Hatboro Halts Highway Improvements Involvement

HATBORO, PA —The borough's participation in a group with four other Montgomery County municipalities to work on highway improvements will be in name only.

The Hatboro Council, at its committee meeting Monday, has decided not to move forward on a vote at its Feb. 27 council meeting to contribute membership funding to the Eastern Montco Interchanges Group.

The group consists of five towns that will work together to push for improvements and construction of interchanges along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and road projects around those Montgomery County interchanges.

The group includes Horsham Township, Hatboro, Upper Dublin Township, Abington Township, and Upper Moreland Township.

"I'm still concerned," said Councilwoman Nicole McMenamin, who brought the matter up during her administration report.

McMenamin and other borough council members balked at the borough investing $10,000 annually to the group for a minimum of three years and a maximum of seven.

"I'm not in favor of it," Councilman Alex Myers said. "I don't feel like we'd get the same bang for our buck."

Councilwoman Amanda Jacobus also agreed with Myers' assessment.

Each town would contribute at least three years of funding at $10,000 a year with a maximum of seven years. Horsham Township recently approved $70,000 in funding.

Myers asked whether the borough would still be among the members if it decided not to contribute.

Borough Manager Diane Hegele said that the other municipalities in the group discussed whether Hatboro could pay half the membership cost, but decided that all five municipalities should contribute equally to ensure that all receive the right amount of input.

The group works to push the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to follow through on plans to upgrade and build turnpike interchanges in Montgomery County, including Willow Grove, Fort Washington, Virginia Drive, and Welsh Road, which has yet to be constructed.

"We're not near an interchange, though we benefit from the turnpike," Council President George Bollendorf said.

The borough will continue as a member of the group though despite not going forward to approve funding.

"We will be represented in name only and have no say," Hegele told Patch after the meeting.