Editorial: Voting rights

It’s been three years since the Chestnut Hill Community Association has enjoyed an actual election for at-large seats on the board of directors. In 2003 and 2004, not enough members of the association threw their hat in the ring to fill all available seats. This time around, with 22 available seats, there are 29 candidates. The ballot is on page 16; next week, the Local will run information on candidates’ positions.

It’s heartening to see that there is enough interest among CHCA members to allow for a contested election. Many may be galvanized by recent discussions about bylaws, administrative changes and the proposed purchase of Hiram Lodge, and while some see the debate — and the lack of unity it reveals — as a sign of weakness, it may actually indicate strength. After all, the candidates, and those who will vote for them, obviously share a conviction that the CHCA is still important — that what it does matters enough to devote their time and energy to serving on the board of directors.  

That’s not a bad place to start from.

Growing green, again

Along with the various low-profile political contests on the May 17 primary ballot will be a measure that all Pennsylvanians, no matter their party, ought to be paying attention to. The “Growing Greener II” bond issue would authorize the commonwealth to borrow up to $625,000,000 for various environmental clean-up, open space preservation and watershed restoration grants. Governor Rendell calls it the “single largest investment in environmental programs in our state’s history.”

Growing Greener has proven to be extremely effective in helping municipalities and institutions fund important environmental projects. The measure has the support of Fairmount Park Commission head Robert N.C. Nix III and the city’s Commissioner of Recreation, Victor Noel Richard III. Tom Pelikan, executive director of the Friends of the Wissahickon, told the Local this week that the Friends “strongly support” the measure. They should — in the last two years, the association has benefited from a $24,000 grant for a Wissahickon trails assessment study and another $70,000 for trails planning. The Woodmere Art Museum received a grant last year to help fund a new runoff-friendly parking lot.

According to Pelikan, the five-county area has received $4 million in grants for parks and open space preservation just in the last year. This important initiative is worth our support.

James Sturdivant

Opinion: Germantown, the Expendable Community

by JIM FOSTER

Germantown is one of the oldest established communities in this country, was an independent development, suburban and detached from Philadelphia, until 1854. A thriving self-contained business and residential center, it was the destination of one of America’s first railroads built in 1832. After incorporation, the Germantown area, which extended all the way to Chestnut Hill, continued to reflect a somewhat more separate culture than many neighborhoods. In later years the Chelten Avenue business district rivaled any in providing commodities, services, dining and entertainment. Excellent public transportation brought residents from adjacent communities and in many ways eliminated the need for trips to Center City, the largest commercial district.

Having been born, raised and attended school in this immediate area, beginning 62 years ago, I can attest to the vibrant, booming atmosphere of this community, and unfortunately I can validate that it has become a shadow of its former self. Those who live and work here should question why. To dismiss the changes as simply part of the urban collapse seen in many older northern cities as major anchor industries moved or closed would be shortsighted and inaccurate. Philadelphia was far from a one-industry town, but most of that diversity of opportunity has been driven out by misplaced governmental decisions and over-taxation. In many ways, Philadelphia has committed economic and political suicide, and Germantown is a prime example. Most of its ills are self-inflicted, and the proponents of that self-destruction are still running the show.

Economic, social, racial and ethnic diversity existed in Germantown since its founding, and the well-documented post-Civil War developments along those lines rivaled those anywhere in this country. Opportunities in this area continued, even and especially during periods of social change in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and the community never missed a beat. What began in the 1970s and accelerated into the 1980s was a narrowing of control over development and real estate into the hands of a few with the purpose and intent to drive down the values and discourage independent and aggressive revitalization that would make the best use of Germantown’s assets, its people and its history.

The long-awaited political changes that began in 1952 positively impacted all of Philadelphia for about 15-20 years, and Germantown was no exception. Political machines that do not cleanse themselves periodically of fraud and abuse eventually become corrupted and manipulative of the citizens, and Philadelphia has been paying that price in recent years to the point that we now make national headlines. What has not made headlines yet is how the Northwest Philadelphia political culture is the poster child for some of the worst examples of fraud, corruption and financial irresponsibility, all hiding under the mask of progressive multicultural harmony; something the Northwest has long claimed. Unfortunately much of it is not true, and those who suffer the most are those who are least able to be heard.

Federal charges regarding suspicious dealings on a significant tax matter involving a Chestnut Hill real estate enterprise and the chief of staff of our City Council office resulted in a guilty plea and an ongoing trial in federal court. This involves what is described as a phony front collection agency in Upper Mt. Airy organized as part of a much larger money scam run by a friend and fundraiser for the mayor. Anyone who reads the details learns that special accommodations for this same Northwest Philadelphia landlord had been made previously by this council office. Records indicate that this same individual had served in positions of authority on development boards in Germantown with clear 8th District connections. One who looks at readily available public documents finds an interesting level of participation in many area nonprofit development agencies by a small group of individuals with almost a musical-chair supervisory arrangement in governing the movement of city, state, federal and private grant dollars over the last 25 years.

The larger question is: where did these millions of dollars actually go and who ultimately benefited? A glance at the physical condition of Germantown, relative to even the spending programs that have been previously advertised, paints a dismal picture of a section of Northwest Philadelphia that has largely been dialed out. This is not to mention those dollars that have not been publicly announced and move quietly through the system with no tangible results.

The political side of this picture is just as ugly.  Let’s face facts; a one-party top down totalitarian government runs this city and the 8th council district is no different. There is no opposition party (the Republicans are inconsequential) and there is no visible reform movement within the Democrats who have held power for 53 years. A significant amount of development funds are available, but virtually all are channeled, or need the approval of the council district, prior to disbursement. The question is who are they disbursed to and why?  Even more important is how are they used once in the hands of what purport to be legitimate 501(c)(3) nonprofit development organizations and their for-profit affiliates. Most of Chestnut Hill and much of Mt. Airy have a vital commercial and residential appearance, but not without some local challenges. Germantown is a much different and desperate story despite the fact that it has been the destination of record for many more dollars than the other two communities.  The participation of virtually all local politicians, from committeepeople through ward leader, in looking the other way should be obvious to anyone who even glances at the problem. I contend that there is an unspoken “arrangement” that no one active in district politics will ask any questions about what happens in Germantown as long as they “get theirs” (there is one important exception at the state level which I will discuss in a future article.) The other groups that are reluctant to ask any questions are the voters and taxpayers themselves, and we should know why. There is much more to learn — and learn it we must — if legitimate and responsible government is to return to Germantown and the rest of the Northwest.

Is most of the city run this way? Probably, but this community sells itself nationally as a “remarkable urban positive experience.” It is remarkable, all right — remarkable in that no one even gives a damn, or cares to look.

Opinion: Moving the community forward begins with a dream

by MAXINE MADDOX DORNEMANN

It’s been many years since the country was captivated by the words of Martin Luther King in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Those of us old enough to remember that moment remember being compelled to think of living life differently. Maybe it’s because I grew up just outside of Atlanta that I remember those words so vividly and find that they form and inform my thoughts today.

It is a particularly appropriate time to be “dreaming” as the community comes to the close of one fiscal year and plans for the next. This past year has been incredible in the leadership provided by the board of the Chestnut Hill Community Association. Not only did they get the job done in winding up in the “black” in the association’s budget but also in the Local’s budget and the Fund’s budget. While being fiscally responsible, they also mounted wonderful events in the Pastorius Park concerts, the Black and White Gala, the Wine Tasting Party, and the Holiday House Tour; they partnered with the business association in looking for new ways to bring visitors to Chestnut Hill; they partnered with the historical society in finding ways to preserve our ambiance, while supporting our institutions such as the Chestnut Hill Academy, Chestnut Hill College, the Chestnut Hill Hospital, and Woodmere Art Museum. At the same time they found time to dream about ways of ensuring that our village within a city will still be a wonderful place to live in 20, 30, even 50 years from now. I thank them – it has been a privilege to serve with them. I am certain this community thanks them and is grateful for their efforts.

Two of the “dreams” have come about not because of a long-range planning process but because of an opportunity that perhaps should be seized. These two opportunities have many ramifications for our community: the acquisition of the Hiram Lodge and a fund-raising effort to restore the Water Tower Recreation Center to its former glory. Hiram Lodge became a dream because of its location on the Avenue and the possibility of using its beautiful, large meeting spaces for community meetings as well as the possibility of promoting it as a “destination spot” for small conferences. The possibility of using the lodge in conjunction with the small building next door to house members of our “cultural alliance” makes the dream even more exciting.

The dream of restoring the Water Tower to not only what it has been but preparing it for what it can be, came about as a result of the shortfall of funds that are available to the City of Philadelphia’s Recreation Department. Some thought it might be time for the community to pull together to provide a space that is truly intergenerational in scope with youth sports leagues, teen programs, and Senior  Center programs.

Today these are just dreams. There is much work to be done should they ever become reality – even to determine if they should be reality. The wonderfully kind gentlemen of the Hiram Lodge have spent many hours working with us to come up with a proposal that benefits both the members of the lodge and the members of the Chestnut Hill Community. In the next few months, that proposal will be studied by both groups to determine its feasibility. A committee is meeting with city officials to look at all the ramifications of Chestnut Hill’s taking on the responsibility of maintaining the recreation center’s physical plant – might it be a model for other communities? They will be reporting back to the board.

Much of my reality is providential, and it seems very providential to me that in the last few months several people who have grander and bolder dreams than those of which I am capable, have shared what they see as a possible future. They have committed to doing the hard work necessary for dreams to become reality: design, event planning, fund-raising. They have agreed to help us talk through all the decisions that need to be made — from deciding to go forward or not, and if we do take on the challenge, what plans are to be followed. They have also agreed to help us conduct all our discussions in a civil manner that behooves our community.

Lou Holtz, the Notre Dame football coach, once said, “You can get better, or you can get worse. But for darn sure, you can’t stay the same.” (The “darn” is my version for a family newspaper). Chestnut Hill is getting better – and dreaming about the future helps ensure that we will always continue doing just that.

Maxine Maddox Dornemann is the president of the Chestnut Hill Community Association