Joint board gets new member
Holiday event plans in borough detailed
North Wales’ council voted unanimously to appoint resident Jim Schiele on the joint board..
NORTH WALES » A joint board recently established between Upper Gwynedd and North Wales now has a new member.
North Wales’ council voted unanimously on Nov. 10 to appoint resident Jim Schiele to fill one of their two spots on the joint board.
“We did not have any of these positions filled previous to the merger, if you will. We needed five, so now we only need two,” said borough Manager Christine Hart.
In August and September both North Wales and Upper Gwynedd f ina lized that merger, creating a joint Uniform Construction Code board of appeals to field appeals from residents or property owners if they have a dispute with a town code official over interpreting their building code. At the time, both municipalities said their respective boards were littleused and required members with specialized experience that were hard to find.
During their Oct. 27 meeting, North Wales’ council voted unanimously to appoint Schiele, a retired electrician, property owner and former president of the North Penn Fire Company. Council then had to re-ratify the appointment on Nov. 10 due to a typo on the appointment term in the original motion.
North Wales still has one open spot on the same UCC joint board, for a term running through 2021. Anyone interested can contact Hart with a resume and letter of interest at 300 School Street, North Wales PA 19454 or email chart@ nor thwalesborough.org. All three of Upper Gwynedd’s positions on that joint board remain filled with members from the prior township-only board, according to Township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell.
ZHB spot filled, vacant spots still open: North Wales’ council also voted on Oct. 24 to fill a vacant spot on the borough’s zoning hearing board. Amanda Combs, a Washington Avenue resident who moved into town in September, was appointed unanimously to fill a term running through the end of 2022.
As of Nov. 10, the borough still has spots on two other borough boards seeking interested residents.
Three positions are available on the borough’s parks and recreation board, for terms running through the end of 2020, 2022 and 2023 respectively.
One position is also available on the borough’s historical architectural review board, which runs through the end of 2023 and must be filled by a licensed real estate broker.
Those interested in any of those positions can contact Hart with a resume and letter of interest at 300 School Street, North Wales PA 19454 or email chart@ northwalesborough.org.
Traffic engineer decision soon: Hart reported to council on Nov. 10 that staff are reviewing responses to a request for a new borough traffic engineer.
“We have done all first round interviews. We will be bringing in three under consideration” for interviews with council, Hart said.
A request for proposals for a traffic engineering firm was issued by council in May, and staff and council said at the time the traffic engineer could help the town plan and seek grant funding for certain projects around town, including those spelled out in the “North Wales 20 4 0” c omprehen sive plan adopted in 2018. Hart told council on Nov. 10 that she would send information on the three finalist firms to all nine members for their review, and discussion will be held publicly, with a vote possible, when council next meets on Nov. 24.
Santa coming to town Dec. 19: Hart also told council on Nov. 10 that the North Wales Borough Business Alliance is planning to continue its annual holiday house decorating contest on or around Dec. 19.
“Due to COVID-19, they decided not to share food and crafts and bingo as they normally do. However, they are going to still have the tree lighting, and the plan is still to have Santa come and be delivered via firetruck,” Hart said.
North Penn Volunteer Fire Company firefighters will escort Santa around the borough starting around noon on Dec. 19, and instead of stopping to hand out candy canes, Santa will have a mailbox to accept wish lists from kids who have been naughty or nice.
“The children will be able to give their letters to Santa, as he remains on the truck,” Hart said. Details about other community events will be posted on the borough’s Facebook page and the town’s message kiosk on Walnut Street as details are finalized.
Council man suggests term limit talks: Councilman Jim Cherry said he’d like to gauge interest in a possible local discussion of establishing term limits for local positions.
“I personally think it’s a good idea. It gets more people involved, it eliminates things being stagnant, it eliminates some behaviors for politicians,” Cherry said.
Borough solicitor Greg Gifford said passing such limits would require the state legislature to amend the Pennsylvania borough code book, to either set limits statewide or allow towns to set their own limits. Cherry said he’d like to hear feedback from residents on the topic, and saw possible benefits by spurring more residents to get involved instead of the same few faces.
“Maybe there’s some kind of change we can make. This is not a Republican or Democrat thing. This is across the board,” Cherry said.
Mayor reports on virtual visit: Borough Mayor Greg D’Angelo reported to council on Nov. 10 about a virtual visit he made the week before with third graders from North Wales Elementary School, and wish-list items they mentioned for the town.
“They were suggesting some of the things the borough needs. One was, we need a Chick-Fil-A. Another person said we need a skateboard park. They also said we should have a fountain, a coin fountain, and then the coins would be used to support a children’s hospital,” D’Angelo said.
One other business has also been suggested by a young, and perhaps future, resident: D’Angelo said his grandson in Berks County is currently learning about entrepreneurship and already has an idea he passed on, via his mother Collette.
“He said he was going to start an ice cream store, an ice cream café. When she asked where it would be, he looked at her like, ‘You need to ask?,’ and he said North Wales,” D’Angelo said, to laughs from council.
“She asked him about money, how it was going to get started. And he said ‘Well, I’m hoping grandpop will sponsor me.’ So I’d better start saving for whenever that happens,” he said.
North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24; for more information visit www. NorthWalesBorough.org.