On vacation this winter with his family in Bermuda, Drew Skelton said he decided to help East Greenville resolve its police issues.

            Skelton, a 1984 graduate of Upper Perkiomen High School who grew up in a neighboring municipality, felt an urge to help the borough. "I told the wife that I wanted to get involved," he said

. "East Greenville was in a bind, and I thought I could help out."

            On Monday night, municipal officials welcomed Skelton, the interim chief of the East Greenville Borough Police Department, and David Nosal, a lieutenant with the Pennsylvania State Police, during an informal meet and greet at Borough Hall.

            A Hereford native who lives in New Hanover, Skelton described himself as the ideal candidate to oversee the creation of the borough's new department. A 23-year veteran of the state police, he said he has a solid working relationship with all of the surrounding police departments.

"This is my home," Skelton said.

            He assured the residents in attendance that the new police department would be a professional operation, and that there would be no hard feelings against the newly created police department in Pennsburg.

            "Integrity is everything," he said during the event. "As soon as we have the department under scrutiny that is the day we are done."

            A retired state trooper, Skelton will be sworn in June 1, the first day of the new department. The interim chief have full arresting authority, according to Mayor Ryan Sloyer.

            The state police will initially provide primary coverage, according to Skelton, initially hired as the borough's police consultant. He called the law enforcement agency "second to none."

            Beginning June 1, he state police will provide primary coverage in the municipality.

"I promise that we will do a good job," Nosal said. "We're going to make sure that if you call for a police officer, one will show up."

            According to Nosal, cars from Skippack are assigned during a shift to cover sections of the county. Troopers currently provide primary protection in Upper Hanover and Red Hill. He said they also support the Upper Perk Police District and the Marlborough Township Police Department.

            More serious incidents will be handled immediately by the troopers, according to Nosal. He said estimating response times for his officers is purely hypothetical.

            The lieutenant described the state troopers as proactive and hard charging. Nosal said they often affect DUI arrests.  "I will say that we do our job very well," Nosal said.

            Initially, Skelton's duties as interim chief will account for less than 40 hours a week. He said the borough's relatively low call volume will permit him to interact with the residents.

Skelton, who is also working to set up the new department's standards and procedures, said he understands the challenges a community faces during a police transition. In 1998, he supervised five officers who helped Red Hill move from the Upper Perk Police Commission to state police coverage.

            "The perception that there was not going to be adequate police coverage was the biggest problem," Skelton said. "Otherwise, there were no issues."