Meet City Council Candidate Steve Melnick

Bethlehem City Council Race

Candidate: Steve Melnick

Age:   68

Family:   married   Dr. Trucilla Sabatino

Political party affiliation:   Lifelong Democrat

Tell us about your educational background: 

Bachelor of Arts, English, 1967; Parsons College; Fairfield, Iowa          

Tell us about your professional/business background: 

I have held a number of executive level positions in community and economic development organizations. I began working for BEDCO in Bethlehem in 1996 and have  worked on several major development projects in  the city. I was directly involved in the revamping of the closed Hotel Bethlehem, served as project manager for the construction of the Main Street Commons parking deck and the Tech Center II building in southside Bethlehem.

For the past eight years I administered a cooperative program named the Keystone Innovation Zone, which provides assistance to new technology companies starting up in Bethlehem.This was a public/private partnership providing assistance to enrerepneurs starting new companies and, to date  20 new technology businesses have been created. These new businesses have created over 250 people.

Why are you running for City Council?    

I’m  running for City Council because  Bethlehem needs innovative thinking to make sure our city can be a modern, safe and thriving community without losing our heritage and history. I see some disturbing trends that I think the city must recognize. 

I believe some curent short term policies may acrtually hurt the city.  For example, the parking authority is scheduled to give the city general fund $500,00 this year. To do this they have increased parking enforcement until  9:00 pm at night six days a week. Bethlehem is creating the perception that we are no longer welcoming customers and that is actually driving patrons away from our two retail districts. 

What qualifies you to serve as a City Councilman?   

I have been involved with the economic development in Bethlehem for almost two decades, and believe that the city must be more innovative in attracting new clients who will create jobs for our residents and expand our tax base. We cannot afford to become a city of warehouses. Additionally I believe in Economic gardening.  We must grow our own new compa nies by assisting entreprneurs to locate  and start new ventures.  Finally, the city must reinvigorate it’s successful small business loan programs to assist our existing businesses grow and modernize.

What do you see as City Council's primary role and responsibilities? 

In my opinion the city council must work hand in hand with the administration to insure that the administrations policies are in the best interests of the city.  Budget concerns top the list and open communication between council and the mayor’s office, is essential in creating a budget that is realistic yet covers our most essential services properly. One example might be increased coordination between the fire service and the EMS service. If operating rules and regulation are standardized, fire trucks and ambulances can be housed in the same facility which m ay actually increase response times for each service. There are very few reasons a fire apparatus cannot be housed next to an ambulance.   

Tell us about three major challenges facing Bethlehem and how you would address them. (Please be as specific as possible):

1. The main issue facing Bethlehem today is how to reduce our budget deficit without reducing services.  I firmly believe that priority based budgeting must be adopted by the city in order to effectively create a realistic budget.  Budgets should be tied to performance and outcomes.  Priority based budgeting is used by communities of all sizes across the country.  Lehigh County currently uses that budget method.
2. Parking enforcement is another major issue. By continually looking to the Parking Authority to fund portions of the city general fund we have forced them to become more aggfressive and to lengthen their enforcement hours to 9:00 PM six days a week. My research reveals that our parking enforcement runs later at night and longer during the week than Scranton, York, Lancaster and Pittsburgh This is  creating the impression that Bethlehem is no longer open for business.
3. The third issue I feel is important deals with the professionalism displayed in city hall. We have many woderful and hard working employees on the city payroll but sometimes the lack of communication between departments creates situations where the general public feels that no one is listening to their problems. Recently two residents of the city complained before council that their calls and messages had gone unanswered for a period of many months. Returning phone calls or e-mails in a timely fashion is critical if the city is to restore it’s friendly and open reputation.

How much are you spending to run? How is your campaign being funded?  

My campaign is a grass roots endeavor being funded by myself and contributions from friends and supporters. The exact amount being spent is currently unavailable.

What, if any, endorsements have you received? 

As a newcomer to city politics I felt that it was important to develop my platform by speaking with as many people as possible. While I have met with several representative from various union groups as well as with individual merchants, I have not formally asked any group for an endorsement.

Do you use social media? If so, please provide links to your Facebook and Twitter.  

I do have a web site www.stevemelnickforcouncil.com  and a facebook page as well lhttps://www.facebook.com/MelnickForCityCouncil