Gun shows are officially off the table at the [NAC] Sports Training Center at 116 Pheasant Run and 209 Penns Trail in Newtown Township.
Under a zoning enforcement settlement agreement reached between the board of supervisors and the Newtown Athletic Club which operates the center, the Sports Training Center will be allowed to host event-style shows at the venue, just not gun shows.
The details of the settlement were announced by Newtown Township Solicitor Dave Sander at the August 10 board of supervisors meeting. Download the settlement agreement...
Read more...
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John Mack's Insights:
It should be noted that this settlement specifically applies to the NAC Training Center. Other venues may allow such shows under their certificates of occupancy. It is possible, therefore, that such a show may pop up at another location within the township.
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On August 10, 2022, the #NewtownPA Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved a resolution to add a referendum to the November ballot, which, if it passes, would raise the EMS tax by 0.5 mill. Find details in the resolution...
Will you vote "YES" or "NO"?
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“I feel that the more people realize that pedestrian safety is of great importance to all parts of the Newtown community – residents, businesses, law enforcement, government – the more attention will be paid to others on the street. and for safe walking, cycling and driving,” said Newtown Borough Councilor Amy Lustig.
Lustig’s comment was in reference to the Borough’s new outreach campaign, which is part of Walk Friendly Newtown, the Borough’s newest committee created in response to the city’s increase in pedestrian accidents.
Pedestrian safety stickers were distributed throughout the State Street business district that read, “Newtown Loves Pedestrians. Please use crosswalks.” Free car magnets are also given away. Borough residents are offered free Slow Your Roll car magnets (available at Borough Hall, 23 N. State St.).
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John Mack's Insights:
Meanwhile, residents of the Newtown Walk Community have a significant safety concern with the intersection located at Tara Blvd and Newtown-Yardley Rd.
Despite the clear crosswalk indications and sign denoting the crosswalk, drivers regularly do not yield and drive through the crosswalk, claim several residents in emails to the supervisors and township management.
Residents requested a pedestrian-activated beacon or flashing light.
When the issue of pedestrian safety on N Sycamore St came up in November 2021, before a pedestrian was killed while using the crosswalk in December, Police Chief Hearn said “It comes down to educating the public....Additional signage with lighting elements, that runs into an additional cost factor and involves ongoing maintenance and a liability factor if a bulb burns out and it’s not replaced in a timely manner. It’s a managed approach, but I believe education is the best way to go at this point.”
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bit.ly/2022BOSchronicle
Includes BOS meeting summaries, voting record for the year, a glossary of terms, an index, and links to documents and data - all in ONE document.
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[Image: Warren Gormley, Authority Manager at Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA), addresses NT Board of Supervisors on August 10, 2022.]
Warren Gormley tells supervisors: "It's just not a good thing for the rate payers...it will increase rates dramatically." View the video of his remarks.
The letter states, in part: "We respectfully solicit the County Commissioners to take any and all reasonable steps to compel BCWSA to abandon its negotiations with Aqua and for BCWSA to continue operating as an independent, non-profit agency, as intended when it was created in 1962 by the Bucks County Commissioners."
Read the entire letter...
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John Mack's Insights:
Back in 2013, NBCJMA proposed building a sewage treatment plant on the Bypass in Newtown, according to a Patch article.
Gormley contended that something has to be done about sewage treatment in Bucks County. There has been a moratorium on building permits because Bucks County's sewer line is hydraulically overloaded, he explained. "Because of that, we are looking for options," Gormley said.
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[Image: Resident Terry Christensen comments on the discussion.]
At the August 10, 2022, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, the controversial issue of abortion rights was discussed. In the end, supervisors voted 3-1 (Mr. Mack was absent) to authorize the Township Solicitor to draft an abortion rights resolution to be voted on at the September 14, 2022, BOS meeting.
Supervisor Kyle Davis opposed the action saying "I'm not unsympathetic to your thoughts on on the issue ... I just wanted to make this statement: it's not in our purview and it's a very controversial issue and ... I don't want to bring controversial issues from state and federal level down to Newtown Township."
Other members respected that opinion but noted that there is a need to prevent the state government from altering the constitution taking away women's right to choose.
Supervisor Snyder said "What we're doing is supporting our elected officials as they fight for women's rights and to keep them in the constitution as they already exist... so we're just telling them to please fight for women."
One resident commented on the respectful manner in which the BOS expressed their opinions: "What drew me to this lectern, said Terry Christensen, "was the respectful way that you communicated with one another . You set a fine example. There was an understanding an exchange of ideas. It didn't turn into personal attacks. You set a fine example. I wish some of our members of Congress could see how it works - maybe they should come to our meetings more often."
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On August 12, 2022, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) gave conditional use approval for the family-owned [Princeton-based Blue Point Grill aka BPG] to open at 3 West Road next to the TD Bank at the Newtown Shopping Center. [BPG will also have a bar and serve alcohol; read “Newtown Planning Commission is OK with Blue Point Grill's Conditional Use Application. Liquor Will Be Served!”]
"We're not going to be a bar to drink. We're going to be a restaurant to eat," said Jack Morrison, the owner of BPG. "If you're coming for a cocktail at 10 p.m. that's not who we are."
In addressing concerns over parking, Morrison's land development lawyer Mike Meginniss noted that the seafood house would be a complementary use to the neighboring TD Bank, which shares the 52 space parking lot. "We believe this is a good synergistic use with the peak hours of the bank during the day and BPG being a dinner operation," said Meginniss.
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John Mack's Insights:
The Planning Commission report to the BOS stated that the applicant will work with the landlord to enhance crosswalk markings for diners who may park on the opposite side of West Road.
In his testimony, Mr. Morrison said “Mr. Mack asked at … the meeting with the planning commission that we bring over New Jersey’s … really pretty stringent sustainability program of no single-use plastic, no straws. We've been working with that and Mr. Mack asks that we would bring that program over and we're happy to do that as well.”
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