To the Editor:

Over the last few weeks, I received both a political mailer and an insert in the Catasauqua Press, one asking for a vote for Paul Cmil, Jill Smerdon and Howard Cunningham and both filled with inaccuracies and ramblings about protecting residents from the well-established Iron Works project and future tax increases. The mailer and the insert don’t list who paid for them, though, which is a campaign finance violation. None of their banners or signs say who paid for them, either - another violation. It concerns me that these three individuals seem to think they have all the answers to Catasauqua’s problems but can’t seem to understand how to run an election campaign properly. That is telling.

Please allow me to present you with the facts. The Iron Works concept started in 2004 as an idea to responsibly redevelop the FLSmidth manufacturing plant site as an upscale, mixed-use project, as the plant was being offered for sale at the time. That idea grew into discussions about locating the fire station on the site and then evolved into what you see today - Catasauqua Municipal Complex, housing all public safety, along with administrative offices and council chambers. The land was a cash purchase, below market price, with money from the Fire Station Reserve Fund and the Capital Projects Reserve Funds, not from our “general fund.” The purchase did not result in a tax increase because of “lost tax revenue from FLSmidth.”

With the complex planned to anchor the site for the upcoming development, council also rezoned the site to ensure the most amount of tax revenue and services could be realized from the site for the benefit of all residents. We also did a study in conjunction with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission to restore two-way traffic to Front Street. In 2016, Catasauqua was awarded an Excellence in Community Planning award for its hard work, and in 2017, we were awarded the Community of Distinction, the highest honor a municipality can receive from the LVPC.

Executive Director Becky Bradley said, “To be nominated in this category, a municipality has to be doing a lot of things right. This particular borough is doing just about everything right.”

LVPC also awarded the borough a streetscape improvement grant, saving us $200,000 on needed safety and structural improvements on Front Street, between Pine and Church streets, allowing us to correct curb heights, so Front Street can finally be milled and paved in the upcoming future. Appearance amenities, such as planters and benches, were also part of the improvements.

An agreement was forged between the borough and developer Dunn Twiggar, over the course of several years, and the agreement of sale was signed in November of 2020. The agreement puts the responsibility of the estimated $4 million site prep on the borough and the responsibility of the projected $42 million mixed-use development on Dunn Twiggar. The borough is not “dependent on the taxpayers of Catasauqua” to fund the site prep but rather state grants.

Since 2009, this project has been ranked No. 8 in the state and No. 1 in the county, in order of importance, so it’s not surprising that over $3 million in grant funds have already been awarded to Catasauqua and that the county has supported our endeavor every step of the way, including a grant to verify the land was clean enough to build on. Additional grant awards are currently being reviewed. Demolition and abatement have already started on the site.

I support the Iron Works project because the only other way to hold the line on taxes is to cut services and infrastructure maintenance - both irresponsible remedies.

I also support the two other development projects in the borough, both on 14th Street - one at 14th and Pearl streets with 11 single homes and the other across the street from Sheckler Elementary School, bringing in 36 town houses. Project creation, such as the Iron Works and the upcoming developments across from the Sheckler school, will bring in permanent additional revenue to Catasauqua. The three developments are projected to bring in $400,000 to the borough and $1.2 million to the school district annually, helping the borough and the school to hold the line on taxes for a long time.

These projects also bring with them positive housing, retail and entertainment quality-of-life enhancements, while increasing current property values, safety and the overall appearance of the borough. These projects are not “gambles” but represent years of responsible planning and investment by the borough. The only gamble would be to elect Paul, Jill and Howard.

Vincent Smith

Catasauqua

(Editor’s note: Smith is a candidate for Catasauqua Borough Council.)