12 April 2023 BOS Meeting Summary
Plastics Ban Special Meeting Overview, Villas of Newtown Basin Project Awarded, Lower Dolington Road Trail Delay, $75K for Newtown Fire Association, March 2023 Police Report, more…
This is my personal summary of the April 12, 2023, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.
Access the 2023 BOS Chronicle for detailed summaries of all 2023 BOS meetings plus the BOS voting record (UNOFFICIAL) for 2023.
Agenda Items
- Public Comment – Terry Christensen on LDR Trail Delay
- Proposed Plastics Ban - Overview of April 3, 2023 Meeting
- Engineer’s Report - Review Bids for the Villas of Newtown (VON) Basin Repairs
- Comments By Michele Fountain, Township Planner
- Comments By VON Residents
- Solicitor’s Report: Resolution amending the 2023 Budget to allocate $75,000 of American Rescue Plan funds to the Newtown Fire Association
- Manager’s Report
- Official Video
- Video Transcript
Resident “Disappointed” About LDR Trail Delay
At the April 12, 2023, #NewtownPA Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Terry Christensen - a resident, member of the Planning Commission, and Chair of the Friends Home and Village Board of Directors - expressed his disappointment about the delay in finishing the Lower Dolington Road (LDR) Trail. It is especially disappointing for the elder residents of the Friends Village located on LDR.
Overview of April 3, 2023, EAC Meeting
Elaine McCarron, Co-Chair of the Newtown Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), presented an overview of the special April 3, 2023, Information Session with businesses and residents. The focus was on EAC’s proposed ordinance banning single-use plastics.
Approximately 30 people were in attendance, including a dozen businesses, said Ms. McCarron. Representatives from Acme, McCaffrey’s, several restaurants and several retailers attended. My summary of this meeting includes audio recordings of comments from several businesses, including McCaffrey’s, which urged that the ban be delayed.
For more details, see page 26-27 of the 2023 BOS Chronicle.
VON Basin Repair: Comments By Michele Fountain
The following video shows the condition of the VON detention basin on April 14, 2023. You can see that the outlet box and drain are above the level of water in the basin. Thus, this water cannot drain from the basin.
Township Planner Michele Fountain of CKS Engineers reviewed the accepted bids to complete the Villas land development - specifically modifications to the detention basin to allow water to drain into the watershed.
The total for 3 contracts covering drainage modifications (i.e., underdrain), drain pipe installation, and site repairs is $122,285.22. There is approximately $135,000 in an escrow account to pay for this work, plus paying CKS to oversee the work.
THE BOS VOTED 5-0 TO ACCEPT THE BIDS.
For more details, see page 28-29 of the 2023 BOS Chronicle.
VON Basin Repair: Comments By Residents
Several Villas of Newtown (VON) residents commented on the proposed "fix" to their detention basin problem; i.e., lack of drainage. As mentioned by Barry Scott, president of the VON homeowners association, in the following video, the original escrow amount was $216.000. Since the beginning of 2019, CKS was paid over $77,000 from the escrow account. Do the math: $216,000 - $77,000 = $139,000; i.e., the depletion of the escrow account was due mostly to fees paid to CKS.
For more details, see page 28-29 of the 2023 BOS Chronicle.
$75K For Newtown Fire Association
A motion was made to use a portion of American Rescue Plan/Act (ARP/ARPA) funds ($75,000) for the volunteer Newtown Fire Association (NFA) to acquire self-contained breathing apparatus.
The Township has received $2,049,842 pursuant to the ARPA. As of 13 April 2023, the unrestricted ARPA fund balance is $543,891 (meaning it was not spent or obligated to be spent). The actual balance at the end of 2022 was $1,025,284.
THE BOS VOTED 5-0 TO APPROVE THIS AMENDMENT TO THE 2023 BUDGET, which already includes a $330,000 donation to the NFA General Fund, which the Township Manager, Mr. Lewis, has said is made “with the anticipation that the NFA will enhance their volunteer program to ensure adequate volunteer coverage for weekends.”
Routine Bill Payment Proposal/Resolution
In an April 6, 2023, Report to the BOS, the Newtown Manager, said he has “asked the solicitor to draft a resolution that would enable the Finance Department to pay routine/recurring bills and invoices (utilities, contracted services, cable, etc.).
These items will continue to be included on a bills list, however the billing cycle occasionally falls outside of a scheduled meeting time and the Township incurs additional fees. This also assists with the payment of the bills should we decide to eliminate the second meetings in the summer months.
An appendix is being prepared to attach to the Resolution outlining typical types of payments that are acceptable to be paid. A future agenda will include the resolution for the board’s consideration.”
MY QUESTION: What “additional fees” has the township been required to pay? Where are these fees documented? This resolution, IMHO, seems to takes away the ability of the BOS to approve payments before they are made.
March 2023 Police Report
Highlights:
- Total Incidents: 2,298 vs 1,844 in March
- Traffic Crashes 9 Injury: 10 vs 3 in March
- Auto vs Pedestrian: 2 vs 0 in March [QUESTION: Where did these occur?]
- Traffic Enforcement Details: 182
- Traffic Citations: 232 (see ALL SPEEDING citations for 2022)
- Parking Tickets: 0 (0 for all of 2023 vs 63 for 2022).
- Fraud: 22 vs 13 in March
- School Checks: 170 vs 141 for March
Find the complete report here.
Official Video
Transcript
Download the unedited time-stamped transcript of this meeting prepared by Youtube from the video: download PDF file.
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