Editorial Board: On July 11th, Commissioner Elwood Taylor, who has been in and out of the office in Upper Pottsgrove since 1998, posted a statement on social media in an apparent effort to extinguish concerns about groundwater and wells related to the newly approved 119-home Kummerer Road development. The residents’ concerns are how the new development will affect the water supply.
In his post, Taylor called the discussion and reporting about the groundwater “fake news,” apparently referring to reporting by The Upper Pottsgrove Journal. He specifically said in his post that the project would not “rely on groundwater.”
But five days earlier, on July 6th, Commissioner Taylor voted to approve an agreement with the developer that specifically allows commercial wells. An action that would, in fact, rely on groundwater.
Groundwater levels are a concern when developers plan to drill more wells in a particular area and how those additional wells affect those same levels. Through the approval process, commissioners are responsible for knowing about any well proposals and how they would affect the community.
As stated, on July 6th, Taylor voted for an agreement allowing commercial wells; on July 11, he posted that the project would not “rely on groundwater.” He went on to say that the development would not use wells that “could affect the local aquifer” and stated that “depletion of groundwater supplies is not one of” the issues that needed to be considered.
Commissioner Taylor knew—or should have known—what he had just voted to approve. Yet five days later, instead of acknowledging that fact and explaining the potential consequences to residents, he labeled the public’s concerns “fake news.”
What is more troubling is that the Board told residents that the agreement could not be shared because of “matters of litigation,” even though the Board was publicly voting to approve it. It would seem that residents were expected to accept the Board’s decision without being allowed to examine the very document the Board was approving.
Through the RTK procedure, The Upper Pottsgrove Journal has obtained a complete copy of that agreement. The Journal will be publishing a detailed article about what their elected officials agreed to—and exactly what was being kept from public scrutiny.
Commissioners have an obligation to be truthful with the public, particularly when discussing a major development that could have long-term consequences for surrounding neighborhoods, private wells, and the township’s resources.
If Taylor believed the commercial wells would not affect the groundwater, he should have explained why before his vote. Instead, he voted for an agreement allowing commercial wells and then told residents that the development would not rely on groundwater—while dismissing contrary concerns as “fake news.”
Tayler can continue trying to explain away the contradiction, attack those who raise questions, and insist that residents simply trust him; or he can acknowledge that he gave residents information that was inconsistent with the agreement he had just voted to approve.
Residents should not have to fact-check their own commissioners to determine whether what they are being told is true. Taylor owes them an explanation—not another dismissal, not another accusation of “fake news,” but the truth.