OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bethlehem City Council Meeting - July 21, 2026: CDBG/Home Funding Public Hearing, Zoning Amendments, and Grant Authorizations

Council Meetings — Tuesday, July 21, 2026
BodyBethlehem, Pennsylvania
SessionCouncil Meetings
DateTuesday, July 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:00:50

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

For the pledge to flag to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands.

0:12

Under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:19

It's like the great and powerful odds there.

0:23

Clerk, please call the roll.

0:25

Mr.

0:25

Raymond.

0:26

Present.

0:27

Mr.

0:27

Callahan.

0:28

Present.

0:29

Mr.

0:29

Cologne.

0:29

Present.

0:30

Ms.

0:30

Daniels.

0:31

Present.

0:31

Ms.

0:32

Quitec.

0:32

Present.

0:33

Ms.

0:33

Laird.

0:34

Present.

0:34

Ms.

0:34

Leon.

0:37

Prior to consideration of the regular agenda items tonight, City Council will conduct a public hearing.

0:43

Public hearing number one, tonight's public hearing will be related to the DCED's 2026 CDBG home funding recommendations.

0:52

This public hearing is for informational purposes only.

0:55

There will be no votes taken during the public hearing.

0:58

In connection with this public hearing, there's one communication.

1:02

The Kirk, the clerk will read that communication.

1:06

July 13th, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Laura Collins, Director of Community and Economic Development, submitting materials for review by city council during this evening's public hearing for the 2026 community development block grant and home investment partnerships program allocations.

1:25

For program year 2026, the city will receive 1,370,309 in CDBG funds and $388,308.10 in home money.

2:09

Hello, thank you for having me tonight.

2:11

My name is Robert Vidoni.

2:13

I am the housing and community development administrator.

2:28

So thank you for having me on the agenda tonight.

2:35

So everybody should have uh a spreadsheet with allocations.

2:41

That's an 11 by 17 spreadsheet.

2:44

And you should also have uh PowerPoint slides.

2:48

Just uh before we start here.

2:54

So first off, I I want to say thank you very much to the mayor, to Director Collins, to Deputy Director Satulo and Deputy Director Ziller for uh all the fantastic support and their their dedication to this job and to uh helping organizations and vulnerable populations in the city.

3:14

Uh the community economic development department, a lot of tasks are situated in this department.

3:20

Uh we have wide-ranging responsibilities, and one of those is managing all sorts of grant funding, including federal grant funds.

3:30

Is that better?

3:33

I also want to thank community development bureau staff, our housing rehab staff, and our grant management staff.

3:40

Uh, I also want to thank our nonprofit partners.

3:44

We are extremely lucky as a city to have absolutely fantastic nonprofit partners that work hand in hand with us to focus resources and help the most vulnerable vulnerable populations in this city.

3:56

We could not do this work without those nonprofit partners.

4:00

They are really they're in the trenches dealing with all the federal funding uncertainty and all sorts of other funding uncertainties, often with you know inadequate staff, uh, and they love what they're doing, and we really thank them for all the work they're doing, uh helping vulnerable populations.

4:19

So before we go through these slides, I'm not going to read every word.

4:23

I just want to start out by saying CDBG and home funding are two funding sources that are very difficult to use and to administer.

4:31

They're extremely demanding on city staff, and those sources are extremely demanding for our nonprofit partners, whether that's coming up with uh accounting information, various reporting that we're constantly submitting to HUD, uh, and you know, jumping through uh 30,000 different hoops just to spend this fund funding.

4:53

So it's very difficult to administer and very difficult, sometimes difficult to spend.

5:00

So I'll start out here, our 2026 HUD CDBG and home allocations.

5:03

So our 2026 CDBG award decreased by about 3% from our 2025 award, and our home award decreased approximately 7% from the prior program year.

5:14

So our CDBG allocation in program year 2026 was 1,370,39, and our home allocation was 388,308.10 cents.

5:27

So just as a preliminary matter, when you're looking at the allocation spreadsheet, there's sort of two buckets represented by the two columns to the right.

5:39

You have the program year 2026 funding that is put into this uh this annual action plan, and then the other bucket is sort of other sources, which is reprogrammed prior year funding.

5:52

So while we are primarily primarily here today to discuss the program year 2026 allocation, the action plan also includes reallocation of previously approved funding and moving money around to uh efficient sources to these particular activities.

6:09

So I'll just go through a quick summary here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████25%
Procedural█████████████13%
Economic Development█████████████13%
Homelessness█████████████13%
Public Safety████████████12%
Community Engagement███████7%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Bethlehem City Council Meeting - July 21, 2026

The Bethlehem City Council met at 7:00 PM on July 21, 2026, to conduct a public hearing on the proposed 2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) allocations, to receive public comments on a range of community issues, and to vote on several ordinances and resolutions. Key actions included approving the annual action plans for CDBG and HOME funds, authorizing grant applications for emergency solutions, watershed restoration, and multimodal transportation, and adopting zoning amendments related to property inspections and data centers.

Public Hearing: 2026 CDBG & HOME Funding Recommendations

  • Robert Vidoni, Housing and Community Development Administrator, presented the proposed allocations. The city's 2026 CDBG award is $1,370,309 (a 3% decrease from 2025) and the HOME award is $388,308.10 (a 7% decrease). Of 23 CDBG funding requests, 20 are recommended for funding; of 3 HOME requests, all 3 are recommended.
  • Vidoni noted that CDBG funds are subject to a 15% cap on public services and a 20% cap on program administration. The recommended public service activities include tenant advocacy ($15,000), emergency sheltering ($50,546), substance abuse treatment ($20,000), housing counseling ($15,000), caregiver services ($10,000), food pantry ($20,000), representative payee services ($50,000), and homebuyer assistance administration ($25,000). Other CDBG recommendations include housing rehabilitation ($100,000–$150,000), facility upgrades, and site cleanup ($50,000).
  • HOME funds are allocated to program administration (10% cap), the CHODO set-aside (15% mandatory), and the Gateway on Fourth multifamily rental project ($1,488,173.14).
  • Council members asked questions about new applicants: out of three new CDBG applicants, two received funding. The council expressed appreciation for staff and nonprofit partners.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Greenway Safety Petition: Chris Ann Drust Lustig presented a petition with 85 signatures from Litzenberger House residents, calling for increased safety on the Bethlehem Greenway following a recent stabbing. They requested the city address homelessness in the area while maintaining the Greenway as a family-friendly space.
  • Fire Department Study: David Roof expressed frustration that a promised fire department staffing study had not been released, urging its public disclosure given taxpayer funding.
  • Development Concerns: Janet Barry criticized the approval of multiple apartment projects and a proposed storage unit, arguing the city prioritizes developers over residents and fails to enforce tree replacement under the Tree City USA program.
  • Visitor Remarks: Gilmark Bariano, a visiting Filipino legislator, praised the council's public participation process and expressed interest in establishing a sister-city relationship with Bethlehem.
  • Surveillance Cameras: Rooster DeMott spoke against the use of Flock Safety automatic license plate readers (ALPRs), citing privacy concerns, data breaches, and low arrest rates (only three arrests). He urged the council to adopt regulations limiting data retention and usage.
  • Homelessness and Public Space: Another speaker defended the unhoused population, stating that public spaces belong to everyone and that homelessness is not a crime.
  • Controversial Comments: Artie Curatola made statements about Jewish leaders and the Middle East, which the council president noted were protected speech but not endorsed. Stephen Antalix and Terry Kloiber echoed concerns about overdevelopment and student rentals.
  • Welcoming City Ordinance: Sebastian Zavaruka urged the council to adopt a welcoming city ordinance to protect immigrant communities, referencing past kidnappings and recent deaths.

Discussion Items

  • Finance Committee Report: Councilman Cologne reported that the finance committee reviewed a proposal to restructure general fund debt (presentation only) and an ordinance adjusting the capital budget for non-utilities, both forwarded for council action.
  • Ordinance Bill 19 – Inspection & Sale Amendments: Council discussed changes to property inspection requirements at sale. The ordinance aligns the city's 90-day correction period with the state's 12-month mandate. Debate centered on potential redundancies and costs for landlords, which could lead to higher rents. The ordinance passed 6-0.
  • Data Center Zoning Ordinance: A communication referred a proposed ordinance to establish regulations for data centers to committee for further review.

Key Outcomes

  • Rescheduled Meeting: The council voted 6-0 to move the August 4, 2026, meeting start time to 5:30 PM due to Musikfest.
  • Ordinances Passed (all 6-0):
    • Bill 19 (2026): Amendments to inspection and property transfer rules (12-month correction period).
    • Bill 20 (2026): Amendment to the 2026 general fund budget.
    • Bill 21 (2026): Amendment to the 2026 capital budget for non-utilities.
    • Bill 22 (2026): Zoning ordinance amendments.
    • Bill 23 (2026): Additional capital budget amendment.
  • Resolutions Passed (all 6-0):
    • 10A: Approval of 2026 CDBG and HOME Annual Action Plans for HUD submission.
    • 10B: Transfer of $141,672 from engineering and streets salary accounts to provide matching funds for the Green Light Go signal modernization program.
    • 10C: Authorization to apply for up to $1.5 million in Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds.
    • 10D: Authorization to apply for up to $300,000 for watershed restoration (Stefco Swale rehabilitation).
    • 10E: Authorization to apply for up to $3 million for multimodal transportation (Stefco Boulevard complete streets).
    • 10F: Use permit for ArtsQuest Country Fest (August 21-22).
    • 10G: Use permit for Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center's Lehigh Valley Pride (August 30).
    • 10H–10J: Certificates of appropriateness for properties at 443 Center Street and others (passed as a group).
  • Administrative Orders: Approved reappointment of Ian Panco and appointment of Jill Sperandino to the Fine Arts Commission (both 6-0).

Meeting Transcript

For the pledge to flag to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands. Under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. It's like the great and powerful odds there. Clerk, please call the roll. Mr. Raymond. Present. Mr. Callahan. Present. Mr. Cologne. Present. Ms. Daniels. Present. Ms. Quitec. Present. Ms. Laird. Present. Ms. Leon. Prior to consideration of the regular agenda items tonight, City Council will conduct a public hearing. Public hearing number one, tonight's public hearing will be related to the DCED's 2026 CDBG home funding recommendations. This public hearing is for informational purposes only. There will be no votes taken during the public hearing. In connection with this public hearing, there's one communication. The Kirk, the clerk will read that communication. July 13th, 2026 memorandum and proposed resolution from Laura Collins, Director of Community and Economic Development, submitting materials for review by city council during this evening's public hearing for the 2026 community development block grant and home investment partnerships program allocations. For program year 2026, the city will receive 1,370,309 in CDBG funds and $388,308.10 in home money. Hello, thank you for having me tonight. My name is Robert Vidoni. I am the housing and community development administrator. So thank you for having me on the agenda tonight. So everybody should have uh a spreadsheet with allocations. That's an 11 by 17 spreadsheet. And you should also have uh PowerPoint slides. Just uh before we start here. So first off, I I want to say thank you very much to the mayor, to Director Collins, to Deputy Director Satulo and Deputy Director Ziller for uh all the fantastic support and their their dedication to this job and to uh helping organizations and vulnerable populations in the city. Uh the community economic development department, a lot of tasks are situated in this department. Uh we have wide-ranging responsibilities, and one of those is managing all sorts of grant funding, including federal grant funds. Is that better? I also want to thank community development bureau staff, our housing rehab staff, and our grant management staff. Uh, I also want to thank our nonprofit partners. We are extremely lucky as a city to have absolutely fantastic nonprofit partners that work hand in hand with us to focus resources and help the most vulnerable vulnerable populations in this city. We could not do this work without those nonprofit partners. They are really they're in the trenches dealing with all the federal funding uncertainty and all sorts of other funding uncertainties, often with you know inadequate staff, uh, and they love what they're doing, and we really thank them for all the work they're doing, uh helping vulnerable populations. So before we go through these slides, I'm not going to read every word.

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