The Borough Council in Allentown has adopted a bond ordinance that will fund capital improvements and the acquisition of capital equipment.
During a meeting on June 1, council members voted 6-0 to appropriate $500,000 and to authorize the issuance of $475,000 in bonds and notes to finance a portion of the costs.
Although not a complete list, municipal officials said the $500,000 appropriation could finance equipment for the Department of Public Works, including a new pickup truck, a new leaf vacuum and a new tractor with a backhoe; a pole barn that would be used to protect municipal equipment and vehicles; and a new breath test for the Allentown Police Department to comply with state law.
In other business, the council members increased the amount of a contract with Resource Management Group, LLC, to perform asbestos removal from the municipal annex building on Church Street. The contract was increased by $21,900 to a total of $28,500.
Municipal officials said the amount of asbestos that was found in the building was more than what was initially believed to be present. Work is underway to rehabilitate the municipal annex so it may once again be used by the community.
During a recent meeting of the Allentown Borough Council, municipal officials took action that was the final step on what has been a multi-year project involving the Planning Board.
Council members voted 6-0 to adopt an ordinance that amended and combined several land use ordinances in the municipal code that have now been revised and updated. The ordinances deal with land use procedures, land subdivision, zoning and affordable housing regulations.
The new ordinance is an all-encompassing land development regulations law that runs 330 pages, according to Michele Donato, who is Allentown’s Planning Board attorney and who guided the effort.
“This process has taken several years and the Planning Board was incredibly diligent in this regard. This (new ordinance) perfects what Allentown has as a pattern of development you will seek to preserve.
“This ordinance is a masterpiece for this borough and I was so heartened by the way citizens worked together,” Donato told municipal officials and members of the public.
Donato credited professional planners Andy Thomas and Tom Thomas for their work on the ordinance and Lynn Meara for her work on the Planning Board.