A unanimous vote by Upper Gwynedd Township Commissioners last month to contract with PR firm Gailey Murray Communications to handle township newsletters, social media channels, and all Martin Tract communications has been scrutinized by some Upper Gwynedd Township taxpayers for needless spending and unnecessary attention to said tract, according to The Reporter Newspaper.
The township plans to allocate funds from a vacant job opening to cover the cost of the contract. Per the report, board President Denise Hull said the costs are covered in the current budget for a special project coordinator position “which we have not filled” and the administration “doesn’t think we have a need for it.”
Upper Gwynedd commissioners and residents continue to face off against the controversial failed plot to acquire via eminent domain a 32-acre property on Allentown Road between Broad Street and Green Street, adjacent to Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, known as the Martin Tract, for the purpose of creating a township park.
The property owner and tenants who live on the tract see things differently and wish things to remain the status quo.
The major gripe a few residents had with a second proposal, per the article, was the estimated earmark of $10,000 for the first three months and a rate of $150 per hour on assisting the township “with the communications on the future of the Martin Tract.” Assistance would include discussions on day-to-day direction for communications on the matter, outreach, website content development, social media posts, direct mailings and email messages, and events, per the report.
The contract also calls for $2,000 a month for making weekly e-newsletters for the township.
The communications contract was proffered earlier in the year by township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell, per the article.
“I can understand updates, but $10,000 for the Martin Tract, the consultant’s focus would be on messaging to ensure the needs of the township residents are gathered and analyzed? Will they be asked to survey residents?” said resident Fred Hencken, in The Reporter article by Dan Sokil.
“I want to know why you’re spending $10,000 to prop up this communication plan for the Martin Tract? You’re spending $10,000 of my tax money, and everyone’s in this room,” he said.
According to the report, Zadell said the $10,000 figure was an estimate only and called neither a pro or con situation for the Martin Tract.
“It’s about getting information to our residents, having them at meetings, so we make sure all of the residents are getting the information,” she said in the article.
Read more on residents’ issues with the plan and commissioners’ comments on the issue here.
See also:
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New Year, New Taxes: A Roundup of Recent Tax Changes Across the North Penn Area
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