Kathy Howley calls it a career

Kathy Howley has been working for Pennsbury Township for almost 46 years. Now she’s retiring and said, “It’s been a wonderful ride.”

Her expected last day on the job will be Aug. 5 and her replacement will be current Supervisor Dan Boyle who will have to step down from the board when he takes over as manager. That change for Boyle is to be officially announced at the next Board of Supervisors meeting.

The Harris meeting room in the municipal building was packed with well-wishers during a retirement party for Howley on June 24. In separate interviews, Supervisors Aaron McIntyre and Wendell Fenton, and solicitor Tom Oeste each said the same thing, that Howley has been resilient and capable of handling anything that came up, and that she maintained her professionalism and objectivity throughout.

As an example, each of them pointed to the same thing, the highly contentious and controversial proposal for traditional development — called Pennsbury Village — that would have used township property for the plan which included retail businesses. It was that controversy that led to McIntyre and Fenton being elected to the board.

Kathey Howley shows a gift she received at her retirement party, a drawing of the Pennsbury Township office building done by Karl Kuerner.

McIntyre said he first met Howley when he moved into the township in 2000. He wanted zoning information and met with her when she was working out of a trailer. But has gotten to know her better since he became a supervisor. He said her conduct during the controversy stands out.

“During that controversy, she steadfastly dodged bullets,” he said. “She didn’t take a side. She maintained her relationship with each of the parties. She kept herself in a very professional manner and maintained her neutrality.”

Fenton echoed McIntyre’s opinion, adding “Kathy is able to handle any issue that comes in her office. If it’s a problem, she knows how to deal with it or deflect it. If it’s positive, she knows where the files are. It’s extraordinary the institutional memory that will be lost when she retires,” Fenton said. “They don’t make them like that anymore.”

Oeste also extolled Howley’s ability.

“Kathy’s the greatest. She’s easy to work with, even-keeled, nice personality, sensible and she has a lot of institutional memory.”

Oeste, too pointed to her conduct during the Pennsbury Village controversy as “significant.”

Howley became township manager in 1994 but started working for the township in 1978 when, at the request of the late Clarence Harris, a neighbor and former supervisor.

“He asked me, ‘We need a secretary, can you take minutes?’ And I said I think I can do that. From that point it grew, gradually.”

Howley addresses the audience at her retirement party. She said her 46-year career in Pennsbury has been “a good ride.”

Sixteen years later, she became township manager.

Has the township changed much during her 30 years as manager?

“It really hasn’t changed as much as what is all around us,” she said. “One of the supervisors said, ‘We’re kind of like this green oasis in the middle here.’ Once you come over the creek and you go through Pennsbury Township, it’s basically a residential community. We do have our highway commercial; we have our village commercial, but we’ve always been interested in open space and that has been something that we’ve focused on. So, it really hasn’t changed that much.”

She, pointed to the end of the Pennsbury Village controversy when Toll Bros. agreed to sell the land to the township as the best moment during her tenure as manager.

Despite the angst that preceded that, there really wasn’t a worse moment, shev said when asked.

“I can’t think of anything. It’s been a wonderful ride. It’s been even keel. It was a little difficult between boards, especially when the [TND] controversy was going around but, I just kept out of the way. I really don’t have any worst moments. It’s been a great ride…Everything’s been good.”

Howley admits there have been a few people who gave her a hard time but, all in all, she said again, it’s been a good, even keel ride.

“I’ve just been blessed. I’ve always had the support of the board and I’ve had good relationships, even in the rough times.”

During the party, a large portrait of Howley was unveiled and she was presented with a drawing of the Pennsbury Township building done by Chadds Ford artist Karl Kuerner. Fenton made sure everyone knew it showed Howley’s office.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.