Could you pause just one second?

We're good.

Okay.

I'm not gonna go around the room.

We all know each other, but we also have uh Kevin Easterling here with us today, uh, who will probably have some comments for us um under the public comment section there.

Uh so again, thank you all for making it today.

And I know we have two that are excused from today's meeting.

Um with that, we'll jump to agenda item number 2.0 with the approval of the minutes from February 11th.

Um I know Kelly had um had caught uh two little things in there, and um did everyone have a chance to review that though.

I guess when I say everyone, it'll be the two of you.

It was amended already.

You're thanking uh there was two minor changes just with uh names spelled correctly.

Okay, yep, that was it.

I did I did see countries, but I didn't see so it's just this is what's this is correct, yeah.

Um Alan made a motion.

I'll second the motion.

Seconds, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Any opposed motion carries.

All right.

Uh we'll jump to agenda item number 3.0, which is public comment.

Um Kevin, did you want to bring up anything for us now?

Okay.

Thank you all.

And we did we discussed before, you know, like I said, we can't really talk about the RFP or the processes of everything like that, but we're happy to you know hear more about um all the good work that you do, and uh we would always have time for a year of Husky when they come to a microphone.

I have to that's good to know, that's good to know.

Kevin Eastering 1124 Hamilton Street.

Um, I want to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to speak today.

Um, first for for public comment.

Um, I did want to mention um Chris, thanks for responding to my email.

Alan, thank you.

And thank you, Jessica, for for opening up the uh the inquiry to transparency.

I I do want to say, without going over anything regarding the bid, um the redevelopment authority is a public authority and is required to post board meeting notes and board agendas.

Normally I go to a uh a board's website and fine, but there hasn't been any notes or any meeting uh notices on the Allentown Redevelopment Authority for since 2020 December of 24.

So the meetings are are posted on there every every month they're posted on there with the agendas.

On the same website, is that what you say?

It's on the city's website, it's on Granicus because that's how we're connected.

So you're saying it's through the city's website.

Right.

Okay, so that that's that's the problem.

So normally I would just go to the authorities website and pull it, but on the Allentown redevelopment authority, there is no notice.

So it it directs you to the it directs you to the city's website to go on there.

Okay.

Well, I'm gonna give you what I printed off.

Okay.

That's what's on the redevelopment.

Okay.

And so that's that's part of some of the clarity.

I know many of you are uh familiar with um Sunshine Law, ACL, and that was the only reason I had reached out to a board member to find out what was going on with that bid.

Um as I said, I just wanted to make it known that um our organization actually has a CDBG grant with a city bound town to provide low to moderate income construction workers training.

Uh we did a pen beat training uh last Saturday.

We always do the last Saturday of the month.

Um, and actually Kevin had sent a few people to us who uh were interested in learning um prior to the training that you all had.

We also did prior to the city's um transition from uh public purchase to pen bid.

Um so we sent that out to all of our contractors.

Uh we have been doing this for now for the last five years.

We have contracts with not only um CDBD City of Allentown, but we also provide uh section three and minority um contractor outreach for Lehigh County.

And so this is something that that we've been on, we've been advocates for construction um work probably for the last I'd say 15 years.

Um I wanted to make the redevelopment authority um aware that because we are doing this with the city, and because our organization um was av were advocates for the section three legislation that was passed on October 19th of 22, which the City of Alentown agreed to give priority on bids that come through for any section three certified low-income contractor.

And so when your current bids went out, we were just going to look at to see what projects were available and instructing our contractors to uh put themselves in the bid notice under subcontractors.

Now I reviewed the bid.