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No surprise most SEPA with a couple deviations.
State House Republicans who voted to move budget framework forward.
Latest on the fiasco that is the #pabudget. Looks like thanks to some procedural maneuvering the Senate “budget framework” is back on the table.
What that means for liquor privatization and pension reform? Who knows. What we do know is the “framework” for spending was moved forward apparently instead of an 11 month stop gap budget. The spending plan will now require an additional 700 million in new revenue. That will be tackled in the coming days. But hey, vote for the spending package first – handle that pesky little detail about how you pay for it later. Makes sense? Right?
Speculation is that it could happen on Christmas Eve. Here come higher tax increases – Merry Christmas!??
There are lots of better sources for evaluation of what this all means. What I like to do here is post how our local LV delegation voted FYI since it’s not always easy to figure it out.
On a vote that essentially positions the 30.8B framework for consideration – as opposed for a stop gap – The original Senate Bill was sponsored by Pat Browne (R)
Voting no (you can only assume in support of a 11 month stop gap?)
Ryan Mackenzie (R)
Justin Simmons (R)
Gary Day (R)
Julie Harhart (R)
Voting yes – (in favor of a return to framework as opposed to stop gap)
Mike Schlossberg (D)
Pete Schweyer (D)
Dan McNeill (D)
I’ll say this. Whole process has been frustration. Pension reform, severance tax and liquor store privatization – all items that majority of Pennsylvanians support based on polling. And yet here we are 150+ days into a deadlock and its possible we have no action on any. Tax increases with no structural reform is total loss for Republicans who hold the majority of the general assembly.
Why? We have two parties silo’d and slotted into heavily gerrymandered districts. So each one answers to special interest masters.
In PA’s gerrymandered mess voters don’t choose politicians. Politicians choose voters. I sincerely believe that is at the core of this stalemate and the result is a lack of action on most all critical issues. I don’t blame individuals. I blame the system.
Related: HELP SLAY THE GERRYMANDERER! Support SB 484
Last iteration 134th – “Contiguous and Compact”……?
The 134th today – “Compact and Contiguous”?
Good article in the Morning Call over the weekend. Lehigh Valley Hospital charitable giving questioned. In light of this I wanted to write again about the Farr Tract. Here were my initial thoughts.
In the article LVHN CEO Brian Nester talks about the legacy of Leonard Pool. Pool of course was the founder of Air Products and provided the initial funding for LVHN’s flagship LVH-Cedar Crest campus.
Of Pools many legacies one is that of environmental stewardship. At the center of which is the 77.5-acre Pool Wildlife Sanctuary. Pool, bequeathed the sanctuary to Wildlands Conservancy in 1975.
Today, Mr. Pool’s ideals live on. You would think in light of his legacy of giving back to the community that he would be concerned with the manner LVHN is seemingly ignoring a very fair offer from the Wildlands Conservancy. One can only guess that LVHN’s submittal of a very impactful “shoe horn” development plan on such a constrained piece of land is an effort to drive up price.
I hope that at some point our community-oriented hospital network decides to get out of the land development business, hear township concerns and reconsider the offer to preserve this land.
This would still allow substantial benefit to be recognized by the network, do no harm to it’s neighbors and honor Mr. Pools legacy in his vision for the Pool Wildlife Sanctuary.
During the budget vote it was stated that Commissioners should have used reserves to balance the budget.
Couple of issues with that premise:
First, the budget was already balanced when the millage/homestead rates were considered. We did that last in the process at the final budget workshop.
The combination millage and homestead reduction is virtually revenue neutral. Before we set the millage and homestead we had already balanced the budget. One Commissioners quote that the millage increase will raise 300k in new revenue is also inaccurate. The forecast is for only a 100k increase which is within a margin of error accounting for early payments or late payments.
Second, the township doesn’t have 9M in unreserved funds. Here is why and the breakdown.
It’s important to understand Lower Macungie has an adopted fund balance policy. It represents good financial management. You can view it here. Credit goes to the prior board for doing this. I critique them often for some moves they made but this represented sound fiscal planning.
Considering all of the above it’s misleading to imply an un-designated fund balance of “10 million”. But that’s politics. It is what it is. All of the above is designated monies according to township fiscal management policies.
So what about the remaining?
Where does the remaining balance come from? Well it’s pretty simple. It came from removing the 3M+ Quarry Park Astroturf project from the 2016 budget which Commissioners Brown, Gallardo and myself did in November. Artificial turf plan nixed in Lower Macungie
What next?
Moving forward the budget process isn’t quite complete. In January the budget will be re-opened. One item I will propose, is to designate remaining un-designated funds specifically to open space and farmland preservation. This does not mean the money has to be spent. It only means it will be put into purpose restricted “savings account” that will allow the township to react if preservation opportunities arise. This protects the balance from being “chipped away at” over time. Which is always a concern.
How this fits into a preservation strategy.
Over the last two years we’ve considered a number of strategies for funding farmland and open space preservation. Commissioners agreed we did not want an income tax increase. We next explored a bond since the township will retire all our debt in 2019. The issue here is that with a bond we needed preservation targets lined up. Right now the township is actively seeking opportunities. The only strategy that allows flexibility to respond to opportunities as they arise is cash on hand. This gives us the most flexibility to preserve land without an additional tax and without taking on additional debt.
And that’s what I intend to do. I believe the township has a 5-6 year window to preserve land. I sincerely believe that the window is rapidly closing. I think I was voted into office on a clear platform centered around smarter growth, fiscal responsibility and land preservation. I’ve written extensively why I believe it makes sound financial sense. I intend to honor that promise. I’ve been working 2 years towards that goal.
12/17 Board of Commissioners agenda with detail.
Announcements & Presentations:
At the last meeting of the year we take the time to thank volunteers whose terms are ending and opt not to re-apply. We have a few this year including the current chair of the Environmental Advisory Council – Scott Alderfer. Scott served for I believe 7 years on the EAC. He’s a founding member. Huge thanks to Scott who has always been a hard working chair. Spearheaded a number of projects ranging from tree plantings to invasive plant removals. Scott is moving on from the EAC will continue to make LMT a better place by chairing the newly formed Arbor Day committee. Each year the Committee plants a tree and holds a ceremony in a township open space.
This will also be the last meeting of Commissioner Jim Lancsek who served for 4 years. Prior to that Jim was the zoning officer for 2 decades. I’m going to write a post about Jim tomorrow. He’s a good guy and I learned alot from him.
Hearings and Approvals: We have the Fields at Indian Creek Project up for final approval. This has not been a very inspiring project. It represents the kind of project we must get away from. Lower Mac is reviewing it but we only have a very small % in our township. The rest is a 50/50 split with Emmaus Borough & Upper Milford.
The project calls for 218 homes to be shoe horned on 72 acres of the former Indian Creek Golf Course.
200+ units shoehorned on the old Indian Creek Golf Course. Many units directly back onto the turnpike. A totally uninspiring project.
The concerns throughout the review were:
Bottom line with this one is it’s a real shame this golf course was never preserved. The development is a shoe horn project. Wholly uninspiring. It’s just not at all a good design. And no matter how we handle it access will always be a problem. The proximity to the turnpike also in my opinion is crazy. The noise will be constant. A large percentage of units will abut directly.
There could have been some neat opportunities to do an innovative cluster plan here. But they were never explored. End of the day the fault lies with ALL (LMT, UM AND EMMAUS) of our very poor and antiquated zoning codes which still allow projects like this. Another reason Lower Mac needs a comprehensive re-write.
Communication:
Most of the letters this week deal with volunteer board applications and appointments. thank you to all our applicants.
Engineering:
We have 4 penndot traffic signal permits on the agenda. All are related to “Grandview” crossings development. (The new weis & apartments). 3 are pretty straightforward. I still have issues with signal proposed at Willow Ln and Sauerkraut Rd. All together the township will takeover long term maintenance of by my latest count at least a DOZEN new traffic lights in the next few years. There are going to be costs…
The four signals are:
Willow Lane & Rt. 100
Alburtis Rd. & Rt. 100
Gehman & Rt. 100
Willow Ln. & Sauerkraut
Solicitor:
A request to fund a land preservation acquisition fee was put on the agenda by me. An application costs 500.00. I believe we should be doing everything possible to help out landowners who wish to permanently preserve farmland. This property in particular is a very important one. It’s on the already stressed Rt. 100 corridor and has some of the townships best soil quality.
I would ask for a blanket policy for any farmland preservation applicant to ensure everyone has the same opportunity and also that the cost is reimbursed at the end of the process that way if an applicant pulls for any reason the township isn’t stuck with the bill.
Manager:
Approving the 2016 Township budget.
Here is an email I sent out with an overview.
It goes into detail my thoughts on some of the biggest picture items. Approving the budget is one of the biggest tasks of the year. It was a multi-month process with 3 public workshops and a month long public vetting period.
If you have any questions on anything not mentioned here please email me at ronbeitler@gmail.com
Click here –> TAKE THE SURVEY <–Click here
What is the the SWLCCP?
The Southwest Lehigh County Comprehensive Plan is an effort by six municipalities to create a coordinated 10 year master plan. The Boroughs of Emmaus, Macungie, & Alburtis along with the Townships of Lower Macungie, Upper and Lower Milford are working together under the guidance of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. Bookmark the SWLCCP site!
Why are we producing a Comprehensive Plan?
By law, municipalities in the Commonwealth are required to produce a master plan every ten years. The master plan assess the state of the built environment and projects a vision to guide future development of the Borough.
Why are we working with other Municipalities?
The answer is twofold. First, by sharing the effort among six municipalities we are able to reduce the financial burdens on the region.
Second, because of the interconnectedness of our communities, taking regional point of view in developing the Plan is an advantage to all parties and is more likely to be implemented in future development.
So what do we have to do?
The centerpiece of this effort with be a joint Workshop involving interested stakeholders from each municipality coming together to brainstorm ideas for for the region. This workshop called a “charette”. And here is the flyer!
Who can be a Stakeholder?
Anyone with an interest! From residents to business owners. All are welcome to participate and voice their thoughts and engage in dialogue.
UPDATE: The first large-scale public meeting took place Jan 14th and had over 80 residents in attendance! The 2 day charette the week prior over 100 participants! The Survey is the next step to get involved. Take it now here.
Lehigh Valley Hospital, a property trustee, submitted a by right preliminary plan for 94 single homes on a 54 acre property at 2660 S. Cedar Crest Blvd. & Lower Macungie Rd.
What this means: A by-right plan means the submittal is conceptually allowed under the current zoning ordinance. It may however, still need waivers or variances. Variances are granted through the Zoning Hearing Board. Waivers through the Board of Commissioners. Only after a thorough review from staff will we know what would be required.
The plan had a first public vetting at the planning commission on Tuesday. The township engineer presented a 20 page review letter of concerns and comments.
My primary concern with the project is unit count. While there are appropriate locations for Urban density in the township, I don’t believe this is one. The access problems are obvious and present safety issues. Further, Cedar Crest Blvd is an identified PennDOT congested corridor. It’s compounded since the corridor is a freight route. I realize the LVPC regional comprehensive plan identifies this area as U. Problem is our township has (unfortunately) changed significantly and deviated from the plan since it’s adoption. Planning only works if you stick to it. In 2010 our township deviated so significantly that the plans are no longer valid relating to us. The township is currently working with partners to address this problem by updating our local Southwest Regional Comprehensive Plan.
At the meeting there were some astute comments by township resident and former Commissioner Deana Zosky representing a group of concerned residents that I wanted to react to. Responding to residents is our first priority.
These thoughts are a combination of resident concerns and sentiments reflected in both adopted and draft township strategies. The township has prioritized open space preservation. A strong dollars and cents case can be made here for up front investment to preserve if the opportunity was raised. I would entertain all ideas for the township to participate in preservation or work together to outline a more desirable estate plan with significant open space.
I hope the stakeholders here would consider engaging the township on alternate and more community friendly options that might be on or off the table. I understand they may want to cash out. But if there are market offers I would hope the stakeholders consider community impact. As it stands this project has many issues as documented by the townships extensive review letter.
Corresponded with some folks about recent blog post about Chuck Marohns presentation and how it relates to the Allentown NIZ. It was meant to outline a couple ways to look at the ‘orderly but dumb’ vs. ‘chaotic but smart’ question.
In one of the conversations Justin Schaefer from Strongtowns came up with a great way to frame what I was trying to convey as one possible viewpoint.
“Chaotic but smart as the default, but sometimes you get to a point where you’ve inflicted so much damage that you need a more drastic approach – where you feel a roll of the dice is worth it. Perhaps it is like if a person had not taken care of themselves for a long time and got to the point where cardio or diet was no longer going to be enough – they need open heart surgery.”
Open Heart Surgery?
Our staff does an excellent job preparing our draft budgets. But I’m a visual person. So I created a couple pie charts to help demonstrate where township dollars are spent. I think this helpful and I hope residents find them useful.
*General Fund Snapshot:
3 biggest expenditures:
*1. Sewer items are in a completely separate fund
2. Road items paid for with liquid fuels are in separate budgets.
*Engineering does not includes services that are paid for by developers associated with land development submittals.
Capital Fund Snapshot
RECYLING TOTES: I am interested to hear what residents think about the 150,000 investment in new (LARGER) recycling totes. As this is a truly discretionary item. This is something I’ve heard some residents asking for. Would like some more feedback. NOTE: The 150,000 dollar line item would also be matched with grant funding.
Even without the Quarry Project as I’ve been saying all along… the township is still making very significant investment in our Park system.
Land preservation/acquisition is a new item this year. If you read this blog with any frequency you know my thoughts and what I believe to be an urgency here. This is what I clearly ran on and what I think I was elected with a mandate to work towards. We now have a 2 year window where politically we have the wherewithal to explore all our options. We have about a 5 year window to get some land preserved. These line items ensures we have flexibility to act when opportunities present themselves. There s no guarantee any or all this line item is spent. But earmarking it keeps options open.
It’s now or never for this township. Some of the money budgeted this year could get matched with potentially and up to *4-1 return through the Lehigh County Municipal Match Farmland Preservation Program.
*estimate
Tax Revenue Snapshot:
How much revenue does each tax generate for the Twp. Real estate transfer, earned income tax and local service taxes pay for general fund items. The property tax covers 31% of capital expenses. This is proposed 2016. Here was a breakdown of your 2015 Lower Mac property tax bill. 
*Not included on any chart are items in the separate sewer and liquid fuel funds. You can view them here.
Total Sewer Fund expenditures are 3.9 Million.
Total Liquid Fuel Fund Expenditure is 1,507,000
No, liquid fuels does not cover all of road maintenance.
VIEW THE ENTIRE BUDGET LINE BY LINE HERE
Questions? Email me at Ronbeitler@gmail.com
Incrementalism is a sure bet. It can’t fail. That’s the beauty of the Strongtowns message. Make lots of small bets with low risk. Friday Chuck Marohn was at the Renew LV Summit for Smart Growth with the message.
Chaotic but smart / orderly but dumb
There was a healthy exchange between the Mayor of Allentown and Chuck. Marohn advocates for incrementalism and is generally against tax subsidies for catalytic “game changer” projects. (Big gambles as opposed to small bets) “Chaotic but smart” is always better than “orderly but dumb”. In the suburban context the presentation is basically a blow by blow critique of “ponzi scheme” sprawl. That is use of subsidies direct or indirect to expand infrastructure to build financially low yielding but high liability development. And then counting on future growth to sustain the bad bets of the past. The talk is a warning bell relating to long term solvency. Sprawl is expensive. How do we afford to pay for it. Sprawl is orderly but dumb.
Strong towns: Orderly but dumb.
