Walnut Street Bridge at "Critical Zero" rating

According to an article published in the Intelligencer on 8/5/14:

Perkasie council revealed Monday night it was urgently seeking the county to repair the Walnut Street Bridge, after Councilman Matt Aigeldinger brought the issue up by saying he had seen the damage to the bridge.

“It’s got a pretty substantial crack that’s opened up on the pedestrian side of the bridge,” Aigeldinger said. “Also, there’s a crack that goes across the road, and three other ones.”

Borough engineer Doug Rossino said the bridge received a 0 out of 100 rating by inspectors in July, triggering a “critical zero” rating and prompting state agencies to send a letter to Bucks County requiring a response within a week about what action it would take.

The county response is required this week, Rossino said. Borough manager Andrea Coaxum added she had sent a letter to the county and spoke to the county’s Director of Operations Gerald Anderson.

“We sent a letter ... about the condition of the bridge and how important it is that we keep the bridge open for emergency services,” Coaxum said.

Council said the bridge is not scheduled to be replaced until 2018, and added that a worst case scenario would shut down the bridge for safety concerns. The Main Street Bridge is also scheduled for replacement in 2018, council members said, adding that a simultaneous closure would have a detrimental effect.

“It would cripple the entire area, not just for emergency services, but businesses and residents in the area,” Coaxum said.

Council Vice President Jim Purcell said he did not believe the repairs would be overly extensive, but that the borough could not fix it without opening itself up to liability.

“It can be fixed fairly easily,” Purcell said. “But we’re not going to touch it because that’s not our responsibility.”

Council members said they had also reached out to local representatives, and urged residents to do the same.

“Residents should please, send an e-mail to their state representative and contact the county commissioners,” said Councilman Justin Stottlar.

Question: if, according to VP Purcell it can be fixed fairly easy- then why hasn't the county started repairs?  Why has the borough waited until it reached a zero rating out of 100 to publicly address this?  Why has the Perkasie Pride majority faction on council failed to address this?  Were they so content being cuddled up with ousted manager Dan Olpere that they failed to see it?  Whose responsibility was it to see that it didn't get this far?

Residents are encouraged to not only call the county and state representatives- but also call President Ryder, VP Purcell, and Perkasie Pride ringleader Matt Aigeldinger and ask them why they failed to address this until now?

What Economic Development?

In January 2013 Perkasie Borough Council approved a $20,000 annual expense for an Economic Development consultant. His task was to bring new businesses to the Borough.  For 2014 this annual expense was again approved with no review or report card given on progress. 

Has this experiment proved a success?  Here are Steve Barth's claims from his Linked In page as of today:

Director of Economic Development (Consultant)Perkasie Olde Towne AssociationJanuary 2013 – Present (1 year 7 months) Perkasie, PA 18944The mission of the Economic Development Program for Perkasie Borough is
to revitalize Perkasie by creating an environment where businesses can grow
and thrive by providing goods and services to the residents of the Borough
and surrounding communities.

$82 million in new commercial and residential development.
Collaborated with Bucks County Planning Commission to finalize new Comprehensive Plan.
Visioned and cultivated developers to rebuild entire Town Center block.
Phase One approved by Council on 7/21/14.
(Includes three new retail and 10 upscale apartments on site dormant for 26 years.)
Phase Two- Pending 15 retail and 42 upscale apartments.
145 Townhouse development on 15 acre empty factory site bordering two parks.
Adaptive re-use of empty factory building into 6 upscale apartments.
73 New Single Family Homes - Cultivated developers for empty residential sites
Opened 12+ new businesses

Borough Council should be requiring an accounting of these claims and verification including a list of the 12+ businesses claimed by Mr Barth.

Of particular note is the claim about being responsible for "145 Townhouse development on 15 acre empty factory site bordering 2 parks".  This is assumed to be the proposed Perkasie Woods development which has not yet received approval from Borough Council for rezoning. At a recent council meeting many neighbors of the proposed development spoke out against the project, including concerns on the density and flooding.  Was Mr Barth part of some backroom deal to rubberstamp this and ignore public input?

A proposal for a Dunkin Donuts never materialized.  Perkasie Borough Authority relocated outside of the Borough.  Secant Medical is leaving town in 2015.  Many storefronts still sit vacant.  What have we received for $40,000 in public money?

Anyone who lives in the Borough or owns a business here knows that the biggest issue - the elephant in the room-  is the high electric rates that increased 66% in 2008 as the result of a bungled electric contract that was urged to be entered into and voted for by none other than current council Vice President Jim Purcell, who oddly is still the chair of the public utility committee.  It was Mr Purcell who, reminiscent of Chicken Little, warned that the sky was falling and that gasoline would reach $8 per gallon that fall. 

Does Steve Barth deserve another $20,000 in public money for 2015?

Demand answers from your elected council representative.  

Menlo Pool Party promoter gets slap on the wrist

Antwan Garfield- the infamous Menlo Pool party promoter - today received a slap on the wrist from Bucks County DA when he accepted ARD and from the docket it appears a whopping financial payment of $7.49  Copy of docket below.

Perkasie Council Member shows unprofessional bully side

Email exchange between Councilperson Matt Aigeldinger (former President) and Councilman Justin Stottlar apparently resulting from an anonymous tweet from "PerkasieWatch"

Aigeldinger:  You talking out of school, Justin? How do you ever except (sic) to earn anyone's respect?  Keep your boy in check....

Stottlar:  To be honest matt i haven't said a word about anything to anyone. Thanks for your continuance of the last 2 years.

Aigeldinger: Bullshit, man.

Stottlar: Think what you want matt. I don't have anything to hide.

Aigeldinger:  Exactly. Piece of shit.

View the email exchange below  

Constituent Outreach Committee meeting date change

from Perkasie Borough website:

Constituent Outreach Committee Meeting Date Change 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Perkasie Borough Council's Constituent Outreach Committee's meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2014 will now be held on Tuesday, February 11, 2013 at 7:00 PM.  This meeting will be held in the Perkasie Borough Hall meeting room, 620 W. Chestnut Street, Perkasie.  The Committee will meet with all interested residents and businesses to share ideas, questions, and potential improvements directly with Borough Council representatives.

We can assume they mean 2014.  When Perkasie First contacted the new chair Justin Stottlar, he was unaware of the date change.  Who is calling the shots in Perkasie Borough?

Meet the New Boss, same as the Old Boss?

Apparently even though Perkasie Borough has ousted former Manager Dan Olpere, is a new direction really on the horizon?

Maybe not, as suggested by the re-appointment of Jim "Chicken Little" Purcell as head of the Public Utility committee and charged with oversight of the Borough Electric scheme.

Remember when Chicken Little warned that the "sky was falling" in 2008 and that gasoline would be $8 per gallon when he urged approval of an electric contract that resulted in a 66% rate increase to borough residents?

Chicken Little was further rewarded with the position of Council Vice President.

This was the electric contract negotiated by the wet-behind-the-ears Jim Havrilla, friend of Dan Olpere after months of neglect and missing the "spring dip" in electric prices by the Perkasie Pride majority council.

Only time will tell whether new Council President Jim Ryder and new council member Chuck Brooks will mean a new direction forward, or just more of the same "Perkasie Pride" that has left such a dark cloud over Perkasie .

Perksaie Borough possible rolling blackouts 1/7/14

ATTENTION PERKASIE RESIDENTS: Due to the high load on the nation's power grid, there is a chance of rolling power outages tonight. If an outage does occur, it should last no longer than 30-60 minutes. Please help by conserving energy as much as possible. The Borough's crews are on stand-by in case there are any problems as a result of any outage. If the power does go out, you can help by turning all of your switches to the off position so that when power is restored, there is less of a burden on the Borough's system. Thank you for your patience as the nation waits for this unusually cold weather to pass through the area.