Free Press - August 10, 2006

Quakertown YMCA, Pat Keller

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Before I get to my comments about the news, I have an apology.

In the July 27th edition of the Free Press, Richland Township Supervisor Rick Orloff wrote a letter to the editor objecting to one of my recent columns. He was correct; I was wrong.

Here’s what Orloff said. “The Richland Board of Supervisors upon the unanimous recommendation of the Richland Township Park and Recreation Board leased 15 acres of ground to the YMCA for $1 per year, plus the development and use of ball fields, a trail link, nd meeting rooms.

“The next door neighbors, Phil and Jane Steeley, sued to kill the YMCA project. Richland co-defended the suit with the YMCA.

“After a tortuous legal battle that ultimately resulted in a change to the ordinance, the YMCA was nearly ready to pull a building permit and proceed.

“What happened next? The YMCA snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and simply walked away from a Richland-based project.

The Richland Township Supervisors past and present (Tamburri, Keller, Orloff and Staats) were very supportive of the YMCA project. In addition, about 12 Park and Rec. Board members past and present were supportive of the YMCA project. Only supervisor Zowniriw dissented against the YMCA project. To suggest Richland Township was not supportive is simply not true.”

I identified Richland Township along with the neighbors and Quakertown Borough for the failure to build the YMCA on Station Road. Richland was blameless. The supervisors couldn’t have been more accommodating. Quakertown could have given the land next to the Michener Library to the Y but didn’t. The neighbors didn’t have to sue the Y but did.

As I mentioned in my column, there was plenty of blame to go around...only Richland was innocent.

And speaking of Richland, shortly after police charged Supervisor Mike Zowniriw with throwing a rock at his neighbor, I had a conversation with Pat Keller, the former supervisor whom Zowniriw defeated several years ago.

“Will you oppose Zowniriw if he seeks reelection,” I asked?

“I’ll be 68 in two weeks,” she answered during our conversation on July 15. “I don’t need the aggravation any more. Richland is so busy all the time...it’s a heavy responsibility. I have four grandchildren and want to do some traveling too. But I’m still involved with four [Richland] committees.

“I’m ready for the younger generation to run the government,” she added.

Keller had a few comments about how Quakertown’s government works. Now that council has hired a consulting firm to study the efficiency of the borough and how its manager, David Woglom, operates, Pat Keller’s observations are interesting.

“When you’re an elected official, you need to see everything ...not have it screened by the manager,” Keller began. “I think Dave [Woglom] filtered everything. Borough council is isolated from the people. They’re not allowed to see their own E-mails.

“Quakertown has a strong borough manager,” Keller continued. “Council doesn't always get the news. We [Richland Supervisors] couldn’t communicate directly with Quakertown Council.”

I was unable to convince Keller that Richland Township, Richlandtown Borough, and Quakertown should be one municipality. But she did allow that Quakertown and Richland should work more closely together. She particularly praised the cooperation shown between the Richland and Quakertown police departments.

And she had high scores for her fellow supervisor Rick Orloff. “Rick did a good job in Richland,” she said. “He examined how to increase revenue and reduce expenses, with success. Rick would have been a good choice for the Quakertown school board.”

Before I close today’s column, I have observations about several news items.

Bucks should take a hard look at Lehigh County’s plans to implement state legislation that offers an incentive for farmland preservation. If Lehigh buys into the legislation, it could freeze the millage on farmland whose owners have given up development rights. School boards may conclude that despite the lost revenue from any future tax increase, it might be better in the long run to encourage preservation and prevent more students flooding into the school system (according to Romy Varghese’s report in the Call (July 11). I’ll check with the Bucks commissioners for their reaction to Lehigh County shortly.

Item.

Did you see the AP story (July 25) which scientifically concludes that watching TV is counter productive to academic achievement. The Kaiser Family Foundation found third-graders through 12th graders devoted 6 1/2 hours per day to TV and videos, music, video games and computers. Holy Smokes! That’s 6 1/2 hours per day.

Last item.

I was fascinated with a New York Times report (July 24). Panasonic has developed a television set which measures six feet by nine feet and weighs 450 pounds. It’s cost...a mere $70,000. The diagonal TV screen length is 103 inches.

My plan is to wait 10 years for the $70,000 price tag to drop to 100 bucks. Unfortunately, I’ll be 81 and need a TV twice that size to see anything.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith