If you have ever attended a Borough Council meeting, you might have overlooked one of the most important people in the room: the Borough Manager. Though he is not a member of the Council, Ernie McNeely has been an active citizen of West Chester for the past 27 years through his service. He has not missed a meeting and has the ability to take minutes of every meeting while not missing a beat should a question arise from a Council member or a concerned citizen. I interviewed Ernie this past week to gain insight of West Chester’s past and how far it has come, especially with his efforts.
Ernie is originally from Washington, Pa. where he also found his first job after graduation. He studied politics at Bethany College and had envisioned politics as career but not on the local level. When he began his career as a local government administrator in Washington Pa. the town was in the midst of revitalization which would later encourage Ernie to join West Chester. When Ernie came to West Chester, he described the town as having good bones, however, it had slipped into a decline with a lot of problems but still had great potential. Downtown in the late 1980s had a few good restaurants, lots of vacant store fronts and there was little activity at night for safety reasons. Volunteers too saw the potential for the town and began working without any money or resources. The volunteers needed support to be able to have this revitalization effort become a reality and turned to Borough Council. Together in the mid 1990s they established the Commerce Department with a Commerce Director to begin revitalization. One of their first steps was recruiting Iron Hill. In 1999, however, the town lost their Commerce Director and at this time the Business Improvement District or BID was founded. The BID first failed but did pull through their second attempt and today there are over 200 properties in the BID each with a vote. Another surprising aspect of West Chester’s revitalization is that the university didn’t realize how supporting these changes would go hand in hand with bettering the college as well. Today, our university and Borough have a great relationship which continues to grow each year.
For moving forward, Ernie says economic development is something to continue to work for. It’s never done and as soon as you stop, the slide will be faster than the climb. Parking will always be an issue in West Chester and can be found in old Borough meeting minutes; our streets were made for horse and buggies. As for the option of building up in the town vs. perhaps building underground for parking garages, building down costs nearly double the amount to build-up. Therefore this will probably not be an issue of looks but what will work economically, which could mean more multi-level garages in our future, this has not been determined yet.
As for what is next for Ernie as his 27 year career in West Chester ends, he will begin his new leadership role as Township Manager for Lower Merion. He was drawn in to this town because it has similar characteristics, several business districts, and is looking for similar changes. Lower Merion is significantly larger than the borough and will give his career new challenges he is eager to meet.
Lastly, I asked Ernie what his recommendations are for students wishing to become involved in the community. He encouraged engagement in the town to be a part of shaping it. Students have the ability to control seats on Borough Council if they want to. Ernie encourages all students to vote and for some to run for office. There are internship opportunities for students to work with the Mayor or the Borough Council. I too agree that the internship opportunity is a great way to become involved and find out not only the behind the scenes work done for our daily life, but also to see how a body of government works. Therefore, let us reflect from Ernie’s work and ask ourselves: What way can I be of service?
Blair Campbell is an intern for the mayor.