Read an article recently (3/21/08) in the Pocono Record and it seems that Carbon County has become a growth hotbed!  In the recent past it has been Pike and Monroe Counties with the spurting growth around here.  Pike County is still leading the State in growth in percentage terms but Monroe has slipped while Carbon has steamed ahead into the number two spot.  The majority of the new residents are coming from New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.  In fact the whole eastern part of the State is growing at quite a clip compared to the remainder of the State.  York and Chester Counties are the 3rd and 4^th fastest growing in Pa.

Change is inevitable and growth is a good thing, from an economic viewpoint, but fast growth not only changes the fundamental character of an area (going from wooded mountains and resorts to almost suburban in nature) it places enormous strain on infrastructure.  By infrastructure, in this case, I mean more than just the obvious concerns about roads, bridges, schools, storm water runoff control, ground water depletion for wells, need for central sewage and other public works type issues.  I also mean issues related to simple things like mail delivery (currently there is none, everyone still goes to the Post Office to get their mail) and complex ones like emergency services (such as police protection, fire fighting and ambulance services) which are all stretched to the limit.  These concerns must also include the need for updated Comprehensive Planning for Townships, new Subdivision and Land Development Ordinances and new Zoning Ordinances.  This is very difficult and expensive to deal with in a community with few full time residents which swell to large populations on weekends, holidays and NASCAR race times.  Volunteer fire fighters and rescue/ambulance people are few and far between in an area where there is no paid force to contend with these issues and the influx of people is often retirees who are not as inclined to tackle the stressful, physical duties of fire fighting etc.  Without trying to sound like a rural versus city argument, the people do come for the open space and pristine "wildness" of an area but expect city-like amenities and services - great if doable but it usually does not work out well for one or the other of these competing interests.  As someone once said, "may you live in interesting times!"  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out here in Carbon County.