Businessman Blasts Lower Saucon for Funding NIZ Lawsuit

A prominent Lehigh Valley restaurateur recently admitted to having a personal interest in an Allentown hockey arena being built, but as a township resident leveled sharp criticism against Lower Saucon Townshp Council for ----in court.

At council's June 6 meeting, township resident Jeff Fegley, who owns the Allentown and Bethlehem Brew Works, told council members he is upset that the township is financially supporting , Northampton County, this spring.

A number of other local municipalities have since joined in the suit.

Fegley said he was "extremely alarmed" when he found out the lawsuit could cost township taxpayers up to $10,000. He is also upset that the lawsuit is delaying the construction of the arena, which is to be built in downtown Allentown, near one of Fegley's two microbrewery-restaurants.

"We're doing damage to people. My brother and his children live three blocks from this hole in the ground," Fegley said.

"The reality is there are costs associated with this (lawsuit)--unknown costs," he added.

Fegley demanded to know how much money in earned income taxes Lower Saucon stands to lose if the NIZ is ruled constitutional.

The NIZ would divert from township coffers the 1.25 percent earned income tax paid by township residents who work within the downtown Allentown improvement zone, in order to help pay for the arena.

"We have a historical (EIT) number that we must have collected from the City of Allentown," Fegley said.

Township Manager Jack Cahalan told Fegley he could not provide him with a figure, since the township's repeated requests for an exact number from the City of Allentown's tax collector had been unsuccessful.

On Friday, two days after the council meeting, collection figures were finally released by the tax collector.

The City of Bethlehem stands to lose about $69,000 annually, according to an Express-Times story about the release of the figures.

Nevertheless, township council President Glenn Kern argued that the amount of money the township would lose is ultimately "irrelevant."

"You're trying to put a monetary value on ethics," he told Fegley.

"We're responding to the legislation, which is illegal," Kern said. "This doesn't just affect a few people in Allentown. This affects the entire commonwealth, because this would set a precedent."

"You cannot take money that's not yours," he emphasized.

Councilwoman Priscilla deLeon said she also supports the township's participation in the lawsuit.

"I'm very comfortable in my decision, and I think the legislation has to be changed," she said.

Kern told Fegley that he is the only township resident he's so far encountered who is in favor of the NIZ and the EIT funding formula that would support it.

By contrast, about five residents told him "good for you," in response to news of Lower Saucon's decision to join in the lawsuit against the NIZ, Kern said.

Council vice president Tom Maxfield said he too has yet to hear from township residents who support the NIZ as Fegley does.

"You cannot shake this council," Maxfield said to Fegley.

He then asked Fegley, "Are you going to benefit from this money that's going to come into Allentown? Is this personal?"

"Sure," Fegley answered. "This is personal."

"Is it my business? Certainly," he said. "I'm not going to ever deny that."

However, his primary motivation for addressing council was his concern as a township taxpayer, he maintained.

"As a taxpayer of Lower Saucon, protect my taxes," he told council. "I'm saying take the quickest and least expensive way to find resolution to protect everyone."

In other business at the meeting, council adopted a 10-point position statement on the NIZ petition for review.