Allentown pulls the plug on a proposed holiday addition
Walkable display near Bogert’s Covered Bridge dropped
Allentown’s annual Lights in the Parkway program won’t be offering a new walkable display after all.
On Wednesday, just two weeks after Mayor Ray O’Connell promised the “Holiday Village” addition would be ready by Thanksgiving, city officials abandoned a proposal that had asked City Council to transfer $60,000 for the project from a capital fund dedicated to the remediation of blighted properties.
Leonard Lightner, director of the city’s community and economic development department, withdrew the bill without explanation except to say it will not be reintroduced this year. The decision pleased at least a handful of residents attending the meeting, with one woman exclaiming, “Yes!” as council turned to the next item on its agenda.
Lightner said Friday he realized the bill was going to fail after noting the objectors in attendance and council’s reluctance minutes earlier to transfer $100,000 from the blight fund for a more popular initiative — hiring workers and setting up community hubs for the upcoming U.S. Census. (Council ultimately voted to tap $50,000 from the blight fund and the other $50,000 from a reserve fund to cover the census project.) The 23rd rendition of the drive-through Lights in the Parkway program will be held as usual, Lightner confirmed. But soon, he added, the city needs to create a walkable holiday attraction that highlights one or more of its parks.
“I want to make sure we showcase all the jewels we have in our community and provide a family experience that’s more than just a 15-minute drive through one our parks,” Lightner said. “I don’t know if it will be on that site, but we will sit down with our parks department and see what’s feasible.”
The withdrawn bill described a walk-through display and nightly themed events near Bogert’s Covered Bridge along the Lehigh Parkway. It called for the purchase of new light displays and an “intelligent lighting” system programmed with a wider variety of colors and effects.
At council’s community and economic development committee meeting July 24, Lightner also proposed additional renovations to the historic, 280-yearold Hunter’s Cabin and opening it to the public, possibly using it as a gift shop.
The Friends of the Allentown Parks nonprofit group completed some initial improvements to the cabin last year after receiving a $14,300 donation.
Committee chairman Courtney Robinson had expressed “serious concerns” about the foot traffic’s impact on the log cabin as well as the use of the blight remediation funds. He said Friday that he was glad the administration pulled the bill.
“I look forward to seeing, hopefully in next year’s budget, what the plan will be to refurbish Lights in the Parkway,” Robinson said. “And I hope we will not be utilizing Hunter’s Cabin as part of any concept until it’s been completely restored to its original historic condition.”
Allentown received a onetime $5 million payment from Lehigh County Authority in 2014 as part of a deal to lease the city water and sewer system. The city allocated $600,000 to the blight removal and remediation fund. In early 2017, it siphoned
$141,000 to the general fund, where most if not all of that money has remained. Finance Director Brent Hartzell and Controller Jeff Glazier said Wednesday they are trying to determine whether a $17,000 appropriation had been spent.
Robinson said he would request the unused funds be transferred back to the blight fund.
If the Holiday Village comes to fruition, it may coincide with a planned rehabilitation of Bogert’s Bridge, built in 1841. The Harry C. Trexler Trust recently engaged an architectural firm to undertake a study of Bogert’s Bridge ahead of planned renovations, executive director Janet Roth said Thursday.
Just last week, the city was awarded a $750,000 state grant to help cover the cost of renovations. It also received an $80,000 grant last summer.
The total project cost is estimated at just more than $2 million. It includes $1.65 million for rehabilitation construction, nearly $200,000 for design and more than $150,000 for administration and inspection.