2016 proposed budget LMT & meeting schedule.

Posted on September 22, 2015 by admin

Right off the bat: The budget contains 3.3 Million dollars for Astroturf fields at Quarry Park. This is a carry over from 2015 since the money has not yet been spent.

This will certainly be an issue moving forward. I do not support carrying over this money into the 2016 budget. This will be dissected and debated over the course of the next month and a half. I opposed the original allocation during budget talks last year. Link here: Two Lower Macungie Commissioners oppose budget with controversial artificial turf project

More than any other level of government at the local level residents have the opportunity to shape the conversation. And I want to hear from you.

Over the next 2 months the budget will be examined in detail over the course of 3 or more public meetings specifically devoted to the task. Certainly items will be cut others added. During the course of the public workshops township departments and organizations and grantees like the library and LMYA will defend budget requests. Commissioners will debate the proposal line by line.

Here is the 2016 proposed budget.

*NOTE this is put together by staff and is a yearly “starting point”. The budget will be examined in detail over the course of 3 (or more) public meetings specifically devoted to the task. Individual Commissioner review began last week. I will post more when I have time to digest. Items will be cut. Others will be added. During the course of the 3 workshops the various township departments and community organizations (For ex. the library and LMYA) will defend requests. All meetings are public.

Here is the budget workshop schedule.

What do you think? Questions? Thoughts on the proposal?
Email me at Ronbeitler@gmail.com

Widening of Rt. 22 to start…

Posted on September 19, 2015 by admin

According to the Morning Call

The $64.7 million project, which will stretch to November 2020, will ultimately replace three bridges and widen the highway from four lanes to six. PennDOT is requiring lane closings to come only at night, but planning officials warn that no project this big comes without pain.

Needed and long overdue. However if we continue on the same path we’re on its essentially a bandaid. Moving forward unless we’re prepared to repeat the same conversation in another decade we have to get land use policy under control.

This is because… induced demand is a thing. In the world of traffic improvements it’s been proven time and time again. What it means is basically improvements are forced because of existing capacity issues. Problem is those same improvements just generate more induced demand instead of forcing a self correction in terms of land development practices. This leads to a vicious and expensive circle. 6 lanes today is a band-aid for a few years. But we’ll need 8 lanes tomorrow.

Remember when I-78 the last “big fix” was the end game?

How do we unlock the Lehigh Valley from the vicious and massively expensive circle of induced demand?
Preserve remaining farmland.

Meanwhile we continue to lose the character that makes the Lehigh Valley a special place. The reason so many move here.

Lower Macungie – We’re a part of the problem.

Since 2010, Lower Macungie has rezoned over 850 acres of land for more intense development.

For starters, Lower Macungie will generate 800 more residential units than were ever planned for, nearly 4+ million square feet of warehousing and a couple hundred thousand additional square feet of commercial.

Strategic planning? How can you possibly plan for such a moving target?

Lower Macungie is definitely in part responsible for the expensive mess we are in. But we certainly aren’t alone. Other communities are as well. Moving forward unless we want to plan to throw another billion dollars at Rt. 22 or some other massively expensive capacity project for 8 lanes in another decade we have to get land use decisions under control across the Lehigh Valley. Remember, in a world where state and federal funding is less and less reliable eventually the pain could very well be felt more intensely at the local to fund these improvements. Personally, I think that is the most likely scenario.

Local governments will have to disclose how much money lost to subsidies

Posted on September 15, 2015 by admin

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) now requires cities to disclose, as part of their financial reporting, the amount of money lost to tax subsidies.

GASB is the source of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) used by State and Local governments in the US.

If I’m understanding this correctly, moving forward Lower Macungie Township will have to disclose as part of our yearly audit the amount of money given away as a part of the Hamilton Crossings TIF subsidy. I believe this applies to the school district as well. And would have the County had they not had the foresight to opt out of the giveaway. Moving forward they will now benefit from 100% of the incremental revenue while the school district and township each forfeit 50%.

Most governments trying to sell tax abatement schemes to residents provide volumes of information before adoption, problem is rarely do they follow up. More specifically they do not often enough assess how the abatements affect finances over the long term in relation to newly assumed liabilities associated with the development.

Strongtowns as usual nails the importance of this:

Knowing how these deals work, I suspect that many government officials, including many who work in the realm of economic development, will be surprised by the disclosures. Many are aware of the transactions and the accompanying silly conversations that equate jobs and growth with subsidy, but as the details fade out of memory. I’ve never seen a city go back and ask whether or not a deal actually made sense financially once it was completed. It’s all left up to the windshield test (looks like it’s working).

Moving forward as part of the yearly audit Lower Mac will now quantify the tax giveaway on paper. Does this change the underlying problems that I think the TIF will create? No. But by better understanding the impact we can make better informed decisions in the future.

Here is a link to the new requirements. – GASB Tax Abatement Disclosures

Press release from “Good jobs first” and organization that promotes accountability in economic development schemes.

Background: Last year Lower Mac and the EPSD both narrowly adopted a contentious TIF for the Hamilton Crossings shopping center. Tax increment financing, or TIF, subsidizes companies by refunding or diverting a portion of their taxes to help finance the project.

While I am not against all abatement programs I did vote against the Hamilton Crossings TIF. The main reason was it clearly failed what I consider to be the most important criteria. That being the “but for” test. Meaning, would the project or similar desired development happen “but for” a government intervention. In our case basically the answer was a resounding yes. This is evidenced by projects heating up literally across the entire township – no TIFS needed. When we utilize a TIF where it isn’t a necessity in an otherwise healthy local economy like Lower Macungie is we skew the market.

Lower Mac Board of Commissioners Vacancy – Candidates and info

Posted on September 11, 2015 by admin

The purpose of this post is informational.

I am reserving my opinion until I have the opportunity to hear from all candidates at the public hearing next Monday the 14th. Commissioners will then vote by public ballot at our next scheduled meeting on the 17th. (the procedure is outlined in detail via the link below.)

I want to ensure this process is extremely transparent. Putting someone onto the Board of Commissioners to fill the remainder of a two year term, someone who has not been elected by majority vote of the residents of the township is a huge responsibility.

As an FYI here is a list of the 10 candidates who have submitted resumes before the 4pm deadline today. Also a link to an overview of the process we will be undertaking and a list of candidate resumes.

LINK LMT BOC Vacancy Candidates & process.

The 10 candidates are:
Bob Rust
Rich Ward
Michael Siegal

George Doughty
Julie Mcdonnell
Todd Rothermel
Roger Reis
Ben Galliardo
Scott Forbes
Michael Heilman

I would encourage folks to send letters to the township by Monday at 12 noon if you have any thoughts on any of these candidates or questions you would like Commissioners to ask specific questions of them Monday night if you cannot attend in person.

Please send questions both to myself at ronbeitler@gmail.com and to the township directly using the lowermac.com contact form. Remember, all formal correspondence submitted to the township is also included on the next BOC agenda.

I am also starting a thread on my Commissioner FB page for folks to submit questions. If I receive similar suggestions I will consolidate. But I will do my best to cover all general topics.

Lastly, I encourage you to attend the hearing in person next Monday night at 8pm.

If you cannot make it I am also asking the manager if we can make arrangements to videotape the hearing for posting on the township youtube site Monday night. I will post on my FB page if I get a confirmation of that request.

Ron

Boulevard Commercial is High Value Development.

Posted on September 11, 2015 by admin

To demonstrate public value I take different land use patterns and try to quantify.

Parameters include: Public liabilities assumed vs. jobs and revenue created / acre of land lost. Rudimentary but gets us in the ballpark to clearly demonstrate in broad strokes issues with bad land use decisions. I sincerely believe Lower Macungie needs to undertake a sophisticated cost of municipal Services / value study in this same vein to help inform future land use decisions. We must stop chasing growth and start chasing better growth.

Today made a new frame for “Boulevard Commercial”. Relates to my post from Tuesday about the importance of making sure we build out a high quality Boulevard. It’s not only about aesthetics and quality of life but also the financial arguments based on demanding better returns on public dollars. As opposed to strip commercial, Boulevard Commercial returns much higher value.

I think the Progressive Eye Institute is an excellent example. Boulevard Commercial is properly scaled, high quality low impact development along Hamilton. This is what we need to attract in order to avoid the Blvd becoming “Macarther Rd”.

Not only is it better for quality of life and property values but this form of development gives high returns back to the community. Communities making land development decisions need to #dothemath.

Boulevard Commercial. High productivity. Use of existing infrastructure means high value and very low public liability. Focus on high quality means community friendly.

Village Commercial. Highest Value. Utilizes existing infrastructure. Very low community impact and liabilities. Neighborhood friendly.

Higher Density strip commercial with high design standards. Better than normal strip commercial because of shared community vision. Will be a better project in Lower Mac than if built somewhere else due to township pressure for quality. Community conscientious developer worked with township to improve project.

Lowest value revenue and jobs per acre. Ultra high public liabilities. Massive amounts of land lost.

*Warehouse figures close to but before full occupancy. Jobs per acre might be slightly higher now. But even a doubling or tripling of employment still puts this type of development in the extreme low range of productivity paired with ultra high public liabilities.

*Local revenue = assessed value at LMT millage / acreage.

*Public liabilities include consideration for traffic generation, public infrastructure strain and stormwater management costs.

Post WW2 vs. traditional development patterns.

Posted on September 10, 2015 by admin

Lower Macungie has for far too long been heavily invested in the post WW2 development pattern. A pattern proven to lead to an inevitable outcome of decline.

I am interested in fostering an environment conducive to a more time tested and resilient traditional approach. This chart breaks the differences down:
We start by eliminating and rolling back arbitrary regulations that actually prevent, outright outlaw and deter more productive and higher value development.

The massive Spring Creek Properties development being constructed now is a classic post WW2 ponzi scheme development. Ultra large in scale. Infrastructure subsidized by massive taxpayer investments with no accounting for long term municipal liabilities. Ultra high risk. High impact. Dependent (So far) on 2 very large scale developers. Feedback upon buildout will be immediate and severe.

Although end of the day a more community friendly project because of a somewhat shared vision (although very much constrained from day 1) due to a genuinely conscientious developer Hamilton Crossings is still classic post WW2 ponzi scheme development. It took massive public subsidies and is therefore by nature very high risk and relatively low reward.

Moving forward we have to foster an environment where we can develop the Boulevard block by block with targeted relatively low cost investments. This represents incremental development on a manageable scale.

Creating value block by block looks like this:

Progressive eye institute is a low impact high value project on the Hamilton Corridor. An example of what the township needs to foster.

Township adopts Rt. 222 visioning study.

Posted on September 9, 2015 by admin

The township recently adopted by unanimous vote a planning/visioning document for the Rt. 222 corridor. A week later Upper Macungie adopted the same document.

Overview:
5 miles in length, the Hamilton Boulevard Study Area extends from US 222 at the western gateway to I-78 at the eastern gateway. The study was the result of a two year process initiated by Lower & Upper Macungie Townships, with the support of PennDOT, to coordinate transportation and land use policies across municipalities lines.

Before I get further into why I think the corridor study is so important, let me first outline what I believe is the fundamental problem it addresses.

The Problem:
We have a tax base resiliency issue in Lower Macungie. This is based on a reality where certain land use patterns we are heavily invested in for better or worse generate relatively low returns vs. the high impact long term infrastructure liabilities we must assume + increased demands for service. This represents a fundamental imbalance. For too long land use choices have represented transactions of decline. But much like a ponzi scheme the problems have been masked by one time windfalls associated with the growth.

All this compounded by the fact Harrisburg mandates a rigidly inflexible taxing system leaving us no way to right size levies on land uses based on their measurable impacts.

As we approach buildout and one time windfalls associated with greenfield growth slow to a trickle our imbalance will become pronounced. Inevitably, developer money moves on to the next cornfield. Federal and state finances will likely worsen and access to grants will be increasingly limited. Lower Macungie’s tax base will be insufficient to pay for our liabilities.

Gerald Cross – PA municipal league. Quiet boom & bust of PA townships.

Reality is we have..

An inflexible taxing system mandated by the state.
The need to provide a minimum level of service, not necessarily mandated but certainly reasonably expected by residents.
Declining windfalls and township reserves.
A development pattern that leaves a tax base financially insufficient to cover municipal liabilities.

One solution relates to Hamilton Blvd. The townships “Bread basket”.

There are a number of solutions I will be proposing and outlining over the next few months. All based on addressing long term financial resiliency. The one that specifically relates to the Boulevard deals with refocusing on financially positive land development patterns and away from low value sprawl. At it’s core it’s a structural framework that the vision outlines.

Hamilton Boulevard should be looked at as the townships “bread basket”.

Why? Because significant public investments have already been made over the years. The adjacent location next to the bypass (even with all it’s design warts) make it THE prime location for higher value development to offset the low value development west of Rt. 100.

The study lays the groundwork conceptually. Of the dozens of recommendations made, there are some folks who will inevitably focus on high cost big ticket items in the plan. This is unfortunate. Those items get the headlines but they shouldn’t be the focus at all. They are in the grand scheme a small part of the vision. They may be tackled someday. Or they might not be. Today, we focus on the low cost / high return incremental strategies outlined. That is where the beauty of the plan is. The most important reforms relate to policy and will cost the township nothing. Other improvements will cost the township very little.

For example, we need to remove regulatory barriers in order to attract higher quality development that is more community friendly. There in the long term more valuable. This related to built form. Pictured below are some examples. The first example happens to be an old building, but as demonstrated in the following photos we can (and many developers are) building new construction like this! Many communities are doing just that. The problem is that a developer can’t build a building like this. Because of arbitrary regulations it’s actually illegal without seeking costly variances.

That is a shame since the traditional development patterns still today offer some of the highest possible municipal returns.

Ingredients for a high value commercial corridor?
Quality
High Value
Safe
Financially productive and resilient.

Friendly, high value. Safe. This is a Main Street arterial. The volumes are comparable to Hamilton Boulevard. Yet, the streetscape has a friendly tone. More like “Main Street” then “Macarther Rd.”

Not just little shops and restaurants. This is a bank with a drive through.

And here is a community friendly Rite Aid on a tree lined street very similar to Hamilton Blvd. Today, our zoning regulations actually prohibit this type of building.

Warehouses are the extreme other end of the spectrum. Immense buildings that gobble of up massive acreage of prime farmland. These buildings return very little to the community and in terms of new liabilities created are essentially fiscal parasites on a townships tax base.

Our township has an imbalance of this sort of land use.
Low Value.
Low jobs/acre
Low revenue/acre
Extreme high liability

Hamilton Blvd vision study.

1. Fostering a distinct sense of place. We must draw a line. The Boulevard will not be another “Macarther Rd.” We must demand and expect high quality high value development.2. Promote voluntary inter-muncipal cooperation. The future of the Boulevard depends on Lower Macungie’s ability to work in partnership with Penndot, Upper Macungie and the regional advisory planning body.

3. Identify and prioritize road improvements. Further expanding on existing investments.

4. Create a multi-modal place. This must over time develop into our our “Main Street”. This cannot devolve into the low value strip corridor trap.

We must maintain balance. To cash in on our investments, we also must De-STROAD-ify the Boulevard & Bypass.

5. Encourage high value smart growth land use patterns with financial high returns as a counterbalance to low value development west of Rt. 100. Discourage low value and low return patterns.

Lower Mac’s Stroads.

Posted on August 28, 2015 by admin

Link to vision document – By Kairos Design Group

Strongtowns highlighted that Lower Macungie introduced the term Stroad into our Rt. 222 corridor study. Thanks to our consultant Craig Bachik. Craig and I had Stroad conversations starting at stakeholder meetings about a year ago.

This post is largely for my Strongtowns friends and fellow supporters. I wanted to post some pictures of our local Stroads for context to demonstrate what we are dealing with.

When I ran for office I really did try to as clearly as possible campaign on a Strongtowns influenced platform highlighting how land use decisions relate to long term fiscal resiliency. The simple message resonated with voters.

Lower Mac’s side by side Stroads: Dangerous. Low value. Expensive.

LMT’s side by side STROADS

The Rt. 222 “Bypass” Jaindl “Highway”

2 lane divided Stroad – Built with highway geometry.
Posted 45 Mph – Local “speed trap”.
Sequence of traffic signals including one of the most dangerous intersections in the region.
Fails to move cars any quicker or more efficiently than adjacent roads.

Our local speed trap. 2 lane divided highway posted with an artificially low 45 mph speed limit

One of the most dangerous intersections in the region

The Rt. 222 Boulevard – Lower Macs target for de-Stroadification triage.

Current conditions:

3 lane Stroad (2 overly wide travel 1 suicide lane)
In stretches very abrasive place for pedestrians. In most cases ped and bike facilities totally non-existent.
Portions of the corridor have suffered from disinvestment and some traditionally commercial areas now experience high rates of vacancy.
Today the corridor contains: 2,233,000 +/- SF of Retail/Office • 2,487,600 +/- SF Warehouse/Office • 130 +/- Residential Units • 13,150+ Parking Spaces
There are currently little or no residential uses in the corridor.
Large areas of impervious coverage exacerbate existing storm water and flooding issues.
Parks and open space are not well connected to residential neighborhoods; many recreation areas are only accessible by automobile.

3 lane Stroad. What should be the townships “bread basket” in terms of a resilient taxbase, today is filled with low value, low density development despite massive infrastructure investments in the corridor.

The bones are here for repair. The sycamore trees planted by General Trexler are protected and form the foundation of a multi-modal high value Boulevard.

TRIAGE/De-Stroadification GOALS: (outlined in the study)
1. Foster distinctive, attractive settings with a strong sense of place. The corridor is already home to many of the region’s destinations. Strengthening the connections between these destinations will enhance the identity of the corridor and will create a greater sense of place.

2. Preserve and enhance cultural and historic resources. Celebrating the corridor’s history requires more than preservation. New development should respect the traditional character found in much of the study area. For example the historic sycamore trees.

3. Promote municipal cooperation. The future of Hamilton Boulevard depends on the ability of both Lower and Upper Macungie Townships to work together to solve interrelated land use and transportation issues.

4. Road Diet – Creating complete streets that accommodate vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists will lessen auto dependence and lead to a more balanced transportation system.

6. Enhance access to public transit. The corridor already contains the region’s transit network (LANTA). Existing investments can be maximized by improving the accessibility and effectiveness of public transit.

7. Encourage higher value/higher return land use and development patterns. Mixing land uses, and providing a range of housing options can reinforce the corridor’s sense of place and improve quality of life.

8. Seeking low cost but high return incremental opportunities for placemaking.

Capture Value. The Boulevard is the key to the townships long term fiscal resiliency.

BOC Agenda Preview 8/20

Posted on August 20, 2015 by admin

TONIGHTS AGENDA WITH DETAIL
Last weeks meeting video

Announcements & Presentations:
Donation Presentation from Lutron to Emergency Services – Presented by Andy Hines.

Communication:
Of note 3 letters concerning opposition to the second request (the first one was rejected a couple months ago) to rezone a property from Semi Rural to Commercial off Rt. 100. Information on the last attempt here. I voted no. It was a 3-2 vote to kill the request. (Conrad, Brown and Beitler against. Lancsek and Higgins in favor)

Here is the letter we got from the Borough of Alburtis. The last time this was considered I agreed with this sentiment. Nothing has changed that I am aware of since the last request.

Donation of 15,000 dollar outfield fence from St. Lukes! St. Lukes is willing to pay entirely for a 15,000 dollar fence and installation on the backstop of “quarry #1” baseball diamond. In exchange they want the very reasonable concession of “sign rights for any healthcare company for 10 years”. The new outfield fence is being necessitated by running a new water/sewer line through the outfield area to serve the Jaindl Spring Creek property warehouse project. . .

Thank you to St. Lukes Hospital!

Resident Petition Opposing the Proposed Verizon Wireless Cell Tower
Approximately 180 residents have signed a petition urging commissioners to reconsider moving forward a proposed cell phone tower on the Kratzter farm. To date (we have been considering for many months) I’ve been generally receptive to the idea as long as the 20,000 dollar a year lease money went directly into the Kratzer farm and adjacent neighborhoods.

However, I am interested in what residents had to say. One of the reasons I was inclined to support was that until this petition I heard very little opposition to the project. In fact most I talked to liked the idea of using the lease money to upgrade the Kratzer farm.

Since I don’t have a particularly strong opinion I am very interested in what residents have to say on this issue.

Update on Schoeneck re-alignment.
An exceedingly frustrating issue. I am no longer “ok” with just updates on progress. First, past updates haven’t been accurate and second completion is an issue between the Jaindl Land Company and the East Penn School District at this point. There isn’t anything we can do to influence expediting the project. At this point the township needs to consider (quickly) restricting the road to truck traffic. I intend to pursue this further tonight.

Resolution 2015-25 – Adoption of Hamilton Boulevard Corridor Study

I support this resolution. I think it’s a critical visioning exercise to ensure one of our most valuable commercial corridors maintains a high quality tone. A sentiment I hear often from residents is that they do not want to see commercial corridors in our township devolve into “Macarther Rd.” This vision document is the roadmap to achieving that.

At it’s core the plan develops solutions that will improve multi modal safety, (de-STROADification), reduce traffic delays, enhance economic development acitivites, create linkages, rationalize land use, and manage stormwater.

The document is the result of a two-year planning process that began in fall 2012. During this time, Lower Macungie Township facilitated multiple public participation opportunities and worked extensively with a variety of stakeholders.

This outlines many of the key concepts.

Link to the plan here

BOC meeting review. Big conversations about long term liabilities.

Posted on August 17, 2015 by admin

I didn’t do a preview of the last BOC meeting so I will do an overview focusing on one of the biggest conversations we had. We had two related topics and related discussions that in my opinion were of great “big picture” importance.

They both deal with township ownership of long term public liabilities related to new development.

Backgrounder: In the past the township didn’t seem to be interested in looking at new development in terms of new revenue (beyond the windfall) vs. long term liabilities. Like many communities stuck in feedback loop mode of the growth ponzi scheme we only saw the short term but shortsighted windfall and rewards of sprawl.

Slowly but surely we’re starting to have the right conversations. We’ve always had a basic understanding that too much residential development creates a revenue shortfall. We’ve known that taking on new roads and storm water infrastructure costs us. So over the years we even demanded escrows from developers to help defray the cost. Again, not a permanent solution. Just a bigger band-aid to delay the inevitable. We’ve sought more commercial development to balance our residential. Unfortunately instead of high value corridor development and neighborhood commercial we’ve induced (at high public cost) low value warehouses. Another low revenue high liability land use.

So today we really still haven’t addressed underlying issues. But with at least one conversation last week took a definitive stand. In my opinion, at it’s core smart growth is ensuring that development pays the true costs of doing business in the township so those costs aren’t passed on to or subsidized by taxpayers.

This is: Smart Growth for Conservatives.

Two items related to development and public vs. private infrastructure.
The first conversation last meeting related to residential development. With this issue a developer was able to talk 3 commissioners into paying for perpetual long term stormwater maintenance exclusively associated with a new development. Developer used some convoluted argument that the water was coming from a public roadway. Nonetheless, any increase in runoff volume is a direct result of the new development therefore long term cost should not be shouldered by the taxpayers. So I chalk that one up as a loss as far as common sense is concerned. But grand scheme its small potatoes.

While that decision was disappointing on the other hand a big victory for taxpayers was in relation to over 55 private (in some cases gated) developments and new private cluster developments. One of the major reasons Lower Mac has been able to keep taxes so low and for so long is that in addition to temporary windfalls associated growth Lower Macungie has been lucky to secure a very large amount of private developments.

When a new development maintains it’s interior roads and storm-water facilities as private the inherent budget shortfalls of residential development are somewhat negated. Last week the township solidified an informal policy that it desires private roads and stormwater in new residential development. I believe we should go further and incentivize it.

If you recall one of the biggest victories for taxpayers to come out of the Jaindl settlement a result of resident attempts to overturn the rezoning was that the developer took on a major access road serving exclusively the new warehouse zone as a private facility. Turns out taxpayers are still paying for/subsidizing a huge chunk of the costs. But at least locally we’re not on the hook for long term maintenance. (Although we are for many of the stormwater facilities)

Bottom line is this. In our quest for more balanced growth we need to continue to get more strategic. Chasing ratables for the sake of chasing ratables with no reconcilation of the long term costs will leave us with deficiencies when the gravy train leaves town. The township needs to balance the books. And we have to start now.

RonBeitler.com

A Blog about State & Local Government