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Record of Proceedings

Allentown Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting - April 15, 2026: Three Bills Approved Favorably

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, April 15, 2026
BodyAllentown, Pennsylvania
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, April 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:13
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Uh we have three bills on the agenda today.

0:03

Uh Mr.

0:04

Clerk, will you read Bill 27, please?

0:06

Uh Bill 27 minutes, the 2026 capital flood budget to fly for supplemental appropriation.

0:12

Uh $1800,000 in the Department of Theory and Economic Development and Support Construction of the MLK Ray Alpha's.

0:22

Thank you.

0:22

We have Ms.

0:23

Talila here.

0:24

Hi, good evening.

0:25

Um, thank you.

0:27

The opportunity to speak.

0:28

Um, Bill 27 is just the allocation of a previously awarded grant that we received from DCED.

0:35

And just a reminder, MLK phase two is connecting Leah Parkway to Cedar Beach.

0:39

So it'll be the next project that we're really focusing on making that connection.

0:43

Gotcha.

0:44

Thank you.

0:45

Um, any comments from my committee members?

0:50

Comments from the public.

0:53

All right, can I get a motion to move this forward favorably?

0:57

I'll motion to move favorably.

0:58

I'll second that motion.

0:59

Second in my Mr.

1:00

Pungo.

1:00

All those in favor say aye.

1:02

Aye.

1:02

And this will move forward.

1:04

Uh bill 28, please.

1:06

Bill 28 and 2026 general fund budget to apply for supplemental appropriation of $16,000 from the urban sustainability network.

1:16

Science project community bank work.

1:22

Thank you.

1:23

Ms.

1:23

Telena.

1:25

Um, so this is another grant that was um received through our sustainability program.

1:29

It's a really cool idea where they're having some youth ride around on bikes and capturing air quality data.

1:34

Um, so it should be a uh a great project to share once it gets underway.

1:38

That's awesome.

1:39

Um any comments from my committee members or the dais.

1:44

Uh any comments from the public on this.

1:49

Uh all right.

1:50

Can I have a motion to move this forward favorably?

1:52

I'll make a motion to move it forward.

1:54

Motion made.

1:54

I'll second.

1:55

Seconded by Mr.

1:56

Binder.

1:56

All those in favor say aye.

1:58

Aye.

1:58

And this will move forward favorably to full council.

2:01

Bill 30, please.

2:02

Uh Bill 30 amends to 2026, Trexler, General and Gov funds to accommodate a change in a gray title uh for the project coordinator position in the parks of recreation uh departments to project managers for allowing the job taking the Ms.

2:19

Telino.

2:20

So this uh this is sort of an issue that arose out of the success of the position.

2:26

Um we were able to obtain a lot of grants.

2:29

We have a lot of capital projects.

2:30

Um so changing the role that's currently vacant from um a project coordinator to a project manager is the duties align comparably to other project managers in public works and CED, and um it it really does make it a position that we're gonna attract um a technical person that can do the project management and grant reporting and also have some oversight over um some other areas of the department.

2:57

So it's a proposal to upgrade that role in order to accurately reflect the job responsibilities.

3:05

Thank you.

3:06

And it is paid out of the Truxler fund, so any additional um salary increase is paid through the grant funds of Truxer Trust.

3:15

Gotcha.

3:16

And this will be recurring every year, I would assume.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
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Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Summary of Proceedings

Allentown Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting - April 15, 2026

The Parks and Recreation Committee of Allentown met on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 6:15 PM. Chair Santos presided, with committee members Pungo and Binder present. The committee reviewed and voted unanimously to move three bills favorably to full council. No public comments were received. Administration representative Ms. Talila presented each bill.

Bill 27 - MLK Trail Phase 2 DCED Grant

Bill 27 amends the 2026 Capital Fund Budget with a supplemental appropriation of $800,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to support construction of the MLK Trail Phase 2, connecting Leah Parkway to Cedar Beach. Ms. Talila stated this allocates a previously awarded grant. The committee voted unanimously to move it favorably.

Bill 28 - USDN Catalyst Fund Citizen Science Project

Bill 28 amends the 2026 General Fund Budget with a supplemental appropriation of $16,000 from the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) for a pilot citizen science project involving youth riding bicycles to capture air quality data, in partnership with the City of Easton, Community Bike Works, and Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Talila described it as a "really cool idea." The committee voted unanimously to move it favorably.

Bill 30 - Trexler Parks Project Coordinator Upgrade

Bill 30 amends the 2026 Trexler, General, and Golf Funds to upgrade the Project Coordinator position in Parks and Recreation to Project Manager, aligning job duties with comparable positions in Public Works and CED. Ms. Talila noted the position is currently vacant and the upgrade will help attract a technical person for project management and grant reporting. The additional salary cost, described as "a few thousand dollars each year," will be covered by the Trexler Fund. The committee voted unanimously to move it favorably.

Key Outcomes

  • Bill 27, Bill 28, and Bill 30 all passed committee unanimously and were moved favorably to full council.
  • No public testimony was offered.
  • The meeting adjourned shortly after, moving to the full council session.
  • Meeting minutes were not available for this session.

Meeting Transcript

Uh we have three bills on the agenda today. Uh Mr. Clerk, will you read Bill 27, please? Uh Bill 27 minutes, the 2026 capital flood budget to fly for supplemental appropriation. Uh $1800,000 in the Department of Theory and Economic Development and Support Construction of the MLK Ray Alpha's. Thank you. We have Ms. Talila here. Hi, good evening. Um, thank you. The opportunity to speak. Um, Bill 27 is just the allocation of a previously awarded grant that we received from DCED. And just a reminder, MLK phase two is connecting Leah Parkway to Cedar Beach. So it'll be the next project that we're really focusing on making that connection. Gotcha. Thank you. Um, any comments from my committee members? Comments from the public. All right, can I get a motion to move this forward favorably? I'll motion to move favorably. I'll second that motion. Second in my Mr. Pungo. All those in favor say aye. Aye. And this will move forward. Uh bill 28, please. Bill 28 and 2026 general fund budget to apply for supplemental appropriation of $16,000 from the urban sustainability network. Science project community bank work. Thank you. Ms. Telena. Um, so this is another grant that was um received through our sustainability program. It's a really cool idea where they're having some youth ride around on bikes and capturing air quality data. Um, so it should be a uh a great project to share once it gets underway. That's awesome. Um any comments from my committee members or the dais. Uh any comments from the public on this. Uh all right. Can I have a motion to move this forward favorably? I'll make a motion to move it forward. Motion made. I'll second. Seconded by Mr. Binder. All those in favor say aye. Aye. And this will move forward favorably to full council. Bill 30, please. Uh Bill 30 amends to 2026, Trexler, General and Gov funds to accommodate a change in a gray title uh for the project coordinator position in the parks of recreation uh departments to project managers for allowing the job taking the Ms.

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