The Bethlehem Gadfly

Items

• Airbnb: Why Should We Care? - 2nd in a series of posts on Airbnb/short-term rentals
  The Gadfly likes to be in at the beginning. And he’s not on what for this blog’s purposes we are calling the “Airbnb issue.” There was a development in this issue yesterday, and we’ll get to that, but hold on for a post or two or three while Gadfly tries to wrap his wings around this issue, wonk fashion, that has been “brewing” (bad pun as you will see) for maybe two years. In the last post Gadfly provided some basic sources to establish a timeline. Check it out. A wave of the wings to Morning Call reporters Nicole and Matt and Daryl for providing the framework for us. The issue centers on neighbors’ reacting to a Bethlehem couple in the Northside historical district renting their home (and then homes) on a short-term basis. First things first, why should the general “we” of the City care? Why is Gadfly spending time on this? Why should you read on if you don’t live in the Northside Historical District?
• Lehigh on the Northside
  Lehigh University is on the move! Literally as well as figuratively. Over the next several years, Lehigh will be adding 1500 students (the current student body is about 7000), 200 faculty and staff, and a new college (the College of Health) as part of an ambitious “Path to Prominence” aimed at moving the university to the next step in intellectual stature and national reputation.
• BPA’s Second Proposal: Increasing Fines - 28th in a series of posts on parking
  Now that the Mayor has approved BPA’s request for the increase in parking meter rates, BPA is requesting City Council to approve increases in the fine structure. And there’s a Public Safety committee meeting Wednesday Oct 10 6:30 to discuss the BPA parking fines proposal. – The Gadfly admits to wonkish behavior. I feel a wonk coming on. Here’s what puzzles me: the BPA answers to the Mayor for meter rates. And to Council for fines. Really? Who set that up and why? Is Gadfly the only one who twists his nose up in an improbable way and says, “Huh?” ...
• A Head-Scratcher - 27th in a series of posts on parking
  "I'd like to scratch my head. But Gadflies have wings. No can do. I’d like to scratch my head over the Mayor taking a pass on the suggestion that limited free parking could work fiscally. It’s clear the Mayor was listening at the September 20 public meeting. He took notes. (Neither BPA nor Desman did – boo!) Elements of the Mayor’s listening and note-taking became part of his decision. Fannnntastic! But there was a suggestion that free parking (Gadfly assumes one or two hours of such) & $25 fines would generate the same revenue as the $1.50 & $15 proposed – and have a strikingly different aura. Now what did the Mayor see that the suggestor didn’t? Did he run the math and find it just doesn’t work? I must admit that I’m very curious. In any event, would somebody run the math here? Gadfly is mathematically challenged. But he knows 9 uses for the comma, in case anybody needs help there."
• The Mayor Approves the Parking Meter Rate Hike - 26th in a series of posts on parking
  “Starting Jan. 1, Bethlehem’s meter rates will jump by 50 cents to $1.50 an hour, an increase designed to sock away money for parking garage repairs on the North Side and a new garage on the South Side.” Gadfly writes: Ahhh, didn’t take the Mayor long to pull the decision-trigger on the BPA request to raise the parking meter rates from $1/hr to $1.50/hr effective January 1, 2019.
• The Airbnb Controversy: 1st in a series of posts about Airbnb
  Through Airbnb, homeowners, who may or may not live fulltime in a house, rent rooms or the whole house on a short-term basis. Airbnb rentals might be anywhere in town, but the issue with them is acute in the Northside Historical District where speculators are buying houses and basically changing the character of the neighborhood. Residents complained to City Hall, which has responded with legislation. There has been a continued problem of enforcement of that legislation, however, and homeowners are fighting back. One owner (Brew and Williams) has sued the City over the validity of the ordinance on short-term rentals. Residents are upset. The City is trying to respond.
• The Issue of Parking Fees and Fines Now before the Mayor and Council: Part 3 - 25th in a series on parking
  The BPA proposal to raise parking meter rates and fines is the first “serious issue” that the “Bethlehem Gadfly” is covering. I hope you will see it as a model for what Gadfly is trying to achieve here. Serious talk about serious issues by serious people from all sides. Healthy dialogue. Good conversation. Gadfly sees it as his job to fairly frame issues for focused discussion. Hence, here he has taken time to lay out both sides, the BPA/Desman report and the mostly contrary views expressed at the Sept 20 public meeting. Laid them out, I think (hope), without prejudice.
• The Issue of Parking Fees and Fines Now before the Mayor and Council: Part 2 - 24th in a series on parking
  Come with Gadfly on the next step. Here is the BPA case distilled from the Desman report as best I can. Of course, take me to task for things I have missed or misconstrued. Trying to wrestle that 93-page report into something my mind can grasp on this specific topic.
• The Issue of Parking Fees and Fines Now before the Mayor and Council: Part 1 - 23rd in a series of posts on parking
  Gadfly says it’s time to perk up in regard to the issue of proposed increases in parking fees and fines. The Mayor rules on fees, Council on fines. Gadfly is puzzled on that interesting division of responsibility and will want to research that some time. But perhaps there’s a wise head in our group who can enlighten us. The BPA commissioned Desman Design to do a wide study of parking in town. The fees and fines are but part. Lots and lots more there. Interesting report. Data. Maps.
• Welcome to the Bethlehem Gadfly!
  Definition of gadfly: 1: any of various flies that annoy livestock; 2: a person who stimulates other people especially by persistent criticism; 3: someone who challenges people in positions of power. The main goal of the Gadfly blog is to provide a space for healthy public dialogue about issues of concern to Bethlehem, Pa., residents. All sides, all perspectives welcome.
• I like unique for Bethlehem
  "To me, Gadflies are sacred. Gadflies are the unofficial officials of a town, self-appointed to be the voice of the people. And one of the things I wanted to be sure to do with this blog is memorialize the gadflies. The mayors and prominent Council members will have plenty written about them in permanent, indelible ways in the official annals of our town –and deservedly so..."
• This Blog: An Archive of Public Comment, and an Example
  Gadfly knows the golf course issue is over. In fact, passing the course this morning, Gadfly could see that tree work has noticeably commenced. But one of the reasons Gadfly came out of retirement and started this blog was to provide an archive of citizen comments, a record of public participation. Over and over again Gadfly has seen commenters come to the podium at Council meetings with carefully thought out and written texts. Gadfly has been impressed over and over again at the high quality of these public comments and felt it a shame that, although covered well in Mrs. Kelchner’s minutes, the actual “voices” of the commenters evaporated from public view where residents not at the meeting might well find them of value. The blog started too late to cover the golf course issue from the beginning, but Nicole’s reporting linked below performs that function well. What Gadfly wants to do here is ask Council commenters to think of this blog as a place to archive those comments. Send your prepared texts to Gadfly. And to give you a specific example — regardless of where you stood on the golf course issue — of the thoughtful...
• "How the Garages are paid for" - 22nd in a series of posts on parking
  Lehigh Professor Breena Holland writes a letter to the Gadfly in response to an earlier letter by Vivien Steele. Dr. Holland writes: "The way this city seems to be paying for garage construction (e.g. New Street Garage) is by approving taxpayer backed general obligation bonds. If the bonds are not repaid by the Bethlehem Parking Authority (BPA), then it’s my understanding that the city has to pay off the bonds, which it would presumably do by raising taxes on residents..."
• The Northside 2027 Neighborhood Plan
  Gadfly reports on an upcoming meeting regarding Northside 2027. "On Thursday October 11 the first public meeting on Northside 2027 will be held from 6-8PM at Liberty High School in the chorus room..." The ultimate goal of [Northside 2027] is to enhance the Northside 2027 neighborhood by stemming declines in housing stock, promoting homeownership, improving the visual attractiveness of the area, ensuring vehicular/pedestrian mobility and safety, strengthening community facilities, and improving the general quality of life in the neighborhoods.
• “strongly opposed to the rate hike” - 21st in a series on parking
  Vivien Steele writes a letter to the Gadfly: "I am writing to object to the proposed increase of parking meter rates from $1 per hour to $1.50. I am strongly opposed to the rate hike for two reasons. First of all, I’m afraid the action will make shopping in Bethlehem even less attractive than it already is. I, for one, used to enjoy leisurely browsing through the little shops in Bethlehem, but because I have to pay $1 per hour to be there, I now only run into a shop for a specific item I want.,,
• "Hope for Change in Casino Ownership" - 20th in a series on parking
  A letter to the Gadfly from BASD school board president Michael Faccinetto in response to a letter from Dana Grubb: "Dana, this depends how you define success. The casino was coming with or without TIF to the site. That is the main tax driver of the TIF. Without them there would never have been enough money for the Arts Campus or the Hoover-Mason Trestle. So if you define success by the cultural benefit of that area then, yes, it’s a success. The lack of other tax paying businesses opening up shop as a result of the TIF is glaring and disappointing. With a change in casino ownership my hope is the remainder of the area will finally be sold for development."
• "The same 10 people"
  Gadfly covers an essay from Dana Grubb which begins, “For months I have heard rumors that a few members of Bethlehem’s seven-member city council have special code words they use to ridicule residents who regularly attend council meetings. . . .”
• "The Other Iron Man: Bill Scheirer"
  Gadfly profiles Bill Scheirer: "economist, community organizer, government critic, preservationist, gadfly."
• Dana: Doubtful that BASD Would Agree to TIF - 20th in a series on parking
  BASD board president Michael Faccinetto writes a letter: "I do not think the BASD Board would agree to extending the TIF. We have structured out Nitschmann MS borrowing around the return to full tax revenues in 2020-21. We are forgoing somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million each year to the Redevelopment Authority. A large portion of that is needed to fund the debt service associated with NMS going forward. While this option would save city residents from big parking increases, it would cost BASD taxpayers significantly more to make up the loss in anticipated revenue..."
• Many Cities Use Technology to Cut Parking Costs - 18th in a series on parking
  18th in a series on parking. Steve Melnick writes a letter to the Gadfly. "Instead of looking to penalize the local residents with increased meter rates, why doesn’t someone in the BPA or better yet their paid consultants look into reducing the cost of building all of the supposedly needed new garages. I brought this up during the New Street debacle and council laughed. There are many cities that use this new technology to cut costs. Check out a company called More Park System."
• Banana Factory Architects can “perfectly preserve the historic character of what they propose to demolish”
  Steve Melnick writes a letter to the Gadfly: "There is absolutely no reason that the newly proposed ArtsQuest building cannot draw upon its creative mission and have someone design a building that will perfectly preserve the historic character of what they propose to demolish."
• Questions about the Parking Meter Rate Increase Proposal, Sept 2018 - 17th in a series on parking
  17th in a series of posts on parking. Gadfly has many questions for the BPA suggested by audience responses at the September 20, 2018 public meeting.
• Options to the BPA Parking Meter Proposal, Public Meeting, September 20, 2018 - 16th in a series on parking
  Options offered to the BPA/Desman proposal offered at the public meeting September 20, 2018.
• How about Extending the TIF? - 15th in a series on parking
  15th in a series of posts on parking, includes a letter written by Dana Grubb: "I suggested another possible funding source to build the anticipated Polk Street garage. This source would use the borrowing power of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which already exists and has been used for development in the Beth Works site. The TIF is scheduled to expire in 2020..."
• Public Responses to the BPA Parking Fee Proposal: Part 4 - 14th in a series on parking
  14th in a series of posts on parking, includes links to video of public comment by Bruce E. Haines and Al Wurth