Lower Macungie Township Manager Bruce Fosselman is very clear – Lower Macungie has the greatest staff serving the 32,000 residents in the township.

Fosselman retired Sept. 14 after serving in local government for 41 years – 10 in Lower Macungie Township.

He believes his biggest accomplishment in the past 10 years has been bringing transparency to the township and regaining the trust of the residents in their local government.

Fosselman said revising the preparation of the annual budget and making it more transparent and easier to read, along with televising the board of commissioners’ meetings have helped with communicating with the residents. Many of the items on his list of accomplishments he attributes to his staff.

“There is lots of positivity in the township office,” Fosselman said. “The staff always responds to emails and telephone calls always receive a response. We have great people here.”

He has served under 14 commissioners during his 10 years including Keller Kline, Deana Zosky, Bill Spaide, Julie Timmcke, Doug Brown, Joe Pugliese, Ron Eichenberg, Roger Reis, Ryan Conrad, James Lancsek, Ben Galiardo, Ron R. Beitler, Ron W. Beitler and Brian Higgins.

Fosselman said the current board of commissioners is focused on land preservation. Over 600 acres of land has been preserved, including the Weiner tract of 200 acres which he is told, “has the best soil in the Lehigh Valley.”

During his time as township manager, he has planned and overseen over 10 miles of walking paths and completed one dog park with another dog park to follow soon.

“We have received over $3 million in grant monies for parks, walking trails, traffic improvements, land preservation and recycling,” Fosselman said.

The township received a grant for the purchase of 9,500 recycling containers for property owners and implemented a compost sticker system for better control at the compost center.

At Camp Olympic, something he is also very proud of, renovations included a new parking lot, pump park, playground, cross country course, disc golf, opening the barn for banquets and a new home for the Lower Macungie Historical Society.

His list of accomplishments in the last 10 years is long; most of the items on the list have benefited the residents of the township and have made it easier for them to do business with officials.

Fosselman has only one regret: he believes it was in the best interest of the residents to have a turf field installed at Quarry Lane Park but the board felt the $2 million was better spent on land preservation.

“I understand it was not cheap; however, I would have loved to see it. Maybe it will happen in the future,” Fosselman said.

Fosselman said it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the township; however, the job is not an easy one.

In his 41 years of service, he has attended 2,500 night meetings. He worries about future township managers and said there is a need to get younger managers involved in township government.

Thinking about retirement for the last year, Fosselman, 64, said he made the decision when an illness in the family was revealed. On his first official day of retirement, he will be helping a family member with some business transactions.

Fosselman met his wife Patty in 1986. The couple has two children: Michael, 30, and Peter, 29, both in the New York financial district.

As a surprise for Fosselman, Michael and Peter came home for a celebration dinner held recently with staff and associates.

Fosselman is looking forward to spending time with Patty, his sons and extended family.

“We are avid golfers,” Fosselman said. “Once a year, we take a destination family vacation to play golf.”

Also on his bucket list is to go south for the winter, take bridge lessons, play pickle ball and spend more time reading and playing cards.

Fosselman said his staff will miss his sense of humor.

“I met all the goals I wanted to meet as township manager,” Fosselman said. “I’m proud of my ethics. I’ve done nothing I can’t be proud of. The township is in great financial shape. I am so proud to leave the township in the shape it is in.”