June 16, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Bethlehem City Council will consider Tuesday an $80,000 payment to the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce for marketing.
According to the agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting, “The Chamber has carried out the mission of promoting and marketing the City’s downtown districts in a manner that has not only resulted in the strengthening of Bethlehem’s urban core but at a cost that likely could not be matched had the city hired its own staff to do so.”
The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber runs the Bethlehem Chamber.
I don’t get what “the strengthening of Bethlehem’s urban core” has to do with this, but that’s government-speak for you.
The administration of Mayor J. William Reynolds is asking council to approve the payment.
City Council will also consider a meaningless resolution in support of Pennsylvania’s raising the minimum wage.
Regardless of where somebody stands on the issue, this resolution will not do anything. I suggest a resolution against rain on more than two consecutive days, in keeping with the situation.
“NO MORE RAIN!” as they chanted at Woodstock. No, I was not there.
Bethlehem City Council wasted more than an hour a few years back on a discussion of “Medicare For All” and then voted in favor of it. Maybe they forgot; I didn’t. I had to sit through various heart-felt sob stories from people, quite a few of them not even from the city.
Meanwhile, municipal business had to wait. The best part was, after the “M4A” vote, one of the supporters on council said to another, “This doesn’t mean anything.” It didn’t.
I’ll say this much, at least the minimum wage debate generates a good discussion of economics, but the point remains, this city resolution on a State of Pennsylvania issue is meaningless.
Here is the full agenda, along with links to a webcast of the meeting and individual line items.
Here is Eric Clapton playing “Let It Rain.”
Bethlehem City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, in Town Hall. That’s the building between City Hall and the Bethlehem Area Public Library. There is an entrance facing Church Street.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 
Re: $80k for Chamber
Lots of questions about the $80,000 going to the Chamber.
There is a lot more to understand about the Chamber, Mayor and DBA relationship.
The Council documents seem to be vague as to what the money will be spent on. Or shouldn’t we all just understand the mayor using taxpayers’ money to ensure the Chamber will cheer for what he wants?
Just saying…/
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The same council meeting has an extended back and forth with the mayor and council abouy the removal of the 17 allegedly undocumented working at the fire damaged 510 flats.
Lots of condemnation about ICE, but no mention of the contractor and building owner’s responsibility to make sure that no undocumented, non citizens are working in the construction industry.
The building owner/developer is a major campaign donor. A former Bethlehem mayor works for the developer. They all should know better.
There were other responsible contractors available to do the remediation that were overlooked.
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