PLATFORM

One of the concerns most heard around town is the lack of a Police Force in Shoemakersville. Unfortunately, this is not an issue easily solved. While Mayor Remp has built a great relationship with the local Pennsylvania State Police Station, and the State Police do drive-thru's of our town, the simple fact is that most of the area knows that we do not have a Police Force here. And rebuilding a Police Force from scratch is both costly as well as being a logistical nightmare. That said, there are many other possible solutions to the problem. 

If elected, Michael will work towards adding more solutions to the towns "toolbox" of items we can use to address the problem. Maybe that will include more patrols by the State Police, a Multi-Town Police Force, or several other possibilities. But regardless, this will be a high-priority item for Michael as a Member of Council.

In addition, Michael will work to grow and expand the Shoemakersville Neighborhood Watch Program that he has been actively involved with (spear-headed by Mayor Dustin Remp). Ideally, it would be great if we could add many more people from all parts of town, so that we would have a wide "net" under which we would be able to keep a vigilant eye towards our town, and help keep our fellow residents informed of strange and/or suspicious activity that is occurring in our town.

At the end of the day, no one individual thing will effectively combat our issue, but by taking a multi-faceted approach to the problem, while actively engaging as many residents as possible, we have the greatest chance of successfully addressing this topic.

One of the greatest assets a small town like ours has is its close-knit community. Unfortunately, as our town has grown over the years and its makeup shifted, it seems like we have lost much of our inter-connectedness. That said, while the town has always had several community events, many in town feel like often those events are not properly advertised to the residents, or they don't take into account input from residents enough.

If elected, Michael intends to work on addressing those concerns. From better advertisement of local events to the community, to taking into consideration input and feedback from residents on what sort of events we do have, and even adding more community-building type events, Michael will work towards bringing our town back to that close-knit sort of community where everyone knows their neighbors names, and where we all smile and wave at each other like we used to!

As many longtime residents of Shoemakersville know, our town used to be filled with small local businesses. Unfortunately, over the years...many of those businesses have closed up shop, never to be replaced (like the old Berg's Shur Fine Grocery Store, that now sits vacant next to the CVS). It seems like over the years, residents have had to venture outside of town more and more for the things they need, places to eat, etc.

If elected, Michael plans to look into what actions can be taken by the town to encourage more folks to open small businesses in town. He also plans to see what can be done to get the old Grocery Store location a new tenant to provide residents with a much needed service in the community.

It is Michaels belief that if we can get more small, local businesses in town, that the benefit to our town and the local residents would be phenomenal!

Lets face it, everyone in today's world realizes that the American Dream of owning their own home is not something that easily attainable for everyone. And if you're a longtime resident of Shoey, you likely already know that many homes once occupied by our towns senior citizens have eventually been bought up to be used as rental properties once those residents have passed.

While rental properties can be great for attracting new residents, it can often bring in newcomers who aren't as familiar with how small towns tend to work, or how we traditionally respect and look out for our neighbors. And usually, these new residents aren't aware of things like local ordinances, upcoming local events, etc.

One item Michael would like to put into motion, should he be elected, is to work towards having an official (or even an unofficial) "Welcome Party" type of group to welcome new residents - both renters and homeowners to town. If we could have a group of dedicated residents, with tools like a "Welcome Kit" of sorts - with a few highlighted ordinances, a 3 month schedule of upcoming town events, a list of local businesses and what services they provide, etc. - it is Michaels belief that it would work wonders towards not only making new residents in town feel welcomed, but also help to boost business to our local vendors, and would have the added benefit of making these new residents cognizant of how we usually tend to our properties (for the betterment of our community).

Apparently, there was such a group like that in town back in the 1960's, but sadly that ended at some unknown point, and there hasn't been anything similar since then.