Council found itself unable to meet lawfully on August 29, since it didn't give proper public notice of the special meeting. The Borough was thus briefly rescued from the agenda, which had been packed on some seven hours notice, with a whole array of matters.
Undaunted, Council President Messina pressed ahead with the CDC Board, then adjourning immediately afterward. I suppose there is another 'memorandum of understanding' that gives them greater status than is accorded to other citizens.
Notably absent, in any event, were Barry Cassidy and Manny DeMutis, the real moving forces behind the CDC. Instead, those of us present were treated to the rest of the CDC Board, a group of well-meaning folks left to clean up the mess.
The real problem, I suggest, is not one of 'communication.' The question is whether the CDC, as an entity, is the right partner for the Borough.
Had the meeting proceeded, this would have been my public comment:
We are told to look forward–toward progress, not to back to assess blame.
That is good advice. But we need to look back, just a bit, not to blame, but to see what we did right or wrong in the past.
What other agents of ‘economic development’ has Council supported over the last 15 years?
PAEDCO and PPG
What economic development have they achieved?
This Council and past councils have felt so pressed to do ‘something’ that they have failed to recognize that in a public-private ‘partnership’ you need partners who have capability, integrity, real commitment (i.e., their own money in the game), cooperation, acceptable conduct, and public accountability.
PAEDCO and PPG each were lacking in these factors.
The CDC is also lacking: it has, I believe, virtually no private funding of any significance and exists, instead, on its Borough contract. There is only lip service, no real commitment from the downtown business community that the CDC represents and which reaps the lion’s share of the redevelopment benefits. It has little depth of capability, since it depends on a single, unreliable individual. It is sorely deficient in its ability to cooperate with the Borough. Mr. Cassidy conducts himself in a vulgar, immature, and uncontrolled manner, completely contemptuous of everyone who does not agree with him, and completely contemptuous of the Borough, which albeit indirectly, pays his salary. The CDC Board, by its failure to control or condemn Cassidy’s conduct, condones it, or, even worse, through Mr. DeMutis, encourages it.
The deficiencies of the CDC do not minimize or excuse the failures of the Borough’s own staff.
Revitalization is not ripping up and replacing perfectly functioning sidewalks. Revitalization is not a two-block run of new streetlights, blue, black, or fuchsia.
The responsibility rests with you, the Council, to take the word “revitalization” and turn it from a shibboleth into a specific set of meaningful and measurable objectives. The responsibility rests with you, the Council, to marshal the resources of government and to associate with real private sector partners to accomplish those goals.
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2 comments:
I am just an average homeowner in Phoenixville basically like many others living pay check to pay check. I don't have any connection with anybody from council or anybody with CDC, I am not any person of power, I am not a buissnes owner, I am just some liitle neon by some people standards, but a VOTING neon at best. I have been reading the paper, looking at the bloggs, even watching the meetings on TV and talking to my neighbors. So these are just an average taxpayer thoughts. 1) I am tired of everybody finger pointing to other people about the problems. 2) There seems to be enough blame to go around to everybody 3) If we have dug ourself a big hole why not fill it in and move on Sometimes when the problem get so bad it is best to start over than try to fix something that is beyond repair. I know people are going to say that might put us back a bit but at this point it might be our only option. 4) The last time I check there was so many other things going on than the CDC the borough should be worried about. I wished that some of the energies that have been spent on the CDC would have been placed elsewhere. 5) Does any of the parties involved ever sit back and really think how the general public is percieving them? There might be some people that don't care what the public thinks about them becasue they don't get elected. But the ones who count on an election might want to be concern how they look to the public. They say you see a person true colors when times are bad, and that is true in this case. One year ago there were some poeple I had respect for and have lost it over the year, then there are those that I didn't have respect for and now I do. Finally many people might disagree with my feelings and not take me serious becasue I am a neon, but I remind them that I am a voting neon.
Richard --
Too bad you lost your temper last night (although it does seems like everyone was on edge).
However, I think the comments you planned to place into the record are spot-on. I hope you send them to the newspaper and continue on with this blog.
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