OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Special Meeting on ANISDA Presentation - April 22, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, April 22, 2026
BodyAllentown, Pennsylvania
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, April 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:05:50
Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

That's all I did in color.

0:09

We're gonna put it in the back chair.

0:16

It's a root strategy that comes from the college.

0:18

Front row, then too much of a back road show.

0:54

I mean that's that would be the idea.

1:12

Not entirely now last week, but my comments has the six months.

1:26

Then when you get there, that's the thing.

1:52

Yeah, thanks a lot.

1:53

Um, I don't know.

2:05

But we've got to bring a lot of those.

2:08

Yes, and questions.

2:12

Not related.

2:15

I'm gonna get it.

2:17

One of the three model like that.

2:47

My wife is painting my last one.

2:51

So we're gonna go um start off this special meeting.

3:15

Uh uh April twenty second, our special meeting for uh presentation by Anisda.

3:21

Uh we'll start with a roll call.

3:22

Ms.

3:23

Hafa?

3:24

Mr.

3:25

Pungo?

3:25

Here, Mr.

3:26

Napoli.

3:27

Here.

3:27

Mr.

3:27

Bender.

3:28

Present.

3:29

Miss Santos?

3:30

Here.

3:30

And Miss Scarlock.

3:31

Here.

3:32

And Miss Moda is on teams.

3:33

Great.

3:34

Thank you, uh Ms.

3:34

Orkego.

3:35

Um good evening.

3:37

Um tonight's a continuation of our a public meetings with our community partners.

3:42

Uh our objective is to strengthen communication, improve coordination, become better informed, and focus on identifying opportunities for Allentown residents, the business community, and our visitors.

3:57

This evening's special meeting is to allow Steve Bamford, the executive director of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority to present their mission, current and future initiatives, and their impact to the city of Allentown.

4:13

I'd also like to welcome to the meeting uh some folks whose roles intersect with ANISDA from time to time.

4:19

Uh we have a chairman of the UNISDA board, Cy Trab.

4:23

We have our CED director, Miss Vicky Kissler, our CED deputy director, Mark Hartney, our city controller, Jeff Glazer, and uh unfortunately Frank Kane couldn't make it.

4:35

So um So thanks everyone for joining.

4:38

Um I'll introduce uh I'll introduce Steve Bamford, um executive director of Anezda.

4:45

And thank you for coming.

4:48

You can take that spot.

4:51

And um problem.

5:08

Okay.

5:13

Can you hear me?

5:14

Yes, uh, welcome.

5:15

Thank you.

5:16

And thank you all for having uh provided this opportunity for us to talk a little bit about the NIS and answer your questions.

5:23

You know, at this age, it's a little challenging for me.

5:26

I need to take my glasses off to read what's in front of me.

5:29

Or I have to put them on to read what's in front of me, I take them off to see what you're seeing on the screen.

5:33

Yep.

5:40

Okay.

5:48

So um I'm gonna start off with just a quick history that I know some of you are probably very familiar with, and others less so.

5:56

Um, just quick history to show where we started on this path to over 1.2 billion dollars in investment in our in our downtown in the neighborhood improvement zone.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Public Engagement██████████11%
Affordable Housing████████9%
Public Works████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Procedural█████5%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Personnel Matters███3%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Special Meeting on ANISDA Presentation - April 22, 2026

The Allentown City Council held a special meeting on the evening of April 22, 2026, to hear a presentation from Steve Bamford, Executive Director of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority (ANISDA). The meeting focused on ANISDA's mission, current and future initiatives, and their impact on the city. Council members, city staff, and members of the public participated in a detailed question-and-answer session.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alan Jennings (retired executive director of Community Action Committee, board member of redevelopment authority): Expressed strong support for the NIS, calling it an outstanding resource. He recommended the city council capture a portion of the increased tax base from the NIS for affordable housing and improving housing stock around the collar of the NIS, and set a 10% affordable unit requirement. He also urged term limits for board leadership and proposed adding a $1 fee to arena box office transactions to fund the arts. He noted disappointment that riverfront development has not taken hold better and that suburbanites still avoid downtown.

Discussion Items

  • ANISDA Presentation (Steve Bamford):
    • Provided a history: NIS legislation passed in 2019, zone of 130 acres (center city and western banks of Lehigh River), over $1.2 billion in investment. Taxes generated (state and local) are applied to debt service; real estate taxes are not used. In 2025, $112.7 million in state taxes and $5.1 million in local taxes were generated; 96% were state taxes.
    • Explained the certification process: businesses file reports, state and city certify, funds go to Bank of New York Mellon escrow.
    • Showed real estate tax benefit examples: Three City Center (cumulative benefit of over $6.3 million), Strata West (over $4.7 million), Moxie Hotel (net benefit $162,000).
    • Described public improvement program: ANISDA funds construction and design via a $10 million revolving line of credit from People's Security Bank. Examples include sidewalks, Da Vinci Science Center plaza, wayfinding signage.
    • Highlighted the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission 2024 assessment that documented progress over 10 years. The program expires in 2042; long-term benefit expected.
  • Council Questions and Discussion:
    • Displacement: Steve Bamford noted only 127 rental units were in the NIS boundary at inception, many uninhabitable. Cy Traub confirmed that figure and added that the units were in poor condition.
    • Developer process: Bamford outlined steps from application to closure, including review by city planning and design consultant Goody Clancy, public review committee, and full board. Funds are allocated annually up to debt service. ANISDA retains 20% of tax revenue for arena bond debt service; operations funded by rent from PPL Center, not tax dollars.
    • Time horizon: With the NIS ending in 2042, developers have less time to amortize debt. Market forces are expected to sustain development after the program ends. Example: City Center's "Standard" residential project (no NIS funding).
    • Public improvements: City prioritizes projects. Vicky Kissler and Mark Hartney described focus on sidewalks, accessibility, and Center Square. Future plans include a walking path for Central Elementary School students. Challenges include limited maintenance resources and lack of a downtown master plan (removed from budget).
    • Board composition: 9-member board, 7 serving (2 vacancies). Members appointed by mayor and state legislators. Current members include attorneys, educators, business leaders. Terms are 5 years; all are expired. Councilmember Bender suggested adding a resident from the center city or First/Sixth wards.
    • Audits: ANISDA is audited annually. A separate audit of the city's certification process is hindered by confidentiality restrictions on taxpayer information; state legislation to address this has not passed.
    • Small business: Discussion on whether NIS benefits small businesses. Indirect benefits include improved infrastructure, foot traffic, and captive audience. Councilmembers requested data on business turnover, minority ownership, job creation (who gets jobs, pay levels). Vicky Kissler noted challenges in data collection due to LLC anonymity and tax confidentiality. The Downtown Allentown Alliance (DAA) is planning data collection; ANISDA and city will pass on council's requests.
    • Affordable housing: Councilmember Garlock asked about goals from the 2014 Goody Clancy study for 235-285 affordable/workforce units. Vicky Kissler explained that affordable units are being built just outside the NIS (e.g., Jonathan Strauss projects) but high land prices and prevailing wage requirements hinder development within the NIS. Zoning changes and a pending developer using 20% affordable units on Hamilton offer hope.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken; the meeting was informational.
  • Councilmembers emphasized the need for better communication of NIS successes (job creation, school district tax revenue, community benefits) and requested that ANISDA update its website with committee membership and bios, and coordinate meeting scheduling to appear on the city's calendar.
  • Steve Bamford acknowledged the staffing limitation (two people) but committed to improving outreach. Cy Traub invited council to help tell the NIS story.
  • Council will relay data requests to the Downtown Allentown Alliance for future collection on business turnover, minority ownership, and job demographics.
  • The meeting concluded with thanks to ANISDA for the presentation, and council noted the importance of continued partnership.

Meeting Transcript

That's all I did in color. We're gonna put it in the back chair. It's a root strategy that comes from the college. Front row, then too much of a back road show. I mean that's that would be the idea. Not entirely now last week, but my comments has the six months. Then when you get there, that's the thing. Yeah, thanks a lot. Um, I don't know. But we've got to bring a lot of those. Yes, and questions. Not related. I'm gonna get it. One of the three model like that. My wife is painting my last one. So we're gonna go um start off this special meeting. Uh uh April twenty second, our special meeting for uh presentation by Anisda. Uh we'll start with a roll call. Ms. Hafa? Mr. Pungo? Here, Mr. Napoli. Here. Mr. Bender. Present. Miss Santos? Here. And Miss Scarlock. Here. And Miss Moda is on teams. Great. Thank you, uh Ms. Orkego. Um good evening. Um tonight's a continuation of our a public meetings with our community partners. Uh our objective is to strengthen communication, improve coordination, become better informed, and focus on identifying opportunities for Allentown residents, the business community, and our visitors. This evening's special meeting is to allow Steve Bamford, the executive director of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority to present their mission, current and future initiatives, and their impact to the city of Allentown. I'd also like to welcome to the meeting uh some folks whose roles intersect with ANISDA from time to time. Uh we have a chairman of the UNISDA board, Cy Trab. We have our CED director, Miss Vicky Kissler, our CED deputy director, Mark Hartney, our city controller, Jeff Glazer, and uh unfortunately Frank Kane couldn't make it. So um So thanks everyone for joining. Um I'll introduce uh I'll introduce Steve Bamford, um executive director of Anezda. And thank you for coming. You can take that spot. And um problem. Okay. Can you hear me?

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