Mayor Eddie Moran says Reading is poised to become a hub of business, education and entertainment.
Moran, the city’s first Latino mayor, gave his third state of the city address Friday. It occurred at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at Seventh and Penn streets.
“Wow. What a year it was,” Moran said. “In 2021, the City of Reading experienced quite a bit of change.”
Last year, officials learned Reading with 95,112 residents is now the fourth largest city in the state.
Even with the changes and occasional challenges of a burgeoning population and global pandemic, among other things, the mayor said: “Reading continues to move in the right direction.”
It’s a direction, he said, that began with the current administration’s focus on four foundational pillars: safe streets and neighborhoods, education and workforce development, community and economic development, and responsible leadership.
“Everything we’ve done in the last year has centered around these foundational pillars,” Moran said. “And 2022 will be no different.”
Moran’s speech was livestreamed on social media as he spoke to a small group socially distanced in the hotel ballroom.
This was the second year the mayor spoke from the DoubleTree. His 2020 address was delivered from City Council chambers just weeks after his inauguration.
The city’s finances
Reading is ready to exit financial oversight by the state later this year, the mayor said.
The city has been in the state’s Act 47 program for financially distressed cities since 2009.
“The city’s finances remain solid,” Moran said. “Our revenues were stable from tax collections, even during the most difficult economic time in recent memory due to the pandemic.”
By collaborating with City Council, the administration worked out a $95.4 million budget with no tax increases, he said.
The city has already received half of the more than $61 million it is slated to get from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress last year.
The rest of the funds are expected by the end of March, Moran said.
These dollars will be invested in the city’s infrastructure, including sidewalks, streets, and parks and playgrounds and in programs to aid homeowners, prevent homelessness and assist displaced residents.
The city has until 2026 to spend the funds.
“These are generational investments that will be felt for quite some time,” Moran said.
The crime rate
When it comes to safety, the mayor said, crime rates in the city continue to decrease.
Crime dropped by 3.1% last year compared to 2020, Moran said.
“This includes a nearly 4% reduction in violent crime with a 2.9% drop in property crimes,” he said.
The mayor cited a 20-year assessment that showed crimes have dropped by 68% with a 51% drop in violent crimes since 2001.
“These accomplishments are the direct results of the hard work performed by the dedicated men and women of the Reading Police Department on a daily basis,” he said.
Last February, the city police launched Operation Cease Fire, a multi-pronged approach to reducing violence in the city through enforcement, education and community engagement tactics.
More than 600 police officers, detectives, probation and parole officers, state troopers and federal agents participated.
As a result, the mayor said, 225 firearms were recovered and 54 warrants were served leading to 33 felony arrests.
COVID, health matters
“For many families and individuals, the struggle and pain caused by COVID is still all too real,” Moran said. “COVID not only presented physical and health challenges but economic ones, too.”
Thanks to Penn State Health St. Joseph hospital with Latino Connection, more than 2,000 residents were vaccinated in 2021 at 20 city-sponsored events, the mayor said.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Moran said, “but we need everyone to do their part by getting doubly vaccinated along with a booster.”
The health of city residents will benefit from a federal grant of $3.9 million received last year through the Office of Minority Health.
It will focus on forming progressive partnerships to better understand how social needs affect physical and mental health.
Reading was the only municipality in the state to receive those funds.
The city is using the funds to partner with PennState Health, Reading Area Community College and Latino Connection to offer programs on behavioral and mental health, substance abuse, healthy lifestyles and disease management for cardiovascular and diabetic diseases.
The city also received two grants for lead-based paint abatement in residential buildings that were built prior to 1978.
The lead hazard reduction program requires the cleaning of 160 homes that are occupied by children with elevated blood lead levels.
Infrastructure
The city also was awarded a WalkWorks grant by the state Department of Health.
The money will be spent to enhance community walkability, on bicycling infrastructure and street connectivity, Moran said.
The city’s Public Works Department paved nearly 6 miles of roads, including the complete reconstruction of the 200 and 300 blocks of Penn Street and reconstructed sections along River Road, Spring Street and Bridge Street.
Six additional miles of roadway along with 300 curbs are scheduled for improvements this year at an investment of $6 million.
The department also completed a tree pruning project on Fifth Street from Canal to Spring streets and replaced 760 streetlights with energy efficient LED bulbs, Moran said.
A bicycle and pedestrian trail project is underway in the 18th Ward.
Other improvements include significant stormwater and road realignments.
Active on many fronts
Last year, the city commissioned studies for a downtown district and a comprehensive parking study.
The recommendations will be unveiled later this year and will highlight plans for integration of mixed housing, commercial development, restaurants and shops.
Plans developed last year address affordable housing, a mobility plan, and integrating arts, culture and historic preservation.
Moran also said his administration played an important and key role in higher education by offering multiple grants to Albright College.
The city is partnering with the college to include a cultural history center that will feature the Nolan local history collection, the Lakin Holocaust Resource Center and pieces from the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum.
Albright recently shared its plans for a state-of-the-art 10,000-square-foot e-sports center.
The center will be open to the public and will attract events from Berks County and beyond, the mayor said.
“This is another example of how our administration is building the city to be the hub of education and entertainment,” he said.
The city also welcomed the fall opening of Alvernia University’s new CollegeTowne campus on Penn Street, Moran said.
“The modern facility offers many opportunities for students to receive a quality education in engineering and business administration,” he said, “not to mention the largest Starbucks in the nation.”
CollegeTowne created a center for assisting small businesses in Reading, he said. Services include guiding business owners in forming business plans, building websites and launching marketing plans.
“Economic development in the city is a hallmark of this administration,” the mayor said.
“Our Administration believes in the need for creating and supporting small local businesses.”
For the first time, he said, the city dedicated $30,000 in community development funds for small business support.
A number of new business ventures recently opened or will open this year, he said, others have plans for expansion.
The mayor welcomed Betty and Ramin Arasheben and Hilda and Ramin Ahdoot who were in the audience.
The Arashebens and Ahdoots are the owners of Fashion Apparel and recently bought the former Luden, later Hershey, candy factory building at Eighth and Walnut streets.
Fashion Apparel will take over 300,000 square feet for distribution to several large department stores, he said.
The distribution center will create 120 jobs with wages starting at $15 to $18 an hour.
Renovations to landmark downtown buildings, including the former Medical Arts Building, Berkshire Hotel and Madison building, are underway, the mayor said, thanking the developers for investing in the city.
“The city also looks forward to making passenger rail a reality with service to Philadelphia, New York and Washington,” Moran said, thanking Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach for taking the lead in the Tri-County Passenger Rail initiative.
A committee was formed last year with representatives from Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties to focus on the restoration of passenger rail service between Reading and Philadelphia.
In concluding his address, the mayor thanked the fire department and Fire Chief William Stoudt, who announced he will retire later this year.
Moran invited city residents to contact him or members of his administration with any concerns or ideas.
“I often say that Reading is a city on the rise,” Moran said. “I believed it when I became mayor and I still believe it today. I ask that you help me to continue lifting it up as our best days are ahead.”
