Year 2004
Mayor
John B. Callahan
State of the City Address
City of Bethlehem
March 4, 2004
I want to thank the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber
of Commerce and the Bethlehem Business Council for hosting
and organizing my first “state-of-the-city” address.
It’s fitting, for this event, that I’m joined
today by both my City Hall management team and by you, the
private sector leaders of the Bethlehem community. It is all
of you – through your daily activities of running your
businesses, creating jobs, and volunteering your time –
who make this city work and this community so special.
In my first address you will hear some common themes –
themes of hope, themes of optimism, themes of persistence
and patience, but most of all themes of renewal, and while
we face many obstacles – together – we will survive
and thrive as a community. Bethlehem today stands at a historic
crossroads. During the last six years, the city administration,
led by my friend and political mentor Mayor Don Cunningham,
struggled mightily to help Bethlehem overcome major challenges
and to get us moving forward. And during this time, we have
achieved much success. Bethlehem is moving into a new era
– a post-industrial era that has Bethlehem on course
to emerge as an even stronger city than during our storied
past. This new era, this new part of Bethlehem’s history,
waits to be defined – yet I see that not as a problem
– but rather as an opportunity. For it is now that this
era will be defined – by this generation – by
many of us in this room – by what we do and what we
seek and how we go about achieving our goals. For me, it is
an exciting time – admittedly a little frightening –
for what we are faced with in Bethlehem is nothing less than
the renaissance of our great city. I recently came across
a quote that said “No place is a place until the things
that happened in it are remembered”. So we need to embrace
our future without forgetting our past. Always understanding
that because of our past our future has very high standards
to live up to.
That is why what we do today is so important, in this period
of transition between two eras – a period of volatility
and unpredictability – a period driven much more by
challenge than the past one-hundred plus years, when one industry
reliably served as our city’s economic engine. Our new
era is marked by a more diversified economy and a more diversified
population and culture. The new Bethlehem will need to be
less parochial and more connected to our region and our regional
partners. The new Bethlehem will be more affected by regional,
national and global factors.
When I campaigned for Mayor, I spoke often about the future
of Bethlehem. I stated that Bethlehem’s government must
work to make our city a place that welcomes development, provides
first class services to our residents and businesses and provides
the type of opportunity that will allow our young people to
live and grow a family in the same place they were raised.
Now, as we look into the future, our challenge goes beyond
just saving the town, our goal must be to accelerate our progress
and make Bethlehem a great city, not only in Pennsylvania,
but also one of the best places to live in the whole United
States. During the next two years that will be my goal –
and I will not settle for anything less.
Keeping those themes in mind, today I’m happy to say
that the state of our city is good. Investment in Bethlehem
is up, jobs are up, construction activity is up. Taxes –
at least city taxes – are only up slightly and city
finances are stable. City services continue to improve –
the first job of any Mayor must be to make sure that the taxpayers
are getting a fair return on their hard earned tax dollars.
It’s tough for someone to get to work or kids to go
to school if the streets aren’t plowed promptly when
it snows. It’s difficult to have pride in your community
when the potholes aren’t patched and the streets are
in bad shape. It’s tough for people to enjoy the many
cultural and recreational amenities Bethlehem has if they
do not feel safe to go outside their homes.
My administration will focus new efforts on providing the
best level of service to the taxpayers, while working to keep
taxes in check. Let me be clear, I will be driving my cabinet,
my staff and every city worker hard everyday to make quality
services our first goal. We will deploy all resources at our
disposal to continue to make Bethlehem a clean and safe place.
We have more police, more paramedics, better fire equipment,
better parks and recreation facilities, more aggressive snow
removal and better leaf collection throughout the City. But
challenges remain. Let’s take a look at where we are
as a city and what challenges and opportunities we face.
Since 1998, Bethlehem has been a magnet for investment from
outside developers, with more than $1 billion in new investment.
Developers from across the region and across the country are
inquiring about building in Bethlehem. Recent events, including
the announcement of Lehigh Valley Industrial Parks’
purchase of 1,000 acres of former Bethlehem Steel land, just
underscore our attractiveness as a major development site.
Coupled with the purchase of 550 acres of property by Majestic
Realty of California, we are ready to reclaim and revitalize
the land that housed the former economic engine that drove
both this community and our region and restore it to its position
as the driving force of the Lehigh Valley’s economy.
We are a city with not just one, but two thriving downtowns.
During the last six years, we’ve grown our retail districts.
In the historic downtown, we’re reopened Broad Street,
developed the long-vacant corner of Broad and Main and restored
the Hotel Bethlehem to the magnificent grandeur of its past.
But, there is more work to be done. We need to take that growth
and development up Broad Street, focusing on a rebirth for
the once great corner of Broad and New Streets. Plans have
recently been announced for a new mixed-use retail, office
and residential building for this pivotal corner. Newly elected
Superior Court Judge Jack Panella will be locating his new
office and courtroom in the building. With this anchor in
place, along with the possibility of another restaurant, extending
restaurant row further east, we will continue to make Bethlehem
the culinary center of the Lehigh Valley.
But we can’t rest on our past successes. The threats
and challenges of the new suburban “lifestyle”
retail centers – ironically designed to mimic the ambiance
and character of our cities – must be addressed and
responded to. It is my hope that LVEDC, the Lehigh Valley
Partnership and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
will join me in ensuring that these “fake urban centers”
don’t thwart our efforts in community building and economic
development in the cities. Another quote I heard recently
was “Towns are often like people – old one’s
often have character, but the new one’s are interchangeable”.
We need to ensure that Bethlehem never becomes interchangeable.
In Bethlehem, to remain competitive, we need to improve our
downtown amenities, expanding our Victorian streetlights and
Victorian streetscapes to more areas of the Historic District.
We are also planning to focus our efforts on enhancing the
retail areas along West Broad Street, along the avenues of
West Bethlehem where commerce and business continues to thrive.
Heading further west we look forward to the renewal and redevelopment
of Martin Tower – another vestige of Bethlehem Steel
– by its new owners, and the commencement of construction
of the new Lowe’s Home Improvement Center and the adjacent
apartment development on the site of the former Durkee’s
plant.
During the last six years, we’ve pumped new life –
and arts and culture and commerce – into the South Side
retail district. Former warehouses have been turned into community
arts centers, our streetscapes have been transformed, Lehigh
University has reached down the mountain, and former steel
lands have become the home of technology centers and innovative
new economy manufacturers. But, there is more work to be done.
The Economic Stimulus Plan for Pennsylvania, proposed by Governor
Rendell, hopefully will be approved by the legislature soon.
In anticipation of this approval, I recently submitted a list
of our top priorities for funding to the Governor. Many of
those projects are on the South Side, and I would like to
take a few minutes to highlight them.
ArtsQuest, intends to work with Delaware Valley Real Estate
Investment Fund and selectively restore and adaptively reuse
several building in Bethlehem Works, including the iconic
blast furnaces, and create an Arts Park. And, adjacent to
Bethlehem Works, we can complete the dream of creating a linear
park with a biking and walking trail across the South Side,
replacing the abandoned railway.
In the next two years, my administration will make clear
that Bethlehem is open for business. We will support investments
in infrastructure – like those supported by capital
redevelopment assistance – that allow us to grow our
economy. In addition we are proposing the creation of a new
Keystone Innovation Zone in South Bethlehem to capitalize
on the relationship between Lehigh University, Northampton
Community College, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, LVEDC,
and our new economy business like OraSure, in helping to revitalize
and redevelop our city. And even though we are focusing our
efforts on the KIZ and South Bethlehem, our economic development
staff will continue to work closely with anyone looking to
bring jobs and new investment anywhere into Bethlehem. Our
future will be guided by the desires of the marketplace, because
the marketplace is our best hope to bring the right mix of
sustainable development.
While we in Bethlehem are enjoying a cultural and economic
renaissance, we are still in a time of fiscal austerity in
City Hall. While suburban municipal governments are awash
in new revenues and building budget surpluses, older cities
like Bethlehem continue to struggle. Hopefully we have turned
the corner fiscally. Our successes have allowed us to “keep
our heads above water” in trying to compensate for the
loss of the real estate value of the former Bethlehem Steel
properties in Bethlehem. So as we aggressively pursue economic
development, trying to increase our tax base, we continue
to run a tight fiscal ship. We continue to redirect our resources
away from non-essential uses to import basic services like
police, fire, public works and parks and recreation.
First class city services, new jobs and investment are all
vitally important to Bethlehem’s future – but
we cannot achieve greatness if we isolate ourselves from the
rest of the Lehigh Valley – that is why we are so supportive
of LVEDC, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, and
the Lehigh Valley Partnership and their regional agenda.
We have many regional assets in Bethlehem – Lehigh
University, Moravian College, Musikfest, Christkindlmarkt,
Celtic Classic, the Bach Choir, the Banana Factory, Lehigh
Valley PBS, WDIY, our historic districts, our restaurants,
our downtowns and most significantly our 1,800 acres of former
Bethlehem Steel property. As stewards of so many regional
assets, it’s our duty to work together for the good
of Bethlehem and the rest of the Lehigh Valley.
This city’s future holds endless possibilities, but
we also cannot achieve greatness if we do not have a truly
civil, cooperative government. Last year was a remarkable
year for Bethlehem in so many ways; it is time for us to move
beyond the past year, to leave the campaign for mayor and
the difficult budget process behind us. It is time for us
to restore the level of civil discourse and cooperation that
was Bethlehem’s trademark. We must always realize, that
there is so much more that brings us together than keeps us
apart.
It’s our duty to work together for the good of Bethlehem.
This city’s future holds endless possibilities. Our
only limitations are self-created. We, the members of the
Bethlehem government need to continue to make Bethlehem a
great place to live, work and raise a family.
My focus will be crystal clear. I’ve been elected to
keep Bethlehem moving forward, to build upon the success that
has started, and to lead us to a brighter tomorrow. This city
has a rich history. We’ve met adversity time and time
again and came away stronger. In our own quiet way, we’ve
led the nation during Colonial times, during the Industrial
Revolution, through the great world wars. The continued success
of Bethlehem rests not with one person, or one Mayor, one
company or one institution, but with the collective efforts
of all citizens, all of its businesses and all of its institutions.
All of you will determine our ultimate course. So I call on
every member of our community to do their part to ensure that
the spirit of Bethlehem lives on. Together we can accomplish
anything, but divided our opportunities will be squandered
and our momentum lost.
Bethlehem can be a showcase for a new mid-size urban America
– an urban America founded on great neighborhoods, a
strong community, good schools, a diverse economy, a rich
history, and appreciation for arts and culture, and attractive
downtowns. In short, a good quality of life built upon a solid
way of life. During the last 100 years our name became synonymous
with steel. In the next decade, Bethlehem will become the
benchmark for livable urban communities, where people can
live, work and play all in walking distance. Thank you.
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