Introduction

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Region's Choice: Reap the Benefits or Bear the Burden?

By Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown

"A rising tide lifts all boats." This was spoken by John F. Kennedy in a 1963 speech at the dedication of a dam in Heber Springs, Arkansas.  He explained that the Greers Ferry project, and others like it, were investments not only in Arkansas, but in the nation's future.   After the dam was built and the lake filled, tourism boomed, businesses opened, and Greers Ferry Lake became one of Arkansas' leading destinations creating a broad economic impact in that region for decades to follow.

I tell this story because as was the case in 1963, I feel that we in the Lehigh Valley are at a similar turning point in the development of our region. 

Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ), provides a tremendous opportunity for the entire Lehigh Valley.  Some see this legislation in a positive light, others in a negative.  Some Lehigh Valley municipalities are concerned about the effects of this new program. While we are trying to attend to those concerns quickly and fairly, I don't want us to lose sight of the big picture.  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has given the Lehigh Valley a chance to reinvigorate our largest urban core.  As a region, we can either reap the benefits of this opportunity to renew Allentown or we can bear the burden of squandering it.

Will everyone reap the benefits?  My answer is yes, because Allentown's success is critical to the entire region. It is estimated that over 55,000 people work in the city every day and more than ONE BILLION dollars of annual earned income is generated by individuals who work in Allentown and live elsewhere. Allentown is an economic driver for our regional economy. If Allentown prospers, the entire region prospers, if it declines, the region will decline and our economy will stagnate.   

Allentown officials have presented a plan ensuring that our surrounding municipalities and school districts will not lose their current Earned Income Tax (EIT) from their residents working within the NIZ area. The City's latest proposal not only addresses concerns about current tax income but also shares the city's success with the surrounding municipalities and school districts. The City will develop a Baseline Payment Fund to assure that every taxing body in the region receives its current EIT payments for the life of the NIZ. 

In addition, to make sure the surrounding municipalities share in the upside of future development projects within the zone, all NIZ developers of commercial office projects will be charged $1 per square foot for occupied office space created in the zone. This fee will be assessed on a yearly basis to create a Regional Development Fund. That fund will share revenue with municipalities and school districts annually (much like the casino-revenue-sharing arrangement in Northampton County) and will be distributed according to the percentage of each municipality's residents working within the NIZ area. The creation of this fund will also help address the concern that there would be an unusual movement of office tenants from neighboring communities. It will apply to all of the municipalities, regardless of their position in or outside of any lawsuit.

Finally, let us remember the main intent of the Neighborhood Improvement Zone is to generate new economic development and increase regional employment opportunities.  It is estimated that the arena project alone will create more than 1750 construction jobs and 240 permanent jobs upon completion. Kevin Lott, a construction worker from Hellertown representing 470 Lehigh Valley carpenters, told the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners last week: "It's been three years that have been very, very difficult. We really need this work...I have guys losing their homes. It destroys families." The NIZ offers a tremendous opportunity to help reverse this trend.  If we as a region can collaborate and strike a mutually beneficial agreement, we can get down to the business of offering thousands of desperately needed construction jobs to the Valley's unemployed workers.

Beyond job creation, there are other economic benefits to the Valley if this project succeeds: new commerce, increased tourism, and the ability to attract educated workers as well as new companies to the area.  An 8,500 seat multi-purpose arena will improve the quality of life in the region by increasing our options for leisure activities, our pride in the Lehigh Valley and, ultimately all of our property values.

Will the city's offer of collaboration to share in the benefits of the NIZ be accepted or will the redevelopment of Allentown be delayed indefinitely and the benefits of the NIZ wasted?  No one wins if no one is talking. If Allentown declines, many of the downtown jobs held by non-City residents will cease to exist.

If this region is to succeed, we must come together, pursue our common interests, and invoke the necessary changes that will benefit us now and for generations to come.

The Valley's tide has come in, let us not cling to the shore and miss our opportunity to rise to greater heights as a region.

Save the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund

by Greg A. Weitzel, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City of Allentown and Christopher M. Kocher, President of Wildlands Conservancy, Lehigh Valley’s local Land Trust

As advocates for parks, recreation and conservation in our community, we were disheartened to learn that the state's proposed budget looks to permanently eliminate the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.  If approved by our legislators, this measure would represent the largest cut of conservation funding in state history!

The Keystone Fund was es¬tablished in 1993 with overwhelming bi-partisan and general public support.  Although 67% of voters approved of the Keystone Fund, in addition to the Senate vote of 48-0 and the House vote of 196-3, the Governor's proposed budget seeks to divert proceeds from this dedicated fund into general government operations, leaving zero Keystone dollars for future state-wide recreation, park and conservation projects.    

No state funding program has had a greater impact on local communi¬ties than the Keystone Fund.  This fund has helped support the development and rehabilitation of more than 2,600 community parks and natural areas; the creation of hundreds of miles of state, county and local trails; and the protection of more than 145,000 acres of critical open space.

In addition, over the last 19 years, the Keystone Fund has helped improve facilities in our national award-winning state park and forest systems; enabled more than 200 local libraries to expand and renovate their facilities; and helped preserve and protect more than 490 Pennsylvania historical landmarks, structures and museums. 

Wildlands Conservancy and the City of Allentown have received Keystone grants totaling more than $10 million dollars to complete numerous park, conservation and land acquisition projects right here in the Lehigh Valley.  Examples of some local projects include the renovation of the Cedar Creek Parkway, the acquisition of Camp Olympic, the restoration of Trout Creek and numerous regional and local trail development projects.  

Without Keystone funding support, these important projects that protect our natural environment and enhance our communities might not have been completed. However, the Keystone Fund is not a handout. Every dollar awarded from the fund has triggered more than two dollars in local and private investments. That means that the Keystone Fund has helped leverage more than $20 million dollars to help improve our community and the natural resources of the Lehigh Valley.   

In addition, Keystone Fund investments, in turn, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in state-wide economic activity, including increased purchasing, rising property values and creating much needed construction jobs.  This is a big reduction for a state budget that is supposedly focused on jobs and economic welfare.  

If the state budget proposal is approved, the end of the popular Keystone Fund would setback park, recreation and conservation policy by more than 20 years. We should be increasing, not decreasing, funding for the programs that protect Pennsylvania's rich natural resources, create low cost recreational opportunities, and stimulate community revitalization.  

There is no doubt that our national, state, county and local governments are facing a financial crisis and cuts need to be made to balance budgets and restore fiscal discipline.  However, completely eliminating the Keystone funding is not the answer.  Cutting this program only creates an ever increasing backlog of environmental and conservation problems that will continue to impact the very health and quality of life in our communities.  

Our mountains, forests, fields, farmland, parks, greenways, trails, rivers and streams -- support our economy, create healthy communities where people want to live, and provide low cost, close-to-home recreation for our families, which in turn enrich our lives.  

We encourage you to find out more by going to conservationadvocate.org and join with us by reaching out to your state legislators and encourage them to do the right thing for the environment and our communities. They need to reject this proposed budget transfer and provide full and dedicated funding for the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.  

 

Greg A. Weitzel is Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City of Allentown.  He is also Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee for the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society and can be reached at Weitzel@allentowncity.org or 610-437-7750.

Christopher M. Kocher is the President of Wildlands Conservancy, Lehigh Valley's local Land Trust.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association and can be reached at ckocher@wildlandspa.org or 610-965-4397, ext. 123.

Kamran Afshar, 2012 Economic Outlook