City Council
Council Chambers
Agenda — 40 items
- 1 Invocation:
- 2 Pledge to the Flag
- 3 Roll Call
- 4 Courtesy of the Floor Please observe the Rules of Council when given privilege of the floor. A copy of the Council Rules can be found on the council agenda on the website. If you would like to speak, we are asking that you fill out a card – they are on the back table - provide them to the clerk before speaking. Include your name and address. When speakers have the privilege of the floor, personal insults, attacks, name calling or other behavior that is inconsistent with the purpose of conducting official business will not be tolerated. We are here to address city business. Courtesy of the Floor is meant to provide public comments on items that are not on the agenda. Public comment during consideration of ordinances, resolutions and motions is limited by topic – your comments must be relevant to the subject matter of the proposed legislation. Public comments are taken before council votes on legislation. You are given the privilege of the floor to provide public comment, it is not a question-and-answer session. State your position clearly and concisely for our consideration. If you speak on behalf of yourself, you have three minutes and if you are speaking on behalf of a group that has several members present, you will be given five minutes in place of everyone coming to the podium. Please address the Council President on your city issue; not individual councilpersons or city staff. Refrain from insulting or defaming staff, officials, and the public; refrain from using offensive language, cursing, and making noises while other people are speaking. Please be aware that comments and/or behavior in violation of these rules will result in a forfeiture of all remaining time and you will be asked to return to your seat.
- 5 Contract Approvals: The general idea for approving contracts is that the council acknowledges that proper procurement procedures were followed pursuant to the city code. The Clerk reads the resolution. After staff explains the process, there are comments from the dais and the public before a vote.
- 6 R53 Authorization for Contract with Michael Baker International, Inc. in the amount of $238,135.45 for professional design services for school zone improvements funded through the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA) Grant. These improvements aim to enhance pedestrian safety and accessibility near schools by implementing both updates to existing infrastructure and the establishment of new school zones. Three (3) proposals were received, contract shall be for one (1) year with one (1) additional one (1) year renewal beyond the contract expiration period.
- 7 R54 Authorization of Cooperative Contract(s) in an amount greater than $40,000.00 to provide the City with various goods/services, for Quality & Assurance Tech Corp, Stryker Medical and General Recreation.
- 8 Minutes of Previous Meeting
- 9 Communications Chasers – If you parked in the city lot next to City Hall, please see the City Clerk for a voucher.
- 10 Old Business: NONE
- 11 REPORTS Committee of the Whole: A Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for May 21st at 5:30 PM to review Bill 46. Public Hearing - A Public Hearing is scheduled for June 18th at 6 PM on Bill 16. Bill 16 Amending Chapter 660 (ZONING) of the City of Allentown Zoning Ordinance by amending Section 6605 to remove the limitation on Preparation and provision of meals for only senior citizens within the community center definition. Budget and Finance: Chair Napoli, Santos, Gerlach The Committee has not met since the last council meeting; there are no future meetings scheduled. Community and Economic Development, Chair Mota, Hendricks, Napoli The Committee met on Wednesday, April 23rd and forwarded items on this evening's agenda; the next meeting is scheduled for May 21st at 6 PM. Human Resources, Administration and Appointments: Chair Santos, Napoli, Hendricks The Committee has not met since the last council meeting. There is no future meeting scheduled. Parks and Recreation: Chair Gerlach, Santos, Affa The Committee met this evening; there are no future meetings scheduled at this time. Public Safety: Chair Affa, Zucal, Mota The Committee met this evening. The next meeting is scheduled for May 21st at 6:15PM. Public Works: Chair Zucal, Gerlach, Affa The Committee has not met since the last council meeting; the next meeting is not yet scheduled. Rules, Chambers, Intergovernmental Relations, and Strategy: Chair Hendricks, Mota, Napoli The Committee has not met since the last council meeting; no meetings are scheduled currently. Controller's Report The Controller submitted a report on Lights in the Parkway and Extra Duty and PD Uniform Services Mr. Jeffrey Glazier thanked Mr. Hendricks and stated that he is going to Report on one audit this evening and this was extra duty for the Police Department Uniform Services and they started this audit as looking at the Accounts Receivable is to see that the folks and businesses that the police provide extra duty services to are paying our invoices in a timely manner and they looked at the Accounts Receivable as of April 1, 2025. Regardless of the status of vendor payment, whether the service person pays them or not, the city is paying the Police Officers. The expense is ours and then we wait to be paid in 20 or 30 days. He stated what they determined is that is 4125, there were 12 customers in the accounts receivable and the total amount owed to the city, including penalty was over $106,000. Now, after reviewing the aged Accounts Receivable on the outstanding balance, the Police determined that four customers could be written off. The last activity for these Accounts Receivable customers ranged from 2009 to 2020. He stated that this is old stuff that should have been made to go away a while ago. He stated maybe the business closed or moved or something like that. The balance to the accounts are really more timely. Why they might be delinquent, it is nothing outrageous. He stated our recommendation is that the Police Administration should review the Accounts Receivable at a more frequent basis and a process should established by the Police and administration to review those accounts and they agreed that would happen. One of the things you look for as part of this audit is contracts being the city and the businesses to authorize the service, to determine what the rate of pay would be, and to specify what the payment terms are, and penalty if payment is late. He stated that they reviewed 29 of these agreements and noted that none of the contracts could be located in either Eden or Munis, nor were they forwarded to the Controller's office as required. He stated that they feel that all contracts from written obligations should be properly entered into the Contract Module. He stated and what we learned is that this arrangement also involves the FOP and officers make arrangements with the FOP to be considered to do this kind of work and it is the FOP that goes out and it is more the contracting agent in this relationship with businesses and other people that want the extra duty services and that's alright or it may be alright, but once again, it is the city that ends up holding the bag if somebody does not pay or pays late. They also note that these agreements are not signed by the mayor and it is our interpretation that he is really the only one that could bind the city to a contract. He stated that they noted of these 29 agreements, they vary in working terms. He stated that six of the 29 had late terms and others did not address. None of the agreements addressed late payments. Whatever agreements are used in the future, they should certainly be standardized to address that. He stated that they advised having the Solicitor's office weigh in on that. He stated that he had some discussions with the administration and the Police Department and they added a note to their responses to this and it reads as such: after reviewing the above contract weaknesses approvals, the Police administration recognizes the city's interest needs to be better protected. A future meeting will need to be scheduled with the Police Administration, the FOP, the Controller's office, and the Solicitor's office to review this process. He stated he is hoping that parties can come to some agreement to give everyone flexibility, but do a much better job of protecting our core interests. He stated our interest here. He pointed out at the same time and this is not something that they audited, but something they questioned as a result of this audit is that they have two very very good academies: Fire and Police. He stated while they hired and have many of their own candidates there who we hire. They also do work for surrounding municipalities and he is not sure about the Police Department, but certainly with the Fire Department which admittedly it is a much newer academy and still finding their way on many things. He stated is that they don't have an agreement either for the other municipalities who may send their employees there. They send them an invoice so it would be our recommendation for them as well is to explore what a simple contract is to guarantee the city payment, to explore issues of viability and things like that so that everybody is protected. He stated that is his Report for this evening. He stated if an officer gets hurt, the guy that is running the business is going to say that they don't have a contract with them. He stated that now, the city gets on the hook for the insurance payment for those injuries. Mr. Ed Zucal stated that it almost has to be a contract because especially for the extra jobs. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that it could be a Worker's Comp thing Mr. Ed Zucal stated absolutely. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that he agrees with him, but when they started this, they didn't realize and saw him shaking his head, even without his glasses on. The FOP, the hiring agent as it were for this and it runs through them. He stated that he doesn't think having a Uniformed Agreement that takes into consideration raised liabilities would impinge on their abilities in any way. He stated that he thinks good agreements make good partners. He stated that he thinks it would go a long way to doing that. He is hopeful that the department, the FOP and the administration with an able guidance by the Law Department could come up with a good agreement. Mr. Daryl Hendricks stated that he would ask Mr. Glazier if you would keep them apprised of that and go from now how we are making with that. He stated that he too agrees that is something that they need to do moving forward. He asked anybody else. Ms. Ce Ce Gerlach stated that the $19,000 can pretty much be written off because you said the contracts are old, right. She asked Mr. Glazier to the best of his knowledge, are any of the contracts that they currently have with the same organizations from back in 2019 that were written off. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that the answer to that would be no. They haven't gotten any other bites of the apple in terms of asking for protection for coverage. He stated as he said some of these businesses may have closed. He stated that one of the things that Finance asked for two years ago was an Accounts Receivable person and to make sure that the aging of these accounts is really more current and he thinks and Ms. Patel can speak to this a little bit more accurately than he can. They haven't gotten to this part of the AR yet. He stated that they are working on other accounts and working through them methodically. Eventually, he would have expected you would have gotten here and would have come to most of the same conclusions, if not all the same conclusions at least in terms of right offs, but maybe not in terms of making sure that they are standardized agreements that protects the city's interests. Ms. Ce Ce Gerlach stated ok, because some of these are big guys, corporations. She stated that she has seen them at Wawa. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated local businesses stating that he looked at the accounts and started this a while ago. He stated two months ago. He stated for instance, one of the larger users of these services is the school district. He stated that he doesn't remember what their balance is at the moment. He stated that if they are not paying in 30 days then they are probably paying in 45 or 60. It is still on the Accounts Receivable but they are not going away. He stated and they know where they live. Ms. Ce Ce Gerlach stated and the last thing it says none of the agreements addressed late payment terms, but you said that total was inclusive of late payments. Mr. Jeffery Glazier stated that one or two accounts had finance charges on them. He stated that they were written off. They were like .67 cents a month for a couple of years. He stated that if they are in a business which this is and having provisions for late fees as long as it is allowed for the ordinance. Whether it will be the city's or by a state ordinance. It is certainly an astute thing to do for city management and to protect the taxpayers. Ms. Ce Ce Gerlach thanked Mr. Glazier. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier thanked Ms. Gerlach for the good questions. The mayor has not submitted anything for the agenda. Mr. Daryl Hendricks asked anybody else.
- 12 Controller Reports: Lights in the Parkway, Extra Duty and Uniform Account Review
- 13 ORDINANCES FOR FINAL PASSAGE (To be Voted On): Ordinances for final passage have been reviewed by Council at the Committee level.
- 14 Bill 37 Amending the 2025 Grants Fund to provide for a supplemental appropriation of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) from the State Office of the Budget, Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). These funds are a pass-through grant that will support Cedar Crest College.
- 15 Bill 38 Amending the 2025 Grant Fund to provide for a supplemental appropriation of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000.00) from the PA DCED Local Share Account Grant. These funds are a pass-through grant that will support the Police Athletic League. The $400,000 awarded in LSA funds will be used to rehabilitate the existing PAL Community Youth Education Center located at 2110 Park Drive in Allentown.
- 16 Bill 39 An Ordinance providing for the expenditure of Six Hundred Fifty-Four Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Five Dollars ($654,775) in Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and One Million Six Hundred Thousand One Hundred Twenty-One Dollars and Twenty-Three Cents (1,600,121.23) in HOME Investment Partnership Program, unspent funds for the January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023, and January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 grant years, for housing and community development programs pursuant to the approved Consolidated Plan, appropriate Federal Law and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. The monies are received by the City of Allentown under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1976, as amended; The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009; and Title II of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, as amended; for the purpose of undertaking programs of housing and community development within the City.
- 17 Bill 40 Amending the 2025 General Fund Budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of Fifteen Thousand ($15,000.00) Dollars from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of The State Fire Commissioner (OSFC) Grant to the Allentown Fire and EMS Department for the purchase of training equipment.
- 18 Bill 41 Amending the 2025 Golf Fund budget by upgrading one Maintenance Worker 2 (M08) position with a salary of $43,950 to Greenskeeper (M16) with a salary of $53,358 to better align with skills necessary for the position within a very competitive labor market.
- 19 Bill 42 Amending the Civil Service Board Rules governing the Appointment and Promotion of Police Officers and Fire Fighters by adding the following under Grading Procedures, c: All raw scores that end with .5 or greater shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. All applicable veteran preference points shall then be added to the whole number. In the case of a tie, raw scores shall be used as a tiebreaker, with the original unadjusted scores used to determine who will place higher on the eligibility list. If there is a still a tie after comparing raw scores. The date and time of the submission of the application shall be used with the earliest submission date and time ranking higher on the list; and adding under Oral Examination: 3) The oral examination shall be conducted by a three-person oral examination panel approved by the Board. The oral examination panel shall consist of the Chief of Police or his/her designee and two (2) current Allentown Police officers holding the rank of Lieutenant of higher. The Civil Service Board may engage in an outside vendor to conduct the oral exam. In the event an outside vendor is selected by the Civil Service Board office and approved by the Civil Service board to conduct such oral exams for the position of Sergeant and Lieutenant, the make-up of the oral examination board shall be made by the selected vendor who will be conducting the oral exam, with the approval of the Civil Service Board.
- 20 Bill 43 Amending the 2025 Grants Fund to provide for a supplemental appropriation of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) from the State Office of the Budget, Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). These funds are a pass-through grant that will support Phoebe Ministries.
- 21 CONSENT AGENDA: The Consent Agenda is for items that are considered ‘no brainers’ – no need to have the administration explain anything - the objective is to vote on all the resolutions at one time if there are no issues. The President asks if there is any request to remove any item from the Consent Agenda. If not, the clerk will read the titles of the resolutions. The President will ask for public comments, prior to council voting on the bundle.
- 22 R55 Certificate of Appropriateness for work in the Historic Districts: 1528 Linden St.; 625 Liberty St.; 519 Allen St.; 627 Liberty St. ; 412 N 8th St.; 424 N 11 St.
- 23 R56 Ramon Nunez, Jr., Board of Parks and Recreation, 1/20/2026 (Filling the term of Maritza Dolich)
- 24 R57 Taylor Breinich, Shade Tree Commission, 5-8-2030
- 25 R58 Jean Raymond Hoffman, Human Relations Commission, 5-8-2028
- 26 RESOLUTIONS FOR FINAL PASSAGE: Resolutions can be acted on when they are introduced; the resolutions here are scheduled for final passage. There is public comment before Council votes on the resolution.
- 27 R52 Establishing a Special Committee for reviewing and developing Community Policing and collaborative efforts the Police Department is currently involved in to create a strategic plan going forward that builds partnerships between police, community members and organizations to address issues and opportunities.
- 28 R59 Authorizes the submission of a formal application for funding for the Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) Grant opportunity in the amount of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) with no match required to improve traffic safety and reduce crashes at high-risk intersections along the High Injury Network.
- 29 R60 Authorizes the submission of a formal application for funding from the Safe Streets and Roads for All Implementation Grant Opportunity in the amount of Seven Million Dollars ($7,000,000) with a 20% City match requirement for safety upgrades and reconfiguration of Tilghman Street and Union Boulevard.
- 30 R61 Approves the submission of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report to HUD.
- 31 ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION (To be referred to an appropriate Committee that will meet in the future to review the bill; there is public comment prior to referral)
- 32 Bill 44 Amending the 2025 General Fund Budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of Sixteen Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-Two Dollars and Two Cents ($16,322.02) from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of The State Fire Commissioner (OSFC) Grant to the Allentown Fire Department for the purchase of equipment.
- 33 Bill 45 Repealing Chapter 455, Property Rehabilitation and Maintenance, in its entirety and adopting the International Property Maintenance Code.
- 34 Bill 46 AN ORDINANCE: Repealing and Replacing Chapter 27 DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION with updated provisions expanding protected classes and prohibitions and establishing various other regulations.
- 35 Bill 47 The bill was forwarded favorably by the Community and Economic Development Committee, Chairperson Mota. Request from Cedar Crest College to Rezone 2851-2865 College Drive from Low Density Residential (R-L) to Institutional-Governmental (I-G)
- 36 RESOLUTIONS FOR INTRODUCTION - These resolutions would typically be sent to committee for review after public comments. There are no resolutions for introduction.
- 37 NEW BUSINESS: NONE
- 38 GOOD AND WELFARE: NONE
- 39 ADJOURNED: 7:17 PM
- 40 Reference Materials: Council Rules Procurement Code Ethics Code