Snapped this photo during the fall somewhere on a country road on the border of Chester and Lancaster Counties. I just love this photo.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
honey brook
I have a thing for Main Street oriented towns….this is the natural commodity that developers attempt to capture but can never quite naturally duplicate in developments that reflect the theories of New Urbanism, and so forth. And why create Developer Disneylands when the real deal is all around us?
Adaptive reuse I think is a more productive key to the future. The National Trust for Historic Preservation seems to share my opinion too:
The National Trust for Historic Preservation believes that the strength of America’s historic and older neighborhoods is critical to the future of our communities, and that improving housing is a key element of any community revitalization strategy. Our goal is to prevent unnecessary demolition, and to restore, rehab, and reuse existing structures, while helping to ensure that needed new construction is compatible and complementary with the character of our older and historic resources
But to reuse an old structure, or series of old structures is not what most developers seem to want to do.
If we’re not careful, Main Street will disappear. And that will be a loss. I don’t know about you, but I like communities with individual identities. Not everything needs to be homogenous and Stepford wife situated.
The one thing that concerns me is that Chester County is still seeing a LOT of development. Lots and lots of strip malls, but I notice that every time one of those goes up, small crossroads town centers are forgotten more and more.
I would hate to see small Main Street oriented Chester County town centers become ghost towns and a thing of the past. And as I wander through the county, I notice it’s already happening….
malvern on a saturday
So I remember reading many months back that Malvern has approved some unnecessary development up King? I guess it’s this East King Street thing on their website?
This past Saturday as we sat and sat in traffic on Malvern’s main drag, I looked around at all the cute stores and whatnot already there and wondered given the traffic NOW, why they would want to create more density and congestion in basically a one horse town?
It seems to me they stand a darn good chance of ruining a good thing. Why make Malvern what it isn’t? Why not enhance gently if they *must* do something? Why does redevelopment ALWAYS seem to mean super-sizing?
When did the vision of communities stop being about the actual community?
Yes, the horse is out of the barn in this case, and it seems a case of alea iacta est – or the die has been cast, but I can’t help myself. I look at Malvern and look at those ugly plans and think to myself “what are these people thinking?”
salvo spotlight once again on west vincent township
The Daily Salvo is once again taking a field trip to Chester County, PA. Specifically, West Vincent Township. How very interesting.
Daily Salvo can also be heard on News Talk 1180 WFYL.com
The three pigs visual is darn funny. Don’t know if Supervisor David Brown, formerly of Lawyer Merion, err Lower Merion Township will find it as amusing, but here’s wondering if Daily Salvo finds his political “roots” amusing? After all given the time line, he must have had some crossover with one of the attempting fathers of eminent domain in Lower Merion Township, Ken Davis, right? Can it be said if you follow politics that some of the “old guard” in Lower Merion nearly not only destroyed Republican politics in Lower Merion, but Montgomery County as well? So you always wonder where people go when they disappear off your local scene, right?
And isn’t it so cute that Lower Merion’s old David Brown is now what he seems he always wanted to be, as in a local politician in West Vincent? Gotta give a guy credit for sticking to goals, right?
Check out an article from the Inquirer archives from 1997 and below that 1991:
Commissioner Seeks To Oust Foe From Nov. Ballot The Lower Merion Official Said Gloria L. Agre Moved Too Recently.
A Night Of Clashing Candidates. Brown Queried On Tax Troubles
But the thing is this West Vincent, politics on the most local level should be about the individual, not if they are a mini-me version of politics on a larger scale. And sometimes people present a good face as candidates and once they are in office they pretty much suck.
Seriously, local yokel politicians only have as much power over you as you allow. And remember ultimately they work for you thew residents, which means you can fire them with the power of your vote.
All I know is reading all this stuff from the outside, I wonder how long it will take for West Vincent government to implode upon itself? A beautiful place that seems to hide a lot of inner turmoil and ugliness? So sad.
FYI, it was Mr. Brown, who put his bio out there – and here is his poitical resume:
POLITICAL ACTIVITY
- Republican Committee of Lower Merion & Narberth Committeeman 1976 – 1990 Counsel to Committee 1990 – 2004 Member Executive Committee 1990 – 2004 Former Solicitor to Montgomery County Controller
- Republican Committee of Chester County Committeeman 2006 – present
So now that Mr. Brown is a Supervisor in West Vincent, here’s hoping he does the right thing by all residents, yes?
The last word is check out today’s The Mercury – there is an editorial called “Why should West Vincent taxpayers pay for official’s health care?”
sign of the times? is this what america is all about?
No, this isn’t Chester County. Just a photo snapped in my travels this weekend. Is this what are country is about? Are we in a depression? When you see this photo, what do you think?
For what it is worth, after I snapped this photo and this woman realized she was being photographed, she smiled. I was not sure, truthfully, how to interpret that….
sunday’s barn
this woman shouldn’t be allowed in a car this big
Anyone recognize this ginormous SUV? It’s brand new for now and the woman driving it yesterday was hell bent for leather to get somewhere and almost caused multiple accidents.
We picked her up yesterday in Malvern in front of Wegman’s and unfortunately had to share highway with her for a while . I was a passenger in a car, not driving and taking photos, incidentally.
Anyway, this woman was ALL over the road, and I mean ALL over. She lane hopped seemingly every six seconds, and not once did she EVER use her signal to change lanes on a busy highway. Basically, she careened in and out of traffic lanes, even bouncing off concrete stuff used as highway dividers. And she was speeding, speeding, speeding. She also was inattentive enough that most of the time even when she was changing lanes you did not know what lane she was in because she kept drifting over lane divider lines too.
Drivers like this are a menace anywhere, and I sure hope she wasn’t doing what she was doing yesterday with children in her SUV.
She was so erratic a driver that I contemplated calling the police. She should get a vehicle she can handle for starters. I am sure she would be great fun to come up against in an amusement park in bumper cars, but if I never see her on a road again I can’t say I won’t be upset.
I don’t understand when people became so self-absorbed that they stopped being cognizant of their surroundings while driving…or why they have to be in such a hurry that they would take risks with their lives as well as the lives of others.
meanwhile, back in west vincent township
It seems that in West Vincent Township, it’s still a cloudy day? I have this e-mail from ChickenMan which also contains part of an interesting update from the Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Folks which I also received. Wow talk about murky and no sunshine.
Are these people for real? And how come they can’t produce a lease for the taxpayers to review if this Township Supervisor Ken Miller (who makes that cheese I no longer buy from Birchrun Hills Farm) rents land from the township? Doesn’t that make in some sense the residents/taxpayers of West Vincent his landlord? And he does this (rents this land from in essence the taxpayers), yet he thought it was a good idea to seize Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Grounds via eminent domain for private gain? And if West Vincent owns all this land and is so hot to trot on a “plan”, why not use the land they already own before looking to seize privately owned land?
And who is this Pam Brown, other than she seems to be part of French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust? Call me crazy, but damn that non-profit seems to have issues or am I imagining that?
And what’s up with this zoning issue? Shouldn’t residents be able to discuss any potential changes in full sunshine even typos? That seems to be the norm for other municipalities in Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery Counties doesn’t it?
Also, why is it again this Clare Quinn can’t get benefits on COBRA from her former employer and it is such a good idea for the taxpayers of West Vincent to pay for her health benefits? I would love for someone to pay my health benefits, but I live in the real world and pay my own. Just sayin’.
Anyway, read on from ChickenMan:
Hi
This came in to me from the Friends of the Horse Show and I am copying it here for you.
Dear Friend,
Once again interested residents of West Vincent Township packed the township building anxiously awaiting the zoning hearing that was postponed in December. Once again, the residents of the township were turned away, as the zoning hearing was postponed yet again. The hearing is now set for January 23, 2012. Explanation: They sent the “insignificant changes” (one change and a few typo’s) back to the County, because the County could determine that they were “significant changes”. That’s right folks, I couldn’t make this stuff up, it’s double talk at its best!To refresh your memory, the zoning hearing is to approve major changes to the township zoning ordinance. The changes to this ordinance are vast, and will certainly change the look and feel of West Vincent Township in the future. Even more important than the depth and breath of the changes, is the fact that the changes proposed will attempt to right the zoning violation that occurred when Pam Brown was permitted to built her accessory dwelling on her deed restricted property.Frustration levels were high as the residents of the township voiced their displeasure in the manner in which the zoning changes are being handled. They are complicated, difficult to read, and cumbersome, yet the supervisors and township manager along with solicitor do not intend to hold a town meeting or provide a plain language document for residents to better understand the future effects of the changes.Since the township website makes it difficult to locate documents referred to at the meeting, I have provided you with the links to follow along. Get cozy and read along.Click here to see the changes to the amendments.
Fast Facts taken from the meeting:
- The meeting once again required two attorneys working on behalf the supervisors. During the budget approval meeting of December 27, 2011, the supervisors said they were going to control the expenses of the attorneys in 2012, I wonder when they will start? My guess Monday night cost the township a minimum of $1710 and possibly much more, might I remind you….nothing was accomplished! The supervisors knew the hearing was not going to take place, yet they kept 2 attorneys at the table…..Good Job watching that budget!
- When questioned about the decision to pay 100% of Clare Quinn’s benefits, the board said they would determine the percentage in March when Clare will go on the policy. Keep your eyes on this one, how will the supervisors spend your money?
- Remember when the Horse Show supporters showed up at the meeting, and mysteriously chairs were missing from the meeting room, forcing people to stand or sit on the ground? The chairs have returned! Personally I want to thank my township for treating their residents with such care that they actually removed chairs from the meeting room when the supporters of the horse show attended meetings.
BUDGET REVIEW UPDATE
As promised, I have been inspecting records at the township building over the last two weeks. This is a slow process, however I will keep you updated as things of importance are revealed. The 2012 budget did not include rental income for the farmland and farmhouse leased by the township. After I pointed this out, Jim Wendlegas was not able to determine why they were missing. During my review and on Monday evening, Jim took responsibility for “missing” the income from the farm land in the budget. The supervisors decided to vote to amend the budget to make this change at the next meeting. As part of my review, I have asked for copies of the leases on the farm land along with the farmhouse lease. What I was provided was an expired lease (lease expired 9/30/08) on the Farmhouse and an expired lease for the farmland that Ken Miller leases from the township (expired 12/31/10). When asked for lease renewals, extensions or addendums to the leases, Jim looked surprised, and said he would have to “look” for them. Jim did not have them available at the next meeting even though I stressed the importance of seeing them. Just to be clear, the leases do not have an automatic renewal, and do require renewals in writing…Stay tuned more to follow….
Thank you for staying interested in what is going on in West Vincent Township. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone who may have an interest in what’s happening in West Vincent Township. If the e-mail has been forwarded to you, and you would like to receive future mailings, please click on the link below!
Sincerely,
Maria Jacobs
Friend of the Horse Show
“Be the change you wish the world to see” – Ghandi
To join the Friends of the Horse Show Mailing list click here
To see my previous mailings please click on http://tinyurl.com/westvincentinfos As usual, if you want to be on or off my list, or have some comments or suggestions, or know someone who would like to be on the list, please let me know. Feel free to forward this email on to anyone you think might be interested. Especially though, if you don’t want to continue to receive my mails, please tell me. I’ll take you off the list immediately. Just hit reply to this email or write to chestercountynews@gmail.com
Best wishes
Chickenman
will it be classy with a “k”?
I am reading with some amusement the article about the guy who lives in Unionville with the construction company near West Chester who thinks civil rights are being violated because Concord Township (in Delaware County) is saying no thanks right now to his idea of a teen mecca. The last one was Pulsations in Glen Mills wasn’t it? So…. you can’t blame people for not wanting to repeat that or having reservations, can you?
I always giggle as soon as someone says about what they will be proposing that it will be “classy”. It makes you wonder if they would know from classy if it bit them in the ass. But I suppose “classy” is in the eye of the beholder?
Check out this reference to “klass” in urban dictionary:
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I have to ask is this what people want around there near Routes 1 and 322? Now this guy then says he has 8 kids with nothing to do on the weekends? Ok, so do they move around in a pack and say they’re “bored” all weekend?
This guy is trying to do this under the auspices of a 501c7 non-profit – which is a private club status. Makes you wonder how much this would cost hard working parents per kid in this economy too, doesn’t it?
I found the article amusing on many levels including this guy just seems floored that someone said “no” to him – and it comes through so strongly in the article.
And truthfully, did this township say “no” as in final “no”, or did they say take it to zoning? I read it as they said get a zoning variance if you want it so bad. But this guy has his skirts in a bunch and instead of going to zoning is going to sue this township? Does he sue everyone who says “no” to him? Is it cheaper to sue this township versus going to zoning?
Is this what people want? Do people in Chester County and elsewhere want their kids driving all over hill and dale to go to a place like this? I am not a teen, I don’t have a teen, so I don’t know what teenagers do today.
I do know that when I was a teen, something like this would have held little interest for me, and I also would be willing to bet if I had and something like this had existed, my parents would have said “no”. Is this like Gymboree of Chuck E. Cheese for teenagers, I wonder?
Is this something kids in the area want? I think the place sounds way too cavernous in size, and I have to ask, what is “classy” about arcade games? Is there an example of one of these any place else around? What’s next? A BYOB hookah bar with after hours hours? There is one of those in Bryn Mawr. Nothing classy about that. This seems to be cut from the same thought cloth.
To me this has less to do about kids at the end of the day, but a way for a guy to make a buck because the industry he is part of is so tumultuous due to the economy.
Township blocks out social club
Published: Sunday, January 15, 2012
By FRAN MAYE fmaye@journalregister.com
A Unionville man is threatening to sue Concord Township for discrimination in federal court if the township doesn’t allow him to start up a social club for the 21-and-under set near routes 1 and 322.
Tom Pancoast, who owns a construction company in the West Chester area, wants to invest millions into a long-vacant furniture store — Ethan Allen — and turn it into a social club for minors featuring dancing, live music, billiards, indoor volleyball, basketball, scores of arcade machines and much more. There will even be a restaurant inside….Pancoast has received state approval for forming a 501c7 nonprofit organization that will be members only. Pancoast claims he has a “use by right” because he is forming a social club under rules set forth by the township ordinance, but township officials say an under-21 club does not fit the definition of a social club….The facility would generate a huge windfall for Concord Township through its amusement tax. Pancoast said he can’t understand why the township would reject his plan and turn away the revenue that will be generated.
“We’re going to employ 50 people,” he said. “We’re going to be hiring local veterans for security. I’m going to invest a couple of million dollars in construction and Concord Township will make money with us being here. If they fight us, they will waste taxpayer money.”……he feels township officials may have a misconception that the social club will be another Pulsations, which debuted in Glen Mills in 1983, but closed in 1994 after experiencing financial troubles with the new owners introducing exotic female dancersPancoast is hoping to attract thousands of teenagers drawing them in from Oxford, Chi-Chester, Downingtown, Springfield and Media. “I have eight kids and they have nothing to do on the weekend,” Pancoast said. “This will be a classy place — someplace kids can go without hanging out at the malls or crowding in cars and driving around. It’ll keep them out of trouble. This is going to be great. You would think with the way the economy is today, the township would be a little more job friendly.”
This guy who wants his teen club was last in the Daily Local ironically exactly a year ago on January 15, 2011 when he talked about his new solar panel business:
With the launch of Simply Solar, Tom and Susan Pancoast have joined the growing number of solar panel installers in Pennsylvania.
Motivated by federal and state renewable energy incentives, homeowners and businesses alike are looking to the sun to generate power and reduce electric bills. As a result, the creation of new green companies and new green jobs is booming in Pennsylvania…..For Tom Pancoast, the owner of Pancoast Construction, the time was right for several reasons to shift the construction business to solar panel installation.
“The building business is not all that good right now,” said Pancoast, who invested time and money to attend classes to get certified.
Again, in my humble opinion, this is the story of a guy trying to adapt in a tough economy, which I can’t blame him for. But you have to wonder if last year was solar panels and this year is a teen club, what will January 15 2013 bring?
However, the most important thing is how residents, kids, and parents feel about this. So this should be an interesting story to follow.
can we do a good thing?
It’s a horrible economy, in spite of the every increasing attempts at dumbing down the American public to thinking “it’s not so bad out there.”
People are going hungry right in our own back yards. Which is why we are as residents of the suburbs and exurbs learning more and more about local food banks.
I have a wonderful friend in Narberth named Gigi who is a whirling dervish of a driving force behind the food bank in Narberth. So before I delve into how this ties in my head to Chester County, I would like you learn about Gigi and what she is doing courtesy of another pal of mine, Ashley Nguyen at Neighbors Main Line on Philly.com:
A food bank – and need for it – grows in Narberth By Ashley Nguyen
Now when Gigi reads this, I will undoubtedly get a phone call or e-mail saying she doesn’t deserve the praise, but I think she does. She’s an amazing example of just paying it forward in a good and Godly way. I think she’s awesome. (Incidentally, The Narberth Community Food Bank is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, then reopens from 6 to 8 p.m.)
So anyway, I read a wonderful thing just now concerning Chester County and decided to post again today. It was in the Tredyffrin-Easttown Patch. It was about the Paddock Closing in Devon. A business closing in this economy is not wonderful, but as a restaurant,what they did and didn’t have to do, was wonderful – they gave leftover foodstuffs to a local food pantry:
Paddock’s Loss Becomes Local Families’ Gain By Bob Byrne
At an hour on Wednesday that was lunch hour at the Paddock at Devon just last week, Deb Ackerman and Colleen Sanford were packing up the contents of a huge walk-in refrigerator in the restaurant’s newly-abandoned kitchen.
Ackerman and Sanford run the food pantry at the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli. The fresh vegetables, eggs, butter, cream, cheese and bacon they were packing up Tuesday just after noon will be distributed to local families in need on Wednesday evening at the church….The food pantry operates at the church on the first and third Thursday of each month from 9 a.m.- 1p.m. and on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month from 5 p.m.-7 p.m…..”Our need for donations has exploded.”
As the recession continues to hit Chester County hard, the food pantry has been working harder than ever to keep up with demands.
Here we are in an area that has a lot of agricultural goodness, and people are going hungry?
Hmmm. It also is timely given Food Network’s special called The Big Waste, which is all about the food we waste in this country, wrapped in a chefs’ competition. It’s actually no joke, because there is a guy named Jonathan Bloom who devotes a whole website to what is wasted called Wasted Food.com . He says in the “about” section of his website:
Americans waste more than 40 percent of the food we produce for consumption. That comes at an annual cost of more than $100 billion. At the same time, food prices and the number of Americans without enough to eat continues to rise…..I’ve been researching this topic since 2005, when two experiences made me aware of just how much food is wasted. Volunteering at D.C. Central Kitchen, a homeless shelter that rescues unused food from restaurants and supermarkets illuminated the excess in those areas.
Gleaning, or gathering crops that would otherwise be left in the field and distributing them to the hungry, illustrated the agricultural abundance that is often plowed under.
So now I am thinking about this. (A lot of people start to think “uhh-ohh” when I say I am thinking about something.) But seriously, it’s like a message. I am lucky. I have enough to eat and as of a partial mastectomy June 1, 2011 I can also say I am a breast cancer survivor. That has nothing to do with the price of eggs, per se, it just puts it all into perspective for me. I see what my pal Gigi does, and have an affinity for Good Sam although I don’t worship there because they do good works like this all the time.
So this is what I am thinking – and maybe it’s already happening, but in case it’s not, maybe the good farmers of Chester County can help out one or two of these food banks going forward? Or maybe farmers who already do stuff like this can encourage other farmer neighbors to consider it too?
Look, I know what I am asking. And I know that farming is one of the toughest, most demanding and money-sucking gigs out there, but surely based on what these food banks are doing for people in the community and the word that people like this Jonathan Bloom is trying to spread, can we think about or re-think this?
What do all you farmers out there do with what isn’t considered pretty enough to sell on the Main Line in farmers’ markets or to restaurants? Do you have any left overs that if you say, donated to Good Samaritan, which as a large religious institution is a non-profit , could undoubtedly give you some kind of a charitable donation letter? Or maybe give to my friend Gigi’s food bank which is applying to be a non-profit just because she’s awesome?
And others out there? As individuals or even as restaurants you can give to food banks too. You can also check with food banks to see not only what they need, but if they accept things like grocery store gift cards that can be used to purchase food. Or if you can’t give to a food bank, how about telling someone else who might be able to and just pay it forward?
For the Narberth Food Bank, if you can help, contact Gigi at gigiandrick@comcast.net or donations@narberthcommunityfoodbank.org – The Narberth Community Food Bank accepts donations Monday evenings 7 pm to 8 pm. For more information, see their website: http://narberthcommunityfoodbank.org/ .
For Good Samaritan, I have not had a chance to lock down the specifics of their food pantry, other than what I learned from T-E Patch: it operates at the church on the first and third Thursday of each month from 9 a.m.- 1p.m. and on the seoncd and fourth Thursdays of the month from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. I bet you could e-mail info@good-samaritan.org or call them during normal business hours at 610-644-4040. They are located at 212 West Lancaster Avenue in Paoli.
When I think of Chester County one of the things I think are the working farms, the produce, the dairy, the bounty, etc.
And well if you don’t want to go all the way to Narberth to drop off donations, Good Sam in Paoli is in Chester County….
The way I see it is we can’t count on anyone but ourselves in this horrible economy, so while it’s tough on so many of us, there are those who are literally going hungry. Why not do a good thing?
Pax.