Following the sudden ending of the previous council meeting, and the passing of a motion to move public comments to the end of the agenda, city business was addressed for the first time in a month at the March 19 city council meeting.

Throughout January and February council meetings, the future of the site of the Walnut Street garage had made the headlines. On Feb. 23, a partial collapse of the structure halted the demolition.

Councilman Brian Callahan told Mayor J. William Reynolds, “I think someone should have been here with us to review what happened, and what the reports from the engineers stated.”

Later in the evening, Callahan asked Bethlehem City Police Chief Michelle Kott about three shooting incidents since the start of 2024, wondering how safe the city is and whether there’s a place residents can seek information on police matters.

“I can tell you we are a very, very safe city,” responded Kott, and added that she understands his concerns.

“We release a daily blotter to the news media, as well as our social media pages,” she said, confirming information is available to the public, but identities are withheld due to ongoing investigations.

In his council update, Mayor Reynolds confirmed Engine 9’s arrival in the city. The firetruck was purchased back in January 2022 after receiving a grant of $800,000 from the Northampton County Relief Block Grant Program.

Reynolds confirmed paving season for the city’s road will be starting at the end of April.

“As a city, between 2018 and 2019, we did about 23 miles of roads. In 2020-2021, we did 27 miles. Then in 2022-2023, we did 47 miles. And in 2024-2025, we are set to 50 miles,” he explained.

Councilwoman Kiera Wilhem shared her thoughts on a recent community meeting on the Southside about having a community center for the area.

“It was a very well attended meeting, very robust, very positive,” she said on the exchanges of ideas with residents on the potential project.