What is Lansdale?

What is Lansdale?

Lansdale Borough Manager Timi Kirchner, borough staff and its departments are looking for the answer to that question in an effort to brand the borough.

At a recent borough council meeting, Kirchner informed council that, in addition to being a concept introduced to the new communications commission, the thought of branding Lansdale Borough is something of a hot item in the borough.

“We started talking about this business with branding this community: Who are we? What’s our theme? What story do we have to tell as a community?” she said.

The idea is to take these questions to the community at-large, but Kirchner has now begun working on the municipal level by finding out staff’s thoughts and feelings on the subject.

Kirchner sent out fliers to each borough department, asking “Who is Lansdale?,” and Lansdale “means something special to everybody. What does it mean to you?”

Last month, Kirchner met with the employees of the wastewater treatment plant for her first staff discussion on branding Lansdale.

“When I met with the police department several months ago, one of the officers stood up and looked at me and said, ‘What is your vision of Landale?’ I looked at him and he said, ‘Do you think we can be another Doylestown?’ I said, ‘We can be better than that,’” Kirchner said. “We have our own story, and it’s a good story to tell.”

Kirchner said she discussed the idea briefly with councilwoman Anne Scheuring.

“To her, it’s railroads and families,” Kirchner said. “That’s what Lansdale means to her.”

When Kirchner brought up the discussion to the wastewater treatment plant employees—a group that Kirchner described as one that was “traditionally quiet” and “haven’t had a lot to say”—she said all kinds of ideas came out of the gates about what Lansdale meant to the group.

“Some grew up in Lansdale, some grew up in the area, some still live here, and some live in different municipalities around the area,” she said. “They obviously care deeply about Lansdale, and they had lots of great thoughts.”

She said one topic that came up was the times when people would flock to stores downtown.

“On the flipside, someone said, ‘Nobody cares about that, that’s the past. We need to appeal to young people.’ What do we need to do in the town to have that appeal?” Kirchner said.

She said the discussion was “animated” in regard to the borough’s history.

“What it means to people, what it can mean to people, and we even got down to what colors,” she said. “That’s all part of this branding exercise.”

She said the discussion at the wastewater treatment plant “really affirmed the thought of what we’re doing for this branding exercise in the borough.”

“What is our story, and what does it mean to you?” she said.

Kirchner said she will continue to meet with departments and staff and gather information to head in the right direction on the branding idea.