Newtown Category

Category: Newtown

Newtown Township 2021: The Year in Images

A selection of images created or curated by Newtown Supervisor John Mack
that helped tell the *News of Interest to Newtown Area Residents* in 2021

Important (or Not) Issues

For more than 4 years now, I have been hosting my “Issues of Importance to Newtown Township Residents” survey. In 2021, 145 people responded as shown here. Interestingly, fully one-third of respondents do not think attracting new business to Newtown is important. See more detailed survey results.

The Importance of Good Communications

Considering that the website is the main way that the township communicates with residents, it is crucial that its usability be improved. As Peter Drucker, who was arguably the world's greatest management consultant, famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” See a Google Analytics Report for the township website for the period of Apr through Sep 2021.

Residents Say “Yes” to Hybrid Meetings

Over 200 Newtown Area Residents Have Signed My Petition

The image shows how the Newtown Zoning Hearing Board improvised a "hybrid" meeting to allow one of its members to attend virtually.
Not an optimal solution by any means!

There is no need to put the public at risk during these troubling times. Many residents overwhelmingly support "hybrid" public meetings that make it easier for them to attend important public meetings such as BOS meetings by giving them the option to not only attend in person but also to attend virtually via Zoom or some other remote technology.

COVID restrictions are gone - for now - & Newtown Township returned to 100% live in-person meetings. Not everyone is comfortable with that. If you agree, I urge you to sign my Petition to the Board of Supervisors.

John D’Aprile Calls Residents “Lazy”

It was a sad night at the 8 September 2021 Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting.

In a comment before the BOS, Newtown Grant resident John D’Aprile was of the opinion that the township should not spend money on hybrid meetings so that “lazy” residents can attend. “Why should we cater to someone who is lazy and does not want to come to meetings?,” quipped Mr. D’Aprile. Quote/Unquote! Read more about this, plus see more positive comments from residents.

Hanging the 2022 Budget

Was the Process Flawed?

View the video of the discussion leading up to the vote to hang the budget.

The Preliminary Budget saw the light of day, was advertised – aka, “hung” – on or about 15 November 2021. This was the first opportunity for residents to see the budget in all its glorious detail! The Board of Supervisors approved the final budget on 8 December 2021 without any significant changes!

Residents Propose Cuts to Budget

Shown here are the results as of 19 November 2021 regarding capital expenditures.

My “Budget Cut Survey” asked respondents to select the cuts they would support in order to maintain fire protection while ensuring an adequate reserve fund for unanticipated expenses without dipping further into the General Fund.

Pedestrian Safety

The area at or near the intersection of Silo Drive & North Sycamore Street
has been the site of several pedestrian and vehicular accidents in 2021.

At the 22 November 2021 Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting, residents discussed traffic and pedestrian safety issues on North Sycamore Street near Silo Drive in Newtown. There was a lively discussion that included several ideas for mitigating the danger to both pedestrians and drivers, including suggestions by Police Chief Hearn.

Changing Population

It is clear that Newtown area population growth is declining, especially between 2010 and 2020.

The racial/ethnicity profile of all three Jointure townships show a shift to a more diverse population from 2000 to 2020. Newtown, for example, was 94% white in 2000 and 82% in 2020. The biggest change was in the “Asian Alone” category – an increase from 734 residents in 2000 to 2,201 in 2020. This category includes “Asian Indian,” which I am sure constitutes the majority of “Asian Only” residents in Newtown. Read "Report by BCPC to Jointure on 2020 Census Population & Housing Data" for more information.

“Euclidean Zoning”

This Type of “Mixed-Use” Zoning is All the Rage Now

“Euclidean” in this instance comes from Village of Euclid, Ohio et al. v. Ambler Realty Co., a 1926 case in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of a locality to enforce such a system.

Seth Shapiro, Director of Planning and Urban Design at Barton Partners, was a guest speaker at the April 1, 2021, Newtown Economic Committee Zoom meeting. He focused on the problems of "Euclidean Zoning," which is a system of zoning whereby a town or community is divided into areas in which specific uses of land are permitted.

The Future of the Newtown Bypass In Doubt

Read “Another Proposed Project on Newtown Bypass”

Keeping the rural look of the Newtown Bypass has been a tradition in Newtown. It is a common belief among long-time Newtown area residents that the Newtown Bypass is supposed to remain an "undeveloped" greenway. But Wawa on the Bypass may set a precedent for more development.

Bypass Slippery Slope Development

At the March 15, 2021, Newtown Board of Supervisors Work Session representatives of Lotus Park Senior Living LLC, presented a "sketch plan" for a Senior Living facility to be located adjacent to the site of the already approved Wawa. When the owners saw an opportunity presented by the Wawa precedent, they proceeded to find a use for a plot of land that many experts consider unfit for development. Crossing Community Church may be next to sell to a developer.

The Infamous Arcadia U-Turn!

PennDOT Opposed All Other Options!

Image shows proposed U-turn at Mill Pond Rd as the only way for future Arcadia Green residents to travel north on Buck Road to access the Bypass and Newtown Borough & Newtown Township centers.

On 9 September 2021, Francis Hanney, Senior Manager at PennDOT’s Traffic Services Division, hosted an online meeting with residents to discuss road improvements to facilitate access and egress to the approved Arcadia Green development at the intersection of Newtown Bypass and Buck Road. Mr. Hanney explained why the U-turn is the best option.

Controversial Toll Plan Denied!

I dubbed this the “penis road” option.

This plan includes an access road that goes through township property onto
Municipal Drive, which leads to and from Durham Road.

Specific complaints from residents regarding this plan included: (1) the planned access to Durham Road via Municipal Drive was unsafe, (2) a 2008 Durham Road Traffic Study concluded that the preferred access to Durham Road from any development in the area is North Drive, and (3) the Township should not be giving up public land to allow access to Municipal Drive. Eventually, the residents won out and a new plan was put forward with access via North Drive as recommended by PennDOT. More about this...

How Not To Apply For Variances

Read “Newtown BOS Rejects Chick-fil-A/Old Navy Settlement Agreement”

At it's January 13, 2021, public meeting, the Newtown Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 against agreeing to a settlement with Newtown Bucks Association regarding Chick-fil-A and a "retail pad" in the Newtown Shopping Center. The supervisors, however, would have liked to approve a plan to mitigate traffic lining up for Chick-fil-A. The applicant, IMHO, could have avoided this by submitting 2 separate applications.

Feds Raid KVK Tech

Federal Agents With Help From the Newtown Township Police Department Raid KVK Tech Locations at the Crack of Dawn!

Photo shows a federal agent in the KVK Tech Driveway on Terry Drive! Charged with conspiracy to defraud the FDA by allegedly distributing unapproved drugs. Did you know KVK Tech is #7 Among the TOP TEN Biggest Rx Opioid Manufacturers?

On Thursday, 29 July 2021 Federal Agents from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), The Department of Labor, US Health & Human Services & other Federal branches raided each of the KVK Tech facilities located within Newtown Township.

Clark Nature Center Trails Unusable!

The trails have been closed to the public for 4 years due to trees killed by an insect known as the Emerald Ash Borer.

Image shows multiple dead ash trails near the entrance to the Blue Trail in the Clark Nature Center. In December 2021, the township paid a tree service contractor $4,560 to remove an unspecified number of dead trees in the Center – probably closer to the park entrance than to the trails.

The trails were closed “indefinitely” to the public in the spring of 2017 due to the hazard of falling dead ash trees along the trails. But after 4 years of inaction, some people believe it is time to have a plan to do what is necessary to open these trails again to the public. Read "Can We Open the Clark Nature Center Trails?"

Thanks for Viewing. STAY SAFE!

Posted on 18 Dec 2021, 01:01 - Category: Newtown

The Noisy, Motley, Polite 8th Annual Newtown Irish Festival!

Billed as the “the greatest weekend of the year in Newtown” by some, the 8th Annual Newtown Irish Festival reached its crescendo in the outdoor tent at the Green Parrot Restaurant & Pub on St. Patrick's day.

Other people, including some nearby Newtown Borough residents, do not think the festival is so great (watch this short video clip of the pro and con debate before the February 14, 2018, Board of Supervisors meeting). I’ve even heard criticisms that the Festival brings “drunken hooligans” into our quiet, peaceful town!

I’m not of Irish descent, but like everybody else, I’m Irish on St. Paddy’s Day. This year my wife and I decided to join the celebrations.

First, on St. Patrick's day eve, we attended a concert by Larry Kirwan at the Zlock Performing Arts Center on the Bucks County Community College campus.

Through a mixture of story-telling, acting, and singing Kirwan brought Irish history alive with emphasis on The Great Hunger of 1847, Emigration to America, The Celtic Revival, 1916 Uprising, and the recent “Troubles.” Kirwan ended the concert with a call for a united Ireland!

But I just had to see – and hear – for myself what all the hubbub was about regarding the Newtown Irish Festival. So, my wife and I decided to use all my “influence” – i.e., a $23 Event Bright ticket – to get into the tent on Saturday night around 6 pm.

I guess you could say that the crowd was “motley.” But I would also say they were polite as we wended our way through the crowd to reach the bar and order a couple of beers. We then had to squeeze through more attendees to get to a spot where we could see the band and claim a few square feet of floor space.

The “Motley” Crew – including wifey in red – waiting patiently to
get inside the tent at the Green Parrot.

The music was loud and punctuated with more or less “relentless pounding bass” that encouraged some people to dance and many to sing along to favorite “Irish” songs like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver! The following clip may be more representative of Irish songs sung at the festival:

At the Green Parrot Irish Festival in Newtown.

A post shared by John Mack (@johnmacknewtown) on Mar 17, 2018 at 3:21pm PDT

I’ll have to wait and see if there was any police action – I certainly did not see any rowdy behavior when I was there. What I did see was a bus that provided free transportation to anywhere within 3 miles of the event. I also saw that the surrounding restaurants were crowded with long waits to get seated. When we asked how long the wait was at the Sycamore Grill, we were told “longer than you want to wait.”

I applaud the owners of the Green Parrot as well as the neighbors in the Borough for reaching a compromise regarding this year’s Festival; namely, accepting a 2-day permit for the outdoor portion of the event rather than four days as was originally planned. Nevertheless, the Festival lasted 4 days – 2 days inside on the porch and 2 days outside in the tent.

Posted on 17 Mar 2018, 18:01 - Category: Newtown

Soul Food at the Newtown Macedonia Baptist Church

Read John M.'s review of Macedonia Baptist Church on YelpRead More...

Posted on 10 Feb 2018, 16:56 - Category: Newtown

The 2017 Newtown Holiday Parade

The Newtown Dems participated in this annula event. My wife and I enjoyed it very much. Here are just a few photos I took and posted to my Instagram account.