Does It Have Appeal?

We are off the races once again thanks to Ms. Feldman and her FOKP. The borough is looking to purchase a tract of land for $100,000 which it has been leasing since January at the cost of $400 per month for a new public works facility, leaf mulching site and a potential placement for the Minquas Fire Company. The land does contain some contaminants and the borough has a ballpark of what would be needed to clean it up along with the availability of grants, yet Ms. Feldman says the purchase would be premature due to the fact that she is now in litigation over the seven acre parcel of land in East Caln that the borough owns which is now used for composting. It seems as if Ms. Feldman can’t decide what she DOES want. That particular piece of land was not in the Orphan’s Court decision which is also now in appeal thanks to FOKP. Is there anything that will make these people happy? I seriously doubt it.


During the whole issue I have made it known that while I see quite a bit of potential if part of what is being called Kardon Park were to be developed, but my biggest problem is with what I see is a conflict of interest with Ms. Feldman holding a seat on borough council yet continually tying council up in litigation and not voting on issues which is what the voters put these people in office for. It has been said that Ms. Feldman won the election because a majority of residents were behind her Kardon Park litigation. Yet when the statistics are meted out it is found that Ms. Feldman only won her seat by 13 votes against Mr. Madiro. That is not a mandate; the mayoral election showed a vote count of 1270, therefore half of the town voted between Ms Feldman and Mr. Madiro and the other half were split in the other races for seats. Even in the election the Mayor’s position was only won by 48 votes: that’s not a mandate that is malaise and the same goes for the election of Ms. Feldman. I have been told that my thoughts about Ms. Feldman and the FOKP are disingenuous and denigrating? Really? So someone can tell me that Ms Feldman is not the only one who is appealing the East Caln tract of land sale and development? That Ms. Feldman herself has not said, “I can make a stink on Borough Council.” And that is not self serving?

Oh wait I am the one who is self serving I forgot. Yes it’s because I agreed that part of the park if it is to stay a “park” should have signage and people should be informed what is actually in that area before trekking through it. Also that I posted a picture of the forth pond at daybreak and then three shots of what I call the sludge pond right behind me, yet “Most people who use the park would never even see the silt pond you have featured so prominently, since its north of the forth lake. They would have to enter at the silt pond to see it and that entrance point leads nowhere.” Yet even on the FOKP website it was stated that, “These two parcels are also part of Kardon Park, have been historically and are currently used as parkland…” So which is it? Is the area part of the “park” or not? You can’t have it both ways.



I have also been accused of having posts that are “…..illogical, irrational, and disjointed, as well as misinformed.” Oh yeah and I apparently am scary too. In the interest of not having the reader fall asleep I had wanted to keep the posts short and to the point I was making at the time, but since I have been “called on it” here we go.

The site that is called Kardon Park as of right now contains concentrations exceeding the MSC for Non-Residential in Use Aquifers of benzo(a)pyrene, arsenic, iron, lead, mercury and vanadium all of which lead to various ailments such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, developmental delays and interruptions and even brain damage. Now I am not too sure about you but I don’t want to expose adults to these let alone children. So a secondary remedial action was proposed by the ACT 2 report and that was to maintain part of the site as parkland and allow the other portions to be used for development. I am not an expert in legalese but to me that means that the part of The Ponds area that is already parkland is to stay that way with many enhancements, but the area that is still very toxic is to be capped with a minimum of two feet of clean soil, stone or pavement if the presently suggested development were to go through. Now if Ms. Feldman wins her suit then according to the ACT 2 that part of the land needs to have restrictions according to the non-residential park use. If the taxpayers had to pay to cap this area it would be to the tune of $1.5 million dollars of a $6 million dollar budget for the Borough. That’s about 25% of one year’s budget. Right now in Downingtown our tax burden is 6.7 mills and $1.5 million equals to 4.2 mills……tax increase anyone?

Other arguments that come to light are the burdens to the school district, traffic, and a fiscal impact. First of all the homes are to be townhomes and garden level homes which are not as attractive to families as to first time buyers, investment properties, and empty nesters looking to downsize. Even so there is already a proposed middle school that is being built on the taxpayers’ backs when there has been no significant growth in school age children in the last year. Therefore, the housing would generate cash surplus to the district which would ease the tax burden the new school will cause. The traffic will be impacted very little as it will not add more than 40 more cars on the surrounding roads within an hour’s time, due to the proximity to the train and the proposed traffic lighting to ease congestion that now exists. The fiscal impact is the big one….our taxes have risen 48% since 2006 and it’s not something that is going to go away soon. However, the borough would receive cash proceeds from the sale of $8.1 million which could then be used to pay down some of the outstanding debt of $7.6 million which is about a 1/3 of the tax burden. In addition the borough would get approximately $130, 000 per year in surplus cash and Chester County would realize about $40,000 per year.

I have been called on my assessment of the decision of Judge Platt also. I honestly do not think that had she really had all the facts in front of her that she would have been swayed the way she ruled. Even within the ruling she says, “There is less substantial evidence of a dedication of the areas of the property which are not adjacent to the trails, ponds, and Victims Memorial, particularly those areas which are contaminated……….I am compelled to treat them as one parcel. [sic] The public has historically been given access to the entire property……” So what was her decision based on? Anecdotal evidence? Most likely, because if she really had seen what the contaminated areas are used for if at all I do not see her deciding the way she did, “based on law” as the other side would have you believe.

So to the detractor who “visits” here frequently…how’s that for informed? Never mind you will still try and spin it for FOKP.

I will get back to you on the whole Johnsontown issue when it comes to fruition, but for now we are putting ourselves out there for compromise and working with the individuals we need to. It does pay to use honey over vinegar, FOKP might want to try that…oh wait little too late for that.

Just For Today

On this Veteran’s Day I sit and read the many tributes and thanks posted on various sites and blogs and I wonder how many of these people would be willing to answer the call that the young men and women who have served and are still serving did. Would we really be willing to sacrifice everything we had to preserve the freedoms that these people have helped guarantee for us? Could we leave our homes and our families to travel to distant lands to fight an enemy that is willing to go to any length to see us destroyed? Could you face that kind of hate head on with your head held high and your eyes straight ahead? I don’t know if I could have ever made that kind of sacrifice. I know that I would lay down my life for those I love, but would I have been willing to do it for someone I didn’t. I ask myself could I have gone into battle knowing that not every person was behind me and when I return be it in one piece or in a flag draped coffin that there would be those who still mocked my existence. There would be those who would shout epitaphs against those who had asked for my time, my effort and the skills that I possessed and could I have held my tongue when hearing such nonsense and be as gracious as I have heard one vet be when he said, “I fought for their right to be angry, and I fought for their right to speak their mind and I fought for their right to be stupid.” I know that I love my country with all that is in me and I well up at the mere mention of anything patriotic and the tears begin to flow when I hear our National Anthem or the heartfelt words of a tribute to those who have gone before us, but could I willingly give my all?


So as I ponder these questions today, I ask that you examine your heart along with me. For if it were not for these brave young men and women we would not be able to enjoy what most just think of as a day off from work because we would not have the freedom to think that without them being able to relinquish the life that we know to go into the fray for those who can’t. So don’t just thank a vet today, pray for those who are still serving, for those who will not come home again and hug those you can, look them in the eye and really say “Thank you.” For they have given what they can and some have given their all.

The Tide Has Turned

This morning I awoke to the news that the GOP had completed their mission and the majority had spoken.  In our little mecca Jim Gerlach handily won his seat, Representative Schroder will be going back to Harrisburg, Jim Toomey pulled it out in the end, and we will have a Republican Governor at least for a little while.  Will it make a difference?  No one knows unless they posses the ability of precognition or they have a crystal ball, but I do believe that the American people have awakened from a stupor and realized that not making our leaders hold fast to what they promised and listen to their constituents is a mistake not to be made again.  In the previous election too much rhetoric and not enough substance was presented and the American people fell for it hook line and sinker and then when it did not work out began pointing fingers at the prior administration for the mistakes this one was making.  It reminded me of the cartoon Family Circus when the invisible characters "Not Me" and "He Did It" would run around wreaking havoc in the house.  It astounded me that no one wanted to take responsibility for the mess that THEY were making.  Did your parents not teach you to own up to your mistakes, or was it taught to you to blame everyone but yourself?  It still floors me that even after two years people and the administration are still blaming the one that came before.  Were some bad choices made for the eight years previously?  Yes.  Was money spent unwisely? Yes, towards the end it was spent like a drunken sailor on leave.   But the name calling became so bad that on one side of the aisle a name for it came about;Bush Derangement Syndrome.

I believe what became so divisive in the country wasn't even so much across party lines because there were and still are bad apples in each barrel, but the fact that when this administration was disapproved of the attacks on the other side were personal, not necessarily based on political ideology.  I know being on the side of the aisle where a "R" resides I was called racist, unrealistic, stupid and various other nastiness.  It had little to do with the fact that I did not like the turn the administration was taking, but because the backers of this presidency, I guess had shot their load, they could come up with little else to refute my arguments because in reality I was on the right track....and owning up to their mistakes is just not done.

I now await to see if our leader can really work across the aisle like he has said he wants to, although with the tone of his rhetoric during the campaign season he is going to have to work pretty hard to get the Republicans to listen when he called several of them some choice names.........nothing vulgar mind you, but being beaten with words still leaves bruises, you just can't see them.

So for now I think America has spoken and the message is loud and clear.........don't hand us a bill of goods with nothing to back it up.

Tuesday Madness

As we all know Tuesday is election day here in our little corner of the country.  There are several heated contests and some that a few people would like to think were heated, but they produce about as much of a temperature rise as lighter in an empty room.  If you have read anything I wrote lately especially then you know my leanings, but with that being said I urge you to get out and vote.  What I caution is that you know who you are voting for.  It's dangerous to go to the polls uninformed and it's also in my eyes irresponsible.  I have never come into an election year without researching a bit about a candidate;both sides of the aisle.  I also make a decision as to what issues are deal breakers for me and what aren't.  Something that is minor for me compared to something that will effect me for years to come is not what I am going to base my vote on.  Also I know that if it comes down to it a fight about the minor issue is easier when you come from common ground in other areas.

Go to the candidates websites, read what they have to say (yes I know some tend to be long winded), check their voting record, look at their experience not only if they have been in a seat of power before but what will they bring if they haven't, and then ask yourself is this person going to represent me the best he/she knows how.  Nothing is full proof and sometimes we make major mistakes when voting individuals in, but that can be rectified next term.

Here is who and what you as Pennsylvanians will be voting for:

US Senator
6 year term
Pat Toomey (R)  http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/
Joe Sestak (D) http://joesestak.com/splash.html

Governor of PA
4 year term
Dan Onorato (D) http://www.voteonorato.com/splash
Tom Corbett (R) http://tomcorbettforgovernor.com/meettomcorbett/

US Representative
2 year term
Jim Gerlach (R) http://jimgerlachforcongress.com/
Manan Trivedi (D) http://www.trivediforcongress.com/


State Representative District 155
2 year term
Barbara Bergeron (D) http://www.barb4pa.com/online/
Curt Schroder (R) http://www.curtschroder.com/


So make the choice for yourself and don't always follow part line rhetoric.  Good luck and GET OUT AND VOTE!

Do You Really Mean That?

This evening has been interesting in the little borough of Downingtown.  The Borough Council had their meeting and during the meeting the subject of Kardon Park was brought up yet again.  The solicitor that, according to my understanding, is handling the legal issues for the borough suggested what the council could do to limit liability if someone should become ill or hurt while visiting the area west of The Ponds.  The suggestions seemed reasonable to even a council member who sided with "Friends of Kardon Park" other than than the woman spearheading the commotion.  The solicitor cited Ms. Feldman specifically and she agreed that she had said that it was not safe to develop on the site because of the contamination.  When called on the point Ms. Feldman said that  that was right, but it was safe to be a park.  If development was to go on then the soil would be disturbed and be dangerous, but if not disturbed then it was fine.  Really?  Have you ever taken a young child anywhere and had them put things in their mouths including dirt Ms. Feldman?  Is this not an act of disturbing the soil?  What are you going to say to the mother whose child is now seriously ill because they happened to have digested some of the soil?  Oops?

The arguments went on with Ms. Feldman pushing nothing more than her agenda.  So I looked up some of the chemicals that were allegedly dumped on this site and I was appalled that Ms. Feldman was fighting the fact that anyone was willing to come in and remediate that area even if it meant more houses in that area.  My reasoning being this......During my formative teen years I lived in an area in Colorado called Unincorporated Jefferson County and I attended Columbine for my high school years.  I still keep in touch with many of my classmates and a strange thing happened one night.  Several alumni had gotten together and were talking about how at our age we should not be suffering from all the maladies that had befallen every one of us.  A few of us took up the banner and ran with it and found out that several companies had dumped toxic waste into an area that fed our water system for many years.  We then reached out to other alumni from other classes and found that the illnesses were in great number and most had lived in a section that had had the contaminated water pumped into their homes.  Now we are not talking about maladies like simple headaches and such, but MS, RSD, severe mental issues, fibromyalgia, unexplained neuropathy and the list went on.  We tried to fight the government, but because there had been a suit brought long ago that had been settled we hit brick walls every which way we turned.  I am here to inform you Ms. Feldman and the "Friends of Kardon Park" that some of the toxicities that reside within your "PARK" are the very ones that were found to be in our water in Colorado oh so long ago.  Therefore, no matter which way this suit finally ends up I hope someday that if it is discovered that many children later become ill because they played in "Kardon Park" find out it was you and your group who helped precipitate their illness and they find a way to win back all the legal fees you have cost the Borough and the citizens of Downingtown.

Kardon Park? Really?

Is it possible for someone to tell me when this tract of land really became a park and not only that, but one with a name?  I have lived in Downingtown for over 15 years and I have never seen anyone make good use of what is being called Kardon Park.  Why is that?  Is it because people still tend to dump their unwanted materials there?  Or is it because it becomes a mud pit when it rains, or how about the fact that it wasn't even close to being an area that was sellable till they tore down the old building and put Rite Aid in?  What possibly could draw a person to this "park" to walk and enjoy nature?  I don't think it's the "wetlands" that were mentioned as we only have two heron that live near and around here....a white one and a blue one and of course a plethora of geese, but I do not think the geese will be too upset if we clean this area up and like anyone can go to another eating establishment or bar down the street if they don't like the one they are in the geese can manage to waddle over to The Ponds where I am sure the atmosphere is much more like "Cheers" in the respect as that's where everyone goes anyway.  The builder was willing to clean up the area and there were plans in the makings for some new traffic patterns and egress so that there would not be the suspected and complained about congestion.  Tax revenue would come into the borough which is sorely needed as many places do not see Downingtown as a mecca of growth and businesses are not first inclined to think of our little spot in the county.

     But it has come down to some judge on some bench that appears to think that this tract is really a park and is beneficial to everyone.....really?  So since that is the case I propose that the "Friends of Kardon Park" (I still have trouble saying that without either snickering or furrowing my brow) foot the cost of the toxic clean up and maintaining of the "park" so that they can stop pretending that something is really there when it's not.  Oh yeah and when you are done with that how about you hot foot it over to Johnsontown Park (one that really does exist by the way) and help us clean up our end of town where people could honestly benefit from someone helping us as we are working to actually raise the quality of life.  How about putting some effort into a worthwhile project?  There really is a park here with running water and residents here not some trumped up image of something you would like it to be.

There is no doubt there is beauty around this area as seen above on an early morning, but just turn around.....

Where Were You?

Today has been a tough day to get through, not because of any family crisis or neighborhood uproar, but for the simple fact that it is 9/11.  I remember so clearly not even thinking we were being attacked when the first plane was said to have hit the first tower and later seeing and hearing the horror unfold.  So many conversations that I had that day run through my head today, nine years later.......should we go and get our kids out of school or are they safer there, were friends living in NYC safe and had anyone heard from them,  are we sure the plane in PA was truly part of the atack, who was behind the massacre and simply "Why?"  For a while we came together as a nation.  It didn't matter the color of your skin the person you had chosen to love or the way you punched a ballot, we all hurt and we needed each other to get through this.  People flew flags and hugged one another tighter, said, "I love you" more frequently and mourned with the greatest of sympathy those we had lost.  Unfortunately that did not last; actions that were taken with the best of intentions were scoffed at, fingers were pointed and even rumblings of an inside job were circulated amoung the people.  It all seemed as if the anger we felt at those who had caused the real harm was being directed in the wrong place.

Today nine years later my heart still hurts, not as much about the events that unfolded this particular day, that pain has lessened, but the ache comes from the fact that we as Americans have turned our backs on what made this country great long ago.  We as a people have become banal and complacent, we don't hold the values that our founding fathers had originally put forth to create the United States of America.  We stumble over the word God because it might offend someone and we have taken Him out of everything that Franklin, Adams, Jefferson and the others who originated what we were to become had placed Him in.  We tolerate things simply because "We are supposed to be free."(there's freedom and then there is being a doormat).  And we give in too easily because doing the right thing is sometimes hard.

I personally would like to be as brave and as dedicated to America as those who hijacked the hijackers on Flight 93.  They did not roll over and let those men, who had distorted their religion and ideals, murder more people than those who were on that plane.  They took matters into their own hands and they brought the aircraft down in a field in Pennsylvania not on the White House or another DC target.  It's time that we did not let these people die in vain and in doing right we do not let those who died in NYC and the Pentagon simply become a distant memory.  I say it's time to do the right thing so.............."Let's Roll!"