Letter to the Editor: A Response to Worth Holder's Letter

The following letter was sent in to Patch Editor Kevin Haslam by Robert McNeil. McNeil is also a new blogger on the site and a democratic committeeman:

Dear Mr. Holder, 

You accuse others of being politically motivated whatever that means, yet fail to identify yourself as a Republican Committeeman.  But all of that is beside the point. The real issue is that your analysis is incomplete and ill informed.

What's this whole thing all about? Two and a half years ago nine townships that make up the Federation of Northern Chester County decided to apply for a special grant to study the region's parks and recreation facilities. The feeling was that we all could use upgrading in our parks and playing fields. The study was about families and kids, places to play, and about preserving some of the natural beauty - the reason most of us moved out here. The reason for working together was tied to the idea that they could get much more from working as a committed group of nine as opposed to each township going it alone. Furthermore, the county, in its wisdom, only funds projects when townships collaborate. They simply do not fund this kind of study for individual townships. It would be too costly and competitive. 

Thirty volunteers from the nine townships have worked diligently together with planning consultants. They have formed a cohesive high performing team. They produced an amazing report. You should read it. The county has praised their work. The leader from the county's perspective has said that it is in fact great work and that the county wants to refund the townships investment as soon as possible. And now when the work is just about complete, John Funk and Mark Dunpny want the same committee to redo the original contract because they are afraid that the townships won't approve the plan.

A Few Considerations:

Approval of the plan does not mean implementing the plan. These are two different phases. It's important to understand the difference.

It costs no money to approve this plan. The townships can pick and choose which aspects of the plan they want to implement. Implementation can be accomplished by townships acting alone, or working in consort with each other. The county encourages townships to work together on any implementation of any of the recommendations.

The plan is full of great ideas and illustrates a way forward for the Northern Federation to continue its work to connect our townships, improve our parks, and recipes for getting additional funding to create new athletic fields and protect our open space much of which is considered globally significant.

The plan is based on the very best qualitative and quantitative research techniques, including surveys, focus groups, individual and group interview, site visits, and consultation from experts.

The plan illustrates how townships, the athletic leagues and the school districts can work together to lower costs and create healthier life styles for all of our residents.

The plan proves that local works. These volunteers have given countless evenings and worked tirelessly with tremendous authenticity to produce something that they are rightfully proud to present. You can visit their work here: (http://www.northernfederation.com).

At the last meeting of the Federation, the briefing for township officials, which neither Dunphy nor Funk attended, there were no objections to approving the plan by anyone present.

Here are a few of the things you left out in your critique:

Mary Flagg already has the $15,000 grant from Congressman Rafferty. It arrived after the contract was signed, but it's there, and you should know this. In fact she cashed the check. Please verify this with her.

The decision to become the lead township was a vote. John and Chris voted 2-1 in favor of signing the contract. John was the one who initiated the motion. Chris seconded it. Mark voted no. There is no need for any additional paper. A deal is a deal. If you don't like the deal you signed, you can decide to break the contract, but then you have to face the music. This is the point Chris makes. Our whole system is founded on contact law. True Mark voted against the contract. He says it was because it was fiscally unsound.  Actually Mark is and always has been against parks, recreation, leagues, and trails. He doesn't believe in them and thus voted against this funded study.

You imply that Chris has acted improperly and has acted against her fiduciary responsibilities to the township. As I have stated before, she simply expects the township to honor a contract they already signed.

Here are some things that you might not know about what Chris has done for the township in terms of bringing in funding, something I would argue illustrates her dedication to this township and to her fiduciary responsibility. Chris has been a veritable grant writing machine for East Vincent, bringing needed additional funding to the township for worthwhile projects. Here are a few examples of Chris's work:

• She negotiated with the State to secure the grant to buy additional land for the Community Park on the Ridge.

• She initiated the creation the Public Works Department in East Vincent, allowing us to create a professional department, a huge saving for the township with a significant increase in the performance.

• She spearheaded two Open Space Bond Acts supported by 85% of the township's residents, resulting in saving nearly 800 acres. This effectively lowers all of our taxes.

• She wrote and secured the grant to fix the fields in the Township Park on the Ridge.

• She spearheaded the effort to acquire the 89 acre park at Pennhurst. She worked together with Andy Dinniman and Tim Hennessy to make this happen.

• She worked with Elaine Milito and the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust to negotiate the settlement of the Reiff Tract and achieve the 36 acre park on the Reiff lands.

• She spearheaded the effort to create the Federation’s Natural Resource Protection Plan. 

• She has led the Northern Federation’s PRO's plan, the one you have criticized her for placing the township at risk.

True, Mark Dunphy, John Funk, Ryan Costello and Walt Zaremba have all benefitted politically from Chris's work and have signed on after the work has been done, but none have worked harder or more diligently for East Vincent than she has. As Dizzy Dean once said, "It ain't bragging if you can back it up."

Oh, as Steve Jobs would often end his presentations: "One more thing." Mark Dunphy, promised an oversight committee on the millions of dollars the township is spending on the sewer system.  It's a year later and I haven't seen anyone appointed to this committee to date. Just saying. 

Robert McNeil,

Democratic Committeeman