Washington County municipal officials outline challenges, opportunities at chamber breakfast
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
By Brad Hundt
Staff writer
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
The sound and fury of politics on the federal and state levels may grab a lot of our attention, but “no other form of government affects your life more than municipal government,” according to Jeff Kotula, the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency.
And for that reason, the chamber hosted its annual breakfast with a selection of municipal leaders Friday morning at the Chartiers Township Community Center to talk about challenges and opportunities they are all confronting.
Among the marquee issues: managing growth, navigating state regulations, transportation, infrastructure and public safety. For the five township managers who participated in the panel discussion, it was an occasion to highlight common concerns and frustrations.
“One of the best things about local government is we don’t compete with each other,” said Paul Lauer, the manager of Peters Township.
Lauer was joined on the panel by Don Gennuso, manager of Cecil Township; Andy Walz, North Strabane’s manager; Darla Protch, manager of Mt. Pleasant Township; and South Franklin Township’s manager, Tyler Linck. The talk was moderated by Jodi Noble, manager of Chartiers Township.
On the downside, they agreed that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can be a thorn in their sides.
“I really don’t know what to say,” Protch said. “I feel like you have to jump through a dozen hoops, and when you get done, they say, ‘Oh, we forgot this.'”
Lauer explained that, in his estimation, the problem with the DEP isn’t so much the rules and regulations but “how they apply the rules and regulations.
“It stifles development in terms of being able to move ahead with the projects,” Lauer added. He also noted that another state agency, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), has allotted little money for local road projects, with most resources going to interstate roads and bridges.
So if untying regulatory knots that are passed down from Harrisburg are among the things that exasperate them, what did the township managers see as the opportunities for communities in Washington County?
“The biggest opportunity is that people want to live here,” Walz said. “How can we better manage that growth?”
Protch also said there were opportunities for fragmented municipal governments in the region to share services and stem rising costs. As an example, she said that Mt. Pleasant was part of discussions with the other municipalities in the Fort Cherry School District to regionalize its police force.
“I feel as a taxpayer in Robinson Township this would be an opportunity,” Protch said. “When you see a police car coming down the street, you feel safer.”
Lauer also pointed out that an investment in infrastructure is needed, and it has to come from the county or state level.
“That type of investment is beyond what a municipality can do,” he said.