‘Abington’s Next Century’ to Start Friday?

Joy Pollock, a member of the Rydal-Meadowbrook Civic Association, has been an Abington resident for a little over ten years. She’ll gladly say that Abington is a quality place to live, but said the township’s growth is stagnant despite housing some really big institutions.

Pollock, and others, are likely hoping that a panel discussion called “Abington’s Next Century: Innovation and Growth Initiative” will help spur some forward thinking when it comes to the local economy.

“Abington, many times, gets awards for being ‘very livable’ and a ‘best place to live’ and blah, blah, blah," Pollock said. "It’s all true, and if you live here, you feel that way, however, we’re not seeing growth in Abington and yet we have Penn State University and Abington Memorial Hospital — two very large institutions — in our back yard."

Pollock points to empty storefronts and a lack of high-tech industry as proof that the township is lagging economically. If she had her druthers, she said she would like to see more “clean industry,” like bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies, set up shop in Abington; Pollock said Great Valley is having success at recruiting these businesses.

Pollock, a former Lower Moreland resident, said she thinks it's important that Abington stays strong economically because it's such a big municipality ... and it could affect all of Montgomery County, especially eastern Montco.

To help get the immediate community thinking about growth, the economic summit (as it’s being billed on the RMCA website) will have three panels. According to the organization’s website, they will include the following organizations and people: 

Jobs of Today and Tomorrow, moderator Stephen Turner  

• Dr. David Brookstein, Dean of STEM at Montgomery County Community College
• Wendy Klinghoffer, Executive Director, Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce  
• State Rep. Brendan Boyle
• Brian Regli, Director of Commerce, Montgomery County
• Jay Blumenthal, Abington Township Treasurer and Tax Collector  

Preparing Students for the 21st Century, moderator Tom Stone

• Larry Merlis, CEO of Abington Health
• Karen Wiley Sandler, Chancellor of Penn State Abington
• Jeffrey Fecher, Abington Senior High School Principal

Planning, Zoning & Development for Growth, moderator Michael Markman

• Jay O'Connor, Abington Commissioner
• Steven Kline, Abington Commissioner
• Miriam Einhorn, real estate agent
• Ashley Spearman, Planning Board
• John DiPrimio, Zoning Board  

The event starts at 7 p.m. at the Sutherland Auditorium at Penn State Abington. Admission is free and open to the public.

“We have to see what happens at this event so we can develop an appropriate response,” Pollock said. “Someone could say something that could trigger an ‘oh-my-gosh-why-didn’t-we-think-of-that?’ reaction. There are going to be a lot of reactions, and we’re going to follow up on this event in the fall.”