Summary of 14 February 2024 BOS Meeting
This is my personal summary of the February 14, 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 plus the BOS voting record (UNOFFICIAL) for 2024.
Agenda Items, Discussions, Decisions, and More
- Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions
- Planning Commission: BET Parking Garage Core Apartment Building Revised Plan
- John Mack: 1 February 2024 Joint Zoning Council Meeting
- Engineer’s Report
- 2024 Liquid Fuels Road Program – Authorization to Bid
- DVRPC LED Streetlight Conversion Project
- Manager’s Report
- January 2024 Police Report
- Other Items of Interest
Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions
Planning Commission - BET Parking Garage Core Apartment Building
From the 6 February 2024 Synopsis: “The applicants have modified their plans since they had presented in August 2023. The plan now shows 120 units, with no reduction in parking. They presented a few concept designs for the exterior, all conscious of the building’s place in the historic district. Our members were in agreement that we have concerns about the size of the building, the parking ratio, the setbacks, the availability of EDU’s, the traffic impact, and the height. The applicant has agreed to take our concerns and try to address them.”
See my personal summary of the 6 February 2024 Newtown Planning Commission Meeting.
COMMENT: Wrightstown supervisors submitted comments on the previous plan including: “The proposed use would be more than 8 times the density permitted in the R2 district.” It should be pointed out that some PC members have concerns regarding density (now 20 dwelling units/acre where 3.9 is the current limit for the R-2 district).
John Mack: 1 February 2024 Joint Zoning Council Meeting
I attended the February 1, 2024, JZC meeting via Zoom where I initiated an open discussion on the Sign Provisions of the JMZO. No action was taken.
“Sign Ordinance General Revisions” has been on the JZC’s to do list for quite some time predating recent issues regarding neon signs. The supervisors agreed to hold a public “Work Session” on Monday, March 18, 2024, at 7 PM to discuss this.
Engineer’s Report
2024 Liquid Fuels Road Program – Authorization to Bid
Advertise the week of 19 Feb 2024; Bid opening on 14 Mar 2024; Possible bid awarded on 27 Mar 2024. For details, including roads on the list, see 22 January 2024 Meet Mack Monday Meeting Notes. The supervisors approved the authorization by a 4-0 vote.
DVRPC LED Streetlight Conversion Project
A total of 1,613 lights will be replaced at an estimated net project cost (including contingency fees and PECO rebates) of $720,373. The annual operating cost savings will be $43,679 and the payback period is estimated to be 16.5 years.
Resolution states in part: “…continued participation in the Program will allow the Township to implement the Project and improve the performance of municipal street lighting, and specifically to manage and administer the procurement, installation, and financing of the transition to light-emitting-diode (LED) street lighting and other street light improvements, and the maintenance of those improvements…”
- Keystone Lighting RSLLP Final Project Overview Presentation
- Final Project Specification & Proposal
The following is an audio recording of the presentation and Q&A session that followed.
The supervisors approved by 4-0 vote the resolution to move forward with the "Base Upgrade" (manual controls) using a "Hybrid Approach"; i.e., 4000 K pure white lights for major roads and warmer, 3000 K lights for local roads and residential roads.
Manager’s Report
January 2024 Police Report
Highlights:
- 2,655 Total Incidents (2023 monthly average: 1,938)
- 0 Auto vs Pedestrian incidents (4 total in 2023 vs 7 in 2022)
- 175 Traffic Citations, 7 DUI arrests, 25 reportable traffic crashes (206 total in 2023 vs 45 for all of 2022), 8 hit and run incidents
- 4 Retail Thefts, 17 Fraud Incidents (read “Traffic Crashes, Fraud, Thefts Dominate #NewtownPA Jan 19-24, 2024, Weekly Police Report”)
- 220 School Checks (1,572 total for 2023 vs 1,360 in 2022)
My Detailed Notes
The following notes were prepared prior to the meeting. View the notes embedded below or download the pdf document.
Official Video
Transcript
Download the unedited time-stamped transcript of this meeting prepared by Youtube from the video: download PDF document.
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