Bark in the Park

Thanks to your votes, the City of Allentown is one of 15 Finalists in PetSafe’s Bark for Your Park Contest!  We appreciate you helping us to get through Round One, but now the city needs your help in Round 2.  Voting is already underway, and you can vote again at both www.barkforyourpark.com and www.facebook.com/petsafebrand.  Voters can cast a ballot at each website once every 24 hours, so please vote early and vote often! PetSafe will award $100,000 to the top city in the Bark For Your Park contest to build a dog park.  Two additional $25,000 prizes will be awarded to “runner up” cities.  I know that there are a lot of dog owners in the City who would love to have a park for their pooch, so please get as many of your dog-loving friends to vote and get us a park for all of our canine friends to enjoy!

City Without Limits: Points of Pride Parade and Festival

Just a reminder about our upcoming Points of Pride Community Festival which will be here before we know it, on Septemeber 29th.  There are several ways to participate:  You can build a float or march in the parade; reserve a table or perform at our Community Festival, or do both!

The parade starts at 11:00 a.m. Sept. 29, at the Allentown Fairgrounds and proceeds downtown to the PPL Plaza at Ninth and Hamilton Streets.  The parade divisions are based on 50 year periods in Allentown’s history, so come out and celebrate all we can be proud of as Allentonians.  After the parade, floats will park in the festival area to be viewed and enjoyed by all.

 Parade participants, marching groups and the parade audience itself will then join in the Community Festival centered around the PPL Plaza starting at noon and continuing until 7 p.m.  The Festival will bring together community groups and organizations, and offer entertainment, exhibits, artists, food vendors, and more celebrating our diverse and vibrant community.

 This kind of event happens only once every 250 years, so be sure to join in the excitement and fun!  Detailed information is available on our website: www.Allentown250.com, or by contacting Pastor Bob Stevens, who is Chairperson of the Parade and Community Festival Committee at:  BobStevens@Entermail.net or by phone at: 610-435-2412.

Keeping Seniors Cool During the Summer

The Lehigh County Senior Center at 1633 Elm St. is always available as a cooling location for anyone in need.  The Center has a full schedule of activities for Seniors to keep them cool during the hot weather, but also provides cool shelter for those who need or want to escape the heat.  The Center also provides Emergency Shelter when the need arises.  If you are a Senior Citizen in the City of Allentown, or anywhere in Lehigh County, please visit this wonderful facility and take part in the great programs they offer.

You can make new friends as well as get involved in art, crafts, physical fitness, travel, and dances!  The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.   For more information, please call the Senior Center at (610) 437-3700 or check our website: http://www.lehighseniors.org/ for activities.

Getting Unwanted Guns Off the Street

Residents of the City of Allentown had an opportunity to rid themselves of unwanted firearms during the Gun Buyback Program recently held on Saturday, July 7^th  at St. Luke’s Evangelical Church.  The response was overwhelming, and the Police Department ran out of the $100 Kmart gift cards given in return for each firearm that was turned in. Names and addresses were collected so those who did not receive a gift card could be mailed one.

The gun buyback program was a collaborative effort on the part of Mayor Ed Pawlowski and the members of Allentown City Council, and was coordinated by the Allentown Police Department.  There was $5,000 budget for the gift cards which was given to the program for the Allentown City Council budget as well as collected drug forfeiture money.   It is the city’s first gun buyback program in several years, and 114 guns were collected.

“The program allowed residents to dispose of unwanted guns in the proper manner while receiving something useful and valuable to them at the same time,” said Pawlowski.  “I’m pleased and grateful that City Council worked with the administration and the police department in this effort.  The response was overwhelming and I want to thank

Pawlowski Elected to PCLM Leadership

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski has been elected 1st Vice President of the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities.  Pawlowski was elected by the membership during the annual business meeting at PLCM’s 113th annual convention on Friday, June 22 at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh.

“I am very pleased to have been chosen to fill this important leadership position by representatives of local governments from across Pennsylvania,” Pawlowski said.  “I welcome the opportunity to serve and offer the perspective of the state’s third largest city on the issues that we face each and every day.”

Municipal elected and appointed officials from across the state attended informative and educational sessions at the three day convention.  They discussed issues facing the Commonwealth’s municipalities and established legislative policy for the coming year.

Pawlowski was elected 2nd Vice President in June 2011 and became 1st Vice President in January of this year.  He has been a member of the League’s “Core Communities in Crisis” task force.

The Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. Today, PLCM represents Pennsylvania’s cities, townships, town, boroughs, and home rule communities that all share the League’s municipal policy interests. The Board of Directors oversees the administration of a wide array of municipal services including legislative advocacy (on both the state and federal level), publications designed to educate and inform, inquiry and research, education and training certification programs, consulting-based programs, and group insurance trusts.

Redeveloping the Nueweiler Brewery

Consultants for the City of Allentown and Allentown Economic Development Corporation made a presentation on their Neuweiler Brewery Reuse and Rehabilitation Study on Tuesday, July 10 at the America on Wheels Museum for a group of elected officials, including Mayor Pawlowski, business owners, and interested citizens.

A team headed by Cornerstone Consulting Engineers and Architects of Allentown has been conducting a detailed analysis of the property and former Neuweiler facilities in conjunction with the Lehigh River Waterfront Master Plan.  The project was supported jointly by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and the United States Environmental Protection Agency through a sub-grant from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation’s Land Recycling Initiative.

The Lehigh River Waterfront Master Plan project consulting team from EDSA, Inc. of Baltimore previously conducted public meetings on the Lehigh River Waterfront Master Plan in September and December of 2011 and March of this year.  “We’re excited by what we saw, this will make a great addition to the Waterfront Re-development,” said Mayor Pawlowski.  “Along with the Arena, we’re giving people reasons to come to downtown Allentown again.  When this project is completed, the Waterfront will be a prime destination for locals and tourists alike.”

Working for the President’s Re-Election!

Volunteers in the Obama for America office in Allentown are happy making phone calls for the President!

As many of you are enjoying the warm weather, things are really heating up at the Obama For America Office at 1031 W. Linden St.  The staff is hard at work  on getting The President re-elected, but can always use more volunteers and donated supplies.  They are looking for volunteers to knock on doors, register voters, make phone calls, and perform office tasks.   As for donations, they could use:  Paper Goods like plates, bowls, cups, and napkins to help feed the staff and volunteers; Drinks like bottled water and Gatorade (to keep that energy up!);  Snacks such as granola bars, crackers and string cheese;  Food such as sandwiches, pizza or hoagies;  Furniture like old tables and couches.

In addition, they could use people who are willing to organize Block Parties, in which case they could use food like hot dogs and hamburgers, and games like a dunk tank, and a moon bounce for the kids.  Lastly, the office could use local folks willing to open up their homes and host out-of-town volunteers.  All of these requests are needed to run a successful campaign.  These folks are working long hours and rely on your donations so any money raised can go to other aspects of the campaign.

Your help is greatly appreciated in any way that you can.  We all worked together to get President Obama elected, and once again we need volunteers, donations, and cooperation to keep this country on the road to prosperity.  Let’s help President Obama continue the great job he started four years ago.

Visit http://barackobama.com/volunteer to find out how to get involved with the campaign in Allentown!

Pawlowski Family Fun Picnic

Just a reminder to join me and my family for the Pawlowski Family Fun Picnic on Sunday, August 26, from  1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the UAW Grove, which is located at 2101 Mack Blvd., across from the old Mack Truck Headquarters, now the Lehigh Valley Hospital building.  The picnic is  free for all Allentown residents!  There will be food, music by the Memory Lane Band, children’s activities including games, face painting, balloon animals & more!

Come out and join your neighbors for a day to celebrate what being a resident of Allentown is really about:  a great city made up of great people!  See you there!!!

To RSVP please call (610)-841-3733 or email mike@allentownmayor.com.