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3rd Street Dam Committee Open Meeting Tonight at 6:00 PM

Dec 06

Borough Council’s 3rd Street Dam Committee has announced an open meeting on Tuesday, December 6th at 6:00 PM at the Borough Complex (301 N. Jackson Street) in the 2nd floor conference room.

The intention of the meeting is to outline the Purpose and Scope of the Citizens Advisory Committee, and to have Borough Council adopt the recommendation  in the following week at the legislative meeting on December 15th.

At the working meeting on Decmber 1st, Monika Rehoric put forth the idea that current council should dictate the parameters and the goals of the citizens group in order to allow the newly seated council next year to hit the ground running.

Borough Council has invited any interested citizens who wish to be a part of the 3rd Street Dam Citizens Advisory Committee to the meeting, but it will be open to the public.

A draft of the purpose and scope of activities was provided by Councilman Peter Williamson, as a starting point for the discussion tonight and was provided to attendees. Please note that this is just a draft and is subject to change:

Third Street Dam Citizens Advisory Committee

Purpose and Scope of Activities

December 6, 2011

Purpose

The Citizens Advisory Committee for the Third Street Dam is established to advise Borough Council on the advantages and difficulties of the three identified design approaches to the repair and ongoing maintenance of the dam. These three are; 1) rebuilding the structure and a two lane road; 2) rebuilding the dam with some form of non-motorized pathway, and; 3) removing the dam. It will produce a report of its activities and recommendations that will be widely shared with the public and Council.

Scope of Activities

The Committee is charged with investigating and weighing the environmental impacts, costs, and community impacts of each design approach and making a recommendation on its favored course of action. It shall, in all its work, seek to address the broad, common concerns of Borough residents, and avoid technical details better left to design professionals.

It may utilize all the Borough’s records and reports on the engineering of the dam. It may interview current and former Council members, Borough staff and public safety officials. It may use the administrative staff of the Borough to assist in setting up public hearings and stakeholder interviews. It may interview officials of surrounding municipalities and Delaware County. It may, while being attentive to the additional costs, interview the Borough’s project engineer and Municipal Engineer. It may also interview relevant staff from state agencies such as PaDOT and PaDEP.

It is encouraged to inform the public of its activities and findings and to seek the opinions of Borough citizens using simple, recognized techniques of dissemination and surveying. It will hold regularly scheduled meetings, open to the public, and will keep Council apprised of its work by regular reports to a Council liaison, who will also be invited to all meetings of the Committee.

The report of its findings and recommendations shall endeavor to be concise, to document the process undertaken, and the rationale that led to the Committee’s recommendation(s). Borough Council will hear the report in a public meeting and will vote to accept the report, to accept it with conditions, or to reject it for causes it will enumerate publicly.

Committee Structure

The Committee will be composed of XXX citizens, selected by Council, with a range of skills and experience suitable to the task, from all precincts, with its leadership to be of avowed objectivity as to its ultimate recommendation. It shall endeavor to complete its charge within XXX months of being formed. A chair will be selected by Council, but it is otherwise free to organize itself as it sees fit.

2 comments

  1. Paul Indorf /

    I think it would be better that I don’t say anything about this meeting. That said, I’m looking forward to making some sense of this in the near future…..

  2. Paul Indorf should be part of the discussion, but he has got to tone it down. All politicans lie. Hell, I tell a few–maybe many–lies everyday myself.

    Paul is a very smart guy, for sure. But so is everyone on Council, no matter their party.

    My mantra to you, Paul, for what its worth: Keep your remarks short and sweet–and don’t wander.

    Also, write a good letter to the Daily Times–your words will make thousands think.