Sean Strub is Milford's new mayor
By Frances Ruth Harris
MILFORD — Sean Strub was in Alabama when the Milford borough council unanimously appointed him mayor.
Many at his business, the Patisserie Fauchere, shot him congratulatory emails and posted well wishes on Facebook — which had announced Strub's ascendancy more than 24 hours before he was formally appointed.
The post read: "Meet your new mayor!"
The council also appointed Frank Tarquinio to the borough council to replace Joe Casmus. Casmus and the former mayor, Bo Fean, submitted surprise resignations early last month. The council preferred the two newcomers to applicants who have worked for the borough over the years.
Fean said he knew it was time to leave when it became apparent to him no one was listening any longer to what he had to say. The previous year was filled with contentious meetings, with members of the business community complaining that the borough's restrictions on live music and sidewalk signs, among other innovations, stifled their efforts to grow. Last November five newcomers were elected to the council through write-in votes, sweeping out three incumbents in the process.
One of those incumbents, Nick May, also applied for the mayor's job. He said in his letter that he had chaired the Zoning and Sanitation Department and Street Department during the five years he served on the council.
"My family has served the Borough in numerous positions throughout the years and I would like to continue this tradition. I own a home and work in the Borough for the Milford Water Authority....I am throughout the Borough on a daily basis and see a lot of the residents and business owners."
Instead, the council picked Strub, whose April 25 letter of interest to the borough council best represented the platform of the so-called "Verge" candidates who won last November:
"Beyond overseeing the police department, serving as a tiebreaker for the Council and various ceremonial functions, I also see an important role for the Mayor to market Milford, for visitation to support our tourism-based economy, as well as to potential new investors and residents.
"Today, the competition between municipalities seeking to attract new investment is often fierce; every community wants good jobs and high-quality restoration and development.
"A Mayor who would proactively reach out and facilitate potential investment in the Borough, when the opportunity arises, could help reduce the vacancy rate in our commercial district.
"Finally, I would also like to help lead a longer-term visioning process for the Borough.
"Between policy decisions made in Harrisburg or Washington that can have a deleterious effect on small towns and rapidly changing patterns in retail growth and homebuilding, it is more critical than ever that we have a strategic plan to protect or quality of life, pristine environment and the economic vitality of our central commercial district.
"Other communities, whether they are gateways to national parks, in a county with a declining population, struggling with a tourism-based economy, or are on the fringe of a major metropolitan area, have faced challenges — and opportunities — similar to what we must address in Milford. I think there is much we can learn from these other communities....
"Milford has long benefited from a citizenry that has been willing to look to and invest for the future; today is no different and as Mayor I think I could contribute to that legacy."
"Both choices will be a fine addition to Milford Borough government," he wrote. "Best of luck."
The Verge party got its name from one of the struggles of 2015. The borough council prohibited rocking chairs that had been placed on the verge between the sidewalk and street in front of Strub's Hotel Fauchere, saying they posed a safety hazard. The rocking chairs on the verge symbolized the conflict between the two sides.
Rob Ciervo, the only non-Verge councilman and holdover from the former council, said "nay" to Tarquinio.
Outside borough hall after his appointment, Tarquinio said, "I want to join Sean Strub in his efforts to move the businesses and the borough forward."