Mechanicsburg Community of Interest
Dear Commission Members: We write to you as Township Commissioners on behalf of our more than 20,000 residents in Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County to offer public comment on the proposed preliminary state house map. Lower Allen Township is a Township of the First Class located in eastern Cumberland County, a short drive from our Commonwealth’s Capitol building. Our residents call the Mechanicsburg and New Cumberland communities of interest home. Students in our Township attend schools in both the Mechanicsburg Area School District and West Shore School District. Lower Allen is divided geographically by a large piece of land in the center of the Township at the site of the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill. The western part of our Township forms part of the Mechanicsburg community of interest where many Lower Allen students attend school in the Mechanicsburg Area School District. The eastern part of our Township forms part of the New Cumberland community of interest where many Lower Allen students attend school in the West Shore School District. Under current maps for the state House, Lower Allen Township is unified with Mechanicsburg Borough and Upper Allen Township. The current map unifies both the Mechanicsburg Area School District and West Shore School District in the current 88th House District. This grouping ensures Lower Allen residents who attend Mechanicsburg schools have the same representation where they receive their school services and their municipal services. The Commission’s new preliminary map, however, splits the Mechanicsburg Area School District between the 87th and 88th House Districts. This split affects our residents who would receive school services in one district but receive municipal services in another. This map also effectively divides the Mechanicsburg community of interest and alienates those residents in the western part of Lower Allen Township from the rest of the community. Instead of maintaining unification of the Mechanicsburg community, the proposed preliminary map joins our residents with those in Hampden Township and the Cumberland Valley School District. These communities are divided geographically by the Carlisle Pike—a long stretch of commercial activity bifurcating Cumberland County into north and south, rather than the east and west divisions recognized in the Commission’s preliminary plan. Existing municipal boundaries account for this natural geographic split. The Townships of Middlesex, Silver Spring, and Hampden are north of the Carlisle Pike and form most of the Cumberland Valley School District. The Townships Lower Allen and Upper Allen and the Boroughs of Mechanicsburg and Shiremanstown are south of the Carlisle Pike and form the Mechanicsburg community of interest. The Commission’s preliminary map seeks to unnecessarily divide these communities separating each existing community into two districts. We fear the result of this division will lead to a lack of representation for the Mechanicsburg community of interest. We fear the more populous Cumberland Valley community would have an opportunity to have two voices in the legislature while the Mechanicsburg community could lose its voice altogether. It is in the best interest of our residents for the Mechanicsburg community and Mechanicsburg Area School District to remain unified in one House district. This is easily achieved by placing the Townships of Lower Allen and Upper Allen together with the entire Borough of Mechanicsburg in the same house district, as it is achieved in the current map. We agree with the Commission’s plan to keep Lower Allen and New Cumberland within the same legislative district as well. This grouping makes sense, as Lower Allen Township and New Cumberland Borough make up an additional community of interest. New Cumberland Borough is home to New Cumberland Middle School, where Lower Allen Township students attend middle school. Lower Allen Township is also home to Cedar Cliff High School, where New Cumberland borough students attend high school. As Township Commissioners, it is incumbent upon us to share with you what we believe is the best way our residents can be represented. It is our sincere belief that the residents of Lower Allen are best served when these communities of interest remain unified within the same House district, including Lower Allen and Upper Allen Townships and the boroughs of New Cumberland and Mechanicsburg. Thank you for your consideration of our public comments and for your service in this challenging process. Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions. Very Respectfully, Dean W. Villone, President H. Edward Black, Vice President Thomas H. Kutz, Commissioner Joshua Nagy, Commissioner