I am by no means a fan of Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski. But if he does nothing else,he does one thing right. He waives pool fees on unbearably hot Summer days
On July 23, a Bethlehem resident asked Mayor Bob Donchez to follow suit. He failed to answer for three weeks, and then said, "It is something I have asked Director Persa to consider for next year."
Last time I checked, Bob Donchez is Mayor, not Director Persa. He certainly has the authority to waive these fee, which would certainly be appreciated by Bethlehem's less wealthy residents. The ones most likely to engage in disturbances during hot weather.
I have high regard for Mayor Donchez and his personal integrity, but this is poor leadership.
30 comments:
There are a lot who feel as you do, Bernie. Disappointment abounds.
A nice gesture in Allentown. It is a no brainier for Bedlum to follow suit.
You are right that Bob is a nice guy and has integrity. Unfortunately, he is no leader. He never was while on council. He is very fortunate to have made some very powerful childhood friends that now have helped him along.
Bernie
You are 100% correct about pool fees. Who suffers the most! Children of low income families. It's costly to pay for a large family to swim.
Bernie,
Must have a little Irish luck this morning as I'm writing about Bethlehem too and am asking permission to post outside topic:
The following is not an original idea. TV channels across the country are hosting similar events but I'd like to suggest you consider the following Bethlehem Press headline for this week's edition:
Bernie's School Bag Donation Blitz Saturday August 20th.
Please consider donating a new school bag with supplies to Bethlehem Area School District students. Drop Off this Saturday, Aug. 20, in front of the Bethlehem Press 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. All donations will be distributed by the BASD volunteers.
Ok, let me offer a different view on the subject:
City-owned pools are not cheap – to build or to operate. Reasonable rates are charged to offset those costs. By waiving the fees on the hottest days of the year, you are robbing the pools of the opportunity to recuperate some of those costs on what might be their busiest days of the year.
Also, how is free admission fair to those who have paid up front for a season pass? Will they receive rebates equal to the cost of daily admission for the days the Mayor declares free? Of course they won’t. In fact, having a policy of opening the pools for free on the hottest days might actually discourage people from buying a season pass. Why buy a pass when you know you’ll get in for free when you want it the most, or that you’ll be packed in like a sardine on those days anyway?
Incidentally, Allentown pools have been allowed to deteriorate and close under Ed Pawlowski. There are fewer pools in the city today than when he took office. Where are the people who used those pools supposed to go? Even Cedar Beach Pool, which was closed last year and was to be open for this summer, remains closed for the season due to the Pawlowski’s lack of oversight of the construction project.
Most would say that instead of opening pools for free on hot days, it is far more important to run the pools efficiently and use the revenue to properly maintain the pools. Of course, running government well doesn’t look as good on a campaign brochure as giving away some freebies.
Here’s a better suggestion – urge residents to visit their local library on hot days. It’s free, it’s air conditioned, and they might actually learn something.
Donchez will be a one term office holder - not good enough to be called mayor. Wouldn't even be where he is if it were not for the in -bred puppet masters boscola and morganelli.
Wee willie is licking his lips
Here's another suggestion that could solve two problems:
The city and school district levies a per capita tax that is largely ignored by many. Why not open the pool for free to only the residents (and their children) who have paid their per capita tax for the year?
I'm assuming that the city is still checking for residency even on the hot days, so this would just be one more record to be checked at the entrance. They could even collect the tax payment there from those who haven't paid.
At a one-time payment of around $20, it's still a bargain to get into the pool for that day and subsequent hot weather days. Low income residents aren't out anything since they're supposed to be paying the tax anyway.
Maybe not a perfect plan, but why not explore this and other ways to find a more creative solution?
Bob does not have to make a knee jerk decision regarding free swimming just because shittown does.
Tax tax tax and tax some more.
As a former Lifeguard and Pool Manager for Bethlehem Recreation)albeit 25+ years ago), this is a dangerous idea.Overwhelming these pools without the additional resources (Certified Lifeguards and such) could reap serious consequences, like a drowning. It overwhelms the chlorination process at some point also. The fact of the matter is Lifegaurds can be hard to find, and as they start returning to College, the resources just are not there anymore. So, dont judge something you may know little about. Those people with little money also are the pools that are the most dangerous to lifegaurd. When I worked Marvine and Sells(on south side, closed now), the Park Ranger would follow me on my bike until i was safely out of the area. I had been beaten up several times, and even landed in the ER once. A couple of times the residents took over the pool and we had to lock ourselves in the building and call police. Nazareth has closed because they did not have enough lifeguards this summer.
On Saturday i visited the pool to give my son a message. The pool was packed, I would say to capacity. There was one lifegaurd in the chair, two others were standing, facing each other talking, for about 5 minutes. I could not discern any others. Is NAZARETH MAYOR checking on this? Making sure the pool is safe? This is not the Lifeguards fault perse, bu the pool manager and then the Mayor.
Yesterday the pool closed because someone took a crap in it.
My son came home and said, Dad, the pool is disgusting, there is a hairball in the deep end that has bandaids and gunk that has been getting bigger and bigger all summer.
BLECK
I think he said there was a cupcake wrapper down there alos ;-)
Moral of the story, opening up fire hydrants makes more sense .
I posted anonymous to protect the innocent, i.e. my son.
7:47,I will ask the editor.
7:48, Government exists to serve the public. It is not the other way around. Revenue could be lost on hot days, but I think it would attract new customers.
9:30, You have me laughing. I have since heard from the Mayor, and this concern about safety has been raised. Apparently, the City is worried about staffing demands,and that is a very legitimate concern. .
"You are right that Bob is a nice guy and has integrity. Unfortunately, he is no leader. He never was while on council. He is very fortunate to have made some very powerful childhood friends that now have helped him along."
You obviously don't have much integrity yourself or would not be taking an anonymous shot. I also get the Morganelli insinuation, and you are completely full of shit. Bob is very much in command, and no one else. I have seen this first hand, but it does not fit your narrative.
Bernie, this is 9:30 again. Something funnier, is Lisa Stofko was a fellow lifeguard at the time. She was a year or two older, and I had a huge crush on her.
Pools are not meant to be money makers nor should they be. FREE day(s) would be a great way to promote a pool however staffing must meet the demand. I would support a community day here or there. For extended heat waves, maybe significant reduced admission to cover operaring cost and labor could be an alternative. Maybe a voluntary suggested dontation of a few bucks may be a way to cover costs while not limiting access. Giving a few extra bucks per hour to lifeguards on high demand days would be a small token of appreciation to keep our pools safe and orderly.
Municipalities should not be in the pool business. Many were WPA projects and supported by local service clubs. A couple of days of refreshment per year pales in comparison to safely crossing a properly maintained bridge. Our priorities are a mess.
While a municipal pool pales in importance to a bridge or a road, it's a great way to cool off if you can afford it. It might even reduce the violent crime rate.
12:18, What a pitiful coward you must be to slur someone and not ID yourself.
Did the lifeguard ever date Lisa?
I expect public pools to eventually be replaced with splash parks. This is happening elsewhere.
Fred Windish
Agree with Fred on this one. Liability, cost and people who treat pools like toilets will doom them.
I did not date her. She was very sweet and polite. I don't agree with her politics at all bUT I respect her, and think she cares about the lehigh valley, knock it off with the 5Th grade comments.
More like 6th or 7th. I deleted the more vulgar remarks. Like me, Lisa suffers from a curse. We beautiful people tend to be subjected to scorn by jealous people. I would like to be ugly for just one day. As a former lifeguard, you must be a beautiful person, too. It's not easy. I wish I could be ugly like Ken Kraft. I get tired of women throwing themselves at me.
A word from someone that see's beautiful manicured lawns and crystal clean swimming pools empty just waiting for a suburbanite to take a once a week dip.
On days where it's really hot, let them take a free swim at the overused city pool.
The fact that Bethlehem didn't open Clearview pool is sad and depressing. Driving through that neighborhood and remembering how it was filled with kids in the summers is sad.
I misread this the first time. I didn't realize the purpose was to allow folks to swim free on hot days to prevent crime.
Keeping folks cool will not prevent crime,
the worst crimes being committed on the American public are being planned and executed from climate controlled, air conditioned, boardrooms, news rooms, statehouses and courthouses. These people would regard a free dip in a city pool as a form of punishment.
It might prevent the unauthorized opening of fire hydrants, trespassing for the purpose of swimming, and heat exhaustion and other medical calls to 911. This aside from compassion is enough, let them swim.
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