Quick Hits for Wednesday

Back from a few days at the beach with a few quick hits for Wednesday.

1. The July 5th Morning Call tells us Council quietly enacted the new recreation fee at the July 3rd meeting.

2. The July 5th Morning Call also tells us that Council President Schweder and Councilman Leeson criticized Mayor Callahan for swapping his older Chevy Impala for the a new one that was approved in the budget, but was designated for the city inspector. The problem, according to Leeson, was that City Council did not authorize the Mayor to get a new car.

My view: City Council authorized a new car, after that it is up to the director of public property to decide who gets it. Who knows who needs a new car better than the man in charge of the cars. This is just overly critical of Leeson and Schweder.

3. District Attorney John Morganelli prematurely announced his intention to run for Attorney General, again.

My view: He is running for Attorney General, again. Move over Lou Barletta, Morganelli will be running on the immigration reform platform.

4. I hate getting into school board business, but the Bethlehem Area SD School Board has decided to continue a policy of not allowing students at Freedom and Liberty receive credit for volunteering at Musikfest.

My View: This stinks. The whole idea of mandatory community service stinks. Bethlehem needs to reevaluate the whole program and establish better definitions, according to Director Charlene Koch. I agree. I also think that volunteering at a community festival that brings lots to the city is community service.

5. Councilman Leeson already has a plan to spend the new recreation fee money. He wants to keep one of the City's pools open year round. I like the idea, but think the money should first be used to modernize and clean up the parks and pools in the city currently. This idea coming from the fiscally conservative Leeson surprises me, I guess someone in the Leeson household likes to swim.

6. Finally, new Morning Call Blog, Bethlehem Daily Star, informs us today that Councilman Robert Donchez has retired from the Allentown School District and is working in State Rep. Steve Samuelson's office, alongside council candidate J. William Reynolds. Word on the street is that Donchez is actually working in State Rep. Joe Brennan's southside office.
UPDATE: The article has been corrected to state that Donchez is working for Brennan and not Samuelson.

My view: Donchez is a good public servant and his working for one of the State Reps can only help Bethlehem and the surrounding communities.

Second Vote On New Recreation Fee Set for Tuesday

Bethlehem City Council is set to vote on the second reading of the Recreation Fee Ordinance on Tuesday evening at Town Hall. Council previously voted 5-0 in favor of the ordinance, which increases the current recreation fees that developers pay when building in the city as much at 650%.

Why it is good- With the development of the Steel on the horizon and other residential developments in the works, developers will be paying a fee that will ensure that parks and recreation facilities in the City will be maintained and expanded upon.

Why it is bad- Council rushed this ordinance to the agenda at its last meeting, so that the changes in the fees would include the Martin Tower Redevelopment. Since it was rushed, the council failed to get public input on the new ordinance, and even failed to consult the Bethlehem Recreation Commission.

While I understand the need for the fee change, I am disappointed that Council failed to get public input before voting on the ordinance.