City Council hosted a public discussion regarding the procedural guidelines for electing a new member of council to fill mayor-elect Robert Donchez's seat at its Dec. 10 meeting Donchez, who has two years left on his current term, will be resigning from council this upcoming January.

Council President Eric Evans invited members of council to lead an open discussion, which entailed consideration for voting on new members of council at separate meetings apart from one in which prospective candidates are interviewed and questioned at Town Hall.

Selection process

As council member Karen Dolan spoke on the issue, she referred to looking at "how other third-class cities respond to this issue." While many members of council cited Pennsylvania's Sunshine Law and contended with how to ensure that the selection process of future council members was as fair and openly democratic as possible, Dolan carefully considered the consequence of voting on prospective council members at public meetings.

Dolan noted that City Council must consider that "people come with their family members to these meetings." In response, council member William Reynolds echoed Dolan's considerations noting that utilizing multiple meetings as part of the selection process would help to conduct as thorough a search as possible. Reynolds commented [referring to the prospect of multiple meetings] that "we may want to clarify a candidates position."

Maze Garden

In addition to the public discussion on voting procedure for prospective candidates, council again considered public comment from several Lehigh University students on the subject of Maze Garden's sale. Student Jocelyn Providence, a graduate student in Environmental Policy Design testified before council with a series of suggestions regarding how to move forward in establishing the site of a new community garden in Bethlehem. Amongst that list, she requested that council consider how water would be sourced to an alternative location and consider the prospect that the soil at an alternative location would have to be tested for possible contamination.

Additionally, resident Peter Cromfield commented regarding the tone of the meeting at which the Maze Garden sale was authorized. Mr. Cromfield expressed his disappointment for the "condescending tone some people took" at the previous meeting. Additionally Mr. Cromfield expressed his concern for the upcoming development project for which Maze Garden was sold. He noted his concern that "community development is not about buildings, its about people."

Other business

In other business, council authorized the sale of a JetVac Flusher to Hellertown Borough for the price of $30,000. Additionally, a citation was issued at the meeting honoring former Fire Chief George Barkanic. Mr. Barkanic joined the Fire Department in 1981 and was promoted to assistant chief in 2000. His daughter currently works with the Fire Department and he closed his comments before council by expressing "You couldn't buy a better job than a firefighter in the city of Bethlehem."

The next council meeting will be Dec. 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall.