Judge Zito Affirms Bethlehem ZHB in Elias Market Appeal

Simao's "Letter to Bethlehem Politicians" Catching Fire

Tony Simao might be fighting an uphill battle for a seat on Bethlehem City Council, but his career in Hollywood is assured. His riveting video, Open Letter to Bethlehem Politicians, is going viral, at least by Bethlehem standards. When I first saw it late Monday night, there were just 4 hits. Less than 24 hours later, there were 241 views.

Simao tells me he put it together using video editing software called Nero. Its score reminded me of the beginning scenes of Gladiator, while others thought it was more like The Omen.

No matter what movie it reminds you of, it's a very telling indictment of Mayor John Callahan's mismanagement at the helm of Bethlehem. It comes fast on the heels of an independent audit showing that Bethlehem finished 2010 with a jaw-dropping $14.2 million deficit.

Amazingly, Bethlehem again made a late pension payment again, incurring a fine, despite assurances last year that it would never, ever, ever, ever, ever happen again. t continues to play games with EIT money collected for other municipalities. And most disturbing of all, it took a cool million out of federal CDBG money, without even bothering to inform Council.

Unfortunately, the video is very accurate.

"There'll be more," Simao told me last night.

Bethlehem's New Zoning Ordinance On Its Way to City Council

Bethlehem's new zoning ordinance, its first in over forty years, is on its way to City Council, but not without some controversy over one of its authors, Planning Director Darlene Heller.

Lauded as a "user friendly" ordinance, Heller has stated it provides for more appropriate, yet flexible, urban development. It maintains existing, healthy neighborhoods. Finally, it makes provisions for environmentally sensitive lands.

It's the culmination of over two years of work. Heller's Planning Department conducted public meetings in the Fall of 2009, Summer of 2010, as well as one final meeting in May. A copy of the proposed Zoning Ordinance was posted on the City website for comment, and Heller also met with different interest groups along the way.

Although Heller refuses to budge on what some City residents describe as the "Stefkoization" of a portion of Easton Avenue, her department did modify building heights along West Broad Street and dropped some planned zoning changes in some neighborhoods.

When she presented the proposed ordinance to Planners on May 26, she was still making changes to (1) ban commercial trucks (weighing over 10,000 lb.) in residential areas; (2) reduce billboard sizes along Route 378; (3) modify parking lot lighting; and (4) change nonconforming lots.

The public was still making suggestions, too. Activist Bill Shierer had ten concerns of his own, from residential zoning in a portion of Stratford Park to the 60' height limit of buildings along West Broad Street.

Before the vote, City Council candidate Al Bernotas voiced a complaint about Heller, who lives in Allentown. "We have people writing zoning ordinances who do not live here," he objected.

Planning Chair Jim Fiorentiono asked Bernotas to be more specific, but Bernotas declined, stating that naming Heller would be a violation of Robert's Rules against personal attacks. Fiorentino responded that, whether he was naming someone or not, Bernotas was still making a personal attack. "I don't think you should be attacking the hard-working people who work for the City of Bethlehem," he said.

Bernotas then suggested that the Planning Commission was about to "rubber stamp" the proposed ordinance, but Fiorentino described that as an "improper metaphor," pointing to the numerous meetings that have occurred.

Almost immediately after this exchange, Planner Steve Thode moved they recommend the Zoning Ordinance to City Council. His motion passed unanimously.

Next stop, City Council.

Callahan Blasted For Private Trash Talks

At a 6 PM news conference outside Bethlehem City Hall last night, three Republican City Council candidates lambasted Mayor John Callahan for "private" meetings with Council members to discuss problems with its 19 private trash haulers. According to one city official, there have been 1,300 complaints. Callahan has told The Express Times, "We know we have a problem and we're going to try to sit down with city council on it."

Before the news conference ever started, there was already a reaction from City Council Solicitor Chris Spadoni. In addition to decorating his office's front lawn with a J. William Reynolds campaign sign, he yesterday fired an angry email to Republican candidates Al Bernotas, Tom Carroll, and Tony Simao. In it, he denies these private meetings are Sunshine Act violations.

Here's my question. If you know you have a problem with private trash haulers, wouldn't it make just a little more sense to sit down with them than with Council members? Callahan's explanation sounds like garbage. If there have been over a thousand complaints, why did Joe Kelly refuse to release any of them to Al Bernotas? Why did he instead tell Bernotas to file a Right-to-Know request, using that law as a shield to deny information, instead of providing it?

All three candidates spoke during yesterday's news conference, as about fifteen onlookers shivered in the cold evening air. Here's some of what Tom Carroll had to say.

"This is a City that this administration has brought to over $300 million in debt. This is a City that has over $12 million in running deficits over the last several years. This is a City that had an EMS building that was falling apart, and they borrowed an additional $6 million last Fall for the purpose of fixing that EMS building, didn't fix it, and then raised our taxes 6 percent. This is a City that couldn't even make its first payroll of the new year. And then, with all these other pressing problems, he wants to meet, one-on-one, with the individual members of Council to talk about contract hauling.

"Did he meet with the haulers individually? No. These are businessmen in our City, who make a living and pay their taxes, and he wants to take away our right as citizens to contract with our own individual haulers and he wants to put these people out of business while at the same time, grabbing whatever money he can in that process because he has so fiscally mismanaged this City.

"We give credit to the two Council members that [sic] currently serve on this Council, who refused to meet with the Mayor, David DiGiacinto and Jean Belinski. We do ask that all of the other Council members refuse to meet with him privately, one-on-one, about an issue that has been ongoing for many years. And instead, encourage the administration to talk with the contract haulers, the private haulers, about this issue."

Private hauler Andy Prickler (Andy's Hauling) was at yesterday's news conference, and stated he's asked repeatedly to see these thousands of complaints over the past two years. They are never furnished.

Q. Do you think that the Mayor is looking at this as a way if enhancing revenue for the City?

Pricker: "Absolutely. Absolutely. We make a profit now so why wouldn't he like to take it over and make a profit?

Q. So is that what you think the motive is?

Prickler: "I believe so, yes. I still haven't seen the complaints and I said before and I'll say it again. We've asked for ... to see these complaints for over two years now. Every year, it's a thousand complaints. Here's another question to answer. Why is it the City of Bethlehem that always has this trash issue? Why is that? You don't hear any problems from Lower Saucon. You don't hear any problems from Bethlehem Township. You don't hear any problems from Bushkill Township, Lower Nazareth. These municipalities are all independently contracted haulers that are serving these communities and we don't have no problems with them so why does the City, Bethlehem, seem to always have a problem with the independent system that we have?"

Q. What was your name, sir?

Prickler: "Andy Prickler."

Q. How do you spell it?

Prickler: "P-r-i-c-k-l-e-r."

Q. You're a little prickler.

Prickler: "Yeah. Andy's Hauling and Waste Disposal."

Updated 9 AM: Callahan's side of the story is reported at Bethlehem Patch.

Dent Gives Early Endorsement to Bernotas, Carroll and Simao

Although it's by no means unusual for LV Congressman Charlie Dent to endorse a candidate for local office, he had to take some personal satisfaction in seeing a full slate of Republicans - Al Bernotas, Tom Carroll and Tony Simao - willing to take on "one party rule" in Bethlehem. Dent left Washington, D.C. at 5:30 AM Saturday just so he could publicly give them his good government stamp of approval following a Lincoln Day breakfast at Hotel Bethlehem.

Dent, who became intimately familiar with Bethlehem's mismanaged city government during his most recent Congressional race against Mayor John Callahan, stated Bethlehem "deserves better that what it's getting right now from the current administration." Noting that Bethlehem's bond rating has been downgraded, Dent said it's time for some "meaningful oversight." He called on City Council to be "watchdogs for this administration, not lapdogs."

"You will have better City government because of these guys," he said.

Dent did recognize some "voices in the wilderness," people like Jean Belinski, Mike Schweder and Dave DiGiacinto.

Below are excerpts from the candidates.

Al Bernotas on YouTube: "I'm not waiting until we get elected to City Council. We've already started to make a difference by going out for the past year and a half, two years, just listening in. We're going to do a few Right-to-Knows, we're not going to allow only City Council to see the budget, P&L and what's going on. I'd like to see the check register posted to a website. A little bit of sunshine never hurt anyone. ... I know how to balance my checkbook and take out loans and pay them back. I'd like to help the City administration learn to do that, and I'd like to make sure that City Council watches everything that's going on, and communicates with the people."

Tom Carroll on YouTube: "The City is already $300 million in debt. That means that for every adult over 18 in the City of Bethlehem, we all owe, just for the debt of this City, $5,000 a person. ... The administration says, 'We have a revenue problem. They do not. They have had a 150% increase in revenue since 2000. They do not have a revenue problem. They do not have a tax problem. They have a spending problem and they have a borrowing problem."

Tony Simao on YouTube: "There comes a point in time when the tough choices have to be made. ... Ron Angle comes to mind, the Northampton County Bulldog, as he's known in some circles. I believe that that's my type of character as well. I don't like incompetence. I don't like waste. It seems like there is a lot of it going on in the City of Bethlehem to the point where now, at a national level, Wall Street is taking notice and lowering bond ratings."

On the Democrats' side of the ticket, City Council Prez Bob Donchez and J. Willie Reynolds are seeking reelection. Mike Recchiuti, a lawyer and member of the City's Parking Authority, is also seeking your approval.

(Blogger's Note: I was unable to attend this endorsement due to a family commitment.)