Summary of 13 November 2024 BOS Meeting
This is my personal summary of the November 13, 2024, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.
Access the 2024 BOS Chronicle for detailed summaries of all 2024 BOS meetings to date. Also, access the (UNOFFICIAL) 2024 BOS Voting Record.
Agenda Items, Discussions, Decisions, and More
- NBCJMA – Facilities (aka Sewage Treatment Plan) Report Update
- Public Comment
- Engineer’s Report
- October 2024 Police Report
- 2025 Budget Amended
- Other Items of Interest
NBCJMA – Facilities Report Update
Presentation by Warren Gromley, Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority
Re: Proposed sewage treatment plan on Lower Silver Lake Rd. This item was removed from the agenda a day before the meeting ostensibly to give the sewer authority “more time to make a full presentation they can share with [the BOS] ahead of time. That way [Supervisors] can ask questions about what [they] don't understand from their packet.” As of 26 November 2024, the supervisors have NOT received the presentation for review although the Newtown Borough Council did receive it on Nov 6 (see below).
Related Content:
- #NewtownPA Sewer Authority Purchases Land for Sewage Treatment Plant
- “Sewer Authority Representatives Discuss Proposed Sewage Treatment Plant at #NewtownPA BOS Meeting”
- “#NewtownPA Sewer Authority Investigating Plans For Treatment Facility on Lower Silver Lake Road”
Meanwhile, view the video of the presentation made by Warren Gromley, Special Project Manager, and Theresa Funk, Authority Engineer, at the November 6, 2024, Newtown Borough Council Work Session regarding the proposed sewage treatment plant:
Public Comment
Friends Village residents Tom Cadwallader and Kip Cherry as well as Terry Christiansen requested that the township pass an ordinance to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. "This would cut down on exhaust and noise and be safer for workers. The noise and the pollution are major, major problems,” said Cadwallader, president of the Residence Association at Friends Village. View a video of their comments:
Meanwhile, 83% of Newtown Township respondents to my survey said "Definitely Not!" to banning the use of these blowers in Newtown Twp. Only 13% were "Definitely" OK with a ban.
As a result, supervisor Elen Synder - the Newtown Environmental Advisory Board liaison to the Board of Supervisors - advised the Friends Village residents "we will not write an ordinance for the township or mandate in any way that individual home owners or lawn care companies that are paid by HOA fees would be included in this initiative." However, she noted that "we will be undertaking the switch over to battery powered leaf blowers and weed whackers to be used on township property only."
NOTE: As of 11/23/24, there has been no action on this by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) nor has any such ban - even limited to township property - been put forward for consideration by the BOS.
For more detailed survey results, including all comments from Newtown respondents, read this Newtown Patch article: Residents Think a Gas Leaf Blower Ban is “Ridiculous” & “Overreaching”
Engineer's Report
Business Commons Sidewalk Project
QUESTION: Prior to the meeting, I asked the Township Engineer, Dominic Cundari: “I wanted to know if you have made any progress regarding the BOS's request that RVE look into whether or not this could be added to the project under the grant and what the cost might be.”
ANSWER: “I have spoken with the MTF grant coordinator about expanding the scope of the project with our excess funds. They would consider it, but first we would need to submit our case for the additional scope. As of this afternoon, I also spoke with the LSA grant coordinator. They will not consider an expanded scope of work. Their grants are very competitive, and our grant contract is very specific to the work locations. The cost is approximately $540,000.00.”
MY RESPONSE: I looked at RVE’s cost estimate and compared it to the cost estimates submitted by NJS Concrete LLC, which was approved to do the work for this project. I notice that RVE’s unit costs for concrete sidewalk is $200 per unit whereas NJS has a $90 per unit cost for this. If we use NJS’s unit cost the Item Subtotal for concrete sidewalks drops from $204,000 to $112,000. Similarly, RVE’s unit cost for Concrete Curb is $120 whereas NJS estimates $90 – which results in an additional $17,400 savings. In total, using NJS’s unit costs can save $129,000 and the revised estimate would be $409,669.50 ($539,269.50 - $129,600).
Note that the grant was $873,000 for the original project. NJS’s winning bid was $488,880, which leaves $384,120 that could be spent for the Newtown Sidewalk project with a deficit of $25,549.50 ($409,669.50 – $384,120.00). That deficit could be made up from the township’s General Fund, which is estimated to have a $5.1 million balance going forward from 2024.
View this video of residents making the case for this sidewalk:
IN CONCLUSION: I believe we can go back to PennDOT with a case for additional scope of the project; i.e., construction of a safe concrete sidewalk with curbing along Newtown-Yardley Rd extending from the Tara Blvd crosswalk to S Elm Ave. The rational for this change of scope is as follows:
- This is part of the Newtown Trail which, when this project is complete, extends up Lower Dolington Rd to Devon Rd.
- Pedestrians – including Business Commons workers disembarking from Septa buses at the intersection of Lincoln Ave and Washington Ave in the Borough - will no longer have to walk along the shoulder of Newtown-Yardley Rd where there is no curbing for safety.
- Completing this section of sidewalk is consistent with other plans that enhance the safe walkability between the township and the borough.
October 2024 Police Report
2025 Budget Amended
Mr. Fisher reviewed several aspects of the budget, and stated there would be no tax increase slated for the upcoming year with no decrease in services or employees. Ms. Snyder expressed her support for the Fire Department and the need for a 2 mil tax increase to accomplish this.
Mr. Mack requested the inclusion of a speed sign and trailer (“A” in figure below) for the township for $19,436.00. The consensus of the Board was to approve the purchase of the speed-sign and amend the proposed budget accordingly.
After discussion, the Board agreed to a one-time transfer of funds in excess of the targeted 10% reserve in the General Fund balance to the Fire Fund in order to support fire services rather than increase taxes this year. See changes:
My Detailed Notes
See pages 101-104 of the 2024 BOS Chronicle (PDF) for more detailed notes regarding this meeting.
Official Video
Transcript
Download the time-stamped transcript of this meeting prepared by Youtube from the video: download PDF document.
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