Office Of The Mayor
Thomas M. McMahon


Mayor’s Report To City Council
February 12th, 2007

Public Safety:

We had over 100 people attend our seminar on reducing gun violence on Feb 6 at Reading Area Community College, and I want to thank all those who attended. This was a follow up to the comments received at the crime forums last year, and part of our ongoing effort to educate the public on the dangers of illegal guns in the hands of criminals. Several items of legislation are pending in Harrisburg, but two in particular will merit the attention of voters and their elected representatives, one on limiting handgun purchases to one per month, to help stem the problem of gun trafficking and the other to mandate the reporting of stolen guns, as part of the effort to assist law enforcement in tracing of guns used for crimes.

We continue to meet with the vehicle theft task force as well as the group working on the anti-gang initiative to examine programs that work, and to exchange ideas on best practices.

With the delay in federal funding of the camera system due to the removal of earmarked funds as of the first of the year, we will need to be more creative on finding sources of funding to begin the project this year. I want to thank an anonymous donor who has begun the fund with a contribution of $10,000 and has made commitments to find more resources.

I attended the US Conference of Mayors last month as well as the National Summit of Mayors Against Illegal Guns on January 23 in Washington. It is encouraging that over 150 mayors have now signed the principles of the organization related to stiffer penalties for crimes committed with a gun.


Solid Waste:

Most city residents are now used to the new schedule for the pickup of trash and recycling. If there are any questions, please call the Citizens Service Center in City Hall at 1-877-PAREADING.

We have been getting good reports on the performance of the recycling contractor and we thank them for it.

Codes:

We continue to conduct alley tours and completed one last Saturday in South Reading. During the tours which include codes enforcement, neighbors, council representatives and the mayor, we spot problem properties and make specific contact for the owner to take action. Barring the action being done in a reasonable time, citations will be issued.

Miscellaneous:

In celebration of Black History Month, we have on display on the first floor "The Faces of Culture - a collection of artwork done by Edward C. Terrell entitled "Who Are We?"

Sponsored by the African American Coalition of Reading, located in the Goggleworks, this display will be in City Hall for the month of February and is located across from the Treasury Office.

We thank A.C.O.R. and Mr. Terrell for their participation.

I also want to thank Ed Terrell and Fred Bacon, another noted local African-American artist who together collected, judged and awarded cash prizes to school students in the Goggle Works annual event yesterday. Congratulations to all the students who participated. We have a wonderful crop of young artists coming along for which I need to thank the art teachers, the parents and all those who see the potential in kids and are helping kids to be successful.

Congratulations also to the Reading Public Library and the staff for the receipt of the Marietta Y. King and the Alberta Walden Still Diversity award from the Library Services of Older Adults Task Force of the Pennsylvania Library Association. The folks at the Southeast branch were instrumental in getting this award and we are very proud of them and of the work they do in our community with young people and with seniors.

Congratulations to the Centre Park Historic District and Neighborhood Association on their 25th anniversary. Over that period of time, the group has developed into an active, caring organization that conducts an arts festival, movie nights for kids, Christmas House tours, Garden Tours, and works to preserve our architectural treasures all over the city through the artifacts bank. We thank them for their dedication to the city and wish them well for another 25 years.

Lastly, let me also remind everyone of the Crime Watch spaghetti dinner on Saturday March 3 from 12 noon to 8:00 pm at Adrienne’s Inn at Centre Park, 730 Centre Ave, in Reading. No reservations are necessary and the dinner is for a good cause, to support the crime watch efforts throughout the City.