Candidate for
Council Member At-Large; Township of O'Hara; Republican Party

I've been a regular attendee at O'Hara Township Council meetings for nearly three years, and have become increasingly concerned that residents are completely disconnected from conversations about critical issues facing our Township. At a typical meeting, Council discusses various ordinances and other issues that are public information, but the text of the items being discussed is never available to residents at the meetings, and even when items are published to the Township web site, they are difficult for the average person to find. Public hearings and other important events are announced only in a local paper that I'm sure few residents are aware exists and rarely highlighted on the web site or even with physical signs outside of the Township building. As a result, it is extremely unusual for there to be more than two residents in attendance at any meeting, even for a public hearing, and public hearings generally last less than 10 minutes.

Without any public discussion of the issues involved, the Council recently passed a renewable energy ordinance that restricted the installation of renewable energy devices more than the construction ordinance had, and a gas drilling ordinance that added drilling as a conditional use in residential zones. I decided that it was time that someone stepped forward to encourage residents to form a true participatory community that would be aware of important issues as they came before Council and would be willing to come to Council meetings and voice their opinions both at public hearings and during regular and workshop meetings as appropriate. This is particularly important at this moment in time as the Council is getting ready to review and approve a Township Long Range Strategic Plan that will be a template for revisions of the entire zoning ordinance as well as setting policy for the next decade on issues ranging from the future of our volunteer fire departments to storm water and sewer infrastructure, to communications infrastructure, schools, and beyond.