Water issues dominate supervisors race

 

by Riley Yates

Water, water is everywhere in the Plumstead supervisors race.

On one side, you have two Democratic challengers who say the township was sold down the river by the supervisors' decision to allow Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority to expand its footprint in Plumstead.

On the other, you have an incumbent and a Republican teammate who say the agreement avoided costly litigation and made the best of a shaky case the township had against the sewer authority.

At issue is a settlement that ended a lawsuit by the authority, which claimed Plumstead had violated a 1978 agreement to stay out of the sewer business.

Under the deal, a Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority district was established that included the stretch between routes 413 and 611. Three developments calling for site-specific treatment plants were also tied to the authority's lines.

It was a decision that deeply divided the current board of supervisors, and it continues to be a bitterly contested point in the upcoming election.

“The problem is, once you bring sewer in, the water goes out. It is pumped out of the community,” said Helen Mitchell, 59, a retiree who is running as a Democrat.

She chided the board for inking the agreement before a water study could be conducted, a suggestion of the Plumstead Environmental Advisory Council.

So did Tom Alvare, 53, a financial planner who is the township's former auditor.

“We're all well-fed in Plumstead,” he said. “As I'm door knocking, I'm hearing story after story of wells going dry” even without expanded sewers.

Incumbent Stacey Mulholland, 42, said the agreement limited the number of new tie-ins Bucks County Water and Sewer can offer, while preventing the authority from claiming the entire town, as it does in its lawsuit.

“Ultimately, we had more control over it by negotiating instead of it landing on the desk of a judge,” said Mulholland, who works for a local nonprofit organization. “I like to negotiate. I like to work things out when possible.”

Mulholland's running mate is Wayne Stork, 70, who is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Delaware Investments, a Philadelphia-based firm.

Stork, a political newcomer, said he can offer the township financial expertise that it has lacked in the past. He said he also hopes to help return civility to a board that has been deeply divided.

“They say awful things in public,” said Stork. “I'm not pointing fingers, but you need compromise and consensus and somewhere down the line we lost that.”

This race, in which two will be elected, has featured other divisive issues and accusations.

Alvare charged the township has not pursued its open space program aggressively enough, having failed to tap any of the $8 million it secured from voters two years ago.

He also knocked Mulholland for switching parties recently and becoming a Republican, which has a registration edge.

“To change it before a primary, I'm believe she's hoping that Republicans won't notice who she is.”

Mulholland defended Plumstead's land preservation efforts. The township has not issued its $8 million bond because it has continued to have money remaining from the earlier one, she said.

Already, 400 acres have been placed under easement over the past four years, she said, with negotiations ongoing with another 10 landowners.

As for her switch of parties, Mulholland said she was unhappy with the partisan nature of the local Democratic organization.

She said she gradually gravitated to the Republican camp because it was more interested in bipartisanship.

Article's URL: 

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-10222007-1427572.html