Easton City Council Looks At $17 Million Bond For New City Hall

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If things go as scheduled, Easton will float bonds for its new City Hall in two weeks.

The bonds total $17 million, most of which will go toward the new City Hall, with a small amount for other projects. The amount of debt the city plans to take on for its new headquarters is 50 percent more than officials proposed a year ago, but plans have changed.

Easton was going to solicit a private developer to build out for the three-story, 45,000-square-foot building along South Third Street the city plans to erect in front of a 370-space parking deck. Earlier this year the city chose to take on the entire project and move City Hall to the new building and sell the Alpha Building.

The change in plans meant the city needed to borrow an additional $5 million to complete the project.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-city-council-introduces-bond-20130925,0,5236996.story#ixzz2g0cuXS79
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Easton Approves $1 Million Grant For Public Market Project

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Easton will get a public market in every way.

City Council voted Wednesday to give the Greater Easton Development Partnership, a city-run and supported entity, $1 million toward turning the former Weller Health Education Center into a public market.  The market would occupy much of the first floor of the building, in the 300 block of Northampton St., and feature small shops run by local food producers and vendors.

Council voted 5-2 on the grant, with Elinor Warner and Roger Ruggles in opposition. GEDP plans to pay back the grant, but since the deal had to be structured as a grant, there is no guarantee of repayment.  That irked Ruggles. Warner questioned whether the market could generate enough money to payback the city, and whether it was a good investment of tax payer money.

“I just think the public market shouldn’t be paid for by the public,” Warner said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-city-council-approves-alpha-building-sal-20130912,0,7723454.story#ixzz2egokxgcm 
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Easton Pays McDonald’s $300,000 To Vacate Two Rivers Landing

English: The official logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There will be no more Egg McMuffins, Golden Arches or Happy Meals in Centre Square.

Easton City Council agreed Wednesday night to pay McDonald’s $300,000 over three years to terminate the remainder of the burger chain’s lease at Two Rivers Landing.  The deal paved the way for a 10-year commitment from Crayola to lease the entire facility, putting the building back on tax rolls and effectively paying off the mortgage.

Mayor Sal Panto Jr. laid out the major terms of the two pacts, highlighting a $2.2 million boost in revenue over the next decade before the payments to McDonald’s.  Crayola, which will invest millions to revamp its Crayola Experience attraction, plans to generate much larger crowds, reconfigure its store and pump more money into the downtown, Panto said.

“The amount of dollars we are investing,” Panto said of the McDonald’s buyout, “will be returned many, many times.”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-two-rivers-landing-lease-resolved-20120822,0,5083955.story

Easton Moves Forward With Commuter Tax

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Easton City Council approved a commuter tax Wednesday, raising the earned income tax for more than 10,000 people who work in Easton but live outside the city an average of $127.

City officials estimate the new tax will generate $1.35 million, which Easton can use only toward offsetting a $1.8 million increase in pension obligations. The commuter tax, which takes effect Jan. 1, raises the earned income tax for non-Easton residents from 1 percent to 1.75 percent, the same rate city residents pay.

Council’s 6-1 vote came after an impassioned debate between Mayor Sal Panto Jr. and Councilman Jeff Warren, who wrote a recent op-ed piece opposing the commuter tax. Panto accused Warren, the only council member to vote against the tax, of political grandstanding.

“You keep saying you’re against this but you haven’t laid out any alternatives,” Panto told Warren. “What are you coming up with? What is your solution?”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-commuter-tax-vote-20120808,0,1762718.story

Easton mayor: Intermodal Project Costs Rise By $5.8 Million

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The price tag for Easton‘s proposed intermodal center and future home of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame Museum leaped by nearly $6 million, according to Mayor Sal Panto Jr.

In a presentation to City Council on Wednesday night, Panto said the complex, which would house a Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority intermodal hub, retail space, offices and at least one restaurant, would cost $25.8 million, considerably more than the $20 million budget approved by council last year.

Panto said the additional costs reflect needed extras like an urban park, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, a third-floor with open office space, and improvements to the look and feel of S. Third Street.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-council-intermodal-20120208,0,5894861.story