Both Letner and Zimmerlin have said they have no plans to resign from their positions, and that they have filed appeals with the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
If their appeals fail, the city of Brookville could be required to hold a special election to let voters have the final say in the removal effort, with that election costing upwards of $10,000.
Jared Ledford, a member of Moving Brookville Forward, said the opposing PAC’s recall effort has helped sew division in the northwest Montgomery County city of just under 6,000 people.
“Our community picnic in July, which is usually the highlight of the summer when we all gather together, was overtaken by efforts to collect signatures for the recall,” Ledford said, adding he felt the move was unwarranted altogether. “Typically, with a recall, you would expect there to be some obvious malfeasance or some laws being broken, but that’s just not the case here.”
Jaime Iaquinta, treasurer for the Keep It Rural chapter, said recently that residents have lost trust in the city’s leadership, and that some feel their concerns about increased development have been ignored.
But Ledford and Moving Brookville Forward see it differently.
“I believe the city council has done as much as they possibly can to appease a very loud citizen group and make concessions, including a temporary moratorium on further annexation of land and adhering to the city’s comprehensive land use plan from 2004,” he said.
While he understands some residents don’t want Brookville to lose its small-town charm, Ledford said he feels some amount of “sustainable growth” is good, even necessary, for a thriving community.
“When you try to pass parks and road levies, and those levies fail three times, you have to look to economic development to increase revenue,” he said, referencing two levy requests soundly rejected by voters most recently in 2021.
“You can’t have it both ways; if you don’t want higher taxes but you want nice roads and parks, you’re going to have to accept some economic development,” Ledford said.
In October, the Keep It Rural PAC successfully filed the recall petitions against Letner and Zimmerlin with the Montgomery County elections board, while campaigning ahead of the Nov. 5 election for the rejection of Brookville’s Issue 2.
The rezoning in Issue 2 would have facilitated the development of restaurants, businesses, and homes on 85 acres of annexed Clay Twp. land on Upper Lewisburg Salem Road. However, no official proposals have been submitted to the city.
Brookville City Manager Jack Kuntz on Thursday said regardless of the outcome of Issue 2, the city is “legally obligated” to zone the acreage.
“Essentially, the entire process for assigning a zoning district to the property starts over,” Kuntz said. “The property owner has requested for the city’s planning commission and city council to assign a zoning district as soon as possible, as is his legal right.”
Planning commission is expected to consider all potential zoning options for the land during its Dec. 19 meeting before passing a general recommendation onto city council. A public hearing would then be held before any council vote would take place.
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