we would for the most part dismiss it from like you know obviously Main Street Broad Street that sort of thing uh but if uh there's an area that uh we we would want to look at in terms of putting in speed hump in generally the procedure is that the uh AB budding residents would start a petition because one of the things on a residential street for example um some in the neighborhood may not want inconvenience or what some may consider inconvenience having a speed HP going to when from work every day uh and if there's 75% agreement that they would like a speed H humps to be considered then we look at other parameters and conditions and confirm that speeding is occurring it's being used as a cut through um and if all goes well then we would U instruct them and put them on that particular so far I think we just have them at uh three or four locations in the city okay mainstream Extension briek Road other locations and as far as the traffic signals all traffic signals are um maintained owned and maintained and operated by the city however they all are permitted by the state and as far as the phasing diagram for all the movements at e each intersection uh that's done based on traffic counts um at the am Peak and the PM Peak however over time those counts may change so it's worth relooking at whether or not uh that is a concern for example at chainers bille m road I know exactly what the young lady's talking about uh the left Arrow uh phase is very short I'm sure when it was designed and permitted that was justified by the traffic count but we'll look at again we'll look at updated traffic counts and to see whether or not uh because it's all all the movements are competing against each other obviously so uh where there's less demand you want to give the shortest time to that phase so we're look at that and see if it's warranted to increase that uh and it you know a few seconds requires be doing the whole diagram and you know that that's why it's not as quick and easy as what my what might think but we'll look at it that wants change and that has to be permitted by the state like I said so sometimes it takes a little time thank you any other new business for members of council all right we're going to move on with the agenda thank you everybody thank you Mr alol we'll start with our Communications 6C a November 26 2024 memorandum and proposed resolution from Michael alall director of Public Works Mr alall recommends a contract with traffic planning Design Incorporated of Bethlehem to provide design and permitting of traffic signal upgrades for the intersections of Pennsylvania Avenue Union Boulevard and Eaton Avenue cost is50 $7,850 the completion deadline is December 31st 2025 there are no renewals traffic planning and design submitted the lower of two bids received and resolution 10A is on the agenda this evening 6D communication dated December 2nd 2024 with a resolution from Michelle siaki Director of Human Resources recommending a contract with preferred EAP of Allentown for the employee assistance program costs $12,000 per year the contract period is January 1st 2025 through December 31st 2026 there are no renewals and resolution 10B is on the agenda 6E December 10th 2024 memorandum with an attached resolution from business administrator Eric Evans Mr Evans recommends a contract with KSA and D of Allentown to provide a Website Maintenance and support cost for the three-year contract is $93,700 KSA and developed the current City website in 2019 the city has been pleased with the level of service received and resolution 10c is on the agenda 6f December 11th 2024 memorandum with an attached resolution and Associated intergovernmental cooperation agreement from city solicitor jnf spurk Jr solicitor spurk recommends amendment number one to the agreement already in place between the city and Fountain Hill involving the usage of the city's W yard waste facility the amended agreement would run from January 1st 2025 through December 31st of 2025 resolution 10d is on the agenda this evening last communication 6G a December 11th 2024 memorandum with an attached resolution Associated intergovernmental cooperation agreement from city solicitor John spurk Jr solicitor spurk recommends amendment number one to the agreement already in place between the city and Handover Township Northampton County involving the usage of the yard waste facility the amendment agreement would run from January 1st 2025 through December 31st of 2025 and resolution 10 is on the agenda moving on to reports at our next meeting I'll have our annual report to sum up the calendar year 2024 and our Council activity I did just want to Echo I hope everyone has a joyful holiday season a peaceful new year and I'm thankful to every body Those Who come out consistently week meeting after meeting our Administration for the support that they and time that they offer Council and then of course my Council colleagues as we wrap up another year I feel like this year's been a really long year just in general based on a lot of stuff going on in uh like in and outside of council chambers but as we read our local news you don't have to read too long to find some other local governments and and I'm thankful for everyone while we have our disagreements and drummed on about it before that we'll always have our disagreements I appreciate that here in betham city council those disagreements don't typically turn into dysfunction and I look forward to continue to work with everybody into the new year so thank you Mr EV thank you president clone I have two minut R of orders and four comments like to share tonight I'll start with the administrative orders number 40 I hearby appoint Danielle Joseph 1652 Angela Drive Bethlehem PA 18017 to the zoning hearing board this appointment is effective through January 2030 administrative order 20244 Danielle Joseph to the zoning hearing board resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon any discussion on the appointment start with councilwoman Leon and this could be either you uh president colon or you Mr Evans it's a general question not uh indicative of this person I was curious what the authorities boards and commissions um especially ones that like this that kind of deal with how the city is going to give um zoning relief to certain people um is there any training that goes into um having someone come on board it was one of the things that caught me off guard when I first got on Council and I was just curious about these authorities boards and commissions that really shape the city um is there any training mechanism or do we just we do we look for candidates to have subject matter expertise in these things as we're appointing them I I'll defer to the administration in a moment but I would say where they differ from Council as you referen being new on Council Council we put our names on a ballot and and the public either elects us or they don't so then it's kind of up to the individual who gets elected to take the time to to learn Council procedure and and you know Council business I would say as it relates to our authorities boards and commissions not not that I'm I mean I've served on uh the human relations commission for a decade I used to be on the Civil Service Board uh every thing I've served on comes with an overarching ordinance that creates kind of what the the the work of that body was and then as I became a member I was educated by the appropriate body I'll turn to Mr Evans if there's anything else you want to add no not much to add these are citizens of our community and of the city of Bethleham that are looking to get engaged uh we do and the mayor will vet them to review the resume they are shared with all members of council that they have some you know ability to reflect and process information we hope that they obviously will take the job seriously attend regularly and and you know provide the conviction needed to serve on some of these uh boards which are kind at times like the zoning hearing board can provide for intense meetings yeah I think that was my my thought is like having paid attention to some of these meetings like the intensity of but thank you it was really just a question of curiosity understood any other discussion on the appointment I'll start with Mr Callahan no I just wanted to um I I do know that there's um Harrisburg uh very often I don't know how often but I know a couple times a year they have H seminars for Planning and Zoning uh you know members and I know a couple of people that have been on both boards have went to the seminars it just goes over to nuts and bolts of of uh of the job and you know the type of decisions and how uh some of the guidelines and rules and things like that you gotta so I don't know if that helps but and I don't know if any of the people that the current people uh have taken advantage of that but I do know that um I don't know if Mr spurk has anything to say but just a lot of times that falls to the solicitor the zoning board has their own independent solicitor and oftentimes with new members a lot of those questions informally a lot of phone calls but I don't think there's any kind of formalized training but oftentimes the solicitor of that particular board is the one who's there every night and interacts and provides that sort of guidance anything else councilwoman kmy Smith um I'm glad this was brought up I concur with um uh councilwoman Leon's question because um I think it's important especially because um zoning is really important planning some of some of the as you said some of the um authorities boards and commissions are going to meet more frequently for a longer times have more intense really um significant topics and people have reached out to me like that the importance of making sure that when um the mayor points people to these positions that they um you know it's important that they either have the training or have some kind of relevant experience or qualification so um I'm glad that this was brought up because I think it is a really important point and um I'm hoping that you know that as it continues um the appointment continues that you know people will be looking at people that have the relevant um qualifications and no conflicts of interest in these appointments so thank you thank you councilman anything else before we vote Mr Miller please call the rooll on the first appointment Miss grmc Smith I miss quch I miss lar hi Miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callan I and Mr colog I pass 70 thank you Mr re of order 40 one I hereby Appo Sharon wles Young 7:30 13th Avenue Bethlehem PA 1 18018 to the zoning hearing board this reappointment is effective through January 2030 administrative order 2024 41 Sharon WS Young to the zoning hearing board resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon any discussion just quickly to say that uh I've known Miss W young for a number of years and uh she's a neighbor on the west side and uh it's um just nice to see her continuing to serve and uh um you know she has a lot of respect for our community and uh you know our built environment so I'm just delighted to be able to vote for her tonight thank you councilwoman anything else before we vote Mr Miller call the rooll Miss KY Smith I miss quch hi Miss L I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan hi and Mr colum I pass 70 moving on to our ordinances for final passage I'll accept a motion and then a second presid I I had sorry didn't I had the four oh yeah comments Mr Evans I I apologize get ahead of myself a little bit sorry I'd like to share these with you ton that's sure we're here to listen uh I want to start out by let you know that mayor Reynolds and CED director Laura Collins are at the Bethlehem emergency Sheltering bees a as we speak they're having a meal and spending time with members of our unhoused population as well as the staff number two three officers graduate from the academy and started this week so when we talk about the replenishment of our First Responders please fire an EMS we continue to work in that and that that's good news third they the administration is completing a final report for the South Bethlehem Community Center feasibility study we will make an immediate advisory tomorrow and uh to set a date for a meeting or meetings to review we came back with a study and that those meetings will be in January just to be out be on the lookout for that and that'll be coming in the coming sometime tomorrow and lastly we did want to share with you about the budget hearings that we understand it's a bit of a grind it's a lengthy process through October in November the hearings themselves were um provide some for some long nights but we definitely appreciate the questions we appreciate the dialogue we felt they were uh good questions fair questions we also really appreciate the supportive comments made to the Departments the employees and the staff of the city there are a lot of people come in here every day uh year round weekends and nights included that work very hard for the citizens of betham and they do appreciate the comments when they do because they do in fact hear them it does get back to them so they appreciate that and then the fact that we have a shared Vision with what we provided as a proposal to council and of the last vot is um in a couple minutes here tonight but the fact we have a uh sustainable efficient budget that has uh and great investment in public safety investment in our critical infrastructure and it's done in a responsible way and uh we we've appreciate working with Council these past number of weeks into the last couple months on the process so thank you you is that all that completes a report thanks thank you Mr so we're going to move on to our ordinances for final passage I will accept a motion in a second to consider the group of budget ordinances 8A through 8K as a group so moved second the motion by councilwoman leair second by councilwoman Wilhelm Leon thank you second by councilwoman Leon any discussion on the motion to consider the budget ordinances as one group I'll just say I think it's for purposes of efficiency because there are so many and then I will ask so we'll call the role momentarily and then if it passes Mr Miller we'll read them as a group and then we could if there are any questions they could be asked then about any of these individual ordinances so not seeing any more discussion Mr Miller please call the role on the motion to consider 8A through 8 as a group kmy Smith I miss quch I miss L I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I and Mr colum I motion pass 70 please read the ordinances ordinance 8A an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the general fund budget for 2025 bill number 45 2024 is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss crampy Smith as are all of the budget ordinances ordinance 8B an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the water fund budget for 2025 ordinance 8C an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the sewer fund budget for 2025 ordinance a an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the course Enterprise fund budget for 2025 ordinance 8e an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the liquid fuels fund budget for 2025 ordinance 8f an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the 2025 capital budget for non utilities ordinance HG ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and northamp in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the 2025 capital budget for water utilities ordinance 8h an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the 2025 capital budget for sewer utilities ordinance 8i an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the Community Development block grant budget for 2025 ordance AJ ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopting the storm water fund budget for 20125 an ordinance 8K an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania fixing the tax rate for All City purposes for the year 2025 thank you Mr Miller any discussion on the group councilwoman quch thank you um I just wanted to uh again thank you to the administration for all of the great presentations over the course of the three hearings that we had uh thank you for being open to answering our questions um you know last year we had to take an a difficult decision that um most of us voted to uh increase taxes we did and uh I'm you know it's not always easy to make that decision but uh when we looked at what we were uh using those funds for which was uh obviously to pay for raises for our police and firefighters to pay for more Emergency Services uh through uh increasing the number of EMTs that we had and of course upgrading our radios and our and our cameras in our cars in our um police cruisers and um that important um you know uh signal uh for emergency for our First Responders to all be able to communicate with each other uh so that we never have a situation like there was in on 911 um where uh the different First Responders couldn't even speak to each other all of those things were what we uh were voting to uh increase our millit rate uh now this year we don't have to um it's a you know great and you know hey like who doesn't like voting for a you know a tax neutral uh budget but I just wanted to kind of remind folks why we are in such a good position right now and part of that is the responsibility that we take in sometimes having to increase that millage rate um so again uh thanks to that vote we took last year uh we are you know looking at a really good situation here uh one where we're going to Bringing be bringing more firefighters online through being able to expand um theem to twice a year um and again you know this year we're fortunate that now that we've upgraded those radios uh we have that uh good communication system for our First Responders and of course um the the new EMT positions which have as we saw during your budget presentations which I really appreciated uh Chief uh we've seen that that is uh increasing the percentage of those emergency calls that are being handled within the city so again my thanks to you very much um I think this is a this is a strong budget it's uh it's conservatively budgeted I know that uh Miss lazark and Mr Evans work really hard to make these numbers realistic um so that we're not caught by surprise by anything this year and I appreciate all of their hard work as well thanks thank you any other discussion councilwoman lar uh yes so this is my first budget season sitting on this side of the table um and I wanted to share just uh gratitude for um the work that everyone has done to put together uh such a a responsible uh well-balanced budget uh as well as the time to explain everything thoroughly both in these meetings and outside of these meetings um especially to me as a new member of council uh going through this process for the first time um and it's exciting uh you know I joined Council to be able to make my community a better place through decisions about budget and law and this is the first time that that'll be a full Year's worth of uh you know dollars going towards making our community a better place so I think that there's a lot of really exciting initiatives included in the budget a lot of good plans um and a lot of people throughout our community of all different walks of life that will benefit from the way that um the dollars are being spent so thank you to everybody involved on all sides of this round round room thank you councilwoman any other discussion on the budget councilwoman Willam just just quickly more of the same but this is my third budget session and um I would also like to express my appreciation it's really hard to Fathom the amount of work even sitting as close as we do in these seats um that goes into creating such a budget and and um you know the the openness and the the willingness to answer our questions both in the meetings that we have in advance of the public meetings and at the public meetings answering our questions um and to my colleagues I always you know I learned so much from all of you with your questions and just um your the administration's willingness to sort of come forward and and um patiently answer all of the questions that we have um and if if I remember correctly uh in the three years that I've been here not a single amendment has been introduced um and I think that really speaks volume s uh so thank you to all you know Mr Evans you referenced the the gratitude that we app we expressed at the meetings you know the the team is here in person and we have the opportunity very rare opportunity to say thank you um but again I think we've said it many times but this budget really reflects so many people working so hard for the city and um on behalf of the sort of the development of the budget and all of the work behind it um just really want to express my thanks thank you councilwoman anything else councilwoman Leo well we're giving out thank you I want to thank uh the community members that have continued to to engage with this process this is our third uh go edit and this is the year that I've had the most community members reach out to me about questions regarding the budget um meetings that they've watched and and it's really cool to see people get engaged and and care about how we're spending our dollars whether they agree with how we're spending our dollars or or not it's really just great to hear people out and actually care about this stuff thank you any other discussion I'll just before we vote say to Echo Council Leon thank you to the members of the community that came out I've shared before my first council meeting before I was on Council was a budget hearing that I walked in off the street because I saw it on the calendar and I didn't understand anything that was being discussed that evening uh and now as I know a little bit more uh I'm glad those were some of my first meetings that I attended because if there's anything to know about how your local government works about how Bethlehem works it's the budget and I always remind everyone all the historical budgets are posted on the city website people could reference them and it's just a good starting point of city government and I appreciate a lot of the same faces that are here tonight sat here through all those budget hearings so thank you for coming out and taking the time to just learn what the that's really the nuts and bolts of how city government works where we dedicate our dollars and where our money comes from and if you could understand that you could understand a lot of what goes on in here throughout the year if there's nothing else we'll call the rooll Miss kampy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr calan and Mr colog I pass 70 8 L ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of leh in Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the 2024 capital budget for non utilities bill number 56 2024 sponsored by Miss Leon and Miss quch discussion we'll call the rooll Miss grmy Smith I m quch I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm i m Callahan I and Mr colom I pass 70 8m an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the 2024 capital budget for non utilities bill number 57 2024 sponsored by Miss Leon and Miss quac discussion on the ordinance call roll Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I miss L hi Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi and Mr cologne I pass 70 eight n an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2024 bill number 58 2024 sponsored by Miss Leon and Miss qu discussion call roll Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi and Mr cologne I pass 70 80 an ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2024 bill number 59 2024 sponsored by Miss Leon and Miss qu discussion distri um woman yes um so miss Nunan had uh referenced in her public comment uh about this and I just wanted to reconfirm this is the second reading of this um that this $5,000 is actually coming to the police for the organized drug uh organized crime drug enforcement task force that this is like a grant that comes along with the memorandum of understanding and it's not actually City money but it's actually money that's being granted to the city thank you thank you councilman any other discussion we'll call the rooll Miss grmy Smith hi miss quac I miss lard hi Miss Leon hi Miss wilh hi Mr Callahan I and Mr cologne I pass 70 8p ordinance of the city of Bethlehem counties of Lehigh and Northampton conwal of Pennsylvania amending the general front budget for 2024 bill number 60 2024 is sponsored by Miss Leon and Miss quid discussion call the RO Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I miss L I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I and Mr cologne I I pass 70 there are no new ordinances this evening so jumping to resolutions 10A be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other City officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with traffic planning and Design Incorporated to provide design and permitting of traffic signal upgrades at Union Boulevard in Pennsylvania and Eaton Avenues resolution sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon discussion on the resolution councilwoman L yeah uh I'm just really happy to see this on the um agenda already um I know it's in the capital Improvement plan and uh I think that having walkable food resources Grocery Stores um in communities is really really important and right now there's huge opportunity for that shopping center there to really be a walkable uh hub for many many people um but it's simply not walkable and I say that as someone who can see the grocery store from my driveway um I won't walk there with my kids so um I am really hopeful that uh a good plan can come together with these dollars and then we can see it carried out uh to improve safety for pedestrians traffic and and everybody who lives and works around there thank you councilman any other discussion on the resolution ccom quch um I did have a question Mr Al call if you could come to the mic just so yeah thank you so um someone who also lives fairly close but not within visual range of the shopping center and uses that shopping center a lot uh and we have heard the you know concerns of several community members who have come here over the past year um you know obviously with concerns about that intersection and the speed and all of that I'm just wondering um is there a community engagement process to this um analysis this engineering this planning and everything um do do members of the community have an opportunity to walk the intersection with uh the with the you know the the folks or show them where they have pain points you know like remember when we walked and I showed you my vision of you know the new Street bridge and the issue there with that signal are there opportunities like that in this process this is a a standard um signalized intersection upgrade project um there isn't a formal public uh uh comment uh period uh for the project but like we do with every intersection is certainly this one what's required as part of the upgrade is to ensure that the intersections meet all today's standards and criterias including uh pedestrian accommod ations um for the hearing impaired whatever is applicable at that intersection it'll all be looked at a traffic study and traffic counts will be made um and that's what the intersection will be designed based on both the phasing diagram as well as the field layout and upgrade of all 8 uh facility so you know quite honestly there's probably not a lot of um flexibility in terms of making anything outside this is a a solely a traffic signal upgrade uh project now after the intersection is designed and constructed and implemented uh if there's issues that arise the public like can they can do at any time they can provide and call and comment and we will react to that and we will re-evaluate and make adjustments if necessary but we try to address all the issues during that process okay thank you we'll keep an eye out any other discussion on the resolution we'll call the rooll Miss KY Smith I miss quch I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I Mr colog I pass 70 10B be 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 preferred EAP for employee assistance program services for years 2025 and 2026 resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss leam discussion call the roll Miss grmy Smith I miss quak I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Callahan I and Mr cologne I pass 70 10 C be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other City officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with KSA and D to provide Website Maintenance and support resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon discussion call the RO Miss grmy Smith I miss quak I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I Mr colog I pass 70 10d be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other City officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute amendment number one to the intergovernmental cooperation agreement with Fountain Hill involving use of the city's yard waste facility resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss leam discussion call the rooll Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I and Mr cologne I pass 70 10 e be it resolved by the Council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller Andor such other City officials has deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute amendment number one to the intergovernmental cooperation agreement with Hanover Township Northampton County involving use of the city's waste yard waste facility resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon discussion call the role M Miller Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I M lard i m Leon i m Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I and Mr cologne I pass 70 10f certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature Bethlehem resolutions is hereby granted for 335 Shaun Street to demolish an existing 2 and a half story masonry Factory building and neighboring on story semi-d demolished garage resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon discussion call roll Miss crampy Smith I miss quch I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan hi and Mr colum I pass 70 10g certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of Pennsylvania legislature Bethlehem resolutions is hereby granted for 312 East 4th Street to demolish an existing stone wall abandoned Wells and existing asphalt access before regrading the resulting area resolution Ed by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon discussion call the RO Miss grmy Smith hi miss quac I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I and Mr colone I pass 70 10 H certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature Bethlehem resolutions is hereby granted for 25 East Wall Street to replace the existing garage roof shingles at the rear of the property with GAF slate line shingles in the antique slate color resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Miss Leon discussion call roll Miss KY Smith I miss quac I miss lard I miss Leon I miss Wilhelm I Mr Callahan I and Mr cologne I pass 70 10 I certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature Bethlehem resolutions is hereby granted for 60 East Church Street to construct a new one-story family room addition on the east side of the home toward the rear resolution is sponsored by miss willhelm and miss Leon discussion call the rooll Miss grmy Smith I miss quak I miss L hi Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm I Callahan I and Mr cologne I pass 70 tenj certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania legislature Bethlehem resolution is hereby granted for 459 Main Street to install a 36 in round double-sided carved sign with the text Sunny moon on an existing scroll bracket resolution is sponsored by Miss Wilhelm and Mr uh Miss Leon discussion Mr Miller close this out Miss grmy Smith I miss quch I miss lard hi Miss Leon hi Miss Wilhelm hi Mr Callahan hi and Mr alone all right pass 70 that concludes our last agenda for 2024 get home safe everybody have a save holidays has a hard I at 10:1 I'm income when did you get that's not good over ice the ice house is City for