ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Council members were set to debate an alternative first-response program Wednesday evening, but that meeting will have to wait a week with the region cloaked in “intense smoke” from Canadian wildfires.
Officials postponed two Allentown City Council meetings from June 7 until Tuesday, June 13.
- Allentown City Hall closed early Wednesday due to a “code red” air quality alert
- That postponed an Allentown City Council meeting to discuss a proposal for an alternative response to some 911 calls
- Thousands of residents signed petitions supporting a pilot program to dispatch EMTs and mental health professionals instead of police
Numerous other activities and events were canceled Wednesday, while City Hall and other offices closed in the afternoon, according to Genesis Ortega, Allentown’s communications manager.
A code-red alert means “the air quality is unhealthy for everyone."Genesis Ortega, Allentown communications manager
The state Department of Environmental Protection earlier Wednesday issued a “code red” alert that included the Lehigh Valley. That means “the air quality is unhealthy for everyone,” Ortega said.
On the agenda
Thousands of Allentown residents signed a petition asking the city to create an “alternative first-response” pilot program that would dispatch EMTs and mental health professionals instead of police to some 911 calls.
Police Chief Charles Roca on May 3 called the proposal "defund-the-police rhetoric" after many supporters urged council members to approve the program.
The agenda for the now-postponed special meeting shows council was set to hear “testimony” from about a dozen people, including several who gathered petition signatures, mental health advocates, social workers and residents.
