POTTSTOWN — With just one more meeting left in his 16-year-political career, Borough Council President Dan Weand was bid farewell by his colleagues and by his daughter Wednesday night — and he had a few insights of his own.
The official thank you came in the form of a framed resolution presented by Borough Manager Justin Keller and approved unanimously by a council vote.
It reads, in part, “Dan Weand is officially recognized for the outstanding service he has provided the Borough of Pottstown through 16 years of dedicated community service; and further that he is extended best wishes for a happy and well-deserved retirement.”
Weand did not run for reelection this year. The Fifth Ward seat was won by Democrat Joshua Kagi.
Weand began his public service in October of 1999 when he was appointed to the Pottstown Planning Commission, where he has continued to serve until the present day. His term there does not end until 2029.
In 2010, he was elected to council representing the Fifth Ward and in 2016 was elected by his fellow council members to be council president.
In his term, he has served on council’s finance committee, efficient methods committee (which he initiated), as well as the uniform and non-uniform pension boards, according to the resolution.
Outgoing Council Vice President Don Lebedynsky also received a framed resolution for his seven years of service on council.
Later in the meeting, Weand’s daughter, Betsy Weand-Kilkenny spoke of her father’s years of service.
“Having been born and raised in Pottstown, I can truly say I remember the good old days,” she said. “But I also remember what happened when six major manufacturers left; icons like Mrs. Smith’s Pies, Doehler-Jarvis and Stanley Flagg. And in our household when Flagg’s closed, my family joined the more than 1,200 employees who were suddenly without work.”
“And with manufacturing jobs going away, malls moving into their place, causing several of those small business to close, it was very difficult for anyone to carry on a ‘town spirit,’” Weand-Kilkenny said.
“But that is when you, President Weand, showed me and showed many others what it means to pull together; to come together for our community. During those unsettling years, I remember your service in Pottstown; volunteering in many organizations, from hosting food drives, working with churches, cleaning up streets and parks, working with business owners and even organizing events that made folks realize the town was worth fighting for,” said Weand-Kilkenny.
“I even remember when you were president of the Pottstown Rotary Club and during your first year, you organized the Fourth of July duck race and that first year, it brought in over $40,000 for several charities in our town, and I remember this because I still have the duck costume that I wore in the Fourth of July Parade with you,” she said with a smile.
“I also remember when you, president Weand and then school board director Polly Weand worked together to raise more than $300,000 to restore the stadium lights on the Pottstown football field so students in our community could once again participate in Friday night lights,” she said. After winning a seat on council “you saw Pottstown for what it could be and still can be today and for 16 years, you have worked tirelessly to bring back businesses, jobs and all the things that make Pottstown a thriving community.”
“This is your town. To me it’s like my family,” Weand said as the meeting came to a close. “and you all need to invest something, even if its only an hour a month to watch this meeting to see what’s going on in your town.”
Noting that legislators in Harrisburg “were generous enough to give themselves a raise again,” Weand said “and it reminded me that this council has not raised its stipend in 30 years. We haven’t asked for a raise. We didn’t vote to get another raise. And I think that’s proof that those who sit up here are not doing it for the money. They come here because they believe in something and the thing they believe in is Pottstown.”
“The first time I decided to run for borough council, I thought we, Pottstown, could do better, should do better; better in finance, better in operations. We were struggling at that time to recover from the loss of major industries, and employment and the loss of retailers, said Weand.
His goals when he first ran were “first, safety. And then jobs. We needed good paying jobs, and also businesses. And after a short time in this seat, being a father, being a grandfather, I realized I had just adopted another family. Pottstown is my family; 23,000 of them. they’re my extended family and I wanted to look out for them,” Weand said.
“When I first started, borough finances were not so good. So we changed the way we budget, the way we finance for future needs. We started capital funding to save for capital purchases before they were needed. This saves the borough finance and interest costs,” said Weand. As an example, he noted “the last two fire trucks we purchased, we paid cash, which saved the borough about $1 million per truck in finance charges.”
In the safety category, Weand pointed to police efforts “to get the latest crime-fighting technology into Pottstown. We’re all well aware of the shot-spotter system, and its ability to track down gunfire, so if you’re going to shoot a gun in the borough, we will know where you are instantly.”
Weand said the third thing he is proud of is the formation of the efficient methods committee, which is used to streamline “the processes we use in borough hall. We’ve streamlined communications program, improved information sharing, made it easier for our staff to work together and also made it easier for investors to work with the borough.”
He said two new developers with major projects on Hanover Street told Pottstown officials “we’re one of the easiest boroughs to work with,” said Weand. “It doesn’t mean we cave in to everything, but we make the processes smooth and easier to use.”
Weand thanked those who elected him, and the council members who elected him as president. “I’m so glad, I picked Pottstown.”
