Tag Archives: sunshine

what is going on in west goshen township these days?

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Pennsylvania, 1933, Plate 017 West Goshen Township, West Chester, Ludwig's Corner, Green Hill Station, Chester County

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?

However, West Goshen actually popped back into the news again recently over a pipeline meeting in West Chester.  There was also an interesting blip in Pensions and Investments about them in early August (article was titled West Goshen Township issues call for investment manager.) And something just yesterday about QVC laying folks off again recently (jerks – QVC not the township so we are clear.)

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.

So the two lawyers are Kristin S. Camp (Township Solicitor) and an associate from her law firm, Ryan Jennings.

kristin-camp

ryan-jennings

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?

Now the Judge assigned, like most Chester County Judges means nothing.  Judge Jeffrey R. Sommer who apparently before ascending to the bench was in the same law firm that Solicitor Camp is with. His term runs from when he was elected in 2013 to 2023.  This Judge was in the news this summer over his excellent decision regarding that pool fence dispute.  Somehow I knew the Judge who wouldn’t get this case is the only one I know of related to someone serving on a West Goshen Board, Allison Bell-Royer. Her husband is a former West Chester Borough Councilman, Shannon Royer.  Mr. Royer, a senior lobbyist with a firm called Wanner, sits on West Goshen’s Zoning Hearing Board.

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?

File under inquiring minds want to know?

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what is it with west vincent?

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As an outsider I marvel that one tiny municipality has so many odd issues.  I don’t understand how residents continue to allow these people to be in office?  I applaud those who speak up at public meetings and encourage those who whisper from the side lines to also get up and speak.

These local yokel government officials like “Queen of Eminent Domain” Clare Quinn, “Shucks the Farmer” Ken Miller (and if Restaurant Alba in Malvern is serving his farm’s meat I won’t be patronizing them any time soon – and I am allowed to make that personal choice), and “Squire” David Brown only have as much power as the residents allow them to have.  If Chickenman can put it out there and others can get up at meetings and speak, then it isn’t just a couple of malcontents as this local government would have you think.  And that is what they want you to think.

It seems apparent to all who peek inside West Vincent that this municipality is run by very ambitious people who seem to do whatever it takes to preserve their fiefdom, but should it remain their fiefdom?

West Vincent used to be this cool little crossroads place full of woods and rolling fields.  People wandered comfortably about in their Wellies and old trucks and it was fine.  Then West Vincent was discovered.  All of a sudden you have McMansion dwellers complaining about skeet shooting. Lordy I bet they complain about the sirens at the fire house too, don’t they?  I guess it can be said shiny nouveau has discovered a pretty part of Chester County, and that is fine, but it doesn’t mean that the place has to be developed into oblivion complete with nine thousand soccer fields and whatever that will not only never get used, but will never be maintained properly.

Look around Chester County, Chester County residents and you will notice if you open your eyes that Chester County is being developed at a pace that needs to pause and think.  Once the land and open space is gone, it’s gone.  And given the economy, I still do not understand how all this development can be justified.  And how many box stores are needed?  Who is paying for all this zoning that often runs contradictory unto itself as well as being rather confusing?  Who REALLY benefits from all these grand plans and zoning changes?  How high will taxes go to compensate for all this?  Who will be a steward for the land and practice true conservation, not just preach about it because it gives good sound bytes?  Once Chester County is all developed where will all the farm critters and horses go?  How can people not try to preserve more of the farmland which is historically quite fine? Who will preserve the historic homes and other structures?  Does the world also really want to live in plastic townhouses perched on the edge of highways?  Do you want that world that loves plastic houses shaping your community that you were born and raised in or do you want to be a real and viable partner in your futures?  Are you content to let petty municipal leaders to pat you on the head and say “good resident, you work for us”?

Sorry, don’t mean to be on a soap box, but what I see happening in Chester County is the same nonsense that has ruined parts of the Main Line.

Whether you are politically liberal or conservative it doesn’t really matter, this is about where you live so everything is local.  Don’t be an ostrich, that is all I am saying.

Chickenman has some interesting updates that I think people should read.  Is it true regional media is still watching West Vincent?  Very interesting if true.

And why is it that West Vincent public meetings do not seem to be televised anywhere?  All municipalities in PA have access to public access channels and the minutes are slow to load on the West Vincent website and quite sanitized when posted and why is that?  Is West Vincent also anti-sunshine? Why can’t they say for example split a channel with their local school district? Shouldn’t people be able to see meetings live on TV like most other municipalities?

5 April Length of meetings:

Hi, Just a couple things for today. I was interested in the length of the meetings since David Brown thinks the meetings take too long and is working on Township legislation to limited public comment. I thought that perhaps if the meetings lasted 2-3 hours, he could have a point. So, in fairness to Mr. Brown,  I   decided to review all of the minutes for the last year (2011). I listed the dates and the lengths of each meeting, per the record…..42 minutes on average. That includes all public comments. 42 minutes. Where’s the problem? Since David Brown became Supervisor, the average has jumped to 1 hour, 7 minutes, an  increase of 30%. I am sure it is an anomaly. Either way, I   cannot find a reason to stop people from voicing their concern.   I would have calculated the other posted years, 2010 and 2009 but the minutes are not there. They are listed, but not there.   They were promised to be posted “soon”, back in the  Fall of 2011, over 4 months ago.

8 April Millers debts.  Again.

Hi  On Monday, April 9, 2012, West Vincent  Township will open bids for the mowing of sprayfields for  Weatherstone and Matthews Meadows, approximately 21 acres. To  review for the new(er) readers and for the long term  subscribers, the award of the mowing bid last year was given to  Ken Miller, Roadmaster and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors   of West Vincent Township. The value of that contract was around $21,500. Last year several sprayheads were damaged. Only AFTER I  did research and exposed the fact the the only person that could        have done the damage was Ken Miller, he was forced into paying. Even then he only took claim for two. The third was left to the   taxpayers, between a $400-$500 bill. Thanks Ken……TOTAL: $114,357.59. Say it out loud. ONE   HUNDRED FOURTEEN THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED FIFTY SEVEN DOLLARS AND  FIFTY-NINE CENTS. Bigger than ever.   All the Judgments/Liens follow   this submission for review. There are 12 pages.   I urge the readers to look them up in the Chester County Courthouse. It is public information.  Don’t worry. Ken should be able to pay these off once the bond   re-fi comes through because there will be lots of roadwork money     to skim. Your kids can cover it through the year 2031. Or, as Clare Quinn says, “You can move”.

11 April Ken Miller’s Lawyers


 Hi
After posting the most recent Judgments for Ken Miller, Roadmaster and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of West Vincent Township, I thought I would look into his legal representation. In the Land O’ Lakes lawsuit, Ken is protesting and has a lawyer to defend him. The Attorney’s name is Michael Thomas Taylor and here is what I      discovered. Mr. Thomas works for the firm of Siana, Bellwoar and McAndrew, LLP.  This means that the West Vincent Township attorney Steven Siana is representing Ken Miller. Has this happened before?      In short, yes.

Ken was sued by Eleanor Morris (the co-founder of the French and Pickering Conservation Trust) in 2005 for $118,000 and who represented Mr. Miller at that time? Stephen V Siana and Michael Thomas Taylor.

When Ken was being sued by East Coventry Township in 2011 for not paying rent on ground for 3 years, guess who tried several times to orally negotiate a lower settlement? Steven V  Siana.  In the end, Ken was forced to pay the entire bill.

We all know now that Ken Miller  has less than no money. How does he pay his legal bills? If  the Township attorney is representing him,is there a better than good possibility that the West Vincent taxpayer and voter is paying his bills? ……The legal documents are attached. 

To see my previous mailings please click        on http://tinyurl.com/westvincentinfos        


If everything Chickenman has up is true I guess the old adage is true if you are part of the “in crowd” , huh?  That there is no place like home?  Only if I was Dorothy, I might grab Toto and click my heels three times to escape….wow The Land of Oz indeed.

An end note is that I have been warned not to talk so much about West Vincent because they come after people?  Really?  Freedom of speech and public information and opinion are for other people?  West Vincent is hardly the sole focus of this blog, but it keeps opening itself up to public scrutiny.  When a municipality runs the way it is supposed to and the politics are clean, no one finds it interesting.  It’s when things seem ok in part, but odd in part, or curious in part or residents’ questions and concerns go unlistened to and un answered that people start looking inside the proverbial barn, so how is this my fault????  I mean really.

 

supporting free speech and true good government is not “nonsense”

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First of all, when I write an editorial, I sign my name to it.  And that includes in Journal Register publications of which The Daily Local is part of.

I am wondering today about  whomever wrote the editorial on West Vincent Township.  They did not sign their name so Santa Claus with a bad hangover could have scribbled it. And while entitled to their opinion as I am mine, I think they are being misguided and are also perhaps being misled.

The long and short of it is, one would *think* that a newspaper would be supportive of initiatives that preserved freedom of speech and good government, yes?  Well I am thinking this writer today prefers Pravda.  It is tempting to ask them why it is they always seem to go on the offensive with the people in West Vincent who seem to want to get better government and better government best practices in place.

For them to sort of kind of imply that West Vincent’s attempt to not regulate, but in fact, limit the public voice is perhaps not so bad is worrisome indeed.  Because that is what David Brown and the Supervisors of West Vincent want to do.  David Brown in his own words during his campaign said that he wanted more participation, that more people should come to meetings and in essence speak up.  Well they are starting to attend meetings and they are starting to comment, only West Vincent doesn’t like it because it runs contra to the township party line.  The people of West Vincent are trying to take back where they live and have a say in things.

I think a lot of people were happy to go along just to get along until West Vincent attempted eminent domain for private gain on Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show around Christmas.  That woke people up to their government.  Something like eminent domain generally does.

I find it incredulous that The Daily Local would put forth an opinion that the people of West Vincent are in essence wrong for wanting a say in where they live.  And they are criticizing some of the people who have in fact bought stories to them that sell their papers.  And how dumb are they that they can’t see what David Brown refers to as “outshouters” are in fact not.  Why is it o.k. for a female supervisor to be heard cussing at a public meeting and calling a resident a foul name, yet when the public is frustrated by the very government process that is wrong?

The Daily Local in their royal we should be looking at what is upsetting people, not supporting efforts to render them mute or close to it at public meetings.

Just my opinion as an outsider looking in, but I feel *very* strongly about public process, open government, good government and public participation.  The government in West Vincent doesn’t seem like they can follow their rules and structure that they have now, they can’t even manage to not “lose” meeting tapes according to residents can they?   So now they want to give the rules rules so everyone can follow them?  Am I following that correctly?  And *none* of this has anything to do with a small town government that is somewhat out of its depth in a modern world and really just at the end of the day might not want to work so hard?  Lordy if that is what some officials believe, step down, it seems there are more than enough people interested in rolling up their sleeves and doing a good job for the home team, right?

And if I can sign my name to what I write for newspapers, and so can some of the editors I have written under, I think so can the editorial staff of The Daily Local.

Here is the editorial:

We are going to assume that Tom Helwig, a resident of West Vincent and a representative of that township’s Republican Party, was speaking hyperbolically recently when he compared the township’s board of supervisors’ attempt to reasonably regulate the manner in which the public is given the opportunity to speak to the remnants of the failed communist system in Russia.

Helwig accused the supervisors of attempting to hinder the comments of those with opposing viewpoints….“Our purpose is to create a structure within which all West Vincent residents can speak freely at public meetings, rather than to continue permitting a few individuals to outtalk and outshout everyone else,” said newly elected Supervisor David Brown. “Those outshouters complain that our intent is to limit public participation. Nonsense.”

Supporting free speech and true good government is not nonsense.   Making light  of people concerned with true good government in my opinion is also not right.  Enough said, except this is my opinion and I am entitled to it.