A vote to adopt a General Fund Budget transfer of $10,000 was the center of discussion during the Aug. 15 city council meeting.

At issue: Whether the extra hours of work by mayoral staff toward the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site bid merit the creation of a part-time employee through February 2024.

Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith said she is very much in favor of the program, but asked why Director of the Mayor’s Initiatives Angelo DelGrosso Stein is not doing the work. She also requested the proposed position’s specifics.

City Solicitor John Spirk Jr. said this project isn’t just any initiative; “It is above and beyond the baseline. The mayor doesn’t just have one initiative, he has a number of them.”

He emphasized the immeasurable benefits of a successful bid, and as such, it requires a great amount of work and investment of time.

The approved part-time position is for 15 hours per week, for 17 weeks.

Council unanimously approved a memorandum that Bethlehem Police share video from the FUSUS information platform to help facilitate and solve crimes in Lehigh County.

Before the vote, Councilwoman Rachel Leon asked Deputy Chief Scott Meixell about the benefits of this new initiative.

According to Meixell, this is an initiative from Lehigh County District Attorney’s office, to which 17 police departments have already signed on. As parts of the city fall in Lehigh County, this is an important investigative tool.

Meixell said, “The need is that success at investigations, or investigate an instance missing persons or anything, is the speed at which you can access information. This can either verify witness statements or dismiss witness statements.”

During the public comment section of the evening, the Reverend Dr. Bruce C. Stevenson voiced traffic-related safety concerns about Pennsylvania Avenue.

Stevenson said cars are being totaled and drivers acting like Pennsylvania is a “four-lane highway.” He asked, “Can we please have a white line which designates where you can drive and where you cannot drive?”

Several other residents echoed the same concerns.