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Record of Proceedings

Allentown City Council Meeting - April 1, 2026: Approvals and Introductions

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, April 1, 2026
BodyAllentown, Pennsylvania
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, April 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 23:26

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Um, we're gonna kick off um city council meeting uh April 1st, 2026.

0:06

Um, and we're gonna start with an invocation and a moment of silence for a gentleman named Dave Snyder.

0:13

Um Dave Snyder um served in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, um, but he also worked as a civil engineer for the city of Allentown for 44 years.

0:24

Um he also was a photographer and a chronicler of local musicians and the local music scene.

0:30

He was especially fond of blues, and that includes blues festivals like Blues Bruce and Barbecue locally every year.

0:37

Um he was also a long time long-term member of the Recreation Board and the A Youth Program, and he was also a coach at Deeruff and Mountainville for many years.

0:50

Um Dave was an active bowler and coach, uh, and he also played on the City Hall Bowling League for 50 years.

0:57

So this is a gentleman that was as Allentown as it gets, um, and unfortunately, Mr.

1:02

Snyder passed away.

1:04

Um, there is a memorial service set on Saturday, April 11th at 11 a.m.

1:10

So uh just wanted to mention that um all Allentown gentlemen, and uh we pass on our condolences from the city of Allentown.

1:19

Um so with that said, we will um do an invocation in a moment of silence.

1:38

Thank you.

1:41

And pledge allegiance, pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States in America, which is one issue under a roll call, please.

2:05

Mr.

2:05

Bender, present, Miss Gerlock, here, Miss Moda here, Mr.

2:11

Pungo, here, Miss Santos here, Mr.

2:14

Napoli.

2:15

Here and Miss Affa is absent.

2:17

We have six people present.

2:19

Okay, thank you.

2:20

Uh we're gonna start with courtesy of the floor.

2:23

Uh this is courtesy of floor for anything that's not on the agenda this evening.

2:27

And if there are anyone who filled in a card.

2:30

We have no courtesy of the floor.

2:32

Okay.

2:33

So we'll move along to contract approvals.

2:36

Uh we have one this evening, uh, looks like R 49.

2:39

R 49 is the authorization for contract with GIS LLC in the amount of 82,400 to plan and design a new irrigation system for the Allentown Municipal Golf Course.

2:52

Four proposals are received, one was rejected.

2:54

Contract shall be for two years with three additional one-year renewals before the contract expiration period.

3:03

Okay, thank you.

3:04

And um any um any questions or comments from the dias or and that includes for the administration.

3:14

Okay.

3:16

Any questions or comments from the public on R 49?

3:21

Okay.

3:24

Uh Mr.

3:25

Bender.

3:25

Yes.

3:26

Ms.

3:27

Girloch.

3:27

Yes.

3:28

Miss Moda.

3:29

Yes.

3:30

Mr.

3:30

Pungo.

3:31

Yes.

3:32

Miss Santos.

3:33

Yes.

3:33

Mr.

3:34

Napoli.

3:34

Yes.

3:35

Mr.

3:35

President, I have six years and no nays.

3:38

Okay, thank you.

3:39

Uh we'll move along to uh minutes of our previous meeting from March 18th.

3:47

Mr.

3:48

Binder.

3:49

Yes.

3:50

Ms.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████28%
Public Engagement███████████████████19%
Parking Management██████████████14%
Personnel Matters██████████10%
Arts And Culture█████████9%
Budget Equity Analysis████████8%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Allentown City Council Meeting - April 1, 2026

The Allentown City Council met on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting began with an invocation and moment of silence for Dave Snyder, a long-serving city civil engineer and community volunteer. Council approved contract awards, multiple budget amendments, a property sale to the Allentown Art Museum, and introduced several new ordinances. All votes were unanimous (6-0) with Councilwoman Candida Affa absent.

Consent Calendar

  • R50: Approved a Sewage Planning Module for the Allentown School District's SSDLIA modular building (Resolution #31250).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered during Courtesy of the Floor or on any agenda items.

Discussion Items

  • Controller's Report (Jeffrey Glazier): Reviewed 323 checks and wires totaling approximately $6 million for the period March 4–27, 2026, including eight manual checks for $84,000. Findings included one instance of noncompliance with travel documentation (TRA/TER not initially submitted), three checks expensed to wrong accounts, 15 instances of untimely payments (invoices over 60 days old), and seven instances where supporting documentation was not initially uploaded. All issues were corrected.
  • Mayor's Report (Matt Tuerk): Announced that Frank Kane will begin as Managing Director on April 13, 2026 (corrected from May 13). Mr. Kane's email is already active and he will attend Council meetings as the mayor's designee. The mayor also reported an Easter Egg Hunt held the previous Saturday with about 400 children in attendance.
  • Bill 24 – Green Light Go Grant (19th Street & Roth Avenue intersection): Councilman Pungo noted the city will match approximately $199,000 of the grant, with $89,000 coming as a supplemental appropriation from the General Fund. He stated he would follow up with the Director of Finance on fund transfers but expressed full support.
  • R52 – Sale of City-Owned Property (1001-1007 W. Hamilton St.): Mayor Tuerk explained that the initial plan to sell to the Allentown Parking Authority for bundling has been changed to a direct sale to the Allentown Art Museum, which plans to demolish the existing building and construct a new multi-story museum. Councilwoman Mota expressed approval.
  • Bill 26 – Allentown Parking Authority Board Membership: President Napoli explained the ordinance removes the requirement that a board member must be from the AEDC, allowing any city resident to serve. Mayor Tuerk noted this updates the 1984 original ordinance and invited residents to apply for board vacancies.

Key Outcomes

  • R49 – Golf Course Irrigation Design: Approved a contract with GIS, LLC for $82,400 to design an irrigation system for the Allentown Municipal Golf Course (two-year contract with three one-year renewals). Vote: 6-0 (#31249).
  • Minutes of March 18, 2026: Approved 6-0.
  • Bill 23 – Springwood Trust Appropriation ($13,468.81): Final passage, Ordinance #16205. Vote: 6-0.
  • Bill 24 – Green Light Go Grant Appropriation ($1,087,390.00): Final passage, Ordinance #16206. Vote: 6-0.
  • R51 – Support for America250PA: Resolution #31251 adopted 6-0.
  • R52 – Property Sale to Allentown Art Museum: Resolution #31252 adopted 6-0.
  • Bills Introduced and Referred to Committees:
    • Bill 26 (APA board changes) → Rules, Chambers, Intergovernmental Relations and Strategy Committee.
    • Bill 27 (MLK Trail Phase 2, $800,000 grant) → Parks and Recreation Committee.
    • Bill 28 (Citizen science project, $16,000 USDN grant) → Parks and Recreation Committee.
    • Bill 29 (Public Works capital projects, $5,050,000 borrowing) → Public Works Committee.
    • Bill 30 (Parks Project Coordinator upgrade) → Parks and Recreation Committee.
  • Adjournment: 6:53 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Um, we're gonna kick off um city council meeting uh April 1st, 2026. Um, and we're gonna start with an invocation and a moment of silence for a gentleman named Dave Snyder. Um Dave Snyder um served in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, um, but he also worked as a civil engineer for the city of Allentown for 44 years. Um he also was a photographer and a chronicler of local musicians and the local music scene. He was especially fond of blues, and that includes blues festivals like Blues Bruce and Barbecue locally every year. Um he was also a long time long-term member of the Recreation Board and the A Youth Program, and he was also a coach at Deeruff and Mountainville for many years. Um Dave was an active bowler and coach, uh, and he also played on the City Hall Bowling League for 50 years. So this is a gentleman that was as Allentown as it gets, um, and unfortunately, Mr. Snyder passed away. Um, there is a memorial service set on Saturday, April 11th at 11 a.m. So uh just wanted to mention that um all Allentown gentlemen, and uh we pass on our condolences from the city of Allentown. Um so with that said, we will um do an invocation in a moment of silence. Thank you. And pledge allegiance, pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States in America, which is one issue under a roll call, please. Mr. Bender, present, Miss Gerlock, here, Miss Moda here, Mr. Pungo, here, Miss Santos here, Mr. Napoli. Here and Miss Affa is absent. We have six people present. Okay, thank you. Uh we're gonna start with courtesy of the floor. Uh this is courtesy of floor for anything that's not on the agenda this evening. And if there are anyone who filled in a card. We have no courtesy of the floor. Okay. So we'll move along to contract approvals. Uh we have one this evening, uh, looks like R 49. R 49 is the authorization for contract with GIS LLC in the amount of 82,400 to plan and design a new irrigation system for the Allentown Municipal Golf Course. Four proposals are received, one was rejected. Contract shall be for two years with three additional one-year renewals before the contract expiration period. Okay, thank you. And um any um any questions or comments from the dias or and that includes for the administration. Okay. Any questions or comments from the public on R 49? Okay. Uh Mr. Bender. Yes. Ms. Girloch. Yes. Miss Moda. Yes. Mr. Pungo. Yes. Miss Santos. Yes. Mr.

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