Dear Lansdowne Borough Friends and Neighbors,
I’d like to wish a Happy Holiday to all our residents here in Lansdowne. I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful time with family and friends. Unfortunately we still are dealing with issues with the virus so I hope everyone is vaccinated and making smart and safe choices.
At last month’s general council meeting I presented this year's Helmes award to Charlotte Hummel. I feel this was well deserved for all the work Charlotte did for the school district, the borough and the community over the years. For me, personally it meant a lot to have Charlotte be my last Helmes award recipient.
I want to thank and congratulate the LBPA for a great Holiday Parade on December 4th. There were awesome cars, trucks and motorcycles decked with colorful lights and other holiday decorations. There were also many people walking in costumes and celebrating the holiday. The annual tree lighting was held and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause were there for the kids. Again, I thank the LBPA especially Beth Harmer and all her volunteers for a wonderful event. Thanks to our Police and Fire Companies and Fire Police for their participation.
I am happy to say that our body cameras are up and running for all of our police officers. I feel this is a tremendous tool for our officers to help them perform their duties. I also think this is an important addition to the borough's goal to assure the safety of all our borough residents. I want to thank Chief Rutherford for all his work in making this happen. Also I want to thank the public safety committee and borough council for their support in this effort.
At my last council meeting as Mayor, it was my honor to present a proclamation to long time resident Mike Moffa, known to many as Mike the Barber. Mike had his barber shop for over 60 years on Powelton Ave. His shop was a fixture here in Lansdowne where people could catch up on what was going on in the borough and the world and also get a great haircut. Mike is retired now at 93 years and still lives here in Lansdowne. He and his wife just celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary. Mike is a true friend and someone who I respect and who is not just special to me but to all of Lansdowne.
I’d like to recognize the LEDC for the recent “Little Bit of the Arts” which was a huge success and also their weekly Farmers Markets. Debbie Brodeur has done so much for Lansdowne and has helped keep our economic development moving forward.
I thank Barb Henry, our Borough Secretary who is retiring after 20 years of service. It has been an honor working with her over the years.
As 2021 comes to an end and my second term as Mayor ends I want to say it has been truly an honor to serve as Mayor of the great town of Lansdowne. I have lived here for close to 50 years and it is a community that I am proud of. Lansdowne Borough is a special kind of town with wonderful residents.
These past two years have been tough for everyone and COVID continues to be a challenge but I am so encouraged about how the borough and its residents got through this. It was done by working together and supporting each other and doing what we needed to do.
I am proud of what I have accomplished in my eight years as Mayor. I feel I have helped keep the borough moving in a positive direction. I am especially proud of the positive advances and improvements in our police and fire department’s during my term. Keeping our community safe has always been a priority of mine. I could not have achieved any of these improvements without the help and support of the Police Chief and Fire Chief.
It has been my pleasure and honor working with Chief Rutherford and our great police department and Chief Russell and our dedicated volunteer fire company. I think Chief Rutherford has done a great job in his first year as police chief. I thank them for all the things they do and what they have done for me in making my job as mayor more satisfying and rewarding.
I also want to thank former Police Chief Dan Donegon for all the things he did for me and Lansdowne during his time as police chief. Chief Donegon came in as Chief the same time as I came in as mayor. It was a pleasure and an honor to work alongside him.
As Mayor, and also a longtime borough resident I am so proud of what our police department and fire department stand for and how they perform their jobs. We are fortunate to have such quality departments.
I want to thank my colleagues on borough council who have worked with me to help make Lansdowne such a special place. I wish them all the best in the future and know they will continue to make our community a great place to live.
I wish Vice President Magda Byrne the best of luck as she steps in as Lansdowne’s new Mayor. I know Magda comes in with a knowledge of the Borough and a lot of energy and I know she will do a great job.
My thanks go out to Craig Totaro our Borough Manager and all the borough staff for working with me and the support they gave over the years. As Mayor, having a great highway and sanitation department makes my job easier. The men who work in these departments are dedicated and hard working. Led by Department Supervisor Kevin Lafferty, the men have kept our services going during tough weather and tough times like the pandemic. I thank them for all they do.
One of Lansdowne’s treasures is our Public Library. This wonderful library was recently named one of three gold star libraries in Delaware County. In order to receive this a library needs to have good leadership and a great staff. We have both, Director Bill Paterson has done a tremendous job since taking over and his staff is dedicated to serving our community. As Mayor, I thank them for all they do. I also want to thank the library board for their hard work and having a vision for the library and the community. Thanks also to the Friends of the Library
for all their support for the library.
I want to recognize and thank all the boards and committees that I have worked with as Mayor and all the benefits they bring to the community. All these people are volunteers and I truly appreciate all they do.
I thank the Lansdowne Democratic Committee for all their support over the years.
I know I have thanked a lot of people but it is necessary. I could not have done my job as mayor without their help and support. One group that I want to mention that is very important to me is all the borough residents. I thank you for all your support, patience, respect and appreciation. I thank you for having the confidence in me to serve as your Mayor for the last eight years.
As Mayor, I always took the role of helping people very seriously. I did the best I could and hopefully most people found it to be enough. It truly was an honor and pleasure working for you.
I love Lansdowne and this community. I love the people, the diversity of the town and the direction we are going. I have enjoyed my time as mayor and will cherish the people, the memories and the accomplishments. I feel Lansdowne is in a better position now than when I came in. I feel confident that we are headed in the right direction and will continue to move forward.
Finally I want to thank my family for all their support. Especially my wife Marie for her help and support over the years. She was a great First Lady. After 31 years of service to the borough, I am looking forward to more time with my children and grandchildren.
Thank you again it has been a great ride.
See you around town.
Mayor Tony