Community Corner
Parkland Library PAC Plans Local Town Hall Meeting Friday
The Parkland Community Library political action committee's first Town Hall meeting is Friday in Upper Macungie. Additional meetings are planned in North Whitehall and South Whitehall.
Parkland Community Library's political action committee will host five town hall meetings this month to answer questions on its proposed new $13 million library and the Nov. 5 referendum to fund it.
The first town hall meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at the Upper Macungie Township Building, 8330 Schantz Road, Breinigsville. Additional meetings are planned in North Whitehall and South Whitehall.
Library board President Karl Siebert and library board Vice President Barry Cohen will give a presentation on the new library, which the board has been hoping for years to build on Grange Road in Upper Macungie.
The Nov. 5 referendum will ask voters to approve a higher tax in support of the library. The tax has not been raised for 15 years.
The referendum asks for a .2978 mill tax. If approved, residents would pay $29.78 per $100,000 of assessed property value to fund the library.
Currently residents pay .1 mill to fund the library, which serves Upper Macungie, South Whitehall and North Whitehall townships and a section of Allentown that is part of the Parkland School District.
In addition to Friday's Town Hall Meetings, sponsored by the library's political action committee, meetings are planned as follows:
- Monday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the North Whitehall Township Building, 3256 Levans Road, North Whitehall.
- Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the South Whitehall Administration Building, 4444 Walbert Ave., South Whitehall.
The process of building a new library for Parkland residents has been a labor of love for the many volunteers who are attempting to make this a reality,” said Siebert, who is also president of the library's political action committee, in a prepared release. “We as residents look forward to meeting our neighbors to answer any questions."
The Lehigh County Board of Elections accepted the following language for the referendum question to be put to voters on Nov. 5 in the election:
Shall the current library tax be increased to 0.2978 mills ($29.78 per $100,000 of assessed property value) until July 1, 2035 or whenever the Parkland Community Library pays off a loan to construct a new building and to operate the library, whichever occurs first, when the millage will decrease to 0.1895 mills ($18.95 per $100,000 of assessed property value).Find out what's happening in Upper Macungiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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