Brownsville council adopts comprehensive plan
BROWNSVILLE – After three years of preparation, numerous community and focus group meetings and a final public hearing just hours before the vote, Brownsville Borough Council Tuesday adopted the comprehensive plan for the borough and Brownsville Township. Council voted 4-2, with one abstention in favor of the plan. Voting for the comprehensive plan were councilmen Jack Lawver, Robert Pritts, Martin Redigan and Edward “Tuck” Rohrer. Councilmen John Hosler and Charles “Russ” McMaster voted against it and Councilman Tom Bush passed on the vote. Brownsville Township supervisors adopted the plan last week.
Fewer than 10 people attended the final public hearing held at 5 p.m. at the borough building. Joy Wilhelm, a senior planner at Mackin Engineering, gave an overview of the plan, noting that it is only a policy plan, adopted by resolution, not something that carries the weight of law. Wilhelm said the borough or the township would have to enact ordinances to carry out specific actions proposed in the comprehensive plan.
Wilhelm also presented information about the borough of Trafford that was in the Borough News, showing how a well-carried out strategic plan can turn around a town’s economic situation.
“This was so similar, I had to bring it up,” Wilhelm said.
Wilhelm noted that the plan worked there because the council gave it their support and was committed to working together as a team. Wilhelm said that according to the article, the town went from debt to revitalization within two years.
“I hope that it has the same successes as Trafford Borough,” Wilhelm said of Brownsville’s comprehensive plan.
Wilhelm said some revisions were made to the comprehensive plan during the comment period. One revision eliminated a recommended fee for rental property permits since there is currently a high vacancy rate among the Brownsville rental units. In response to questions from the public, Wilhelm said that if fees are ever imposed, there would be some rental properties exempted, since they already fall under more stringent federal housing guidelines.
“This isn’t meant to add another layer of bureaucracy,” Wilhelm said. “This is meant for the safety of the community.”
Lewis Hosler questioned a proposal for a full-time manager for the borough and the township that was added to the revised plan.
Denny Puko, a regional government specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, said his office made that recommendation. Puko said there is funding available for cooperative municipal operations involving two or more communities and a full-time manager would help keep the implementation of the comprehensive plan on track.
Puko said the communities may need to put the concept of a full-time manager aside until there is some economic turn around in the area, however, since the DCED only provides start-up funds and an on-going funding base would be needed.