Another Citizen Story - Wayne, PA
Sep 20th, 2007 by dani_k
We received the submission below from Bob Spurdle of Wayne, PA. His story is below, in his own words:
Per the rules, this is an example of governing bodies withholding requests for information. In this case it involves the Board of Commissioners and the School Administration of Radnor Township in Wayne, PA. It deals with their use of public funds (approx. 2 million dollars) and public land.
In 2002 the commissioners wanted a plot of land near to the center of town (3.3 acres). The land was “UNIMPROVED” and partially covered over with water. They paid $1.8 million to the owner of the property, who then gave back $300,000 to the town as a “gift”. The funds came from the Open Space Fund. This is money raised by sale of bonds and presumably to be used to purchase local land for parks and recreation areas. They drew up and passed (with only one objection) an ordinance that changed the zoning waived many restrictions and split the property into lots for sale and offered the land for immediate development at a minimum cost of $500,000. By 2005 the land was a wet jungle and they started calling it a “park”.
We were putting up a new school. The bid showed the school board was short the money needed to provide parking for the teachers while construction was being done. The school superintendent made a deal for the commissioners to try and “loan” him some property that the township owned, for teacher parking for the next couple of years. The commissioner had the township manager look all over. They finally zeroed in on this plot. It just needed some stone and black top so the cars wouldn’t sink. Then someone found out what was going on, wrote the local papers about it, suggesting some logical alternatives that didn’t involve the “park”. The commissioners ducked and dodged the questions.
The school board wouldn’t talk about it and the school superintendent gave my Sunshine letters to his (the town’s) lawyer to study and he decided he didn’t know anything.
Public questions soon revealed how the commissioners got the land and vaguely what they planned for it. They fought for a year to keep it a secret, but the teachers finally went off to park at a local church and were then shuttled to the school by bus.
But it turned out the commissioners had drawings made up that hinted at their plans. Many people were interested in these drawings and all of our requests under the Sunshine Act were turned aside. But one incredible lady watched over the property and asked (on TV) for the drawings. The president of the board said OK, sort of. But he checked with “our” lawyer and next meeting he said “No”!
It seems the artist who drew the pictures, for some reason, had not charged the town for them. i.e….did them for free. The president of the board of commissioners claimed the law said if the town never had to pay for them, the public was not allowed to see them.
Our small group had no money or a lawyer to help, so that was the end of the story. The place is still a mess. In 2005 the commissioners condemned the property next door, paid $230,000 of “Open Space” money and you guessed it, they call it a “park”.