Lehigh Valley Replay and Repay, The Study Of The Studies

Yesterday, The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission announced a new traffic study for Lehigh Valley. In that article they mentioned how much traffic there currently is, how much is expected, and which routes it will be using. With that information already in hand, what do they expect to learn from the new study? Last night, a symposium on the Valley again discussed our future. This blog in the past discussed Renew Lehigh Valley, the $3.4 million dollar study completed last year, which defined our present and future. Has our future changed that much in the last four months? What we really have is a cottage industry of recycled public bureaucrats, who conduct endless studies on the public's dime. Unfortunately, they're not really cottage, but fully funded organizations, costing the taxpayer extra, for those redundant reports. They in turn hire professional journalists, mostly former reporters, to publicize and legitimize their function. It's not easy for Pennsylvania to have a $30 Billion dollar budget and still be broke. That takes many Commissions, which study nothing new, but recommend another study.

Suspicions and Aspersions

In the past when I've done a speculative post on two or more subjects, I strove for a cute title, like Bits and Pieces From The Rumor Mill. Those days are past me, this baby now gets the cheap diapers.

Rumor has it that when Pawlowski recruited yes woman Candida Afif to run for City Council, she hesitated because she enjoys much time out of state at a vocation home. Pawlowski assured her that she can continue her lifestyle, and cast votes by telephone. The telephone option has been used in the past by several members over the years,  but only for important votes.

I've written numerous posts about the plans for upscale apartments in downtown, and the realities of that market. I use a dated term, yuppies, for the target demographic. Shown above is Reilly's Plywood Plaza at 7th and Linden Street. I've been informed that the previously hyped P&P Mill Luxury Apartments at 3th and Linden, has turned to Section 8 to fill their vacancies.

Lehigh County's Good Old Boys Part 2

In yesterday's post, we discuss David Jaindl being nominated to the Regional Planning Board, despite having some history of circumventing local zoning. As the largest land owner in the valley, he is essentially being invited to write the rules which will govern him. We are also watching Allentown's NIZ Baron, J.B. Reilly, write his own rules. Reillytown was created by Pat Browne, with a unique scheme allowing public state taxes to pay for Reilly's privately owned building. Any loose end was exploited by Reilly, such as even the cigarette tax going to his debt service. All along, the enablers were saying that although it's a golden goose for Reilly, the public will benefit from the increased tax base. We now learn that Reilly is appealing his assessments, greatly reducing the public benefit. His brand new buildings, paid for by the public, will pay less tax because that scheme allows him to charge less rent and show less income. Missing from that argument is that the public must make up that state tax shortfall through higher taxes and fees, and other municipalities have lost the tenants and taxes now occupying Reilly's buildings. Meanwhile, back at this circus of public exploitation, our local leaders have a cat eating mouse grin, explaining these calamities to the public. Pawlowski says that Allentown will benefit from a settlement with Reilly. There was never any mention of assessment settlements two years ago, when Pawlowski was cutting the ribbons and running for governor. County Executive Tom Muller supports Jaindl's nomination. There was nothing about that in his State Of The County report.

There really is nothing  new with these shenanigans. Today, we worship Harry Trexler and call him General. Back in his day, he was the largest land owner and developer by far. Cedar Park was actually created to enhance his west end real estate developments, on both sides of Hamilton Street. Although there was no scrutiny back then by local bloggers, I suppose that there was some dissent. Will our great grandchildren call Reilly and Jaindl generals, and picnic by their statues?

Lehigh County's Good Old Boys

When it comes to politics, I have to admit some naiveté, after all I ran as an independent. Speaking of that effort, several times when I was putting up signs last fall, I was told that Mr. Jaindl doesn't allow signs on his land. I had that experience north to the Blue Mountain, and east to Danielsville. David Jaindl's nomination to the Lehigh County Planning Commission is causing some controversy, because he is by far the largest land owner in both Lehigh and Northampton Counties. To some people, like Commissioner Percy Dougherty, the conflict is self-apparent. Ron Beitler, a Commissioner in Lower Macungie, points out that Mr. Jaindl has a record of development proposals contrary to local development guidelines. I'm curious about the people who nominated him. Sometimes the good old boys are women. After nominating him, LVPC's director Becky Bradley, has no comment other than, We're neutral. We're Switzerland. Isn't that the land of hidden bank accounts? Actually, the other paid development bureaucrats in Lehigh County government pushing for Jaindl, Rick Molchany and Frank Kane, prefer to paint him as experienced, as opposed to conflicted.

It's Like A Postcard

Last week when I prevailed on some players at City Hall to meet me in Lehigh Parkway, somebody remarked that it's like a postcard. With the creek banks now overgrown, it would difficult to recreate the nationally distributed postcards of Allentown parks from the 1950's. But the old postcards still exist, giving testimony to the beauty that was ours. There will be a formal discussion with the City Council Park and Recreation Committee next Wednesday at 5:00p.m. They will hear about stream velocity theory and habitat from the grant driven new age science crew. I will talk about beauty. I still believe that the parks were created for the pleasure of people.

reprinted from August of 2013

Bill White Should Stick To Christmas Lights

Bill White can't win with me. I either accuse him of wasting his bully pulpit on fluff like christmas lights and cake contests, or being wrong on more serious topics. Today, he's wrong on Wehr's Dam. Bill's biggest mistake is taking the Wildlands Conservancy and their bought and paid for report as gospel. For his latest column he interviewed the Wildlands Director, but didn't seek comment from one of the dam advocates. He and the director, who had told the South Whitehall commissioners that she would respect their decision and move on, keep referencing the $million dollar estimate to repair the dam. The director, Abigail Pattishall, even says that the estimate is probably on the low side. Anybody who has ever visited the dam knows that it isn't going anywhere. It's a massive concrete wedge, most of which cannot be seen, sitting on a massive concrete shelf. Two years ago, the DEP concluded that overall the dam is in good condition. Wildlands Conservancy and their contracted report by KCI, based the ridiculously overpriced repair estimate on removing all the silt in the mill pond, rerouting the creek, and rebuilding the dam completely from the shelf on up. In reality, for what the report cost, $239,000.00, the dam could have been kept in good repair for the next fifty years. Bill, stick with the cake contests.

Voodoo Science and The Wildlands Conservancy

Hanover Township and the Monocacy Creek are about to lose some beauty and history to the Wildlands Conservancy, as that grant greedy deceiver rips out another dam. Like the former Robin Hood Dam in Lehigh Parkway, these short decorative dams, less than one foot tall, are no barrier to fish migration. Almost after every rain the dams disappear as the water level rises, giving the fish easy passage. In the drier periods, the low dams help oxygenate the water. The Wildlands Conservancy comes to the municipality with a power point presentation showing how detrimental dams are to waterways. Specifics, such as that the dam is only 8 inches high, are omitted. They point out how Pennsylvania leads the nation in dam removals. We of course would be better off if the DEP concerned itself with the chemicals used by the fracking industry, and other real issues affecting our health. Local college professors are recruited to testify about about the benefits of dam removal, again generalities and site unspecific. It's a sad course of events to lose the beauty and memories enjoyed by so many people for so long in our parks. My associate Bernie O'Hare reports on this latest scheme by the Wildlands Conservancy. He evens seems to buy into their false premise. That's the problem with sacred cows, too few people are willing to see their flaws.

Robin Hood Bridge, Before and After Wildlands Conservancy's Crassness

                                       photo by Tami Quigley


Last spring I conducted a well attended tour of the WPA structures in Lehigh Parkway for  Friends Of The Allentown Parks. We ended the tour at the last WPA structure built in Allentown, the Robin Hood Bridge. This fall I unsuccessfully tried to save the dam, which was built with the bridge as part of the beautiful setting. The Wildlands Conservancy had a grant to remove the dam, from which they also harvest administrative fees. In a crass act of destruction they removed the dam, and piled the broken dam rubble around the beautiful stone piers, destroying a classic view which Allentown had enjoyed for over 70 years. A naturalist told me the other day that the project even disappointed from his environmental point of view. The stream is no deeper, the silt didn't reduce, and a large portion of the former stream-bed is exposed. Although I recognize and support Friends Of The Parks as a most worthwhile organization, I must respectfully decline their invitation to conduct another tour this coming spring. It is apparent that this Mayor, City Council and even the new park director have no appreciation of the irreplaceable gifts that were bestowed upon our park system so many years ago.  

UPDATE: The post above is reprinted from December of 2013, when it was titled, I must Respectfully Decline. I did relent, and conducted a second tour of the park last summer. The new park director referred to above was only here long enough to approve two dam destructions by the Wildlands Conservancy. The second dam removal, the Trout Hatchery Dam, may well have caused the massive fish kill last year. We now have a third new park director within two years, and another chance for responsible park stewardship, which has been long lacking.