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| Comm'r Michael Hudak |
This bathroom will service fans watching games involving the Bethlehem Township Athletic Association, known as the Bulldogs. That nonprofit organization, which consists entirely of volunteers, has had a contractual relationship with the Township that goes back to 1969. It offers recreational cheerleading, football, soccer, basketball, wrestling, softball, and lacrosse to all Township residents. Under the terms of its contract, it must maintain liability insurance, and the Township has agreed to subsidize the organization. Over 1,500 children participate in one or more of these sports. They receive an annual subsidy of $40,000.
Complaints About $350,000 Public Restroom
"I'm speechless, I'm speechless," complained Hudak, who argued that this proposal is opposed by 95% Township. "It's gotten so bad we had to get a guy on speaker phone so he can cast a Yes vote," he added, referring to a vote cast by vacationing Phil Barnard via speakerphone.
Noting that there are no public restrooms at four other Township parks, Hudak conjectured that the money could have instead been used to develop a brand new park along Cabernet Drive or Hope Road. Contrary to what Hudak asserted, there are public restrooms at the Township park along Farmersville Road.
"The community does not want this," he concluded.
Whether that's true is debatable, but Chetwin Terrace residents Wayne Kresge and Roy Roth spoke against spending $350,000 for public restrooms. Kresge and Roth have complained for years about storm waters coming from William Penn Highway that flood their yards during heavy downpours like one that coincided with the meeting that evening. Though the Township has taken remedial action, they have stated it is inadequate.
Of the two, Roth was more conciliatory. "I agree the kids need facilities, but do we need a Cadillac?" he asked. Much harsher, Kresge complained about spending a "small fortune" on a facility that he said would only serve 11% of the population."Is 11% of the population is worth more than my house?" he asked. "Times change," he asserted.
Kresge also questioned whether the Bulldogs have liability insurance or vendor licenses for the concession stand. Hudak stated he made the same request himself, and suspected that the answer is No.
Township Manager Melissa Shafer responded that the Bulldogs do and are required to have liability insurance, but is looking into whether a vendor's license for snacks is needed.
The $250,000 grant was recommended by the Recreation Board at their June 8 meeting by a three to two vote, with one abstention.
On talk radio, Commissioner Pat Breslin claimed he could raise $100,000 for bathrooms without involving the government. But he made no such claim at any meeting of Commissioners and said nothing before voting against seeking this grant. Shock jock Bobby Gunther Walsh suggested that this $350,000 was included in the budget so that Commissioners "can then comp one of our cronies."
Bathroom to Serve as Storage Facility
Critics of this bathroom failed to mention is that this bathroom will also double as a storage facility.
The Bethlehem Bulldogs currently pay almost $700 a month (app.$8,000/year) for storage of equipment and supplies during the off season. This facility will also provide permanent storage for shoulder pads and other equipment, much like the Steelers have in Bethlehem. Because the Bulldogs no longer will have to pay rental, they have agreed to an $8,000 cut in their annual allotment from the Township. That annual savings will probably pay for most if not all of the cost of the bathroom over its anticipated lifespan.
Why Does the Bathroom/Storage facility Cost $350,000?
In a memo prepared for Commissioners, Manager Shafer explained that the high cost for the combination bathroom and storage building is the result of the 2009 International Building Code and Township Plumbing Code. Based on parking lot capacity, she reports that the public restroom must include the following: six women's toilets; two men's toilets and one urinal; two lavatories (sinks) in each restroom; Handicapped accessible facilities for each gender; two drinking fountains (one each for wheelchair and standing persons); a service closet with water heater, mop sink, and cleaning supply storage; and a separate, "family assisted use" restroom.
Supporters of the grant offered no arguments.
38 comments:
Who is responsible for the cleaning of the shitters? Another $500 a month to keep clean?
What one has to realize is that by obtaining a grant for this need, the township is not using its funds to pay for the bathroom. Therefore we could use township funds for other important issues such as fixing storm water issues. But there isn't any storm system out there that could deal with five inches of rain in one hour. The bathroom issue has been going on for eight years or so and now some commissioners are being assertive in finally seeing this finally happen. Then you have two commissioners that are kicking and screaming this is a bad thing even though the grant will cover the cost of the bathroom. I really have a hard time understanding the motives of those two. The North 40 is the second largest park BT has while except for Hope Road which is just a field and the others are just pocket parks. People, we are talking a park used by hundreds of people And a bathroom is needed.
Looks like the boys and Men could still use a Port a John as they will have half the amount of bathrooms women do. Smh
Pat Breslin is a blowhard and doesn't even live in the Township. Someone needs to hire a PI and follow him.
Keep wasting time on ridiculously overpriced shitters. It's not like there's a widespread, chronic flooding problem the township is ignoring. This has to be the worst municipal body in the state. They can't deliver basic services and are spending wildly on toilets. This story reads more like something from The Onion.
This nonsense was all going on while the township was being flooded out. Shame on everyone who thinks these overpriced toilets are a priority. Who is going to stand up for the residents who are living a flooding nightmare every time it rains hard?
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/flooding-a-living-nightmare-for-local-residents/33603138
Certainly not ANY township commissioner or Mr. O'Hare.
I think they left a zero off the price! $3.5 million sounds more like it! You are forgetting the Italian marble foyer and the gold plated Bidets, reserved for only the football players! Plus the private showers and the 4 hot tubs so the Bull dogs can rest their aching joints after a hard hitting game!
Nobody has called this a priority. Public safety is obviously a priority. I also understand what I nightmare it must be to see your yard flooded and I have drawn attention to this several times. But the notion of screwing the kids and their parents just bc you are miserable does not sit well with me. In the worst possible way, Hudak has made this some sort of war pitting resident against resident. He has dishonestly hinted the Bulldogs have no liability insurance though he must know they do. He and Wayne Kresge are so wrapped up in a witch hunt that they are looking at goofy things like vendor licenses. They are being petty and mean-spirited just because they can't have their way. It's sad to see grown men act like this.
I don't understand the reason for voting against a grant. If the Commissioners vote for the installation of a restroom and vote against the application of the grant, doesn't that just mean the Township has to assume the entire expense of the restroom facility?
Whether or not Breslin or Hudak supports the restroom should be immaterial. They should be mature or savvy enough to know that the bathroom is going to be approved and if they truly respected the taxpayers they would have supported the application of the grant. Not many politicians can survive falling on their own swords over and over again.
That's another point. You could oppose spending all this money, but still vote to seek the grant.
For 90% of your readers who do not live in BT, who the hell cares??? Get back to juicy Norco news that all of us have to live with.
Golly that place is a zoo?
What next?
11:26, In case you haven't figured this out by now, I decide what i write about, not you.
Well then you write to yourself. Not boring stories about BT and you won't have any readers.
@3:22
This isn't a newspaper though O'Hare often covers stories better than ET does. If you don't like the subject(s) he chooses to write about, find yourself another blog or start your own. Obviously, you are an Editor In Chief and know what people want - so go out there and hoof it, providing us with more exciting, Pulitzer winning stories.
The ET is on life support. MCall is covering NorCo 10x better. LVL has polls about ridiculous topics twice a day now. Reporting has become a nuisance, rather than a staple. You get the feeling that Deegan, Falsone, Flagg and Rhodin are sitting in their cubicles doing the "news" based on surfing the internet and AP wire. Rhodin picks up "story" material on his way to and from work. It's pathetic. Yet Deegan will surely come here and tell me how wrong I am.
Bernie, just so you know, I'm not against going for a grant, or building better facilities for the kids. I just like to poke fun at all the posturing by the politicos, especially when they try to have it both ways. Plus, you have to admit, you know it is going to end up costing more than than $350k. These things have a bad habit of always costing more than anyone thought. Btw, Happy early Birthday!
10:02
HELLO MCFLY !!! Anybody home??
the same three commissioners that voted for the bathrooms voted for the grant. Hudak and Breslin voted no consistantly so i dont get you. And it's pretty obvious that the vast majority of the taxpayers don't support the bathrooms.
7:26
Grant money IS taxpayer money!! Also the township will have to spend over $150,000.00 of tax money not covered by the grant. Plus at least another $15,000.00 a year in materials and wages to maintain and clean. And have you not been paying attention, this park is not used by hundreds of people, it's used by the bulldogs period! I was involved with the bulldogs a few years back. never happier to get out. Coaches, parents, the biggest snobs you'll ever meet with a sense of entitlement that's setting our youths up for failure. In the real world not everybody gets a trophy and yes you have to MAKE the team. they are very deceptive in their claims. I've heard 1,500 kids. Nonsense. what they do is they take their 450 kids and mutiply that by 4 or 5 sports, soccer, softball, football,etc and then claim they have 1500 kids in sports. Pretty creative accounting, maybe the should do the townships books. Were you at the meetings or do you just shoot from the hip ?
Bernie,
While not a huge fan of hudak, zawarski and nolan too buy the way but i think you are way off here. You give hudak to much credit "pitting resident against resident". The bulldogs fuel that. I think hes just smart enough to use it. As for priority, you cant say safety is a priority and then spend 150 thousand of budget dollars on a bathroom and 0 dollars on safety. There are grants for storm water control as well, they should be spending my tax dollars going after them not bathrooms. I believe there already is a bathroom about a three minute walk from this field (community center).are the kids to tired to walk there ?? are we spending 350 grand because their to out of shape to walk 3 minutes ?
I think we are the ones getting screwed not the bulldogs.
this is a fiasco that will never be forgoten and used as a political sword for any election those three are in now and in the future. I'm sure hudak will be keeping close tabs on the actual cost of this if it goes through. I for one think that between cost and in kind service costs this will be way over 450 grand.
Do any of these people actually attend these meetings ? I'm at 75% at least. I never hear anybody complain afterwards.
6 to 3 ratio for toilets/urinals women to men, I take way longer to take a good dump then the missus
grants are still tax monies, just from a different source via the state
grant = taxes
Bernie, I'm curious about the contract with the Bulldogs that you mention goes back to 1969. What is the contract for? The Bulldogs are a private organization that provides sports activities and they use the township's fields. The township pays them $40,000 per year to subsidize them. Why? Is this arrangement legal? It seems like it's just a backdoor way to funnel taxpayer funds to a private non-profit organization. Do any of the other townships or boroughs in the area do this? Just curious.
According to the contract signed in 1969, the Township recognized at that time that there was a need and public demand for organized athletics. The Township agreed to help subsidize the organization as finances permitted (very open ended). The Bulldogs in turn agreed to maintain liability insurance as required by the Township and to provide athletic activities for all township residents. The Bulldogs are a private organization like the Fremmansburg-Beth Tp AA (baseball) BTVFC or Nancy Run are private organizations. They all perform services deemed important to the township and all are subsidized. This kind of arrangement is completely legal. Other boroughs and townships in the communities do this, but it is not uniform. I have a printout of a survey run by Melissa Shafer, and will try to post it tomorrow or the next day.
Vote for Joe Glagola
Hudak and Breslin - The township government EXISTS to perform functions such as this. I don't need to hear your personal opinion on youth athletics or your person hangups on taxation. We need to support our community and the children of our community. Build and maintain facilities that make life better for our citizens. This facility, while seemingly overpriced, is obviously needed and is a drop in the bucket. I'm not keen on finding whatever useless thing you'd spend this money on. Get your head out of your asses and stop speaking for the entire township. My kids are grown so my feelings are not for my personal benefit. They are for the benefit of my neighbors and young families looking to move to the Township.
Go wave your Gadsden flag elsewhere.
I would like to know to date how much has been spent on engineering / consulting fees just to come up with the $350K price tag! If you add in the engineering / inspection / and upgrades this bathroom will cost more like $500K. Mr. Atiyeh must be very happy to finally see his project moving along.
Well then you write to yourself. Not boring stories about BT and you won't have any readers.
There is NOTHING more boring than County "news".
5:40 - My kid was in the Bulldogs program when she was little and I didn't see this organization in the way you do - you sound like a grumpy old man. The only person I never dealt with was the team coach who was a parent volunteer. Stop being paranoid and stop nosing in everyone's business.
I will definitely stay off your lawn.
9:27, Atiyeh does not get involved in small projects like these, but peoople with small minds like you are free to make outrageous insinuations.
5:40 sounds very much like Hudak. The comment sounds very much like a person who has issues with the Bulldogs more than anyone else. Maybe he is upset that his little Mickey did not get to play as much as he thought he should. He attacks them by claiming they don't really serve 1500 kids because they double count and Wayne Kredge wants to see vendor licenses. This is all beginning to sound like a witch hunt.
He is wrong to say 95% are opposed to the cost. Actually, it is 100%. I know of no one who is crazy about spending that kind of money. But to thiose who think kids and kids' sports are important, it is worth it.
The notion that Commissioners have ignored storm waters whole dithering on these matters needs to be addressed. It's partially true. Hudak has Kresge and the Roth boys in his pocket, screaming about the bathrooms, thinking it will encourage him to spring for spending on Chetwin Terrace. It won't. Hudak is using them to puruse his agenda, which is to spend nothing for anyone. But Hudak has never met a development he didn't like. While he rants about Atiyeh, he approved a 282-unit mega-village on Freemansburg Ave. He is cheerleading for TOA, damn the storm waters. And so it goes.
Bernie you are completely wrong, and frankly i don't appreciate your backlash comments, you do not know everything! Just ask the previous manager about the bathrooms, and he will tell you who was originally behind it. This is not a new issue, this has been going on for a few years. Once you get the inside it will make sense and you will understand why Zawarski is supporting it.
I don't care much ewhat you appreciate. Why do I need to be on the inside it to understand? In a township that is transparent, everything shoud be out there. Sounds like someone is telling me someone is looking to make a few bucks. if that is the case, identify yourself and make your accusation very clear. I am 985% sure you are full of shit, but want to be 100% sure. Who are you saying benefits financially from this? Which Commissioner? Why do I have to talk to Howard? I like him, but there is another Manager in BT now. I believe your implication is just bullshit and part of a misguded agenda of hatred.
These buffoons don't want to spend money on anything. They want development but then they want to act as if it is still 1969. This resistance to spending tax dollars to better our community is costing it and the quality of life is going downhill fast.
Can someone from the Bulldogs please post when the push for bathrooms began, I believe it was well over eight years ago.
If you check out the links below, you can see that efforts to build restrooms at Northside have been ongoing since at least 2002. You can also see that as far back as 2003, an estimated cost was $200,000. It is now 2015.
http://www.bethlehemtownship.org/minutes/11-09-02.pdf
http://www.bethlehemtownship.org/minutes/11-01-03.pdf
http://articles.mcall.com/2003-11-02/news/3508377_1_tax-increase-commissioners-press-box
As with the democratic process, nothing is as easy it looks like it should be. With different voices being heard, a number of variables and questions kept changing the ground under which the discussions were held, including: would it be a BTAA or BT building; would BTAA or BT be paying, or sharing costs; what exactly would it include—restrooms, concession, weight room, storage, press box, meeting room, etc; legal questions re it being on public property, which then undercut efforts to have in-kind work BTAA would be able to secure, vs RFPs and prevailing wage requirements, as well as who owns/controls the building; and perhaps most importantly over the years, changes in both the BTAA and BT board make-ups, and changing budgetary realities as to funds available and the multitude of demands on those funds.
That all said, if the stars have finally aligned to allow something to happen, especially if heavily funded by grant money, I hope this comes to be. Without that grant money, the battle would no doubt be different, but if you have a window of opportunity, take it. I assume the location of the facility (I have not seen sketch plan) takes into account the field of play for existing fields.
Where is this Northside?
It would be interesting to see if Hudak can have other organizations come forward who have been "kicked off the fields",as he claims, by the Bulldogs. If he wants to show that these bathrooms are only for one group, he should have the names of the other organizations who aren't able to use this field. If he had facts to back up half of what he says people, wouldn't think he was such a liar. If what he says is true, then there are two sides to every story and perhaps there should be some sort of schedule to share this field.
It's beyond the community center. You can walk to it from there. You can turn off at Farmersville elementary and get there as well.
Thank you lighthouse! That is good to know.
TBG
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