At a public meeting on Monday, Oct. 3, the Wrightstown Board of Supervisors approved a 10-year contract extension for police protection with Newtown Township.
Under terms of the deal, there is an automatic annual 5% increase in what Wrightstown will pay for police protection, which is the same terms as the first 20 years of contracted coverage, officials said.
This contract extension came up for a vote at the October 10, 2022, Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting. It failed to pass.
More…
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John Mack's Insights:
According the 2022 Newtown Budget, the yearly fee that Newtown charges Wrightstown for this service is $846,529. Meanwhile, Newtown pays $6,074,422 per year for "Police Services" (not including pension payments).
Some data: From 2017 through 2020, an average of 19% of NTPD Calls For Service were in Wrightstown. See Newtown versus Wrightstown Call Data (2017-2020).
Also See:
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By a vote of 3-1 The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) at its September 28, 2022, meeting, approved a Women’s Reproductive Rights Resolution, which by my analysis is the first such resolution passed by a Bucks County Township.
Some people and publications claim that at least 14 other PA townships and boroughs have passed identical or very similar resolutions. An article in the Bucks County Beacon, for example, reports that "Approximately 14 Pennsylvania municipalities have issued resolutions with matching verbiage [emphasis added] [to the Women's Reproductive Rights Resolution recently passed by Newtown Supervisors]."
The article further states: "The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) provides template-like wording to its member communities to ensure that every municipality conveys the same message to legislators."
How true are these claims? Which PA Municipalities Actually Passed Women’s Reproductive Rights Resolutions/Ordinances? How similar were they to Newtown's version? Find the answers to these questions here...
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My personal summary of the September 28, 2022, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) based on review of the agenda and video archive (I was unable to attend this meeting due to COVID). This is not a complete nor an official summary.
Includes:
- Resolution Supporting A Woman’s “Right to Choose”
- Review of Changes to the LI/OLI Zoning District
- Review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan - Nine "Guiding Principles"
Details...
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Newtown Township, with the approval of PennDOT, has placed "NO TURN ON RED" signage at the intersection of Durham Road / Sycamore Street and Washington Crossing Road / Durham Road. This applies to right-hand turns.
According to the September 9, 2022, Engineer’s Report, RVE (township engineers) reviewed a request for additional signage at the above-mentioned intersection. Proposed improvements: Addition of two signs including: R1-5L/R 'Yield Here to Pedestrian with Left or Right Arrow' sign, 36" x 36" and R10-6AL/R 'Stop Here on Red with Left or Right Arrow' sign, 24" x 30". As of October 10, 2022, I have not seen any of these proposed improvements.
The “No Turn on Red” sign – although prominent – is not stopping vehicles from making right turns on red. Perhaps a “No Right Turn on Red” sign would be better. Or perhaps it will just be a matter of issuing a few tickets and allowing more time to pass for drivers to pay attention.
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John Mack's Insights:
I am sure that this is being done to improve pedestrian safety, which has been an issue on North Sycamore Street (read for example, "Supervisors Act To Improve Pedestrian Safety!"). Regardless, drivers must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, even when making a legal right-hand turn onto N Sycamore.
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On September 20, 2022, Jeremy Stoff and Lisa Wolf of the Bucks County Planning Commission (BCPC) presented their concept of an LI/OLI district overlay plan to the Newtown Township Planning Commission (NTPC).
Also attending this public meeting were members of the Newtown Economic Development Committee, which originally proposed that an Overlay be implemented to allow more uses for the Business Commons area of the township.
View the video...
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The Newtown Area Comprehensive Plan is a formal planning document mandated by the Municipal Planning Code (MPC). The Comprehensive Plan is not designed to address all aspects of township governance. In developing the plan, the Joint Zoning Council (JZC) narrowly focused on issues related to land development and zoning.
Prior to its September 20, 2022, public meeting, the Newtown Planning Commission (NTPC) reviewed a video presentation by Bucks County Planning Commission (BCPC) consultants, Lisa Wolfe and Jeremy Stoff. This video provided a high level review of the plan to the NTPC, which had some questions for the BCPC consultants at the meeting.
The plan contains nine principles that will be used to guide actions and decisions of the townships within the Jointure. Learn more about the 9 Guiding Principles...
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