Goodbye 2020
Finally, the last column of 2020. This year has been one of, if not the, hardest years in recent memory. Collectively, we experienced unprecedented upheaval in all aspects of our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses shut, parents were tasked with being employees and teachers (while also being parents), health concerns and fear spread far and wide, racial tensions reached a fever pitch, and we lost valued family and community members to the virus.
However, as with all great challenges, humanity grows from it and finds new paths forward. Health and prioritizing health have become a focus for many, family time was cherished throughout the year and new bonds were built, communities banded together offering food and supplies to others who needed it, and new conversations were started about how to build a more equitable future. The level of dedication, passion, and fortitude our community has shown through this year will stay with me forever and I am deeply grateful for everyone’s effort in seeing this challenge out till the end.
On a municipal level, we have made strides forward despite all the challenges that we faced. Lansdale’s roads and infrastructure continue to be improved with miles of roadways being completely rebuilt over the course of 2020. In addition, Lansdale built its first, and hopefully not its last, solar project which will generate clean, local power for our Wastewater Treatment Plant. We hired a full time Emergency Manager who overhauled our emergency response plans only months before this pandemic engulfed our community. And Lansdale Police purchased body worn cameras for our police department to ensure we are more accountable to the public and meet the expectations of our community. All while trying to manage one of the greatest health crises of our time.
Despite all these challenges, Lansdale has grown and improved thanks to the herculean effort by the community and by borough staff.
As a new year dawns, we look forward to continuing this momentum for our home. We will seek continued investment and improvement in our existing infrastructure while also exploring new services and infrastructure our community may need. We will continue to work with businesses and residents to help re-establish our downtown vibrancy, without endangering the health and well-being of our neighbors and friends, in the hopes of continuing to build a community that draws people in. Finally, we will continue to improve our police department through investments in technology and staff to better serve Lansdale in 2021.
While all the challenges that 2020 has brought to bear on us will not end with the dawning of 2021; the new year brings hope that we can continue to meet this, and every, challenge that we face through innovation, through dedication, and through passion for our home, for our community, and for each other. Together we will enter 2021 united that we will not falter in the face of this ongoing pandemic and that we will, together, celebrate the improvements we have made despite all the odds.
I wish you all a very-happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all in 2021.