Old Business, New Business...and Open For Business

The beginning of every New Year – especially after a local election cycle – isn’t complete without the reshuffling of municipal boards and commissions. In LP, on our Board of Supervisors, we saw the end of the (second) Rick Brown era, as he opted not to stand for re-election.  Brown made no secret of the fact that he’s been suffering from multiple myeloma for the past few years and presumably that weighed in his decision not to run again.

 

While Brown originally came into office in the late 70’s / early 80’s on the strength of his work fighting the Moyer’s landfill, and his early days as a supervisor were positive, in recent years he’d become more of a divisive factor politically, particularly as he ran up a high legal spend championing special interests at the expense of all LP taxpayers, which ultimately benefitted his longtime friends, attorneys Richard Sheehan, and Michael Sheridan of the  firm Fox, Differ, Callahan, Sheridan & McDevitt, by appointing them as solicitors. Some of that divisiveness spilled out publicly at the end of the year as the Board tried over several contentious meetings to get a 2014 budget (with tax hike) approved.   Sheehan/Sheridan are now gone as well. 

But, 2014 is a new year, and with it comes new leadership.  Monday night saw the swearing-in of new supervisor Patrick Duffy (after a painful, 15-minute delay in which former vice-chair Don Thomas neglected to make sure the judge had arrived for the ceremony before starting the meeting and then awkwardly had to try to fill those long, silent minutes), and the selection of Colleen Eckman as our new chairman and Jason Sorgini as our new vice-chair. I’ve been impressed with how both of these individuals have grown in their positions since their election, their work ethic, and that both appear to do their homework and ask good questions, so I am confident they will do an effective job. This, together with the selection of supervisor Lisa Mossie across the bridge in Upper Providence as their chairman, marks the first time in a very long time, if ever, that both sister municipalities have been led by women.  

The fact that people merely showed up and were sworn in shouldn’t be a big deal, but consider this: In Trappe, as new borough commissioners were sworn in, one of those left in the minority faction chose to quit on the spot rather than contend with the winners. Over in Royersford, two borough council  members who won in November apparently moved – or perhaps weren’t residents at the time of their election at all, since the timing of their evident relocation is unknown – and didn’t bother to tell anyone that they would not show up to be sworn in,  or serving. That mystery is still being unraveled.  While there’s often been no shortage of drama in LP politics, at least we’ve never had those issues.  
 

I had an opportunity to connect with Jason Sorgini about the possibilities this new page in LP government could represent and to determine what they see as their most urgent priorities, obstacles, and what was behind their unexpected selection of solicitor.  Sorgini’s excitement and eagerness to roll up his sleeves and get to work was evident. 

Sorgini said that while it’s ‘not a flashy thing’, he identified ‘getting a handle on our transportation and infrastructure – our roads and bridges’ as Priority 1, because it has a ‘big impact on our quality of life’.  In addition to obvious pain points like the closure of the Arcola Road Bridge, he noted that we also have to manage the long-term resurfacing and maintenance of our roads and how to pay for that. He mentioned the recent study they’d commissioned to research and identify the condition of all our roads and to look beyond immediate needs to develop a road improvement rotation plan for the next 5-10 years.

Of course, this goal ties in with an obstacle we (and most municipalities) face, which is that revenues are down and state and federal aid for many programs has been slashed. However, recent legislation passed by the state reverses that a bit. “The last loan in which the Township borrowed against our annual liquid fuels payments from PA ends in 2016, which frees up that debt payment for road improvements and, coupled with the increase in liquid fuels monies we’ve been told we can expect as a result of the recently approved state transportation bill, means that in a couple of years we could potentially see 60% more income from that source to help pay for our road and infrastructure needs."

The second immediate priority,  Sorgini said, is to “continue to attract business and development".   In fact, it was this issue he came across as the most passionate about. At the same time this is a goal, it’s also an obstacle.  “You know, perception is reality, and the perception out there is, rightly or wrongly, that we’re not interested. It’s frustrating to see all the new construction going on in Upper Providence and Upper Merion, while we have empty buildings at all the entrances into the Township”.  Sorgini stated that “We would like to let developers know that LP is willing to hear what they have to say and to work with them to bring in business that is meaningful and worthwhile for the residents”.

 

He cited the example of the Children's Hospital surgical and specialty care annex that is being built in Upper Merion as something they would love to have been able to bring to LP,  in no small part because of the ancillary businesses it would also attract and the high-end jobs associated with them.  “When I found out that CHOP was looking to build a new facility to replace the current facility near the mall in King of Prussia, I had asked Rich [Gestrich] to reach out to them to let them know about all that Lower Providence has to offer. Unfortunately, they were already well into working with Upper Merion to put the facility near the Wegmans. Despite the fact that we were unable to get CHOP in Lower Providence, I remain hopeful that a similar medical facility will realize that Lower Providence is the place to be!”     

Sorgini also cited continuing to build on the 85% occupancy rate of the township’s industrial park, Park Pointe at Lower Providence, as part of this effort and gave high praise to Township staff, especially  Director of Special Projects & Technology Bill Roth (who serves as the Township’s business manager for Park Pointe at Lower Providence), for their hard work not only in getting occupancy to this level but for continuing to beat the bushes with existing Township businesses such as Kimco to find ways to fill vacancies such as  the former Eagleville Genuardi’s shopping center. 

 

For their third priority, Sorgini identified “Continued fiscal responsibility”and mentioned that although the Board came “dangerously close to a tax increase to fund debt service”, they were able to avoid that (the approved budget had a small (5.89%) tax increase earmarked for the operating budget and library services). “We really struggled with that and recognize that the residents will be affected by the tax increases in the new state transportation bill, but also realized it would be irresponsible to continue to kick the can down the road any longer”, observed Sorgini.  

“In addition, there are major employment contracts coming up for renegotiation – police and non-uniformed personnel – and we need to be positioned to be able to be fair to them while balancing that with what’s fair to residents cost-wise to pay for those contracts.” I pointed out that in 2015 my understanding is that we will also need to replace our police chief, as he expects to retire soon, and Sorgini confirmed that LP Police Chief Francis “Bud” Carroll is in the DROP program and that in conjunction with those negotiations  ‘we will also need to replace a long-standing, well-respected police chief’.  

Continuing with obstacles, Sorgini said that “we need to live within our means with limited resources…there is so much to do.  We need to change the perception of Lower Providence with developers.“  He also cited “the reality that it’s impossible to please everyone” and that some issues “become very personal things…the Y(MCA) is a good example of that. Some things are more complicated than you think and you try to explain that to people…" (this was something I found frustrating in my various positions with LP as well, so I share in that observation…not much is as cut-and-dried as it looks on the surface).  
  

He said “I think of myself not as a politician, but as a public servant, especially because of my  job [as an elementary school principal]…and because I want to know what people think, I do look online at comments to see what people are writing. I prefer to listen to what people are saying and take the emotions out of it”.  

One of this board’s decisions that so far has left many people scratching their heads was the new board’s selection of solicitor. The appointment of John Rice of the firm Grim Biehn and Thatcher in Bucks County (“GB&T”) left some folks I spoke to puzzled as to why no one from LP was selected (keeping the business in the township) or at least a firm that is familiar with the players, issues and histories of businesses and properties within our boundaries.

I presumed that township manager Richard Gestrich, who spent many years working for Upper Makefield and Middletown Townships in Bucks County as their manager, was familiar with GB&T and thus made the recommendation, but Gestrich stated that the board made this selection ‘on their own’ and that he only found out about it when Sorgini called to advise him that Rice would be submitting a letter of interest. GB&T doesn’t do much municipal business in Montco, currently listing only that they hold the solicitorship of Lower Moreland Township. Locally, the next closest proximity they have is an appointment as solicitor to Radnor Township in Delaware County. Still, by all accounts they are well respected and experienced in general municipal affairs.

Often, Board members lean toward a selection, usually someone they have developed a working relationship with and in whom they have a level of trust, whose advice and perspectives they’ve come to value. Thus, many insiders fully expected Joe McGrory of the firm Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell and Lupin (and allegedly a relative of one of the supervisors) to get the nod. I was initially told by a political source who wants to remain anonymous that ‘no one could count to three [votes] for their choice, so they went in a different direction’ but according to Gestrich, it played out otherwise. 

When I asked if he knew what the selection criteria had been, Gestrich stated that ‘they were looking for someone who had no ties to local developers and contractors’.  If true, I’m not sure which past solicitor(s) that may have been intended as an indictment of, but read into it what you will. If we ever had a solicitor that also had such interests as clients and said client ever had reason to appear before the BOS, the solicitor would have had to step aside on that issue in lieu of conflict counsel, and I don’t recall that ever happening at the BOS level in LP. Then again, maybe they’re just trying to be careful.    
 

Sorgini essentially validated Gestrich’s version. He said they interviewed seven different firms, including then-current solicitors Fox, Differ, Callahan, Sheridan & McDevitt, and that GB&T was selected for their specialization in municipal law and that they ‘don’t represent developers’. While he noted that GB&T doesn’t have as much experience in Montco as more local firms “there’s something to be said for that. When I hear from [solicitor] John Rice, he has no skin in the game, he’ll be a straight shooter. He has over 25 years of practice in municipal law and I look forward to learning from their expertise”.
 

Playing devil’s advocate, a non-attorney friend of mine, an official in another Montco municipality, weighed in with  “The downside of having a solicitor with ties to your township and county is outweighed tremendously by the upside. All of these Montco attorneys know each other and their network is second only to law enforcement's. If you want to see something coming before it runs you over, there's nothing better than a connected Montco lawyer. And the firms are all big enough that you can avoid conflicts of interest. It sounds like a "principle stand".  
 

Whatever it is, I hope it means that our apparent past policy of litigation as a first resort is history and that GB&T won’t be putting kids through college on our legal spend. I’d like to welcome GB&T to the Lower Providence community and hope that their tenure here is uneventful. 

Over at Methacton, they readjusted their Board late last year. Joyce Petrauskas was replaced by Christian Nascimento as president, and newcomer Brenda Hackett was sworn in, as were the incumbents who won reelection in November. Now they are focused on upcoming teacher contract negotiations and getting an ever-increasing capital improvement budget passed to facilitate the addition of lights and turf fields. As always, campaign promises to the contrary, it looks like Worcester Township is standing in their way, dragging out the ordinance adoption, advertising and approval processes as much as possible. What started out as an approximate $3M proposal has ballooned into a version containing all the bells and whistles, standing at approximately $5.5M, and the school district is considering taking on debt to pay for it (translation: hold onto your wallet).

 

 

I'm not sure I understand why such a high cost for turf fields and lights, a project which largely has no building construction costs included (with the exception of the option that includes building a new restroom facility outside the high school building), out of what is now a staggering 22 separate variations of options we could go with.   I'll explore this more in a future post and hope that Methacton manages to remain scandal-free for the foreseeable future. There are several court cases involving Methacton that are due to go to trial this year (if they don't settle), so I'll visit whatever comes out of those in the future as well.                 
 

 

 

“You Are Fighting For Your View of the Creek. I Am Fighting For A Place to Put My Head At Night"

Upper Providence resident Patricia Stiefel’s comment, above, captures the essence of the dispute between Upper Providence and Lower Providence Townships over the regional sewer authority’s (LPVRSA’s) plans to place a middle interceptor along the Perkiomen creek, which I and others have written about at length previously.  At the end of the day, what’s more important: someone’s view from their kitchen window, or the very existence of a home that’s been in someone’s family for well over half a century and which they’ve personally owned for over 25 years? 

Last Thursday (9/12/13) another routine regional sewer authority (LPVRSA) meeting was on the calendar; I wasn’t going to attend since I had other plans. However, when I discovered that Frank and Patricia Stiefel – the Upper Providence residents whose home would be directly affected if the middle interceptor is placed on that side of the Perkiomen creek – would be attending, I knew I had to be there.

Since the Stiefel’s – and their home’s - very existence has been denied by some on the LP side of the issue, and their opinion of the project and the impact it will have on them grossly misrepresented or ignored by the same LP contingent, I’ve been trying to get the Stiefels to speak publicly about their position for months. As they are very private people who just want to be left alone, the Steifels were reluctant to wade into the fray.  Finally, they realized that with all the misrepresentations and smears being perpetrated by their counterparts across the creek, they needed to come forward before it’s too late.

It’s especially necessary given that LP hired a public relations firm some months ago to help move the needle on the issue for LP, so those neighbors, including mouthpiece Cathy Beyers, who has written numerous emotion-laden but fact-light missives relating the purported impact to her and her neighbors,   have that working in their favor. Upper Providence does not spend tax dollars on lobbyists for special interests in Harrisburg, so the Stiefels recognized that this too works against them and forced their hand to, forgive the pun, ‘pipe up’.

The last public LPVRSA meeting resulted in LP Democrat Supervisor candidate Jim Donohue disrupting the meeting by attempting to bully and start a physical fight with UP representative Bob Fieo, spouting obscenities in the process (video, here). Conspicuous by their absence, Donohue, Beyers and their usual contingent were not present Thursday night.

LPVRSA solicitor Bob Brandt began the meeting by addressing what happened at the July 11, 2013 meeting in which Donohue got out of hand. He mentioned that there is a difference between ‘public meetings’ and ‘public hearings’ and that ‘public meetings’ are not intended to be a forum for people to interrogate and harass Board members. He stated that the Board should never have allowed it to get to that point and Donohue should have been tossed for going after a Board member. Board chairman Terri Stagliano apologized to Bob Fieo for not doing more to prevent such an altercation and for not having Donohue removed for his actions once it occurred. She indicated that she has tried to give residents such as Beyer and Donohue a lot of leeway since the middle interceptor project affects them directly, but clearly that is being taken advantage of, and will not be the Board policy going forward.

Upper Providence Township supervisor Lisa Mossie was present and in the ‘public comment’ portion of the meeting, introduced the Stiefels to the Board and indicated that in light of the many misleading and outright false statements being made by Cathy Beyers and others in the local press and at local meetings about them and their position, they wanted the Board to hear from them, in person. Ms. Mossie also handed out a packet of a selection of the misleading and false statements that have appeared in various electronic and print media formats, most of which were authored by Beyer and with which the Stiefels specifically take issue.

The Stiefels addressed the Board directly, giving their address as 248 Cider Mill Road.  Frank Stiefel said that the sewer lateral already goes through their property and is presently about 40’ from their house. This time, to install the interceptor will ‘take their house’, and that this isn’t the case with any other affected property owner. He said ‘I’m a veteran (Marines)…I fought for my country so other people could stay in their properties. I wish you people would do the same for me”.

The LP folks are pushing for the option 3A, which will necessitate construction easements coming within 5 feet of the Stiefel house and at least six months of sewage bypass pumping, with a pump on their property.  While the pipe will not go directly through their house, the construction on the steep slope next to the Steifel home will destabilize an already eroding bank.  Given the huge fluctuations in rise and fall of the creek during heavy rain events, one can certainly understand the Steifel’s trepidation regarding construction so close to their little toehold on the Perkiomen.  

Stiefel's house is between Cider Mill Rd and the creek, above, and is next to steep slopes. Homes on the LP side don't come nearly as close to a proposed new trench.

Patricia Stiefel said that when LPVRSA wanted property from them they accepted their offer and gave it to them although ‘Fair Market Value’ of $264 for a ¼ acre of land was ‘a joke…elsewhere in Upper Providence an acre goes for $55,000 or more”.  She also said that this so-called ‘driveway’ the LP folks claim the Stiefels may get out of the project is neither needed nor wanted as they already have two entrances and exits out of their property.  Also, the new interceptor will not benefit the Stiefels as they have a well. Mrs. Stiefel  said that "We do not hook up to the existing sewer system and will not be able to hook up to the new one once installed, so while it may benefit ‘the public’, there is absolutely no benefit to us”. For the Stiefels, placement of the interceptor on the Upper Providence side of the creek is all downside.

Mr. Stiefel said it’s a shame that ‘some people have to say crap’ in order to try to make their case, and Mrs. Steifel said (referring to Cathy Beyer and her family specifically) “We were friends for a long time, but we no longer speak to any of them” as a result of the dispute and the things that have been said about them.

Even if you factor in claimed environmental impacts and consider alleged artifact finds of dubious value, issues which encompass both sides of the creek, all things being equal, what’s more important? Someone’s view or someone’s home?

As we exited the building, Mary Kaczor, one of the LP residents involved (and sister to Cathy Beyers), who’d arrived late to the meeting and missed most of the public comment portion of the meeting, ran up to the Stiefels and confronted them on their way to their car.  Clearly caught flat-footed, having never anticipated that the Stiefels would get involved, Kaczor feigned ignorance about any of the online comments – several of which she has actually responded to online herself -  and told the Steifels in front of Ms. Mossie and myself that she ‘had no idea that this was going to ruin their property’. In a dizzying display of sheer CYA, Kaczor’s comments ran the gamut from claiming she’s ‘an expert because she’s been to every meeting and thus knows all about this issue’ to claiming she didn’t know anything at all when presented with facts that opposed her views, including that she ‘didn’t have any idea that the pipe was coming through the Stiefel’s property’ AND that she ‘thought they were on board with the pipe going through their property’. 

When none of these arguments gained traction with the Steifels, Kaczor, apparently assuming that the Steifels were completely ignorant about the middle interceptor construction project, tried to lure them to her side by saying that they should all push LPVRSA for a pump station.  “Where are they going to put that, Mary?” asked an incredulous Frank Steifel, who knows that the pump station would be placed right on his front lawn and would necessitate a condemnation of his entire property.  Those of you who have been following along at home will remember that up until this past January, this pump station option was the preferred option of Lower Providence Township and the LP folks.

Out of options and desperate at this point, Kaczor pulled out her final ace in the hole:  The board members on the LPVRSA are all “evil” and all of the folks on the creek should band together and “just stop” this project.  The pipe could just go “somewhere else,” suggested this self-proclaimed “expert” on the project.

Indeed, for a self-proclaimed ‘expert’ Kaczor didn’t even know who Lisa Mossie, a party to the dispute, was when she was standing right in front of her and claimed to have never seen a plan that had lateral going anywhere near the Stiefel’s home (see plans, above). I wish I had taped the encounter, because it was utterly ludicrous. I’ve never seen someone vacillate so rapidly between two extremes - claiming to know everything and claiming to know nothing – in such a short period of time as I saw from Kaczor that night. Clearly Kaczor and her ilk aren’t used to a dialogue; they are used to having the soapbox to themselves, conjuring their own facts and controlling the narrative.

Kaczor complained that the Steifels ‘should have come to them’ if they had problems with the project;  the Stiefels feel the time for talking has long passed since Beyer & Co. represented them and their position without their knowledge or consent. 

As the sky opened up and torrents of rain poured down on both parties who make their home on the water, we all cut the talk short and departed. Apparently, though, Kaczor wouldn’t let it go, because she showed up unannounced at the Stiefel’s house later that evening, trying to do damage control and convince them to meet with ‘the engineer’ Fred Walker. Mr. Walker may be AN engineer, but he’s not THE LPVRSA engineer; he is LP’s representative on LPVRSA.

Aside from the central issue at hand – where the interceptor will be placed – the saddest part is this: two families that have known each other for decades and grew up together –Frank Stiefel reminisced about how Cathy and Mary would run through the sewer pipes when they were kids in the 70’s – have been torn apart because one of the parties has been so utterly consumed by this cause that they discarded all of that in favor of their own interests. Ultimately, the cost of this interceptor will be higher than just dollars, turtles and artifacts; it may cost someone’s home in addition to the long-standing friendship.

The Stiefels may be late in gearing up for war, but they are nonetheless determined to fight the smear campaign being waged against them, LPVRSA and their municipality. As Mrs. Steifel told Kaczor, “You are fighting for your view of the creek. I am fighting for a place to put my head at night. We haven’t said anything up til now, but I will fight you with my last dying breath”.