Yesterday, I told you that the Slate Belt is suffering. Nobody builds slate roofs anymore. The garment industry has moved to China, Bangladesh and Viet Nam. Two County Council members made that very clear last week. Tom Giovanni said his father-in-law struggles to pay his taxes. John Goffredo describes it as "no stores, no restaurants, no anything." But that weakness might also be that area's strength. There are people who will buy $700,000 homes at Saddle Ridge precisely because there are "no stores, no restaurants, no anything." They like rambling over one lane bridges or watching coyotes dart through their yards and are willing to commute an hour or more one-way for that lifestyle. These are the people who oppose extending a LERTA that will bring industry and jobs to UMBT. They're already angry about increased truck traffic on 611 caused by a highway project in Jersey. They need no jobs, If truth be told, these might very well be the township's majority. Given how controversial this has been, I was a bit surprised last week when developer Lou Pektor got up and told County Council he doesn't really need it.
Between yesterday and today, I received a copy of the county LERTA ordinance. By its own terms, it ends after five years. So Executive Lamont McClure made no unilateral decision to end it, as I mistakenly suggested yesterday. It ended by its own terms.
Does it matter?
Pektor told Council, "While we would like to have the LERTA extended, whether it's extended or not, our project will go ahead. It's gonna' make it less competitive, it'll make it harder for us to get manufacturing users versus general warehouse logistics that everyone is so fearful of. "
The reason Pektor believes his project will draw manufacturing because it is right on the PGM grid with a 230 Megawatt agreement. He said that is a major draw for the three companies that are interested. he added that these companies use the rails, not trucks.
Since Pektor has stated that his project will go forward without a LERTA, why give him one? He hinted that might tempt him to build warehouses, but he's provided no guarantee that he he will mostly go with manufacturing.
I believe Council could grant a LERTA on the condition that it only applies to manufacturing facilities. And just in case someone wants to get cute and challenge this condition, Council could add a clause stating that the LERTA expires automatically if it is challenged.
18 comments:
The electrical issue is silly. There's lots of access to lots of juice in the other townships that have been swamped with warehousing, not manufacturing. UMBT is getting warehouses, lots of warehouses. The promise of manufacturing is near the top of the list of the world's great lies (e.g. the check's in the mail, a dog ate my homework, you can wear the dress after the wedding, John Fetterman is fit and capable, etc.). Pektor's spawn's threat of jamming in warehouses in lieu of manufacturing if they don't get the LERTA was a nice touch. Very neighborly. The Pektors can take their racket, fold it sideways, and insert in their only end that works as designed. No lies. No warehouses. No crooked Santa schemes based upon those lies. Does anybody really think Ed Nelson has any idea what he's doing? He can't count to eleven without dropping his pants and removing his diaper. Stop the warehouse madness. This ends very badly for UMBT.
LP - almost as reliable and believable as tRUMP.
How many contractors and suppliers has Pektor and his umpteen llc's, screwed over, over the years?
If there is one incontrovertible rule in life, it is this - NO NOT TRUST LOU PEKTOR.
Thank you.
Lou is a Moravian grad and is therefore beyond reproach.
Soi when does anyone with any sense believe what any developer of anything says? LERTA's fly out, left and right and the local municipalities end up giving them any slack or variance they want. Check how affordable apartment developments are despite th rules, these guys still get exemptions. Pector owns the land, if you are not happy make him an offer otherwise something will be there better to incentivize manufacturing over warehouses.
Trust Lou Pektor? Are you kidding? Yeah, all mfg buildings going in..... chuckle chuckle. All"accessory" use for mfg lol. No definition of how much square footage or percentage of space is "mfg" relative to the "accessory W/H" portion of the building.
I asked the question at a local TWP meeting and was told it will be monitored as follows: "it depends on how many trucks go in/out". I guess the means more trucks = more "warehouse" use? Huh?? Who is hiring the truck counter?? And if it is "light mfg", why the need to seek a variance on building height from 25' to 35'. Ummm, yeah, OK.
Took a look at Google Maps and then OpenRailwayMaps to see what rail lines go up there and where they connect to the national system. The lines weave their way through Bangor and head across the Delaware to connect to the old Bel-Del Penny line along the east bank towards Phillipsburg.
Neither of the two connections inside the township look like they have had much use in years. I haven’t had boots on the ground there. Can other readers recall how often trains go north of Bangor and Martins Creek?
Are these rail rights-of-way worth freshening up by Norfolk Southern? Is there money to be made moving freight to and from the township?
If you trust Pektor, you have only yourselves to blame. When's the last time a solid business idea emerged from Moravian? If you include today, the answer is never. The reasonable people on council know this plan for the turd it is. Just say no to more wasteful warehouses.
@7:00 you are a clown and do not understand the transmission of the power grid. Pektor's location provides a unique access to the power grid which very few other locations do in the region. Being next to an old power plant it has access that cannot be match almost all of the designated industrial areas in Lehigh and Northampton county. You just sound like an angry individual upset with their own life and are trying to bash anyone and everyone else. So go back and crawl under your rock where probably most people would be more happy for you to stay..
Bernie - Most northbound rail currently ends at the feed mill (Ardent Mills??) just south of Martins Creek however when looking at the rail near Pektors property the line through the Gap and near Slateford have been regularly maintained and utilized mostly for car storage. The tracks between Portland and Martins creeks are maintained and had repairs/maintenance done on them as recent as a few years ago. Through trains on this line have been limited but seem to run at least a few times a year for specialty purposes.
10:02 thinks UMBT is getting manufacturing. Lol. The naivete never ends. He or she also thinks the rest of the Lehigh Valley lacks in the ability to run 3-phase industrial electric to run manufacturing machinery. How cute. How stupid. There must be some super secret special electrical juice that courses through that area.
Or worse, Biden!
Maybe someone from East Palestine, OH can come in and talk about the benefits of “freshening up” the rail rights-of-way.
If UMB feels they really need this LERTA; maybe County council can look into allowing it ONLY for buildings that are truely used for manufacturing and not just warehouses. This can be monitored by the county Assessment office since they will be the ones that will be dealing with the LERTA. Lets just say its a partial Lerta that applies to certain conditions. Just a thought.
I'm a Moravian grad. Didn't realize that made us beyond reproach.
Didn't you get accepted to Moravian?
I did, although Moravian has repeatedly offered me money to deny it.
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