BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure gave his annual State of the County address Wednesday morning, taking a victory lap toward the end of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out opposition to warehouse construction and making plans for the future.
- Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure delivered his annual State of the County speech at the Hotel Bethlehem Wednesday
- He celebrated the county's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and success with farmland and open space preservation
- Looking to the future, McClure said the county needs to stop more warehouses from being built and needs to invest in passenger rail in the Lehigh Valley
Hotel Bethlehem’s Grand Ballroom was filled with local government leaders, county officials, representatives from labor unions and others for the county executive’s annual speech on the county’s direction.
“What is the state of Northampton County?” McClure said. “It’s never been better.”
He touted the county’s work to keep property taxes stable or reduce them over the past five years and also emphasized the success of farmland and open space preservation initiatives.
Those successes, he said, represent promises kept.
Our future is green. Green is the color of nature, and green is the color of money, and green is the light that tells us to go forward into the future.Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure
“Our future is green,” McClure said. “Green is the color of nature, and green is the color of money, and green is the light that tells us to go forward into the future.”
Throughout his speech, McClure also celebrated Northampton County’s pandemic response. Though he said the county will “stay vigilant” against COVID-19, he took the opportunity to celebrate how the county addressed — past tense — the pandemic.
Through partnerships with local hospitals, the county provided COVID vaccines and more than 10,000 COVID tests. Money was also available for small businesses.
“We met the pandemic," McClure said. "We did what we could do.”
Looking forward
Despite the county’s success, McClure said there still are problems and challenges to tackle going forward.
First, he noted that the nonprofit group American Rivers listed the Lehigh among the nation’s most endangered rivers, threatened mainly by runoff from ongoing development.
He also said the valley’s air quality is “not what it should be, and not what we would expect it to be.”
For too long, not enough of our municipalities have been armed with the ability to fight back to determine their own destiny. Our municipalities are now armed.Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure
McClure said one of the biggest challenges is to stop the proliferation of warehouses in Northampton County.
“Our people are done with warehouses,” said McClure, drawing forceful applause.
He said that while nothing is “inherently evil” about warehouses, and he welcomes the jobs these developments have created, there are enough in Northampton County.
He praised the work of the county and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission to develop a land-based freight plan that will give the municipalities responsible for zoning decisions more ammunition to block warehousing.
McClure also pushed local governments not to offer tax breaks for developers looking to build warehouse space.
“For too long, not enough of our municipalities have been armed with the ability to fight back to determine their own destiny,” he said. “Our municipalities are now armed.”
Building the county's middle class
McClure’s plans for the future center on continuing to build the county’s middle class.
“We don't have anybody to leave behind,” he said.
One of the best ways to do that, he said, is to improve the condition and accessibility of affordable workforce housing through projects such as a Habitat for Humanity development in Forks Township and another in West Easton.
McClure’s administration also plans to increase access to broadband; a study of the county’s high-speed internet infrastructure launched earlier this year.
I suspect when the study is complete, we'll be told it's going to be billions of dollars and decades before we could have passenger rail to NYC or Philadelphia. That no longer can be the scare tactic to keep us from pursuing passenger rail.Northampton Cunty Executive Lamont McClure
McClure also proclaimed his support for creating passenger rail service from the Lehigh Valley to New York City and Philadelphia, which is being explored by the state Transportation Department and Lehigh Valley Transportation Study.
“I suspect when the study is complete, we'll be told it's going to be billions of dollars and decades before we could have passenger rail to NYC or Philadelphia,” said McClure.
“That no longer can be the scare tactic to keep us from pursuing passenger rail.”
He said he also plans to continue programs helping to educate county residents on the danger of fentanyl-adulterated street drugs, and helping people recently released from prison find a stable job.
