Westtown Township’s board of supervisors voted to remove all six members of its historical commission Monday, rejecting depictions that its decision was tied to the fate of the historic Darlington Inn, saying instead that there was a “long history of problems” working with the commission’s members.
The formal unanimous vote came after all of the commission’s members received an email last week notifying them of their pending removal. Members believed it was due to a clash with the township’s elected officials over the future of the Darlington Inn, a 19th-century property that sits near the preserved Crebilly Farm.
The three-member board rejected that assertion, saying that their decision was “unrelated to the Darlington Inn or any position taken by the commission members concerning the future of that property.”
“The board periodically reviews appointments to its advisory boards and commissions and has the authority to appoint and remove members as it determines appropriate,” Board Chairman Jodi Nawrocki said in a statement to a packed audience ahead of their vote.
Nawrocki said that the historical commission would not be dissolved; the supervisors planned to “review the commission’s responsibility” and “determine whether any updates or revisions are appropriate.” After that review, the board will accept letters of interest to serve on the commission, including from former members.
Nawrocki later told attendees that the wholesale dismissal was “something that’s been on our minds.”
“There has been a long history of problems between the board of supervisors and the historical commission, going back a couple years,” said supervisor Tom Foster.
The commission’s removal was “the cleanest way to deal with a lingering problem,” he said.
Commission members said previously that they believed that relations between themselves and the board had grown more contentious, particularly around the Darlington Inn. The property, which was purchased separately with $200,000 in taxpayer funds, was acquired by the township when it bought and preserved Crebilly Farm.
It had to be purchased separately in order to preserve the building. The supervisors have previously discussed rezoning it to commercial use so that they could resell it and recoup the money spent, rather than the building sitting vacant and requiring more maintenance and funding.
The commission sought to raise awareness of its potential sale, and have wanted to preserve the property, members said previously.
Christine Gunsaullus, who joined the commission just more than a year ago, still felt “utterly surprised” at the board’s decision.
“We don’t know what the challenges are. I can’t help but to think that the root cause ties back to the inn,” she said in a phone call Tuesday, adding that there were other challenges, like passing an ordinance that would have helped protect historical buildings, but ultimately wouldn’t stop buildings from being changed or demolished.
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“We recognize some old buildings aren’t worth saving, and we recognize that it costs a lot of money to maintain history and maintain these old buildings. We don’t want to stop new construction; we just want to preserve what we can when it makes sense,” she said. “That’s our standpoint. But I didn’t feel like there was any discussion, no back-and-forth ever, with the board in reconciling issues like this.”
Monday’s meeting drew roughly an hour of public comment on the topic, with residents and historians decrying the board’s decision. Speakers chafed at the board suggesting it would remove the commission over difficulties working together.
“Your actions … are causing a threat to every historic commission in Chester County,” said Mark Evans, vice president of Chester County Historic Preservation Network. “If you proceed with this, it’s unprecedented and, at the minimum, extraordinarily rare.”
Evans added: “Flexing power is not a strength.”
“You’re right,” Nawrocki said. “I’m a yoga instructor, and for all the people I teach, this is the year of power. And we are talking about using our power for good. … The historical commission has not been working well with us, as the board of supervisors.”
State Rep. Craig Williams, who represents portions of the county including Westtown,said he “couldn’t imagine” reports about the removal of the commission were true, and came to hear the board’s reasoning himself. He was “a little astonished” that there had been none, “except for it’s just hard to get along with people.”
“I don’t know what’s actually going on behind the scenes with respect to your historical commission, but I do think you owe us an explanation. All of us,” he said.
The meeting grew charged at moments, with interruptions. People booed when the supervisors took their vote.
“[The historical commission] have done some amazing work. There is also a challenge in dealing with them, and it is wrong to presume that it’s the board’s inability to get along with them,” said former supervisor Carol de Wolf, saying she respected the board for remaining quiet on specifics. “I am really sorry that good members are part of this.”
But many were worried about transparency moving forward.
Resident Megan Bruns said she found the board‘s “not working well” and “cleanest way” reasoning problematic.
“These phrases signal to myself and probably other residents that the board is seeking compliancy, which makes us question the intentions of the board,” she said. “If this decision is truly about improving the commission, we need evidence. If not, many in this community will understandably question whether independent voices are simply being replaced with more agreeable ones.”
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