North Wales Appoints Volunteers, Still Seeking More

Dan Sokil | The Reporter•

Residents took part in a cleanup of Walnut Square Park in North Wales on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Several residents have stepped up, and North Wales is looking for more.

Council appointed several residents to vacancies on various volunteer boards and commissions, while calling for more to fill in the vacancies that are left.

"Thank you to everyone who put their names in for these positions. Keep trying, we can always use the help,” said council President Sal Amato.

Each year council starts January by reappointing the volunteers on various boards whose terms have expired and have applied for reappointment, while publicizing those spots that remain open, and filling those spots for which residents have applied. During the Jan. 23 meeting, council unanimously reappointed several such residents for continued terms, starting with reappointment of Pam Romeo to the HARB board and Bethann Sinotte to the historic commission, both for terms running through 2028. After those votes, Amato thanked both on behalf of council, and borough Manager Christine Hart added thanks to Sinotte for picking up an historic photo now on display in council’s meeting room, thanks to a donation from the Montgomery County Historical Society.

Other reappointments unanimously approved by council included Joan Nagel to the board of the North Wales Water Authority and Robin Parker to the town’s Parks and Recreation board, Lynne Fitzgerald for reappointment to the town’s shade tree commission, and Chuck Blackledge for a seat on the zoning hearing board, all for terms running through 2028. Shorter-term reappointments that were also approved unanimously include former mayor Greg D’Angelo to the planning commission through 2027, and former councilwoman Jocelyn Tenney to act as the town’s vacancy board chair through 2024.

"The amount of work being done by these boards and commissions, it’s tremendous how much work is being done. Thanks from all of us, we appreciate their volunteerism,” Amato said.

Resident Nicholas Polidore also applied for a seat on the zoning hearing board, and was approved unanimously, but that board still has vacancies: council also unanimously accepted the resignation of resident Perry Francis from that board, and previously had one other seat already open.

"May I suggest, since we do have so many openings, that we could go to the longest of the next terms, which would be through 2027. It’s completely up to council, I was just trying to think ahead,” said Hart. Council unanimously accepted the resignation of Francis, then appointed Polidore to the seat with a term running through 2027, and two open seats remain on that board, running through 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Two seats saw multiple candidates apply, prompting discussion by council and a vote on whom to appoint. For the parks and recreation board, residents Dan Levy and Jeff Fazio both submitted letters of interest and resumes for a term running through 2028, in addition to the reappointment of Parker for a seat she currently holds. After a brief discussion on the procedures they’d follow, council voted eight-to-one to appoint Fazio to the new vacancy, then voted unanimously to reappoint Parker, and Amato thanked Levy for his application.

"Don’t take it personally, we’ve all been through this ourselves,” Amato said, and councilwomen Wendy McClure added, "But you can always still help” by volunteering at town events, and Levy replied, "That won’t stop me” from doing so.

Another seat also had multiple applicants, prompting another council vote: residents Star Little — owner of Little’s Ice Cream — and Justin Copenhaver — who’s pushing to revive the borough business alliance — both applied for a seat on the planning commission running through 2024 and left open by the recent resignation of longtime member Greta Martin Washington. Both applicants were nominated, and council voted unanimously to appoint Little.

With those vacancies now filled, those remaining include one spot on HARB that must be a real state broker; three spots on the human relations commission; one on the Nor-Gwyn Pool Commission; and two on the zoning hearing board. Anyone interested in serving in any of those positions can contact Hart with a letter of interest and resume by emailing [email protected] or at 300 School Street, North Wales PA, 19454.

"Don’t expect any money, but a lot of gratefulness and thanks,” Amato said.

Donation from Business Accepted

Council also voted unanimously on Jan. 23 to accept a donation of $400 from Curling, Cut, and Spa, a new business located on Second Street "right off of Walnut” Street, according to Hart.

"They have kindly donated $200 to the police department, as well as $200 to the administration department. We felt that it would be prudent to do one resolution, for the acceptance of both,” she said.

Amato asked if there were any limits or constraints on the funds, and the manager said there were none. Council then unanimously accepted the donation, prompting thanks from the council president.

"It’s wonderful to have a new business in town, and it’s great that they would give a donation. We really do appreciate that,” he said.

Pickleball Talks?

In his report from the planning commission, councilman Mark Tarlecki reported that that group is taking up talks on a sport that’s growing in popularity.

"Everybody’s familiar with the sport of pickleball. In the United States, it has approximately nine million players, and there is actually major league pickleball as well,” he said.

In the most recent planning commission meeting, Tarlecki told council, that group’s liaison to the Montgomery County Planning Commission shared info about pickleball’s growing popularity across the country, including conversion by private companies of unused indoor spaces such as malls or empty storefronts into pickleball courts.

"Maybe not directly applicable to North Wales, but something to think about,” he said. "It helps us to think about some of the out-of-the-box development that we can do here in town.”

Councilwoman Sally Neiderhiser asked if the town has pickleball courts, and Hart said they do, a restriped tennis court off of Second Street near North Wales Elementary School that hosted a summer pickleball league in 2022 and is open seven days a week, dawn to dusk.

North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Feb. 13 and the planning commission next meets at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7, both at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street. For more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.

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