7-13-23  The Economic Development Corporation
Moves Forward with Deceptive Tactics

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Abington Township's Economic Development Webpage (Click to view)

The Economic Development Ordinance Draft (Click to view)

The Changes from the last version of the Ordinance   (Click to view)

To learn more about the past history of the Economic Development Corporation (Click to view)

Residents:   Would you be kind enough to ask all the Commissioners and the Township Manager,  Richard Manfredi , to remove the Economic Development Feasibility Study and the  Economic Development Corporation ordinance from tonight’s agenda because they have not gone to a proper Committee meeting and been properly vetted. The Ordinance was not supposed to be created until the Feasibility Study showed residents that it was viable and in our interests. Instead, it appears some individual has already decided that --- has created new text for the ordinance and put it right on the agenda for a hearing.   

Please copy and paste these emails to send to all the Commissioners and insist they be removed and properly vetted before being sent on to the full Board for action.  This is a dangerous, dangerous precedent to set, to allow this to stand.  

rmanfredi@abingtonpa.gov ; thecker@abingtonpa.gov ; Matt@mattvahey.com ; kbrodsky@abingtonpa.gov ; drothman@abingtonpa.gov; jdiplacido@abingtonpa.gov ; jvaughn@abingtonpa.gov ;  jbrowne@abingtonpa.gov ; swinegrad@abingtonpa.gov; lorihenryforward8@gmail.com ; dczapp1@verizon.net ; jcarswell@abingtonpa.gov ; spiegs@abingtonpa.gov; bbole@abingtonpa.gov ; loriforroslyn@hotmail.com ; tbowman1999@aol.com ;

Gmail may take the version with commas
rmanfredi@abingtonpa.gov ,  thecker@abingtonpa.gov , Matt@mattvahey.com , kbrodsky@abingtonpa.gov , drothman@abingtonpa.gov, jdiplacido@abingtonpa.gov , jvaughn@abingtonpa.gov ,  jbrowne@abingtonpa.gov , swinegrad@abingtonpa.gov, lorihenryforward8@gmail.com , dczapp1@verizon.net , jcarswell@abingtonpa.gov , spiegs@abingtonpa.gov, bbole@abingtonpa.gov , loriforroslyn@hotmail.com , tbowman1999@aol.com ,

1) How is it possible that a major, major document – the one enabling the much decried over a period of several years – the  Economic Development Corporation ordinance  is to have NO PRESENTATION – no place where questions can be answered and has gone right to an agenda to accept it with none of the answers given to residents who asked questions before it was crafted – even though they were told their questions would be answered?

2) It was supposed to be presented to the residents  to DECIDE if the Econ Dev Corp was a good idea. How did that get decided already ? 

3)  There isn’t even time to read the superlong  superlong Feasibility Study in the days that we had. The agendas were not posted on Friday as required  so we lost several days. Many didn’t get any notice from our Commissioners that it was even on the agenda until late Sunday night so that gave us only 3 days to even READ all of this. Some STILL haven’t gotten a heads up from their Commissioners.   The Feasibility Study is not even highlighted on the website homepage.  3 or 4 days notice is not appropriate and doesn’t leave any time to fix such a problem

4)  Aren’t Ordinances required to go to committee meetings first?  Or a  Planning Commission session?  There should be public vetting of any FINAL version of any ordinance or study, shouldn’t there? Who decided thede were finished and “final” and sent them on to the full Board for action? What is the name of that person? And there should always be a place for us to get questions answered.  The LAW doesn’t require it – the CITIZENS do .   How can this be happening? It would be a dangerous precedent to allow this to happen this way. 

 
5. Having 3 minutes to speak BEFORE any presentation on  what the Feasibility Study or the Ordinance contain is completely against our interests and contrary to Sunshine Law requiring a REASONABLE opportunity to address items before a vote ( as we have told Commissioners  about the Working Session rules  many times . There is no way it is reasonable to have three minutes to speak on 100 or more pages with multiple other matters also on the agenda.  3 minutes  to speak BEFORE any presentation is given or any questions are answered is clearly not sufficient for ANY matter.

Please help us get them to act properly tonight .

Click here for the link to this page - Please share it with your neighbors & friends (the link is shown below)

https://www.abingtoncitizens.com/aaISSUES/EconomicDevelopment/UnscrupulousTactics.htm