ADI seeks improved ties with borough
BY JOHN E. USALIS TIMES Shamrock writer
07/18/2007
ASHLAND — While the rocky relationship between
the Ashland Downtown Inc. revitalization group and Ashland Borough
Council is no secret, ADI hopes to increase communication with the
council.
ADI President Louis Rader acknowledged the need for
improved interaction with the council on Monday during and ADI meeting
in the Ashland Downtown Center.
After a prolonged discussion about the situation, ADI
decided not to send a letter it had drafted expressing disappointment
decisions by the council.
The most recent disagreement between the groups involved
the council’s decision to turn down a grant of up to $5,000 from
the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for a pedestrian safety
program.
The council approved accepting the grant at its May
meeting but reversed its decision in a 4-2-1 vote in June. Council
members said the potential for grievances filed by police officers
with the Fraternal Order of Police prompted the decision to not participate
with the program, which is sponsored by Upper Schuylkill Downtowns,
the umbrella revitalization organization for six northern Schuylkill
boroughs.
ADI board members had been asked at last month’s
meeting to submit their views about responding to the council’s
decision.
“Some members are passionate about making sure
that we make a statement, while others are passionate that we just
accept their decision and move on,” Rader said.
“Irrespective of what the decision of council was
or is,” he continued, “we did, as an organization, in our
application to DCED (state Department of Community and Economic Development)
for acceptance into the Main Street Program, identify pedestrian safety
as one of our goals.
“Just by virtue of council’s unwillingness
to go with that program, we have automatically (breached) one of our
goals,” he said. “That’s not a good thing, but perhaps
there are some alternative things that we can do to substitute for
that pedestrian safety effort that we’ve had for a few years
...”
Ashland Main Street Program Manager Greg Fisher read
the draft letter to the council that was being considered before Monday’s
discussion and Borough Manager Steve Ulceski explained to board members
what the police officers’ objections were. However, Rader said
the grant stipulations met legal muster and would not have been a
problem.
Fisher said 12 responses were received from ADI board
members regarding their views about the council’s action. Eight
members gave reasons why the letter should be sent and four were against
sending it, he said.
“When you look at the history of the safe streets
program and the other difficulties we have with council, sometimes
we’ve been looking for quarrels and no one wins in a situation
like that,” ADI board member Gil Devine said.
“We have to set some sort of relationship with
council members. Whether we like them or dislike them, they’re
there. In some way, we have to compel them by putting the facts on
the table and working something out,” he added.
Devine, who was one of the four responders against sending
the letter, attended last week’s borough council meeting and
explained that a similar letter from the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce
was acknowledged without comment.
“There has to be some way to get over these petty,
crazy quarrels that drive us to distraction and it takes away from
what we’re trying to accomplish,” Devine said. “I think
the letter would be a waste of time.”
“In defense of ADI,” Rader said, “many
times I’ve been a spokesperson for ADI and I have never approached
council without being respectful and courteous every single time,
except for the last time when I was there and blew up. I’ve been
there many times with my hat in hand asking nicely for certain things.
I’ve been there many times to clarify the grant issues, but much
to my dismay, many times I was not believed. When I left, the whole
thing would spin out of control with misinformation.”
Rader said his recommendation is to find a communication
conduit between ADI and the council “that works.”
ADI Treasurer Barbara Mullins asked what the borough
wants from the revitalization group. “Do they want ADI involved
in anything that is borough business?”
“No, they don’t,” said board member Patti
Wesner, who is also a borough councilwoman. “They would like
us all to go away. I heard that comment last week. They said ADI is
trying to run this borough. They wish ADI would run out of town.”
Rader called that position “pretty pathetic.”
Wesner, however, noted that not all council members
had such an antagonistic attitude toward ADI.
Incoming ADI President Joseph Cataldo, a former borough
councilman, said many issues need to be discussed between ADI and
the council at public meetings so remarks are put on record.
Another issue raised at the ADI meeting was borough
council not making a decision on a sidewalk cleaning machine that
will be shared by the six Upper Schuylkill boroughs.
Patrice Rader, Upper Schuylkill executive director,
said representatives from the six boroughs attended a meeting on July
11 to learn about the machine, which would be purchased through a
grant as part of a downtown cleaning program.
“We need some help in getting a cooperation agreement
and we talked specifically about liability insurance,” Patrice
Rader said. “At that meeting, it was agreed upon that each municipality
will take care of the liability under their insurance plan within
their boroughs.”
Last week, Ashland council tabled a decision on the
program until it can review the liability issue. It is expected to
act on the cooperation agreement at the August meeting.
“When it was presented to Ashland borough, without
even kicking the program off there was a negative response in the
newspaper,” Rader said. “I can’t force anybody to do
anything. We have something really cool to offer and whoever wants
it comes and gets it.”
Louis Rader remarked with ADI’s change of officers,
including himself in stepping down as president, there could be a
new attitude between the two groups.
“With me stepping aside as president kind of gets
‘Darth Vader’ out of the way and that might change how ADI
is perceived,” he said, adding, “That would probably be
a good thing.”
Regarding building a better relationship with the borough
council, ADI board member Tom Rebuck said, “We need to at least
try to work on it.”
© The REPUBLICAN & Herald
2007
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