Abington Township "Eminent Domain = Theft" Rally 10-17-09 Highlights
According to official minutes posted at www.Abington.org, the Abington Commissioners voted in February to use eminent domain to seize Mrs. Patane's storefront property for use as a neighborhood library, even though the main township library is approximately one mile away and no other Abington neighborhood has its own library. Further, there was another building already for sale across the street from Mrs. Patane's property which could have been purchased instead, and without litigation. Township officials have admitted that Mrs. Patane's taxes were current and that there were no code violations or safety concerns. Still, Commissioner Peacock is on record saying, "Taking it is the right thing to do." Initial outlays for the Patane property are anticipated to be almost $2 million (not counting litigation), but the Abington Commissioners have stated on the record that they cannot say what the final cost might be, and that there is no fixed dollar amount or cost estimate for the project, nor any guarantee of success. The last high-profile taking in Abington ended up costing almost three times the property's value due to costs of litigation, and Coatesville squandered $7 million attempting to seize the Saha farm before finally admitted defeat.
In light of the above, an angry mob got together to ask the eight commissioners who voted in favor of stealing Mrs. Patane's property to change their votes. We couldn't think of a better place to ask them than at their homes. Starting at 10:00am on Saturday October 17, 2009, about 20 people met at a park in Rosyln to march in Mrs. Patane's defense.
We marched in the rain, ponchos, umbrellas, and signs in hand to make sure the commissioners' neighbors knew the whole story as well. As the day progressed, more people joined in the march and we ended up with close to 40 people by the end of the day. We stopped by the property for a few hours, handed out flyers to all the shops on the block, all the people walking by, and as many cars as we could. The Abington Police Department was a great help to us that day escorting us throughout the township, so big thanks to the cops as well.
After rallying at the subject property, we visited a few more commissioners. Lori Schrieber wasn't home, but all her neighbors came out to talk to us, and most of them listened and understood what was happening, no ridiculous arguments (funny how people actually get it when you're polite and respectful when explaining). The next commissioner was home, but for some reason wouldn't come outside to explain his vote. Jim Babb called him while standing out front, talked to him for about 5-10 minutes. Jim informed him there was an angry mob outside, the police were there, so he was in no harm, and all we wanted was to ask him why he thought it was ok to steal, and to change his vote. He did talk to us through his closed kitchen window, but that was all the luck we had.
The next commissioner came outside with a chainsaw, revved it up a few times, no hockey mask unfortunatley, and did some yardwork. We wrapped up the day at the Township Administration Building / Police Station, with a rally on the front lawn. Again handing out flyers to everyone who walked / drove by, drew attention, created awareness, and hopefully left a positive impact.
Mrs. Patane's children flew in from out of state to be a part of Saturday's event, and they were extremely grateful for everyone's participation in our attempt to stop legal plunder.
The next commissioners' meeting is November 12, 2009 at the Abington Administration Building, please try to come out and voice your opinion in defense of property rights, even if you don't live in Abington, the more people we have, the better. Thanks again to everyone who played a part in Saturday's march, especially Ken Krawchuk, Jim Babb, and Steve Scheetz for spearheading the rally and laying out the groundwork. This is the first of many marches, we plan on marching again next month, and the month after that, and the month after that....See you all on 11/12/09!!!
(click here for details and to read the press release) Categories: Current Events Tags: Eminent Domain Showing comments 1—8 of 8
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