Oct 14, 2026 Public Works Committee

[Roll Call: Chair Mota, Pungo, Affa]

[00:00:07]

WORKING TO WELCOME TO PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING. AND WE HAVE BILLS, ACTUALLY. CAN YOU CALL DO THE ROLL CALL, MISTER CHAIR MODA HERE, MISTER PONGA HERE, MISS. NOT HERE. WE'RE ALL

[15-8712 Bill 68 Amending the 2026 Capital Fund Budget to provide for an increase of Five Hundred Sixty Thousand Dollars ($560,000.00) to fund the installation of a new traffic signal at Hanover Avenue and Linden Street. This is grant funded through the PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund Program (MTF) with no match required. ]

AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE LIGHT FROM THE SAME PLACE, FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER, RIGHT.

THAT THAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR, FOR THE PAST, WHAT, OVER A YEAR? WELL, WE'LL HAVE TO GET THE MASS ARMS AND POLES, UNFORTUNATELY, FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURERS. WOW. SO WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST TO, TO EXPEDITE THINGS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS? I MADE MY COMMENT. ALL RIGHT. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC. I GUESS WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE HERE TODAY. TONIGHT. OKAY. I NEED I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO FORWARD THIS FULL COUNCIL. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY. BILL 70, BILL 70 AMENDS THE 2026

[15-8715 Bill 70 Amending the 2026 Capital Fund Budget to provide for a supplemental appropriation of Seven Hundred Five Thousand Nine Hundred Thirty-Eight Dollars and Eighty-Four Cents ($705,938 84) from the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) class action awards to offset the cost of any PFAS remediation systems the City is required to install under federal and state regulations. This 3M settlement payment will be made in ten separate installments through 2033. The total amount of settlement funds the City has received thus far through its participation in PFAS affirmation litigation is $4,480,903.96.]

THIS THREE M SETTLEMENT PAYMENT WILL BE MADE IN TEN SEPARATE INSTALLMENTS THROUGH 2033. THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS THE CITY HAS RECEIVED THUS FAR THROUGH ITS PARTICIPATION IN PFAS AFFIRMATION LITIGATION, IS $4,480,903.96. OKAY. MISTER SHADOW. OKAY. SO, AS MISS ORTEGA STATED, THIS IS OUR ONGOING SETTLEMENT PAYMENTS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING THROUGH THE PFAS REMEDIATION. THIS IS THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT SO FAR THAT WE RECEIVED. THERE'S STILL SIX ADDITIONAL INSTALLMENTS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THROUGH 2033. AND THE FUNDING THAT WE RECEIVE WILL BE PUT INTO A CAPITAL ACCOUNT, AND WE WILL BE USING THIS THIS FUNDING TO PAY FOR PFAS REMEDIATION. OKAY. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS? NO. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? NONE. OKAY. I NEED SOMEONE TO MAKE A MOTION. MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE IT. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY.

[15-8711 Bill 71 Amending the 2026 Capital Fund Budget to provide for an increase of Three Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($350,000.00) in reimbursement funding from the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Development Authority (ANIZDA) to Capital Project #2040 Hamilton Streetscape. There is no city match required. ]

[00:05:05]

I DON'T KNOW HOW ACCURATE THAT IS. THERE'S DIFFERENT REPORTS OUT THERE. WE'RE ALSO HEARING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE A EARLY WINTER. AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE ONE BILL ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. ALL RIGHT. SO I NEED SOMEONE TO MAKE A MOTION. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO FORWARD SECOND. THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY. BILL 71 WILL BE MOVED FORWARD

[15-8717 Bill 74 Amending the 2026 Capital Fund Budget to provide for an increase of Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) to fund the approved Public Works capital project to replace the salt shed as part of the 2026 Capital borrowing. Increasing our storage capacity is important for both operational and financial reasons. It is common for other townships, municipalities, and the state to experience delays or shortages in salt deliveries during the winter season. When this occurs, we are often forced to purchase salt at significantly higher prices simply to maintain our ability to respond to winter storms and keep our roads safe. Doubling our salt storage capacity would allow us to purchase the majority of our salt at the beginning of the season at the contracted rate, rather than having to compete with surrounding townships and municipalities for limited supplies later in the season. This would provide greater reliability during winter storms while also helping to control costs and avoid potentially significant emergency purchases.]

DOUBLING OUR SALT STORAGE CAPACITY WOULD ALLOW US TO PURCHASE THE MAJORITY OF OUR SALT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON AT THE CONTRACTED RATE, RATHER THAN HAVING TO COMPETE WITH SURROUNDING TOWNSHIPS AND MUNICIPALITIES FOR LIMITED SUPPLIES LATER IN THE SEASON.

THIS WOULD PROVIDE GREATER RELIABILITY DURING WINTER STORMS, WHILE ALSO HELPING TO CONTROL COSTS AND AVOID POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT EMERGENCY PURCHASES. THANK YOU, MISS ORTEGA. AND YES, I WAS ABLE TO VISIT THE THE SALT SHED AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT NEEDS FIXING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. GO AHEAD, MR. SHADOW. SO THIS PROJECT IS TWOFOLD.

NUMBER ONE IS TO ADDRESS THE OVERALL CONDITION OF THE SALT SHED. AS YOU'VE SEEN AND WITNESSED, THE SALT SHED IS IN COMPLETE DISREPAIR. SO OUR PLAN IS TO USE THIS FUNDING SO WE COULD PURCHASE A MUCH LARGER SALT SHED. OUR CURRENT SALT SHED ONLY HOLDS 3000 TONS. SO WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO WITH THIS FUNDING IS PURCHASE A NEW SALT SHED THAT'S CAPABLE OF STORING DOUBLE THE STOCKPILE CAPACITY. SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO STOCKPILE UP TO 6000 TONS. WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE THAT WITH THE 6000 TONS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH AN ENTIRE WINTER SEASON, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO OUR BULK PURCHASING UNDER OUR CURRENT CONTRACT PRICE, WHICH IS $98 A TON. FILL THE ENTIRE SALT SHED UP. SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GOING INTO THE START OF WINTER WITH A FULLY STOCKPILED SHED. AND IN TERMS OF WHEN YOU'RE FACING SEVERE WINTERS AND THERE'S AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR SALT, IT BECOMES VERY HARD TO OBTAIN IT. SO WITH THIS TRANSITION HERE IN DOUBLING OUR STOCKPILE CAPACITY, WE WON'T HAVE THAT ISSUE OF HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF SALT. WE WON'T BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE PAYING TRIPLE THE AMOUNT OF SALT LIKE WE WERE LAST YEAR JUST TO GET THROUGH THE WINTER SEASON. SO AND ALL IN ALL, THIS IS A WIN WIN MOVE FOR THE CITY HERE. SO WE'LL BE BETTER PREPARED. YES. OKAY. GREAT. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS? GO AHEAD, MR. BONGO. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, I KNOW YOU SAID THIS WILL HELP US KIND OF BE PREPARED ROUGHLY WITH OUR 3000 TON CAPACITY. HOW CLOSE ARE WE GETTING EVERY YEAR? ARE WE STARTING THE YEAR FULL OR ARE WE KIND OF EACH WINTER SEASON WE WE DO GO IN WITH ABOUT 3000 TON. BUT YOU COULD GO THROUGH THAT WITH WITH THREE CONSECUTIVE STORMS AND YOU'RE WIPED OUT. SO ALL TOWNSHIPS AND MUNICIPALITIES ARE PLACED IN THEIR SALT ORDERS. AND THERE'S ALWAYS A BACKLOG THAT THE SUPPLIER JUST CAN'T MEET THE DEMAND. SO THERE'S ALWAYS A DELAY IN SHIPMENT. AND THEY'LL SEND YOU A LOAD HERE, A LOAD THERE. BUT IF YOU'RE FACING IF WE'RE IN THE WINTER AND WE'RE THERE'S FREQUENT STORMS THAT ARE BACK TO BACK WITH SEVERE COLD TEMPERATURES, THERE'S A GOOD PROBABILITY THAT WE WON'T HAVE SALT TO FIGHT A STORM. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. NO. AND I THINK LAST YEAR WAS A TESTAMENT TO JUST SEEING JUST HOW MUCH WE CAN GET HIT. ABSOLUTELY. AND, AND I GUESS I WAS MORE SO MY QUESTION, LIKE, COMPARED TO LIKE LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, IS THAT A SITUATION WHERE IF WE HAD, YOU KNOW, 6000 TONS AT THE START OF THE SEASON, WE WOULD HAVE POTENTIALLY BEEN BEEN SET FOR THE WHOLE SEASON. WE'D BE SET FOR THE WHOLE SEASON. AND THAT'S OUR GOAL IS TO, TO GO IN EVERY, EACH WINTER SEASON FULLY STOCKED WITH THIS 6000 TONS. I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT THAT

[00:10:02]

SO WE'LL DEFINITELY BE ABLE TO REUSE IT. OKAY. AWESOME. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? DO I HAVE TO KEEP GO AHEAD. OKAY. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. I SHOULD I KEEP ON SAYING TO THE PUBLIC IF THEY HAVE ANY COMMENTS, ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO ONE HERE, JUST ANY COMMENTS FROM THE MEMBERS. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? THE PUBLIC. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I NEED A MOTION. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE.

OKAY. THIS WILL BE MOVED FAVORABLY TO FULL COUNCIL. GO AHEAD. WE'RE DONE. I BELIEVE WE ARE. THERE'S ONE MORE. ACTUALLY, NO, WE HAVE BILL 80. OKAY. I'LL WAIT. BILL 80. BILL 80 AMENDS

[15-8728 Bill 80 Amending the 2026 Capital Fund Budget to provide for an increase of Two Hundred Ninety-Six Thousand Dollars ($296,000.00) to fund the safety improvements and accessibility at South 10th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive by installing ADA compliant ramps, high-visibility crosswalks, and upgraded traffic control measures to enhance pedestrian safety. This is grant funded through the Transportation Alternatives Set Aside Program (TASA) with no match required. Additionally, amending the 2026 Capital Fund Budget for a transfer of Fourteen Thousand Dollars ($14,000.00) from accounts associated with the Traffic Signals-Upgrade and Thirty-Three Thousand One Hundred Thirty-Five Dollars and 45/100 ($33,135.45) from accounts associated with the Street Lighting Upgrade to the 10th Street & MLK Safety Improvements project. ]

I BELIEVE MR. SHORTER WAS THE FACT THAT IT WAS A REMOVAL, NOT THE PLOWING. CORRECT. SO I THINK THERE'S A MISCONCEPTION OUT THERE IN TERMS OF WHAT THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS ACTUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR. SO WE'RE WE'RE RESPONSIBLE ULTIMATELY TO PROVIDE SAFE AND PASSABLE ROADWAYS, WHICH THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT DID A FANTASTIC JOB, AS YOU ALLUDED TO, WITHIN 24 HOURS, WE HAD WE HAD EACH ROADWAY OPENED UP. IT WAS SAFE. IT WAS PASSABLE. OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS WERE ABLE TO RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES AND CALLS WITHOUT EXPERIENCING ANY SETBACKS OR DELAYS. BUT I THINK WHERE THE CONFUSION CAME IN IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC EXPECTED THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN TO REMOVE SNOW TO CREATE ON STREET PARKING. I THINK THOSE WERE THE MAJORITY OF THE CALLS AND COMPLAINTS THAT WE WERE ALL RECEIVING, WHETHER IT BE A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER OR MY OFFICE WAS RECEIVING, WAS THERE WERE EXPECTATIONS FOR US TO REMOVE SNOW TO CREATE ON STREET PARKING? AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION IN TERMS OF WHAT THE RESPONSIBILITIES ARE FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. WE WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE? I KNOW IN THE PAST, BECAUSE I LIVED ON 12TH AND SHOE AND HAVING HUMONGOUS THROUGH THE YEARS AND REMEMBER WATCHING THE SNOW REMOVAL, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE BIG SHOVEL. AND THAT WASN'T JUST FOR PARKING. I MEAN, IT WAS IT WAS SAFETY AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY THIS YEAR WE DIDN'T. IT'S NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, IS IT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY? WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY? IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY. AND THE CITY

[00:15:04]

IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE IT'S VERY COSTLY OR IT'S VERY COSTLY. AND IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE, THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WE'RE THAT WE WANT TO PROVIDE TO OUR RESIDENTS. I WITH ALL THE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE THAT I HAVE WITH SNOW OPERATIONS, I KNOW OUR ROADWAYS ARE WIDE ENOUGH WHERE THEY COULD VERY EASILY ACCOMMODATE 12IN OF SNOW WITHOUT HAVING TO GET INTO SNOW REMOVAL OPERATIONS. ANYTIME YOU GET 12IN. PLUS, WHEN YOU'RE GETTING INTO THE 1415 INCH RANGE, THEN THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND A FEW MILLION DOLLARS BRINGING A CONTRACTOR IN TO REMOVE SNOW OFF OUR CITY STREETS. SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING WASN'T SUFFICIENT ENOUGH. SO IT WAS THE PREDICAMENT WE GOT THE SNOW, THE ICE AS WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM. IT WAS A ROUGH WINTER. IT WAS JUST A ROUGH WINTER. IT WAS A ROUGH WINTER AND NORMAL UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES. ANYTIME YOU RECEIVE A 12 INCH SNOWSTORM, POST STORM USUALLY HAVE TEMPERATURES THAT ARE WELL ABOVE FREEZING AND IT DOESN'T DOESN'T STICK AROUND LONG. UNFORTUNATELY. LAST WINTER WE HAD BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES SUSTAINED BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES FOR 5 OR 6 WEEKS, AND THOSE SNOW PILES JUST DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE, DIDN'T MELT. AND I COULD UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION OF OUR RESIDENTS THAT THEY HAD NO PLACE TO PARK. I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN CENTER CITY, ALLENTOWN. I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE DURING THE HARSH WINTER WHERE PARKING IS AT A PREMIUM, BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO WHAT LEVEL OF SERVICE ARE WE TRYING TO PROVIDE FOR? WILLING TO SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO, TO BRING A CONTRACTOR IN TO REMOVE SNOW DURING A NORMAL 12 INCH SNOWSTORM? WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT. BUT THEN WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO FIND THE FUNDING TO PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE. BUT DO YOU THINK LAST YEAR, HAD WE DONE THAT, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM FOR A GOOD MONTH. IT WOULD HAVE ALLEVIATED SOME SOME OF THE ISSUES, BUT NOT ALL. AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE PRIORITIZED THE FUNDING ON THE SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTES, WHERE I THINK THE MAJORITY OF OUR COMPLAINTS WERE COMING FROM SOME OF THOSE SMALLER STREETS AND ALLEYS WHERE PEOPLE JUST HAD NOWHERE TO GO. SO THERE WAS NO SNOW REMOVAL FROM THE ALLEYS. YOU DON'T REMOVE THAT. WE DON'T REMOVE SNOW FROM THE ALLEYS. WE DON'T REMOVE THEM ON THE SECONDARY ROADWAYS. WE WE WE FOCUS ON THOSE SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTES. I WONDERED WHAT THE POLICY WAS AND AND IF IT WAS COSTLY AND BECAUSE I KNOW. HATS OFF TO WHAT YOU GUYS HAD THAT CLOUD UNBELIEVABLY WITHIN 24 HOURS. BUT THEN WE HAD SUCH A TERRIBLE PROBLEM. IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE REMOVAL. I JUST WONDERED HOW THAT WORKED. YEAH. SO SO THE MAIN FOCUS IS LIKE WOULD BE WHEN WE GET INTO REMOVAL OR ON THE MAIN ROADS, THE SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTES LIKE THE FOURTH STREET, THOMAS STREET, FRONT STREET, GORDON STREET THAT HAVE TWO LANES OF TRAVEL. BECAUSE ANYTIME YOU GET A DEEP SNOWFALL AND YOU GET 12 PLUS INCHES, THOSE TWO WAY STREETS ESSENTIALLY BECOME SINGLE TRAVEL LANES. AND THAT'S WHY IT'S CRITICAL TO TO REMOVE THE SNOW THERE. OKAY. AND ALSO ANOTHER ISSUE IS, WAS THAT NOT EVERYONE KNEW WHERE TO PARK. AND I KNOW THAT THAT THE MAYOR, YOU KNOW, HE WAS HE WAS ON FACEBOOK, YOU KNOW, TELLING PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHERE TO GO.

BUT NOT EVERYBODY USES, YOU KNOW, FACEBOOK. AND I THINK THAT WE JUST HAVE TO FIND BETTER WAYS, RIGHT, TO LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW WHERE TO PARK AHEAD OF TIME. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON WITH PUBLIC WORKS, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHERE TO PARK IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY AUTHORITY, ASKING THEM TO KEEP THE DECKS OPEN LONGER TO BE A BIG HELP. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY, SO THIS AT THIS MOMENT, I BELIEVE THAT THIS THIS

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.