Hanover and Bethlehem Townships have rejected Allentown's offer to settle their NIZ challenge. Both Townships are urging the City to keep their EIT, but reduce the size of the NIZ to the downtown area around the arena. Here's a copy of the letter that went out on Friday.
Updated 9:12 AM: Matt Assad's account for The Morning Call is here.
Updated 12:05 PM: Colin McEvoy's account for The Express Times is here.
18 comments:
I thought this was just about the eit? Looks to me tgat now they have another agenda.
It does sound like a strange change of emphasis. EIT was the reason for the legality question.
Something is changing. Is there a possibilty the solicitors are veiwing the constitution issue differently>
It is about the EIT and it is also about the uneven playing filed (uniformity). What the Townships are willing to do is say, keep the EIT, but keep it in a smaller NIZ. We can afford to absorb a loss in the arena area and we want Allentown to succeed, but the development along the riverfront should not be at our expense. Since Allentown is unable to develop the riverfront for a number of years by its own admission, this is a reasonable offer.
Hey, if you don't like it, reject it. It's your hockey season.
Wow, Bernie! You really are on top of this story.
Browne may feel that the impasse isn't insurmountable but in reality it is.
1. Mayor Ed will never give up the waterfront.
2. The City will never be party to the agreement.
Pawlowski knows he is in a weak position legally If he thought otherwise, he would have attempted to fast-track this matter in the courts. But the townships could easily lose, too. They did not sue about a law that was first enacted in 2009 until 2012.
I believe that reducing the size of the NIZ is inevitable, if Pawlowski really wants that arena.
I am at a continuing education real estate class given by Lehigh University this morning and second session deal with the redevelopment of Easton. The city is working with many developers on many different buildings on many different fronts. State grants are applied for and Easton reaches out to help individuals to invest and they will do whatever they can to help facilitate the conversions and redevelopment of Easton. In the last year they facilitated 75 different grants. This is the right way to rebuild a city. I congratulate the mayor and his staff.
There are over 78 housing units being built or developed in downtown Easton.
What is going on in Allentown is wrong on so many levels. In Easton you don't hear about union thugs, kickbacks, pay to play, behind the scenes meddling, legislation that benefits just one person.
There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things.
Allentown---what you sow is what you reap.
Gretchen Logenbach ----Easton's Director of Community and Economic Development gave an excellent presentation. Thank you so much for your hard work and great presentation. This is how government should work. Mayor Panto hired a first rate person who is very dedicated to her job.
Democract is dead in Allentown. It is now an urban growth regime in which politicians and select business leaders feed off each other to promote growth at the expense of everything else. This growth for the sake of growth is actually exacerbating Allentown's problems. The poor are poorer. The uneducated are seeing less educational choices. Crime is still too high.
"Gretchen Logenbach ----Easton's Director of Community and Economic Development gave an excellent presentation"
I hear nothing but good things about her.
I don't see how the City can reduce the size of the NIZ even if they ultimately wanted to.
Wouldn't that have to go back to Harrisburg?
Hasn't the City already invested a few million in the waterfront part of the NIZ?
Hasn't the state already collected NIZ taxes from those properties?
Plus, no NIZ by the water completely sells out Twiggar and Jaindl.
My understanding is that size truly matters here. They need the full size NIZ to do the arena and Reilly's projects. You cut it back to a block or so and there isn't enough money to do it.
As Broughal notes in his letter, ANIZDA has the authority to reduce the size of the NIZ.
Allentown an still develop along the waterfront, using other economic development tools.
As far as selling out Jaindl or Twigger, Allentown's first obligation should be to its citizenry, not its urban growth regime. That's how it got into this mess.
Wow, a Panto flunky says Easton is doing things great. How amazing is that.
Pleaase spaer us the bullshit.
Looks like the Fleckster doesn't want anyone to say anything nice about a good Mayor.
It was not a too distant past that Allentown made a play for the Riverfront. Interesting how Twiggar and team were go it alone. Jaindl came in and halted Allentown's bid to takeover the Riverfront.
My take is that Dunn Twiggar dreamed of the Riverfront development way before the NIZ idea. The Riverfront was included in the NIZ because Allentown thought they never would get financing and wanted more of a say in the direction of Development.
How can a decision like this to reject be made by two lawyers without a publc discussion ? Where is the transparency ?
Litigation matters are executive session matters under the Pa. Sunshine Act. A decision to settle or sue would require official action. This does not.
In Allentown we only allow incompatent fools to sit in our administrative positions, so the real pupeters don't end up with there face in the mud.
Even the gods are LMFAO at this circus side show in Allentown?
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