Summary of 8 November 2023 BOS Meeting
This is my personal summary of my notes regarding the November 8, 2023, meeting of the #NewtownPA 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, Discussions, Decisions, and More
- Environmental Advisory Council Presentation
- Engineer’s Report/Topics
- October 2023 Police Report
- OK Advertising of 2024 Preliminary Budget
- Other Items of Interest
Proposed Single-Use Plastics Ban
Elaine McCarron, Vice Chair of the #NewtownPA Environmental Advisory Council, presented details of a proposed ban of single-use plastics at this meeting. Ms. McCarron answered several questions from BOS members regarding granting temporary exemptions and enforcement. See video:
The BOS will vote to authorize the advertising of the resolution at its November 21, 2023, meeting.
LDR Multi-Use Trail Still Needs Work!
On the agenda: Lower Dolington Road Multi-Use Trail – Payment Certificate #6
“RVE … recommends payment to Associated Paving Contractors, Inc. … in the amount of $193,246.80. The amount of $21,757.21 is being held for 2% retainage.”
The BOS approved this payment 3-1. Kyle Davis was absent and I cast the lone “Nay” voted in protest regarding the delay in fixing several punchlist items including those shown below:
These are just two items on the “FINAL” Punchlist that were not “addressed” (i.e., fixed) at the time of this meeting. As of November 13, 2023, the missing bolts in the guiderail end treatment (Between Stanford Drive & Everett Drive) were replaced BUT the seals around bottoms of posts where pavement is cracked (Punchlist Item #21) has not been fixed. Read “Lower Dolington Road Trail ‘Punch Lists’”.
Meanwhile, this and other new stop signs on LDR remain covered. Why???
As of November 15, 2023, plastic bags – which soon may be banned in Newtown Twp – cover stop signs on Lower Dolingtoon Rd at Everett Dr and Yorkshire Dr crosswalks.
The signs were installed long ago as part of the LDR Trail project.
I asked when these bags would be removed so that it is safer for pedestrians who now use the trail every day. According to a November 10, 2023, email from Newtown Engineer Dominic Cundari (RVE), “We are coordinating with the police to uncover all the signs and hope to have this done very soon.” To date – 11/13/23 – only the crosswalk warning signs have bee uncovered.
October 2023 Police Report
The following is the summary page of the October 2023 Police Report for Newtown and Wrightstown as presented by Chief John Hearn at this meeting.
Highlights:
- Total Incidents: 2,215 (19,396 YTD)
- Auto v. Pedestrian: 1
- Traffic Citations: 149 (1,836 YTD vs 1,761 in 2022)
- DUI Arrests: 4 (35 YTD vs 91 in 2022)
- Fraud: 16 (130 YTD vs 212 in 2022)
OK Advertising of 2024 Preliminary Budget
The supervisors unanimously approved the advertising of the preliminary 2024 budget, which can be found here. The ad appeared in the November 12, 2023, issue of the Bucks County Courier Times but was not available on the Township’s website until November 13, 2023.
Once a budget is advertised, the Board has an option of either adding or subtracting items. According to the SECOND CLASS TOWNSHIP CODE: “Upon any revision of the proposed budget, if the estimated revenues or expenses in the final budget are increased more than ten percent in the aggregate or more than twenty-five percent in any major category over the proposed budget, it may not be legally adopted with those increases unless it is again advertised at least ten days before adoption and an opportunity given to taxpayers to examine the amended proposed budget.
Detailed Meeting Notes
I prepare detailed notes before attending BOS meetings. These notes include links to background information and other details related to the items on the agenda. See the meeting notes for this meeting embedded below or download the PDF file 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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