This coming Tuesday evening, July 28th at 6:30 pm., Tony Phillips will be serving up Greg Weitzel in the Council Chambers, but it won't be a fresh meal. Tony, as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee, wants Weitzel to explain the park plans, and for the public to have an opportunity for input; trouble is the horse already left the barn long ago. Council, including Phillips, approved all the appropriations for the Cedar Park Renovations last year, and didn't question at that time the lack of public participation. Never the less, I will attend the barbecue, with a few questions, both for Weitzel and Phillips.
"Tony, as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee, wants Weitzel to explain the park plans, and for the public to have an opportunity for input; trouble is the horse already left the barn long ago. Council, including Phillips, "
ReplyDeleteSound phoney. like Phillips in a turn about decided he might get a vote or two but it won't work. Good Grief! He was parks & recoration chair and he let this happen! The project is underway, the rose garden being torn up and flowers and shrubs destroyed. If this is how Phillips plans to run city hall, who in the world would vote for him!
p.s. his political signs are the worst. can't even read his last name. entire campaign seems a joke.
Bet Weitzel doesn't show.
ReplyDeleteWith cash flow and lay-offs. How can Allentown spend money on playgrounds.
ReplyDeleteAllentown is not financing the improvements. Question is paying for ongoing maintenance.
ReplyDeleteThe wheels on the bull-dozer go round and round!
ReplyDelete"Tony, as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee, wants Weitzel to explain the park plans."
ReplyDeleteMM.
Don't believe a word Tony says.
anon 7:26, i suppose reading between the lines someone could detect some slight skepticism in my post. i would have much preferred this meeting last year, however, i'm sure i will believe some things said this coming tuesday.
ReplyDeleteMike: Regarding the South Mountain timber harvest; I've heard from an inside source that Pawlowski and Weitzel did meet with the PA District Forester, who provided a free assessment of the conditions on South Mountain and recommended letting the natural tree growth alone. The City told the press that no one from the state would return there calls or meet with them. Only after dismissing the opinion of the state forestry expert, did the City retain the services of a commercial tree harvester, who obviously recommended a commercial harvest. My source also says the City was in for the money period.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteAllentown is not financing the improvements. Question is paying for ongoing maintenance.
July 22, 2009 11:32 PM
Thursday
From what we have read, you are correct as the Trexler Trust supposedly is to pay initial improvements via a $3 M grant.
However, maintenance is critical to any project, and in Allentown with projected park employee cuts... Weitzel said he was going to add video cameras as anticrime fighting measure, but again, who will watch those cameras since city hall recently called on citizens to volunteer to man downtown cameras. Hope someone challenges Weitzel.
Why didn't council order a temporary halt to the Rose Garden destruction to afford residents and their experts a chance to present opposing views?
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm most interested to hear is just far along has this came. What contracts were already signed? Just how deep are we in city commitment. Hopefully Tony will shed some light on this by his questioning.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the accusation that Tony grandstanding for votes. I am not going to be that negative when I say... if it weren't for these campaign election cycles we would have little opposition to current administrators. And that's the good thing about elections. It's when those who seek office starting digging.
That's a good thing, even if it were to come about through some sort of political imitative.
This whole thing reminds of a wife coming home and finding contractors ripping the kitchen apart. She asks her husband, "what's going on"?
ReplyDeleteHe says, "Oh, I just came into a couple $1 thousand and I'm replacing 'YOUR' kitchen."
Huh?
He, "never mind you'll love it. I picked it all out myself"
I don't know about you guys, but at my house...
"Only after dismissing the opinion of the state forestry expert, did the City retain the services of a commercial tree harvester, who obviously recommended a commercial harvest. My source also says the City was in for the money period.
ReplyDeleteJuly 23, 2009 8:35 AM"
Call quoted Pawlowski as saying he was concerned for the good of the S. Mtn. forest. Funny, he doesn't seem a bit concerned for the safety of downtown residents. Friends say recent robberies continue on an almost nightly basis, including last.
LVCI said:
ReplyDeleteAs far as the accusation that Tony grandstanding for votes. I am not going to be that negative when I say... if it weren't for these campaign election cycles we would have little opposition to current administrators. And that's the good thing about elections. It's when those who seek office starting digging."
Fair Observation and Good Points.
Maybe you can tell us why Tony did not pursue the rose garden destruction sooner? We don't want that question to sound obnoxious, we sincerely mean it. Perhaps you can shed some light on this.
To be fair, the completed work on the ponds looks great. Nothing there has been destroyed. I just posted some pictures to my blog if you haven't seen it finished MM.
ReplyDeleteandrew, to be fair that job was a complete botch. the ponds walls were undermined, as i documented on this blog. gunite was applied, and ground pushed back up, but it's not the same as the original ground being there supporting the walls. furthermore, i have heard several negative remarks about the choice of mortar used in the re-pointing.
ReplyDeletei walked the steps yesterday at fountain park from martin luther to union, how you could experience that total neglect, gloss over it, and still advocate for these new projects is difficult to understand.
I haven't meant to "gloss" over it, and I have called for the preservation of monuments such as those stairs many times on my blog. I see no reason why we can't work for restoration and preservation at the same time as we move forward with new projects.
ReplyDeleteandrew, if they cannot keep with up maintaining and keeping clean what already exists, how can they take care of more features? compounding this dilemma, the city has laid off workers, with more likely to follow.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said... Maybe you can tell us why Tony did not pursue the rose garden destruction sooner?
ReplyDeleteMost likely because he wasn't running for election. Like I said "if it weren't for these campaign election cycles we would have little opposition to current administrators... a good thing, even if it were to come about through some sort of political imitative". You take what you can, where you can.
I certainly can't speak for Tony. I don't have a clue. I don't know the guy. But I've repeated on various blogs and Tony's as well... What does he have to offer in the current budget crisis? I haven't heard and peep on that subject. So at least he's taken the initiative at this late date on this one. We should take what we can get for now if he can shed light on this parks thing down at city hall.
Tony will need to step up to the plate on the other issues such as logging and the budget long before Nov. elections if he is going to demonstrate leadership.
Perhaps this is a start in that direction? We shall see, eh?
You rock Molovinsky
ReplyDeleteTake care of what we already have first!
BTW - when you got to this meeting, don't forget about my suggestions of a bobsled training facility or a Venezian gondola operation in case anybody figures out this thing is destined to be a disaster and needs a good emergency exit strategy pronto to salvage something of the mess they already made.
(I don't need the credit, I don't run for public offices)
I suggest the Venezian gondola thing over the bobsled run. Bobsled teams probably do not have much money to pay for rent. Venezian gondolas, I would imagine, would appeal to a more cultured class who most likely able to afford a better penny.
Why not shoot for maximum city profit?
QUESTION OF THE DAY (Seriously):
What is the difference between a "multi-generational destination playground" and a "playground"?
I was always under the impression a playground was for anybody of any age to begin with. I thought all of playgrounds already had destinations, or a spot on the map in other words, already.
The only difference I can think of is four fancier words added to the title.
THIS IS WHY I AM WILLING TO BUY INTO THEORIES OF "RESUME-BUILDING"
So should everyone else
(I can understand if the people building the resumes do not invite you to parties, Molovinsky)
I was under the impression that Mr.Phillips ended his campaign several weeks ago when he said he would cut police sevices by 10%.
ReplyDelete