Happy Veterans Day. I have two reminders about how you can support our troops locally. But first I wanted to share something I saw this AM since it’s relevant.

The photo below has a story. Damon Knauss is an old friend. A local raised in Ancient Oaks and graduate of EHS. Please take a moment to read and appreciate this.

The story of this photo is a reminder of what our troops sometimes face on a daily basis during deployment. It’s from a very human perspective. An important reminder since it’s so easy to forget.

“These are the kids that kept me safe. Most every day for 4 months I had to walk through Kabul taking the same route to train our Afghan counterparts. This is a big “no no” in the military because the enemy can target you. However, that is the constraint of operating in a city. Everyday when I walked out that gate and saw these kids selling scarfs and trinkets I knew I was just a little safer. When they were not there, I knew something was not right and I was extra vigilant. I bought a lot of scarfs and trinkets from them, gave them clothes and socks that they desperately needed, and traded English words for Dari in little conversations as we walked together, but it is the little things that you think about later that make the difference. Several of these scarf sellers of Kabul were killed when the Taliban strapped a bomb on a young mentally retarded boy and sent him to the gate of our base to pose as a scarf seller. These young scarf sellers being fiercely territorial challenged him for being in their business area. As the young children argued, the child suicide bomber became nervous and detonated and killed the scarf sellers. Young children like these in Kabul saved the lives of an entire patrol. Service makes you see the world in a different way. I am proud of all those I served with, the people of Afghanistan who worked with us to make their country better, and most importantly those who made the ultimate sacrifice who will never be forgotten.” – Damon Knauss

This is a story of the very human perspective about what our veterans go through on a daily basis when on deployment. It is so easy to forget. Here are ways you can support our veterans locally this month.

Reminder 1.) Lower Macungie Township Troop Support Program. Now till Nov. 30th. Drop off point at the Lower Macungie Community Center.

Reminder 2.) Don’t forget the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society Veterans program. Sunday at 2pm. Also the community center.

41% (and rising) of Pennsylvanians live in a municipality that is financially distressed. We have a problem in this Commonwealth with a boom/bust cycle of distress that’s well documented. It’s a pattern. Cyclical.

The 5 stages of municipal distress go something like this:
1. Low taxes with Greenfield Growth
2. Gradually rising tax rates and increasing demand for services.
3. Plateau of tax base with reductions in non-core services.
4. Insufficient taxes or tax base with reductions in core services.
5. Loss of tax base and distress

Lower Mac as most are is in the cycle. We are not in distress. Far from it. But we are in the cycle. The boom cycle. Stage one. Knocking on the door of stage two. (The prior board initiated the first property tax hike in over a decade. One that the current board in part rolled back at least for residential tax payers). Stage one for Lower Mac is livin high on the hog on a wave of greenfield growth. Developers pay for infrastructure improvements and the one time tax receipts roll in. Times are good. But it can’t last. Because land is a finite resource.

We are now tightly locked within the cycle. I wrote about this many times including this post in 2012. All the crystal clear signs are here.

In that post I wrote about 5 strategies we must employ to break the cycle. They were:

1. Requiring more bang for our taxpayer buck (ROI) on existing infrastructure. (value capture). Not accept anymore unfunded maintenance obligations associated with dumb growth.
2. Conserving farmland and green space with market mechanisms. Therefore reducing reigning in future liabilities.
3. Require complete cost benefit analysis of new greenfield projects. Don’t approve tax base drainers. Stop indirectly subsidizing bad development. 
4. Engage the community wholly in development and spending decisions.
5. Don’t issue new bonds until the townships current debts are fully paid off and limit what you bond for. Use cash. Cash is king.

I have been pretty disciplined and consistent in votes relating to above. I consider these combination of strategies as guiding principles. We’ve had some success with #1. We’re driving the convo.  Solid progress on #2. Our staff does a good job (relative to land use planning) on #4. Pertaining to #3 I voted against a major developer tax subsidy. Unfortunately it still passed, but we raised the issue and voters responded at the polls defeating a major subsidy supporter in a subsequent election.

#5 is now front and center. As the township is about to retire current debt in 2019 and since interest rates are historically low we’re hearing the siren song of bond financing for major discretionary projects and initiatives. This happens whenever debt is about to be retired and is amplified when rates are good. Everyones eyes get big.

When the sirens sing, the drunken sailors come out. 

Last night, I voted against an application for a new major bond. Since we’re retiring existing debt this is wraparound debt. My problem is it’s far too much. Way too large an amount of money. A municipality with our tax base can and should work towards breaking or drastically reducing the debt cycle with the lofty goal of operating 100% debt free. This in turn would help us break the documented boom bust municipal cycle.

For me this is personal. I am not going anywhere. My forever house is in this township. So I have no option but to think long term. I’ll be a taxpayer in this township 10 years from now. 30 years from now. (hopefully longer) We must to do a better job of playing the long game. This requires discipline.

This does not mean stop improving the community. This issue is different from the turf project. I did not believe in that project. It wasn’t a priority and not a good way to address needs from a cost benefit standpoint. On the contrary, I support the library expansion. There are just other ways to pay for an expansion. We need the new fire aerial (in large part because of proliferation of warehouses) And absent of mechanisms to make the warehouse industry pay for we have reserves for the purchase. With preservation? And as we’ve demonstrated for 2 years we can accomplish that without debt. Though I am a supporter of preservation, I did not ask for bond money for preservation. (The county is in a much different situation than we are. And they were very disciplined in the bond process) 

Lower Mac continues to live high on the hog because of greenfield growth. When new growth comes in there are short term advantages. But the problem becomes the new long term liability. The benefit of new growth is front loaded. Taxes are very low right now. The question is, is it sustainable. The goal is long term sustainably low taxes. We spend large amounts of money on discretionary items. And now another very large bond issue. I worry about what happens when we’re faced with one of the looming 10,000 lb gorillas. Any number could become issues. Police, fire, infrastructure. Already we’re facing down one in SCARP. When we finally land, and we will – we could crash hard. This isn’t speculation. It’s a fact. Underlying factor is availability of raw land. We’re running out. The only way to prevent the crash is to break certain cycles. One of those is the debt cycle.  A municipality with our tax base can and should break the paradigm and operate 100% debt free.

The “playbook” states – retiring current debt, rates low? Spending spree! There is a reason 41% of PA muni’s are in distress, the problem IS the playbook. Stop answering the siren call. Break the cycle. Don’t stop improving/making the community better. But get creative in funding. 

Along with term limits including eliminating public pensions for elected officials, and campaign finance reform, districting reform (that is eliminating gerrymandering) is one of what I consider to be the 3 most crucial reforms needed in the state. When politicians draw their own districts, they manipulate the process to protect incumbents and discourage competition. This is what happens in Pennsylvania now. Politicians choose voters instead of the other way around.

I believe this discussion will center around SB 484. It’s a bi-partisan bill that would address the problem. It’s currently co-sponsored by two Lehigh Valley State Senators. Pat Browne (R) and Lisa Boscola (D).

The following is an informational program to learn more about efforts to reform. League of woman voters programs are always excellent.

Gerrymandering: How to create fair legislative and congressional districts in Pennsylvania.

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley, 424 Center Street, Bethlehem http://www.uuclvpa.org/directions.php

What: The plan is to have a short introduction to Gerrymandering (15 – 20 minutes) followed by a panel discussion on how to create a fair redistricting process in Pennsylvania. The panel will be moderated by Janet Little, president of the Lehigh County League of Women Voters. The panel includes:

Barry Kauffman (PA Common Cause) 
Carol Kuniholm (PA League of Women Voters) 
Senator Lisa Boscola (D-PA Senatorial District 18)
Representative David Parker (R-PA Legislative District 115)

They will discuss new legislation to create an independent commission to draw the lines. The program is sponsored by the Social Action Committee of the UUCLV and the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County.

For more information, the contact person is
Tom Ulrich FFF Series Coordinator
Social Action Committee 
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley
Tel.: 610-882-1136
Email: tomulrich41@gmail.com

Covered this in last weeks agenda preview but I felt this warranted it’s own post with some more information and specifics from the libraries presentation. The Morning Call did an article. Link here.

WHAT:
The township rec’d a request from the library to sponsor an application for a Keystone Grant that could provide funding up to $500,000 for expansion of our public library. The board agreed to the application with no strings attached at this point.

A study was conducted by Spillman-Farmer dated August 11, 2016 suggesting that the total cost of expansion would be $1,500,000. In addition to the construction costs, this included furnishings and design. I felt this number was very high. Folks must remember, the library already gets a substantial yearly allocation from the township.

JUSTIFICATION:
Since the Community Center/Library was built in 2000, the twp. has grown by 57.49% with a current population of over 31,000.

There were 10,196 children who attended 359 library programs in 2015. A 17% increase in the number of programs and a 5% increase in attendance over 2014. Adult programs numbered 155 with 1,780 attending – a 14% increase in the number of offerings and 54% increase in attendance.

Photos from the Library board presentation on the Grant Opportunity.

Library program offerings for both children and adults are limited due now to lack of space. Children story times are held in an open area which staff feels disturbs patrons wishing for quiet time. The craft activity that accompanies each story time is held in a space that includes the desk of our Youth Services Librarian. Only 15 children can be accommodated at one sitting – thus causing waiting lists.

Adult programs are also held in an open area – children’s department. Programs prohibit families from browsing the children’s collection. They are limited as well with the number of people they can accommodate.

NUTS AND BOLTS:
The current space that the library occupies is 11,500 square feet. The library is asking for an additional 6,500 to provide for a separate children’s area and reconfigure current space into meeting rooms, study areas, quiet areas, additional office space and storage.

MY THOUGHTS:
This won’t be decided quickly and not without much opportunity for public input. This is the beginning of a multi month process. And securing the grant is a pre-requisite. At this point the township only authorized a grant application. We are not bound to anything. The township can consider budgeting some amount of money contingent on the grant.

There are basic questions I believe should be considered with the same criteria we’ve applied to other large discretionary capital requests. Here are the things I look for.

1.) Financial Commitment from a private entity. In this case Library fundraising. The library has committed 300,000 in privately raised funds. This is a good start. No match from the library would have been a non-starter. (This was the major problem with the 2014 proposed turf fields – no private money in the equation)

2.) Demonstrated support from the community. (largely in terms of above)

3.) Demonstrated need. The library began to make their case in a public presentation last Thursday.

4.) Expansion matches the demonstrated need. This is where I have the most questions. This is a 56% increase in size being justified by a 56% increase in population. Instead the expansion size should be based on actual space needs. But, also accounting for the fact we will continue to grow.

HERE IS A LINK TO THE AGENDA WITH DETAIL
All township BOC meetings are available on video online
You can also always watch all our board meetings live on Channel 66 RCN cable.

Here is your agenda preview for the Thursday Aug 4th township meeting. The BOC meetings are the formal business meetings of the elected Board of Commissioners.

Announcements and Presentations:

Fields and Facilities study. LMYA

Lower Macungie Library Expansion. The library is asking the township to commit to co-sponsoring an application to the Commonwealth for a Keystone Grant which would provide 500,000 for towards a library expansion. This would be a matching grant. At this point I have no problem with applying for this with no strings attached. However, I have a number of fundamental questions. For example, what if anything would be the libraries monetary contribution to the expansion project. And secondary I want to see the need justified for the amount of additional square footage being asked for. Which is now 6,500 SF. I do think the expansion is needed. But this represents an increase of 56%.

Holding this capital expenditure request to the same standards established for the turf field I want to see:
1.) Financial Commitment from private entity. In this case Library fundraising.
2.) Demonstrated support from the community. (largely in terms of above)
3.) Demonstrated need.

*The board last night authorized moving forward the application for the grant.

Hearings and Approvals.
Trexler Business Center *This afternoon the item was pulled from tonight’s agenda by the developer. Postponed until 9/1/16.

Not sure what that means at this point. This is the Movie Tavern project. The issue is the developer has asked for a waiver of traffic impact fees. Here was the most recent article on the issue.

I believe the township has two goals here.

Planning & Zoning

TRUCK RESTRICTIONS proposed for Spring Creek Rd., Trexlertown Rd.
Last Wednesday the Planning and Zoning Committee which I chair recommended truck restrictions on Trexlertown Rd. and Spring Creek Rd. East of Rt. 100. See map below for details.

This is consistent with restrictions indicated on Upper Macungie’s new truck routing master plan. It’s important we work together on shared corridors. This will be considered by the full board.

*Update full board passed unanimous to request Penndot to conduct a study. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s office has been contacted and will be supporting.