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Record of Proceedings

Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - Dec 17, 2025

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, December 17, 2025
BodyAllentown, Pennsylvania
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, December 17, 2025
StatusFILED
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0:00

Great.

0:22

I mean, I got it.

0:28

I just like personality.

0:34

Usually, good evening.

0:40

Welcome to the community and economic development committee meeting.

0:45

Please, uh, Mr.

0:46

Hanlin, do the roll call.

0:49

Uh, Mr.

0:49

Napoli here, Mr.

0:51

Henriks.

0:52

Here.

0:52

Uh Madam Chair, everybody's here.

0:55

Thank you.

0:56

Um, can you please uh Mr.

0:58

Henlin read Bill 97?

1:00

Bill 97 amends chapter 455, property rehab and maintenance, article three pre-sales inspections for residential and commercial property, uh properties and units, section 455 16 through 23, creating a commercial inspections program.

1:18

Thank you, Mr.

1:19

Han.

1:19

And we have Ms.

1:20

Kisler.

1:21

Yes.

1:22

This is what we've discussed in the past.

1:24

We're taking the pre-sale program that was strictly residential, and we're now expanding into commercial property.

1:31

Um, our hope is that this is step one so that we can start as buildings are sold to get into commercial buildings, do the pre-sale inspection, let the current owner know what is needed to get up to code, and then during the sale, they can negotiate whether that current owner or the future owner will bring the property into code and will give them a specified period of time to get that property up to code.

1:57

It is our hope that once we launch this, we can then get our feet wet in commercial inspection again and hopefully launch into a regular full-out commercial inspection program over time.

2:12

So once we do this, have you um calculated how much revenue we might get from from this?

2:19

Um not really.

2:21

And why I say not really is because the commercial market is much different than the residential housing market.

2:27

Although we do have commercial sales, we don't have nearly as many commercial sales as we do um residential sales right now.

2:38

So again, this would be not just like you think of a lot of the commercial buildings you see, think of like restaurants.

2:45

Oftentimes they're leased simply because they get a new leasee doesn't mean the property is sold.

2:51

Okay, so this will be at the time of sale.

2:53

So we're working on some of those projections, but we don't have any concrete numbers right now.

2:59

We just want the right to be able to intercept those sales, get into those properties, make sure they're up to code, and then hopefully advance into like a regular systematic commercial inspection program.

3:11

Thank you.

3:12

Any comments from the Dais?

3:15

Go ahead, Mr.

3:16

Hendrix.

3:18

Ms.

3:18

Kissler, do you feel that you have sufficient manpower within the unit to do this now?

3:23

We do right now.

3:24

That's why we're starting with the pre-sale.

3:26

That we feel that um because of Energov, being able to streamline some of the work, getting more inspections done actually in the field, we think we can take on the pre-sales without adding any additional staff.

3:38

The fact that council allowed us to add that scheduler will help tremendously with us to be able to move people in the field in real time.

3:46

So we'll get our feet wet in the pre-sales and then hopefully come back to you and say we can advance even further.

3:53

Okay, thank you.

3:54

Um Mr.

3:55

Napoli.

3:56

Uh thank you.

3:57

Um, I don't know if this is again in the weeds, but with commercial properties, we if we don't know what the use is, do we know?

4:06

I mean, is there a baseline for codes?

4:08

Because for instance, if a building is empty and it is a restaurant, it's gonna need a whole different set of codes.

4:15

If it's gonna be a um a gathering place or an event space, it'll need a different set of codes.

4:21

I'm assuming there's a baseline codes that you're following because we don't even know what's going into that empty building.

4:27

This is gonna exactly be that.

4:29

This is gonna be the baseline code inspection, fire safety, appropriate structure.

4:35

Are the windows intact?

4:37

Are the the entries intact that kind of an inspection?

4:41

Once that property comes to the counter for a business license that says it's going to be a restaurant, that will trigger a restaurant inspection, says it's going to be whatever that commercial use is, that'll go through the whole setup of as it's going to operate.

4:58

Will it have a hood?

5:00

Will it have fire suppression?

5:01

This is basically looking at the corn shell and making sure that the structure of the of the building is safe.

5:08

Okay, perfect.

5:09

That's uh I figured out, but I wanted to ask just because we didn't know what the use would be.

5:15

So but uh if there's a baseline that makes sense.

5:18

I thank you.

5:19

Thank you, Mr.

5:19

Napley.

5:20

Any other comments from the Dais?

5:24

Okay.

5:26

Um I'll make a motion to move this uh forward as favorably to full council.

5:32

All in favor I'll second that motion.

5:34

All in favor say aye.

5:36

Aye.

5:36

Aye.

5:37

Okay.

5:38

So this will bill 97 will be moved to full council.

5:42

Uh bill 98, uh, Mr.

5:44

Hannon?

5:44

Bill 98 amends the 2025 grant fund uh budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of one million dollars from the Pennsylvania DCED local share account grant.

5:55

The funds are passed through grant that will support uh the bomb school of art.

6:00

Okay.

6:01

Um the local share passed through.

6:04

We simply take the applications, put them into the system, they go to the state for their um consideration.

6:10

Bomb has applied for a million dollars toward its renovations.

6:15

Okay, any comments from the dais?

6:21

My apologies.

6:22

Any comments from the public?

6:26

Okay.

6:28

I need a motion.

6:30

Move this forward favorably.

6:32

I'll second that.

6:33

All those in favor say aye.

6:35

Aye.

6:36

Aye.

6:36

Okay, so bill 98 will be moved favorably in front of full council.

6:42

Uh Bill 100.

6:44

Bill 100 amends the 2025 general fund budget, uh, general building code fund budget to provide for a transfer of 25,000 from building code fund to the general fund, and it will allow the payment for the uh YMCA's invoice for the early opening of the warming shelter.

7:02

Okay, go ahead, Ms.

7:04

Kishmer.

7:05

If you remember, the administration and council each agreed to contribute toward the opening of the shelter early to house those individuals interested in going to the Y from the encampment.

7:18

Um, the $25,000 is in the building code fund, which is an enterprise fund.

7:23

So, in order for this money to go to the Y, it has to have to move favorably through council to be a transfer out of the enterprise fund so that the check can be written.

7:36

Okay, any comments from the Dais?

7:40

Any comments from the public?

7:43

Okay, I need a motion.

7:46

I'll make a motion to forward us favorably to the full council, and I'll second that motion.

7:51

All those in favor say aye.

7:53

Aye.

7:53

Okay, so Bill 100 is gonna uh be moved favorably in front of full council.

8:00

Um, do you have anything else, Ms.

8:02

Kisler, that you would like to share?

8:03

I don't have any updates or anything out of the usual unless there's any questions from council.

8:09

Any questions?

8:11

No.

8:12

Okay.

8:13

So I believe that this meeting is adjourned.

8:16

Thank you.

8:18

Uh Candy to see.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Zoning Regulations██████████████████████████████████████42%
Grants Management███████8%
Summary of Proceedings

Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - Dec 17, 2025

The Community and Economic Development Committee convened on December 17, 2025, to review three legislative items and budgetary transfers related to commercial property inspections, arts funding, and warming shelter operations. The committee unanimously recommended forwarding all three measures to the full council without modification.

Consent Calendar

  • Bill 97: Proposed amendment to Chapter 455 to expand pre-sale inspections to commercial properties, establishing a baseline safety inspection at the time of sale to facilitate future code compliance negotiations.
  • Bill 98: Proposed budget amendment providing a supplemental appropriation of $1 million from the Pennsylvania DCED local share account grant to the Bomb School of Art for renovations.
  • Bill 100: Proposed budget amendment transferring $25,000 from the general building code fund to the general fund to pay the YMCA's invoice for the early opening of a warming shelter.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public testimony or comments from members of the public were recorded during the meeting.

Discussion Items

  • Bill 97 (Commercial Pre-Sale Inspections):
    • Ms. Kisler (Administration) stated the current project aims to intercept commercial sales to identify code issues early, allowing owners to negotiate repairs before or during the sale. She clarified that the initial scope is a baseline inspection of the building's "corn shell" (structure, fire safety, windows, entries) rather than specific use-based inspections, which will be triggered later when a business license is applied for (e.g., restaurant vs. event space).
    • Mr. Napoli expressed inquiry regarding baseline codes for empty commercial buildings with unknown future uses. He sought clarification on how the inspection handles different potential uses (e.g., restaurants requiring hood systems). Ms. Kisler confirmed the inspection serves as a structural baseline, with use-specific requirements handled during the licensing phase.
    • Mr. Hendrix questioned whether the unit had sufficient manpower to execute the pre-sale program. Ms. Kisler expressed confidence in having sufficient staff to take on pre-sales without additional hiring, citing current streamlining via Energov and the recent addition of a scheduler.
    • Ms. Kisler admitted that while revenue projections for the program are being worked on, there are no concrete numbers available at this time due to the difference in sales volume between the commercial and residential markets.

Key Outcomes

  • Bill 97: Motion made and seconded to move the bill forward favorably to full council. Vote result: All in favor (Aye). The committee will forward the bill to full council.
  • Bill 98: Motion made and seconded to move the bill forward favorably to full council. Vote result: All in favor (Aye). The committee will forward the bill to full council.
  • Bill 100: Motion made and seconded to move the bill forward favorably to full council. Vote result: All in favor (Aye). The committee will forward the bill to full council.
  • The meeting was adjourned immediately following the unanimous votes.

Meeting Transcript

Great. I mean, I got it. I just like personality. Usually, good evening. Welcome to the community and economic development committee meeting. Please, uh, Mr. Hanlin, do the roll call. Uh, Mr. Napoli here, Mr. Henriks. Here. Uh Madam Chair, everybody's here. Thank you. Um, can you please uh Mr. Henlin read Bill 97? Bill 97 amends chapter 455, property rehab and maintenance, article three pre-sales inspections for residential and commercial property, uh properties and units, section 455 16 through 23, creating a commercial inspections program. Thank you, Mr. Han. And we have Ms. Kisler. Yes. This is what we've discussed in the past. We're taking the pre-sale program that was strictly residential, and we're now expanding into commercial property. Um, our hope is that this is step one so that we can start as buildings are sold to get into commercial buildings, do the pre-sale inspection, let the current owner know what is needed to get up to code, and then during the sale, they can negotiate whether that current owner or the future owner will bring the property into code and will give them a specified period of time to get that property up to code. It is our hope that once we launch this, we can then get our feet wet in commercial inspection again and hopefully launch into a regular full-out commercial inspection program over time. So once we do this, have you um calculated how much revenue we might get from from this? Um not really. And why I say not really is because the commercial market is much different than the residential housing market. Although we do have commercial sales, we don't have nearly as many commercial sales as we do um residential sales right now. So again, this would be not just like you think of a lot of the commercial buildings you see, think of like restaurants. Oftentimes they're leased simply because they get a new leasee doesn't mean the property is sold. Okay, so this will be at the time of sale. So we're working on some of those projections, but we don't have any concrete numbers right now. We just want the right to be able to intercept those sales, get into those properties, make sure they're up to code, and then hopefully advance into like a regular systematic commercial inspection program. Thank you. Any comments from the Dais? Go ahead, Mr. Hendrix. Ms. Kissler, do you feel that you have sufficient manpower within the unit to do this now? We do right now. That's why we're starting with the pre-sale. That we feel that um because of Energov, being able to streamline some of the work, getting more inspections done actually in the field, we think we can take on the pre-sales without adding any additional staff. The fact that council allowed us to add that scheduler will help tremendously with us to be able to move people in the field in real time. So we'll get our feet wet in the pre-sales and then hopefully come back to you and say we can advance even further. Okay, thank you. Um Mr. Napoli. Uh thank you. Um, I don't know if this is again in the weeds, but with commercial properties, we if we don't know what the use is, do we know?

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