Bethlehem's Parks: Enjoy Them, But Respect Them

Mayor Bob Donchez

Over the past several years, Bethlehem's Saucon Park has been increasingly inundated by out-of-town visitors who have come in by the busload and have taxed limited City resources. Alcohol, boomboxes, open fires, damming the creek to create swimming holes, disruption of reserved picnics and damages to the rest rooms were becoming a regular occurrence. Though Mayor Bob Donchez states the "overwhelming majority" of park visitors are considerate, those who are not have made the park less desirable to residents. So Bethlehem has adopted tough new rules to ensure that Saucon and Monocacy Parks no longer suffer from overuse. Between Memorial and Labor Day, those who violate park regulations will see their fines doubled.

"Enjoy it, but respect it!" is Bethlehem Police Chief Mark DiLuzio's admonition. There will be no swimming in either park. Alcohol will be prohibited, except in pavilions by permit. Portable grills and open fires will be banned. Tents and the construction of temporary structures will also be a violation. There will be more "no parking" signs in grassy areas, barriers along Fire Lane to prevent illegal parking and the lot used by Bethlehem Saints will be gated.

Parks Director Jane Persa

Two police officers will patrol from dawn to dusk by horse, bicycle and on foot. The weekend before Memorial Day, no citations will be issued. Chief DiLuzio explained that officers will take that weekend to educate and inform violators. After that, someone caught swimming could face a fine between $100 and $300, along with court costs.

If the parks become overcrowded, Chief DiLuzio said they will be closed.

Parks Director Jane Persa stressed, "We're not trying to keep people out of the parks." But she added that pavilion reservations are down because picnics are often disrupted by other park visitors. "We think people are a little worried to go there," she said.

Mayor Donchez met with residents who live near Saucon Park before proposing rule changes approved by City Council. he called this matter a "quality of life" issue, and plans to meet with residents again during the middle of the Summer to see what tweaks are needed.

Saucon Park is Bethlehem's oldest park, said Donchez. It was opened on July 4, 1919, under Mayor Archibald Johnston and was built with donations he sought from local citizens and businesses. A swimming pool located there has been closed, but may reopen in the future as a splash park.

Monocacy Park, which was once heavily thicketed swampland, was established in the 1930s as a WPA project.

Bethlehem Park Rules - 2016 by BernieOHare

DEP: Black Fly (Gnat) Suppression Program Started Late, Ended Early This year

On Monday, in what I've dubbed the Black Fly Bowl, the biting gnats at Becahi's practice fields flew off with the Golden Hawk mascot. Yesterday, they reportedly grabbed a few linemen, who were a bit slower than the backs in getting away. As many of my readers told me, they've been bad just about everywhere.

Why?

The state DEP, which operates the Pennsylvania Black Fly Suppression Program, has answered that question. They started spraying about a month later and ended about a month sooner than is usual, apparently as a result of budget constraints. Here's an excerpt of an email I received yesterday from one of their specialists.

"The operational season for 2014 began in mid-May and all control efforts throughout the Commonwealth concluded the first week of August. In prior years, the Program would conduct control operations from mid to late April into late August or early September. The combination of starting the Program later than normal, high stream flows throughout the season due to abnormal rainfall and the early termination of control efforts due to exhaustion of funds resulted in noticeably higher levels of gnats in 2014 compared to prior seasons. The Program utilized available funding as efficiently as possible to offer some relief from gnats to all participating counties Statewide."

So they're here, whether we like it or not. How do we deal with them? The DEP advises,

"Unfortunately, there are very few if any good ways to repel them. Deet does not seem to greatly affect them like it does mosquitoes. I’ve heard of people using dryer sheets and Avon Skin So Soft, but I’ve had an equal amount of people tell me they don’t work. The two items that seem to work best are punk sticks and cigars. Smoke seems to be an irritant they do not like."

Wayne Grube Memorial Park Now Complete

Although it officially opened last October, engineers still had a few odds and ends left at Wayne A. Grube Memorial Park, located along Weaversville Road in Allen Township. Those are now finished, according to report from Northampton County Executive John Stoffa to County Council. He calls the park "a major accomplishment during a time when most counties and municipalities would not have entertained such a project." He hopes it "will be enjoyed by thousands of Northampton County residents for years to come."

Allentown Denies Interest in Lumber Business

When Allentown Parks & Recreation hired Christopher Chronister of CC Forestry Services in Muncy, Lycoming County, for an inventory of the Queen City's South Mountain Reservoir Forest, his mission was to determine the market value of all ”merchantable timber” and to provide a ”detailed map…outlining areas with the most harvest potential.” Then, when the City refused to release a draft report to The Morning Call, local environmentalists became concerned. Did Pawlowski plan to denude the forest and install another destination playground? Last night, everyone finally got an answer.

Parks Director Greg A. Weitzel assured Council member Ray O'Connell at last night's Parks & Recreation Committee meeting that the City has no designs on harvesting the forest. For one thing, he explained it's "too small for that." He said the City might realize "some minimal dollars" down the road as it removes some trees, but stressed that his main goal is to "get more people to appreciate South Mountain and not abuse the mountain." He gave a report detailing trail erosion as the result of ATV use, and also indicated there are some illegal tree stands and dumps. But overall, the South Mountain Forest is an "incredible natural resource", a "treasure", and a "natural laboratory."

So what did CC Forestry Services do? According to Weitzell, an inventory of 91 acres located off S 10th Street and another 65 acres off S 28th Street. Four thousand trees were counted, and the most dominant species are 1,000 yellow poplars. But Weitzell also noted the existence of spicebush, which deer don't like, as well as some invasive plants like garlic mustard.

According to Weitzell, the City will now form a management committee, conduct a detailed survey and fence off forty acres to deter deer browsing.

"Where will the deer go?" asked Council member Jeanette Eichenwald. Weitzell doesn't really know, prompting city activist Dennis Pearson to speculate that many of them will probably take up residence at Allentown State Hospital.

They probably don't know it's closing.

Eichenwald also expressed her disappointment that the draft report was kept from the public eye, noting that this is what leads to wild speculation.

Dan Poresky, a member of Allentown's Environmental Advisory Council, complained that the "EAC has been looked to for opinions on what is going on, but for the most part, we have no idea what is going on. We're playing catch up."

"Can you categorically state timber production is off the table?" asked O'Connell.

"It never was on the table," answered managing Director Ken Bennington.

Molovinsky's Trail of Tears

Molovinsky continues his fight to preserve Allentown's parks.

Pawlowski Playground Provides For No Maintenance or Supervision

Allentown Parks Director Greg Weitzell was confirmed in February '08. Prior to that, he was executive director at Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority for seven years, starting a "destination" park.

Smaller then the 19,000 sq.ft. playground planned in A-town, it attracts 1,000 visitors per day on weekends. But guess what? "[P]ark officials still face years of hard work to maintain the facilities and natural environment. "

So what provisions have been made for maintenance in Allentown? None. According to Pawlowski, the "investment in the park will promote increased appreciation and stewardship." Alrighty then. Basically, he just serves up a big bullshit burger.

In addition to failing to provide for maintenance, neither Weitzell nor Pawlowski has considered that a playground of that size, designed as it is for differently-abled children, will require supervision, too.

From the dirty dozen, here's a few facts about municipal playgrounds:

* In the time it takes you to read this post, a child will be severely injured and admitted to an emergency room as a result of a playground-related accident.

* Every year, over 170,000 children are injured at municipal playgrounds.

* Approximately twenty children die each year from playground-related injuries.

* Over 40% of all playground injuries are the result of unsupervised activity.

* Inadequate maintenance of playground equipment, especially when damage is caused by the corrosion or rot that is common in a wet environment, will result in additional injury.

A 19,000 sq. ft. playground for differently abled children, with no provision for maintenance or supervision, is negligence per se.

Pawlowski Plays the God Card

King Edwin is pulling out all the stops, doing his best to marginalize anyone standing in the way of his vague Cedar Creek Parkway improvements, which still includes a 19,000 sq. ft. playground located in a flood zone, with absolutely no provision for maintenance or supervision. His First Lady, Lisa, has launched a Facebook page attacking the "doom and gloom" crowd who've expressed concerns about little things like the city's complete refusal to produce a final plan. She gives detailed instructions on bringing kids and signs to meetings, too, and suggests using them as media props. But that's nothing compared to what happened on Sunday. Moody Bible College graduate Pawlowski has played the God card.

Life Church Pastor Randy Landis and Third Day Worship Center Pastor Charles Olmeda, heeding a plea from King/Saint Edwin, called on their flocks to attend Thursday's city council meeting to support their angelic mayor's efforts to build a 19,000 sq. ft. playground, in a flood zone, for differently-abled children. Let's face it. All of Cedar Creek Parkway is in the flood zone. I hope these servants of the Lord pray for a few inner tubes and handicapped-accessible life rafts, too.

Of course, West End residents opposed to Pawlowski's Playground are depicted as NIMBYs threatened by minorities and differently-abled children. These preachers never bothered talking to those who have concerns. Had they done so, they would have learned no one opposes this concept. The only questions have been about size, location, lack of citizen input and the city's refusal to provide for supervision.

I have spoken to some of the sheep in both of these flocks but will decline to identify them because Saint Edwin is a vengeful Lord. I then tried calling both pastors to discover why they were furthering Pawlowski's political agenda from the pulpit. No living person could speak to me at Life Church. Just recordings. At Third Day, a very nice receptionist spoke to me, but told me Pastor Charles takes off every First Day.

Despite taking the day off, Pastor Charles did take the time to send a mass email yesterday. "I am going ask that my name and the churches [sic] name be kept out of whatever disagreement and / or concerns you have with the Mayor of Allentown. Unless there is a CLEAR understanding of what was said and in what context it was used, it should not be addressed in public emails for the sake of your opposition and / or stance on this Cedar Beach issue."

Wait a tic. I already have a clear understanding. If Pastor Charles wanted his churches [sic] name out of the conversation, then why did he cast thunderbolts at those bigoted and handicapped-children-hating West Enders from his pulpit on Sunday? If he has the time to send a mass email, don't you think he had the time to return a simple phone call? I won't hold my breath.

Frustrated by this unwillingness of two evangelical preachers to speak to me, I decided to call God on his cell. Father Alex gave me the number. The Almighty One was in a foul mood yesterday because He was playing a round of golf with Moses at the time I called him, and was down six strokes.

"Jesus Christ, can't you people ever leave me alone? I'm half-tempted to send a lightning bolt up your ass right now, but you'd probably like it, O'Hare. Hey Moses, who the Hell are Pastor Charles and Randy, anyway?"

"Never heard of them."

Then the Omnipotent One put me on hold and continued playing his stupid game, draining my cell batteries until my phone died. Hope He had a good laugh. By the way, He cheats at golf. Buddy Christ told me that a year ago.

Pawlowski may think the Heavenly Father is on his side, but I got news for King/Saint Edwin. God's got leagues against the archangels on Thursday night, and Allentown City Council will be the last thing on His Heavenly Mind.

LC Taxpayers To Pay $300k For Pawlowski's Playground

Lehigh County voters overwhelmingly endorsed an open space initiative in 2002, supporting the investment of $30 million for farmland preservation, open space acquisition and parks. As Lehigh County Comm'r Dean Browning explains, "Once a proposal is submitted that is for one of the designated functions such as parks, and is within the allocation for the requesting municipality, there is little reason for it to be turned down at the County level."

On June 10th, Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $300 thousand Green Future Fund Grant Agreement between Allentown and Lehigh County for a Park Improvement Project at Cedar Creek. Sterling Raber, Lehigh County's open space maven, was originally listed as sponsor. But when it came up for a vote, Commissioners David Jones, Dan McCarthy and Bill Leiner insisted on being added as sponsors, too.

Here's the Commissioners' analysis:

"The legislation indicates the project – termed Phase I -- involves 109.62 acres in Cedar Creek Parkway along Parkway Boulevard. Work on the site included: paving the trail system; restoring the Rose Gardens reflective ponds; installing fieldstone walkways; installing four new pavilions; replacing three pedestrian bridges; restoring two existing restrooms and building a handicap accessible restroom.

"The park will be preserved and maintained as a park."

No mention is made of the destination playground.

Allentown's War of the Roses

A local newspaper is at its best when it tells us what is going on in our own community. Blogs, I've often argued, complement that coverage. We might focus on aspects discounted by the MSM, or go into much more detail. True, most of us lack the objectivity of trained journalists, but because of our interactive nature, we are often an early indication of a hot button issue. Here in Blogistan, people, and not some detached newspaper editor or publisher or even the bloggers, set the agenda.

Who would have guessed that renovations to an aging Allentown park would set off such a raging firestorm? Not me. I don't live there. I would have predicted Peanutville's major budget deficit or its near daily gunfire might bother people more than the Cedar Creek Parkway project, which includes a playground and changes to Allentown's famous rose garden. Perhaps because that's all Allentown really has left, people are very upset.

Recent Morning Call coverage provides a glimpse into the growing grass roots opposition, but makes no attempt at editorializing the competing claims. Here are links to some of the most recent stories: Residents critical of Cedar Creek changes (Pawlowski and Parks Director MIA); Allentown council set to discuss Cedar Creek Park plans (citizens complain plan too ambitious); Mayor Pawlowski agrees to delay building playground at Cedar Creek Park (until August 20, according to City Council Prez Mike D'Amore, because Mayor still MIA); Handicap-accessible park is long overdue (and Parks Director Greg Weitzell is wunderbar); and Corrections & Clarifications (Cedar Creek Parkway calls for 290 new parking spots, but much of that will be accomplished by realigning existing parking).

This is where blogs come to the rescue, supplementing the MSM with more factual background and lots of perspective.

Blogger Michael Molovinsky would have to be the leader in the editorial perspective category. He once chided me for "bitch slapping" erstwhile congressional candidate Sam Bennett, but has had no difficulty taking pot shots at everyone else - from Council members Michael Donovan and Tony Phillips to Mayor Edwin Pawlowski - over planned Cedar Beach changes. Twelve of his last thirteen posts lament an "assault" on our "quality of life." "When a Mayor from Chicago, and a Recreation Director from Philadelphia, wish to remake Allentown's historic, iconic Park System, public notification must be more than a rendering taped on a wall." Molovinsky pointedly notes the absence of both Mayor and Parks Director Weitzel from most public discussion. He accuses Tony Phillips of being asleep at the switch when park changes breezed through one of his committees a year ago. Council Prez Mike D'Amore and VP Michael Donovan are supposedly participants in a conspiracy to prevent public comment at Allentown City Council's most recent meeting, even though nearly thirty citizens were allowed to speak. Molovinsky has even started calling himself the "Shadow Mayor." Obviously, he has a point of view. Unfortunately, much of what he has written is accurate.

Nor is Molovinsky some lone voice in the wilderness, howling at the moon. As Pam Varkony makes clear, "the neighborhood is mobilized and organized. Many of them were in the crowd at Wednesday nights City Council meeting. They are concerned about traffic, parking, noise, litter, and crime."

In response to Molovinsky and this growing public criticism from grassroots groups like "Save the Parks Alletnown," Pawlowski has done what he always does when one of his "visions" is challenged. He attacks his critics. His wife has launched a Facebook page in which park opposition, particularly to a "great, big, playground," is marginalized as a small group of about 20 men. Her Facebook group is infested by political nonresidents like anonymous robocaller Rob Hopkins and commissioner wannabe Hillary Kwiatek. Opponents are snarked as "the doom and gloom crowd." "[U]nfortunately, there is no easy way to deal with people like Mr. M."

In addition, Pawlowski has posted an undated letter on the city web page, complaining about the "misinformation" that has arisen. What Pawlowski fails to acknowledge, and what was abundantly clear at Wednesday night's council meeting, is that most of this comes from the city itself. The city distributed plans it had to know were inaccurate. Parks Director Weitzell refused to make a copy of his most recent plan available on Wednesday to two female opponents who were meeting with him at the Mayor's urging. Weitzell has refused to attend public meetings and actually walked out on Wednesday night. As a result of the administration's outright refusal to be transparent, council member Michael Donovan has been forced to post the city's most recent drawings on his own blog.

Last Wednesday, city council unanimously requested the Mayor to stop his Cedar Creek Parkway renovations until the public could be better informed about his actual intentions. Before the meeting had ever started, Pawlowski assured Council Prez Mike D'Amore that nothing would be happening until August 20th. Yet on Friday, LVCI reports that construction was still going on in the Rose Garden. It appears that Pawlowski not only has ignored the sentiments of city council, but has failed to keep his own word.

What do we know so far?

1) Plans being proudly distributed by the city at Mayfair and at its web page are inaccurate and have been changed.

2) The city refused to supply a copy of its most recent plan to two West End residents.

3) Parks Director Greg Weitzel has refused to participate in public meetings, even walking out of one of them.

4) Whether for 200 or 567 kids, the city plans to build a 19,000 sq. ft. playground somewhere in Cedar Creek Parkway. By Pawlowski's own admission, the city has made no provision to address increased trash, noise and other issues at the park, to say nothing of supervision.

5) Most of the confusion surrounding the parkway appears to be the city's own doing, and it is questionable whether Pawlowski has stopped construction as promised.

5) No new parking will be added to Cedar Creek Parkway in the initial phase. In other words, there will be new parking later, which adds an impervious surface and contributes to flooding in a flood-prone area.

Rose Garden Neighborhood Ass'n Minutes

I've told you much of the misinformation concerning the Cedar Creek Parkway comes from Allentown itself. Below are the 3/4/09 Rose Garden Neighborhood Ass'n minutes, which make clear (1) Allentown is contributing $200 thousand of its own money; (2) a 567-child playground is intended, complete with 60-minute linear games; and (3) some sort of restaurant is planned. Was the city lying then or is it lying now?

ROSE GARDEN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Steering Committee

March 4, 2009

Mayor of Allentown, Ed Palowski, was in attendance for the first part of our meeting to introduce the Allentown Director of Department of Parks and Recreation, Greg Weitzel.

Greg spoke to the Rose Garden Association steering committee for over an hour regarding new and exciting changes for the Cedar Creek Parkway.

There may be up to $1.5 million in funds to spend for renovation for the projects. The Trexler Trust would appropriate 20%, State of Pennsylvania an added $400,000.00, Lehigh County has a Green Futures Fund to draw from and The City of Allentown would put in an additional $200,000.00. There is ongoing planning to have walkways eventually in place for concurrent use between Trexler Park and Cedar Creek Park.

Points for PHASE I, made to change and enhance the existing Park which holds the beloved Rose Garden, include:

A “no mow” strategy using mixed grassed, flowers, trees and shrubs which in turn will be helpful to control flooding. This will be great environmentally and make the space a sustainable community park! $20,000.00 is being used for a commissioned study called “Mirror Ponds and Muhlenberg Lake”. Masonry will be replaced in fixing existing walls of the Mirror Ponds which are going to be dredged of several feet of sludge. Species such as turtles and koi fish will be added to the ponds once they are repaired, cleaned and refilled.

Island beds with assorted plantings are in discussion as well.

The Ott Street Bridge is going to be transformed and fixed with a hopeful $2 million federal appropriation fund being sought. This would be used to replace the old metal super-structure of the bridge along with its eroding sides. Paved trails in place of existing gravel trails to be used for biking year round as well as walking when weather permits.

Taking out and replacing the existing Fitness Posts as they stay now for a LIFE TRAIL for 55+ population exercise system which would consist of light workouts performed around the loop of trails passing the pavilion; the program was developed at Penn State. Physicians could be brought in for special seminars and health issues addressing the public on the park grounds; classes such as Tai Chi could be added.

A 6 foot wide asphalt walkway put in place to be used for wheel chairs, disabled citizens and seniors to walk to and from the pavilion. 3 new bridges built for existing ones - fashioned after the replaced one already in place. Replacement of existing wooden rose trellises with composite vinyl made from recycled material. A colored finish could be used.

A new main garden trellis - open in style - with stone pillars or wooden ones; possibly done in the deco style like in Union Terrace. The city has an arborist on duty now. Since alarming statistics are out about child obesity (a 40% rate) a new playground is being planned for in Cedar Beach. This playground would be built out of flood’s way and have a capacity of 567 kids, ideally planned for ages 5-12. Discussion included how kids are disconnected from physical activity due to thriving technology which tends to compete for time that could be well spent competing against one another in active games and fun sport activities!

A new gym-style playground is going to be in placed called NEOS. It has musical and linear games up to 60 minutes in length that will encourage shared activity and exercise. SURFACE AMERICA will be furnishing the equipment; it has rubberized surfacing. PHASE II plans include:

Muhlenberg Lake is the “hot potato” in planning. It has major concerns consisting of a large geese population that has polluted the water and close to the new playground that will be built. Liability for children is a huge factor the way it stands now. Thoughts are to to drain it back, reshape it and link it to the existing stream which would make it environmentally friendly as well. Studies of what to do for the Lake will be heavy in cost and more than likely done by the Conservation District and the Army Corps of Engineers. A “City Wide Trail Feasibility Study” needs to be conducted. For more information go to Greenways.com/Allentown

Conversation came up regarding a reformation of the Park and Recreation building on the ground to a restaurant! Taking the building down to its studs and adding decorative details to the stoneware; a new kitchen made available for possible events such as catering for weddings and different parties was brought to the table as well. Fun ideas such as al fresco dining, a coffee shop, or even healthy choice refreshments were mentioned, too!

Anyone interested to volunteer for assisting in filing and managing historical papers in the Park and Recreation building? Contact Greg Weitzel at: weitzel@allentowncity.org.

The main goal is to get our parks used and enjoyed by all!

What Did the People Tell Allentown City Council

I thought I was well-prepared for Wednesday night's Allentown City Council meeting concerning Cedar Beach. I had my fancy new laptop and freh batteries in my flipcam. I got there early enough to grab a front row seat. But I forgot two things that are pretty damn essential to a writer - pen and paper. Fortunately, Lou Hershman lent me one of his quill pens, and Dr. Bob Romancheck actually gave me a clipboard. I tried to talk Romancheck into videotaping the meeting because my hands shake so much, but he wanted too much money.

Instead of posting actual video, which will slow this blog down, I'm posting links to some of the specific concerns expressed.

* Council member Michael Donovan, concerned about "process," suggests waiting for public comments until August 13.

* Council Prez Mike D'Amore resents implication he is trying to silence anyone.

* Blogger Michael Molovinsky chastises City Council for denying public right to speak earlier that evening, and explains his opposition to Cedar Beach plans.

* Michael Schware: It will be difficult to stop construction.

* Rose Garden Neighbor: There are legitimate public safety concerns associated with changes at Cedar Beach.

* What impact will Cedar Beach changes have on surrounding neighborhood?

* Stocker: I like kids. I like parks. I do not like this plan.

* Playground Advocate: Why here? Why not here?

* Donovan: "Destination playground" will only accommodate 200 - 250 children.

* Anybody consider the impact on a Class A trout stream?

* Rev. Erika Bickford: All of our parks should be handicapped-accessible.

* You're all NIMBYs.

* New plan belongs on city web page.

* Administration misinformed us.

* City refused to supply copy of plan or supporting information.

* Has anyone thought about runoff?

Tennis, Anyone?

We've started work on a new county park in Weaversville, but can we maintain the ones we have? If Nazareth resident Dale Hughes is asked that question, the answer is a resounding NO. Here's part of an email he sent me yesterday.

"I need some information about the inner workings of Northampton County's Public Works Dept., and you are the only one I could think of with knowledge of what actually goes on in such a Dept.

"This is my issue: I'm a 59 year old Nazareth taxpayer who's played tennis for recreation and exercise for about 30 years, all on public courts. I know about a thousand other people like me who do the same. The only courts that the County has are located at Louise Moore Park, a park located on donated land. These courts have been left to deteriorate every year since I began playing on them in 1980. The County has only resurfaced them once during that time in a half-assed manner, and now they are pathetic. Huge cracks run across every one, the fences are all rusted, the nets are held up with rope. The employee I talked to last year said money had been allocated to fix the courts, but it had been used for something else. This Gordon Heller guy won't return my calls.

"I need to find out how money was allocated to this Park over the years and how it was spent. Some people may think tennis is unimportant, but over the last 10 years, it has been the number one sport in growth. And, I am tired of paying taxes for every possible BS cause in this county except adult recreation. We keep spending money on jails, courts and rehabs with no end in sight. There's hundreds of adults who use this park, and we want it to be the first class facility it was at the beginning. And, if it takes a few hundred pissed off old guys in shorts showing up to disrupt a Council Meeting, well, that can be accomplished too.

"Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated."

I have forwarded Dale's concerns to Parks Superintendent Gortie Heller, and will post his reply as soon as I get it.