Latest Petition from Williams Township Residents

.
This petition was forwarded to Sally Hixson, Chair and Supervisors at Williams Township December 12, 2007:

Dear Chairperson Hixson and Supervisors,

We, the undersigned, presented you some 22 [now 24] months ago with a petition urging you to allow a fellow resident (three-time flood victim) to complete flood reparations that she gained permitting and approval from, as of August 2005. We have come to understand that you have still not allowed her to move forward - some 22 months later, and now three years after IVAN caused her the initial damage.

We are also aware that you have received numerous gestures of support in her behalf in the form of letters, phone contact and documentation from all levels of government; including the DEP, Fish and Boat Commission, the Governor's Center for Local Government Services, the Wildlands Conservancy, State Representatives - indeed, even the Governor's Office itself - as well as the office of former President Bill Clinton, urging that the Township stop delaying her.

We understand that representatives from four of these agencies, including the Governor's Office, took time to travel here to a meeting in her bahalf in April 2006 (four months after our petition was presented to you), in order to give the Township the opportunity to state its final demands. We are aware that letters have recently come to your offices (in late June) stating that - as of December 2006 - she had met the conditions that you, the Township, requested at that meeting, and you have still not honored this agreement made with the State representative agencies.

We understand that DEP Director of Waterways Engineering contacted Supervisor Robert Doerr in December 2006, who then reassured him the Township was only interested in ensuring adjacent landowners were aware of her ownership. Oddly, the Township Solicitor was then instructed to contact these neighbors out-of-state to determine if they had any interest in objecting to her ownership. They didn't. And, apparently, also made it clear they wanted the Township to allow her to go forward.

What is the Township DOING? We are baffled as to why the Township would have gone so far as to insert themselves in a private boundary issue, in an apparent attempt to delay her even further. Then continually change the terms of the 'needs' that would allow her to move forward, even after this final agreement was reached. This strikes us as bad faith agreement.

AND we are now wondering as to the amount of time and taxpayers' funds you have spent over the laswt two years doing so. It is of concern to us that the Township has 1) continually tried to delay this resident in the wake of three floods, after she was able to save the Township taxpayers money by initially raising State and federal funds for the repair; 2) disregarded the urgency of her situation and continued erosion at this location for three years; 3) disregarded our petition as of 22 months ago; and finally 4) has disregarded not only the better judgment of experienced State agencies primarily involved in this very type of situation regularly, but disregarded an agreement reached after these agencies invested time to travel to a meeting called to cater to the final requests of the Township in April 2006.

We are also aware that, during the course of this delay, there has been much time and money spent to: 1) instruct the Township engineer to do a survey of her property without her knowledge; 2) contact neighbors out-of-state to see if they had interest in overturning her legal ownership of the areas where repairs need to be done; and 3) attempt to disprove her legal ownership of areas where the damage occurred (after repeatedly making it clear, when asked for help initially, this was her "private property, not the Township's responsibility").

We also understand that, during the course of this continuous dealy, the Township Manager took it upon herself to photocopy and distribute her personal financial information as she saw fit. This level of self-imposed authority strikes us as beyond the scope of justifiable need for an employee of the Township in public service.

It concerns us that the Township has taken it upon itself to expend unnecessary time and monies in what now appears to be selective harassment. Who has initiated and approved this? Has this been initiated by the Supervisors? Are there others making decisions without fully information you? And if so, how are they permitted to do so freely?

In our view, it appears that this resident has done everything possible to not only meet the Township's continuous demands, but has - to date - avoided engaging the Township in a lengthy legal battle, which would cost Township residents even more tax dollars.

Why has the Township continued to press this matter and not honor their own agreements, nor their own continuous demands, once she has met them? You have ignored strong advice from experienced State agencies and Offices with professional expertise in this area; you have ignored the voice of your own residents. Mostly, you have ignored the safety of a fellow resident.

You have reached out for our support during this election season. And yet, we have voiced our concerns over the last 22 months, and they have been ignored. As representatives chosen, based on our perception of how you meet the needs of the residents, both as a community and individually, we are again imploring you, as Chairperson and Supervisor, to cease this pointless harassment of a fellow resident and stop spending our Tax Dollars to what clearly now appears to be more harassment, than policy. This is not in her best interest as a flood victim, nor is it in our best interest as a community.

We do not support any additional expenditure of our tax monies in this continued endeavor.



It remains to be seen whether the Township will ignore, once again, the voice of those who are paying its bills.