And rightly so.
With thousands in seed money to get the wheels in motion for joint action, it's no wonder that Berks municipalities are taking the love-thy-neighbor approach.
Boyertown Borough, Colebrookdale and Pike townships passed a joint comprehensive plan earlier this year. Well into their tri-community fusion, each is in the works of joint zoning - the subsequent step and ultimate goal - to joint planning.
Recently, the townships of Alsace, Oley and Ruscombmanor have been discussing such municipal mixture. Alsace and Oley are already in one, having been so for over two years. Ruscombmanor, on its own volition, is the odd man out.
"We don't know all the pros and cons," said Brian Hart, a Ruscombmanor supervisor, after a joint meeting with Oley and Alsace townships and Berks
County officials, including Commissioner Judith Schwank, on Aug. 24.
"Sometimes it doesn't always help a community."
According to Joe Williams, Alsace supervisor chairman who attended the meeting, the four municipalities in the Oley Valley School District decided several years ago to meet in order to discuss joint planning. Pike Township opted out, as did Ruscombmanor, which left Alsace and Oley, who eventually decided to buddy-up. "We thought it was the best interest of both communities," Williams said.
Williams recognizes the utility joint planning offers, such as the ridding of duplicity. "If township A has a service, township B may not have to provide for that," Williams said, acknowledging, though, that both Alsace and Oley have quarries. Also, Alsace relies on state police for law enforcement rather than Oley's department. "What does the township have to lose? We're all in this."
Said Williams: "It gives both townships a little protection from development they do not want to see. Bottom line: I get along with Oley Township. There's a fine line between what is right and what you wan to do to protect your community."
And an umbrella plan can provide ease on a school district, said Williams, enabling them to plan ahead. "It helps the school district indirectly because if they see a major project, then they can plan what effect it will have on the school district," the supervisor said.
As far as joint zoning, Williams said, it "only precludes changing the overall zoning with the agreement of the partner (municipality)."
"Oley Township stands to fare much better with the onslaught of development pressure," recognized supervisor Jeffrey Spatz, at a Sept. 7 Oley
Township meeting. "It's something with pressure we're constantly under. It's a wise choice and is something that will strengthen our position and secure our way of life as it is."
"We attended the meeting and listened what they had to say and looked at the county plan," Hart said. "We gave no commitment to Oley and Alsace.
"We just need to learn what's really good for our township and what that's (joint plan) all about."
When the four municipalities in the school district initially met, Ruscombmanor was not ready to commit to a joint plan. "At that time we didn't feel it was in our best interest with a township as a whole," Hart said.
Now, years later, the township's tenor is not all that much different.
However, Hart does see the positive aspects of joint planning: "help preserve farmland and rural conservation."
Commissioner Schwank was present at the meeting as both a commissioner and a Ruscombmanor taxpayer.
"We're kind of the holdout," Schwank said of her township. "I think this is the right way to go as one of your taxpayers. I want to encourage that as much as I can."
Schwank, of course, sees the manifold benefits built into joint planning. "I think we're all better off using tax dollars," she said. "It's a better way of using government resources. It allows communities to plan land use outside of their own borders...they share these responsibilities. We use land uses, resources that all of us enjoy."
The county uses the "carrot approach," according to Schwank, by assisting municipalities with funding to begin the joint process, which requires hours and dollars for research. "There's a cost associated with it for plans," she said.
Schwank: "We are on the path of development. We may not be able to confront that adequately, and it might be far better to work together. This may be one way to do that."
Schwank said she travels every day through Oley and Alsace. "I'm using some of their resources," she said.
A possible drawback that many people cry is a loss of sovereignty/autonomy. Schwank attributes that unfounded reservation to their lack of knowledge in geographical boundaries. "Most residents don't recognize geographical boundaries as elected officials do," she said.
Schwank sees the resistance in some municipalities, but, ultimately, the means justify the end. "It means that communities have to work together and have a common vision. It's harder to do."
"I think we have some very good local, municipal leaders in Berks County," Schwank said. "They understand that we live in a larger community that is just set on the map. It's far more beneficial to all residents and communities involved.
"I don't think the good things go away," Schwank said, when municipalities join together. "You get the best of both worlds."
Please send any comments to ajenkins@berksmontnews.com.
©Berks-Mont Newspapers 2005