Project update: November 16, 2021 -- Why we are doing this

This is gonna be a long one, folks.

Since this website went live it has been a whirlwind of activity at this end. We have been filling the room at Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings, we have been going door-to-door collecting signatures on our petition, we have been researching the application and other public documents to see if there's anything in there that would put a stop to this thing.

It is at this time that a little back story might be in order.

I started this effort a few weeks ago because of the potential for the quiet, semi-rural way of life we enjoy in Skippack to be cast aside in favor of lining a developer's pockets. I mean, let's face it ... the reason most people are here is for this quiet lifestyle.

I have been a resident of Skippack Township for nearly fifteen years now. In that time I have seen the Board of Supervisors routinely ignoring the wishes of the residents in favor of developers, doing the bare minimum when it comes to informing the public, and so on. I ran for the Board of Supervisors in 2007, and came damned close to winning, too ... I fell short by 108 votes after spending a whopping $34 on my campaign for yard signs (that, incidentally, were stolen -- presumably by my opponent's supporters). My children attended from kindergarten through high school here. I have learned that, in some parts of the state, the verb "to be" has been pretty much discarded altogether (as in, "The window needs wiped.")

Still don't know what a "jawn" is, though.

The point is, I have put down roots in this soil. My family is connected to the community -- politically, culturally, economically. My wife is the artistic director for a local theater. Our oldest daughter is building a life for herself in Pottstown. Our middle daughter is majoring in communications in college. Our son is graduating high school this year and has an eye toward studying biochemistry at West Chester University. So it is disheartening, to say the least, to have the local government essentially look me (and hundreds of other residents) in the eye and say "You know what? We don't give a hot damn what you think about <insert topic here>" ... presumably because we aren't hurling large wads of cash at them.

No more.

We, the residents of Skippack Township, insist -- demand -- that our local government belong to all of us, not just Audubon Land Development Corporation and Delgrippo Homes. For a township that gives so much lip service to open space they sure do seem to be in a hurry to pave stuff over and to try to ignore the fact that nobody wants this.

I'll say it again, louder, for those in the back:

NOBODY WANTS THIS.

As of this writing, we have canvassed 136 homes. Out of that 136, 90 answered the door. From those 90 homes we obtained 95 signatures opposing this project. We also heard from five homes that refused to sign the petition, three of which fell under the heading of "I need to know more before I'll sign anything" (a perfectly legitimate and understandable response). Currently we are seeing over 85% of the homes surveyed having at least one person who was willing to sign the petition.

This strikes me as being fairly definitive and not at all ambiguous. However, given the predilection of the Board of Supervisors, "fairly definitive" is not going to be good enough.

We need a total blowout. A massive, near unanimous repudiation of this ill-conceived, brazen land grab that is designed to do little more than make absurd amounts of money for a greedy developer. It is only by making it crystal clear that the three members of the Board of Supervisors running for re-election in 2023 will lose their jobs if they allow this to go through that we can put a halt to this.

Please join us. You can sign the petition here on our website. You can sign it by sending an email to daveforskippack@gmail.com as shown below:

"I oppose the development of the Perkiomen Valley Airport property for residential purposes.

<Your name>
<Your address>
<Your phone number>"

If you like, you can drop me an email at the above address and I will personally come to you to answer your questions.

Show up at Board and Planning Commission meetings. Ask questions, and when they waffle (this happens disturbingly often) demand they clarify.

I do not stand to gain monetarily from this effort. My sole reasons for doing this is to preserve the way of life to which the residents of Skippack have become accustomed and to do everything in my power to make local government responsive to the governed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.