Committee moves $1.65M increase for Lehigh and Union Street reconstruction to full council

The Allentown Public Works Committee voted to forward Bill 36 to the full council, a measure to amend the 2026 capital fund budget by $1,650,000 to fund reconstruction work on Lehigh and Union Street associated with a congressionally directed spending grant.

Mark Shada, director of the Public Works Department, told the committee the city had secured two grants (the LSA grant and a congressionally directed spending, or CDS, grant) and intends to consolidate those funds into a single account to begin the project. "Between the 2 grants that we secured, there's still a shortage of funding and that's $300,000," Shada said. He said the city plans to appropriate capital borrowing — already included in the 2026 budget — to cover the shortfall.

Moulton sought clarification on the required match; Shada said the grant match is $225,000 (a 20% match as part of the grant requirement). Councilmember Brown asked where the capital borrowing would come from; Shada said the borrowing was approved as part of the 2026 budget and will be handled by the finance department when the city goes out to borrow for capital improvement projects.

A motion to advance Bill 36 carried by voice vote; individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the committee discussion.

Why it matters: The project would use federal grant funds for street reconstruction but requires a local match and borrowing to close a remaining funding gap; forwarding the bill sends the matter to full council for final approval of appropriations and borrowing.

Next steps: Bill 36 will be scheduled for full‑council consideration where the capital appropriation and borrowing plan will be finalized.