Bucks County Herald – October 4, 2007

Open Space Bond Issue, Upper Bucks County Commissioners

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Wouldn’t you think that the Bucks County open space bond issue referendum is a slam-dunk? Will voters approve the $87 million referendum on November 6? They should.

None of the 54 municipalities and 13 school districts has opposed the open space initiative. The Democratic and Republican Bucks County Commissioner candidates support the measure. So do their party organizations. And some of the business organizations are backing it too.

I serve on the “Vote Yes” Education Committee, which meets weekly. Last week we heard that the Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution supporting the bond issue. The three whereas clauses give the chamber’s reasons for support:

“Whereas, preserving the beauty and character of Bucks County is essential to business prosperity, and Whereas the 2007 Bucks County Open space task Force made recommendations that the County should borrow additional funds in the amount of eighty-seven million dollars in order to fund its open space plan which includes five components: farmland preservation, municipal open space, county parkland, natural areas and the Delaware riverfront; and Whereas, the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce recognizes the importance of the preservation of open space within the area and the County as a whole,

“Now therefore, be it resolved that the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce supports [the bond issue referendum].”

That resolution provides an excellent summary of why every citizen and organization should be on board. Unfortunately there maybe clouds on the horizon.

Our committee decided to ask the Central Bucks, Pennridge, and Upper Bucks Chambers of Commerce to follow their Lower Bucks colleagues. My assignment was to contact the Upper Bucks organization and ask for its support. I thought that I’d receive an enthusiastic stamp of approval.

But I was disappointed with the Upper Bucks Chamber’s response.

Deanna Mindler is its Executive Director. She told me that the chamber’s board of directors decided not to endorse the open space referendum…nor ask its membership to vote.

Why?

Who ever knows isn’t telling.

Does the referendum sound too political? The only reason that I could suggest is the chamber may fear unhappiness from members who are developers. Some developers might reason that preserving open space is bad for business. But that seems so short sighted, it couldn’t be true.

From everything that I’ve read, land that has been protected from development makes adjacent land more desirable and more valuable. In 1997, Bucks voters passed a $59 million bond issue. In the intervening years, more than 15,000 acres of farmland, municipal open space, natural areas and county parkland have been permanently preserved.

That $59 million bond issue, approved by voters ten years ago, attracted an additional infusion of $80 million from matching grants and contributions from the state, federal, and municipal governments, plus private and non-profit agencies. If the voters approve the $89 million bond issue in November, you can expect a similar, compounding result.

Take a look at the impressive credentials of the “Vote Yes” Committee. It’s co-chaired by Michael Fitzpatrick, William Hart Rufe III, and Andy Warren. Fitzpatrick is a former congressman and Bucks County Commissioner. Rufe is a retired common pleas judge, and long-term chairman of the Heritage conservancy. Warren is a former Bucks Commissioner and leader of the state department of transportation in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Other members of the committee are: Tony Belfield, a Bensalem Township geologist; Cliff David, President of the Heritage conservancy; George Donovan, an architect and chairman of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce; Joe DiGirolamo, the three-term Mayor of Bensalem Township;

Walter Farley, a former Bucks County Commissioner and retired engineer; J. Lawrence Grim, Jr., an Upper Bucks attorney; Fred Groshens, a former Bucks County administrator; Susanne Hewitt, a retired public information officer of the Bucks County Free Library and member of the League of Women Voters; Jeff Marshall, Vice President of the Heritage Conservancy;

Winslow Mason, Executive Director of the Bristol Township Weed and Seed program of the U.S. Department of Justice; Tony Melio, State Representative of the 141^st District; Clark Shuster, Executive Director of the Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce; Anna Simons, Chairperson of the county board of assessment appeals; Kathy Watson, State Representative of the 144^th District; and me.

In the last ten years, taxpayers have experienced new school construction in Bucks and Montgomery Counties that has probably exceeded $1 billion. On the other hand, farmland and animals require no new high ways, no water and sewer lines, and no new schools.

That’s why I’ll be stumping for a “Yes” vote on November 6 and hope that you’ll join me.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith