Many valid reasons

Thank you, DLN, for keeping this issue in the news, we (West Bradford Youth Athletics Inc.) appreciate it! While some have pointed out that I, as president of WBYA, am not in a position to argue clearly for the township purchase of the Embreeville complex, that just is not the case. There are many valid reasons for West Bradford to purchase this site, with the guarantee of recreational space only being one of those reasons.

The word hope has been used many times during the past two months, including in the editorial published on Aug. 8, and hope is a great thing, so let us use it.

I, as a resident of West Bradford, hope that the Secure Southeast Treatment Unit does not notice that the building they were once housed in is up for sale. I hope that the Pennsylvania Clinical Schools also do not take note of the bid process. It is my fervent hope that a for-profit prison company finds the asking price too high.

I, as a Downingtown Area School District parent, hope that the builder who buys the site does not add the 500 homes estimated to make the site profitable, adding to an already crowded school system. I hope that the builder does not simply come in and fence the entire property, citing insurance reasons, while waiting for the economy to change, which has happened in several areas of West Bradford Township (without the fences, creating outdoor party sites). I hope that the other builder, the one mentioned in the editorial, that allows WBYA to remain, also allows the Chester County Balloon Festival to continue, taking on the increased insurance costs to do so.

So yes, there is plenty to hope for, including the continued use of the fields that WBYA built and maintain, for years to come; but that is not the only reason the township should have taken the opportunity to control this large amount of land. If anyone had blinders on it was the leadership of the township, who only saw the cost to keep the fields, ignoring the devastating institutional possibilities of the upper portion; a portion that is zoned for just such use.

ROGER GREER President, West Bradford Youth Athletics Inc.