Delco native and long-time resident, Janet English has served on the Lansdowne council for 11 years. Janet believes in the philosophy, “if you want change, you need to be involved” and she did just that. She saw a need at the Lansdowne Public Library and began her civic journey there by serving on the Lansdowne Library Board. In 2011 she ran for council and she now serves on the Finance & Administration committee as well as the Health & Public Safety committee. She currently chairs the Parks and Recreation & the Environment committee and is a liaison to the Library committee.
COVID-19 has created challenges that she and the council navigate daily. Although borough business can be conducted over Zoom, the face-to-face connection with the community is not the same as in-person meetings. Janet looks forward to when the borough meetings can return to in-person. She encourages residents to attend the council meetings and to be involved whether the meetings are virtual or in-person. Participating in Council meetings and committees, Janet feels, gives residents a better understanding about the decisions that the council makes. “A lot of research and thought goes into what we do.” The goal of council is to create long term stability for the borough and to provide a safe and pleasant place for Lansdowne residents to live. It has been challenging during the pandemic for council to balance public safety with the economic challenges many residents and businesses are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be Janet’s last term on Borough Council. She and her husband are both retired from Verizon and looking forward to travelling when it is safe to do so. In the hope of visiting all 50 states, they plan on first visiting for some fly fishing – hopefully in 2021.