Save the date - September 17, 7pm.
Indiana Borough Council - Work Session
80 N. 8th Street
One of the primary reasons for my interest in becoming a borough council member is because I believe in community, and ours is shrinking. While recent School District enrollment numbers are increasing, the Borough itself has shrunk by 13% from 2000 to 2010 - mostly families and seniors. Why is no one talking about this?
Families and seniors are the glue that hold communities together. They go to work, pay taxes, attend church and community functions, serve on boards and committees, and invest in schools. They are who our kids play with, we invite over for cookouts, collect our mail when we are away, and who are always around to talk politics downtown or in our driveway. They are a vital and often unseen part of the fabric that sustains a community and keeps it vibrant. Without them a community will decline.
In a healthy community I would think that when people start packing their bags or looking for other places to settle, those of us who care about that place should pay attention. We should demand that local government study the issues by engaging residents and neighborhoods and adjust policy based on this feedback. I believe that the question is less about what makes people leave, but rather, what makes people stay.
It’s time to engage with you. On September 17, 7pm, at the regularly scheduled Indiana Borough Council work session we will begin to engage in a process to envision where we see our town. As a representative of our borough, I need to hear from you.
I ask that you come to our September 17 work session and be part of the conversation. Where do you see Indiana in 5, 10, 20 years? What assets are we ignoring? How do we tap into our strengths? I ask also that you not be convinced that there are easy answers. This is not a choice between either a Vegas, or Bedford Falls. For one thing, at least one of those places is fictional! More importantly, that’s too simplistic. Indiana, PA is a unique community within the region. This in itself is an asset. Are we all that we can be? I also ask that you think positively, there are plenty of negatives to go around.
If you are unable to attend on September 17, I encourage you to reach out to your Borough Council member this month. Contact information can be found on the Borough’s website.
Also, please, leave a comment here or on Facebook. Do you have questions about what's going on with the borough? Lets start the conversation now. This visioning process only starts on September 17; I hope our community will lead the Borough Council into the coming years.
And oh yea, make sure you're registered to vote!! It's time for a fresh start in Indiana Borough, and it should start with you!
EDIT: 9/12/13 A helpful note from Borough Council person, Peter Broad:
Peter Broad I agree with G 100%. However, I don't think people should think that the meeting next Tuesday is going to be some kind of open forum where there is a healthy give and take between council members and the general public. I do think that such an open forum, or even a series of them, should be an important part of the visioning process. A council work session is more of a place to learn what issues the council is considering than it is to participate in a dialogue. Members of the public in attendance will each be given three minutes to state their concerns, but normally there is little or no interaction with council members. After this so-called public participation period, the council turns to its agenda and moves on. Work sessions are limited by law to two hours, and no votes can be taken. That said, I think a good turnout of interested people, even if they don't speak, can have a positive effect by making the council members aware that there are community concerns and people willing to take the time to show them.
