Lansdale Borough Hall. Photo by James Short.
"One focal point for me throughout my time in office has been developing, and redeveloping, our community’s infrastructure."
As usual for November, council, staff, and myself are knee deep in discussions surrounding our upcoming budget. These discussions are always challenging; however, they are made even more difficult when we are facing large increases in contracted obligations (like healthcare and electric capacity costs) while trying to meet the needs of necessary infrastructure improvements that will sustain our community long into the future.
One focal point for me throughout my time in office has been developing, and redeveloping, our community’s infrastructure. I strongly believe that communities with a commitment to investing in building toward their own future will, inevitably, leave their community better off than they found it. Over the last eighteen months we have been able to invest in repaving over 8.5 miles of roadway, redeveloping our streetscape on Main Street, resurfacing a multitude of roadways with long lasting Nova Chip extending the life of those investments, all while upgrading our waste water treatment disinfection process, repaving Stony Creek and White’s Road Parks, and investing in a traffic study that, once implemented, will greatly improve the quality of life in our community.
It was a busy 2024! But in 2025, I am hoping we will be able to not just redevelop our assets through our investments in infrastructure but begin the process of transforming our community through infrastructure development that truly moves our community forward.
Last year, when we were putting our budget together, it was agreed that bond borrowing was likely necessary to expand our capital improvements list and to take on major redevelopments (like the redevelopment of both White’s Road and Fourth Street pools). After much discussion, it was decided to wait and see if lending rates would improve throughout the year. As everyone knows, a point or two on your mortgage can, over the life of a loan, make a huge difference. Thankfully, rates improved significantly, and we are now in a much stronger place to borrow money and make significant investments across our community.
In 2025, it is estimated that borrowing $10 million will help us free up money in our capital funds to allow us to complete more projects more quickly without straining the borough’s finances in a significant way. In total, Capital funds plus borrowed money, we would be looking to do some or most of the following over the next several years:
· Upgrading our Borough-wide Camera system
· Begin work on the Wissahickon Streambank project
· Replace an electrical substation while continuing to work on our relay project at our main substation
· Sinkhole repairs and sewer investment
· Fund future power generation projects to help lower fees on purchasing power
· Improvement & redevelopment of pool facilities (inclusive of the restroom spaces)
· Redevelop and repair the playground at 5th street park
· Implement traffic study recommendations across our community in a comprehensive fashion
· Continue our paving and resurfacing programs to improve as many roads as possible
While no one item on this list sounds transformative on its own, if done in unison the completion of the list above would leave Lansdale looking, and operating, better than ever. Admittedly, I often get frustrated at the pace of improvement and development. I want us to move faster because I want to see our community thrive. We are well on our way toward that goal, but we need to act now so that we can keep moving forward together.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert. The views expressed are his own and are not representative of North Penn Now or Lansdale Borough.)
