Upper Dublin Commissioner Liz Ferry disagrees with joint statement on bus depot. Believes site in office park should be studied

On March 13th, AroundAmbler.com reported on the release of a joint statement from Upper Dublin Township and the Upper Dublin School District. The statement addressed the determination by the township and school district that the township’s public works building project and the school district’s need for a transportation depot move forward separately. You can read the full statement here.

According to a statement released by Upper Dublin Commissioner Liz Ferry (Ward 1, R), she asked that her name not be included on the joint statement as she was not allowed a role in the meeting and what was determined. According to Ferry, she and Commissioner Gary Scarpello had been designated by the board of commissioners to represent the board in joint meetings with the school district and had attended several meetings after the 2021 tornado.

Ferry, who is currently a candidate for the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, shared with AroundAmbler.com that there hadn’t been any further joint meetings in approximately a year until about a month ago (the meeting referenced in the joint statement). Ferry claims that she was denied the opportunity to attend the meeting.

Current Status of the Depot

According to the school district’s website, it is considering two locations for the depot:

  • Land near 309 and the Field of Dreams (but not to include the Field of Dreams)
  • Edwards Field off of Fort Washington Avenue next to the district’s administration center and across the street from Maple Glen Elementary

The joint statement doesn’t weigh in on the matter beyond that the actual Field of Dreams field should not be utilized for the bus depot. However, Ferry believes that the public would be better served if the depot was located in the office park and suggested that 455 Delaware Avenue in Fort Washington, which is owned by Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority, be studied. According to Ferry, the former longtime township manager, Paul Leonard, believed that this site was appropriate for the depot (even with a portion of the property falling within the flood plain).

The text of Ferry’s statement is below:

Dear Upper Dublin Township Residents,

Per the recent township/school district letter that was sent out on March 13th, I requested that my name not be included in the letter because I believe the school district has not adequately exhausted all its options when reviewing new sites for its school bus depot. I, along with Gary Scarpello are supposed to represent the township at joint meetings with the school district. Contrary to the letter, no meetings have taken place in over a year. As the Ward 1 Commissioner that represents parts of Fort Washington, I asked to be included in the recent meeting to discuss the bus depot location and was told I could not attend. Our previous township manager believed the 3.3 acre site at 455 Delaware Avenue would be an appropriate site for the bus depot. While some of the property is in the flood plain, a majority of the site is not and worth examining.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Liz Ferry