Politics & Government

Forks Township Seeks Identity

Discussion at business roundtable meeting focuses on Forks' future.

It doesn't have the tourism attraction of Easton. And it's missing the retail draw of Palmer and Lower Nazareth townships.

But what Forks Township lacks more than anything is an identity.

That theme came out during the second Forks Township business roundtable Tuesday morning at the Forks Community Center, a meeting attended by about a dozen business leaders and numerous township officials.

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"Forks Township has a unique opportunity. We are a developing township," said Brian Lokitis, former president of the Business and Commerce Association of Forks Township. Ron Roth, who ran the roundtable, replaced him.

"What are we? What do we want to be?" Lokitis asked. "How do we go about branding ourselves to bring a unique retail type experience here?"

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Supervisors Chairman Erik Chuss said that Forks Township was the third-fastest growing municipality in the Lehigh Valley between 2000 and 2010. Forks Township has 15,000 residents now.

"We never really had a sense of community," Chuss said. "But I think that's starting to change."

Chuss said that Forks Township needs to build a sense of community and work on its identity.

"We have so much potential," he said. "We are moving forward. We have to keep the momentum going."

Lokitis said that potential starts with taking time to take the right steps.

"We don't have an identity yet," he said. "We're a blank canvas."


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