Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The council will vote on April 15 to approve Wendy Margolis to replace Marlene Pray, who resigned from the council when her residency came into question.
In a move that Doylestown Borough Council President Det Ansinn said helps the governing board represent every aspect of the borough, the council is expected to approve a Maplewood resident as Marlene Pray's replacement from Ward 1. If approved at the April 15 meeting, Wendy Margolis will be the first time in at least 30 years that someone from the Maplewood section of the borough, the only section located across from Route 313, would serve on the council. "We had an embarrassment of riches from people that applied for the seat," said Ansinn, who was part of the personnel committee that screened applicants. "Wendy's background in communications at the Law School Admission Council made her a very appealing candidate." Margolis will fill the …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Despite an outpouring of support at last month's council meeting, Marlene Pray has resigned her seat.
Doylestown Borough is looking for a new council member. Council member Marlene Pray has resigned from the board after questions were raised about her residency. The remaining eight members of borough council voted Monday night to accept Pray’s resignation, with regret. She did not attend the meeting. "I’m very sorry to see that it’s come to this," councilman Don Berk said. "I think Marlene is a stellar example of a council person. I hope that her situation resolves quickly and that she is able to run again." Though Doylestown Borough encompasses only about 2 square miles, it is divided into three political subdivisions. Each ward elects three members to borough council. Pray won election in November 2011, representing Ward 1, which …
Monday, March 4, 2013
People who live, work or visit Doylestown will find a wealth of information on the town's newly redesigned website.
Need to find out how much a deck or patio permit costs in Doylestown Borough? Want to check out a map of parking available around town? Looking for more information on spring park and rec programs? Doylestown Borough has opened a virtual borough hall to answer all those questions and more. The borough recently launched a new website, the culmination of an upgrade project that had been in the works for almost a year. Designed by the Doylestown marketing and PR firm of Furia Rubel, the website targets specific audiences, including visitors, residents and businesses. "This is another step in terms of keeping you better informed and better engaged in the community," borough council president Det Ansinn said recently. More than 1,000 hours of …
Doylestown Borough recently honored a board member for his service.
Doylestown Borough recently honored a volunteer board member for his service to the town. Mayor Libby White presented a plaque to Brian Devlin for his service on the borough's park and recreation board. Devlin served on the board as a student member from 2009 to 2011, White said. He then served as an adult board member from 2011 to 2012. Doylestown Borough Council still is seeking students to fulfill similar roles on boards across town. Open positions include: Meetings are held at least once a month. Student members can gain experience with local government operations while providing input on matters before the Borough. Interested applicants must be borough residents, 15-18 years of age, who will be high school sophomores or juniors in May…
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Dozens of supporters packed a council meeting Monday to say they want Marlene Pray to remain on Doylestown Borough Council.
In front of an audience packed full of supporters, Doylestown Borough Council voted Monday night to seek out a third opinion on a councilwoman's residency. Council members agreed to send a letter seeking an opinion from Attorney General Kathleen Kane. They want to know whether the state's principal legal authority has an opinion on residency requirements for sitting borough council members. But regardless of whether Kane's office agrees to get involved, plenty of Doylestown residents made it clear Monday night that they want Marlene Pray to remain on council. "She is the type of person that I want on borough council," said Tom Knoble, who lives in Ward 1, which Pray was elected in 2011 to represent. "She has the spirit of civic mindedness…
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Doylestown high school students interested in local government are invited to apply for several junior volunteer positions.
High school students looking to gain some real-world governmental experience are in luck. Doylestown Borough Council is seeking students to fill five junior advisory positions on various boards and commissions that govern matters in the town. The available positions include student members for the Fanny Chapman Swimming Pool Board, the Historical and Architectural Review Board, the Park and Recreation Board, or the Shade Tree Commission (May 2013-April 2014), or as the Junior Borough Councilperson (September 2013-May 2014). Student members will gain familiarity with local government operations while providing input on matters that come before borough leaders. Meetings typically are held in the evening, at least once a month. Applicants …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Marlene Pray has moved out of the political ward she was elected to represent.
Define temporary. That is at the heart of a debate over the home address of one member of Doylestown Borough Council. Marlene Pray has moved out of Ward 1, which she was elected to represent. She says the move is temporary, the result of personal issues. "I’ve moved into Ward 3, but I remain an elected council person for Ward 1," Pray announced at a council meeting in December 2012. "It is my intention to move back into Ward 1." But that is not enough to satisfy one vocal critic of Doylestown Borough Council. Richard Schoenkopf, who lives on East State Street, has demanded that Pray step down. "Ms. Pray, out of consideration for first ward residents, should resign," Schoenkopf, 83, said at a recent borough council meeting. "Her house didn…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Residents of East Oakland Avenue will get parking permits, but visitors will be limited to a few hours.
People who live along East Oakland Avenue may soon have a solution to their parking woes. Doylestown plans to form a new permit parking district for a section of the street, a proposal that has come after months of study and discussion on how to improve the situation for residents. Doylestown Borough Council on Monday voted unanimously to advertise an ordinance that would enact parking restrictions along part of the street. As is the case in other parts of town, residents would get permits allowing them to park on the street at any time, for any length of time, said council member Dennis McCauley, who is head of the borough's public safety committee. Some residents of the street came to a couple of the committee's meetings to discuss the …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
A borough councilwoman spurred the effort to uncover and record the histories of black men and women who helped shape Doylestown through the years.
When William Maultsby Sr. moved to Doylestown in 1924, he couldn't buy his home out near Cross Keys in his own name. Maultsby was black. Instead, he had to buy the home under the name of the family he worked for and transfer it to his name, his daughter Joanna Chatman recalled Monday night Forty years later, when Chatman bought her home on Washington Street, the real estate agent walked up and down the street checking with neighbors to see if they minded a black family moving into the neighborhood. It took another 50 years for an official effort to preserve, record and acknowledge the lives, histories and contributions that black men and women have made to Doylestown Borough. But on Monday night, Chatman, now 79, and a standing-room-only …
Monday, January 28, 2013
The James-Lorah Memorial Home will add an auditorium, borough council asks the county to contribute $1,000 for parking, and Doylestown Hospital sees a big jump in emergency patients, 49 years ago this week.
One of the dreams of the Village Improvement Association ever since it inherited the James-Lorah Memorial Home on North Main Street in 1954 has been to build an auditorium that will take care of its membership at meetings and serve the community. That dream will be realized now that a builder has been selected to construct an auditorium along Broad Street behind the home. Five local building contracting firms were asked to bid. William J. Graham was low bidder and the contract was awarded to his firm. Final plans call for a concrete block structure with a stucco finish. Seating capacity of the auditorium will be about 260 people. There will be kitchen facilities, restrooms and a cloak room. It was in January of 1962 that a committee was …
Bonnie Freeman
7:56 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Dick Schoenkopf's name fits him just right!! more ›