EASTON, Pa. — Easton welcomed officials new and old to the city’s chambers Tuesday evening, including two fresh-faced council members, as well as a pair of rather familiar faces.
During the Jan. 2 reorganization and swearing-in meetings, Easton City Council welcomed Frank Pintabone and Crystal Rose, alongside returning Vice Mayor Ken Brown and Mayor Sal Panto Jr., all of whom were inducted into their seats during the second half of a two-meeting session.
Pintabone and Rose took the seats of David O’Connell and Peter Melan, the latter of whom lost a primary bid against Panto in May 2023.
But before everyone was sworn in and appointed to committees, the council bid adieu to O’Connell and Melan, thanking them for years of service and wishing them well in their future endeavors.
“On this inauguration, on my fifth and final term, I want to thank the citizens of Easton for this incredible opportunity to serve. It's humbling and exciting to oversee the Renaissance taking place in our city and turn the tide of people who wanted to write us off many years ago."
Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
“Easton, like any other city of any size, faces issues that are common with progress," O’Connell said before thanking his fellow council members, the administration and his family for all their support.
"And I personally think Easton is just getting better and better because we have a very forward-thinking administration, and because we have a seemingly endless supply of rockin’ volunteers who really love our city very much.”
Melan said, “I just want to thank everybody for the opportunity to have served each one of you. Easton is on a path to success.
"Good luck to the newest members of council. My only advice to you is just vote yes, all the time. Thank you, congratulations, and best of luck everybody.”
Addressing his exiting colleagues, Brown reflected on years of hard work and persistence in a mission to serve their constituents.
He advised O’Connell and Melan to “please continue to love the city as the city loves you back, and I know I'll see you soon somewhere in the city of Easton.”
Council members Dr. David Ruggles, Taiba Sultana and James Edinger also conveyed their gratitude to the departing members.
And former Mayor Phil Mitman offered a comment on working alongside one another despite differing beliefs, concluding his remarks by saying, “We work well together. And regardless of the disagreements, we come out, and we're always loving this city.”
Immediately following the conclusion of the first meeting, reorganization kicked off with Panto being sworn in for his fifth term in office, followed in quick succession with the swearings-in of Rose, Pintabone and Brown, and Controller Chris Heagele.
Taking to the podium for his inaugural address, Panto took time to express his appreciation.
“On this inauguration, on my fifth and final term, I want to thank the citizens of Easton for this incredible opportunity to serve," Panto said, express personal thanks to his family, the council, his administration, fellow politicians and the people of Easton.
"It's humbling and exciting to oversee the Renaissance taking place in our city and turn the tide of people who wanted to write us off many years ago."
Panto specified areas of interest for his latest term, including livability and quality of life, affordable housing, government transparency, public safety, tourism, recreation, traffic, and the proverbial “p-word,” parking.
The mayor also announced a few projects set to take shape in the coming months.
“We must get our youth off the streets and give them the positive alternatives like we had when I was growing up," Panto said.
"And tonight, I pledge that within the next 90 days, I will create a capital campaign committee to raise a portion of the money needed to build a new community center in the West Ward for our youth and seniors.
"The remaining funds will come from the open space recreation fund that I created in 2009.".
Additional initiatives include seeking recommendations from Downtown residents, businesses, representatives from the Greater Easton Development Project and other individuals addressing parking coordinates; as well as convening a committee to explore the successes and pitfalls of Easton’s myriad special events.
Following the mayor’s remarks, Pintabone, Rose and Brown took a moment to thank their loved ones, their new colleagues on the council, the administration, and others for their support, with each individual promising to work for the neighborhoods and communities of Easton.
After the commentary, Brown was quickly re-elected as vice mayor before the meeting concluded.
The gears already were turning in the heads of the newly elected council members, who expressed their focal points just after the meeting came to an end.
“I am thrilled, I'm so excited to represent everyone in Easton, and I'm looking forward to working really hard for them over the next few years really,” Rose said.
“I’m hoping to address our affordable housing issues as well as connect our nonprofit and community groups with the city.”
Pintabone said affordable housing is another top priority.
“I'm hoping to have legislation the last week of January for the absentee landlords, or in the first two weeks in February, and we're continuing to work on the transportation plan as well.
"I've been meeting with the director from LANTA, as well as the mayor and other people from the administration, so I'm looking to work on that as well.”
Brown said he was proud to see that the community continued to believe in his work, “and that, I don’t take that lightly.”
He concurred that housing is a fundamental focal point for the coming year.
“[Our] number one [priority] is homelessness," Brown said. "We’ve got to really look at that, and I know the mayor has an agenda for that, and it’s a very aggressive agenda.
"Council will be working with him on that, and making sure that we have more affordable housing. Like I always say, we're not divided by the poor parts of our city, we're one city, one community, and I truly mean that.”
Easton City Council’s next meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Jan 10, 2024, at City Hall.