Moving Forward Together
Now that the 2020 election is behind us, we can begin the process of coming together and continuing to work on rebuilding our community as we manage the ongoing health crisis, the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic, and the need to continue to invest in our infrastructure and ourselves.
Let us start with the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. Numbers are not trending in a positive direction. The positivity rate for Montgomery County as of Friday sat at around 5%; a month ago we were under 3% and on Oct. 2. It was 2.2%. I am not saying this to be alarmist. However, these facts are important on how we manage the months to come. We must continue to take the CDC guidelines seriously and limit exposure to control the spread of the virus. Thankfully, the mortality rate of the virus has remained low through this new surge of cases and it appears, as of this morning, that Pfizer has a trial vaccine that they are confident will work in 90% of people.
The next phase of this pandemic will be the management and release of the vaccine while continuing to adhere to CDC guidelines. While it is great news that a vaccine has been created, the public release of that vaccine is likely to take time. Critical to this process in Lansdale will be our Emergency Manager Rick Lesniak, who has been able to help guide our borough through this pandemic. He will be coordinating with the county and state officials on what the process will be when/if/how a vaccine will be distributed in Lansdale.
While the health crisis continues to grind away through the end of the year, we will need to continue to confront the economic challenges this pandemic has brought to our community and our residents. We will need to find new and different ways to manage these challenges on everything from parking to electric costs and everything in-between. Thankfully, the county’s “Your Way Home Emergency Rent & Utility Coalition” has been helping residents who are struggling with rent and utility payments due to COVID-19. This program will continue to operate through December 2020 and I encourage everyone who qualifies for the aide to reach out and participate by going to here on the Manna on Main website. As for businesses in the area, Lansdale is dedicated to working with you to find unique solutions to occupancy challenges and parking. Please, engage us in this dialogue so that we can work with you. Your success is our success, and we want to help if we can.
Finally, despite all the health and financial challenges ahead, our borough is in a very good position to continue to work on building and expanding our investment in our infrastructure. Roadway maintenance and repair will continue in 2021 with a full list of streets to be listed later in the year/early in 2021. Our first local power generation/solar project is off the ground with multiple arrays being constructed near our wastewater treatment plant. In addition, a new playground at White’s Road Park will be put into place in the near future. Our investment in our infrastructure and the improvements that will come along with them are critical to our success long into the future.
Our future is bright. For months we have been mired in this pandemic and while it is not over, a new year approaches and we can be energized that there will be new and different opportunities to continue to improve our community. Together we can continue to build the community and a future that we all can cherish, and our children can appreciate.
As the challenges of the next few months reveal themselves, we must stand together, united, for that common cause. If we do, we will almost certainly exceed our own expectations as we continue to march forward together.