UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. —Soon the Upper Macungie Township Board of Supervisors will no longer have its longest-serving member.
Upper Macungie supervisor and former township staffer Kathy Rader had her final meeting with the board Thursday.
Rader first joined the board in 2006, and she worked for the township from 1985 to 2016. She decided not to seek re-election in 2023 because of her age, she said.
State Reps. Mike Schlossberg and Ryan Mackenzie presented Rader with citations from Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives thanking her for her years of service.
Township staff labeled the presentation as a “legislative update” to surprise Rader.
“We just can't thank you enough for all the wonderful things that you've done for so many years, making our lives better here in the community,” Mackenzie said. “Going forward, for many years to come, you have set this township up to be a great place to live, work and play.”
“Unlike my line of work, where there's a bit of a buffer, and sometimes you go, 'It's Harrisburg's fault,' you don't have that luxury,” Schlossberg said. “So to serve the people of Upper Macungie in this capacity in local government, for 38 years, is remarkable.”
Former State Rep. Gary Day also gave Rader a document of recognition on behalf of State Sen. Jarrett Coleman. Day said he tried to convince Coleman to go to the meeting, but he had another obligation.
“We told the Senator, ‘This person has really built this township and put her blood, sweat, tears and years into making Upper Macungie ride this wave of growth,’” Day said.
“Oh God, sit down!”Former Upper Macungie Supervisor Kathy Rader, in response to a standing ovation
Supervisors, staff and meeting attendees gave Rader a standing ovation before the meeting adjourned.
“Oh God, sit down!” Rader exclaimed in response.
The board will next meet on Jan. 2. Supervisor-elect Jeff Fleischaker will be sworn in at that meeting.
"I think he’ll be great,” Rader said of Fleischaker.
Rader’s time in Upper Macungie
When Rader first started working for Upper Macungie Township as a secretary in 1985, the township had a population of about 6,000 residents. The staff was small.
“We didn't even have a cleaning lady,” Rader said. “So it would get to the point where I'd say, ‘Okay, I can't stand this anymore. We're cleaning tomorrow.’ And we’d rip everything apart and clean it.”
Rader worked with a typewriter when she first started. She said township staff at the time insisted they would never get a computer.
Because the staff was small, Rader did zoning work as well as her secretary duties. So in 1998, the supervisors promoted her to Zoning Officer & Code Enforcement.
“I loved that job because you were able to help people,” Rader said.
Rader then made a lateral move to assistant director of Community Development in 2004 and stayed in that position until 2016.
In 2006, there was a vacancy on the township Board of Supervisors. Rader applied and was appointed to the board, and later went on to win the election of the term in 2007, then win re-election in 2011 and 2017.
Rader is the first and only woman to have served on the board.
Thoughts on warehousing and growth
Rader’s time on the board coincided with the township’s rapid population growth to almost 28,000 residents in 2023, as well as the proliferation of warehousing in the community.
Rader said both happened because of the municipality’s location and proximity to major highways.
“I always say our curse or blessing, depending on how you look at it, is our location,” Rader said.
As supervisor, Rader had to make decisions based on township zoning laws that were made before e-commerce was an industry. She said it is illegal for the township to take away an existing use, which limits its power to stop warehouse development.
“The example I used to give people was, you bought this lot to build your dream house and you're paying on this lot for years and years,” Rader said.
“Now it's finally paid off and you want to go build your dream house, and you go to the township and they go, ‘Oh, you can't, we've just rezoned that.’ I told one woman that and she said, ‘Well, I'd sue the township.’ Exactly.”
“If you want to take the chance of getting sued, you can prolong it. But then you have all those legal fees to pay, and they go into the hundreds of thousands of dollars sometimes. So that's why we stick by the ordinances.”
“There are nights you lose sleep over things. It's frustrating because there's things you want to vote differently but can't because of the laws.”Upper Macungie supervisor Kathy Rader
But Rader said making these decisions has not always been easy, because they affect her and her family.
“There are nights you lose sleep over things,” Rader said. “It's frustrating because there's things you want to vote differently but can't because of the laws.”
At the end of Thursday’s meeting, Rader gave a short speech.
“My message to all of our residents, especially those on social media, is that I encourage you to support this board of supervisors and the staff rather than criticize,” Rader said. “I think I can speak for all of us to say that we certainly didn't get into this for the money.
“It is rewarding when we can help a constituent and very disappointing when we can’t. Attend the meetings, ask questions to know why the decisions were made and to understand the processes.”
Rader also encouraged residents to volunteer on township boards and for volunteer fire companies.
She will continue to serve on the board of the Upper Macungie Community Fund, a nonprofit raising money for the proposed community center.
