Summary of 23 October 2024 BOS Meeting
This is my personal summary of the October 23, 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
- Special Action
- Public Comment
- Reports of Board Members
- Reports of Committees and Commissions
- Reports of Officials
- Engineer’s Report
- Award Construction of the Newtown Business Commons Sidewalk Project (includes video & public comments)
- Engineer’s Report
- Other Items of Interest
Recognition of the Council Rock 2024 Little League World Series Team
This team should be recognized not only for its accomplishments on the baseball field, but also on the field of dreams – especially the dream of a community based on principles of mutual respect, understanding, and support. In their quest for the Little League World Series championship, these young boys came home big winners in the eyes of the Newtown community. This was evident to me when my wife and I joined scores of Newtown residents at Chandler Field to give a huge welcome home to the Blue Dawgs. One woman commented to us that it gave residents a nice “hometown feeling” to support the team.
Frank McCarron Comments on the 2025 Budget
Resident Frank McCarron commented on the proposed/draft 2025 budget. He was concerned about lack of funding for paid firefighters and did not understand why the budget surplus every year was much higher than anticipated. Read more comments by Mr. McCarron…
16 October 2024 Newtown Sewer Authority Meeting
I attended the October 16, 2024, Sewer Authority Advisory Board meeting along with a couple of residents and Julia Waldorf, Newtown Borough Council member. We had some concerns and questions about the 43% rate increase starting in 2026 and the proposed sewage treatment plant down Lower Silver Lake Rd from the Wawa site on the Newtown Bypass. My Sewage Treatment Plant & Rate Hike Survey shows a majority of residents are not happy with this project and rate increase…
At the Sewer Authority meeting, resident Mark Friend was concerned about the higher rate charged to people who use well water. Mr. Friend also
In response to a question by Ms. Waldorf, I learned that 21% of the increase was due to fixed cost increases and the remainder is due to the purchase of land for the new plant. I learned that the residents will NOT vote on a Bond that the Authority will have to issue to pay for the estimated $150,000 needed to build the plant. That, of course, will lead to an additional rate increase. View a video of the Q&A...
Planning Commission Report on Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Ordinance
Peggy Driscoll, Chair of the #NewtownPA Planning Commission, reported on the amendment to the JMZO regarding electric charging stations. As seen in the video clip below, this was followed by a lively Q&A session with the Supervisors for clarification of the issues, specifically ADA compliance, maintenance, public vs private, etc.
"This amendment had been reviewed and the Commission had recommended that our Board adopt it, but Wrightstown Township had recommended a number of minor changes, including elimination of the requirement to maintain adequate working order for the stations," said Ms. Driscoll. "After lengthy discussion the members agreed that the Board of Supervisors accept Wrightstown’s recommendation and in a separate action, draft a maintenance ordinance for the charging stations," said Driscoll. "This separate ordinance would address location, number of stations, advertising, etc. Of particular concern was the possibility that, in order to satisfy ADA requirements, EV stations would be located in prime parking spots, adjacent to the handicapped parking spaces. Our recommendation would be that this separate ordinance be developed for Newtown only, as there are more shopping areas with limited parking and we would have different concerns as far as giving up existing parking spaces for EV Chargers."
Award Construction of the Newtown Business Commons Sidewalk Project
Dominic Cundari - Township Engineer - noted that a total of five (5) bids were received for this project [details here...] with the Base Bid ranging from $488,880.00 to $701,185.00. NJS Concrete - the LOW BID Contractor - submitted their bid for the Base Bid work in the amount of $488,880.00. The BOS approved rewarding of the contract to NJS Concrete.
Supervisor Mack, however, asked if since the grant award is significantly higher than the bid amount, whether the township could implement a CHANGE ORDER to include replacing the asphalt path along Newtown-Yardley Road from Terry Drive/Washington Ave to S. Elm Ave in the Borough with a sidewalk? This is something residents of Newtown Walk have requested in comments made to the BOS on numerous occasions.
A lively discussion followed including comments from Newtown Walk resident Charles Feuer in favor of Mr. Mack's suggestion. At the request of the Solicitor and Board Chair, Mr. Cundari said "I I think to what what Mr solicitor is saying we can certainly look into it. It's not a given that they [PennDOT] will allow us to use these funds for work that's not in the scope of the grant." View a video clip of the discussion…
NOTE: The Township Manger told me via email: “I don’t think that [my plan and resident Feuer’s request] would be allowed under the grant, as the grant is specific to the business commons and specified alternates. Even if it was permitted, the amount to construct the extra sidewalk would probably be too expensive to award under the contract without entirely rebidding the project.”
A few days after the meeting, Newtown Township residents Al Dufault & Charles Feuer made a case for the need a new sidewalk along Newtown-Yardley Road leading from the crosswalk at Tara Boulevard to Elm Street in Newtown Borough. See the “walk by” video below…
My Detailed Notes
See pages 97-100 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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