Planners reconvene
as board of three

By DIANE GLYNN

WESTFALL — After several months in limbo, the Westfall planners have reconvened as a three-member commission.

Joining Dan Lawless and Michael Walters is newcomer Robert Brown. Township Supervisor Ken Thiele cites the voluntary nature of the time-consuming role as one of the factors, which has caused the board membership to fluctuate from as many as seven members to two individuals last fall.

“But they’ll do great,” says Thiele, now entering his 13th year as supervisor. “We’ll have a good flow-through as Joe Kameen will serve as both township and planning board solicitor, and Fred Courtright of F.X. Browne will serve as consulting engineer for both as well.”

All plans submitted to the new board will still have to meet the criteria established in zoning and subdivision ordinances, regardless of the size of the board.

Within the 30 square miles of Westfall Township can be found seven of the top ten employers in Pike County, including the Delaware Valley School district, the Best Western and Walmart. The impressive commercial district, which houses most of these businesses, actually occupies only one percent of the municipality with 37 percent of the land designated as state forest.

Although there are only 2,400 residents within Westfall, approximately 15,000 individuals pass through the borders on a daily basis.

“We’re the only Pike County municipality with a 24-hour police department, two ambulance services and two fire departments,” notes Thiele. “We provide a lot of services for a little town.”