Government doesn’t create jobs government creates the environment for private sector to create jobs.
It’s very important for me that we create jobs in the urban core and the suburban area where there’s already infrastructure in place. There are certain brownfield sites like Glidden and NGK Metals and places that were industrial sites. That’s where we need to focus to create the walk to work jobs because we have a very, very good bus route system for people who don’t have a car that can get to work either by walking or taking public transit.
We need to focus on basically the city and five miles outside of the city to build our industrial base.
Recently we had a firm come in that’s based in California that recycles plastic water bottles and creates new plastic water bottles. They’re locating to Muhlenberg township which will create 120 new jobs in Berks County. We were able to successfully compete with Lehigh County to bring them to Berks County. We have to be smart about industrial growth, we have to make sure they’re along major arteries interstates, turnpike, 61, 222, 422, and we have to build where there is the infrastructure, where there’s the water, the electric, the gas and those sorts of resources.
I’m a big advocate of AG preservation, so we have to be able to blend AG preservation and development so that we can continue to grow the tax base.
Here’s a perfect example of walk to work, again it’s not in Reading but it’s right near Reading as Wyomissing in the Equus property of the old Vanity Fair site and the new medical center. You’re recreating the communities of a hundred years ago when people got their lunch pail and walk down the street to the factory.
They’re recreating that in West Reading and Wyomissing, we hope that that also spills over into Reading and other areas that people don’t have to rely on their car, they may not necessarily have to have a car, but they can walk to the grocery store, walk to shops, kids walk to school, so we don’t all just have to pile in the car and go somewhere.
I’m County Commissioner Kevin Barnhardt this election day I asked for your vote because Experience Matters.
Recent Comments