A vacancy has opened on the 311 W. Main Task Force in Lansdale with the resignation of North Penn School District resident Amy Rims.

Rims was asked to step down due to her move to Sellersville, Bucks County.

Borough Manager Timi Kirchner said the task force and its members are governed by an ordinance, one that defines the composition of the task force.

The task force ordinance calls for 11 members. Four of those members must be council members. Four other members must have an established arts and entertainment background and need not be from the North Penn district. The remaining three members must be North Penn residents or own a business in the North Penn district. Rims was one such member.

"Amy was appointed to the task force as a member of the community. Within the ordinance it states that community members must live, be employed or own a business within the North Penn School District area," Kirchner said. "Amy now lives in Sellersville, which, as a person who was appointed as a community member, puts her at odds with that ordinance."

Kirchner said that council President Matt West appointed members to the task force. West, as president, will now make an appointment for the vacancy left by Rims.

Rims, however, was adamant about staying on the task force.

"I'm disappointed that the didn't want me to be part of it anymore," she said. "I didn't know that moving out of town would cause trouble since I'm still involved in Lansdale.

She has volunteered her time to organize two comfortably-crowded art shows in the ballroom of Third and Walnut Bar in Lansdale.

Those art shows saw no attendance by anyone on the 311 W. Main Task Force, Rims said. 

She claims an arts task force in Lansdale does not support Lansdale arts. The only borough official to attend both art shows was Mayor Andy Szekely, she said.

She found it disappointing. She said Lansdale is trying to get arts in the community and she doesn't feel supported for her efforts. 

"The task force is supposed to be supportive of the arts. Why didn't any of them come out?" said Rims. "None of them came to see what I was doing."

Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch contacted Kirchner, West, task force chairman Mike Sobel and task force vice-chairman Charles Booz for comment.

Kirchner said Rims did announce her shows to the task force, and that many people announce many events to the council members, staff and volunteers. "

It is up to each task force member, all of whom put a lot of energy into this community, to determine if they want to attend any of these events within the context of their private lives and personal time," Kirchner said.

 Rims said she cares about the task force's goal.

"I don't want any harm to it," she said. 

Everyone on council and on the task force are very friendly and very nice people, and she is behind each one of them, she said.

Kirchner said that no matter the decision, Rims, and anyone else interested in the work of the task force, is encouraged to attend all of the meetings and provide the task force with the benefit of their thoughts, ideas and expertise.

Rims said "maybe I might come to the meetings and be a public figure."

"I'm not so enthusiastic right now," she said.

Rims' next art show is a "Five and Dime Art Show" on June 1 at Third and Walnut Bar from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

The show will feature art priced between $5 and $10 through "old timey themes." Rims said there will also be girls dressed up like cigarette girls, with unique miniature artwork for sale in mock cigarette packs.

At First Friday on May 4, Rims and other artists will be painting portraits at the Rite-Aid to benefit the Children's Miracle Network.

See more:

• 'Nuthing But Art' Was Nothing But Fun
• AMS Planning to Give Final Report for 311 W. Main in August
• First Friday Lansdale is Reborn
• Consultant Chosen For 311 West Main Project
• First the Consultant, Then the Money
• 311 Task Force Chair Takes on 'Unfounded Criticisms'
• www.discoverlansdale.org