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January 17, 2024 ·6:30 PM Final

Council Chambers

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 40 items

  1. 1 Invocation: ▶ jump to 6:54
  2. 2 Pledge to the Flag ▶ jump to 7:17
  3. 3 Roll Call: Cynthia Mota, Santo Napoli, Candida Affa, Ce Ce Gerlach, Daryl Hendricks, Natalie Santos, Ed Zucal ▶ jump to 7:42
  4. 4 Courtesy of the Floor Courtesy and Privilege of the Floor Rules ▶ jump to 8:04
  5. 5 Please observe the Rules of Council when addressing the body. A full copy of Council Rules can be found on the city website at the bottom of the council agenda.. The city website also includes all the meetings and material for the agenda; videos of previous meetings, and a link to current meetings that are in progress. Courtesy of the Floor and Public Comment Rules: If you would like to speak this evening, we are asking that you fill out a card – they are on the back table - and provide them to the clerk before speaking. Please address the Council President. You are given privilege of the floor to provide public comment. This is a time to present comments, it is not a question-and-answer session. If you are speaking 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 - the idea being the entire group does not come up and make the same type of statement. Please be sure to state your name and address for the record and fill out a card. Courtesy of the Floor is meant to provide public comment on items that are not on the agenda; Council will take all comments under advisement and have the appropriate officials get back to you if necessary. If you have materials for Council, please distribute it to the Clerk. Public comment during consideration of ordinances, resolutions and motions is limited by topic – your comments must be relevant. Public comments are taken before council votes on items. Council will not entertain personal insults or attacks, name calling or other behavior that is inconsistent with the purpose of conducting official business. Please address the Council President. Refrain from using offensive language, cursing, and making noises while other people are speaking. Act with decorum. Remove your hat and turn cell phones off. 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.
  6. 6 Contract Approvals Council approves a resolution acknowledging that proper procurement procedures were followed pursuant to the city code. The clerk reads the resolution, Sarah McNeil, the Purchasing Agent, is available to explain the process. After an explanation, comments are taken from the dais and the floor before Council votes. ▶ jump to 12:55
  7. 7 R1 Authorization for a change order in the amount of $52,484.86 with Canon Solutions America, Inc. to supply printers and multifunction machines along with support and maintenance of the equipment. The original contract was for $ 89,740, the addition would bring the contract to a new total of $142,224.86 15-6566 approved Pass ▶ jump to 14:15
  8. 8 R2 Authorization for Contract with Michael Baker International, Inc. in the amount of $312,000 to assist with developing a Safe Streets and Roads for All Action Plan to prioritize safety enhancements and justify essential investments, bid through the RFP process, three bidders, 3 year contract with one year optional extension. 15-6564 approved Pass ▶ jump to 21:38
  9. 9 Minutes of Previous Meeting ▶ jump to 21:56
  10. 10 November 15, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes approved Pass ▶ jump to 22:05
  11. 11 December 20, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes 15-6563 approved Pass ▶ jump to 22:26
  12. 12 January 2, 2024 City Council Meeting Organizational Meeting Minutes 15-6543 approved Pass ▶ jump to 22:41
  13. 13 Communications ▶ jump to 22:56
  14. 14 Old Business: NONE ▶ jump to 23:16
  15. 15 REPORTS Budget and Finance: Chair Napoli, Hendricks, Gerlach The Committee met on January 10 and reviewed the finance reports; the next meeting is scheduled for January 31st at 5:30 PM. Community and Economic Development: Chair Hendricks, Mota, Napoli The committee has not met since the last council meeting; the next meeting is scheduled for January 31st at 6:30 PM. Human Resources, Administration and Appointments: Chair Affa, Napoli, Santos The Committee has not met since the last Council meeting; there are no future meetings scheduled at this time. Parks and Recreation: Chair Santos, Affa, Gerlach The Committee has not met since the last Council meeting; there are no future meetings scheduled at this time. Public Safety: Chair Zucal, Hendricks, Mota The committee met this evening; there are no future meetings scheduled at this time. Public Works: Chair Gerlach, Affa, Zucal The Committee has not met since the last Council meeting; there are no future meetings scheduled at this time. Hopefully, soon they will have a meeting talking about priorities for the year. Rules, Chambers, Intergovernmental Relations, and Strategy: Chair Mota, Napoli, Gerlach The committee has not met since the last Council meeting; there are no future meetings scheduled at this time. Water and Sewer Compliance Meeting Report: 2023 Chair Zucal stated that he is ending his last term and there were notes or questions from the last meeting. The notes are available to be viewed and from here on Ms. Gerlach will handle the Water and Sewer Compliance meetings. Controller's Report (3 minutes) Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that he has a Report this evening on the September P-Card Audit. This was released on January 9th. They reviewed 109 Statements. The number of documents in that Statement was 661 invoices. The total dollar amount was $284,000. He stated that this is for September. They did not get this Report until December 27 which is probably two months later than it should have been. What they decided to do is take a look at how invoices were entered into Eden by the departments and just to refresh everyone's memory, a P-Card purchase can be made at anytime and the vendor gets paid immediately. When the P-Card Statement is received, the total of the P-Card is immediately paid by the city. For book reporting services, the corresponding expenses are not encumbered until the invoices are entered into Eden for approval. This is important, especially at the end of the year because if that invoice is not entered and the money is not encumbered then when they make decisions in this room, they may not be doing it with the most accurate of numbers. He pointed out once again, they did not get September until December 27. The numbers aren't huge, but they could be. They still don't have October yet. they still don't have November yet. December, they won't be getting until sometime in January anyway. The encumbered expenses are not posted in the General Ledger until all entries for the P-Card Statement are entered into Eden process by AP and there is a difference between encumbering the money which happens when you enter the invoice and then when everything is entered and complete, it gets posted. Encumbrances are pretty good and that gives you a really good idea of what you got. Part of the problem is that an invoice is not even being entered in a timely matter. Some invoices. Per the Purchasing Handbook, all transactions should be reconciled against the monthly statements within three days of the statement received. All the original receipts should be attached to the monthly statement and the cardholder supervisor should sign the monthly statement. The signed monthly statement with the original receipt should be forwarded to the Treasury Department. For September 2023, the P-Card billing statement came out on 10/2/23. The total of the P-Card Statement was as mentioned $284,000 and some change. Due to the delay in the P-Card entry into Eden, the P-Card Statement was posted into Eden on 12/26/23. What they decided to do was use a seven day measure for timeliness. Cut a little more slack. So that meant that they deemed invoices entered after 10/9/23 to be late. Of the 661 invoices that made up the Statement, 61 of them were entered seven days late, after seven days. In 30 days, 37 of them of that 61 that were entered between 31 and 60 days, 22 and over 60 days there were two still outstanding. And, that is why September could not be closed in a timely fashion. This information has been communicated numerous times to the administration. And, they have certainly seen Purchasing taking additional steps to encourage the departments to report and take care of these transactions in a more timely manner. He stated that if you want more details you already got this Report. He stated that he submitted it to the Clerk in the beginning of December. He would be happy to answer any questions in the future going forward. The only other issue was the sales tax was paid on two invoices. The department was advised and they got reimbursed for one and it looks like for the second one, a refund was not requested. He stated that is his Report for this evening. Ms. Cynthia Mota asked if there were any comments from the dais. Mr. Ed Zucal asked who is in charge of these P-Cards as far as getting them entered properly and on-time. He stated we are three months behind. That is insane. That is not how you do business as you know. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that he agrees with him. The individual department heads are responsible for making sure that things are done in a timely manner. Each of the cardholders also signs an agreement that they agree to abide by this. Maybe Purchasing needs a bigger stick, but he can tell them over the last six weeks, they stepped up their game to encourage people to get things done in a more timely manner. He can see Mr. Zucal is frustrated. He stated that the Controller's office is frustrated to because you get September at the end of the year. If changes need to be made, the window is closing very, very quickly. They understand when January comes and the December Statement comes at the end of January, there isn't a whole lot they can do if there are errors there, but they certainly don't understand that and really find thoroughly unacceptable that September, October, and November are going to be so late. Just to reiterate, Purchasing is certainly stepped up to the plate over the last four to six weeks and encouraging people to get things done in a more timely manner. He is hopeful that this won't be an issue going forward. Ms. Cynthia Mota asked if there were any other comments from the dais. Mr. Daryl Hendricks asked if it isn't, please let Council know at your earliest convenience. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that Council will get the Audit Report. Ms. Ce Ce Gerlach stated that she is looking at Mr. Glazier's Report and it seems like there are two heavy hitters. She is not going to say it. Maybe those are the areas to focus on. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that you are correct. While he would hesitate to make excuses, the one is dealing with an extraordinary amount of invoices. He stated that they used to get on the P-Card Statement 350 - 385 invoices a month. Now, they are up to 661. It takes a lot of manpower or woman power or person power to do that. That might be the reason for that. They certainly got their act together pretty quickly. While it might delay things a day or two, it is certainly as you can see it is really not the major reason. Ms. Cynthia Mota stated that means they are getting or they need more staff. She asked if Mr. Glazier thinks that is the issue. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that the department in question does a lot of things on P-Cards and a lot of things in the weekly check run. Over time they will figure out and will optimize how they purchase things and one of the benefits that optimization should be a better process workflow and how they do invoices. Ms. Cynthia Mota stated that it is not like she is offering them to have, but hey. Mr. Jeffrey Glazier stated that if that department thinks they need additional manpower, he is sure that the department head will make a request and Council can deal with it as you see fit. Ms. Cynthia Mota asked if there were any comments from the public. She thanked Mr. Glazier for his Report. Mayor's Report (3 minutes) Ms. Genesis Ortega stated that she is here on behalf of Mayor Tuerk to provide a brief Mayor's Report. First, the Mayor extends his gratitude for those who attended his State of the City Address last week. There is a lot of good energy of what's to come in 2024. During his address, the Mayor made an important announcement about the city of Allentown commitment to becoming a Vision Zero City. This initiative sets a clear goal to eliminate traffic fatalities and sever injuries by the Year 2030. The mayor is set to deliver the State of the City again next Tuesday, January 23rd at 5:30 PM at Ritter Elementary. The event is free and open to the public. They will even have dinner for those that attend. Secondly, they want to provide Council with an update regarding a transition within the HR department, as per City Ordinance an Interim Director is not allowed to serve in that capacity for more than 90 days. She stated that they appreciate Garry Ritter for his leadership in HR for the past three months and even more appreciative of his willingness to assist Michaela Boyer who will be serving as Interim HR Director for the next 90 days. In this capacity, her main objective will include facilitating communication and collaboration between HR, Law and Finance departments as well as assist with the recruitment process for a permanent HR Director. They anticipate this to be a smooth transition. She has been shadowing Garry for the past week or so. He will continue to assist as needed for the next 90 days. Although, they do hope to have an HR Director sooner than that. They extended an invitation to Council to attend a Press Conference scheduled for next Wednesday, January 24th at 10:00 AM, here in Council Chambers. During this event, they will announce details regarding the investments in the Allentown Police Department related to Flock Safety and stated that they hope that Council can join them. She stated that the city is anticipating another one to three inches of snow. It is expected to move into the area as early as tomorrow evening, possibly through Saturday morning. It will potentially be another long weekend storm. The third one in the span of three weeks. Rest assure that the Public Works team is on it. Prepping as they always done salting and brining the roads with overnight and weekend coverage to ensure that the city streets are clean as fast as they can possibly get to them. She stated that they appreciate all that they have done and what they will continue to do this winter season and as always a cautionary note to anyone driving, please be careful. Ms. Cynthia Mota thanked Ms. Ortega for her Report. She asked if there were any comments from the dais or comments from the public. ▶ jump to 23:23
  16. 16 Water and Sewer Compliance Follow-Up 15-6578
  17. 17 Controller Reports 15-6576 ▶ jump to 32:27
  18. 18 ORDINANCES FOR FINAL PASSAGE (To be Voted On): The Clerk reads the bill. Comments are taken from the administration, the dais and the public before a vote is taken. ▶ jump to 37:21
  19. 19 Bill 114 Amending the 2023 Fire Department budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of One Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars ($130,000.00) from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development grant for the purchase of new gear and equipment. approved Pass ▶ jump to 38:03
  20. 20 There is a request to suspend Council Rules - Rule IV, relating to submitting an agenda item, Rule VII, relating to referring to committee and Rule V, relating to the 14 day period between introduction and final passage - to introduce and vote on Bill 1, a supplemental appropriation of Five Hundred Sixty Nine Thousand Dollars ($ 569,000) from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development Local Share Account grant to the support the construction and renovation at the Museum of Indian Culture. The legislation contains a section that pursuant to the charter, upon 6 of 7 affirmative votes of City Council, the 14 day period between introduction and final passage is waived. Someone will need to make this motion. ▶ jump to 38:21
  21. 21 Bill 1 Amending the 2024 General Fund Budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of Five Hundred Sixty Nine Thousand Dollars ($ 569,000) from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development Local Share Account grant to the support the construction and renovation at the Museum of Indian Culture. 15-6579 ▶ jump to 38:27
  22. 22 CONSENT AGENDA: The Consent Agenda is for items that are considered ‘no brainers’ – 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 resolutions. After public comments, Council will vote on items. approved Pass ▶ jump to 41:15
  23. 23 R3 Sewage Planning Module at Allentown Metal Works - 606 S 10th Street 15-6547
  24. 23 Bill 1 Amending the 2024 General Fund Budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of Five Hundred Sixty Nine Thousand Dollars ($ 569,000) from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development Local Share Account grant to the support the construction and renovation at the Museum of Indian Culture. 15-6579 approved Pass ▶ jump to 39:28
  25. 24 R4 David C. Huber, Historical Architectural Review Board, 01-03-2027 (Reappointment) 15-6545
  26. 25 R5 Phillip C. Hart, Historical Architectural Review Board, 01-03-2027 (Reappointment) 15-6544
  27. 26 R6 Sylvester Novak, ACIDA, 12-20-2028 (Filling the seat of David Olson) ▶ jump to 40:26
  28. 27 R7 Shannon Fugate, Arts Commission. 1-17-2029 (Reappointment) 15-6565
  29. 28 R8 Al Jacobsen, Arts Commission. 1-17-2029 (Reappointment) 15-6567
  30. 29 R9 Jose Rivera, Human Relations Commission, 01-17-2027 (Filling Vacancy) 15-6568
  31. 30 R10 Dr. Jennifer Swann, Human Relations Commission, 01-17-2027 (Filling Vacancy) 15-6570
  32. 31 RESOLUTIONS FOR FINAL PASSAGE (To be Voted On): The Clerk reads the resolution. Comments are taken from the administration, the dais, and the public before a vote is taken. ▶ jump to 41:33
  33. 32 R11 Approves two transfers: (1) $55,852.78 in Human Resources as a result of increases costs fo employee screening for seasonal employees and (2) $41,371.86 in Parks and Recreation to current and end Capital Improvement Projects at the Golf Course for painting, carpet and new HVAC system. 15-6572 approved Pass ▶ jump to 42:05
  34. 33 ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION (To be referred to Committee with public comment prior to referral) : There are no bills for introduction. ▶ jump to 42:23
  35. 34 RESOLUTIONS FOR INTRODUCTION (Can be voted on or Referred to Committee): The Clerks reads the resolution. Comments are taken from the administration, the dais, the public before a referral is made to a council committee where more detailed discussion will take place. ▶ jump to 42:29
  36. 35 R12 Authorizes the City of Allentown to adopt a Vision Zero Policy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe, traffic-related injuries. 15-6571 ▶ jump to 42:31
  37. 36 NEW BUSINESS: NONE ▶ jump to 42:50
  38. 37 GOOD AND WELFARE ▶ jump to 42:55
  39. 38 ADJOURNED: 7:13 PM ▶ jump to 43:00
  40. 39 Reference Materials: Council Rules Procurement Code Ethics Code 15-6577