Pocono Woodlands residents should call 911 in emergencies

The following letter, dated June 2, was submitted to the Courier by a member of the Pocono Woodlands Lakes Property Owners Association, who wrote, "Many residents of the Woodlands are quite troubled about the following message sent yesterday...along with many other issues affecting the safety and the quality of life":
Dear Members of Pocono Woodland Lakes POA:
Recently there has been discussion with our Public Safety Department about the roles and responsibilities that this department plays within our community. The Public Safety Committee after careful discussion with our Public Safety employees had determined that the staff was not officially trained in certain aspects of their job that would be required to protect our community and all of our residents from any legal liability.
In a meeting with our community attorney, Mr. Robert Bernathy it was decided that the safety of our staff and that of our residents poses far too much of a risk to have our staff responding to emergency calls. In case of an emergency, all members of our community should dial 911, and not solely rely on our Public Safety staff to respond to emergencies. Staff has been directed to continue their patrol and deter, through their presence any activity that would go against our rules and regulations, and to operate the Aspen Gate as usual.
We would like to stress that this is not our staff’s fault or that of the current board and we are doing everything possible to make sure our team is properly trained to perform their essential duties.
We are working to rectify what has never been done, and offer our community a trained and efficient staff. The board will present options to the community, and then our community as whole can decide what best route to take to remedy our situation. Thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.
President and Chair of Public Safety
Pocono Woodland Lakes POA