ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Council is set this week to take another look at a vote that put millions in federal funding on the line — a vote one councilmember called “bonkers.”
Council at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday is scheduled to “review and act on” a $1.15 million contract that’s part of the project to build a new police station.
Council on Aug. 7 voted 4-2 to table that contract until budget season — which doesn’t start until mid-October — after two members said they felt left out of the process to select where a new police station should be built.
All American Rescue Plan Act funding must be allocated through specific contracts by Dec. 31 or it will be forfeited.Allentown Finance Director Bina Patel
Police officials and representatives from Alloy5 Architecture in February delivered an in-depth presentation to council.
That came after the architecture firm conducted a six-month study to determine the long-term solution and location for a new headquarters.
Costly delay?
Delaying a final vote on the police-station contract more than two months would put Allentown officials under the gun to meet strict deadlines on $9 million in coronavirus pandemic-relief money that city officials want to use to pay for some of the project.
The $1.15 million contract that council tabled was to hire Alvin H. Butz Inc. to serve as the construction manager for the project to build a new police station.
The company would then help hire an architect — with ARPA funds — through the city’s usual bidding process, which can take months.
Allentown got $57 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. That money must be allocated through specific contracts by Dec. 31 or it will be forfeited, Finance Director Bina Patel warned council this month.
City Controller Jeff Glazier told council it would make it difficult for city employees to issue requests for bids and award contracts by that deadline if they didn't approve the contract Aug. 7.
And Deputy Finance Director Jessica Baraket said there would be “no way” for the city to meet deadlines if council postponed a vote on the contract until October.
But four of six members voted to do just that.
Council could be a ‘laughingstock’
Council Vice President Santo Napoli, one of the two votes against the delay, suggested holding a meeting in mid-August to iron out any issues and award the contract to Alvin H. Butz Inc.
Councilman Daryl Hendricks seemed to support that idea but voted minutes later for the monthslong delay.
“Rule No. 1 is you never give back grant money."City Council Vice President Santo Napoli on Aug. 7
Councilwoman Candida Affa on Aug. 7 said she was “puzzled” by her colleagues’ desire to delay a vote.
“I don’t want to be in jeopardy of losing this money,” Affa said.
After the meeting, Napoli told LehighValleyNews.com he thought council’s vote was “unbelievable” and “bonkers” because it risks millions in federal funding.
Allentown City Council “will be a laughingstock” if the city is forced to return millions because of its vote to delay the contract, Napoli said.
“Rule No. 1 is you never give back grant money,” he said.
