Will Lehigh County Save Wehr's Dam?

On Wednesday evening I asked Lehigh County to value our history, and save Wehr's Dam.  The South Whitehall commissioners, in a disingenuous maneuver, decided to put the issue to referendum.  The dam is in overall good condition.  That's exactly how it was described in the inspection report by the state in 2012.  In 2014, the Wildlands Conservancy set their sights on it's destruction.  They used $259,000 of state tax money on a study designed to find the dam deficient.  Their engineer for hire, reported that it would cost $1.5 million to repair the dam.  Previously, before the Wildlands desired it's destruction,  township workers themselves would repair any issues noted on state inspections.   Myself, and several other people including descendants of the Wehr family,  managed enough public outcry in 2014 to halt it's destruction at that time.

Although, the South Whitehall Commissioners were supposed to hire a masonry contractor to estimate the true work, they instead bowed to the Wildlands connections,  and instituted another engineering study,  this time coming up with a $600,000 cost.  This figure was high enough that they could justify a referendum,  asking the taxpayers if they mind paying more taxes to repair the dam.  Referendums which cost the taxpayer money are almost always rejected. In the last referendum,  township taxpayers declined a new library for that very reason.  In 2014,  6,700 signatures of support were gathered at the dam itself.  The dam has been a destination for over 100 years.

One South Whitehall commissioner, David Bond, incredibly stated that he now favors a referendum, because he doesn't know how many of those signatures were from residents of South Whitehall.  I don't know either, but do know that most were residents of Lehigh County.  I have asked the County to intervene, because  of conflicts at the township level.  The Wildlands is the major park consultant for the township, and the township's park director is the son of a Wildlands director.  Beyond being a county destination for over a century, the former mill and remaining dam were part of our agricultural history. We seek to preserve thousands of acres of farmland, for which there are no farmers or agricultural demand. Let us resolve to save one more third of an acre.  Nowhere else can county residents see water flow over a dam and under a covered bridge.  I'm sick of history being destroyed by greed and cronyism,  and call upon County Executive Muller and the commissioners to save this beautiful part of our history called Wehr's Dam.

photocredit:Michael Kubel / The Morning Call

Adventure Allentown Omission

The Adventure Allentown magazine for Spring/Summer 2016 is being circulated throughout Allentown. In the front pages, Mayor Pawlowski takes credit for many things that he wasn't involved in. Pardon my ego, but one of the things the city takes credit for is the fruit of my labor.  Improvement to the steps at Fountain Park began with a post on this blog in 2008, entitled Stairway To Shame. Subsequently, I created public interest by writing numerous pieces about the WPA, and holding several meetings at the Allentown Library. Paul Carpenter joined me on an inspection of the steps, and wrote a column about the needed repairs. During this period I invited Karen El-Chaar, Director of Allentown Friends Of The Parks, for a private tour of Allentown's WPA structures. El-Chaar secured a grant from Trexler Trust, which was used to replace missing steps and repoint at Fountain. During those repairs last year, I prevailed upon Linday Taylor, Allentown Park Director, to allow the stone masons to also seal the the open top of the Union Terrace stairwell wall. While I wouldn't expect that Pawlowski would mention my name, that photograph in the city magazine represents over seven years of my work.

 Although, I'm not mentioned, The Wildlands Conservancy is featured on a full page. That organization, with no regard to the uniqueness of our parks, has been dictating the park policy throughout Lehigh Valley. Our iconic structures are allowed to crumble, and in some cases are intentionally demolished, to accommodate their agenda, for which they harvest state grants. Tonight, I will make a presentation on behalf of our history.

Allentown, Revitalized or Devastated?

Driving down the arena block of Allentown, one would hardly know that behind all the buildings on the other side of the street,  there is nothing.  An entire square block of buildings has been leveled in preparation for the NIZ baron's mega-project.  The baron, J.B. Reilly, has put those plans on mothballs, and now is going to build an office condo at 6th and Hamilton.  Although the Morning Call has been promoting that smaller, alternative project, they haven't shown one photograph of the devastation two blocks away.

Before anything was built in the NIZ, it was reported that National Penn loaned J.B.Reilly $16 million for site acquisitions.  In the last two years over $30 million a year of state tax money has gone for Reilly's debt service. Did the taxpayers of Pennsylvania pay to create this devastation?  Rather than cutting ribbons for Mr. Reilly,  our state representatives, Michael Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer, would better serve their constituents by getting answers to the questions asked on this blog.

What sort of town allows one person to displace hundreds of residents, and level dozens of buildings with no public input?   Between an ambitious mayor and an agenda driven newspaper,  we now have a wasteland in the heart of Allentown.

Allentown's Future

Contemplating Allentown's future seems somewhat bleak, certainly compared to its past. The All American City of the Mack and Western Electric era resulted in a large middle class,  which  supported three large urban department stores.  Now, we deem some office workers, poached from the suburbs, as a measure of success. The second NIZ, at the waterfront, will now poach their anchor tenant, Talen Energy, from the Hamilton Street PPL Plaza.  Our current leadership is under a cloud of alleged corruption.  Even our newspaper has been for sale for the last decade.

Before Mayor Pawlowski started working for his predecessor, Roy Afflerbach, he headed the Alliance For Building Communities. When he covered the front of their historic brick building in dryvit, I knew that he had no sense of history or aesthetics. He then gave City Line Construction a grant to smear the stuff on their building. Even our historical society, rather than featuring our history,  has shows on Abraham Lincoln. This week I will attempt to garner some interest in preserving the iconic Wehr's Dam, which has been a destination for over 100 years. The dam is again under threat by the South Whitehall Commissioners, who are likewise clueless about history.

We who care about such things as ethics, beauty and history,  face a difficult challenge.  We must stand fast,  despite the indifference of the elected officials,  and the preoccupation of a public which is struggling just to get by.  

Morning Call Reporter Greatly Offended

Let's start an office pool on when Morning Call reporters become paid PR flacks for JB or the NIZ. Not one mention in this story that the building was rushed ahead because of the failure of the Walnut Street project to materialize. And exactly who are these Philadelphia companies forming the line to move to Allentown? Are there no questions asked?  Comment on Morning Call story about Reilly's New Office Condos

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 I take great offense to the PR crack. No one has followed the NIZ -- from its warts and damage to the state tax payer to its benefits to Allentown -- more than us. We did print an entire story saying exactly that yesterday. Here's the link.   Reply by Matt Assad on Morning Call comment section

Mr. Assad, actually you had written three stories within two days on Reilly's new project.   Understand that every project, or even tenant, of  Reilly's is treated like news, which is then repeated, again and  again.  Understand that everyone else has to pay to promote or advertise their real estate, and pay dearly.  I snickered yesterday about the dining review of Vince's Cheesesteaks.  After numerous articles about their opening,  the paper now does a dining review on them,  on a cheesesteak?  You may take offense,  but we're also offended, at the wholesale promotion of Reilly's NIZ.  To my knowledge, except in your comment above,  you or the paper had never previously linked the words NIZ and damage.

I understand that you're offended.  I can also believe that the Morning Call genuinely believes that the NIZ's  benefits to Allentown deserve special treatment.  I suggest that it has gotten enough special treatment. By the way, someone has chronicled the NIZ's warts and damage more than the Morning Call.

NIZ Injuries To Allentown

The NIZ has fostered various injuries on the city and it's citizens.  Reilly's dashed hopes for a mega project, encompassing an entire block, 7th to 8th and Hamilton to Walnut, resulted in the displacement of numerous  businesses and residents.  Furthermore, we lost rich history, such as the Elks Club.  Yesterday afternoon the paper ran it's second story of the day promoting Reilly's much smaller, substituted office condo project. The article is called  Five Things To Know about the new project.  There's actually six, and the sixth is that the paper never stops promoting Reilly's interests. This morning the paper continues with it's third piece on the new building, within two days.  Putting aside this endless cheerleading by The Morning Call,  the NIZ has surely peaked. Although a number of tenants were poached from different locations,  there was no net gain for the region.  A responsible Harrisburg would be analyzing  the consequences inflicted on the area.  However,  responsibility and Harrisburg have never been acquainted.

As I commented yesterday, Talen workers will be isolated down at the river, almost punished, if you  will.  The surrounding 6th Ward certainly doesn't provide much ambience.  Expect our local and state taxes to be expended there, to embellish Jaindl's position. The tearing out of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Old Main tracks through that parcel is another history victim of the NIZ.

photo of former Elks Club on S. 8th St., prepared for demolition, to make way for now cancelled mega-project by J.B. Reilly

Subsidizing Pawlowski's Water Deal

Readers of this blog may take the municipal news reports at face value, but I don't.  One of the reasons I write this blog is because I discovered, over my years of gadflying, is that the public is on a need to know basis.  Reports yesterday indicated that the Lehigh County Water Authority has to raise it's suburban rates because of aging infrastructure.  Some of their pipes are now 50 years old.  Actually, for a water system, they're a youngin.  Furthermore, most of their system is much newer.  What you will be actually doing is subsidizing the ill advised water lease from Allentown.

The water lease was a bad deal for both sides.  Bad for most of the Authority's customers for the reason stated above.  Bad for Allentown because that payoff by the Authority will be squandered, as opposed to being applied to Afflerbach's bad police pension deal.

So, we now have new bad deals to cope with old bad deals. What a surprise!