The guest at Wednesday’s weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Lancaster was Former County Commissioner and recent Convention Center Authority appointee Sharron Nelson.

Dr. Nelson offered some opinions on what it takes to be a good leader.

She decried the prominent role political ideology plays within government, calling instead for competent managers.

“I think we all must understand that ideology has little application at the County level,” she said.

“Most of the County’s role,” she pointed out, “involves the delivery of mandated services.”

“Local politics is about roads and bridges and crime and snow removal. It is about schools and garbage collection. Don’t let ideologies confuse you about what’s important in most of our lives,” Nelson continued.

“Competency means more than family relations when managing a business,” she said, arguing that County Government calls for many of the same qualifications.

“Lancaster County is now the fourth-largest employer in the area…We can no longer afford to elect or appoint but the most competent people to manage a 300-million dollar budget.”

In order to illustrate her point that competence should trump ideology, she told a story about two politicians.

“One,” she began, “actually attended church every Sunday, taught Sunday school, was highly active in Habitat for Humanity and believed that to even think sinful thoughts was wrong.”

“The other was a divorced man with an estranged daughter and son who was once a liberal union president and then flip-flopped to being a supply-side conservative.”

“You know which was which,” Nelson said. “Which would you choose as your child’s Godfather and which was the more effective president? Confidence in a proven union leader, Ronald Reagan, trumped the honest Christian values of Jimmy Carter when it came to predicting a successful presidency.”

She also cited the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson was running against Aaron Burr. Jefferson, who had substantial experience as a Virginia Legislator, wrote the Declaration of Independence, and played a pivotal role in lobbying for a Bill of Rights, was painted by his opponents as an atheist or a deist while Burr was the son of a minister and studied theology in college.

“Fortunately, competence trumped shared values in the House of Representatives in the tie-breaking vote,” Nelson said. Jefferson went on to become a commanding President while Burr was nearly hanged for Treason for attempting to establish his own nation on the frontier.

Dr. Nelson explained, “I’m not saying that values don’t count, but that values cannot be translated into effective governance without proven leadership skills.”

With regard to the Commissioners, she opined, “Clearly under our 3-Commissioner system, the Commissioners cannot easily discuss or mutually investigate matters that they are about to consider without the possibility of violating the Sunshine Law.”

“By increasing the number to 5 or 7 or whatever,” she continued, “they could legally re-organize into subcommittees, each of which would be responsible for different aspects of the overarching responsibility, this giving them an opportunity to gain a more collective command of the ideas and exchange views and information.”

“I think in the long run this would ensure more informed public debate and certainly more informed decision-making,” Nelson concluded.

Asked by an audience member whether she feels the County Executive should be elected or appointed, Nelson opined that such an individual should be appointed, citing the concern that if both the County Executive and the County Commissioners are elected, it could lead to excessive political conflict.

Nelson said that Lancaster County needs good managers to help it address all of the issues it must deal with in our changing world.

“We in Lancaster are ideally situated to serve the urban markets in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington,” she said, citing the County as a tourist destination.

“Our much-maligned Convention Center can capitalize on that if we work together to make it a success.”

Effective March 1, the Saturday editions of the Intelligencer Journal and New Era will be combined.

WATCHDOG: Let’s hope this isn’t the first step towards terminating the evening paper. In recent weeks, the New Era has run some good stories instead of relying on smut and vitriol. Perhaps editor Ernie Schreiber has been on vacation.

At their weekly meeting Wednesday morning, the County Commissioners voted to approve the Planning Commission’s application for state funding for the “Rooftop Greening Project.”

As reported yesterday, the State Department of Environmental Protection and Office of Energy and Technology Deployment will make as much as $479,000 available to the project.

“Roof greening,” the practice of covering the roof or exterior of a building with vegetation not only helps prevent flooding, but also conserves energy by helping thermally insulate the buildings, according to Senior County Environmental Planner Mary Gattis-Schell.

The Commissioners also voted to approve over $400,000 in funding for renovations to various county bridges including the relocation of the Rettew Mill covered wooden bridge to Middle Creek Road, repairs to the Rock Hill steel truss bridge, repairs to the Black Barron Road bridge, replacement of the Breneman Road bridge, and replacement/relocation of the Eshelman Mill Road bridge.

County Engineer Keith Harner explained that each of these bridges has shown signs of deterioration and need to be “brought up to code” in order to comply with state mandates and to ensure public safety.

Construction on the Eshelman Mill Road Bridge and Breneman Road bridge is expected to commence in 2009.

During public comment, Mayor Leo Lutz of Columbia Borough raised his concerns about the presence of Route 441, which runs through downtown Columbia.

The County Planning Commission, he explained, had previously placed the relocation of Route 441 in their Long-Range Transportation Plan to be completed by 2012, but just recently bumped the project off the agenda in favor of bridge repairs and other projects.

He handed the Commissioners a petition signed by 670 residents of Columbia borough asking that the relocation of Route 441 be prioritized.

Lutz argued that the volume of traffic creates a noisy, dangerous environment in the heart of Columbia’s historic and downtown district and is stunting both residential and commercial growth in the area.

Commissioner Chairman Dennis Stuckey promised Lutz that he had arranged a meeting with Representative Dave Hickernell to address the issue of funding for the project.

According to the Feb. 27 Intelligencer Journal, “plans to demolish portions of Lancaster Square are being finalized and pieces of the concrete eyesore could start coming down this summer.”

Elsewhere similar-appearing projects built in the 1960s continue to be successes and are a source of community pride. So the problem with Lancaster Square was not the design, with the four star Hilton Hotel and the Hess Department Store serving as anchors, but because the sponsors of the project had failed to adequately explore the feasibility of both major uses.

There simply wasn’t sufficient business to sustain the Hilton Hotel due to the paucity of commerce downtown. And tourists preferred to vacation closer to farmland and the Amish. Occupancy was abysmal, Hilton withdrew its franchise, and the mortgage lender took over the property. For years rooms and meeting space were mainly leased to the federal government for training purposes.

The opening of a downtown department store was so contrary to the national trend to suburban shopping centers, that the Wall Street Journal wrote a front page article heralding the Hess opening as the first such event in twenty years. After several years, the store was converted to light industrial use.

Finally, with the introduction of multiple cinema complexes, the movie theater between the Hilton and Hess could no longer compete and has remained empty since.

The scope and investment in Lancaster Square is only rivaled by the current convention center / hotel project. History may be about to repeat itself, since the only feasibility study for the current project (PKF in 2006) predicted huge losses, for many of the same reasons that had doomed the earlier Hilton and Hess.

So how many years will it be before the Intelligencer Journal will describe the Convention Center project as a “concrete eyesore”?

Lancaster Newspapers has not reported one of residents’ chief grievances with F&M – the significant crime increase that has arisen since nearly 400 students have moved from the neighborhood into the new dormitory on Harrisburg Pike. At the planning commission meeting Feb 20, several residents noted increases in vandalism, burglary, assaults, and drug-related crime in the past year. Much of this crime is believed to be due to landlords filling the glut of vacant housing with marginal residents.

This situation is particularly galling for me and other off-campus student landlords. In the fall of 2006 F&M met with landlords to advise them of their plans to relocate 400 students to the new resident halls on Harrisburg Pike. The landlords, although disappointed, were generally resigned to the decision. The one request landlords made was that F&M gradually phase in the change to avoid a flood of vacancies that would make it difficult for landlords to find quality tenants.

F&M not only ignored that request, but moved to lease the new housing immediately when they learned from landlords that student housing is leased 6 months in advance of the lease starting dates. This has resulted in the current high vacancy rate and a scramble to find good tenants.

Now in a market of excess supply, F&M is attempting to change the zoning laws that off-campus landlords have successfully lived with for 20 years. The top reasons given for this request are increased safety and control of the students. If this is truly F&M’s goal, my suggestion is that F&M use Kevin Silverang’s $17 million to build the on-campus dormitory they claim is in their 10 year plan.

Mayor Gray announced at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting that “the city is working with ARRO Engineering on a Public Works project to finalize engineering and design work in preparation for selective demolition of some of the east side of Lancaster Square.”

“The intent of the demolition,” he continued, “is to open up the square, reduce the scale of the superstructure on the east side of the square and to do some minor beautification on the square.”

“This would set the stage for future development on the east side of the square,” Gray said, adding that the city anticipates design work to be completed by the end of April, bidding to be completed by late May, and demolition to begin in July.

Gray described the concrete structure across from Binns Park as an “eye sore.”

City Director of Economic Development Randy Patterson noted that the planning and demolition would be primarily federally funded but would also involve a County contribution.

Also Tuesday evening, Mayor Gray presented two Lancaster City police officers, Michael Grace, and Christopher McCormick, with commendations for life-saving and heroism for extricating two individuals from a burning vehicle on August 25 of last year.

City Council President Louise Williams also thanked them for their heroism and they were given a standing ovation.

A NewsLanc reporter inquired as to what plans the City has for dealing with overflow parking at the Amtrak Station during the forthcoming reconfiguration of the parking areas. President Williams referred the reporter to the City’s Director of Public Works, Charlotte Katzenmoyer.

Katzenmoyer revealed that the City has not been a party to the discussions as to what is to occur at the station. She added that she would have to consult with the County as to what will be occurring, particularly with regard to the parking situation, and what remedies might be pursued.

Among the items up for discussion during tomorrow’s County Commissioners meeting is a proposed contract between the Lancaster County Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Departments of Environmental Protection and Energy and Technology Deployment for funding for the “Lancaster County Roof Greening project.”

The contracts could secure as much as $479,333 for the project over the next two years, according to Scott Standish, Director of Long Range Planning for the County.

“Roof greening” is practice of planting vegetation on the roofs and exteriors of buildings to help collect water and save energy.

In fact, “Roof greening,” explained County Senior Environmental Planner MaryGattis-Schell, “can collect as much as .56 million gallons [of stormwater] a year that would otherwise end up as runoff in our rivers.”

The practice is fairly innovative, with only a few other cities in Pennsylvania having experimented with the technique, according to Standish.

But with fuel costs and environmental concerns on the rise, the state is eager to invest in projects of this nature.

Millersville University will partner with the Planning Commission in implementing and assessing the project goals.

How come the monopoly Lancaster Newspapers fail to mention claims by LCCCA Authority Board members and citizens that Penn Square Partners is claiming millions of dollars for itself that normally would go to the publicly owned Convention Center Authority?

WATCHDOG: It will be a sign that integrity has been restored to the monopoly newspapers when these major stories involving Penn Square Partners, of which an affiliate of Lancaster Newspapers, Inc. is an equal partner, are scrupulously reported.

At a Finance Committee meeting of Feb. 25th, LCCCA Chair Art Morris found it difficult to understand why he, a contract employee of Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., should not represent the Authority in negotiations with hotel developer Penn Square Partners (PSP).

A subsidiary of Lancaster Newspapers Inc. is an equal partner in PSP, which, in a manner that is mysterious to long time Authority Board members, had clauses in contracts which ‘gifts’ PSP with multi-millions of dollars from future state grants and naming rights that would be expected to belong to the Authority.

At the time that the contracts were approved, some board members argued they were not given time for review and pleaded for a continuance. Ted Darcus, who then was chairman, and three other City-appointed board members showed disdain for their request. Joe Morales said that it was sufficient that counsel had reviewed them! Darcus did his usual routine of obfuscation and arrogance to sidestep penetrating questions and objections. He then called for an immediate vote.

Morris, who seems blinded by his own sense of integrity, does not recognize that, for different reasons, neither he nor Darcus are appropriate representatives of the Authority in negotiations over state grants and naming rights. From past statements, it is even doubtful that Morris is supportive of the Authority attempting to renegotiate the outlandish naming rights give-away. Morris should recuse himself and delegate the negotiation to a delegation of board members R. B. Campbell, Julianne Dixon, Laura Douglas, Kevin Fry and Sharon Nelson.

Morris’ defense that he also reviews construction vouchers is not relevant since the Authority is not (yet) contesting the terms of the construction contracts.

Although yesterday’s discussion only pertains to the sharing of future State grants for the Convention Center Project, Morris had previously agreed to discuss with PSP their claim to 50% of the proceeds from the naming rights, with their share amounting to perhaps $5 million or more.

Below is a transcript of the pertinent discussion:

Randy Carney (audience member): I understand that members of this board are or may be negotiating with Penn Square Partners for a more equitable distribution of future funds from the state?

Morris: At the – and you might remember this, Mr. Carney – at the meeting when we discussed the contingency, we mentioned that there was a differential in percentages and that we were working with Penn Square, through a request through the senator, and working with Penn Square towards that end. That they had expressed a willingness to at least talk to us and that’s where it presently stands.

Carney: Okay, have you done any negotiating yet or….

Morris: Well, it’s going to come about when the money’s available. When we know the money is going to be forthcoming, there will have to be some formal request and at that point is when I would anticipate formalizing that but it’s been publicly acknowledged that that percentage has been discussed with them and they’ve expressed a willingness

(Morris is interrupted)

Morris: and frankly I think the Senate is supportive of that too.

Carney: I have to be honest with you. I’ve been approached by several members of the public…. Who would actually be negotiating with Penn Square Partners?

Morris: I would be doing the process.

Carney: There is a concern that because you have been writing a column for the Sunday News that that might represent a conflict of interest. How do you react to that?

Morris: A conflict of interest regarding?

Carney: …. Well regarding … Penn Square Partners is 50% Lancaster Newspapers, 50% High. We all know that. And also because you have also been a sort of part time employee of Lancaster Newspapers as a freelance writer. Certain individuals have expressed a concern that you may not exactly be an impartial negotiator.

Morris: … I have already discussed this with the solicitor and any member of this Board can do the same thing…. I deal in a lot of little ways with Penn Square Partners … including approving change orders.

Just for the record, I write quarterly. I’m paid $75 a column…. I told them that I could not continue to do this on a monthly basis because I’m so busy….

I have not written about the Convention Center in any way shape or form. I’ve written about County Government. I’ve stayed away from that.

I’m not connected to them other than I get a stipend.

Laura Douglas (Board Member): I don’t think their concern is the money as much as it is the relationship – the perceived relationship…. In order to ensure not just the actual transparency but the appearance of propriety, if there was someone else who attended the negotiations along with you…

Morris: … I have no problems with somebody sitting in…. The current agreement is 50/50, so it’s ironic that the mere fact that we have an opportunity to get a higher share is perceived as a conflict. Let me think it through and I’ll come back and I’ll talk to the Chair of the Finance Committee about what it makes sense to do.

Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) informed the public a couple of years ago that, at some future point, students would no longer be allowed to rent from private landlords. People who owned properties that were leased to F&M students made business decisions based on that information.

Recently, F&M disclosed to the public they have an exclusive arrangement with Kevin Silverang in which only his company will be allowed to lease properties off campus to as many as 240 F&M students.

The City of Lancaster is now being asked to alter zoning in order to grant Mr. Silverang liberties regarding the allowed number of occupants per property which will not be granted to other investors unless they enter into a similar exclusive arrangement with another institution of higher learning.

Interestingly, Mr. Silverang has purchased many of his properties from investors who had no idea that such an arrangement with F&M may exist.

Why should Mr. Silverang get such special treatment and privileges?

F&M has knowingly misled the public which may have resulted in property owners making business decisions to their own detriment and to Mr. Silverang’s benefit.

Such unethical behavior by F&M should not be tolerated by the local community, especially since it pays little or no property taxes but receives many services from the local government.