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Municipalities, Conservation, and Clean Water: Quarryville Borough · Clean Water Conversations

0:10
SPEAKER_02: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Clean Water Conversations, the podcast where we have casual discussions about creating clean and clear waterways right here in Lancaster County.
0:19
SPEAKER_02: I'm Ken.
0:20
SPEAKER_03: Hi, everybody.
0:21
SPEAKER_03: I'm Alison.
0:22
SPEAKER_02: Allison, I sad to say, but summer is almost over.
0:25
SPEAKER_03: We got a couple weeks left, but yes.
0:28
SPEAKER_02: But what are you gonna miss?
0:28
SPEAKER_02: What are you gonna miss about summer?
0:30
SPEAKER_03: Uh, freedom of schedules with two kids in sports and school and activities and just having some more flexibility to say, we're gonna go to the pool this afternoon.
0:40
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I will miss that.
0:41
SPEAKER_03: I do love being able to be in that taxi driver role for my kids.
0:46
SPEAKER_03: I get the good best downloads when I pick them up, but yeah, summer gets a little gives a little more flexibility.
0:52
SPEAKER_03: How about you?
0:53
SPEAKER_02: Well, I I'm gonna miss it in one aspect and experience it a new way in another.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: We just got a new house and we have an enclosed porch that's screened in.
1:02
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: So that's one of our favorite places to hang out thus far in the summer.
1:07
SPEAKER_02: Um, just get a nice little breeze through there, play some music, just chill out.
1:10
SPEAKER_02: So I'm really looking forward to that in the fall.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: Oh, good.
1:14
SPEAKER_02: And then sitting there maybe with a heater and a warm drink in in the winter.
1:19
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, so I'm kind of looking forward to that.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: But excellent.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: But I will miss the summer and then but I'll be back to that again next year or something.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: You'll make it work.
1:26
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:27
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:28
SPEAKER_02: It's a win.
1:29
SPEAKER_03: Well, that is a win.
1:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, definitely worth celebrating.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: So what are your wins for the week?
1:36
SPEAKER_03: My win for the recently is that we as a team have a monthly ABC session, the accountability and being collaborative.
1:46
SPEAKER_03: So we as a team get together every month to look at our yearly goals and how are we doing and holding each other accountable for what we said we would do the last month.
1:54
SPEAKER_03: And are we achieving what we said that we need to be at this point for our goals?
1:58
SPEAKER_03: So we did that, but had to blend it with our new common agenda.
2:02
SPEAKER_03: So I mentioned on the last podcast we have this new common agenda.
2:05
SPEAKER_03: And we want to blend that.
2:06
SPEAKER_03: We want it to ref we want our goals to reflect that because we're starting now.
2:10
SPEAKER_03: So it took me longer than I thought.
2:13
SPEAKER_03: So it was a win to be able to have that session and our goals accurately reflecting the new common agenda and really helping steer us towards being able to measure impact.
2:24
SPEAKER_03: I so appreciate when partner organizations say, Well, it's really nice that we look at all these details of projects that went in the ground, but what's the impact of the network?
2:32
SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, Thanks for asking.
2:34
SPEAKER_03: So I w I'm excited to be able to do more of that.
2:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
2:38
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
2:38
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
2:38
SPEAKER_03: How about you, Ken?
2:39
SPEAKER_03: Tell me about your wins.
2:40
SPEAKER_03: Well, my biggest win.
2:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, my well my mine actually, the first part of it kind of dovetails into what you were saying.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: Is all of a sudden now I'm designing a lot of materials, a lot of single sheeters, that sort of thing.
2:52
SPEAKER_02: And the common agenda is one of them, getting that printed out.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: MS Forum is coming up, and I'll get back to that in just a second.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: And the podcast sponsorship sheet I am I am redoing with just some subtle little changes and stuff, and so we can get that out to organizations.
3:08
SPEAKER_02: And by the way, if you would like to be a podcast sponsor, there's information on our website at Lancaster Cleanwater Partners.com.
3:16
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
3:16
SPEAKER_02: Or you can contact me directly at infol at LancasterCleanwater Partners.com.
3:21
SPEAKER_03: We would love to have you.
3:22
SPEAKER_03: It's a great place to get your name out, get in front of listeners, in front of an audience that you may not be otherwise.
3:29
SPEAKER_03: So I would welcome a sponsor.
3:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: And along with that, we our partners have needs.
3:35
SPEAKER_02: So we try to uh get information out there and just get help for those.
3:39
SPEAKER_02: And a couple of things that our partners could use help with right now is registering for upcoming events.
3:44
SPEAKER_02: There's quite a few of them.
3:45
SPEAKER_02: MS Forum is on October 20th.
3:48
SPEAKER_02: The full partners meeting is on October 28th.
3:52
SPEAKER_02: And the communications action team is on September 25th.
3:56
SPEAKER_02: We are going to be meeting in County Park, and Todd Roy is going to tell us about the Conestoga.
4:00
SPEAKER_03: Oh, that sounds fun.
4:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's going to be great.
4:02
SPEAKER_03: Nice.
4:03
SPEAKER_03: Well, some of the other partner organizational events, they include things like Act 167.
4:08
SPEAKER_03: So we've been working as a community on that as a stormwater tool.
4:12
SPEAKER_03: We've got one more conversation set up for this phase one, and that's on October 9th.
4:17
SPEAKER_03: And then also excited for us to be kind of restarting the academy of the Watershed Leadership Academy.
4:23
SPEAKER_03: We took the summer off as far as sessions happening in the field.
4:27
SPEAKER_03: Right.
4:28
SPEAKER_03: There's been all kinds of work happening.
4:29
SPEAKER_03: I definitely things are moving.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: I can attest to that.
4:34
SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes.
4:34
SPEAKER_03: But we'll be meeting here in September.
4:36
SPEAKER_03: So eager to be together again.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: Yay.
4:39
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
4:40
SPEAKER_02: Awesome stuff.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: Awesome stuff.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: We all speaking of awesome stuff, we have a great show today, a great, a great guest.
4:46
SPEAKER_02: He is the former manager of the Quarryville Borough and quite a good storyteller.
4:52
SPEAKER_03: Oh my goodness.
4:53
SPEAKER_02: Almost like a motivational speaker type of thing.
4:56
SPEAKER_03: I left inspired.
4:57
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
4:58
SPEAKER_03: We can say we have made a difference because of Mr.
5:01
SPEAKER_03: Scott Piper.
5:02
SPEAKER_02: And we hope you'll be inspired too.
5:04
SPEAKER_02: Check it out.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Still general manager of the fair at Soliko, so fairs interest me.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: And that would be.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: How long were you?
5:11
SPEAKER_00: How long have you been?
5:12
SPEAKER_00: I was actually long and short of it, is that you're second vice president two years, first vice president, two years.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: So they have a chain of command.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: And then present two.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: So I did all that.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: And then at that point, the general manager of the fair was like, hey, I'm gonna move to Bedford and farm out there.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: What would you want to be better?
5:28
SPEAKER_00: There's hardly anything to do.
5:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't even know.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: Of course, I I followed, I'm like, oh, okay.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: You know.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh and we've expanded rap uh rapidly, drastically in the last 20 years.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: We have 10 buildings there now.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: We own 28 acres of ground.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: We've expanded drastically.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: We have a double pool tractor track, you know.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: We we rent the ground out a lot, so there's a lot going on.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: It was more than it used to be.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: I'll put it that way.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: But I've kind of grown to like it.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: And I have assistant managers, three of them, that we work really well together.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of year-round.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: It's easier being president than general.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm like president was easy.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: It was two years, I was done.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, told the general, hey, something's wrong over here.
6:14
SPEAKER_02: So icebreaker.
6:16
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: With summer coming to an end.
6:20
SPEAKER_02: What Lancaster County produce will you miss the most?
6:23
SPEAKER_00: So it's it's a it's an easy question.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: It's a hard question.
6:26
SPEAKER_00: Easy because there's so many to pick from.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: And I love fresh stuff like that, but hard that it's hard to narrow down one.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: But uh peaches.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: Oh, nice.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: It was between sweet corn and peaches, quite honestly.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: It was it was a battle raging in me.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: And and ultimately, you know, this year for some reason peaches have really scored big, and I've just been constantly eating them.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: Seems like there's more roadside peaches available in our area, even some small road, and I've just been able to pick up peaches like constantly.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, about a week and a half ago, I thought, I think I'm almost sick from eating peaches.
6:58
unknown: Is that possible?
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Is that a thing?
7:01
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I better back down to like seven a day instead of twelve, you know.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh but but no, I love peaches.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: Fresh peaches are awfully hard to beat.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: When that season ends, I'm like and I'm we're not gonna can them.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, yeah, we're not doing that.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're not getting that in depth of the house.
7:16
SPEAKER_02: And this was the perfect year for peaches, like weather-wise, they love heat and moisture.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, this was absolutely perfect.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: How about you, Allison?
7:25
SPEAKER_02: I'm curious what you're gonna miss.
7:27
SPEAKER_03: Tomatoes.
7:28
SPEAKER_03: I like tomatoes and burrata.
7:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:30
SPEAKER_03: Like I'll just have that for dinner.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:33
SPEAKER_02: And can sweet corn.
7:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:35
SPEAKER_02: This was another year that the this the sweet corn was very sweet.
7:38
SPEAKER_02: It was really good.
7:40
SPEAKER_02: So good.
7:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: So let's start off with a bit of a corker.
7:44
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
7:44
SPEAKER_02: The headline in of a May 2025 LNP Lancaster newspaper.
7:50
SPEAKER_02: Well, it is officially LNP, but I wanted to clarify just in case.
7:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
7:55
SPEAKER_02: An article in LP about you reads Quaryville retiring borough manager started out as a teenager cleaning restrooms in Huffnagel Park.
8:04
unknown: True.
8:04
SPEAKER_02: True.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: Tell me the story about that.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: So uh growing up, I lived on Summit Avenue in Quarryville, and it backed up to Huffnagel Park.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: One of the I we always call it the the kind of the gem of parks.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of tucked in town and nobody really knows it's here.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: But it was it's always been a really cool park, and of course I grew up right beside it playing there and baseball, whatnot.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: And I was always kind of like, I want to work my whole life.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where that came from.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, uh but it was an opportunity for part-time work.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: They had built a pavilion, it was new, um, and then they, of course, they had little restrooms there in a building, and you know, no was nobody to and and you could reserve the pavilion, have picnics and reunions.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: That was a time in this early 70s when reunions were still big, you know, family reunions.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh so they needed somebody to uh basically clean the restrooms, clean the pavilion up, empty the trash cans, that kind of thing.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I'll do that.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: I live right here.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: And I think I got, I was trying to think, I found my first check when we cleaned out some stuff in the borough building archives.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: You kept it?
9:06
SPEAKER_00: I kept it.
9:06
unknown: I kept it.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: And I can't even remember, I wish I would have looked before I I can't remember what it was, but I think I got$1.20 an hour,$1.10 an hour.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: Which is good for that type of thing.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: It was good.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was pretty good.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't complaining.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I would clean, I would, they would give me the calendar and it'd be like, oh, the Smith Reunion Saturday, you know, yeah, Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: Can you clean the toilets?
9:28
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, so I would do that.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: So I love it.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: I hate livers, so I love throwing trash away, like throw it away.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, so that's how I kind of started and it kind of came full circle.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: I did leave the borough after that.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: I I became a full-time employee in 1980, and I worked full-time in '85 in public works that a water sewer, whatever, parks was my favorite.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: And then I went into business as a landscape contractor, which kind of led into my interest in clean water.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: It was I did riparian buffer planting into cutting edge Shoddy Sprenkel, we probably know from Chester County Conservation uh district.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: Knew I was in, she grew up in Coryville and was neighbors to where I lived.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: And she said, Scott, we're looking for somebody to plant trees along streams down here in Chester County, you know.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, heck yeah, we'll do it.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: And then even it was even like we'll do it, you know, more fall, early winter.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, that's perfect, you know, awesome.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: So we did start planting some narrow one tree line buffers.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: And I actually got paid by Ducks Unlimited.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Check Unlimited.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: And then it kind of morphed into I got paid then by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and I met David Wise, who's now at Stroud.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: We became good friends, actually.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: Worked together on a lot of things.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: We kind of experimented with some tubes and live staking and that kind of stuff.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: So that kind of started me in that.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: And then full circle, 2010, I sold that business and went back to the borough working in public works, and then of course, 2020 became borough manager.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of my that's my whole life.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: The journey.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: So four minutes.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
11:04
SPEAKER_02: So was it what was it that led you back to Quarryville?
11:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh to the borough.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: I had when I sold the business, I had just kind of had an epiphany like, I just don't want to do this till dead, you know.
11:15
SPEAKER_00: Those things.
11:16
SPEAKER_00: I woke up and I'm like, I don't want to do this.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of tinkered with some, I actually was a paraeducator um in Smith Middle School, sixth graders.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: I became very interested in youth in our church.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: I I got a youth minister certificate from Lancaster Bible College and really enjoyed youth and and young people, like just being around mentoring and being around them, talking to them, understanding their world.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: It's way different than our world.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: So that kind of got me part-time.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh gee, whiz, this is not gonna pay bills or or it's not gonna give me health care.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: Uh and when Nabura had a position.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: I started right away part-time and then mowing parks again.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: And then they had a full-time position come open.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: And they're like, Are you interested?
11:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, man, I really like working for the school district.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: I love being a paraeducator.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: Most people hate sixth graders.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: I like them, you know, 11-year-olds.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, they were fun to be around and neat to mentor, and and really it was an interesting experience.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: So it was a great life experience, but that kind of led me back to the borough as a full-time position, and then of course went from there.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: Oh well.
12:20
SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.
12:21
SPEAKER_03: A business owner, an educator, a municipal, so many different jammed it in there.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: Jammed her all in there.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: Part-time youth director at a church, and we kind of like wedged all that stuff in.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:34
SPEAKER_02: So you served on the boroughs leadership team and the boroughs association for many years.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: How many years were were you in that?
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Actually, the boroughs association, not many years there.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: I was vice president because Mike Hesson was like, it's easy, vice president, you don't have to do anything.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, what I mean.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm missing a recurring theme here, by the way.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: I fell for that again.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, okay.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: You know.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: And at that time, Mannheim Borough Manager Jim Fisher had left his position.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: So then I was like, okay, you said I'd have to do anything.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: And now there's no president.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: And the vice president's supposed to fill those shoes at least until there's a president.
13:09
SPEAKER_00: And I and I was like, you know, I I I don't mind.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: I kind of get a kick out of this.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: I love all these people here.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: I I really loved all the managers and other staff that were there, and some council people and mayors that attended those meetings.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, I'll do this.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: So I think I only did it really a year or two at the most.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: I think it was only really a full year.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh and I left not because I got fired or quit, but because I retired.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: So that was and I and I really I missed at the last meeting.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: I went, you know, I was truthful in that I do miss all those people and miss that interaction and miss that level of support in municipal leaders.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: I felt I was very supported by them.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: You know, when I became a borough manager, I knew nothing.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: I literally walked into my office the first day.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: I was not mentored when I by the prior manager, and uh no harm, no foul.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: But but I came in my admin assistant and I said, What exactly do I do on a day-to-day basis here?
14:04
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm not sure what I do.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: I know what I did on the other side of the building.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: I went out and worked and did stuff.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm in this office with a desk.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm really not sure what to do.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, I obviously knew some things, but checked my email, you know, knew to do that.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: Any phone messages for me, you know, but I really didn't know what my true role was initially.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: I had to feel that question, though.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: I had to feel that.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: And it was and and credit to other managers.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: I I went to them and said, I well, how do I do this?
14:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, or what do I yeah?
14:37
SPEAKER_00: My first budget, I've never done a budget before on three million dollar budget, whatever.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, how does this work?
14:44
SPEAKER_00: And and we had not really had a lot of can I say technological advances in in spreadsheets.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: We had like paper you wrote on, yeah, yeah.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: Filled in blanks.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, this can't be the easy way to do this.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm not, you know, I'm not sure.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: But and I actually went to some other managers, actually, DD up at West Lamb Peter.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: I went and like, can you please help me?
15:04
SPEAKER_00: And and you know, absolutely, Scott, come up, you know.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: So I I credit that support with allowing me to keep going and not like get like, oh my gosh, I can't do this.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: It was, oh my gosh, I know who to call.
15:20
SPEAKER_03: The beauty of a network.
15:22
SPEAKER_03: It's an awesome network.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I just can't say it enough how well I, in my opinion, Lancaster County managers, whether it be township or borough managers, worked together.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: And I just saw a heck of a lot of camaraderie, honestly, and support.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: And that impressed me.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:39
SPEAKER_02: Network.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: We love networks.
15:41
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
15:41
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
15:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
15:43
SPEAKER_02: So, how long was it until you f before you felt comfortable doing that?
15:47
SPEAKER_00: In a manager position, I I would say about two years.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: I felt like, and then I even the council president, like, you're kind of in a groove now, aren't you?
15:54
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yeah, you know, I kind of feel at home.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: I kind of understand what my role is, I kind of understand who my elected officials are, their personalities.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're working for seven people, you know, seven different people to change, you know, in in election years.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: And so I felt that I knew my boundaries a little bit more and what I should be doing and shouldn't be doing, maybe.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, we all kind of have a little bit of a personal agenda, and I'm very aggressive about active transportation and about planning.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: And I just that became my thing.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: Like I felt really comfortable in that.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: And Lancashire County planning, you know, met really good folks like Mike Doman and and uh, you know, Gwen Newell, our South Region planner, got got to know those folks and like, here's here's what I'd like to do.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: Can you help me get there?
16:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, let's do an official map.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: You know, nobody in southern Lancashire County did an official map.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: We did one.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: Let's do and and you know, that kind of interest, I saw where that networking went.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: You know, I saw that, hey, I'm showing interest, they're showing interest back.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: Christiana Barr, I'll never forget, called and said, Hey, would you be interested in a grant for an active transportation plan?
17:01
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Oh, heck yeah.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, that I I feel that was piqued by by us, me and borough council saying, hey, let's do this.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: This is a good thing to do for planning and for you know future grant applications, that type of thing.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: Let's do this.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: So that I saw the results of that pretty quickly, how that worked, and realized, okay, this is how this job goes.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: You need to network with everyone at a county level, your other municipal leaders, your co-leaders at a county level, and then also, of course, at a state level, you know, start to groove and get in that groove with the Department of Conservation Natural Resources.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: I did not use the background.
17:41
SPEAKER_02: I I noticed you tap dancing around the acronyms the whole way to do that.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I could say very good at it.
17:51
SPEAKER_02: Very good at it.
17:52
SPEAKER_02: So what would you say, and in all the time that you were in that position, was your biggest win?
17:56
unknown: Gosh.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: I think probably the biggest win, maybe that, and and people might say this if they were asked about me.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: The West End traffic signal at at 4th and State Street was has been a bane.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: Is that a good word to use for travelers, local and non-local?
18:13
SPEAKER_00: That intersection has, as obviously as traffic has increased, that intersection is backed up further and further.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: You can't, there's no turning land, you can't turn.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: And and in 2020, when I became manager, I said, you know, I think I'm in a position I can do some stuff about.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: I can do things now.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: I reached out to Representative Cutler.
18:31
SPEAKER_00: I said, you know, Brian, what how do we go about this?
18:34
SPEAKER_00: Like I have no idea what to do, but I know this is something people complain about for decades, literally.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: Let's start.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: I know it takes a long time, but can we start something and actually get serious?
18:45
SPEAKER_00: And and and so Representative Cutler and his team helped us there.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: We secured a funding solutions company that helped us grant rate and get money.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: And that project is underway right now.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: It took five years to get a shovel underground.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: So but it was worth it.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: And I realized that, and that was also a lesson.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: I typically, in the beginning of my career, was an impatient person as a business owner.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: You can pretty much, if I want to buy a truck, I'm gonna go out and buy a truck.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: That's how that's gonna work.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: I don't need to wait for a budget number or a year or whatever.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go out and buy a truck.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: But I realized everything in the municipal world and the government world takes planning and time.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: So five years, but you know, that to me is a big win.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: The trail connector is a huge win for me, too, but probably not as impactful on everyone as that intersection will be, yeah, is and will be.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: So and the trail connectors actually started on it in 2020 as well.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: It's actually done already, but of course, a smaller project.
19:43
SPEAKER_02: But that's the Enola Low grade.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: I was and and actually um I was encouraged before I was even manager to to apply to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources um for a grant for that.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Lori Yarker regional advisor is just we became good friends as well.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: I just love her and just really respect what she's done for for uh her whole region.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: But I feel like for you know, the borough personally, we secured actually three grants.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: We got a peer grant, the eight active transportation grant was not fully covered by the downtown center.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: And um, how about a peer grant?
20:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, we can do that, we can help you get this.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: So I just gained uh I have a lot of respect for folks in government.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, so many times people say, you know, you're in government, you don't do anything, you know, you sit around and and I just have so much respect for those people that put all that effort and time in.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, I tell this story over and over, I'm gonna tell it here again.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: But when we first applied for a grant, for a department grant to Lori, it was um in 2018 my daughter and I went together and applied for the borough on behalf of the borough for an inclusive playground.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: My daughter's an occupational therapist, so um you know, we said, let's do Huff Nickel Park over again, and that was my favorite part because I grew up beside it.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Circled back around again.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: Let's make an inclusive playground.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: And and our my daughter Marla had could help write the grant.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: And you know, a grant like that, the Keystone grant is kind of a lot of pages and a lot of stuff, you know, and I'd never done it.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: And but I remember having all kinds of questions during the process.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: Call up Lori and be like, hey, I know this isn't really your job, but I'm really not sure how to do this and this.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: She said, Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: That is my job.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is my job to help you through it.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: And I just right away, I'm like, this is somebody I want to know.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I want to become friends with this person, and I want to know this person because this is a person that has invested in their job and they want to see things happen for the betterment of everybody that lives in a Commonwealth.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: And that to me is like that's somebody I totally admire.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: Totally admire and have full respect for.
21:56
SPEAKER_02: And if you're listening, and you know any of these folks whose names he's Let them know.
22:02
SPEAKER_02: Tune in.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Am I allowed to say everybody's name like that?
22:06
SPEAKER_00: You are absolutely good.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolute respect for that.
22:13
SPEAKER_02: So, conversely to that question, then, what would you consider your biggest challenge of your time there?
22:18
SPEAKER_00: I think the biggest challenge is, and I don't mean this in a in a bad way, I'm a very much driven person.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: And so when I have a vision, I tend to want to just follow through with it.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Like there's no reason we shouldn't keep moving forward.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: Having said that, in local government, you do work for elected officials.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: So they may not share that same vision that you have.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: In their position, they're volunteering, basically.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: In Quarryville, they never accepted payment.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they could under the borough code, but no councilperson or mayor has ever been paid in the borough, to my knowledge, to this day.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, so they are truly volunteers.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: And everybody has a different personality about you know how much they want to invest in that volunteer job.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: They some may just come to the meeting and see what goes on or vote, I nay.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: Others may be like, hands-on, I want to be at every, I want to know what's going on every minute of the day here.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing now?
23:14
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
23:15
SPEAKER_00: You know.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's a challenge kind of negotiating that and seeing who's where all the players are all at.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: And then as far as following through on your vision.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'll be honest, there were some things that didn't happen that I really wanted to happen, but it's council's decision.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, they're the boss, not me.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the difference in some boroughs, some managers are kind of the leader of all that and kind of lead their council on only because their council wants them in that role, because they maybe want to be or, you know, choose that.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: But and my role was a little bit of a mix of both.
23:52
SPEAKER_03: I have kind of a follow-up question to that.
23:53
SPEAKER_03: Is you're talking about leaders and different types of roles and different types of skills and passion that people bring to it.
24:00
SPEAKER_03: What is the biggest role that you see as municipal government as a leader?
24:05
SPEAKER_03: You know, like there are delays, or it feels like there's differences in how they have to operate.
24:11
SPEAKER_03: So, what's the leadership role that municipal governments really can be in?
24:16
SPEAKER_03: And then also I'm curious how you would tie that back to your interest in youth and the next generation.
24:22
SPEAKER_03: How do we start to get the next generation interested in that leadership role in a volunteer role, in an elected position?
24:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think if if the leader, leadership team or leader of, you know, whatever it is, if if that person is the goal setter, the visionary, and can see this is where we want to be.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: You know, and then can create people with them that I want to be here too.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's what we want the same thing you want.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where I'll I'll bring that back to like that's why I was always excited to go to like Lunch and Learns and Clean Water Partner Meeting, because you'd be in a room full of people that they all share the same thing.
25:01
unknown: Yeah.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: This is what we want.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: This is our vision.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: And and your role, Allison, maybe I'm I'm part of the executive team.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of forerun, but maybe me attending my role is I want to know what they did here, and then I can take that back to my government and say, hey, look, this is what's happening over here.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is there's no reason we can't do this here.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: You know, they're doing it there.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: We can follow their lead or we can learn from what they did.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: They will help us, I'm sure.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, I've never had a municipality say, we're not telling you what we how we did it.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: They've always like, hey, we'll share the Microsoft Word document.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: You can put your Burr name in there, you know.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: That's how friendly we are.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think that's and creating that vision.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: And I think then younger people are underestimated so much by their interest and what they want to see accomplished in their life.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: And we see a lot of the bad, unfortunately, that stands out more than the good.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: But there's a lot of young people that want to see a better world to live in.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: They want to see a cleaner world, they want to see where their children, that place they raise their children, they feel safe.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, all those main things that we all want.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: We all want clean water, we all want uh safe streets to walk on in the evening with our family.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, we all want, we all want community events.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we were big on.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: I had an assistant manager now, whom she's now manager, Michelle, was big on community events and started a lot of community events.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and we had so much positive feedback from we would get emails, we would get phone calls and be like, this is awesome.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: This is really what we want when we live somewhere.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: So those are the kind of things that kind of I'm like, oh, we're steering this way then because that's what people want, you know.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: So I think it created a direction.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think young people will come along, and a lot of times they need to be asked too.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: We we tend to not ask.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: So true.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: We tend to overlook them as someone that they don't, they're not interested, they don't want to know, they don't want to be a part of this.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and they do.
27:01
SPEAKER_00: And and we've the Solanco Fair, I'll come come back to that.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: We talked a little bit about that before.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: We really focused on younger people on our board of directors.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: We have a huge board of directors, it's like 32 people or something.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: So wow magnominous amount of people, which you would think would be a nightmare.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: It actually runs really smooth, but and part of that's because everybody has the same vision.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they all want to see that event thrive.
27:23
SPEAKER_00: They're all interested in agriculture and they want to see it happen, and they want to see it happen continuously, and they want to see it stay the way it was.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: They don't want to change it much.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: Make some small changes, but they don't want rides there.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: Right.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: They want agriculture exhibits that people can learn about agriculture and understand what rural Southern Leicester County is all about.
27:44
SPEAKER_03: In some of the municipal relationships and responsibilities, there's permits involved, there's regulations involved.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
27:52
SPEAKER_03: You have not had that as a Quarryville employee, right?
27:56
SPEAKER_03: Like you don't have an MS for a multi multiple storm sewer system.
28:02
SPEAKER_02: We we are it's municipal separate storm sewer system.
28:06
SPEAKER_02: But I'll get you up close enough.
28:08
SPEAKER_03: We'll get you go.
28:10
SPEAKER_02: Because that's the one I got buzzed on.
28:12
SPEAKER_02: So I made sure I don't get buzzed on it again.
28:17
SPEAKER_03: You all did not have that, right?
28:19
SPEAKER_00: We did not.
28:20
SPEAKER_03: Okay, so but you do it anyway.
28:21
SPEAKER_03: Like that's just how you operate.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, I think, you know, and incrementally, I always said to our team, I was like, you know, we're not under the we can say it now.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: MS4 that we know we're not under it, but there's not that's not a reason that we shouldn't be diligent and knowing full well down the road that ultimately everybody will fall under that.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: I feel fairly certain of that.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: So why not look ahead and let's start to do things, you know?
28:50
SPEAKER_00: So and there were other projects I looked at, even with our engineer.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, this is an awesome place for a project, you know.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: And and visionary-wise that I was, I'm like, if we are under MS4, I know the first project.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Like I know because it was on our property, yeah, uh, and I think we could have gotten a lot of credit for it.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: There was no stormwater on Memorial Park, and it was a perfect site for a rain garden.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: Topographically, it was perfect for a linear rain garden.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then a discharge overflow in the street.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: Like it was perfect.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Like everything was like, I had a vision already, and I wrote our engineer down, and I'm like, what do you think?
29:22
SPEAKER_00: This could work, couldn't it?
29:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, he's like, Absolutely.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, yes, this is a great thing.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: So if they ever come under those regulations, I think that would be a perfect first project because it is on Burr property.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh it, you know, there's no easement.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: We don't gotta do any of those things.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Right.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: There's room for it.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: We already have a buffer on that stream.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: That's the stream that we have, like uh two two-tree buffer that uh Peckway uh Creek Watershed did the first one, and then C Speak Bay Foundation.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: Nice.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: Almost got that out of there.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh came and came and and and we did a second row and did some live staking that type of thing.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: So we have kind of a buffer plan, and and I was kind of excited because I could take care of it.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: And you know, the story of that is too.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: At first, at first, people were mad at, you know, oh, you used to keep that weed eat it and cleaned up.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: Look at that mess now.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: There's skunks and everything in there.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, great, they should be in there.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: That's added to that.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you know, and I noticed too how quickly native vegetation came back, how much we started getting milkweed, uh Joe Pie weed.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: We started getting stuffed back that I'm like, we didn't plant that in there, you know.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: But we've been weed eating it down all these years.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: You know, it was always there trying to grow.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: We'd just been like suppressing it all the time.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: But it was kind of fun watching it.
30:34
SPEAKER_00: And I still voluntarily I've done some invasive control chemical and other to try and keep that buffer you know growing and and and healthy.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: And but I'm just amazed at the wildlife that comes very quickly.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: How you get a return, a bang for your buck.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: You get a return, you start to see.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: And we actually had a grant for we did a little walking trail along there and you know what to look for and stuff.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of neat.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: I think it's really cool, actually.
31:03
SPEAKER_03: It's awesome how your vision shows up in reality and you just make it happen.
31:07
SPEAKER_03: You make that how we operate.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: I think that's just what you have to do.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: You have to set a course and say and it's not a quick course, you know that.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: It stuff takes time.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: You have to be patient.
31:17
SPEAKER_03: Well, like you said, the education has to be there.
31:19
SPEAKER_03: The process and planning is important so that it's done well and then the maintenance can be done well.
31:25
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
31:25
SPEAKER_03: What are some of the ways that you would recommend I'll say municipal peers kind of take on that clean water work to the next level?
31:34
SPEAKER_00: I think I think one of the here again, I think education is key to it.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: And I think as I've touted before at your meetings, the the lunch and learns, I I'm just fascinated by it because I think you can see what what's been done, yeah, see how it works, you can talk to people that help do it, B, help maintain it.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: I know in Effort Township, I got to talk to the maintenance guys there.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, okay, so what do you, you know, what do you do here?
32:02
SPEAKER_00: What how long does it take you to do that?
32:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, and that and there's a learning curve there, you know, municipal staff here, not always uh excited about taking home more work, you know.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I can be like, really?
32:12
SPEAKER_00: You want us to do that now?
32:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, and I understand their workload can be very heavy, but we all have to just kind of assume that we're gonna have to ramp it up a little bit, you know, and that's it's gonna mean a little more work.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna mean a little more effort.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: But if if municipal leaders can be educated as well as municipal elected officials, I think that's one of the keys that's can be missing a lot of times.
32:41
SPEAKER_03: You said Lancaster is really fortunate that we often are all working towards the same goal.
32:46
SPEAKER_03: We have that with clean water, and this network is one of those that pulls people together.
32:50
SPEAKER_03: So our goal of Clean and Clear by 2040, that's the bigger vision.
32:55
SPEAKER_03: Obviously, the end of 2025 is a big deal for bay-driven things, for other certain numbers and metrics.
33:02
SPEAKER_03: I'm curious about what brings you excitement as you look to some of those shared vision and the goals, how they are taking us longer term.
33:12
SPEAKER_03: But you got to kind of check in and reassess.
33:14
SPEAKER_03: And so, what are you excited about with 2025 and 2040?
33:18
SPEAKER_00: I I think there's progress, definitely progress made, obviously, a lot more to things to do.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: But one thing that excites me is, and and I hope this is kind of true, that that individuals are more in tune with clean water and and how to change things.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I was thinking about this coming in, about how just small incremental changes, you know, it it gets so overwhelming when we have a problem, we see this like everything's$50 million, you know.
33:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, the wetland at at Long's Park, it was fascinated.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: I actually told friends about and like my daughter and so I'm like, you gotta go in there and see this thing, you know.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: And I'm fascinated by it.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: And it's obviously a multi, you know, million plus dollars project.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: And we can become a little overwhelmed by that.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: And I look at that, I think, oh my gosh, this would be neat, but what how are we gonna do this everywhere?
34:07
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is this is impossible, you know.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: But I was thinking about coming out, I thought, you know, if everybody makes these little incremental changes and kind of gets on board, I'll say.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: Because people fight Stormwater for some reason.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: I guess it's because you know, you fight it until you're affected by it negatively, and realize that the reason I'm affected by it is because somebody else didn't do what they were supposed to do, or we need to change something because this isn't right, you know.
34:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, there's so many simple things for clean water.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: You know, a rain barrel.
34:41
SPEAKER_00: It's not hard.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:43
SPEAKER_00: Rain barrel, put a rain barrel, a rain spout.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: Like it's pretty simple.
34:47
SPEAKER_00: A rain garden, even if it's a small one at one downspout, you know, something small to start with, and say, you know, I can kind of do this.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: I I can help with this, you know.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: So I think that's or you know, I I'm a big anti-litter person.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: Go to a everybody lives near a stream somewhere within a mile or two priority.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: I mean, what is there?
35:08
SPEAKER_00: 50,000 miles of streams in Pennsylvania.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: If you look at a stream map, it looks blue, not any other color.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, Pennsylvania.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: Uh but you know, take a bag and put muck boots on the summer, walk down that stream, pick up plastics and stuff in there.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, if everybody just did a little thing, you know, and obviously we have to group together, and there needs to be more of a cohesive, you know, governmental effort on huge things.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: And I mean I get that, you know, we all get that.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: But I think to get everybody on board to be behind those bigger things and say, hey, we are willing to invest some money, millions of dollars of tax money in this, these types of projects, yeah.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: If we see the benefit of it and we see the beauty of the clean water and a clean stream, like, oh, there's no trash in the stream, you know.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: And we see that a little bit of investment by people.
35:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: And I think they can everybody kind of goes, this is this is good, you know, this is good.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: And you know how many people are more recreational in the kayaking, how big it's become.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's just there's so much recreation more in the water, and and just and I was thinking too, you know, it's such a draw with water that we all want to be near it.
36:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, we all want to be near it.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, my wife and I have an ongoing joke.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: She goes, Oh, Scott, I just want to go have supper somewhere on the water.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: So we always say it's just close enough to be in the water, you know.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: But we always joke.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: And and there is something calming and peaceful and serene, and there's beauty in it.
36:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: And yet we tend to ignore it and we tend to take it for granted and abuse it.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: And and I think once we can change that and realize the value of it, the old, we don't know the value of water until the well's dry, you know.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: If we can get over that hump, I feel like everybody's on board.
36:51
SPEAKER_00: I feel like nobody's like, oh, I hate looking at water, you know.
36:54
SPEAKER_00: I hate by the lakeside.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: Who wants to be along a babbling brook?
36:58
SPEAKER_00: Not me, you know.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, I just don't think there's anybody like that, honestly.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh I really don't.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: And I just think that people, if we can educate, you know, that's a theme that I know the Clean Water Partners needs.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: The education is just so key to understand and and realize how important water is and how how we need to take care of it.
37:22
SPEAKER_02: Now that you've retired.
37:24
SPEAKER_02: I imagine that you're you know leading a little pretty low-key, not doing much, maybe just hanging around the house.
37:31
SPEAKER_02: Eating whoopee pies.
37:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
37:34
SPEAKER_02: I like that.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: I like that.
37:35
SPEAKER_02: This is this is a joke.
37:36
SPEAKER_02: I know, I know that that's not the case.
37:38
SPEAKER_02: So what what how are you keeping yourself busy these days?
37:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I actually one of those strange people, I love physical work.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: I I don't understand.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand what happened to me.
37:48
SPEAKER_00: But I I like work and accomplishment.
37:51
SPEAKER_00: And part of the reason I was a landscape contractor and loved it so much was I could see what I did.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: Instant gratification.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: Instant gratification.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: I didn't need technology back then, I just needed eyeballs in my head and hard work all day.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: And I would strive to put that in in the folks who work for me.
38:07
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you know, this is important.
38:08
SPEAKER_00: Details are important.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, we're we're doing something for somebody and they expect expect a level of appreciation, you know, of beauty.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: And I was truly, I don't cry here.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: I'm a second, you can't see if I take my daughter threw a and son-in-law through, and my wife too, threw a surprise retirement party for me.
38:26
SPEAKER_00: Actually, first, and I was truly surprised.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: I did not know that was coming.
38:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, but a lot of my former employees were there, and they spoke, they had a chance to people could say what they wanted.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: I felt like I was on a Dean Martin roast back in the time.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: Nobody's old enough but me to remember that in the 70s.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: You could say what you wanted about that person.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, but but it was so heartwarming to have uh former employees come up and say, you know, we appreciate how much you taught us about, you know, work and about how to do things right, do it the right way, the detailed way.
38:59
SPEAKER_00: And it was just so heartwarming, I guess is the best thing I felt.
39:04
SPEAKER_00: Like I thought, this is why God put me on earth.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: You know, this could be the reason, you know.
39:09
unknown: Thank you, Loris.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, um this could be my purpose, you know, and and I was very, very, very heartwarmed by that and realized that there's value to work and to effort and to accomplishment.
39:26
SPEAKER_00: There's value to that.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: And not in a prideful way either.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: I don't mean it that way.
39:30
SPEAKER_00: I want to clarify that.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: Not in a prideful way, but in a, you know, we can we can do good things to the earth, to our fellow, our friends, our relationships, our people, people we don't know are strangers.
39:42
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:42
SPEAKER_00: We can do good things, you know, and if we work together and if we lead, if if we can't get people to work together, if we lead and have them maybe start to follow and say, hey, I kind of like the way this works, you know, we can we can accomplish great things.
39:55
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where clean winter partners here again.
39:58
SPEAKER_00: I have the greatest respect for groups like that and groups that share a vision and get people all in a room together and try and let's create, let's get people to buy into this vision.
40:08
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it may cost money.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: You may literally have to buy into it, yeah.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: But but the payback is immeasurable, in my opinion.
40:18
SPEAKER_00: The pay we can't even I don't know how we quantify that payback.
40:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we can try and quantify it with numbers, can't we?
40:25
SPEAKER_03: Not always that impact is yeah, you feel it.
40:28
SPEAKER_03: You're bigger, you're a part of something bigger.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
40:31
SPEAKER_00: How do you how do you value walking along stream or showing a child what a macro invertebrate is?
40:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes, they don't know you know, a sixth grader I'll say, you know, there's a 10-year-old, 12-year-old that begin to like I had no idea that was under a rock.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: You know, always looking for crayfish.
40:45
SPEAKER_00: There's more than crayfish there.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's some other things a little smaller we want to look for.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
40:51
SPEAKER_03: We can go home.
40:52
SPEAKER_03: That was amazing.
40:53
SPEAKER_03: Like done out.
40:56
SPEAKER_03: Let's go pick up trash somewhere.
40:58
SPEAKER_03: Mission accomplished.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: So I yeah, I have a bunch of part-time work and I've just uh um other rail train the old low grade for Eaton Township.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: I really enjoy that.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: And I do some other outdoor maintenance things for for smaller companies and stuff.
41:16
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: So I kind of make my own hours and do and I want to do some more, I'll get into some more as I get off season, I'll say more in the litter cleanup and that type of thing.
41:25
SPEAKER_03: Well, some of the other fun things that you like to do, I think that way may take us to Ken's favorite part trivia.
41:33
SPEAKER_02: Trivia time.
41:34
SPEAKER_02: Uh-oh.
41:34
SPEAKER_02: That was that was a beautiful segue though.
41:36
SPEAKER_02: That was that was really nice.
41:40
SPEAKER_02: You have mentioned some of the things that you like to do.
41:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
41:43
SPEAKER_02: I like a lot of stuff.
41:45
SPEAKER_02: Specifically, when I asked you, you uh surfing.
41:48
SPEAKER_02: We need to talk about that then, too.
41:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love that.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:51
SPEAKER_02: Kayaking, hiking, gardening.
41:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
41:54
SPEAKER_02: That's a lot.
41:54
SPEAKER_02: It is a lot.
41:55
SPEAKER_02: Like a Renaissance man.
41:57
SPEAKER_02: It's great.
41:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
41:58
SPEAKER_02: Well, here's what we're gonna do.
42:00
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna take a little bit of each of those, and I am going to give you the name of a piece of gear, tool, something like that that relates to either surfing, kayaking, hiking, or gardening.
42:13
SPEAKER_02: You tell me which of those categories it fits in.
42:15
SPEAKER_02: Here's the twist.
42:16
SPEAKER_02: If it fits into more than one, you gotta you gotta hit that one too.
42:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:19
SPEAKER_02: That's gonna make it a little tough.
42:21
SPEAKER_02: I get it.
42:22
SPEAKER_02: I get it.
42:23
SPEAKER_03: But it at least gives you a shot if there's multiple choices for us.
42:26
SPEAKER_02: I like that.
42:27
SPEAKER_02: I like it.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: All right.
42:29
SPEAKER_00: First one is wax.
42:31
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's surfing, and to my knowledge, only surfing.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: I've never used wax anywhere else in any of those other things I've done.
42:40
SPEAKER_00: That is correct.
42:43
SPEAKER_02: How about a flame weeder?
42:45
SPEAKER_00: Flame weeder would be in gardening.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: It would.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: And only gardening, too, yeah.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: And definitely not in surfing.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: I've never had a propane door.
42:55
SPEAKER_02: There's a new sport for you.
42:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the water's been cold, and I'd love to heat it up, but not that I'll put a wetsuit on.
43:02
SPEAKER_02: I have a heck of a visual going through my head on that one.
43:06
SPEAKER_02: How about loppers?
43:07
SPEAKER_02: It would be gardening.
43:09
SPEAKER_02: Curls, yeah.
43:10
SPEAKER_02: I need to pronounce this one very, very specifically.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: Crampon.
43:17
SPEAKER_00: A crampon to me would be in hiking or crack.
43:22
SPEAKER_02: It is specifically ice hiking.
43:26
SPEAKER_02: Because it's it's the the it's the the spikes you can put on your on your shoes.
43:30
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
43:30
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
43:31
SPEAKER_02: Very good.
43:32
SPEAKER_02: Very good.
43:32
SPEAKER_02: That was cool.
43:33
SPEAKER_00: How about a dry bag?
43:35
SPEAKER_00: A dry bag would be in kayaking.
43:37
SPEAKER_00: I you could probably use it hiking.
43:39
SPEAKER_00: I don't use one hiking, but I'm kayaking typically.
43:46
SPEAKER_00: How about a tamper?
43:48
SPEAKER_00: The only thing I can think of using a tamper for would be in gardening.
43:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
43:54
SPEAKER_00: A rash guard?
43:56
SPEAKER_00: That's definitely surfing.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: I wear one all the time.
44:01
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing like keeping that wax off your chest right there.
44:04
SPEAKER_00: I wear that wax it everywhere.
44:06
SPEAKER_02: I I have accidentally waxed my chest hair by doing exactly that.
44:10
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
44:13
SPEAKER_00: A day pack.
44:15
SPEAKER_00: A day pack?
44:16
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's interesting.
44:17
SPEAKER_00: I would say hiking more than anything.
44:19
SPEAKER_00: I can't just.
44:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't yeah, I don't think it would apply to anything else.
44:23
SPEAKER_00: How about a machete?
44:26
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'd say gardening, but I I don't usually have to use one.
44:29
SPEAKER_00: Hiking, I guess, if you were in super jungly rainforest areas, but you are correct.
44:37
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: I don't think you would use it for surfing.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: I would hope it might depend on where you're surfing, because you know the Finn on a board sharp enough, I've cut by that already.
44:45
SPEAKER_00: So staples in my head.
44:47
SPEAKER_00: So that's a whole other story.
44:50
SPEAKER_00: Surfing story.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: Trekking poles.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: Trekking poles would be hiking.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: It would.
44:57
SPEAKER_00: A bilge pump.
44:58
SPEAKER_00: A bilge pump?
44:59
SPEAKER_02: That'd be in kayaking.
45:01
SPEAKER_02: I would.
45:02
SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't know.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: Would you use a bilge pump or just a pump?
45:06
SPEAKER_02: Just a hand pump.
45:07
SPEAKER_02: Honestly, I'd just get out and swim.
45:09
SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to bail that thing out.
45:11
SPEAKER_03: I'd definitely use one pack.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: That's a lot of sit on top, so there's really nothing to bail out.
45:15
SPEAKER_00: I'll dream.
45:16
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
45:17
SPEAKER_02: That's how the kayak wound up at the bottom of the river.
45:20
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: A camera.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: A camera?
45:24
SPEAKER_00: So you could use it everywhere.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: That's exactly right.
45:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: How about a dibler?
45:31
SPEAKER_00: A dibler is used in gardening.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: Dang on.
45:36
SPEAKER_02: I because I I I read that.
45:37
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, oh, that's let's look up some interesting, unique terms.
45:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, totally.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: And I said, oh, that's perfect.
45:43
SPEAKER_02: You might not know that one.
45:44
SPEAKER_02: I know it right off the bat.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: How about a broadfork?
45:48
SPEAKER_00: A broad fork?
45:50
SPEAKER_00: I would say that's in landscaping, mulching, gardening.
45:53
SPEAKER_00: Gardening it is, yeah.
45:56
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: A shorty.
45:59
SPEAKER_00: You think you're gonna trick me?
46:01
SPEAKER_00: That's surfing.
46:01
SPEAKER_00: That is.
46:02
SPEAKER_00: That's a short sleeve wetsuit.
46:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
46:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, shorty.
46:06
SPEAKER_02: I had never heard that term before.
46:08
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that would have tricked me.
46:09
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah.
46:10
SPEAKER_02: How about a how about a bear canister?
46:13
SPEAKER_00: A bear canister?
46:14
SPEAKER_02: A bear canister.
46:15
SPEAKER_00: I would say hiking.
46:18
SPEAKER_02: You are how about a bulb or auger?
46:24
SPEAKER_02: A bulb auger.
46:26
SPEAKER_00: That's gardening.
46:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is.
46:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh sunscreen?
46:31
SPEAKER_00: Sunscreen?
46:32
SPEAKER_00: That's a trick question.
46:33
SPEAKER_00: That could be used in all of them.
46:35
SPEAKER_00: It is all of them, especially those of us who answer.
46:38
SPEAKER_00: Those of us who don't get along with the sun very well.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: Normally do any of that.
46:41
SPEAKER_00: No.
46:42
SPEAKER_00: Normally I don't have any ones.
46:44
SPEAKER_03: We included that just for us as the redheads.
46:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
46:47
SPEAKER_03: Every day, all day.
46:48
SPEAKER_03: Definitely.
46:49
SPEAKER_00: SPF 50 or above.
46:51
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
46:51
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
46:52
SPEAKER_02: Tanning?
46:53
SPEAKER_02: What's that?
46:53
SPEAKER_02: I've never never heard of that.
46:55
SPEAKER_02: How about a Bivy sack?
46:57
SPEAKER_03: Bivy.
46:58
SPEAKER_02: Bivvy?
46:58
SPEAKER_02: Bivy.
46:59
SPEAKER_03: Bivy Sack.
46:59
SPEAKER_03: Bivy Sack.
47:00
SPEAKER_00: B-I-V-Y.
47:02
SPEAKER_00: I think that's Bibby hiking nomenclature, if I'm not mistaken.
47:05
SPEAKER_00: You are correct.
47:06
SPEAKER_02: It's it's so it's for use in an emergency shelter.
47:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
47:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
47:09
SPEAKER_02: And finally, a rocker.
47:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's gonna trick me.
47:15
SPEAKER_00: A rocker.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: I think it's surfing.
47:18
SPEAKER_00: Am I right?
47:20
SPEAKER_00: You are correct.
47:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: It's a part of the board.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: The rocker on the board is the edge side.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:27
unknown: Yeah.
47:27
SPEAKER_00: So there you go.
47:30
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
47:30
SPEAKER_03: You need to spend more time surfing in your retirement because the smile on your face is wow.
47:36
SPEAKER_03: You know, and and and that is clean water.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:39
SPEAKER_00: That's true.
47:40
SPEAKER_00: You need it.
47:40
SPEAKER_00: Growing up going to Jersey shore in the 60s, the water was always cloudy and dirty.
47:44
SPEAKER_00: And I joke to people, but I it's not a joke.
47:46
SPEAKER_00: I snorkel in South Jersey.
47:48
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
47:49
SPEAKER_00: Some of the wetland areas to south of Stone Harbor Avalon Island, there's tide pools that are in the two to three feet range.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: And I'll get down there with a mask and snorkel and float in the tide, outgoing tide and float down.
48:00
SPEAKER_00: No, there's not, I'm not seeing coral reefs or anything, but you know, it's a test to the clean water that's never used to be able to do that.
48:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
48:08
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, this is awesome.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: Like you can see the bottom.
48:11
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, so I think it's just a test to clean water, not only here, but internationally, worldwide.
48:18
SPEAKER_03: You find it wherever you go.
48:19
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
48:20
unknown: Absolutely.
48:21
SPEAKER_02: Well, that is our show.
48:24
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Scott, so much.
48:25
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
48:26
SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: It's been an honor and privilege.
48:28
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
48:28
SPEAKER_02: Honor and privilege is all ours.
48:30
SPEAKER_02: And we will be back in just a couple of weeks.
48:34
SPEAKER_02: Until then.
48:34
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
48:36
SPEAKER_02: Cleanwater Conversations is brought to you by Lancaster Clean Water Partners and by our contributing sponsor, Native Nook Nursery and Nature Shop, your local source for plants, trees, and everything you need to create a beautiful, thriving backyard habitat.
48:49
SPEAKER_02: For more information, go to native nooknursery.com.
48:53
SPEAKER_02: If you have comments or suggestions for show topics or are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at info at Lancaster Cleanwater Partners.com.
49:02
SPEAKER_02: Thank you for listening.