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Council adopts Allentown Parks Plan; approves several small budget amendments and a $1.21M risk‑fund transfer
Summary
Council adopted the Allentown Parks Plan with public support and approved several budget amendments including a $50,000 'Love Your Block' grant, small appropriations for Bowers Bridge and Greenways, a $22,133.10 Trexler fund payment, and a $1.21 million transfer to the risk fund to cover health care claims.
The council adopted the Allentown Parks Plan (Resolution R12) after staff presentations and public comment praising the plan’s community engagement and climate‑resilience focus. Kyle Robsky, chair of the Environmental Advisory Council, urged adoption and emphasized parks’ roles in heat reduction, flood mitigation and green infrastructure.
Bill 3: Council amended the 2026 general fund to accept a $50,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies (through Johns Hopkins University) to continue the 'Love Your Block' program focused on Franklin Park and the 1st and 6th Wards.
Bill 4: Council approved a $3,124.20 supplemental appropriation from H & P Construction for electrical hookup at the Bowers Bridge project.
Bill 5: Council accepted a $2,000 supplemental appropriation from DLNHC for Lehigh Valley Greenways implementation.
R13 / Bill 6: Council authorized submission of a PennDOT Multimodal grant application for a short connection between Cedar Parkway and Trexler Park; staff noted the application deadline required prompt action. Separately, Bill 6 amending the Trexler fund authorized a $22,133.10 supplemental appropriation to the Parks & Recreation Department to make the final payment on a groundskeeping equipment loan (funds confirmed as from the Trexler fund).
Bill 7: Council approved a $1,210,000 transfer from the general fund to the risk fund to cover higher‑than‑expected health care claims (staff reported year‑to‑date health care expenditures of about $32.4 million). Council referred Bill 8 (noise ordinance housekeeping to align with recent zoning code changes) to the Community & Economic Development Committee for additional review.
All listed budget and resolution items were adopted or forwarded as recorded during the meeting; votes were recorded as 6 ayes on each adopted item.
