Charlie Brown to be Honored.

The Bethlehem Ice House will be renamed to honor Charles A. Brown tomorrow evening (Tuesday, June 26, 2007) at 6:00 p.m. at a ceremony at the Ice House.

For those who do not know, Charlie Brown was the long time Director of Parks and Public Property for the City of Bethlehem. Charlie retired earlier this year and City Council voted to honor him by renaming the Ice House. It will be named the "Charles A. Brown Ice House."

Every honor the City gives Charlie is well-deserved and will never repay all that Charlie has given the City.

Bethlehem's Political Landscape

The City of Bethlehem's poltical landscape is interesting, to say the least. All elected officials in the city goverment are Democrats. That would make one think that the city government runs smoothly and politics in the city is boring. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

The City Council is comprised of Jean Belinski, Karen D. Dolan, Robert J. Donchez, Joseph F. Leeson, Jr., Esq, Gordon B. Mowrer, J. Michael Schweder and Magdalena F. Szabo. Mr. Schweder is the President of City Council. Ms. Szabo recently lost a bid for re-election, and will be replaced on City Council by J. William Reynolds in January 2008. (Blogger's Note: Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Donchez and Mr. Mowrer will have to run against Esther Lee, a republican, in November 2007. However this blogger feels that Ms. Lee has no chance, due to the registration edge that the Dems hold in the city.)

The Mayor is John Callahan.

There are two factions among the elected Democrats, those who side with Mayor Callahan and those who side with Mr. Schweder. Ms. Belinski and Mr. Leeson have consistently sided with Mr. Schweder on key issues. Ms. Dolan has consistently been supportive of the Mayor's agenda. Mr. Donchez and Mr. Mowrer have also been supportive of the Mayor's agenda but have been independant on some key issues. Ms. Szabo has supported Mr. Schweder's agenda, but was very supportive of the BethWorks project and the casino gaming.

The last election showcases this division. Mr. Callahan supported Mr. Donchez, Mr. Mowrer and Ron Heckman in the election. Mr. Schweder supported Ms. Szabo, Mr. Donchez and Dana Grubb. The other candidates were Mr. Reynolds and Ismael Arcelay. The order of finish was Mr. Donchez, Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Mowrer, Mr. Grubb, Ms. Szabo, Mr. Heckman and Mr. Arcelay.

It is unknown where Mr. Reynolds, an aide to State Rep. Steve Samuelson, stands. He seems to be in the middle, with a slight lean to the Callahan faction.

Who needs Republicans with Democrats like this?

Recreation Fee Change: Too Little, Too Late?

Yesterday's Morning Call tells us that Bethlehem City Council voted 5-0 to adopt a new recreation lands and fees ordinance that would impose a 650 percent fee increase on new-home developers and, for the first time, would require developers of commercial and industrial properties to contribute to the development of parks and recreation in the city.

This is a step in the right direction, however I must ask "What took so long?" It seems to me that the City has lost a lot of money over the past few years. I can think of 4 or 5 developments that have been built in the City in the past few years, including the Riverport project.

My other criticism over this ordinance change is that they failed to get public input and failed to consult the Bethlehem Recreation Commission. I understand that this ordinance change was rushed so that Pektor's Martin Tower Redevelopment would be included, but public input should be a requirement for any ordinance change. And what is the use of having a Recreation Commission, which includes members of the public, if it is not going to be consulted.

Finally, why does City Council have a solicitor? Attorney Chris Spadoni is the solicitor for the City Council, he is paid $17,450.00 per year for his work. I have always found him to be a skilled attorney. However, I often read that Councilman Leeson is offering legal opinions during council meetings. Mr. Leeson is a fine attorney and former city solicitor, but should he be offering legal opinions when the city already pays someone to do that?


Blogger's Note: This is my first post. This is the type of information and opinions you will get here. I have been reading the Lehigh Valley blogs for the past 18 months or so and realized that Bethlehem has not been covered very well in the blogosphere, so I thought I would try to change that. Your comments are appreciated.

Welcome!

Hi, and welcome to Down and Out in Bethlehem.

I plan on blogging periodically about current events from the Bethlehem area.

I will primarily focus on politics and city government.

Look for my first post soon!