Back to business as usual.....

 Well it appears borough council and the administration is back to business as usual. The public stays in the dark as to the happenings in their town. Meeting minutes haven’t been uploaded in a few months now for public view. The open meetings law requires meeting minutes to be taken for each meeting and posted for public view. We will look further if a specified timeline is required. Most other municipalities have no problem keeping these records up to date for their residents. Perkasie borough on the other hand does what it wants. 

Another issue that has been ongoing in the borough which is an unsolved issue still is on S 3rd and S 4th street. A traffic study was done as multiple residents showed up to a council meeting before the lockdown to express frustration for the amount of traffic and speeds on a secondary road due to people using it as a raceway, we mean cut through, to avoid a traffic light at Walnut and 5th street. Council in usual fashion appeared interested in the issue while having residents in front of them. The study showed over a two week period the volume of vehicles being 45,000 +!!!!!!!! This is a small secondary road in the borough. The borough council and administrations recommendation was to put up no truck traffic signs? No one that we are aware of complained about truck traffic. It was the volume of vehicles and speeds. But hey they represented the people and sprung into action right? Residents while pulling out in front of their residence have had vehicles plow into them, people have had mirrors taken off etc etc. Here we are over a year later and still nothing has been done and those no truck signs? Yea there are still large trucks passing through. Like everything else without enforcement and penalty no one will think twice. The Borough is always quick to pay a lawyer to draft up ordinances that they have no intention of enforcing anyway. 

Ladies and gentlemen let’s call this what it is. Taxation without representation. But we should not expect anything less from our representatives that open their borough packets 15 minutes before the meeting to read what they intend to vote on that evening . 

It’s time for a fresh start and new council members that are willing to put the time in that is required to do the job.  What we have seen so far are the next in line from the political parties that want to do the bidding of the party instead of the residents they serve. 

Stay tuned we have other matters we will bring forth as we continue to look out for the residents. Remember when Perkasie was quiet and peaceful before it was built up with subdivisions and building on any open piece of land?  Increased traffic, crime and wear and tear on our infrastructure. It has been proven before strength in numbers. It can easily be proven again. 

Perkasie First

Perkasie Residents approve increase in fire tax

In a referendum on the Nov 4, 2014 ballot Perkasie residents voted 1449-855 to approve a resolution as follows:

“Shall Perkasie Borough Council levy an additional real estate tax of 0.5 mills for the purpose of funding fire department services in the Borough? YES or NO”

Plain English Statement: The ballot question asks the voters of Perkasie Borough whether the Borough Council should assess an additional tax of 0.5 mills, bringing the total fire services tax to 1.5 mills for the purpose of funding fire and rescue services within Perkasie Borough. 

A vote of YES approves the levying of an additional real estate tax of 0.5 mills for this purpose.

Prior to 2005 there was no fire tax which begs the question "what has changed"?

When the fire company first approached Borough Council it was under the guise of funding a replacement vehicle, when it was pointed out that the current 1 mil of tax was funding a new vehicle that was going to be paid off within the next year a laundry list of "wishes" was produced by the fire company including a $52,000 suspended ceiling for the apparatus room, a $75,000 sprinkler system, a $55,000 walk-in cooler room, a $38,000 electronic entry system, and a $15,000 sign.  How exactly do these items intend to help our fire company protect the community?

The fire company held a public forum on August 14 to talk about the funding needs that was attended by a handful of residents at best.  They then held their annual open house on October 9th which was well attended- without any mention of the tax referendum and no opportunity to donate- not even a bucket!  Then on October 25 they held another open house to answer questions about the fire tax that had exactly 1 person attend- the mayor!  Why they did not take advantage of the traffic on their well-attended annual open house to raise awareness or funds defies logic.

Perkasie First fully supports our all-volunteer fire company.  Sadly, it appears that the "voluntary" portion does not apply to funding, and there is a desperate lack of outside the box thinking.  We encourage community members to get involved to help the fire company provide the outstanding service it does without resorting to more taxes to pay for it.  Educate the community on your needs and ask for help, as the Police Department has proven with their K-9 program the community is more than willing to step forward when asked to help and there are generous people with the means to do so.   After all- who knows how to spend your own money better than you do?

New information on Menlo Pool incident comes to light (RED FLAGS)

As a result of a Right to Know (RTK) request, a borough resident has obtained emails and a copy of the rental contract for Menlo Pool for the 8/11/13 incident- after the borough RTK officer Donna Benner invoked the 30 day extension on August 13 without giving reason and anticipated date and cost of the records as required under state law.

Obtaining information from the borough is like pulling teeth.  Why the dishonesty?  Why were RED FLAGS ignored?

The first email dated Thursday August 8 at 12:32pm is from assistant manager Andrea Coaxum to the interim parks and recreation director Carolyn Hanel, also copied are borough manager Dan Olpere and Interim Police Chief Steven Hillias.

This email contradicts earlier statements by borough officials that they were initially aware of only around 100 party patrons as it clearly references "several hundred people" and also admits "concerns over the size of the party" and encourages Ms Hanel to be "very clear to the man that no alcohol will be permitted".  According to published reports by NBC news "Borough officials insisted the promoter told them only 100 people would be coming to the pool for a small birthday party" and “The renter was told three times that he couldn’t bring alcohol in and he knew that,” said Perkasie Borough manager Dan Olpere.

It also encourages notification of the police (who are copied on this email and have previously claimed no knowledge of the event until they were called that night) and a warning "The pool staff should already know to call 911 if things start to get out of hand."  Also mentioned is a $1,000 donation which was offered by the renter but never accepted by borough officials.  Coaxum gives her approval of the rental.

The next email is from the manager Olpere to the assistant manager Coaxum and Hanel, again the police are copied.  To his credit he states that he would not want to inconvenience pool members by rescheduling the movie night just to "accomodate hundreds of non-members that we will never see again" and tacitly gives his approval for the rental.  Again the $1,000 donation is mentioned.

The next email is from Hanel to Coaxum and CC to Olpere and Hillias.  It mentions extending the party to midnight and again the $1,000 donation is mentioned and closes with "Stay tuned, more to come." No further emails were received but the packet did note that there were other documents related to the RTK request that were not disclosed because they could be related to a criminal investigation. 

The next email timestamped 1:38pm (just an hour after the first emails on the subject) is from Hanel to the Menlo Pool manager advising them of the decision to rent the pool and that the organizer would likely be stopping to pay that day. 

The next document is the actual executed rental agreement, the name of the staff member who executed it has been redacted by us to protect their identity because they did not make a decision to rent the pool and are simply acting as an agent of borough officials. 

This document reveals the Philadelphia address of the renter Antwan Garfield, and also several policies that were violated by borough officials including 

• all parties are held to a 3 hour limit
• a guest list must be submitted to the Aquatics Director 2 weeks prior to the party to ensure the correct patron to guard ratio is met
• Full payment of rental fees must be paid two weeks prior to event

In addition the de facto policy as stated on the Borough website that  "Private parties are limited to Friday and Saturday nights from 8:00 - 11:00 pm. Sorry, no Sundays." was ignored.

Here is the memo from Manager Olpere to council with his version of the events.  Of interest is where he reports that the pool manager was told that some guests would be "some people had vouchers from a cancelled event and that they would be admitted with those."  Yet another RED FLAG that was ignored putting our community and pool staff at risk

Are you Fed up yet?  Sign the petition HERE asking for resignations of borough leadership

Perkasie Resident circulating petition calling for resignation of top borough leaders

A 42 year Perkasie resident is circulating a petition calling for resignations of top Borough officials for "failure of leadership.  He is not affiliated with Perkasie First but we are sharing this to encourage residents to learn about the issues in Perkasie and get involved.

You can view the petition and electronically sign it at the following link:  http://bit.ly/17TH48v

Menlo Pool Fiasco- Near Riot

8/18/13 UPDATES AT BOTTOM OF POST!
over 30,000 hits on this article, thanks for sharing!

Click Here for updated post after 8/19/13 Borough Council Meeting

Sunday evening around 10pm on Aug 12 2013 police were called to Menlo Pool for a disturbance.  Early reports are that between 600-1,000 people were present for a "splash party" that paid $40 per person for tickets.  There were reports of borough employees being verbally and physically harassed.  Despite this near riot there were no arrests made by borough police who had apparently called for backup from neighboring towns due to the number of people present.

Residents on nearby streets reported trash thrown all over and people loudly using racial slurs on the streets, cars racing through town.

Here is the invite that was apparently widely circulated on Twitter in the weeks before:

Here is a photo posted on instagram apparently from a party attendee:

Here are a few questions for Borough management:

Why was the pool rented out for a party on Sunday night in direct conflict with what is stated on the borough website that there will be no private parties on Sundays?

Why did it take from 8pm until almost 10pm for employees to place a call to the police?  The party was falsely presented to the borough as a private birthday party for 100 people.  When more than that showed up and were accepting tickets to the event it should have been brought to the attention of authorities.

Why was not one single person arrested for disorderly conduct, littering, creating a disturbance, etc?  Attendess reportedly came from as far away as Philadelphia, now that 600 plus people know exactly where Perkasie is and that our police were not prepared to handle this, does this invite a future crime spree into our town?    Out of 600 people there has to be some criminal element.

Does the borough plan to press civil or criminal charges against the organizers?

If you have any additional information please share it in the comments below.  Residents are encouraged to come to borough hall and demand answers from council and our borough manager on Monday August 19th at 7pm in Boro Hall- 7th and Chestnut Streets.

8/14/13 UPDATE

Contrary to statements by borough officials in news reports, residents report seeing many empty liquor bottles and trash including used women's hygiene pad around the vicinity of pool  Resident also reports hearing SHOTS FIRED in park towards Sellersville and finding empty shell casings.  Follow this blog for more updates.

From published news reports:

“It was way out of control,” Olpere said. “It was not a birthday party. … It was just a big lie.”

"What went wrong was that this was a very disrespectful, unruly crowd.”

There was also a lot of litter left around the pool property, red plastic cups and empty bottles that had to be cleaned up, according to Matt Aigeldinger, council president.

Yet no arrests?

Call the party promoter Ryane Elliott in the Mt Airy section of Philadelphia at 267-252-6597 and ask him why you weren't invited to the "Splash n First Class"

Further Update: according to a source within the Bucks Co Emergency management team the police were called early in the evening for a reported assualt on a pool employee.  3 borough police officers were apparently overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and there were people using drugs right in the open and jumping on the police cars.  Backup was called and responded from neighboring towns as far away as Solebury.  There was also a report of SHOTS FIRED and .22 caliber shells casings were found. 

News Articles

http://montgomerynews.com/articles/2013/08/15/perkasie_news_herald/news/doc520d67a1e9d16380922367.txt?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

All Photos found on social media so far:

NEW REVELATIONS keep coming out.  Residents report drugs including heroin found in trashcans the next day, pool staff literally combing the grass to remove traces of the party.  Police officer witnessed being pushed in the pool, yet despite this ZERO ARRESTS.


More history on the mis-management of Menlo Aquatics Center:

http://perkasiefirst.blogspot.com/2012/07/should-council-check-up-on-menlo-pool.html

http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/pennridge/near-drowning-sparks-concerns-at-menlo-pool/article_08e4ffca-b18f-525c-931b-6869dc3134a9.html

http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/pennridge/perkasie-considers-pool-safety-measures/article_cfee895c-ce99-59d8-ab84-19b1ac72b453.html

This pool should be the crowning jewel of Perkasie, yet it is continuously being mis-managed.  Just yesterday the following photo was snapped by a pool patron in the mens shower room

8/18/13 UPDATES

Warning Signs- all ignored!!!

• Last minute booking of "birthday party" with 100+ guests
• Borough became aware on Sunday that 300+ attendees were expected, despite this the borough manager Dan Olpere was at home with his feet kicked up and the police were never even notified of a large party on short notice.
• Because of this lack of leadership, no one was present at the pool who was able to recognize the RED FLAGS that popped up when the party organizer showed up:
• 15 physically intimidating security guards dressed all in black
• party organizer with cash box and wristbands
• organizer accepting pre-printed tickets and taking cash at the door

By the time trouble was readily apparent (pool staff assaulted and noise complaints from neighbors) the crowd was too large for Borough Police to handle.  Reinforcements were called in from multiple surrounding municipalities and police and pool staff are to be commended for their restraint in avoiding a RIOT from breaking out.

There were SHOTS FIRED from nearby and bullet casings were recovered at South high school.

CORRECTION:  Police officer was not pushed in the pool, evidently was a private security guard.

Perkasie Manager Dan Olpere's lack of oversight put the pool staff, the police, and the community in danger.

Pool neighbors, parents of pool staff, and concerned residents should attend the Borough Meeting tomorrow evening Monday August 19th 7:00pm at Borough Hall located at 7th and Chestnut Streets.  There are public forums at the beginning and end of the meeting where opinions may be expressed.  

At the end of the day the TRUTH needs to be heard and ACTION taken to prevent another near tragedy.   WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

July 2 2012 Council Meeting

Council under direction of President Aigeldinger held a 2nd public discussion on the proposed zoning ordinance to comply with County demands and the motion passed 7-2.  UN Agenda 21 foisted on our community for the sake of a few dollars. This is the same motion that failed 6-3 at the last meeting and the County sent a letter which did not clearly indicate how Perkasie's zoning ordinance on minimum size requirements for garden apartments constituted discrimination but council was bullied into a majority which approved it.  In fact if you read the words of the Assistant General Counsel for HUD in 1995 he clearly states there are in fact minimum size requirements for dwellings that fall under HUD guidelines.  So here we have a bureaucracy that on one hand says there must be a minimum size for dwellings but then attempts to force communities to do away with them using the carrot of grant dollars.  Only Councilpersons Stottlar and Ryder did their research and understood that this was not a good move for Perkasie.

Part 1 of 3

Part 2 of 3 - Discussion on putting security cameras at Menlo Pool.  Do you want cameras at your pool?  Or do you want better management?  Also discussion on making part of N 8th Street a one-way.  Several residents address council concerning drug crime in town and the Chief Gura responds.   Will council show leadership and direct the police to initiate another Town Watch program among residents?  Councilwoman Frei was a big part of this program back in the day and we are waiting for her to step up and show some leadership.

Part 3 of 3