One, uh, we're going to start the meeting this uh this evening.

Uh, if we can all stand for the Pledge of the Allegiance.

I pledge to the flag of the United States in America.

I guess.

One nation under God, just as wrong.

Sorry about that.

So I really made you jump out.

I apologize.

I won't do that to you again.

All right, the clerk will call the roll.

Mr.

Raymond.

Present.

Mr.

Callahan.

Present.

Mr.

Cologne.

Present.

Ms.

Daniels.

Present.

Ms.

Quietek.

Present.

Ms.

Laird.

Present.

And Ms.

Liam.

Moving on to citations.

We have two citations this evening.

One for Thomas Spenner, who is not with us, and one for Assistant Fire Chief Alan S.

Berghard.

I'm going to read the citation and then we can come and talk if you would like.

All right.

Whereas the residents of the city of Bethlehem have been served by a dedicated, diligent, and talented member of the Bethlehem Fire Department for 30 years.

And whereas Alan S.

Berghard, who started with the fire department in 1995 and retired in 2006, has during the course of his employment provided the utmost and reliable and outstanding service to the fire department and the residents of the city of Bethlehem.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the city by the council of the city of Bethlehem that assistant fire chief Alan S.

Berghard be extended the gratitude of the City of Bethlehem, which has benefited from his more than three decades of service and the special contributions he has made to promote public safety and to protect the lives and property of Bethlehem residents.

Be it further resolved now that Alan is retired.

He can relax and enjoy all that life has to offer him.

And be it further resolved that Alan be extended every good wish for a long and satisfying retirement.

If you would like to say something, you can I would just like to thank counsel for uh giving me the citation.

It means a lot to me.

Um, it is you know very nice to get the citation.

My father received one also.

My father uh started.

Excuse me.

He was hired in 1964.

So this month will be the last time a Burkhart will be under osters of the Bethlehem Fire Department.

So thank you for that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Thank you and congratulations.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you for your service.

Congratulations.

Thank you very much for including that antidote.

It's very that's very impressive.

All right, we're gonna shift to the public hearing.

Prior to the consideration of the regular agenda items, city council will conduct a public hearing.

This public hearing is to receive public comment on the request for an intermunicipal liquor license transfer for 217 Broadway.

This public hearing is called to order concerning a request for the intermunicipal transfer of restaurant liquor license RTAC 058050 from Easton Meat and Produce Corps 250 Line Street Easton, Northampton County to Ridham Cowboy Co.

217 Broadway, Bethlehem, Northampton County.

I will now recognize the representative of the applicant.

Thank you, Council.

Good evening.

My name is Nico Barada.

I'm an attorney with the Lahood Law Group, and I appeared today on behalf of Ridham Cowboy Company regarding our request for approval of the intermunicipal transfer of restaurant liquor license R 8050, currently associated with the Eastern Meat and Produce Corporation.

Uh previously authorized for use at 250 Line Street in Eastern Pennsylvania.

We are looking to transfer that to the our proposed establishment, which will be located at 217 Broadway in Bethlehem.

I have here with me today the president of Ridham Cowboy Company, Joanna Basile, and the Vice President, Mr.

Sal Biondo, who will be overseeing the operations and management of the establishment.

Their goal is to create a country themed restaurant and entertainment venue centered around Southern Comfort Cuisine, responsible alcohol service, and a welcoming niche atmosphere for the Bethlehem community.

Ridham Cowboy Company has a letter of intent to lease the structure for the business and will execute a full lease agreement with the owner of the premises if the transfer is approved.

The letter of intent and the future lease expressly permits the operation of a restaurant with a liquor license within the structure.

So now let me briefly describe the proposed layout of the establishment, which is depicted in exhibit E in the packet I provided.

The basement level will be used strictly for operational purposes, including food preparation area, cold storage, and administrative offices.

The first floor will serve as the main dining and hospitality space.

It will contain 21 standard dining tables and four two-top tables, providing seating for 97 guests along with 17 bar seats, bringing the total seating capacity of the first floor to 114 seats.

Guests will enter into a large rustic main floor, featuring a full service bar directly ahead, surrounded by communal tables and a row of high top seating.

A potential interior design is depicted in exhibit G of the packet and will feature rustic wood and metal finishes, exposed beams, and a warm lighting, creating a welcome, welcoming southern style environment while maintaining the feel of a comfortable dining establishment.

The second floor will serve as a location for overflow seating and flexible entertainment space.

This level will include a second bar and additional seating.

The layout of this level can be adjusted, however, depending on expected patron traffic or entertainment schedules for a given day.

Additionally, seasonal outdoor patio seating will be available, providing additional seating during warmer months.

Historically, the building has been rated for a maximum occupancy of 449 people, although our seating configuration will remain well below that capacity.

Food service will be a central focus of the business.

The menu as depicted in exhibit G will feature southern comfort and bar style cuisine.

Their goal is to offer unique high-quality menu that encourages patrons to visit primarily for the dining experience.

They anticipate employing approximately 35 to 40 employees once fully operational.

This will include roughly 20 full-time staff members, such as management, kitchen personnel, and bartenders, as well as 15 to 20 part-time positions, including servers, hosts, and bar support staff.

Additionally, two to three administrative staff members will also support the business through office, accounting, and human resource functions.

Altogether, we expect the establishment will create approximately 35 to 40 new jobs within the Bethlehem community with a mix of full-time and part-time opportunity.

Responsible alcohol service is a major priority for our operation.

All staff members involved in alcohol service will undergo ramp certified training through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, which includes instruction on responsible service practices, identification verification, and the prevention of service to visibly intoxicated individuals.

Additionally, a manager or supervisor will be present during operating hours to oversee operations and ensure compliance with all alcohol service regulations.

As it stands, their anticipated hours of operation will be Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.

to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.

to 12 a.m.

and Sunday, 11 a.m.

to 10 p.m.

The business anticipates operating primarily during lunch and dinner hours, but the hours may be adjusted within the hours allowed by state law based on consumer demand and seasonal considerations.

The establishment will not engage in take-home alcohol sales.

Their projected sales ratio is approximately 65% food sales and 35% alcohol sales, reflecting their intention to operate primarily as a food-driven restaurant where alcohol complements meals rather than serving as a primary focus of this business.

The establishment will also be looking to partner with local breweries and distilleries in order to distribute locally produced offerings.

Music will be an important part of the atmosphere, reflecting the country theme of the venue.

However, they will take significant steps to ensure that it remains respectful of their surrounding neighborhood.

No live music will be played outdoors, and outdoor areas will only feature low-level background music, if any.

Live music performances may occur inside the building on either the first or second floor, utilizing a removable stage area.

Sound amplification will be carefully controlled, and the building will incorporate soundproofing measures designed to prevent excessive noise from leaving the premises.

It is their intention that all expected sound levels will comply with the City of Bethlehem noise ordinances.

They have also developed a comprehensive security plan to ensure a safe and orderly environment.

This will include on-site security personnel during peak hours, surveillance cameras, monitoring entrances, exits, and main public areas, and staff training focused on monitoring alcohol consumption and maintaining compliance with local laws.

Management will maintain a zero tolerance policy for disorderly conduct, and staff will be expected to respond promptly to any disruptive behavior to protect the warm and welcoming ambiance they envision.

With respect to parking, patrons will have access to approximately 20 spots along the east side of the property.

There's also street parking in the surrounding area, as well as a large parking garage located approximately two blocks away on New Street, which provides substantial additional parking capacity for any visitors.

The business also intends to apply for the appropriate Sunday sales permit, an amusement permit as required for its operations.

And finally, assuming the necessary approvals are obtained and construction proceeds as planned, they anticipate opening the establishment approximately three months after construction is completed with the tentative opening date of August 2026.

In closing, riding cowboy company is committed to operating as a responsible food focused establishment that contributes positively to the economic vitality and hospitality culture of Southside Bethlehem.

We'd respectfully request the council's approval of the intermunicipal liquid license transfer so that they may move forward in the process with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Thank you for your time and consideration, Council.

And the representatives would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

Thank you very much.

I will now recognize members of council for questions or comments, unless you prefer to reserve those until deliberations under agenda item 10 G.

So any councilman called.

Thank you, Council President.

The uh I appreciate the presentation, a lot of the questions I had, which are standard because you come before council maybe a couple times a year, a couple of times over the course of uh a couple years.

Uh, one question I had or two questions.

One just to confirm this is the site of what was previously the firehouse.

Correct.

Okay.

Thank you.

And then one question about the operation.

Will it be available?

Uh the second floor or the entire premise for private parties.

Would people be able to host special events there?

And would you anticipate those being within the hours that you had shared already?

I believe that is planned on being uh uh potentially available for private event space within the hours we have um articulated to council.

Um but if the vice president or the president wants to chime in.

Hi, good evening.

Um for the most part, the upper level is going to be used for private events, uh, things of nature, things that would be more appropriate for gatherings, social events, corporate functions, especially, because we like to keep it there in the community.

And with all the new businesses and old businesses that are here, we think that it's a good utilized space for that specific unit.

But the same practices would apply as you shared relative to security staff on site and things like that.

Yes, absolutely.

Yeah, thank you.

Those were all my questions.

I I would just say thank you for your investment.

I know the site's been vacant for I don't know how many years.

Um, so thank you for bringing it back online, and I'll be glad to support this this evening.

Any other questions or comments from members of council?

Councilman Callion.

I I haven't taken a look at the bag yet as far as like the details, but um, there wouldn't happen to be like a riding bullet in there anyway, sorry.

No, although I was thought about, but no.

I I only asked because when I was a yeah.

But when I was at uh in North Carolina State, uh, the the country bar center had a you know, the that was the the name might imply that, but that's all right.

Thank you.

Any other questions or council?

Um I do have uh just a handful of questions.

Um, peak hours.

What are what are you going to consider peak hours?

Is it like I'm assuming it's not Wednesday at two o'clock in the afternoon?

So when would you have hours would be Friday and Saturday, Friday specifically a little bit earlier because we did a happy hour when people get out of work?

So 4:30 to I'd say nine o'clock, where Saturday is going to be a little bit later, more like five o'clock to 10 o'clock.

Um when you're talking about security, uh, I'm just thinking about that area.

And there is a first first and foremost, I'm very supportive of this.

So these are just questions of curiosity.

Yeah.

Um the parking is quite limited in South Bethlehem.

And there is the presence of the new street garage, which is a very heavily utilized garage.

Uh, my concern is that your patrons might park at CVS and thereby get towed.

Um, so your security, is it going to be solely in the building, or are they going to keep an eye out on ideally for the most part, we're going to have it as split.

There'd be two inside, two outside to start.

Uh, the outside would keep an eye on it.

We are also in discussions, possibly of doing an off-premise uh lease with someone as well, but we haven't actually explored that again because we don't know exactly the direction we'll be going in.

But for the most part, there'll be a security outside us.

Okay.

What about line dancing?

There's not a bullshit.

Yeah, we're gonna do line dance again.

Um I'm gonna echo what councilman uh cologne said uh seeing investment in that area.

We're starting to see a little bit more, but seeing investment in that area is really really great.

So I'd like to see uh diversity of bars being offered in in that corner.

We've only had like two for a while.

So it's thank you for your investment within the city.

And from what you have said and when I read, uh, it seems like you're going to be very responsible.

Yes.

I I have in the looks really really cracked.

Yeah, the captain, the captain can the yeah.

Um, so thank you.

Those are all the questions uh that I had.

Um, so I will now recognize members of the public for got for comment regarding this application.

So turning to the left, the center and to my right.

Seeing no comments, resolution 10 G will be put on tonight's agenda.

Thank you for your presentation.

Thank you for your time.

All right, that concludes our public hearing.

Moving on to the approval of the minutes.

Any questions or comments on the minutes?

Our first public comment is on subjects not being voted on this evening with a five-minute time limit.

I will move to the people who have signed up first.

The first person I have is Mr.

Mark Will Weber.

Thank you.

Uh happy St.

Patrick State, everybody.

Doubly soda, Mr.

Callahan.

Although Brian, I'll share a quote that I like with you.

Uh the luck of the Irish is more a wish than a characteristic.

Think about that one later.

Um I'm gonna talk about water.

One of these days, I'm gonna come in and talk about Bethlehem Parking Authority, but uh that's another kettle of fish.

But um uh I think last week, uh Senator Lisa, State Senator Lisa Boscola went on record as uh saying that she'd like to see some relief uh at the gas pumps and the diesel pumps for her constituents, and suggested that uh there be a moratorium on state tax on those things.

And I I totally applaud that.

Um the consumers never been under so much pressure as they are right now between electric costs, rising gas costs, uh bad winter where you know everybody was blowing through uh heat and natural gas and and all that.

So it's been it's been tough.

Um, at the end of 2024, the state senator also warned against rising electric costs, and she sure was right on that because they've gone through the roof.

And uh uh it's nice to be warned it'd be nice if people actually did something about rising utility costs, right?

And uh I always find it a little ironic on these things because if she she really is firmly committed to uh protecting the citizen consumer and off of on these affordability issues and rising utility prices.

She merely has to look across the breakfast table and ask Ed to come on in here and give you a timeline on when he's gonna give you.

Thank you.

That's that's a little too far into the personal life of someone.

So if you can just bring it back in Braun.

Okay, thank you.

But uh I would love to see a timeline on this.

Council's been asking for one.

Uh I think three months ago.

Uh uh councilwoman uh QuiaTech, I believe, said uh what was the word she used?

This disheartened that there wasn't a timeline.

Well, uh, I'm disheartened as well because I've been asking for something like that for for two years.

Um so I think it's kind of time that that happens.

Uh I recently visited the Bethlehem Water Authority.

And um, what I shared with them was um that these downloadable apps would contribute to um adding some inches to the reservoirs because I was kind of surprised.

They said that at one point they were below 50%, they were at 47%.

Uh recent snows and and water just I think brought them back up over the halfway mark.

But these apps, uh, according to a study out of the University of California Riverside, would maybe save them as much as six to twelve percent uh water.

Um so uh certainly that would be significant.

Um so I'd like to to see that done for that reason.

Uh among many others.

I also uh in the last uh couple weeks talked to two restaurant owners, and both of them got zapped with water problems.

Cost uh the one guy, I think $1,300, and the other person far more than that.

And I think both of those would have been preventable with this downloadable app if they had had it.

Um the one was called because they said there was a leak at the restaurant, and when the owner arrived, uh they shut the water off.

So the restaurant got closed for the day, they lost all that money.

And uh I think had this person had the app, they would have been able to say, wait a minute, my aqua hawk or my water or whatever app she would have had would have said I don't have a leak.

And uh maybe I don't know all the particulars of it, but I guess I did dig up the sidewalk, the restaurant was shut, blah, blah, blah.

So these are all things.

It's not just uh the citizen consumer, but it's also small business.

You know, we make a lot of noise about uh having a vibrant downtown, and uh you know, uh certainly the restaurants are cornerstone of that vibrant downtown, and they should be protected.

But uh thank you for that.

Thank you, Mr.

Woolweber.

Moving on to the next person signed up to speak, uh Amanda Chiles.

My name is Amanda Chiles.

I am one of homelesses, uh one of Bethlehem's homeless citizens, and um what I gave you there are signatures uh from the many people just in this downtown area in South Bethlehem that I've collected over the past week and a half to two weeks.

So if you don't mind, this is a speech that I prepared on behalf of all those people.

I'm here this evening to speak on behalf of the citizens of Bethlehem who are struggling with homelessness and housing instability.

The first thing I would like to do is to thank the city of Bethlehem for the many resources it has in place to support this population.

Some of these places include New Bethany for hot meals and showers.

Other places include include the small essentials cafe, providing breakfast and lunch hot meals for those in need, and the UCC Star Thrift Store supplying us with everyday living essentials, tents, tarps, propane, boots free for those in need.

And it has made our lives uh they give us lunch on the weekends as well.

Um, but these resources have truly been a blessing.

They've made our lives a little bit more comfortable, however, to an extent tonight.

I am here to be a voice for this population.

I am here to express the dire need for a year-round emergency shelter and some form of transitional living to be in place as soon as feasibly possible.

Under our circumstances, when spring rolls around and the shelter closes, our situation remains dire.

Many of us are forced back into the encampments with only thin sheets of nylon and tarps to serve as a protective barrier from the elements, and even more so, other people.

Some of us have been victims of harassment and assault, theft, having our campsites destroyed by others, even set ablaze, whether intentional or accidental, these are the risks that we are forced to deal with.

Some women and men are even targeted by human traffickers or identity thieves.

To be honest, it becomes hard to sleep at night.

To sleep soundly when anything can happen in the cover of the dark.

It is an emergency situation year-round.

However, many of these crimes they go unreported.

Many of us have mental health diagnoses, suffer from addiction or physical ailments, chronic disease, even cancer.

We are also able-bodied men and women working looking or have skills, talents, and aspirations.

We come from all walks of life, from every race, color, creed, and religion.

Yet we've seemingly been put on the back burner by society.

Bethlehem, I ask you today to put the forgotten faces, the forgotten hinted faces first.

Be of service to your most vulnerable class of citizen and set an example for the city, the state, the country, and the world by making 2026 the year you finally follow through with providing all your citizens with safe, secure and livable housing year-round.

We have individual insight and creative ideas with the will to collaborate and cooperate with the city in its efforts.

In the meantime, we will continue to continue to try to work together as a community, clean up after ourselves, and behave in an appropriate manner.

Thank you.

Thank you, Amanda.

That's all.

I have to get back to the uh I'll make sure it's just to council, I'll make sure that this uh petition is scanned and sent to council members.

Right, that exhausts the list of people who have signed up uh to speak on public comments on things not being voted on.

Um, so I will open up the floor to anyone else who would like to speak on things not being voted on this evening, starting with the left into the center of uh Mr.

Shire first, and then I'll continue backward.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

1898, no, no.

Prior to the vote at the last meeting to approve the seven-story apartment building behind some of the businesses in the historic box of Main Street.

The argument was made that a strong reason to approve the building was that the building had been approved by Harb.

This raises an important question.

Why did a historic architecture review board approve a seven-story building in a historic district?

The answer lies in a previous interaction between the Harb and the City Council, namely the vote on the new parking garage that occupies only part of the footprint of the old garage.

This is necessitating a taller building that still has fewer spaces, but did manage to make room for an apartment building.

Harb rejected the taller garage, but was overturned by city council.

And for some reason, Harb also lost the opportunity to comment on the design of the new garage.

So this time around, Harb decided not to contest the height in order to have some effect on the design, which they were able to accomplish.

So the acquiescence of Harb on the building height was due to the acceptance of the city council to such a height.

Thus, a statement that Harb approved the development is true only for the design and not for the height of the building.

So concerning the heights, a statement has to be that the height was approved because it was the position of the council.

It is not an additional argument to say that we are for it because we were for it.

This will be true as long as city council values building height more than historic preservation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else from the center?

Harry.

Today, Joseph Kent, the director of national intelligence at the National Counter-terrorism center, resigned, saying, quote, I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.

Iran posed no imminent threat to our own nation, and it is clear we started this war to due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

I've said this before, but words simply do not do justice to the amount of pain and suffering this nation has inflicted upon the global working class.

I say nation because all of us have some amount of guilt.

We all benefit from unequal exchange and U.S.

imperialism one way or another.

The fact that I am speaking here peacefully is one example of my own complicity.

I look back on my experience attending these meetings over the past two years, and I feel nothing but shame.

I am ashamed at how the representatives of the city I care so much about can be so weak and spineless in the face of genocide, imperialism, and fascism, let alone the suffering of our own.

Mayor Reynolds, who is never here, uh has no excuse.

He took the same politics of the Middle East class in Moravian than I had, one taught by the brilliant Far Mars Farbod.

He also took a class called Marxism and Anarchism.

He understands what imperialism is.

He postures as a progressive, co-opting the language of the left while working only for himself, the wealthy, and capital accumulation.

I talked to Professor Farbot today, and he asked me to remind you that what the US and Israel are now engaged in is an illegal war of aggression.

It's the same behavior that the chief you the chief U.S.

prosecutor Robert Jackson charged the Nazi officials with in the Nuremberg trials, stating that the crime of aggression is the quote, supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the quote.

This was enshrined into UN law and US law.

Now, when this is all said and done, and we are faced with our own Nuremberg trials and our own denazification process.

Ask yourself where you think you'll be.

I don't think politicians who make double the average wage but did nothing with all the power and privilege they possessed will be found innocent.

Inaction is action, silence is violence, be a little revolutionary.

Thank you, Mr.

Faber.

Uh Mr.

Caratola.

Before I make my comment, please for us older people that have a hard time hearing, get closer to the mics or have them turn your mics up, please.

I'm Marty Curatola, 813 Lawford Street, Bethum, Pennsylvania.

And we like to hear what you are saying with City Council, but I can't hear what you ladies are saying.

I'm sorry, maybe everybody else could.

I just might have a hearing problem.

At any rate, I am the chosen Irish tenor for the parade that's coming up in uh Allentown.

I was in the Belfam one.

Singing, chosen by the Pennsylvania Music Preservation Society.

So any rate, I beat other Irish tenors in the job.

But uh I can't seem to get my point across to a lot of people in city council and in the city, especially to the mayor, who considered me anti-Semitic not so long ago, as some that some of the council did too, who are no longer with us.

I have to say one thing about the Jewish people.

You're the chosen people, according to your Bible, that apparently God who was Jewish wrote.

If you're the chosen people, wouldn't it be more effective as you go by the laws of the old testament?

Thou shalt not kill.

Love your neighbor.

Shine your light to all nations, to be an example to all nations.

You're not an example if you God gave Palestine to us, it's ours, it's a Jews, only us.

God gave the Gaza Strip to us.

No.

God gave the earth to everybody, all living creatures.

And if there's a war in Iran, not only will there be innocent people killed, innocent women and children.

What about the lives of many animals that are walking the face of the earth?

We're supposed to be the caretakers of the earth.

Are we doing a good job?

The United States is going along with supporting Israel.

Israel has always worked its way into getting other people to do their work for them.

It's making us in the United States look like Nazis.

We gotta stop supporting Israel or any country that's condoning the killings of innocent people in other lands.

Every city should withhold all tax dollars to not give it to the government to the federal government until they stop giving money to countries and a to countries that are killing innocent women and children and innocent animals.

When the bombs go off, what happens?

They get killed too.

Be an example.

If you're Jewish, be an example.

Be ten steps above every human being.

Show your love.

Show the light to all nations.

Now, if that's anti-Semitic, I'm sorry.

But I almost married four Jewish women in my life.

Only thing is they wouldn't become Catholic.

So I couldn't marry them.

But at any rate, I have a lot of Jewish friends.

I love the Jewish people.

I love all people.

And love should take presidents over anything.

No wars.

As I stated back in 19 well, okay, I'll give my way away.

But I was 16 years old.

Make love, not war.

I say it again in my old age.

Going to be 78 if the Lord wills it to be.

Make love, not war.

We don't need another Vietnam.

Please do what you can to make this not happen.

God bless you all and have a happy St.

Paddy's Day and every day from now until eternity.

Any else, anyone else in the center wish to make comment?

Turning to my right.

Right, moving on to public comments on things being voted on this evening.

No one has signed up in advance.

So I will go around the room.

Again, these are comments on resolutions or ordinances being voted on this evening.

Turning to my left.

Turning to the center.

And lastly, to my right, everybody.

Lou Jimenez, president of uh Bethlehem Firefighters, Local 735.

I'm gonna be speaking on the resolution 10.0 for temporary help for fire.

Um I want to take a moment to briefly comment on uh priorities as they relate to the fire department moving forward.

First, I do understand the idea of bringing in a contractor to help with the first due record management system.

We do realize there are times when additional help can move things along or help address a specific need.

With that being said, I want to express my gratitude to the local 735 members that are doing their due diligence in keeping this system up and running at this time, in particular, uh brother Sean Gilmore.

However, we do not see temporary help as a long-term solution to the challenges that we're facing.

The real solution already exists, and that is that solution is increasing the budgeted level of firefighters.

Over the years, we've lost firefighters.

We've been reduced from 108 to 104 as of the most recent.

That reduction has had an impact on our department and the people who serve this community every day.

While we recognize that budgets and priorities must always be balanced, public safety should remain one of the most important investments any city makes.

If the decision is made to bring temporary help, local 735 would view that as something that should be very limited in scope and time.

At most, something along the lines of a short-term period like the 90-day period to help address specific tasks.

It should not become something permanent.

Our concern is that temporary fixes can sometimes become long-term band-aids.

And when that happens, the underlying issues never truly get addressed.

Our firefighters who serve the city care deeply about the community and are proud of the department we're part of.

What we continue to advocate for is not temporary solutions, but real investment in the department itself.

That means investing in the people who are already here, restoring budgeted staff and levels, and ensuring the department is positioned to serve this community well into the future.

I believe there is opportunity for productive discussions moving forward about how we strengthen the fire department in a meaningful way.

My hope is as those discussions continue, we keep our focus on the long-term solutions and investing in the people who are committed to protecting this city every day.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Menez.

Anyone else from the right wish to make public comment?

All right, that concludes public comments.

Moving on to old business.

The meeting will be for informational purposes only, and no actions were taken.

The only agenda item will be this ethics training.

Uh, we moved it to an in-person meeting to avoid any additional issues with uh technology.

That's why the meeting is much earlier in the day than it usually is scheduled for.

So turning to counsel for any other old business.

Moving on to new business.

Any council members have new business to address?

Councilman Callahan.

I I had sent a uh a memo to the um parking authorities solicitor.

Um almost almost three weeks ago now, waiting for response back on the uh on the piping issue over at the uh at uh a Walnut Street garage, and I haven't heard anything back.

So I you know I I was hoping that the response would be more professional.

So at this point, um, I'm gonna be uh checking with um our our city clerk to set up a um a subcommittee meeting and uh I I've talked to the president about this, and so um unfortunately, I I don't want to do this, but this is what we're where we got to go with it.

So the the bottom line issue is that there was uh bids put in um for um a water sprinkler system.

Uh a contract was uh a contract was awarded, and then the piping that was put in the bid, uh higher grade piping was not installed.

And um my only issue and concern is that the city taxpayers and the parking authority uh got exactly what we paid for and not something cheaper.

And uh I I just wish that the parking authority uh solicitor would reach out and uh at least explain uh the process.

Um they said they're they're going through a checklist, uh, but the that garage has been open now for a few months, and uh you know, I think uh there should have been a response back to council.

So uh I'm gonna forward uh a letter uh from the city uh from from the city clerk's office from me.

Uh all my emails with them have been private emails.

So I just want to make sure that everybody's in a loop with it.

So uh and I just my whole point in bringing this up right now is that everybody's aware of what's going on.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Any other new business from council members?

I had a question.

I think Ms.

Collins, this would probably be for you.

Um it was just about uh we had a resident from our unhouse population come in and speak.

And I know that we have money set aside and and all that stuff.

And I believe I believe that UCC is an open year-round for because of zoning restrictions.

Is that true?

Is that accurate?

Yeah, the current uh zoning uh decision that allows the the facility to operate at that location does have certain conditions, which include that it can only be open for six months um and certain during certain hours.

Um and I know that there's a much broader conversation about housing going on.

I was just curious if rezoning that particular parcel is part of the conversation, or even if we did seek to rezone it, would there be internal capacity to operate a year-round shelter at that location?

Yeah, I'll I'll take that question in a couple parts.

So just in general on BES and their operations and the plan for a year-round shelter.

Um, you know, we've been working very closely with them for quite some time now.

They're currently in a period of transition, as you may know.

The executive director is um Bob Rap is no longer in that position.

And so they are they're going through some of their own internal transition, which you know has delayed a little bit some of their ability to get a capital campaign up and running.

We do have with the help of city council, uh, you know, money set aside from our budget to support that project because it is more than just opening year-round, it's actually upgrading the the facility to to allow that and to operate as a permanent shelter as opposed to the temporary situation there now.

So it's about a six million dollar project.

There's about two million dollars secured currently.

Um, we as the city have used our internal capacity to assist them in putting forward another four and a half million dollars in applications just for public funds alone.

Um, but we don't expect all of that to be funded.

So certainly like a capital campaign from the organization is a part of the equation as well.

Um, but it's just you know, it's it is it's a little bit slow going at this point, but there's um you know ongoing work being done with them to help them build the capacity to um you know not only put the money together to do the project, but then to actually operate year round because going from a temporary six-month situation that is entirely volunteer run to a permanent um situation that that requires more staff capacity is you know expensive and just it requires them to build their capacity quite a bit.

So all of that work is ongoing.

Um and that's kind of the status of things with respect to the zoning specifically.

Um they would either need if if they continue to operate and they continue, you know, the property continues to be owned by the church, for example.

Um, they would need either um additional zoning relief to operate year-round.

I don't know that a rezoning would be the way to do that necessarily.

It might be going to the zoning hearing board for a variance, um, or you know, alternatively, if it did become like a public facility, then we would have a bit more flexibility in terms of what we could do from a zoning perspective, I think.

Okay, and and to that point uh looking at the list, it it just speaks to the obvious regional it's it's a regional problem that needs to be addressed.

Well, not problem.

These are people who need support across the region.

It's not just Lehigh County, it's not Northampton.

Um, so when we're going after, whether it's it's that church or anything else.

How much support are we getting from like the county level, whether it's Lehigh or Northampton or state level support for our unhouse population?

I think that the existing operators like BS New Bethany would say that like their operations are you know funded in part by some county dollars.

Counties have not, at least in my experience, had as much money available for like large capital projects.

So they're not that's not currently built into our planning for what the capital part of the project would be funded with.

Um, but I also think that with you know the two new county executives, there's more conversation about the counties being uh you know, working together, even amongst themselves a little bit better in this area, and also you know, with the downtown Bethlehem and Easton.

So there's um you know, more that could come out of that, I think, with these two new administrations.

I'll also say in addition to the BES facility, you know, we are moving forward.

We have fully funded the Packer Avenue project, which is um it's only 11 units, but it's still 11 units that would be operated year-round.

Uh, they would be available for families specifically.

So we're moving forward with um you know design and engineering now that that project is fully funded.

So we're um that's on the south side as well.

Great.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate that information.

All right, uh moving on to communications, uh, communication six A.

February 19th, 2026 memorandum with an attached proposed resolution from business administrator Eric Evans.

Mr.

Evans advised that appointments of delegate and alternate are needed for the Northampton County Tax Uh Collection Committee.

Resolution 10A is on the agenda, communication 6B.

A March 2nd, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Edward Boscola, Director of Water and Sewer Resources.

Mr.

Boscola recommends an agreement with Preload LLC of Louisville, Kentucky to construct a 1 million gallon concrete tank to replace the 100-year-old reservoir on South Mountain in Lower Sauken Township.

Cost is 3,480,000.

Uh completion is to occur within 630 days after the notice to proceed.

There are no renewals.

Preload LLC provided the lowest of two bids received.

Resolution 10B is on the agenda.

Communication 6C.

A March 2nd, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Edward Boscola, Director of Water and Sewer Resources.

Mr.

Boscola recommends an agreement with Brendan Stanton Incorporated of Montgomeryville to provide electrical services, lighting and SCADA controls for the replacement water tank to be built on South Mountain.

Cost is 352,600.

Project shall be completed within 630 days of the notice to proceed.

And there are no renewals.

The awardee was the lowest responsible responsible bidder from two bids received.

Resolution 10 C is on the agenda.

Communication 60.

A March 4th, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from public works director Michael Alcall.

Mr.

Alcall recommends an agreement with GPE Corporation of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, to provide analysis and design for pavement restoration for specified portions of 15th Avenue, Avenue A and Avenue C.

Cost of 73,095.

Work is to be completed within 90 days of the notice to proceed.

There are no renewals.

GPE Corporation submitted the lowest of six bids.

Resolution 10D is on the agenda.

Communication 6E.

A March 5th, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Edward Boscola, Director of Water and Sewer Resources.

Mr.

Boscola recommends an agreement with Pendon for the relocation of a water main to accommodate abutment modifications to the Hill Hill Bridge.

Resolution 10E is on the agenda.

Communication 6F.

A March 5th, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Edward Boscola, Director of Water and Sewer Resources.

Mr.

Boscola recommends approval of an agreement with R3 Construction Incorporated of Nazareth to replace and work stand water mains in various locations.

Cost is 548,189 and 20 cents.

Work is to be completed within 250 days of the notice to proceed.

There are no renewals.

The bid was the lowest of nine received.

Resolution 10F is on the agenda.

Communication 6G.

A March 6, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from DCED business manager Tiffany Wismer requesting the destruction of records for the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Ms.

Wismer has reviewed the municipal records retention act and the records listed on the exhibit accompanying the memo fall within the categories where destruction is permitted a resolution will be placed on the April 7th City Council agenda communication 6H a March 10th 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from public works director Michael Alcall.

Mr.

Alcall recommends an agreement with TL Engineering doing business as Elfreth of Timonium Maryland to design a multi-level steel maintenance building to replace existing deteriorated barn at the golf course cost is 75,645 dollars work is to be completed by December 31st 2026.

The awardee submitted the low to the lowest of two bids received and resolution 10H is on the agenda communication 6i March 9th 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Matthew Griffin Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator.

Chief Griffin seeks approval to submit an update to the city's emergency operations plan to the state as is required every two years.

Resolution 10 I is on the agenda communication 6j a March 11th 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from public works director Michael Alcall Mr.

Alcall recommends an agreement with baseline contracting incorporated of Copley for materials and installation of 90 ADA curb ramps throughout the city cost is 7230 dollars work is to be completed within 150 days of the notice to proceed there are no renewals baseline contracting submitted the lowest of eight bids resolution 10 J is on the agenda communication 6K a March 11th 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from public works director Michael Alcall Mr.

Alcall recommends an agreement with Heidelberg Materials Northeast LLC of Flowertown for materials and installation of 33 ADA curb ramps milling and overlays at specific locations throughout the city cost is 1,40720 cents work is to be completed within 120 days of the notice to proceed there are no renewals Heidelberg materials northeast submitted the lowest of nine bids and resolution 10 K is on the agenda communication 6L March 11th 2026 memorandum from solicitor John F.

Spark Jr with an attached use permit agreement and a resolution and permittee is touchstone theater and activities are America Dreams and festival unbound events will be at various times on most days between April 11th and 27th premises will include the Bethlehem Rose Garden at West Union Boulevard including use of the band shell and the daughters of the American Revolution House resolution 10 L is on the agenda communication 6M a March 11th 2026 memorandum from solicitor John F.

Spurk Jr with an attached use permit agreement and a resolution permittee is the American association of university women Bethlehem branch and the event is the 2026 AAUW book fair event dates will be April 23rd through 27th premises will include the Earl E.

Schaeffer Ice rank resolution 10 m is on the agenda communication 6N a March 11th memorandum and proposed donation agreement and resolution from public works director Michael Alcall Mr.

Alcall seeks approval to accept the donation from the Bethlehem Aquatic Club of outdoor fitness equipment to be erected at the Minocase Park complex adjacent to the memorial pool facility and resolution 10 is on the agenda you're really uh moving on to reports we're going to start with uh the council president reports we have a few councilmanic appointments so I will accept the motion and a second to consider agenda items 7a1 through 7a three as a group and I will put so moved second motion by second all right the clerk will call a roll on the motion is daniels yes quiet aye Ms.

Laird aye drayman aye Callahan aye Mr.

Cologne aye Ms.

Leon aye passes 70 any discussion on any of the appointments no the clerk will read the resolutions and call the roll on all three of the resolutions council councilmanic appointment valery noonan reappointment to the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission Councilmanic appointment Karen Davison also reappointment to the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission and Councilmanic appointment Marilyn Kelly Cavada also reappointment to the Bethel Housing Relations Commission Human Relations Commission.

Resolutions are sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird uh any discussion from that the clerk will call the role Ms.

Daniels aye Ms.

Quiteclay aye Mr.

Raymond aye Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Uh, that's all I have to report this evening.

I will say as we move through the agenda, you'll notice that we're going to group some things together.

We did have a council meeting that was canceled, so we have quite a lengthy agenda to go through.

So just giving the heads up.

We will be grouping things together when appropriate.

Uh turning over to Mr.

Evans for the mayor's report.

Um, I will ask.

Sorry, I will ask that the mayor for the mayor to begin his reports by introducing his administrative orders so we can group those together.

There's quite a few.

Yes, I have those first.

Order number one.

I hear by appoint Stephen G.

Thompson of 895 Wafford Lane to membership on the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Read them all.

Yeah, can you read?

Can you read them all and then we'll certainly order number two?

I hereby appoint Donna McGavro of 351 West Third Street, suite one to membership of the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Number three.

I hereby appoint Carol Parker of 1207 Lorraine Avenue to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Administrative order number four.

I hereby reappoint Sue Birkenstock of 2025 Henderson Street to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

I hereby reappoint Sharon Brown of 234 East Gep Street to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Administrative order number six, I hereby reappoint James A.

DePicho of 33 3302 Broadway Allentown to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Mr.

Order Number 7, I hereby reappoint Adam uh Salani of 822 Carlton Avenue to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Mr.

Raven Order Number 8, I hereby reappoint Barbara Faust Fraust uh 405 Berry's Bridge Road to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

Administrative order number nine, I hereby reappoint Stephanie Powell Watts of 26 South 26th Street, Allentown to membership on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

This appointment is effective through March 2029.

That's all.

Thank you.

And as usual, I think I put the cart before the horse.

So I would like to accept the motion and a second to consider agenda items 7B1 through 7B9 as a group.

I'll make the motion.

Motion by any discussion on the motion.

The clerk will call the roll on the motion.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quietek.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

The motion passes seven zero.

The clerk will read the resolutions.

Administrative order for Stephen J.

Thompson.

Appointment to the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission.

Number two, administrative order, Donna McGavro appointment to the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

The rest of the appointments will be to the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission.

Uh administrative order for Carol Parker.

That's an appointment.

Administrative order to Sue Birkenstock, that's a reappointment.

That's a reappointment.

That is a reappointment.

Ms.

State of Order for Adam Ursulani, that's a reappointment.

Reappointment as well.

An administrative order for Stephanie Powell Watts, also reappointment.

All our resolutions, all resolutions are sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Thank you.

Any discussion?

I I just wanted to um thank everybody for um stepping up and especially people who are being reappointed because I know it's a it's a commitment of time and and energy uh to you know for an unpaid voluntary position.

And um, so stepping up for another um you know three-year appointment, four-year appointment is is really appreciated.

Any other comments from members of council?

Right, the clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels, aye, Ms.

Quitec.

Aye, Ms.

Laird, aye, Mr.

Ayman Aye Callahan Aye Mr.

Cologne Aye and Ms.

Leon Aye passes uh seven zero thank you for that councilwoman Laird um does the mayor have anything else to report?

That's all thank you.

Thank you.

Moving on to committee report reports, turning to councilman cologne.

The finance committee met earlier this evening at 6 p.m.

here in town hall.

There were six agenda items, these included three budget adjustments resulting from 2025 year end reconciliations for the water and sewer funds, two additional budget adjustments were considered involving grant revenue and the final item involved a budget transfer to pay for temporary help in the fire department.

All were received favorably and have been moved to council's agenda tonight for consideration.

Five will appear on the agenda as ordinances for first reading, and the sixth is a resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Cologne.

Moving on to ordinances for final passage, there are no ordinances for final passage.

So moving on to new ordinances.

Uh the clerk will read nine a ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, counties of Lehigh and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the 2026 sewer capital budget.

Bill number 13, 2026 is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels, aye, Ms.

Quyatech, aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero.

The clerk will read bill number fourteen, twenty twenty-six.

An ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, Counties of Lehigh and Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the water capital fund budget for 2026.

Bill number 14, 2026 is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quayatec.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ahman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero.

The clerk will read bill number 15, 2026.

And ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, Counties of Lehigh, Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the waterfront budget for 2026.

Bill number 15, 2026 is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queyatec.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Raymond.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero.

The clerk will read bill number sixteen, twenty twenty-six.

An ordinance of the city of Bethlehem, Counties of Lehigh and Northampton.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2026.

Bill number 16, 2026 is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

I just want to uh point out this is a grant that's coming to the uh fire department for um special alarm devices that our firefighters wear um in case they are uh become um they fall or they're lost um and it's to replace I think 27 of them okay any other discussion on the clerk will call the roll is daniels aye Ms.

Queatech aye Ms.

Laird Aye Mr.

Amon Aye Mr.

Callahan Mr.

Cologne Aye and Ms.

Leon I passes seven zero the clerk will read bill number seventeen twenty twenty-six ordinance of the city of Bethlehem Counties of Lehigh and Northampton Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the general fund budget for 2026 bill number 17 2026 is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird Discussion Councilwoman uh since we had the finance committee meeting it's all fresh in my mind and I I feel like we should read this into the record so folks who are watching and can know that um this is another grant it's uh 14,975 dollars and this is for EMS and they'll be using this for um special equipment for um keeping um you know opioids and other drugs on the on two i think they'll be able to replace two of them on on the ambulances thank you any further discussion the clerk will call the roll is daniels aye miss quiet aye is layard aye mr ayman aye mr callahan aye mr cologne aye and miss leon aye passes seven zero moving on to resolutions resolution 10 a be resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the following individuals be appointed as Northampton County Tax Collection Committee delegates for the city of Bethlehem Lenny's Lazarchak primary and Eric R.

Lenny's Lizarchak primary and Eric R.

Evans, alternate delegate.

These appointments are effective immediately and shall continue until successors are appointed by city council.

The resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Any discussions from members of council.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quayatec.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero.

The clerk will read resolution 10B.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and/or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with preload LLC to provide a replacement one million gallon concrete water tank.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quietek.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero.

Ten C.

Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller andor such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor.

Are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with Brendan Stanton Incorporated to provide electrical services associated with replacement water tank to be constructed on South Mountain.

The resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Any discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quiet.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Eyman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero.

The clerk will read resolution.

Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and/or such other city officials as deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with GPE Corporation to analyze and design pavement restoration for specified portions of 15th Avenue, Avenue A, and Avenue C.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Any discussion?

Councilwoman Queetek.

Mr.

Alcall, I I feel like you've been here all night, and you deserve to get a chance to talk.

So I just really had a quick question.

This is my fifth year on council, and this is the first time I can remember a pavement study before doing street overlays.

Can you explain why in this particular circumstances?

Actually, street reconstruction is what's involved here.

Okay.

Um unfortunately, there's many roads throughout the city that got developed over time that weren't necessarily designed.

Um cost effectively and properly in order to um allow for the proper life cycle for the payment and lower maintenance costs.

These are examples of three roads where essentially at the beginning they just place two inches of asphalt on top of dirt, and uh that's not the way you build a road section that will properly drain and property accommodate the traffic loads.

So this is to look at these three roads, do some core borings to see what was put there and design a cost effective section, reducing the cost as much as possible so we only build what's necessary to accommodate the traffic loads that are experienced and expected on those three particular roads.

Thank you very much.

That was very educational for me.

I appreciate that.

You're welcome.

Any further discussion?

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels, aye, Ms.

Queatech, aye, Ms.

Laird Aye, Mr.

Raymond, aye, Callahan, aye, Mr.

Cologne, aye, and Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero resolution ten.

Sorry, yeah, resolution.

Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor, are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with pendant to relocate a city water main affected by improvements to the Hill Hill Bridge.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quietek.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Raymond.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes seven zero resolution ten F.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor.

Are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with R3 Construction Incorporated to replace and or extend water mains in various locations.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quayatec.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70 Resolution 10G.

Be it resolved that Ridham Cowboy Company has requested the approval of the Council of the City of Bethlehem, Northampton County, for the proposed transfer of Pennsylvania Restaurant Liquor License number R 8050 from Easton Meat and Produce Corporation at 250 Line Street, Easton, Northampton County to Ridham Cowboy Company, 217 Broadway, Bethlehem, Northampton County, with the understanding that said transfer must be approved at a later date by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

The resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatech.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Raymond.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70 resolution 10H.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and the controller and or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with TL Engineering doing business as L Freth to design a building to replace an existing barn at the golf course.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatech.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 7-0.

Resolution 10.

Aye.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor is hereby authorized to adopt the City of Bethlehem Emergency Operations Plan, dated March 17th, 2026, which has been developed to outline basic operations and procedures to be implemented in the event of an incident, either man made or natural that requires a coordinated response.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatech.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Raymond.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70.

Resolution 10J.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and/or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor.

Are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with baseline contracting incorporated to provide ADA curb ramps.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quietek.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70.

Resolution 10K.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and the controller and or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor.

Are hereby authorized to execute an agreement with Heidelberg Materials Northeast LLC to provide ADA curb ramps, milling and overlays.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Quayatec.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Raymond.

Aye.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70.

Resolution 10L.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller andor such other city officials esteemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute a use permit agreement with Touchstone Theater for the America Dreams and Festival Unbound Event.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatec.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Eman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70.

Resolution 10.

Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other city officials as deemed appropriate by the city solicitor are hereby authorized to execute execute a use permit agreement with the American Association of University Women Bethlehem Branch for the 2026 AAU Book Fair.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatech.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Aye.

Mr.

Ayman.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

Aye.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70 resolution 10.

Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the mayor and controller and or such other city officials is deemed appropriate by the city solicitor.

And such other agreements and documents as are deemed by the solicitor to be necessary for the purpose of accepting a donation of outdoor fitness equipment and memorial pool to be acquired and installed at the expense of the Bethlehem Aquatic Club Incorporated.

Resolution is sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

The clerk will call the role.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatech.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

I Mr.

Raymond.

I Mr.

Callahan.

All right.

Mr.

Cologne.

All right.

Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 70 resolution 10.0.

Be it resolved by the council of the city of Bethlehem that the fire department will create a temporary help account.

And be it further resolved that the fire department is evaluating the opportunity to create a part-time position for a limited period to support the ongoing conversation conversion of the records management system.

Resolution sponsored by Ms.

Leon and Ms.

Laird.

Discussion.

I have a question on this, if I could.

As far as the records are concerned, what's been the system to date?

I think that's uh Fire Chief, if you can.

So for about the last 15 years, we used a record management system that was from Tyler Industries called New World.

Um we had to make some switches because New World is no longer going to meet the requirements of the state for incident reporting system software.

So we switched to a firm called First Do.

Um and then switching to first do, first due is compliant with the new state mandated and federally mandated reporting system for fire incidents and calls.

So when we talk about fire records, we're talking about more than just um like training records and things of that nature.

We're also talking about buildings, properties, uh contacts for those properties as well as the incidents themselves.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

Yes.

Any other questions?

I'm I'm supposed to yes, Councilman Laird.

Sorry.

Um so would this be uh recently we've been asking for a lot of reports as council members?

Um would this be the system that those are reports are coming out of?

Uh yes, it's one of the systems.

Depending on the year that the information is being obtained from 2023, 2024.

Uh, we we have some issues with with pulling that data when it transferred over from New World into First Due.

We discovered that there's a lot of issues with the data transfer and a lot of problems.

So a lot of that data is missing.

Uh the deputy chief and others have have had to diligently work through a lot of these issues and try to get the data um in a format that was usable for these studies and such.

So that is one of the issues that we've been having.

With the um temporary role and the is there any hope that any of that missing data would uh be able to be recovered or is it lost?

I I don't believe at this time it to be lost.

I I believe it can be resolved.

It seems to be uh, for example, one of the issues we've identified is if we had something listed, for example, as third street, and in the data conversion, it was third st period.

Those addresses and those buildings and those homes on third street, for example, may not transfer because there was a discrepancy.

Um that is something that can be worked out with the software engineers, it's just gonna take some time and some resources to do that.

Okay, so this person would be doing some data mapping and uh querying and and things like that as uh to try to streamline things for the future.

Yes, that is correct.

Got it.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, um how long do you expect this position to be in place?

So I'm hoping ideally we're gonna start off with a a three-month time period.

Uh we worked with human resources, we we estimate the person would be working 15 to 20 hours a week out of city hall um under the supervision of the deputy chief and myself.

Um we're gonna try to go with a 90-day period.

That is our that is our goal to see what difference they can make in that period of time.

Um, our hope is that they can get these issues sorted out, they can train the personnel.

Um, we have about five personnel who are working diligently and volunteering to help us with this as an additional role of theirs that they've voluntarily taken on.

Uh, we're hoping we can straighten up some of these matters and issues, be able to train them and bring them up to speed, and they in turn can then work their way through the department and train the rest of the department.

Gotcha.

Thank you, Chief.

Thank you.

Councilman Callon.

Chief, would this so um with this system uh allow us to track the the calls up to Lee and to these other facilities that that we wanted to track over the next couple months?

So again, because of all the different addresses associated with the campus on the campus, let's say, for example, on Lehigh's campus, there might be 60 different numerical addresses.

There, there may be a way to do that through geofencing and things of that nature.

Uh I can't answer that right now, but it's a possibility.

All right.

I was just wondering if if if I mean most of those, uh I don't even know the names.

I just know when I drive by them, they're you know, they're they have those signs out front with the unit A, unit B, you know.

They're all they're all Lehigh University students.

And uh I was wondering if there's a way we can log in all the all those student addresses over there that are off campus in off-campus.

That's may not be something we're able to do because we don't know, you know, through the rental property inspection and and through our work with with codes and everything, we don't know who's moving in and who's moving out of those and who the landlord is renting to.

We know it's a rental property, but we don't know if it's being rented to Lehigh students or a or a family, for example.

Right.

Um but there's no way for us uh as a city or or lead or to even have discussions with Lehigh for us to find out what students are living off off campus in these in these properties.

I don't believe that's tracked where the student, I mean they have the student addresses, of course, on the registration forms, but I don't believe they track where and within the community they live as long as they live off campus, they're just marked as off-campus.

Yeah, I just I I want to try to get a handle on how many calls were you know we're going up there and how how much usage is being used of our of our um departments and and our facilities and our manpower on a on a daily to weekly basis.

I I just you know, um between them and uh raving and St.

Luke's.

Uh I just think that at some point um someone's got to start helping out.

I'm not saying you know, you got to pay an astronomical fund, but it's gonna be some type of small fee to help to help it along.

Um solicitor, um our solicitor has um sent me some uh information on um uh ordinances that she's had passed in other townships for our fire department to be able to bill um insurance companies uh for um any services that our fire department or our police department would have to go out to, you know, you know, at a wreck or something like that.

So uh I just want everybody to pay pay pay their fair share.

You know what I mean?

That's it.

Understood.

And we are, as we emailed, we are in the process of gathering that data for the month of April and May for both universities.

I appreciate that.

Um, and St.

Luke's is still a zero.

We we don't provide services to St.

Luke's as a as a matter of an automatic response.

Right.

Um, we have not done that for many years.

So there's not going to be any incidence there.

Yeah, I think police does, but I don't think uh I I know the fire department, but I think police does.

I can't speak on their behalf, sir.

Yeah, is Chief Cotto?

No, over there?

Oh other than a specific request from Fountain Hill Police, we wouldn't automatically respond to St.

Luke's Fountain Hill campus.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah.

And to the other question, I don't believe that you guys would monitor off how Lehigh does because the student housing overlay is basically all privately owned as Danicus and stuff like that.

So I don't think you would be able, even if you had all the conversations with Lehigh, I don't think they would be able to provide you that information because Lehigh doesn't own the off-campus housing.

I know that provides a little bit of tension between like even with the policing, who polices the student housing overlays.

So it is it's a bit complex.

Um, Councilman Colone, I thought you had your Yeah, I don't mean to get off the resolution a little bit because that's where the conversation is going, but as it relates to the off-campus stuff, just to make the point, even what's considered student housing.

Um, I haven't been in a couple of decades hanging out, but there's the sales students, Penn State Lehigh Valley students, North Damper community college students, Moravian students, uh and Lehigh students that are all kind of could be neighbors within uh a block of rental units, they could be enrolled at the different colleges and universities in the area.

So that's just difficult to track.

But President Leon, nothing else.

Okay, if I if if if you I'm done now.

Um so Chief Griffin, I was able to ask you some questions during the finance committee meeting, and one of the um questions uh was about um why you needed some extra help on this.

Um, and I know that um Mr.

Jimenez had mentioned um that you know the firefighters can can do the work if we had more firefighters, but one of the things that you pointed out to us was because of the nature of a firefighter schedule, um there's a drop off in the communication during their four days off and and they're not working during those four days, and so you can't get ahead of the game in terms of the the backlog owing to this this data corruption.

Can you kind of share that a little bit more with that?

Is absolutely correct, and and and really we're we're talking apples and oranges between uh platoon manning and this administrative position.

One really has nothing to do with the other.

Uh, we we are not looking to fill an administrative position in place of a firefighter or or take someone off the line away from fire suppression.

Um, or we're really talking two separate distinct jobs and responsibilities here for exactly those reasons.

And um, I appreciate that.

Um, and you did mention, of course, that that the um firefighters do will get trained up and eventually hopefully you'll cascade that through the through the force so that as you know, records are added, almost anybody will be able to put in a record or or yes, that that is the case.

Different different uh firefighters officers with different roles and responsibilities will have different access levels to this software and different expectations on what their levels are that they're supposed to be reporting to or the type of reports they're supposed to complete.

Uh, but our goal is to get this working a lot better to have the fire call information and data that they need when they respond to a call as far as key holders are concerned, uh, as far as emergency contacts.

You know, what this does is this this allows our firefighters to go to that alarm, get a key holder or someone out there to turn the building over to at two o'clock in the morning when when no one wants to answer their phone and get them back to quarters ready for the next call instead of having to hang out there uh while while they try multiple numbers and multiple contacts.

This will allow for that information to be uh accurate and readily available.

Right now it's hit or miss because of the data transfer.

Got it.

Um, and finally, again, not to be off the topic of the resolution itself, but I think we've mentioned this several times that all of that off-campus housing is privately owned, and therefore the owners of those houses pay taxes, correct?

The apartments, amicus, they're certainly not a nonprofit, they're they're paying property taxes, and and therefore they are actually paying for the emergency uh services provided to residents of the city.

To the best of my knowledge, those properties are not tax exempt to the to the best of my knowledge.

That's correct.

It's not really a question for you.

I'm sorry.

No, that's okay.

But my apologies.

No, no, no.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Daniels, I saw your hand or were your questions answered.

I'm good.

Okay.

Right.

Um, thank you for all of that.

If there are no other comments from council, um, I will say thank you for the 90-day window.

Uh, I'd like to see temporary help be temporary.

Um, outside of 90 days, it seems like that's something that would have to be a discussion about like staffing, but the 90-day window makes sense.

And it's it's not for you to figure out, it's just my comments about first response and and IT in general.

I've just noticed throughout whether it's police or fire, the conversation about IT and sometime a reliance on first responders to do IT work when they are in fact first responders.

So um appreciate the clarification on the 90-day window.

That is our goal, and we would of course keep you up to date on you as things develop.

Yes, please do.

Yeah, because this is a unique situation with the as what we've been talking about.

Yes.

We're venturing to the no, it's certainly as you heard in scope, limited for that project to complete.

And then the biggest key is if it's going to be extended.

Uh we're not sure exactly when we get this position filled when that clock starts.

If we get near that 90, we would certainly touch base to let you know progress.

Hopefully, it's wrapped up.

That's the plan.

And if not, where it stands and why.

Yeah, and that would be the plan going forward.

As City Hall continues to upgrade to a much more robust and capable IT system.

I will once again say I very am very much supportive of anything IT upgrade related.

It makes it very easy for us to get the reports that we need, uh, information flow.

So thank you very much.

If there are no other questions or discussion, the clerk will call the roll on 10.0.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

Mr.

Raymond.

Aye.

Mr.

Callahan.

All right.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 7-0.

I will accept the motion and a second to consider agenda items 10 P through 10R as a group.

So moved.

Second.

Let's got those.

All right.

Discussion on the motion.

The clerk will call the roll.

Ms.

Daniels.

Aye.

Ms.

Queatek.

Aye.

Ms.

Laird.

I'm drayman.

Aye.

Callanhan.

All right.

Mr.

Cologne.

Aye.

And Ms.

Leon.

Aye.

Passes 7-0.

The clerk will read resolutions 10 P through 10R.

Certificates of appropriateness under the provisions of the Act of the Pennsylvania legislature, Bethlehem resolutions are hereby granted for 10 P.

1506 Calypso Avenue to install a new four-foot-high split rail fence with black mesh in the front and side yards.

Certificate of appropriateness under the provisions of the Act of the Pennsylvania Legislature Bethlehem Resolution is hereby granted for four fifteen Long Street to install cellular PVC trim around all windows, install new trim around the front door, and paint the aluminum siding.

And Ms.

Leon.