By John Kneib, Mayor of Pennsauken Township

Last month, the members of Pennsauken Township Committee held a special public meeting to discuss the vision for our town. The meeting was well-attended by our community, who actively participated in a brainstorming session that generated some basic ideas on what makes Pennsauken stand out from our other neighbors. We also discussed issues that our Township is facing, like how we’re dealing with abandoned properties, which is our number one priority as a Committee. And for as many good things we can identify about our town, there definitely are some things about Pennsauken that we have to work on. But for the most part, the conversation was extremely positive. For those who’d like to read a more detailed account of the special public meeting, you can click here.

Trying to clearly define a vision for Pennsauken doesn’t just stop with one meeting, although it would be great if things were that simple. This was just an introductory step in a much larger process, one that requires input and feedback from our residents and business owners. You are the people that live and raise families here; those who work hard to make ends meet; members of our churches and service organizations. Only by taking the pulse of our community, can we really identify Pennsauken’s direction. 

In the coming weeks, we’ll be offering a variety of opportunities for people to share their ideas of what makes Pennsauken special. We also want to hear about your concerns and issues that you feel we really need to address. This isn’t just coming up with a marketing campaign and a catchy slogan; focusing on a vision for Pennsauken will help us to truly direct our efforts to further growth in our community.

On our Township’s web site, we’ll be posting an online survey for folks to fill out. We’ll also hold additional public meetings, as well as other forums for people to share their ideas on a vision for Pennsauken. This is truly a collaborative effort. There are no wrong answers. We’re looking for feedback from you, both good and bad. Only by getting a well-rounded perspective can we truly achieve what we’re trying to accomplish: to create an actionable vision for our town that we can use for the future.

I, as well as all of my fellow members of Pennsauken’s Township Committee, look forward to hearing from as many of you who wish to get involved in this process. Together, let’s create a vision for Pennsauken Township that we can all be proud of.