The Board of Commissioners met on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 7:00 PM (agenda listed 6:30 PM) in the Radnorshire Room. The meeting included an oath of office for Treasurer Rob Armstrong, a consent agenda with 18 routine items, several land development and subdivision discussions, ordinance adoptions, and a controversial introduction of an eminent domain ordinance for Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA) property. Key votes included denial of waivers for a two-lot subdivision at 3 Meadowcrest Road, adoption of an amended Responsible Contracting Ordinance (RCO), and introduction of the eminent domain ordinance with adoption delayed to March.
Okay, I'm calling to order the Board of Commissioners meeting Monday, February 9th at time 7 p.m. Uh, would everybody uh join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? So we're gonna start off with an oath of office for the Treasurer Rob Armstrong. Please raise your right hand. Your left hand on the bottom view that you may. I Robert Armstrong. I Robert Armstrong do solemnly swear, you solemnly swear that I will support, obey, and defend. That I will support obey and defend. The Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And the Home Charter of Radner Township and the Home Charter of Radio Township. And I will discharge the duties and discharge the duty of Treasurer of Radhard Township. Should I discharge the duty of treasurer of Radio Township? With fidelity with fidelity. Congratulations. Thank you and congratulations, Rob. I'd like to give notice that we had executive session just prior to this meeting where we discuss legal and real estate issues. And we're going to start with public participation. So for anyone to talk about anything from the public, come up here. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Roberta Winters, 326 Williams Road in Rosemont. And I'm here tonight to thank the commissioners for for providing the opportunity for community input in the downtown Wayne oper uh planning. And I hope that all those people who were unable to attend would fill out the surveys that are still online so that you know I know people with children and people who have other commitments in the evening may not have been able to attend, but it's really worthwhile. And I felt it was a very productive meeting. And as I attended that meeting, and I also have attended a meeting in Lower Marion about Montgomery Avenue. We all share the same traffic issues, and I think that it really behooves the commissioners to look at a comprehensive study of the traffic in Radner Township, and that's particularly important when you look at the kinds of developments happening in our nonprofit institutions as well as the kinds of housing and regular residential development that we see. And I know that it makes a difference. Good evening, Commissioners and staff. Um I appreciate have having the opportunity to speak with you tonight as you consider an ordinance to enhance the reach of the township's responsible contracting ordinance or RCO, and create further opportunities to bring well-trained responsible contractors into our community. In 2022, I joined my then colleagues, some of you were there, uh, on the BOC to develop and support the RCO. This ordinance sets criteria and verifiable standards for all contractors on publicly supported prevailing wage projects undertaken by the township. As a commissioner, I was no longer interested in continuing to vote for change orders, which added thousands of dollars to what we thought was the lowest bid. The RCO sets standards which require it to not only be the lowest bid, but the lowest responsible bid. Our RCO encourages more efficient public capital investments and protects local taxpayers. It also establishes standards that will better prepare a skilled productive workforce in the future in the building trades for the future. The RCO ensures that contractors have a proven track record of successful project completion and compliance, which is very important. It also ensures that awarded contractors are already on strong financial footing and can sustain operations for the duration of the project because nobody wants a contractor who goes out of business in the middle of a project. In addition to many items on the checklist, it requires that workers are paid a fair wage, offered health insurance and retirement plans, things that most businesses offered, but in many cases, uh contractors don't always offer that. But most importantly, it requires contractors to participate in or support apprenticeship programs to promote workforce development. You should see these apprenticeship programs. Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to see these programs in action as they train our next generation of skilled laborers in state-of-the-art facilities and on-site mentored training. Skilled laborers work better, work smarter, and work with the goal of bringing projects in on time and on budget. We enacted our RCO to help eliminate change orders. So as a board, we could clearly say when we have voted to award a project at a certain cost, that is what the project will cost upon completion. Studies have shown that RCOs increase speed and efficiency, promote equity for contractors, particularly minorities and women. Additional benefits also include lowering safety risks as trained contractors are on site doing the work, and project delays and cost overruns are reduced. As you can tell, I am a passionate about the benefits of an RCO. And I'll say I've learned so much more about the work uh being done and the benefits of an RCO now having been a state representative, and we are trying to pass a statewide RCO.