Office Of The Mayor
Thomas M. McMahon


Mayor’s Report To City Council
August 8th, 2005

McMahon Plan for Reading

This administration will continue to address issues coming to the forefront of my attention in terms of the four major tenets of the McMahon Plan. The major elements of the plan are:

1. Crime and Public Safety issues
2. Economic Development
3. Building neighborhoods
4. City Finances

Crime and Public Safety

1) Attached is a copy of an analysis of double parking statistics over the past two years. As you can see the totals for 2005 are trailing those of 2004. The Reading Police Department and the Reading Parking Authority are issuing $75 tickets for flagrant violators. Both organizations have discretion for someone unloading groceries or helping the elderly up the steps. Where double parking is occurring adjacent to available open spaces, we have instructed both the Parking Authority and the Police to enforce the law. We expect to see these citations to increase.

2) Chief Broad and I will be doing a ride-along on a COBRA operation in the near future. I remind council that ride-alongs with the police are encouraged and I urge council members to avail themselves of this opportunity.

3) The codes department continues to make progress on responding to calls for service. I have asked the codes manager to provide me with a monthly summary of complaints received and action taken, which will be shared with council. I want to remind everyone of the commitment that this administration has made to strengthen the codes department. Our new director, Mr. Jatinder Khokar is adding four new staff members, and we are providing training for them. If a series of calls to codes goes unanswered, they are to call Mr. Khokar directly at 610-655-6283. If issues are still unresolved, citizens can call the mayors office at 610-655-6234.

Economic Development

1) 5th and Penn Sovereign Bank Plaza – move in date beginning Dec 3, 2005.

2) Riverfest 2005 begins Sept 23rd, 24th and 25th. Fireworks display at the Penn Street bridge on Saturday, Sept 24 will be spectacular. There will be a schedule of exciting events throughout the entire weekend. Mark your calendars for this great event planned by volunteers to celebrate our River.

3) There will be an open house on Sunday, September 18th from noon until 4 pm at the Goggle Works, 2nd and Washington. The community is invited to celebrate the grand opening of our new arts center.

4) The Berks Economic Partnership continues to negotiate with Eclipse Aviation for the Northeast maintenance facility at the Reading Airport. We expect to hear very soon if we are successful in this effort.

5) Reading Parking Authority is progressing on schedule for the two new parking decks at the 4th and Cherry Garage to accommodate the schedule for Sovereign Plaza.

6) A delegation of Chinese businessmen and political leaders from Changzai, our sister city in China, is planning to visit Reading at the end of September. The Berks Economic Partnership and the Berks County Chamber of Commerce are helping coordinate the trip along with visits to area businesses. During the last trip to Reading, contacts were made with Dimensions, Inc for supply of plastic components for craft kits. Subsequently, Dimensions moved some operations to Reading from New England, and has added more than 50 jobs to the area. This is the ideal type of working relationship where local companies benefit by adding value and marketing to mass produced, low margin raw materials.

7) During our recent visit to Reutlingen, our sister city in Germany, we made contact with several German companies who are interested in pursuing joint partnerships with companies in the Reading area. Over the next several months, we will be exchanging lists of companies from both sides who may be interested in such partnerships. Reutlingen has good resources in machine tooling, medical device manufacturing, and in textiles, etc that could be of interest to businesses here. I encourage companies who are interested in pursuing the commercial relationships to call the Mayor’s office at 610-655-6234. We are planning an exchange of trade delegations for the middle of next year.

8) The Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Mr. Michael DiBerandinis, visited Reading and heard the plans for the Riverplace Development. He and his staff were very impressed with the progress and planning this community has made, and I personally want to thank the entire board of Riverplace and especially Mr. David Thun and Mr Bob Behling.

Neighborhoods

1) Copies of the Neighborhood Resource manual have been distributed to all the playgrounds and schools. They are also available in the Reading Public Library, at all the recreation centers and here in City Hall. They are free to the general public.

2) September marks the start of neighborhood meetings again after a summer hiatus. Click on the neighborhood meetings link on the city website readingpa.gov. Many thanks to the folks at Berks Community Television for maintaining the list and keeping it up to date.

3) Preliminary designs are compete for the 1000 block of Penn St. The Reading Housing Authority is acting as developer. The proposal is to build 30 market rate condominiums on two vacant sites on this block, the first phase of 4 units to begin construction later this year. We have asked St Josephs Hospital to consider donating an unused lot to the city for the second phase of construction. The Penns Commons Neighborhood organization is directly involved in the review of the housing to be sure it is compatible with the other properties on that block.

4) We have met with Penns Commons neighbors, The Berks County Conservancy, Councilman Sterner, and Councilwoman Marsha Goodman-Hinnershitz along with staff from the recreation department and design professionals to develop an overall plan and recommendations for the playground area around the castle.

Financial

1) The budget process is underway; public meetings have been held, and there will be additional meetings on Tuesday, August 9th at 6:00 p.m. at the Historical Society and Wednesday, August 10th at 6:00 p.m. at Reading High School’s LGI Room.

2) A proposed refinancing is being introduced tonight for City Council consideration. This is a follow-up to an interest rate swap conducted in 2003. The refinancing of an upcoming bond payment is crucial in our steps towards the financial recovery of the city. This deferral, coupled with proposed sales of assets, will erase the city’s deficit and start the process for creating a general fund balance. This matter was discussed briefly at last week's Finance Committee meeting, and can be further discussed at next week's work session.

3) The city's 2004 audit is nearing completion. It was estimated to be completed at the end of July when we reported this item to you in early June. The audit is now estimated to be completed by August 20th. The city's financial position is expected to worsen upon the completion of the audit, but a proposed series of transactions should address that problem. The city continues to work through the consequences of expenditures in the last few years that were made without firm revenue commitments. New managerial processes are being put into place to address these past practices.

4) The City will be holding a real estate auction Friday, August 12th at 1:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. Proceeds from the auction will be used to pay off part of the General Fund deficit. This auction is one of the crucial steps towards the City’s financial recovery. This auction also allows everyone from the large developer to the average citizen the chance of becoming part of the revival of the City of Reading, in a fair and competitive forum.

Miscellaneous

1) The public television station in Harrisburg, WITF located at Channel 23 on Comcast Cable produced an outstanding video called Our Town Reading, based on the work of 26 videographers who chose subjects and gave their own perspectives of Reading and Berks County over the past two months. The program highlights the assets of this area and I am very proud of all of them and appreciative of the work that WITF did. The program is airing tonight, at 8pm. You may want to tune in tonight to see the program on Channel 33 beginning at 8pm; and it will be repeated at 10 pm tonight. It will also be shown on Sunday Aug 14 from 5-7 pm.

2) The nationally broadcast PBS program NOW has been looking for a community with our demographics to hold a town meeting on the subject of social security. It will be taped in September and will include about 25 local citizens chosen by the producers. The Mayor’s office is helping to find a suitable location in the city.

3) An organizational meeting on the book collection program called Cops N Kids was held in City Hall, and Ann Otto of the Reading School District has agreed to lead the effort and coordinate book collection here. My thanks to Beverly Bradley and her team from Bethlehem, PA who have helped get this program started. Collection points for books for pre-schoolers will be at Boscov’s Department Stores and other venues.

4) We have previously expressed our interest in requiring food handlers to complete the ServSafe Program for certification of food handlers in restaurants and other establishments that serve food. Mr. Khokar is following up on the progress in Muhlenberg Township and with the Penn State Extension office which provides this training. For the first time in January 2006, the State Department of Agriculture will allow consumers to access restaurant reports online, part of a computerized effort to expedite record-keeping and increase inspections of eateries across Pennsylvania. The decision came after a series of articles published by The Allentown Morning Call revealed roadblocks to public access of food inspection records. The Morning Call now has a searchable data base of restaurant reports on its web site, including food establishments in Berks County. http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5foodaug06,0,794502.story?coll=all-ne

5) I have held meetings with the new president of Albright College, Dr. Lex McMillan; also with Dr. Thomas Flynn, the new president of Alvernia College, as well as the new Superintendent of the Reading School District, Dr. Thomas Chapman. I suggest that council members may want to join me in welcoming these new leaders to our community. All of them expressed interest in working collaboratively with us and with our other educational institutions to address the needs of the city.