(Photo by Mark Peterson)

The rise and fall of the steel mills. The division into two school districts. The introduction to reverse parking.

The city of Beaver Falls has seen many changes over the course of the last several decades, and with a switch to home rule charter, a new mayor, and several additions and renovations coming to the city…many more changes are on the horizon.

A person who has been part of that parade of change over the last several years has been Bethany Williams, who is the director of Community Development for the city of Beaver Falls. She spoke to Matt Drzik on the November 24 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about these changes, including the change to home rule charter that city citizens voted on back in November after a process that took over a year.

“We’re looking forward to more community engagement,” Williams said. “We’re learning just as much as everyone in the community is about this, because it is new for us as well compared to what we’ve been used to.” Williams mentioned that the new system will take place in January, when a transition team will be put in place to create a new code of conduct.

“Just expect more communication from us in the near future,” Williams added. “We’re hoping to add a pipeline of leadership development in our community…what we can’t do is outpace the community in our growth. We don’t want to be building the community that the same 75 people want, we want to a build a community that all voices have a say in creating.”

To hear the full conversation with Bethany Williams, click on the player below.