The first Planning Commission meeting for West Whiteland Township was January 9th, but I missed it. The topic was that old folks development planned for Boot Road kind of on top of the Mariner East/SuNOco/Energy Transfer. Literally. Just put the address into the county pipeline interactive map.
I was concerned about this before as were many, many people. Which is why I was glad West Whiteland Supervisors didn’t just green light the plan 100% before. Among other things, there is no safety plan in the event of a pipeline emergency. We are talking elderly people, with any range of issues and that includes memory as in Alzheimer’s. It’s bad enough the pipeline runs super close to seniors in those places in East Goshen because the places were already built before Mariner East/SuNOco/Energy Transfer came through in recent years.
Yes, we’ve all lived mostly ok with petroleum pipelines. This is different. It’s more can go boom and will do so rather quickly and has the ability to cause incredible amounts of damage to life and property. Many of us, myself included live in blast zones for one pipeline or the other, so why built for at risk humans on top of a pipeline essentially?
Anyway since I missed the meeting I asked West Whiteland if I could have the zoom link. It’s a public meeting and publicly recorded so if you cannot go in person or attend the zoom portion, you CAN request to view it. (CLICK HERE) I will note again, that I requested the meeting like anyone else can. I have to point this out since people seem to think I actually run various townships with my blogging superpowers or get extra special treatment which makes me howl with laughter at the sheer absurdity of it. The truth is regular people have rights, and you can ask questions and ask to view public meeting recordings. The other truth is I am one opinion, one woman, why so fixated?
At first the meeting seemed pleasant enough and they welcomed a new member, Ginny Kerslake. If you click on below, turn up volume or watch entire meeting.
Now I make no secret that Ginny is one of my favorite people. I am very happy to see her on the Planning Commission in West Whiteland. There used to be another lady on it, but that committee runs itself like a boys’ club and often their attitude in general leaves a lot to be desired, so I have to wonder if that is why she is no longer there? I think some of them prefer those of us in the female species to be seen and not heard. I am sure I am on that list for expressing my opinion on things before them.
This plan IMHO is still a fool’s errand. I don’t object to senior living facilities, but plans that are kind of bad….are just kind of bad. What makes THIS plan bad? Location and proximity to pipelines. That would be Item 9 being referred to a lot in the recording. I also think it’s too close to the road etc. It’s an awkward location all the way around, if most of us are honest, and no matter what happens, we can indeed think that.
That is kind of a BIG item (emergency plan) to NOT be addressed when submitting plan again or whatever, isn’t it? And Ginny Kerslake expressed the SAME concerns she expressed as an ordinary resident the LAST time this plan came up. And wow the rush of Male Chauvinist Planning in the room was something else. And mansplaining. Oy the mansplaining.
One of the chief voices on the recording I think was West Whiteland Planning Commission Vice Chair Mark Gordon. Why do I say that? The East Goshen and pipeline references. You see, Mr. Gordon was an employee of East Goshen Zoning Officer /Director of Codes until some point in in 2022. I guess he retired? Do they miss his sparkling know it all personality? He might not like that I said this, but it’s not illegal and I am just a silly woman, right?
Anywhoooo, a couple of those voices on the recording who were NOT anyone representing the applicant were horrible IMHO. So the other blue meanie I think was a guy named Jeff on the Planning Commission? Why are he and the Vice Chair so full of themselves anyway? Did I miss something? I have known quite a few men and women on planning commissions in various municipalities throughout the years and a lot of them have quite frankly amazing resumes and they didn’t behave so poorly even if they didn’t agree with the public, so what gives?
The representatives of the applicant was quite pleasant throughout, I thought….and this can’t have been fun for them since they still don’t have a safety plan, right?
Here’s the 411 mansplaining Planning Commission members: you don’t know everything, no one has to kiss your rings. Yes, I am saying once again I am not fond of West Whiteland’s Planning Commission boys’ club. I have encountered it with other meetings and their obvious disdain for residents and neighbors and non residents and neighbors kind of just goes on. And it should NOT. If they don’t want to play nicely with residents etc., why are they there? That was Ginny Kerslake’s first meeting, so what is the objective? To beat her to a pulp verbally and will this continue every meeting moving forward? And point of fact, the Planning Commission has a liaison from the Board of Supervisors and why didn’t he calm the tone? He could have, it would have been most appropriate.
It’s funny, this coming week Willistown Township deals with the decorum of residents speaking at meetings. It seems West Whiteland needs to do the same with some of the Planning Commission members towards residents and seemingly women on their own board? I think it’s pretty pathetic but who am I but a mere mortal and female?
The biggest problem with certain West Whiteland Planning Commission members after mansplaining and dismissive atty-tudes is that they seem to think that if they make a recommendation it should be Gospel. They are an advisory board only. And I am glad Ginny Kerslake is there now because she will shake things up in a POSITIVE manner. I may or may not agree with her decisions while serving, but I will rest assured as will all West Whiteland residents that she LISTENS and does her HOMEWORK.
So yeah, boys’ club, I will get out the popcorn. And while I am waiting for the next mansplain be rude to female commission members occasion, I will take a moment to upload other agendas and some related screen shots where this Columbia Cottage thing has been discussed or other pipelines + elderly dwelling areas. It goes back to 2020 and I don’t even think I found them all. But seriously boys, what are you recommending for approval when all that time there hasn’t yet been a safety plan? How will you be when the plans for Church Farm Lane which will be Hershey’s Mill- like comes up? Maybe man babies, it is time to check your egos at the door and remember WHY you are SUPPOSED to be there?
You won’t like my opinions here, but am I completely wrong? I don’t think so.
West Whiteland Residents for Pipeline Saftey drone image over Ship Road/Exton Station area unexpected work posted today 11/1/23
So we all found out that Energy Transfer AKA Sunoco AKA Sunoco Logistics was BACK on Ship Road around Exton Station. I mean the grass was barely grown back, right?
You whooo Harrisburg, over here, okay? (Well we all know you read this blog in Pennsyltucky, so whatevs…..)
Sorry readers, I will continue….sometimes I have to see if those political bears are awake and paying attention to residents….
Repair work continues on Mariner East 2x on Ship Rd at Exton Station. Drone photo taken yesterday shows the pipe has been excavated very close to where the HDD exit pit was ( The drill for this section was at the Hankin apartments on Ship near Boot. After the borehole was complete pipes were pulled from the exit pit here south the the drill site).
As previously reported here, “an anomaly” was detected during recent inspection of the pipeline with a smart pig. The work is expected to last 2-3 weeks which is long compared to recent repairs done on the same pipe in Delaware County.
why is this pipe already in need of repairs?
what happens when an anomaly is detected on a section of pipe that is inaccessible because it was installed tens or even over 100 feet underground or through rock as is the case on many lengths of mariner East through Chester County and Delaware County?
And remember, there is no credible emergency plan to warn protect public when there is a leak of these high volatile liquids in transport through Mariner East.
This has actually been going on for a couple of days. Some hypothesize that Joe Massaro the current talking head (Public Affairs Specialist at Energy Transfer, @JospehMassaro on the platform formerly known as Twitter was tidying up for another residential massage job, perhaps?
Too mean?
Sorry not sorry but I mean you know us residents: some have had properties and wells ruined by Sunoco/Energy Transfer, and then there are the thousands of us who live in blast zones, right? We know we don’t matter to them, and are rather inconvenient to them and politicians including Democrats who love love love the myth of pipelines, fracking, and Hydrogen hubs, right?
So next thing you know, Chair of the West Whiteland Supervisors Brian Dunn is on sitethis morning over on Ship Road and guess what? Sunoco/Energy Transfer was NOT putting him off. He had the township manager with him as well. Supervisor Brian Dunn went DOWN into that big hole to see the pipeline and dent for himself. That pipeline is live because you do not expect them to stop running highly explosive ethane while they make a repair, do you? Actually, fool that I am and a former oil company brat from decades ago, I actually thought they would do just that, but I am but a mere mortal and a female, right?
Anyway, Supervisor Brian Dunn had West Whiteland put it all on their social media channels and website. So for once there is real time updates on a pipeline issue.
This issue is being described as “pipeline maintenance.” I daresay it’s not regular everyday sweeping up is it?
Allow me to let West Whiteland Residents for Pipeline Safety to explain further:
We now know what problem with the Mariner East 2X pipeline on Ship Rd at Exton Station needing repair, thanks to West Whiteland Township conducting a site visit this morning.
There is a dent in the pipe which was detected as “an anomaly” during a recent smart pigging inspection of the pipeline. It safe to assume this dent was caused during construction so its unclear how it went undetected before.
The green coating has been sandblasted away fir the repair and the pipe will be wrapped in clockspring, a composite repair sleeve and reinforcement system uniquely designed for high-pressure transmission pipelines. Work is expected to last until Wednesday, November 8.
The pipeline is actively transporting highly explosive ethane while this work and the excavation using a backhoe is being conducted. The last photo, with the site marked with an red X shows the densely populated area immediately surrounding.
Questions remain:
why was this dent, an area of weakness, not detected in previous inspections?
what happens when an anomaly is detected on a section of pipe that is inaccessible because it was installed tens or even over 100 feet underground or through rock as is the case on many lengths of Mariner East through Chester County and Delaware County?
And remember, there is no credible emergency plan to warn protect public when there is a leak of these high volatile liquids in transport through Mariner East.
Thank you to West Whiteland Township for conducting this site visit and providing transparency on this to residents – transparency we do not get from Energy Transfer nor our regulatory agencies.
Energy Transfer regularly conducts routine preventative maintenance on the Mariner East pipeline in the Township to detect anomalies before they become safety issues, One such anomaly was discovered and work is in progress to remediate it.
In order to ensure the integrity of the pipeline is not affected, the pipe will be wrapped in clockspring, a composite repair sleeve and reinforcement system uniquely designed for high-pressure transmission pipelines. Work is expected to last until Wednesday, November 8.
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PA PUC) has been on site and verified that the activity is within normal pipeline maintenance and operations. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrations (PHMSA) has also been notified. Township Supervisor Brian Dunn and Township Manager Pam Gural-Bear visited the site and met with ET’s Integrity Team.
The anomaly was identified as one that could be addressed within 180 days.
But can we talk about Supervisor Brian Dunn again? Sorry not sorry but what he did today took guts He did what MORE elected officials should do: he represented his residents and went to the mat for them. That is also brave because dude was down in a freaking pipeline hole and as much as I love my readers, I can tell you I would not have gone down an 18 foot hole into the ground or whatever. (If I had been the township manager, I would have been above ground saying my rosary while he was down there, but I digress.)
This video is from 6 years ago so the public is reminded what West Whiteland residents have gone through.
This video is from 4 years ago so the public is reminded what West Whiteland residents have gone through.
This video is from 4 years ago so the public is reminded what West Whiteland residents have gone through.The criminal investigation that kinda went nowhere, remember?
This video is from 4 years ago so the public is reminded what West Whiteland residents have gone through.
It should be pointed out to she who will soon be thankfully out of office in West Whiteland is WHY people love and respect Brian Dunn, and will never wax poetically about you. I mean I know you love to slam him and misquote me, so here’s hoping you understand THIS is what being a public servant and working for the people who elected him actually means. Brian Dunn goes the extra mile for West Whiteland AND Chester County residents. He walks the walk whereas you have only ever spewed the talk occasionally.
It’s a mystery how a brand new pipeline has a dent. Perhaps it was damaged in their rush to get everything in the ground before? WHO KNOWS and we may never know because well, it’s Energy Transfer/Sunoco/Sunoco Logistics and everything has to be massaged and polished and spin doctored before the public gets information if they answer at all, doesn’t it?
Bravo, Brian Dunn but for the love of all that is holy, please don’t do that again. And please note that Brian was on site WITH Sunoco and West Whiteland Township in a planned meet up. DO NOT TRESPASS HERE. That is breaking the law and you will be arrested. Today’s on site photos provided generously by West Whiteland Township.
Happy November. Everything old is new again, including pipeline issues.
Based on a true story, Little Pink House is about a small-town paramedic named Susette Kelo leaves a bad marriage, and starts over in a new town. She buys a rundown cottage with a gorgeous water view. She fixes it up and paints it pink. Then she discovers powerful politicians want to bulldoze her blue-collar neighborhood for the benefit of a multi-billion dollar corporation.
With the help of a young lawyer named Scott Bullock, Susette emerges as the reluctant leader of her neighbors in an epic battle that goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, inspires a nation, and helps millions of Americans protect their homes.
Most of you probably have no idea what this means. Or care. But I think you should. It is the movie about the 2005 United States Supreme Court Case Kelo vs. New London, and what Susette Kelo and her Fort Trumbull neighbors endured at the hands of Pfizer and New London, Connecticut.
Susette Kelo taken in front of her little pink house around 2008 (I think) – It has been a long time since I looked at these photos. Scott Mahan photo.
And all of a sudden, I am taken back years. I see faces I haven’t thought of in years; hear voices and snippets of long gone conversations. Ardmore, PA to Washington, DC and Virginia. What a long strange trip it was.
Dick Saha of Coatesville (left), Scott Mahan (center), Nancy Saha of Coatesville (right). I took this photo in June of 2006 down in DC/VA at an Institute for Justice/Castle Coalition conference on Eminent Domain.
My friends and I were ordinary people who became accidental activists via the Save Ardmore Coalition. I resigned my position at Save Ardmore Coalition (“SAC”) in 2011 when diagnosed with breast cancer. I do not know if the organization still exists at all or not, truthfully. I am not there any more. My friends and I have all moved forward into our lives, and now we are mostly like local folklore. Normal people who went to Washington to fight eminent domain and hang out with people like Susette Kelo. But it’s not folklore, or urban legend as we did all that and lived through all of that.
Scott Mahan (left), Susette Kelo (center), Ken Haskin (right). Scott Mahan photo (again circa 2008 or thereabouts)
It was a long road for those of us who were the original SAC and we paid heavy prices for our activism at times (it was not pretty), but I would do it all over again as it was the right thing to do. We were part of the Institute for Justice/Castle Coalition’s eminent domain fighting communities.
My friends from Ardmore and I (the original Save Ardmore Coalition) went to Washington once upon a time as I mentioned when Susette Kelo and others (like Long Branch NJ and the Sahas of Coatesville, PA and the other New London, CT /Fort Trumbull folks) were fighting eminent domain for private gain. We lived this with the Institute for Justice as we fought (and won) Ardmore’s battle.
They were crazy times and I am proud of what we did in Ardmore back then. I am honored I got to spend time with Susette Kelo and the other amazing folks from other cities and states along with the people from the Institute for Justice.
Little Pink House Movie Hits the Big Screen, Seeks to End Eminent Domain Abuse
Biopic on Supreme Court’s Landmark Kelo Ruling Shows How Eminent Domain for Private Gain Destroyed Lives and an Entire Community
Eminent domain creates strange political bedfellows: Once-developer and now-President Donald Trump, along with liberal justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, came out against ordinary homeowners and in favor of the government and private developers.
But for the government’s use of eminent domain, corporations would be powerless to take someone else’s home.
The release of Little Pink House provides a rare opportunity for political unity. It should unite the Left, which wants to limit corporate influence on government, and the Right, which wants to limit government power over property.
Little Pink House is both a major motion picture and a cautionary tale that shows what happens when the government teams up with powerful private interests to take an entire working-class neighborhood for a glitzy development—a project that 13 years later is nothing but barren fields.
Starring two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener and Emmy nominee Jeanne Tripplehorn, Little Pink House opens on April 20 and will be screened in theaters across the nation. It tells the true story of Susette Kelo (played by Keener), a small-town paramedic from New London, Connecticut, who buys her first home—a cottage—and paints it pink. When the governor and his allies plan to bulldoze her little pink house to make way for a development benefitting the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Kelo fights back, taking her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although national polls at the time of the Kelo ruling consistently showed that the public overwhelmingly rejects the use of eminent domain for private gain, the issue made for strange political bedfellows. It was the U.S. Supreme Court’s liberal justices who made up the majority that ruled against Kelo and in favor of the government, and when the Kelo ruling was handed down, developer Trump said, “I happen to agree with it 100%.” Trump had earlier sought to employ eminent domain to take a widow’s property in Atlantic City for his private use. After becoming President of the United States, he said, “I think eminent domain is wonderful.”“As the Atlantic City eminent domain battle showed, unless the government abuses its power of eminent domain, private corporations are powerless to take someone’s property; they must negotiate because they cannot use force,” said Institute for Justice Litigation Director Dana Berliner, who successfully represented the widow at the heart of the Atlantic City lawsuit and who argued Kelo’s case before the Connecticut Supreme Court.
As documented in the film, after Kelo lost her U.S. Supreme Court case, her struggle sparked a nationwide backlash against eminent domain abuse that today helps millions of Americans better protect what is rightfully theirs. The Supreme Court used the Keloruling to radically expand this government power—allowing eminent domain for the mere promise from a developer that it might pay more taxes if given someone else’s land, rather than for an actual public use, as required by the U.S. Constitution. Because of the grassroots backlash at the state level against eminent domain abuse, however, the Kelo case is justifiably seen as a situation in which the government won the battle, but lost the war. Still, the Institute for Justice, which represented Kelo, stated that more reforms are still needed if the abuse of this government power is to be ended once and for all.
“Little Pink House wonderfully captures what the fight for property rights is all about,” said Institute for Justice President Scott Bullock, who argued the Kelo case before the U.S. Supreme Court. “A house is typically someone’s most valuable asset, but the value of a home goes well beyond its mere monetary worth. For so many, it is an extension of who they are and what they value. It is where a person might raise a family, grow a small business, celebrate, mourn and grow old. Eminent domain abuse, as depicted in this film, is not only unconstitutional, it is profoundly wrong. Little Pink House vividly documents the heroic struggle of Susette and her neighbors to not only fight for their homes but for the constitutional rights of millions of others in America and throughout the world.”
Little Pink House should unite those on the Left who want to limit corporate influence on government, and those on the Right, who want to limit government power over property, said Bullock. Eminent domain abuse disproportionately strikes poor and minority communities, and there is often a giant gap between the promises made by redevelopment supporters and the promises such plans actually deliver. In just a five-year period, there were more than 10,000 instances nationwide where eminent domain for private development was either used or threatened by the government.
Government officials and the developer promised that the project that replaced Susette Kelo’s tight-knit blue-collar neighborhood would thrive and would make New London tax-rich. Now, 13 years after the landmark Kelo ruling, all that remains there are barren fields; nothing lives there now but weeds and feral cats.
“It was all for nothing,” said Susette Kelo. “The government put us through all that torture and now, more than a dozen years later, they have literally nothing to show for it. But even if they turned what was my home into an emerald city, that still wouldn’t have made it right. The government and their corporate confidants destroyed our neighborhood and our constitutional rights. We need to keep fighting this until we end eminent domain abuse once and for all.”
Eminent domain hot spots remain around the country. For example: In Garfield, New Jersey, the town’s redevelopment agency is using a bogus blight designation to take a zipper manufacturing warehouse, along with its neighbors’ homes, for a private developer to build private retail and housing. Cumberland, Maryland, is trying to bulldoze a number of homes to make way for a chain restaurant. The Bae family left Korea and built a successful dry cleaning business in East Harlem, New York. But city officials want to demolish it so a developer can build an entertainment complex.
Little Pink House has been lauded by The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood, among others. In addition to attracting stars Keener and Tripplehorn, Little Pink House features the original song “Home Free,” written and performed for the movie by rock legend David Crosby.
The independent film was directed by Courtney Balaker and produced by her husband, Ted Balaker. It will open on screens across the nation with more screenings being added each week. In those markets where Little Pink House is not being shown in theaters, the public can follow a simple process to bring the movie to their hometown theater or enter an email address at littlepinkarmy.com and a representative from the film will walk them through the process.
Courtney Balaker said, “Eminent domain abuse is a fancy term for legalized bullying. It happens when insiders take advantage of outsiders. Developers and politicians promise more jobs and more tax revenue, so it sounds appealing to lots of people. But all the high-minded talk obscures what’s really going on—they’re forcing people out of their homes. If you own your home and you want to keep living in your home, you should be able to stay in your home. Eminent domain abuse happens far more often than most people realize, and it rarely brings the kind of economic development its supporters promise. It should come as no surprise that poor and minority communities are especially likely to be targeted.”
Eminent Domain for private gain is legal stealing, economic segregation, and more often than not, class warfare. When you receive a notice of a taking, your world turns inside out, not just upside down. At first you feel like you are in the battle completely and utterly alone. But you aren’t alone. There are a lot of us out there.
I didn’t set out in life to become a grassroots activist on any level, but eminent domain is an issue that, as an American, I found I simply could not ignore. I loved Ardmore, where eminent domain threatened a block of small businesses in a local historic business district. Ardmore to me was a quintessential old fashioned main street-oriented town. It represents the bygone days of small town America.
The township (Lower Merion) had declared this block “blighted,” and it intended to acquire these properties in a certified historic district for inclusion in a mixed-use development project to be owned by a private party.
One of the first lessons we learned as SAC was that when you are fighting a battle like this, you become an instant pariah. SAC next contacted the Institute for Justice and newly formed Castle Coalition, who gave us a crash course in grassroots activism.
We held rallies, protests and community meetings. We wrote letters to the newspapers until we had writer’s cramp. We took every opportunity to speak at public meetings. We lobbied government officials on a state and national level.
My friend Si Simons with Susette Kelo, June, 2006. My photo.
And we hit roadblocks. Although eminent domain had become a national issue when Susette Kelo took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Philadelphia area we discovered it was hard to get media attention from anyone other than the local papers. Eminent domain wasn’t sexy enough—it was just “a local issue”. We were called NIMBY and castigated publicly by certain local elected officials at public meetings, who referred to us as “a small group of mean spirited individuals.”
When someone told us in a letter if we didn’t like how government was run we should “change the face of who governs us,” our resolve as a group was strengthened. We decided to change literally the faces of those who were governing us. We had an upcoming election. We didn’t back one candidate in particular but decided they should all adopt our position and take IJ’s pledge against the use of eminent domain for private gain.
We were successful. In November 2005, we watched as five new faces against eminent domain were elected to the 14-member Board of Commissioners.
During this whole time before and after the election, we had the good fortune to finally get some national and even international media publicity. We networked further with other eminent domain fighting citizens locally and nationally. Members also gave testimony before both the Pennsylvania Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. We submitted written testimony to the U.S. Congress and became part of the record on HR 4128.
February, 2006 walking Congressman Sensenbrenner (left) around Ardmore. Scott Mahan (right). I am behind them on the left with then Congressman Jim Gerlach on the right)
In February 2006, then Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner came to town with Congressman Jim Gerlach to discuss eminent domain. In March 2006, the five new commissioners who came to office promising to end the specter of eminent domain did just that: they proposed and passed a resolution to end eminent domain. The businesses were free.
I will not lie. It was an exhausting process fighting eminent domain. I went to so many municipal and other meetings during this time, that even today I have a hard time going to meetings.
For me, there was also the fact that I hid my activism from my employers. I was working for then Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo), and while not officially forbidden, such outside activities were seriously frowned upon. We were supposed to be good little examples of Corporate America at all times, no matter what our position.
Susette Kelo is and always will be one of the most courageous people I have ever met. I have been waiting for this movie to be finished. (See Little Pink House Movie website too!!)
Seriously….see this movie. This can happen to anyone. It happened to people I know and people I met. And if you follow the current pipeline debacle, how do you think Sunoco has gotten land from Chester County residents? It certainly wasn’t candy and chocolates, it was the threat of eminent domain, wasn’t it?
West Goshen is one of those Chester County municipalities that seems to like to stay below the radar. We heard a lot about them in recent years because of the Sunoco pipeline. But you don’t hear about them very often overall, do you? I don’t think so, unless I am missing something?
West Goshen also seems to outsiders and residents to not be so open and transparent a municipality, and maybe there is good reason for such opinions? The Board of Supervisors Meetings are neither televised nor videotaped for replaying later (even East Whiteland has joined modern times with that!) and their meeting minutes are not current and the most recent I could find was from July 2016, and they are draft minutes, not finalized (don’t they finalize at next subsequent meeting and post?). Oh and this Sewer Authority Meeting Minutes from June makes interesting reading but nothing more current?
I found this letter in the Sewer Authority Meeting Minutes so interesting, I thought I would share with the class. This is something one would think the local papers would perhaps be clued into and report on? What the heck is going on???
I don’t have a clue but damn…. that is one scathing letter, isn’t it?
So I found this thing on the court records after someone said there was some kerfuffle at summer meetings.. West Goshen is embroiled in some new litigation…and it’s new, very new.
I sense a Nancy Drew Mystery….and I predict this is something to watch….
A resident is suing West Goshen Township. People do not take those actions lightly. And it is over a lack of “sunshine”. Yep. Open Records. (I have friends who did this and prevailed in Radnor Township some years ago now and this is not an easy thing.)
“CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE OF PETITION FOR REVIEW TO OVERTURN THEFINAL DETERMINATION OF THE OFFICE OF OPEN RECORDS (OOR) FINAL RULING AND TO COMPEL THE DEFTS TO PROVIDE ALL INFORMATION REQUESTED UPON”
Municipalities and sunshine and transparency do not necessarily go hand in hand do they?
I notice that West Goshen has TWO lawyers representing their interests versus one resident pro-se (representing himself) at this point.
Hmm that Camp name was familiar, so I asked a friend who lives in Easttown Township and they said Kristin S. Camp was their solicitor didn’t I remember the articles about Devon Yard the hideous Eli Kahn/Wade McDevitt/Old Waterloo/Devon Horse Show/Devon Drama plan?? (Well who could forget about that looming monstrosity?) They sent me a link to a February 2016 article written by Main Line Media News Reporter Linda Stein titled Easttown Township: More than 200 residents pack meeting about Devon Yard plans .
It always amazes me how many municipalities municipal lawyers have – Ms. Camp is no exception and she has a few. I don’t know if this list is completely 100% current and if not I apologize to the solicitor but I have: West Goshen, Easttown, West Nantmeal, Birmingham, and Pocopson all in Chester County? Wow, and she is a partner in her law firm? Busy busy busy.
But West Goshen is spending money on two lawyers to defend against one small resident? Are they nervous or something?
As a completely unrelated aside, Judge Royer has an amazing Pennsylvania political pedigree. Her grandfather was legendary State Senator Clarence D. Bell, who I think still holds the record in the Keystone State for being the longest serving public official in Pennsylvania – almost 50 years! (48 to be precise). Judge Royer’s dad was no slouch either. If you wonder what propels people towards public service, look no further than the examples Judge Royer had growing up. When Judge Royer was running I was new to Chester County, so I did a little research to decide if she was someone I wanted to vote for since women on the bench is still not an every day occurrence and I think it should be (but I digress).
So back to this case. What does it all mean? I don’t know. Hopefully reporters will dig into it.
Seems there is a lot going on behind the scenes in somewhat normally sleepy West Goshen doesn’t there? I don’t have much of an opinion about West Goshen at this point, but I do find this somewhat intriguing, don’t you?
Normally I do not pass these things on. But I hate Sunoco (and am not enthralled by the other gas line companies either, but they are more polite to deal with if you have to call and ask questions like I did today). Out here we are on wells and they put us, our families, our pets, our neighbors, our wildlife, our environment, our drinking water and more at risk.
Sunoco thus far seems to bully, lie, and intimidate their way through Chester County and elsewhere, raping the landscape as they go.
None of use should want them stealing any more land belonging to anymore individuals thru their B.S. Eminent Domain practices because they are not doing any of this for us….ever. With big oil and big gas, it is always and always will be….about them.
They put toxic, highly flammable, and highly combustible products too close to homes, and they are NOT protecting water sources or wildlife, let alone people.
This is NOT about us and our energy supply. They are just stealing it for other people. They don’t even adequately compensate people for what they do if you want to make it solely about money and it is so much more than that. And thus far the majority of local officials just bend over and give it up without much of a fight.
In the past two days I have had conversations with people from East Goshen and West Goshen Townships who both do not know each other and their experiences as related to me were virtually identical.
They were threatened with eminent domain and they felt they had no choice but to give them an easement; and both hired attorneys that cost many thousands of dollars!
They feel the worst is yet to come as they haven’t started the pipeline invasion yet. They have heard that townships may give them rights to work 24 hours a day, which if true is insane!
So much for East Goshen and West Goshen townships… These folks both tell tales of strange men and women with Texas and Louisiana car plates on their properties TRESPASSING before they even had legal easements.
It just isn’t right and the elected officials are of no help at all.
One said to me (and I quote):
What many don’t know is how in the end our property values will be affected and it is my belief that my property value ( and all on the pipeline path) will go down because of the easement… But the same monies will be needed to support the town budget so everyone else’s taxes will go up to provide the same tax base . We are all losers.
We are all losers. Yup. I received a pamphlet recently from Spectra Energy about pipeline safety. I have not previously received any pipeline info before where we currently live. So I called. I spoke with a very nice man named Don in Gas Control. And wow, we do not have a gas line on our property or in our immediate neighborhood, but wow, pretty darn close.
Another election year issue on a national scale. Please sign the above petition and add your voice. And for those of you tired of trespassers, call Andy Dinniman’s office in West Chester . There should be rules as to when they can access easements and they should provide advance notice.
Anyway, that’s it. I hate pipelines and I hate what they are doing to our area. And for what?
why is this pipe already in need of repairs?
None of use should want them stealing any more land belonging to anymore individuals thru their B.S. Eminent Domain practices because they are not doing any of this for us….ever. With big oil and big gas, it is always and always will be….about them.
They feel the worst is yet to come as they haven’t started the pipeline invasion yet. They have heard that townships may give them rights to work 24 hours a day, which if true is insane!
fety. I have not previously received any pipeline info before where we currently live. So I called. I spoke with a very nice man named Don in Gas Control. And wow, we do not have a gas line on our property or in our immediate neighborhood, but wow, pretty darn close.