Councilman Van Dame to join code department
LANSDALE » Lansdale Borough is losing a councilman and gaining a code enforcement employee at the same time.
Councilman Jason Van Dame announced Wednesday night his plans to resign at the end of this week to take a job with the borough.
“I am excited to say that I will be accepting a full-time position in the borough as a code enforcement officer,” Van Dame said.
“It comes with a bittersweet element, in the fact that, due to
borough code, I cannot continue to serve on the elected body, as an employee of the borough,” he said.
A local construction contractor with no party affiliation, Van Dame was first appointed to borough council in January 2013 to fill a vacancy left by the departure of predecessor Paul Clemente, and was subsequently reelected in his own right in the 2013 and 2017 elections with a stint as council president from April 2014 to February 2015.
“I’ve been working toward a position of this nature for several years. I’ve known that I couldn’t do the day-to-day construction work for the rest of my life,” he said.
“So I started looking at other opportunities, and one thing I saw in this position (on council) was that I have a lot of skills that would work well in a code enforcement type position,” Van Dame said.
In addition to the handson construction experience, Van Dame said his five-plus years on council and its various committees have given him experience interacting with the public, and detailed knowledge of all major borough projects, policies and procedures.
“This certainly has been an honor, to serve here in this position, and I will miss it. It did make it a much more difficult decision, but it’s really the right opportunity for myself and my family at this time,” he said.
“I certainly wasn’t just looking here, and actually at times I think I would’ve preferred other opportunities, so I didn’t have to give (council) up, but when this came available, it’s my community, so close to home — it was just a really good fit,” he said.
Council President Denton Burnell led off the responses to Van Dame’s announcement with a joking “booooooo,” then said he had known about the resignation “for a little while, but it’s still hard to hear you say it.”
“Jason came to us when we needed him. He’s been sort of a maverick amongst us from the very beginning. He’s kept us all on our toes, and I have great respect for him as a councilman, and as a man who is true to his word.”
Council Vice President Mary Fuller held back tears while saying what a pleasure it had been to serve alongside Van Dame.
“I have not worked with somebody who was so stalwart in doing what’s right, and had a total commitment to the community. You’ll be missed,” Fuller said.
Van Dame replied “I’m not going too far,” and Fuller countered, “Well I guess, actually, now you’ll work for me.”
Council member Carrie Hawkins Charlton said Van Dame’s advice and guidance had been invaluable, and councilman Steve Malagari said he looked forward to seeing him “on the other side” of the council dais. Councilman Jack Hansen said he and Van Dame had the occasional friendly disagreement, but he always appreciated clear communication between the two, and councilman Leon Angelichio, who is also a construction contractor, said he looks forward to future conversations.
“I know, with the skills you’ve acquired over the years, that it’s not a stretch for you to be a code enforcement official. I look forward to arguing with you the first time I come in for a permit,” Angelichio said.
As a contractor with children of about the same age, Angelichio said, “I understand the necessity of that solid job and paycheck. I’m a little jealous, having the security that you’ll have, but I know you’re going to do a great job.”
Mayor Garry Herbert
said he appreciated Van Dame’s work to earn several professional qualifications while seeking the job, and Borough Manager John Ernst said the job was posted to all municipalities in Montgomery County and sent to numerous code-related professional organizations for interested applicants.
“After that process was completed, we received resumes and applications. Several of those resumes
turned into interviews, Jason made it through the process as the leading candidate, and we were pleased to be able to offer Jason a position,” Ernst said.
“Jason, over the past several months, took it upon himself to pursue and receive certifications in plan review, and inspections for several different categories which were part of the job description. So hats off to Jason for having that initiative to invest in himself, and to invest in a position in the borough,” he said.
Van Dame said he made it clear throughout the hiring process that he wanted
his council position to have no influence on borough officials’ opinion of his qualifications.
“I didn’t want to put any pressure on the staff, as we went through the interview process. I’m a big boy, I can handle rejection if I wasn’t the candidate selected,” he said.
“That being said, I also don’t want to be precluded from the opportunity because of my service to the community, and to take it a step further, the experience I’ve gained in this role is really a great asset to that position,” Van Dame said.
Van Dame said his resignation
will be effective as of April 22, and Burnell said the borough will publicize details for interested residents from the borough’s Ward 1 to fill the vacancy within the next few days. Interested residents will likely be asked to send in a resume and letter of interest, the only qualifications are that one be a registered voter and live in the ward, and council will likely allow much of the month of May to submit resumes and perform interviews before filling the position.
“If you’re interested, now is your chance to serve,” Burnell said.