The Grinches that Would Befoul the Star

December 23rd, 2004

The Star of Bethlehem was first placed on its lofty perch atop South Mountain overlooking the city and the surrounding countryside in 1937 when Vernon K. Melhart, President of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Paul E. Hildebrand, an engineer for PP&L collaborated in the effort. The reaction was so favorable that by 1939, Bethlehem Steel got into the act and built a steel tower on the Melhart-Hildebrand spot that still stands. Over the years, the star itself has been rebuilt many times, but never moved, and its wattage increased from the original 50 watts to almost five times as much today. It is safe to say that it has become the ikon of the area, much treasured by all.

When radar came into common use, after WW II, the FAA built a tower for local use on the ABE airport. Unfortunately, although the tower served its initial purpose fairly well, it was located in what the FAA describes as a bowl, and is not really fulfilling the FAA's present requirements. Something higher and better is needed to help guide planes in and out of the Newark and Philadelphia airports. And, you guessed it, higher and better means to the FAA that the new radar tower should be located close to the star so that it too may look over the valley from a lofty perch.

There is no arguing with the FAA's good intentions. Air safety is of paramount importance. However, the FAA's wisdom may be called into question. Progress is to be desired but progress must at least take into account the esthetics that make living in a community worthwhile.

Building a radar tower so close to the star has several objections. First, it will foul the view. It may be true, as the FAA says, that the new radar tower will be lit only in an emergency so that generally it will not be seen at night. Yet radar towers are not easy on the eyes. Among other things, they are tall and they rotate. On the FAA's logic, it might as well plant the tower on top of the Central Moravian Church.

Second, the proposed location will involve chopping out a good hunk of an otherwise fairly pristine mountain, not to mention the building of access roads. And, third, even the FAA admits there are other sites available that will serve well.

Members of the Lower Saucon Township council, and their engineer and township manager among others, have been seeking to persuade the FAA to go elsewhere. Folks from Bethlehem, Hellertown and other communities are also involved. Unhappily, the FAA representatives have listened but not heard. The Saucon group might delay the project for about six months if they succeed in their effort to get the star listed on the National Historic Register. That will create some additional paper work for the FAA. It doesn't matter. Bureaucrats are good at paper work.

The property in question next to the star is owned by Lehigh University. Lehigh could, if it wished, simply refuse to sell the land to the FAA and the project, on that location, would be stopped dead in its tracks. Thus far Lehigh has not been in a cooperative mood. Indeed, it turned down the FAA when the FAA inquired about the use of a piece of the Homer Research Site on South Mountain owned by Lehigh. It is perfectly obvious that a tower on that site would do no great damage to the esthetics of the area and would require no trees to be cleared at all and little if any road work. If Lehigh is concerned about the look it could easily persuade the FAA to mask the rotating part of the tower so that it doesn't become an eye sore.

Interestingly, one newspaper reported that the FAA chose not to seek to take on Lehigh in court to gain access to the Homer site because it would not be a positive political move for the airport. Why building the tower next to the star is a positive political move for the airport is a mystery.

Is there hope? Perhaps. Grinches, after all, in traditional Christmas stories often mend their ways. The FAA has invited comments and has delayed its final decision to receive them. Maybe it will change its mind. However, the best hope is that Lehigh might see the error of its ways.

The sad truth is that in the past Lehigh, as an institution, has rarely been a good neighbor to the surrounding communities. It has sold off land donated to it without regard to the devastating effect the development of that land may have on the adjacent areas, not to mention school taxes. It has managed its athletic activities on the Goodman campus in such a way as to create practically intolerable sound and light pollution for the neighboring homeowners.

. Another example is the time Lower Saucon was considering redoing the very dangerous intersection between Hickory Hill Road, Bingen Road, Mountain Drive and Friedensville Road. That intersection had only stop signs at the time and was so bad that it was known as the Kamikaze Corner. The township council asked Lehigh for a $50,000 contribution to aid in the effort, cheap considering that a large part of the problem was caused by cars going to and from the Goodman Campus. Lehigh refused. Fortunately, the township council rebuilt the intersection anyway providing turn lanes and stop lights. Chief beneficiary: Once again, Lehigh.

Gregory C. Farrington is now the President of Lehigh University. The bad neighborliness that I have described did not occur during his term in office, but his start in refusing the FAA request for access to the Homer Research site is not auspicious. Farrington's online biography says, “He has been an effective partner with the city of Bethlehem, the state and federal government, industry and other partners to make the city and region a better place to live, work and learn . . .” If this is true, it escapes me. However, I see no reason why President Farrington should not be held to his word. His email address: gfarring@lehigh.edu. Perhaps readers who want to preserve the star site might write him to urge that he withdraw Lehigh's consent to the sale of the South Mountain plot to the FAA and make a small part of the Homer Research Lab site available instead in the interest of making “the city and region a better place to live.”

If President Farrington allows the FAA to come on to the Homer Research site, he will get off my grinch list and I wish him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, as I do to you all.