[May 23, 2013] Lower Alsace, Mount Penn talking merger again Tweet May 23, 2013 (Reading Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Mount Penn Borough Council members recently agreed to reopen merger discussions with Lower Alsace Township supervisors. Officials of the two municipalities are getting ready to set up an initial meeting. But after that first meeting, Lower Alsace supervisors want to wait until January to move forward with merger talks. "They have so many people up for election this year," board President James Oswald said at a supervisors meeting Wednesday. "The board could change by four people, which would be drastic." Mount Penn officials voted 6-1 in October to formally end the merger study, with Councilman Mark Dudash voting no. Lower Alsace supervisors sent a letter to Mount Penn council members last month asking that they resume merger discussions. This week, Lower Alsace officials received a letter from borough councilman Thomas Smith saying that council voted unanimously in favor of resuming conversations. In the letter, Smith asked the township's three supervisors to meet with a committee of three borough councilmen: himself, James Cocuzza and council President Thomas Staron. "We chose this avenue in order to simplify matters and hopefully end any animosities or transgressions that occurred in the past," Smith wrote. "Our committee is requesting a preliminary meeting to discuss and prevent any negative actions that have occurred and to move forward with a positive attitude." The supervisors are requesting that the council committee come to one of their regular township meetings. That way, they won't have to advertise for a special meeting. "The board is interested in hearing anything they have to say," township Manager Terry Styer said. During Mount Penn's meeting May 14, several council members said they don't want the talks to go down the same road as before. "There was an air at those meetings that it's us versus them, and I don't think anyone can deny that," Smith said. "We sat on one side of the table, and they sat on the other. It gave that air and it became a battle." Contact Beth Anne Heesen: 610-371-5084 or [email protected]. ___ (c)2013 the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) Visit the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) at readingeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]