Dear West Goshen Residents & Business Owners,
As we begin another year, we welcome to the Board our two newly elected supervisors, Tinamarie Smith and John Hellman, and say thank you to departing supervisor, Hugh Purnell. Hugh has dedicated many, many years of volunteer service to organizations in the West Chester area and we are delighted he has agreed to continue contributing as a resident member of the Township Pension Committee.
Additional change occurred early in the month, when we said goodbye to Casey LaLonde, Township Manager. Casey moved on to a new opportunity in the private sector and the Board thanks him for his service to the Township over the past 15-years and wishes him well in his future endeavors. We are very pleased that Chris Bashore accepted our offer to become the new Township Manager and the Board looks forward to working closely with Chris and staff on the many challenges we face and initiatives that are in-progress.
We are closely monitoring the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the local area and its potential to impact Township staff and operations. We encourage you to protect yourself and your community by getting vaccinated and boosted as recommended by public health officials. At this time, the Board continues to hold in-person public meetings at the Township facility, and requires mask wearing and social distancing in the building and meeting room.
An unprecedented issue currently facing residents of Chester County is the impact of the closure of Brandywine and Jennersville hospitals on Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The closures are putting enormous demand strain on Chester County’s EMS agencies and the remaining Chester County hospitals. Be assured, we are working in tandem with the EMS agencies to assist with solutions in the best interest of our local community to the problems this has created. Please take the time to understand this difficult situation by reading the white paper recently issued by the Chester County EMS Council. The paper can be accessed on the Township website under the News section here.
In the same vein, please take a look at our most recent meeting agenda for the Board of Supervisors, and you can see the extent and variety of issues that are being discussed and addressed. As always, we hope you will participate in Board deliberations either by attending meetings or providing your comments or questions by emailing them to Board members or to Chris at cbashore@westgoshen.org
We have a few openings on our various Boards and Committees and encourage you to volunteer and help shape the future of our Township.
With best regards,
Shaun Walsh
Chair, Board of Supervisors
West Goshen Township