Mr. ATM

 

That was the phrase used by State Representative John Myers at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Fresh Grocer/Shoppes at LaSalle complex a few years back when introducing Representative Dwight Evans.  While the property and its development was in Mr. Myers district, it was funding through Appropriations Chairman Evans that had a lot to do with getting that project off the ground for East Germantown residents and the nearby university.

 

This was a project that made a lot of sense in bringing together the community and the university, as the land was a former university hockey and softball field, and there had been tensions as the university expanded and the community had lost some of its economic vitality in recent years. Reportedly Dwight Evans raised $2 million in public dollars to move the athletic fields, and then another $4 million toward the $14 million expanded development.  The university agreed to a 30 year token lease arrangement and participated in choosing auxiliary shops and stores that would enhance the community. 

 

For 20 years Representative Evans influenced spending programs through his office in Harrisburg and a West Oak Lane CDC known as OARC, or Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation, with its anchor property project having been the former Ogontz Grille adjacent to the District Office.

 

All of that came to a very surprising ending last week when a special session of the Democratic Caucus in Harrisburg voted Evans out as their
Appropriations Chair and replaced him with Rep. Joseph Markosek from the Western part of the state; Allegheny County.  Why this unnecessary vote when the newly elected Republican majority would be taking control of appropriations on January 1st anyway has lots of folks guessing and handicapping.  Northwest political leaders who depended so much on the largess from Evans office are reportedly still in shock from what they see as an unnecessary rebuke to the entire Philadelphia wing of the party. Some insiders claim a number of local representatives voted in favor of the ouster.

 

The consensus is that Dwight Evans and OARC channeled too much in state funding to his pet projects and individuals well known as personal and political associates. The case can be made from some recent events that some of the widely publicized funding seemed far afield from what may be considered significant civic projects that jump start the economy, and the amounts set aside also raised eyebrows at all levels.  On the other hand few will criticize the Fresh Grocer project and most feel that Ogontz Avenue enterprises were within the bounds of what state reps should do in their districts.  Part of the problem is that there is no open comprehensive audit of how the appropriation dollars are spent, and that has incensed not only upstate politicians, long suspect of how Philadelphia consumes money, but local politicians in the same party who feel Dwight went too far outside of his boundaries in both amount and territory.

 

In the last year or two, OARC has attempted to partner with community groups throughout the Northwest and has established relationships with a number of them from Roxborough, to Chestnut Hill, to Lower Germantown.  Funding has extended to buying up failed Germantown Settlement projects in Germantown, a specialty grocery store in Chestnut Hill, landscape projects using Aubury Aboretum, with other partnered deals under consideration.

 

A plan to use the new State Conservancy statute to acquire real estate has been unfolding, but few details of these affiliations using public money were publicized as they were being developed.  While many of these might make perfect sense to some, there are others that went public that created some substantial hue and cry; as when OARC proudly strung a banner announcing it had already funded the twice-failed bar nightclub North by Northwest in Mt Airy for over $700,000 and just this past season set aside a million dollars in public money for the annual West Oak Lane Jazz Festival in a proposal that claimed its past history would bring 500,000 participants.  Reports claimed 10% of that number and accounting of the use of the money was not forthcoming.

 

There have been ongoing questions regarding amounts that were funded, whether or not they were grants or loans, and whether some those that were started had to be refinanced and reinvented; (Ogontz Grille, etc) but still could not break even.  The fact that some of these questions went unanswered likely contributed to the dissention in Harrisburg.

 

Then we have good old Philadelphia city politics that takes few prisoners. There are reports that the power-brokers saw Dwight Evans refusal to take up some votes in the lame duck session as worthy of a sort of a palace coup.  Now we have claims that as many as nine local reps may have voted against one of their own, but it was a secret ballot.

 

One thing we know for sure is that the last election changed Harrisburg and Washington substantially.  The state already awash in debt and unfunded pension problems has been handed to the Republicans who have the Governorship and both Senate and House.  It would have been difficult to fund new projects regardless of where the power was concentrated, but possibly this was an attempt to stop some of the bleeding and let others deal with the issues.

 

Jim Foster

Publisher