On the Planning Commission appointment

Phoenixville Borough Council, I ask the following questions, not in anticipation of a response but primarily for contemplation purposes.

Are you always mindful of the public's trust placed in you when you were elected to office?

As a public servant charged to render decisions on our behalf based on based on the best information available, including public sentiment, are you prepared to step aside from any personal relationships and vote soley for what is in the best interest of our community?

Are you willing to belay the previous charges of past apparent cronyism practices?

Can you rise above any political or intra-Council pressure?

Are you among the Council Members who will commit to returning a sense of public trust in your decisions?

The resumes of four candidates will be considered for an appointment to the Planning Commission Tuesday evening.

Only one applicant will be seated.

The decision between an applicant with previous Commission experience versus an applicant with planning specific education or experience elsewhere is valid and should or can normally be an onerous one.

However, when one simplifies the process to a decision between someone with many years of experience and someone with no experience on a board or commission, the Borough Council has set it's presedent.

Remember Charlie Berger?

His lack of reappointment flies in the face of an argument based purely on experience.

In his own words before Borough Council, as posted to Councilman Buckwalter's blog, John Messina stated, “Planning is a process. I was always a strong proponent, when I was on Council, of appointing people to the Planning Commission who didn’t have any experience.”

http://watchingphoenixville.com/

Council would be well advised to take Mr. Messina's recommendation.