Allentown is buying into municipalization of as much of the activities in this city as possible. In otherwards you can't buy or sell without the mark of the beast. That means that someone in City Hall or some national group would have the say. There would be no place for independents or enterprising groups not approved by City Hall. If this system was present in 1957 my dad would not have formed the East Side Rams. The City would have stopped him. Especially if he was not one of their favorite clientele. The East Side of Allentown was once able to support 4 youth organization programs. East Side Rams, East Side Youth Center, East Side Memorial Little League and Midway Manor. Could this ever happen again, not under this structure and in this economy. And I hate to see the East Side Youth Center facilities seized like Castro did to American Companies in the 1960's because the City which is not known for sound decision making wants to municipalize all activities and control who plays where. Personally as a former coach for the now-defunct independent group known as the East Side Rams I dedicated myself to teach sound baseball and basketball practices to those who played for me. I would never allow parents to influence who would start or play where. I would never put a child in a position he could not handle. I practiced my teams a lot far more then they do today to work on the deficiencies of players that needed help. But I never held back the better players because of the poorer players. Perhaps under this new municpalization plan I wouldn't have ever been given the opportunity to coach because of City politics in the selections. You know I have never been appointed to an important agency in this city ... My success has been with independent agencies which these grabbers of power and decision-making would love to control completely as well. Forming these groups according to their rules and they putting their own people in charge. I hope that those who currently serve on Council don't buy into this nonsense. If they do then they again are showing how little they know. Let's stop this socialistic move. And people should know this ,,, My behavior in the community forums I participate in is neither Republican or Democratic... I am a citizen who does his citizenship duty and takes his responsibilities seriously. I remain vigilant of my liberties which other of lesser knowledge and mind want to take away. Dennis Pearson
A dumb move by the city.
ReplyDeleteBut socialistic????
Sheez
@7:09, dennis just came back from a trip to cuba, so he may be having some after effect, but he's certainly right that we don't need anybody interfering with allentown's unique neighborhood programs. this was another weitzel over reach, complete with consultants.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyonelse out there think that wild water wetzels leaving did not have any commishins for the recycledplasticrubishplaygrounds without the knowldge of the king?Than in turn the kings commishon went to the brown hole in center city.
ReplyDeleteThere is for all intents and purposes, no parks dept at this time. Mike G will not be replaced,just as Mike W was not replaced. Overall staff is way down and component middle managements gone. FUBAR as we said in WWII. Randy S, gone. Mike F.,gone.etc.
ReplyDeleteSo what do they do but sent this young kid Rick H,a landscape and tree trimmer to revamp the cities youth sports system! Their going to reap the worl wind with this foolery . Boy oh boy did the Trexler Trust send them down the wrong road!
Their will be a shitstorm in response comming from the proud youth leagues. This is as stupid as the Mayors plan to log South Mountain. Really dumd and out of touch with Allentown's people. And this while the parkways look shabbier and shabbier. Crazy. Sad. Hard to believe city council or Trexler doesn't step in and say enough.
That young man Weitzel sure left a mess when he skidaddled out of town.
Dennis mentions that his behavior is neither Republican or Democratic, which is fine. But it's worth noting that 100 percent of City Hall, where this idiotic plan is coming from, is Democrat.
ReplyDeleteUntil city voters toss a few Democrats out of office, nothing will change. And merely replacing them in the Democrat primary isn't the answer - they're being replaced by the same thinking!
One party rule has not been good for the taxpayers or the City. Will this be the issue that wakes democrat voters up? I hope so.
PS - I just saw the city posted another deficit in 2011, according to the annual audit. Where is the outcry from our elected officials on City Council?
allentown park and recreation has not opened the fountain park pool in four seasons, because of rather minor repairs needed. now this week, mack pool goes down because of the filter. the children of allentown have been reduced to three pools during a record heat wave, and this department now wants to improve the sports programs?
ReplyDeleteActually, it really IS socialism, to some extent. The city wants to "level the playing field" so that all the kids have access to exactly the same thing, at exactly the same price. Not only that, but the way I read the MCALL article, it seems the city itself would collect the fees and redistribute as it sees fit. Is that right? If so, that is socialism.
ReplyDeleteAs a Parkland parent, I have access to some very fine youth sports associations. But...I am not spoon fed - I have to do the research myself and find out what the various leagues offer, what the cost is, and what the transportation expectations are. Each league is different. It can be a little daunting, but that is the job of a parent - to do the research and find what's right for the child. Having some competition between the leagues makes for some really excellent choices. If you take away the competition, you end up with a big batch of mediocrity.
Making improvements where none are needed is typical of this city's government. It's sad. I hope the existing leagues fight this and retain their autonomy.
What Allentown could do is start a whole new league of their own. That would allow them to accomplish their objectives without trampling the rights of existing leagues.
i'd like to know what the consultation fee was for the sports program recommendation. between the destination dog park, destination water park, and the sports program, we may have spend over $250,000 in fees; borderline criminal in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI strongly recommend a comprehensive program along the lines of a LEISTUNGSSPORTBESCHLUSS to Chairman Pawlowski in the People's Democratic City With No Spending Limits.
ReplyDeleteWorked out well for us as our Olympic medal count clearly indicates ...
MANFRED EWALD,
DEUTSCHER TURN und SPORT BUND
------------------------------
"EAST GERMANS ABSENT AS ORDERED" ... www.goironpigs.com
"LEISTUNGSSPORTBESCHLUSS" ... lvironpigs.wordpress.com
Monkey Momma -
ReplyDeleteThe real travesty is that the more the city gets involved and takes those basic decisions (and responsibilities) away from the parents, the more dependent those parents and children become.
I hate to believe this is intentional but it seems that there are those who are determined to build, reinforce and expand the dependency mentality among city residents.
That's not only what is enslaving our urban poor to generational poverty, it is what's rotting our cities from within.
Changing the dependency mentality would improve our cities faster than any government program ever could.
MM -
ReplyDeleteHow many pools did the city once have?
@11:05, the city had five when i grew up: fountain, irving,mack, jordan, and cedar. fountain's been closed since 2009. weitzel wanted to close irving as part of his new aquatic plan and turn it into a water spray park. now mack is closed because of the pump.
ReplyDeleteallentown likes to boast that it's the third largest city in pa. when it justifies it's projects, but neglects it's real responsibilities. cynthia mota should be upset about the short change our newest citizens are getting, but apparently she's being groomed to instead play the political game and gain.
What are the minor renovations that need to be done to Fountain?
ReplyDelete@ 12:11, a crack at the bottom of the pool needed sealing, as well as repair to one of three filters. a city spokesman estimated that it would not cost $160,000 to make those repairs. this comment was made at a presentation which recommended keeping that pool closed, so I suspect the cost of repairs may have been exaggerated.
ReplyDeleteWonder what happens to the millions in property value that the neighborhood associations have? ESYC's rec center, Mountainville's acreage, Alton Park's acreage, etc.
ReplyDeleteIs this a money grab?
The city has NO PARKS and very little recreation department.
ReplyDeleteThis is a freaking scandal,is it not?
HOW CAN THIS BE?
Miss MOTA, do the right thing. RESIGN NOW!
@2:55, the city proposal only calls for the uniformity of different programs and fees by the separate neighborhood groups, who would still be in charge. the issue is that the city need not be involved at all; these groups have run the programs for many decades. the post has a link to the article in the Morning Call, with all the specifics.
ReplyDelete@3:04, i would hope that ms. mota comes to realize that most of these proposals came from weitzel's ambition, not necessarily in the citizens best interest
I'd love to hear ideas on fixing our broken parks from Allentown republicans. I'm all ears.
ReplyDeleteDid I miss something when Tony ran for mayor?
I remember very well how GOP Heydt rampaged thru the Parkway for the classy lights display.
I'm ready to hear more. Do tell,please.
@4:07, this is not a partisan issue, but i'll give you a short answer. the parks aren't broken, but unfortunately, they have been victimized by the wrong priorities. while all the paths have been paved in cedar park, and additional paved paths added, the WPA structures elsewhere have been subjected to neglect. while unnecessary exercise stations and signs have been purchased, fountain park pool was allowed to remain closed. we have spent over $200,000+ on consultants and plans for destination features, some absurd, like a water park. I have expressed these sentiments to both the park department and city council.
ReplyDeleteThis is stupid. Won't happen in 1,000 years and the city has absolutely no authority to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteCope doesn't know what he's talking about.
Stupid idea will go nowhere.
Dumb!
How many youth sports have you coached Cope,and for how many years?
In fact,Weitzel,Dougherty,Marin, all the other deptment heads come and gone,and the Mayor himself, how many years of youth sports coaching you got?
Jerks and fools.
Post this or not,it's my opinion. And I got many years service to our kids and I didn't need no consultant from Florida to tell me it was the right thing to do.
Jerks and fools. My opinion.
Actually,as you say Monkey Momma,actually the idea.of public pools,indeed public parks,is socialism. No?
ReplyDeleteActually, William Penn's idea of a "Commonwealth",actually is socialism Monkey Momma.
Actually.
Check under your beds, Tea Party brothers and sisters.
Actually, the socialists are all around us.
MM, tell them. Many of the leaders of the brave and proud nation of Isreal have been socialists.
Was our great president T.R. a socialist?. He started our national parks.
What silly ideological pater.
Repair Allentown's pools so poor kids,our kids,actually,don't have to swim in the Little Lehigh with raw sewage or risk drowning in the Jordon Creek.
5:17 -
ReplyDeleteDirect your anger where it belongs.
It's not the Tea Party that's let the parks go to hell and have systematically been closing your pools. It's the Progressive democrats running Allentown City Hall.
By the way, people have been swimming in city creeks forever. Before there was a Jordan Pool, they swam nearby at Jordan Creek. Cedar Beach was an actual beach along the Cedar Creek.
It's the Mayor and City Council that seem determined to put everyone back in the creeks by neglecting our pools. God knows they're putting us in debt up to our necks as well.
Great post. Dennis is right the city needs to keep its fingers out of neighborhood youth centers business.As mike has pointed out we had many oppertunities for sports as youths.Besides east side,Mountainville,West side centers we had the boys clubs in the north end and at foutain park.Also PAL had programs and boxing out of the ward was top notch.But there is a component that has not been mentioned.Over the years its been next to impossible to find volunteer coaches to step up and participate,plus the loss of junior high sports left the centers on a downward spiral as they were the feeder programs that introduced kids to sports.Remember the midget leagues.All the city youth centers did a great job in the neighborhoods but the participation by kids and adults took a nose dive with the loss of junior high sports.And of course the big bad problem of LIABILITY.So its my opinion if the city wants to improve recreation they should find a way to work with ASD in finding funding streams to bring back junior high sports.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThere is for all intents and purposes, no parks dept at this time. Mike G will not be replaced,just as Mike W was not replaced. Overall staff is way down and component middle managements gone. FUBAR as we said in WWII. Randy S, gone. Mike F.,gone.etc.
So what do they do but sent this young kid Rick H,a landscape and tree trimmer to revamp the cities youth sports system! Their going to reap the worl wind with this foolery . Boy oh boy did the Trexler Trust send them down the wrong road!
Their will be a shitstorm in response comming from the proud youth leagues. This is as stupid as the Mayors plan to log South Mountain. Really dumd and out of touch with Allentown's people. And this while the parkways look shabbier and shabbier. Crazy. Sad. Hard to believe city council or Trexler doesn't step in and say enough.
That young man Weitzel sure left a mess when he skidaddled out of town.
July 6, 2012 11:00 PM
July 4th, Lehigh Parkway welcomed easily more than one thousand visitors who cooked out,
played games, had fun. However,
of these visitors, many did not respect the parking rules and
parked anywhere they wished, even on the hillside going to Lehigh Parkway North's neighborhood.
Cars raced through the park, speed not a consequence as the
over-worked enforcement officials had an entire city to monitor.
"over-worked enforcement officials had an entire city to monitor."
ReplyDeleteAny proof of that?
July 4
ReplyDeleteWalk dog in Parkway. A zoo!
The park with no limits.
Outrageous!
If ya think the park was a zoo on july 4,just wait, I recall with fond memories,although a bit hazy,the parkway during the summers of the late 60's.Great FREE concerts and hundreds of colorful characters and hippies galor.A great time was had by all.
ReplyDeleteI was at some of those events. Mostly fun but a dark drug scene crept in and then it got creepy pretty quick. Always maintained respect for the park tho.
ReplyDeleteI too was there for a walk this 4th. People having fun but no respect for the park or the speed limit. Charcoal left all over,speeding,litter.....the drug of chose-alcohol.
Litter,baby diapers,piles of charcoal,insoles of shoes(? Who knows?) all over the Patkway and Cedar Beech.
ReplyDeleteA real pig pen left by people who behave like swine.
Maybe Cynthia Mota can draft another ordinance.