2026-10-07 - Public Works Committee

00:00:00THE LOTTERY. OH, OKAY. WE LEFT THAT. GOOD EVENING. WELCOME TO PUBLIC WORKS. MISS ORTEGA, CAN

00:00:17YOU PLEASE CALL THE VOTE? I MEAN, DID THE ATTENDANT CHAIR HERE. MISS YOUR AND MR. PONGO HERE. YOU'RE ALL HERE. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. I THINK THAT EVERYONE REMEMBERS

00:00:34THAT THE MAJOR SNOWSTORM WE EXPERIENCED LAST WINTER. AND THAT'S WHAT BILL 62 IS, IS GOING TO BE ABOUT THE UPDATE ON THE SNOW REMOVAL PROGRAM. FOR DAYS AFTERWARDS, WE HAVE

00:00:47SIDEWALKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT REMAINED COVERED IN SNOW AND ICE. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT? YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS TOUGH. OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT HAD TO REMAIN CLOSED BECAUSE IN MANY AREAS,

00:01:00IT WAS NOT SAFE FOR CHILDREN TO WALK TO SCHOOL. AFTER THAT, I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE CITY PREPARES FOR MAJOR SNOW STORMS, WHAT OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE

00:01:12FOR, AND WHERE THE CHALLENGES ARE, AND WHAT WE, AS COUNCIL AND AS A COMMUNITY CAN DO, CAN DO BETTER. OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME DISCUSSING SNOW

00:01:26OPERATION THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS VERY HAPPY TO LEARN ABOUT WAS A VOLUNTEER SNOW REMOVAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT EXISTED IN IN ALLENTOWN MANY YEARS AGO. RATHER THAN STARTING COMPLETELY FROM SCRATCH, WE WANTED TO LEARN FROM THE PEOPLE

00:01:43WHO WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THOSE EFFORTS. WE HEARD TESTIMONY FROM ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM. SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS REMEMBER THAT WE INVITED FORMER COUNCILWOMAN PAM PAM MARCONI TO COME TO COME BEFORE THIS

00:02:01COMMITTEE AND TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAM SHE HELPED ORGANIZE. WE ALSO SPOKE WITH EMILY CANALES. AS A MATTER OF FACT, EMILY. SHE'S HERE TONIGHT AND TALKED ABOUT THE PROGRAM SHE HELPED ORGANIZE. WE ALSO SPOKE WITH WITH NEIGHBORHOODS AND RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THROUGHOUT

00:02:20ALLENTOWN. AND AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF CONVERSATION. I'M EXCITED. I'M EXCITED THAT WE'RE NOW AT A POINT WHERE WE MAY BE ABLE TO LAUNCH A SMALL PILOT PROGRAM WITH WITHIN THIS WINTER.

00:02:32I WANT TO EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR THE FIRST YEAR. WE'RE LOOKING FOR PARTICIPATION ABOUT 50 HOUSEHOLDS. YOU HAVE TO BE LIMITED BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO

00:02:46BE A PILOT PROGRAM. WE WANT TO START SMALL. MAKE SURE THAT THE PROGRAM WORKS, IDENTIFY ANY CHALLENGES AND LEARN FROM THE FIRST WINTER BEFORE WE CONSIDER EXPANDING IT. THE PROGRAM WILL

00:02:58FOCUS ON OLDER ADULTS AND RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES OR MOBILITY LIMITATIONS, WHO DO NOT HAVE SOMEONE AVAILABLE TO SAFELY CLEAR THEIR SIDEWALKS AND PATH TO THEIR HOME. IN

00:03:11ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE, YOU MUST BE PROPERTY OWNER IN THE CITY FROM A LIABILITY PERSPECTIVE. SO IF YOU'RE NOT A HOMEOWNER BECAUSE OF LIABILITY, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO TO HELP. AND THAT IS

00:03:25THE SAME FROM WHAT WAS DONE IN THE PAST TOO. WE KNOW THAT A LANDLORD ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR SHOVELING THEIR TENANTS SIDEWALKS. AND I KNOW SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT THAT IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE. SO WE'RE FOCUSING ON HOMEOWNERS AND WORKING WITH LEHIGH VALLEY

00:03:45ACTIVE LIFE. RICK DAUGHERTY, WHO HAS GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO HELP MANAGE THE INTAKE PROCESS. THEY WILL SERVE AS A POINT OF CONTACT FOR OLDER RESIDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING

00:03:59AND HELP US IDENTIFY ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS. WE ALSO WE ALSO WORK WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, ATHLETIC TEAMS, CHURCHES, BUSINESSES TO RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS TO HELP BE PART OF

00:04:13THIS NEW TEAM. ONCE WE KNOW WHO NEEDS ASSISTANCE, THE GOAL IS TO ORGANIZE THOSE HOUSEHOLDS GEOGRAPHICALLY SO THAT THE VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT DRIVING ALL OVER THE CITY. INSTEAD,

00:04:25VOLUNTEER TEAMS WILL BE ASSIGNED TO A SMALL GROUP OF HOMES IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD OR AREAS. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT EVERY PERSON WHO SIGNS UP FOR ASSISTANCE WILL RECEIVE IT,

00:04:37BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MATCH VOLUNTEERS FIRST, BUT WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST, AND MILICA HAS VOLUNTEERED HER TIME TO HELP OVERSEE AND COORDINATE THE PROGRAM. SO, EMILY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR EFFORT, INCLUDING HELPING US ORGANIZE VOLUNTEERS AND CONNECT THE

00:04:54DIFFERENT PIECES OF THIS PARTNERSHIP. I WANT TO THANK ME FOR FOR STEPPING UP AND BEING WILLING TO TAKE ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY. I ALSO I AM ALSO COMMITTED MY TIME AND

00:05:06EFFORT TO ASSIST WITH THIS AS WELL. SO EMILY, AS YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ALONE. SO I'M GOING TO BE WHEN WE SEE A FEW INCHES OF SNOW, MINIMUM OF THREE, I'M GOING TO BE OUT WITH YOU GUYS. I ALSO WANT TO THANK CARMEN BELL AND THE UNITED WAY FOR THE GREATER

00:05:23LEHIGH VALLEY, WHO IS HERE TONIGHT. AND I'M GLAD TO SHARE THAT THEY HAVE MADE AN INITIAL FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO HELP US KICK START THIS PILOT PROGRAM. THE SUPPORT THAT SUPPORT CAN

00:05:35HELP US BEGIN IN OBTAINING THE BASIC EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES THAT OUR VOLUNTEERS TEAM WILL NEED. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SHOVEL, SNOW BLOWERS AND SALT. I MEAN, THAT HAS A COST. AS

00:05:48EVERYBODY KNOWS. WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES AND OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO DONATE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE COST TO TAXPAYERS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT ONE THING. THIS IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR

00:06:06THE CITY'S SNOW REMOVAL RESPONSIBILITIES. PUBLIC WORKS WILL CONTINUE CLEARING STREETS AND CARRYING OUT THE CITY REGULAR SNOW OPERATIONS. THIS PILOT IS INTENDED TO ADDRESS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM. THEY ARE SENIORS AND RESIDENTS WITH PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS WHO MAY

00:06:23SIMPLY NOT BE ABLE TO SHOVEL THEIR OWN SIDEWALK AFTER A STORM, AND SOMETIMES THEY DO NOT HAVE FAMILIES NEARBY, OR THE FINANCIAL ABILITY TO HIRE SOMEONE SOMEONE EVERY TIME IT SNOWS. THIS PROGRAM IS ABOUT BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO HELP FILL THE GAP. THE

00:06:42CONCEPT IS SIMPLE AND RECYCLES AN IDEA FROM THE PAST, WHICH IS THAT WE'RE HELPED TO COORDINATE THE SYSTEM, AND THE COMMUNITY HELPS PROVIDE THE SERVICES. I WILL SAY THAT THERE ARE STILL

00:06:56IMPORTANT DETAILS THAT HAVE TO BE FINALIZED. WE'RE WORKING THROUGH LEGAL AND RISK MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENT FOR ON FOR HOMEOWNERS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PROTECTIONS ARE IN PLACE BEFORE ANYONE SENT, BEFORE ANYONE IS SENT TO A

00:07:14RESIDENT HOME. BUT I'M ENCOURAGED BY HOW MANY PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ALREADY SAID THAT THEY WANT TO HELP. SO THIS IS AMAZING. I WILL BE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THIS EFFORT. LIKE I SAID BEFORE, I DO NOT WANT THIS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE ANNOUNCE. AND THEN, YOU KNOW,

00:07:31THEN WE FORGET ABOUT. I WANT TO WORK ALONGSIDE MILLIE AND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, HELP RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS AND SPONSORS AND MAKE AND MAKE SURE WE LEARN FROM THIS, FROM THIS FIRST YEAR

00:07:45PROGRAM. AT THE END OF THE WINTER, WE CAN COME BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE AND LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED, HOW MANY RESIDENTS WE WERE ABLE TO SERVE, HOW MANY VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATED AND WHAT WORKED, WHAT DID NOT WORK, AND WHETHER THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD CONTINUE OR

00:08:01EXPAND. WE CANNOT CONTROL WHAT THE NEXT MAJOR SNOWSTORM WILL HAPPEN, BUT WE CAN BE BETTER PREPARED FOR IT. AND IF WE CAN BRING TOGETHER OUR CITY, OUR NONPROFITS, OUR BUSINESSES AND

00:08:14OUR RESIDENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT SOME OF OUR OLDER AND MOST VULNERABLE NEIGHBORS ARE LEFT STRUGGLING ALONE AFTER THE STORM. I THINK THAT IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF PARTNERSHIP THAT WE

00:08:26SHOULD BE, THAT WE SHOULD BE BUILDING SO THAT THE SNOW SHOVELING PROGRAM THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS, AND I HOPE THAT YOU ARE AS WELL, AND I'M HAPPY TO

00:08:39ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE DAIS? GO AHEAD, MR. PONGO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY I KNOW WE HAVE SOMETHING HERE THAT KIND

00:08:52OF TALKS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT, AND I'M JUST FOR THE FOLKS WHO MAYBE WANT TO KNOW MORE, MAYBE WE COULD WALK THROUGH THE PROCESS. I KNOW THERE'S A PAGE HERE. IT SAYS HOW IT WORKS. SO, YOU KNOW, IF I'M A GROUP THAT WANTS TO VOLUNTEER, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S AN ENROLLMENT

00:09:06WINDOW AND THAT'S DONE WITH LEHIGH VALLEY ACTIVE LIFE. YES. YEAH. RICK DOHERTY AND SO, I MEAN, AND THEN AS FAR AS AGAIN, IF, IF THERE'S SOMEBODY AT HOME LISTENING, LIKE, HOW DO I SIGN

00:09:19UP FOR THIS SERVICE? SO WE REACHED OUT TO ACTIVE LIFE. ARE WE SUPPOSED TO MENTION THE NAME OF ANY SPECIFIC PROGRAM OR I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS SOMETHING. ARE WE READY TO GIVE THOSE SORTS OF INSTRUCTIONS YET? OR ARE WE PLANNING TO HAVE LIKE A COMMUNICATION OUT TO THE

00:09:33RESIDENTS? I'M JUST I MEAN, WE'RE PLANNING TO HAVE I MEAN, IF EVERYBODY AGREES, A COMMUNICATION OUT TO THE RESIDENTS ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL PROGRAM. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT IT HAS BEEN DONE. IT WAS DONE BEFORE. THAT'S WHY PAM PAM CAME

00:09:48AND SPOKE. THE PRIOR COUNCILWOMAN WHO WHO DID THIS BEFORE. AND IT WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL. AS A MATTER OF FACT, CANDIES CAME A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND SHE ALSO SPOKE ABOUT IT. SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE MADE UP. YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE

00:10:06BRINGING IT BACK. AND WE JUST WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THIS. I MEAN, I'M USUALLY OUT THERE HELPING THE ELDERLY FOLKS AND THEY'RE HAVING A REALLY

00:10:22DIFFICULT TIME. THEY HAD A REALLY DIFFICULT TIME, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR. ABSOLUTELY. GO GO AHEAD, GO AHEAD. MUSTAFA. I THINK IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM. AND THANK YOU FOR SPEARHEADING THIS,

00:10:34MISS MAGDA. IF IT WORKED THE FIRST TIME, IT'LL WORK THE SECOND TIME. ESPECIALLY YOU AT THE HELM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS? OKAY. GO AHEAD, MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU, VICE PRESIDENT. AND I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR

00:10:52TAKING THE LEAD ON THIS PROGRAM TO. I THINK IT'S A FANTASTIC PROGRAM. I COULD TELL YOU FIRSTHAND, DURING MAJOR SNOWSTORMS, WE ALWAYS GET CALLS FROM OUR RESIDENTS LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE FOR SNOW REMOVAL ON THEIR SIDEWALKS. AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE NEVER IN

00:11:08A POSITION TO GUIDE THEM OR PROVIDE THEM WITH THAT ASSISTANCE. SO SPEARHEADING THIS IS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD. AND WITH OUR OVERALL OPERATIONS, AND IT'S REALLY GOING TO BENEFIT THE RESIDENTS. AND WE'RE DEFINITELY MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH WINTER

00:11:22OPERATIONS. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU, AND I THINK IT'S A GREAT BENEFIT AND RESOURCE TO OUR RESIDENTS AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. SHADOW. AND WE HAVE HERE EMILY. EMILY,

00:11:34WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY A WORD ON THIS PROGRAM? I WOULD JUST LIKE TO REITERATE. COME ON, COME ON, COME ON. DON'T BE SHY. ARE YOU SHY? I KNOW THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW. GOOD EVENING. I WANT

00:11:46TO THANK COUNCIL FOR ALLOWING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK AND DO FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE BEEN PUTTING ON HOLD. ARE YOU AWARE LAST YEAR'S WINTER WAS REALLY HARD? WE

00:11:59WORKED HARD WITH THE STREETS AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK OUT. WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF CHANGES THAT HAVE NOT, YOU KNOW, I'M GETTING MYSELF FAMILIAR WITH, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. I'M JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO JUST MAKING THIS HAPPEN. AND TO

00:12:11ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, ONCE WE KNOW THE LOGISTICS OF EVERYTHING AND HOW EVERYTHING WILL BE RUNNING, WE WILL BE HAVING A PRESS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE THAT SO THAT THE THE RESIDENTS KNOW THEY HAVE TO SUBMIT DOCUMENTS TO SENIOR LIFE TO GET THAT STARTED. AND THEN

00:12:25THE COMMUNITY PART IS THAT I THINK. SO THAT'S HOW THAT FOR ME. AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING LOTS OF MEETINGS. I MEAN, NOT EVERYONE KNOWS, BUT I'VE BEEN REALLY, REALLY WORKING HARD FOR THE PAST, WHAT, TWO MONTHS ON THIS, THIS, THIS MEETING AFTER

00:12:41MEETING CONSTANTLY WITH WITH CARMEN BELL AND ALSO WITH WITH YOU AND MANY OTHER PARTNERS. I WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW, TO KNOW THAT MISS MISS BELL. SORRY. GO AHEAD. OKAY. MISS CARMEN BELL,

00:12:58SHE'S FROM UNITED WAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL. CARMEN. BELL VALLEY. WE'RE EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THIS PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE RESIDENTS OF OUR TOWN, SUPPORT CITY COUNCIL AND ITS

00:13:12WORK TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR SOME OF THE RESIDENTS OF ALLENTOWN. WE WELL REMEMBER WHAT THE SNOWSTORM DID TO OUR CITY LAST YEAR. AND WHILE THIS IS NOT GOING TO SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS, IT'S JUST GOING TO BE AN ADJUNCT TO THE WORK THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENING. AND WE ARE

00:13:27GLAD TO BE A PART OF THAT. SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SUPPORTING IT AND HELPING TO BUILD IT OUT AND GET IT ORGANIZED SO IT CAN GO FORWARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MRS. BELL. I ALSO WANT TO TELL EVERYONE THAT EVERYONE CAN BE A PART OF THIS. I MEAN, IMAGINE, YOU KNOW,

00:13:43IF YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY, YOU KNOW, AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY SOME GLOVES, YOU KNOW, WE ACCEPT GLOVES. YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO, WE, WE, WE, WE ARE GOING TO ACCEPT TROUBLES. ANYTHING THAT PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE US, WE WILL ACCEPT IT BECAUSE THE REALITY

00:13:57IS IT'S GOING TO BE FOR THE COMMUNITY. SO ANY, ANY BIT OF HELP, YOU KNOW, WILL BE APPRECIATED. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THIS? ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS?

00:14:18OKAY. SO I BELIEVE THAT. THAT THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. OH, BILL 62. WHAT WAS THAT? BILL 62. MY APOLOGIES. OKAY, SO BILL 62 AMENDS THE 2026 CAPITAL FUND BUDGET TO PROVIDE. EXCUSE ME

00:14:39FOR THE INCREASE OF $1,100,000 TO FUND THE IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT ON TILGHMAN STREET AND UNION BOULEVARD GRANT IS PARTIALLY REIMBURSABLE AND REQUIRES MATCH FUNDING. MR.

00:14:52MARK, CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS BILL 62 FOR US? YES. THANK YOU. AND VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS GRANT OPPORTUNITY. AS EVERYBODY KNOWS, WE WERE AWARDED $1.1 MILLION TO DO

00:15:07SAFETY UPGRADES ALONG THE TILGHMAN STREET CORRIDOR THROUGH THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL IMPLEMENTATION GRANT. WHEN WE DID OUR TRAFFIC SAFETY ACTION PLAN THROUGH THE SAFE

00:15:19STREETS FOR ALL GRANT. THE TILGHMAN STREET CORRIDOR WAS IDENTIFIED AS BEING NUMBER ONE ON THE HIGH INJURY NETWORK. SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS GRANT OPPORTUNITY. I THINK THIS IS REALLY GOING TO PUT US IN A POSITION WHERE WE CAN MAKE SOME KEY IMPROVEMENTS ALONG

00:15:32THAT CORRIDOR. TO TO MAKE OUR ROADWAYS SAFER. THIS IS PART OF OUR COMMITMENT TO DESIGNING AND MAKING SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR CITY TO MAKE OUR ROADWAYS SAFER FOR ALL ROAD USERS. SO

00:15:45WHAT WE'RE DOING THIS EVENING IS WE'RE GOING TO APPROPRIATE THE FUNDING INTO THE CORRECT ACCOUNT SO WE CAN START DOING WORK. ROUGHLY HALF OF THE FUNDING WILL BE USED TOWARDS THE PLANNING AND THE DESIGN PORTION OF THE PROJECT, AND THE OTHER HALF IS GOING TO BE USED

00:15:59FOR THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO UNDERTAKE. PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS RIGHT NOW, EARLY ON, WE'RE LOOKING AT ADDING SOME BIKE LANES, BUS LANES,

00:16:11DOING SOME PAVEMENT MARKINGS ALONG THE UNION BOULEVARD CORRIDOR TO MAKE THE TRAVEL LANES A LITTLE BIT TIGHTER, TO HELP WITH REDUCING THE OVERALL SPEEDS. AND OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS IN TERMS OF PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND

00:16:26CROSSWALKS. SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS. I THINK IT'S VERY IT'S A BIG PROJECT. WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO FINALLY START, YOU KNOW, IMPROVING UPON OUR HIGH INJURY NETWORK AND TAKING THE NECESSARY STEPS TO MAKING OUR ROADWAYS SAFER. A QUICK

00:16:41QUESTION. SO THIS GRANT IS, IS THIS A MATCHING GRANT OR THERE IS A THERE'S A 35% MATCH, WHICH COMES OUT TO BE A $275,000. THAT FUNDING WE DO HAVE AVAILABLE WITHIN OUR BUDGET. SO

00:16:55WE'RE JUST APPROPRIATING THAT FUNDING AND PUTTING IT TOWARDS OUR PLANNING AND DESIGN WORK. THAT'LL BE OUR CONTRIBUTION OF THE MATCH FUNDING. OKAY. ANY ANY COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS? ANY

00:17:08COMMENTS FROM THE. OH, YEAH. GO AHEAD. MR. THINKING. SO WHEN YOU SAY THAT THAT'S FUNDING THAT WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT. IS THAT FUNDING WITHIN THE PUBLIC WORKS. BUDGET OR WAS IT, YOU

00:17:20KNOW, WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND OR IT WAS FUNDING THAT WE HAD WITHIN OUR OUR CAPITAL ACCOUNTS? OKAY. AND, AND SO THIS IS ALWAYS KIND OF ALLOTTED FOR KNOWING BECAUSE I KNOW WE, WE KIND OF KNEW THIS WORK WAS COMING DOWN THE PIKE THAT WAS KIND OF SET ASIDE FOR THAT. OR

00:17:35IS THERE LIKE REMNANTS OF ANY OTHER WORK THAT WASN'T MAYBE DONE IN THIS FISCAL YEAR OR THERE WAS PRE OLDER CAPITAL ACCOUNTS AND PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED, THAT FUNDING WAS SITTING IN THE IN THE ONE CAPITAL ACCOUNT. SO WE JUST REALLOCATED THAT FUNDING AND

00:17:49PUT IT TOWARDS THIS PROJECT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. OH, ACTUALLY I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. SORRY. AS WE GET INTO THE DESIGN OF THIS, OF COURSE, I KNOW ALL OF THIS GOES INTO SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THIS AREA. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE EAST SIDE

00:18:02OF ALLENTOWN IS A VERY PROUD NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING THIS BE A CENTRAL KIND OF REWORK, I'D LOVE TO SEE ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR BRANDING THE COMMUNITY THERE. I

00:18:14DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY WAY GENERALLY WHEN I SEE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT ROUNDABOUTS OR STREET IMPROVEMENTS, THERE'S LIKE EMPTY SPACE THAT MAYBE COULD OCCUPY SOME FABRIC TO IDENTIFY THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE COMMUNITY THAT'S THERE. SO I KNOW WE'RE NOT AT THAT STAGE

00:18:27YET, BUT AS WE APPROACH IT, I, I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT. ABSOLUTELY. MAYBE WE COULD DO VICE PRESIDENT MALTAS MAYBE HAVE A PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING AND ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO COME IN AND MAYBE JUST PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK ON WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE

00:18:41ALONG THAT CORRIDOR. AND I AGREE WITH MR. PONGO. THE EAST SIDE IS THEY'RE VERY PROUD. AND WE, WE, WE JUST NEED TO GET THE COMMUNITY THERE IN THE EAST SIDE MORE INVOLVED. I AGREE

00:18:53WITH YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS? ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? OKAY. SO I NEED SOMEONE TO MAKE A MOTION TO BILL 62 FORWARD. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO FORWARD TO FULL

00:19:11COUNCIL. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY. SO BILL 62 WILL GO IN FRONT OF ALL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS BEFORE WE FINISH WITH THIS COMMITTEE MEETING. CAN YOU

00:19:31GIVE ME ANY GOOD NEWS ON, ON ON THE SIXTH STREET LIGHT. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING. EVERY TIME I PASS THERE, I THINK OF YOU. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I'M AVOIDING THAT INTERSECTION AT

00:19:44ALL COSTS BECAUSE I'M EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED. UNFORTUNATELY, THE SITUATION IS BEYOND OUR CONTROL. WE'VE BEEN. THERE'S A BACK ORDER ON THE MASS ARMS IN THE POLES THAT ARE NEEDED. IT'S DUE TO SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES WITH THE VENDOR, BUT IT'S SHAMEFUL. LIKE IT'S LIKE IT'S NOT THE CITY'S

00:20:00FAULT. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. BUT I MEAN, COME ON. I WAS THINKING WE SHOULD PURCHASE MAYBE, YOU KNOW, PURCHASE TWO JUST IN CASE IF, YOU KNOW, IF IT BREAKS AGAIN, THEY'RE VERY EXPENSIVE

00:20:14AND I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THAT. IF I HAVE THE FUNDING TO, TO, TO PURCHASE THEM. BUT ANOTHER ISSUE ON THE BACK END IS THAT THEY'RE SO LARGE, STORING THEM IN A SECURE AREA IS ALSO AN ISSUE FOR US. SO THAT'S THAT'S REALLY PART OF THE PROBLEM THERE TOO. BUT IT'S NOT ONLY AN

00:20:29ALLENTOWN PROBLEM. THIS IS A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM WITH THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES. SO EVERYBODY'S EXPERIENCING LONG LEAD TIMES WITH THE MASS ARMS AND POLES. BELIEVE ME, IF I COULD FIND A CREATIVE SOLUTION. I KNOW, MARK, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I'M GOING TO

00:20:43MAKE A MOTION TO MAYBE CALL, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S FIXED. MAYBE WE SHOULD PUT YOUR NAME ON TOP OF THE STREETS. UNBELIEVABLE. SO THIS THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT