What’s going on

Bethlehem City Council met Tuesday evening, September 15, 2026, at Town Hall. The livestream runs about 2 hours 20 minutes. Here is what neighbors may care about most:

• Approved use permits for ArtsQuest’s 2026 Oktoberfest and the Pennsylvania Running Company’s 2026 Bethlehem Running Festival — two larger public events on the city calendar.
• Approved a roughly $197,000 construction-inspection contract for the Linden Street two-way conversion project (work expected into 2027).
• Raised several police-records fees (first increase since 2015), including a $125 fee for audio/video recordings, effective January 1, 2027.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with Homeland Security Investigations on a 4–3 vote after council debate about the federal partnership.
• Unanimously adopted an updated property-maintenance code based on the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, with Bethlehem-specific amendments for rentals and exterior upkeep.
• Approved a three-year cost-allocation agreement with Maximus U.S. Services Inc. ($13,900/year) and an amendment extending Health Bureau strategic-planning work funded by a public-health infrastructure grant.
• Council also discussed the city’s fire and EMS study, with a presentation expected later in October.

YouTube captions and downloadable transcripts are disabled on this recording, so this summary is based on the official City Council agenda and published meeting reporting, with the stream linked as the primary record.

Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUuoCQ6opOI

The next regular City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 7:00 PM (Town Hall). From the official agenda, neighbors may want to watch for:

• Public hearing and proposed zoning text amendments for data centers (definition, special-exception approval, districts, studies, and related requirements).
• Final passage of Bill 27-2026 amending the International Property Maintenance Code.
• Use permit for Downtown Bethlehem Association’s 2026 Harvest Fest.
• Local Share grant resolutions supporting Southside Community Center, Via of the Lehigh Valley, New Bethany, and related pass-through grants.
• Fire Department fee-schedule amendment, pension state-aid allocations, Health Bureau budget adjustments, and a Public Safety Committee note that the fire/EMS study update is expected October 20.

Agenda preview only — after the meeting, this section is replaced by a neighbor summary from the official agenda plus the livestream (captions when available).