Reports from Planning Commission, Technology & Communications Committee and Environmental Advisory Council; Engineer's update: PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund Grant, MS4 Annual Report; Legal Action Agains KVK Tech; Weed Ordinance; Police Report; Hybrid Meetings; LED Streetlights; More...

This is my personal summary of the October 13, 2021, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete summary.

Contents

• Public Comment - Toll Bros settlement process appears to be "a deliberate effort to keep the discussion ... out of the public eye. The process has gone awry," said a resident
• Reports of Committees - rezoning Business Commons, Newtown Twp website analytics reveal low committee pageviews, EAC on single-use plastics, 2020 census data for the Jointure
• Reports of Officials - NT will take KVK Tech to court! Seeking grant to connect disconnected sidewalks. September police report
• Bills List - invoices to be paid total $976,275.46
• Old Business - Hybrid meetings
• New Business - LED street lighting; NT locked into early 20th century technology
• My Personal Notes - unique insights

More details....

At the October 7, 2021, Newtown Area Joint Zoning Council (JZC) meeting, Lisa Wolff, Senior Planner, Bucks County Planning Commission (BCPC), presented an analysis of the recently released 2020 U.S. Census Redistricting Data Summary Files related to the "Jointure" townships (Newtown, Wrightstown, and Upper Makefield).

Her analysis, which will be incorporated into the updated Newtown Area Comprehensive Plan, covers population trends from 1950 through 2020, population change from 2000 to 2020, population by race, and housing data.

Listen to Ms. Wolff's report with more data tables and charts...

[Image: Trailers at KVK Tech. Photo taken by J. Mack on 9 Oct 2021]

At its upcoming October 13, 2021, public meeting, Newtown supervisors will vote on authorization to take legal action against KVK Tech for zoning violations. KVK Tech has not removed the trailers from 110 Terry Drive in accordance with the Notice of Violation, nor have they appealed the violation to the Zoning Hearing Board. 

Newtown Township officials announced the establishment of demonstration rain gardens in two locations. One garden is located at the Township building on 209 Bishop Hollow Road. The other garden is located at the Newtown Edgmont Little League fields at 323 Bishop Hollow Road.

The rain gardens will help Newtown Township meet Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit requirements and control the quantity and quality of water entering township streams, specifically, water going to Springton Point Reservoir, which Aqua America uses to produce township drinking water.

The picture continues to be bleak when it comes to attracting and retaining volunteer firefighters, Yardley-Makefield Fire Company Deputy Chief Tim Chamberlain told the Lower Makefield Township supervisors at their Sept. 14 meeting.

Chamberlain said the number of active volunteer firefighters at YMFC – meaning those who respond to at least 25 percent of calls – has fallen from 34 to 31 in the last year. The average age of those active volunteers continues to trend upward as family and work obligations and other issues are holding down the number of younger volunteers, he added.

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t helped either. Chamberlain said four firefighters stopped responding to calls after March of 2020 because they feared contracting the virus on a call and bringing it home.

Of the 18 new volunteers accepted into membership since January of 2017, eight have already resigned because of lack of time or changes in their personal lives, the deputy chief noted.

“The fire service is suffering, just like businesses who cannot find help,” Chamberlain said. “I wouldn’t want it to get to a point where a fire truck can’t get out to an emergency.”

Problems at Yardley-Makefield reflect a trend in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the United States, officials at the meeting said.

“We need to start talking about what we can do to address these shortfalls,” township Manager Kurt Ferguson said. “There’s no one, single answer.”

Supervisor John Lewis suggested that perhaps the township could help the fire company develop a comprehensive marketing plan to attract more members.

In Q3 (July, August, September) of 2021, I spent, on average, 35.0 hours per month on official Supervisor business. This compares with an average of 39.2 hours per month in Q2 2021 and 45.9 hours per month in Q1 2021.

My log keeps track of the time spent on the following:

• Attending “Required” Meetings
• Preparation for BOS Meetings
• Attending Optional Meetings/Activities
• Interaction with Residents
• Travel To & From Meetings

More details...

[Image: A local bike shop donated two Giant police mountain bicycles to the Newtown Township Police Department.]

September 24, 2021: The Bicycle Patrol rode throughout several areas in Newtown Township, including the Village of Newtown Shopping Center, Newtown Crossing, and a band event at Council Rock North High School. These patrols help facilitate many community engagement opportunities and positive interactions with the youth and adults alike. As always, the Newtown Township Police Department would not be capable of fulfilling our mission without the support and partnership of our citizens.

September 30, 2021: In furtherance of our community policing goals, the Bicycle Patrol did another fifteen-mile ride throughout several areas in Newtown Township, including Newtown Grant, Newtown Elementary School, Saint Andrew Elementary School, Goodnoe Elementary School, Council Rock North High School, Newtown Middle School, Veterans Park, Village at Newtown Shopping Center, Sycamore Street, Roberts Ridge Park, Woods of Saxony, and Newtown Walk.

Newtown Township is now accepting applications for a full-time Finance Director. Applicants should possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related field. A minimum of 5 years of experience in finance or accounting is required, preferably in a municipal setting, and a minimum 1 year of supervisory experience.

Applicants should possess strong accounting, management and communication skills.

The annual salary for the position is $85,000-$95,000 DOQ, with excellent benefits. The position is an exempt position (non-union).

Applicants must possess a valid driver’s license, and successfully pass a background and criminal history clearance, and physical exam.

A full job description is available online at www.newtownpa.gov.

Please submit a resume, cover letter and contact information for three professional references by October 22, 2021. Applications can be submitted in person to the Newtown Administration Office, by US Mail, by email at oliviak@newtownpa.gov, or by fax to 215-968-5368.

Since 2011, Upper Makefield Township’s real estate tax has been reduced from a high of 13.3525 mils to the proposed 2022 level of 7.25 mils. 

Meanwhile, Newtown Township increased its real estate tax by 3.99 mills in 2021 Budget for a total of 8.49 mills. 

The 2022 Preliminary Budget is available now for public review and slated for consideration of adoption at the Board of Supervisors Public Meeting on October 19, 2021. As presented, the proposed budget reduces taxes next year by 0.3525 mils.

The Township is on course to repay all debt, including a voter-approved Open Space bond, by 2025. In addition, a five-year Capital Improvement Plan is funded for Administration/Facilities, Police, and Public Works improvements. The 2022 Preliminary Budget includes a General Fund transfer of $350,000 to the Capital Fund.

More 2022 Budget Highlights

• The General Fund retains a comfortable fund balance.
• 2022 Road Improvement Program allocation of $580,00 for improvements to 10 Township roads.
• Funding for one additional full-time police officer.

The Preliminary Budget is available for review at the Township office and online.

Meanwhile, the 2022 Newtown preliminary budget probably won't be available to the public until near the end of November.  The Newtown supervisors voted to "hang' the 2021 preliminary budget on November 25, 2021. In effect, the public did not get a chance to actually download that budget until after Thanksgiving!

Meet Mack Monday to Discuss the Newtown Twp 2022 Budget

If you want to get a heads up on the 2022 Newtown Township budget, please consider attending the October 18, 2021, Meet Mack Monday Zoom Meeting: The 2022 Newtown Twp Budget. More information and registration form can be found here.

Resident Comments on Toll Bros New Plan; Reports from Technology & Communications Committee and Environmental Advisory Council; Council Rock School Busing Issues, Engineer's update: Trails & Traffic, BCPC Proposal for OLI/LI Zoning Districts

More...

This is my personal summary of the September 22, 2021, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). See the my notes embedded at the end of this post.

Also see the 2021 BOS Voting Record (UNOFFICIAL) for how supervisors voted on motions (updated after minutes of meetings are officially approved by the BOS).

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.”

It just so happens that Google Analytics is one of the best tools available to “measure” the usability of websites – and it’s freely available. All that is required is a Google account and a special code to be inserted in every page, both of which are currently in use by the township.

This issue was taken up recently by the revamped Newtown Township Technology & Communications Committee (T&CC), which requested a whole slew of analytics data. In response to that request, Beth Leone, Newtown Township Technology Director, ran Google Analytics on the township website for the period of Apr 1, 2021 through Sep 20, 2021. Several Reports were generated, which you can find in my DataBank.

This is my personal preliminary, non-expert analysis of the data submitted to the T&CC. A more definitive official report will be made in by T&CC experts in the near future and presented to the Board of Supervisors.

More...

A developer is fighting a Lower Southampton zoning hearing board rejection that would have cleared the way for a controversial super Wawa off Brownsville Road near east Bristol Road. The proposed store would include 16-gas pumps on the 5-acre property.

The Lower Southampton supervisors confirmed the appeal filed by Provco Pineville Acquisitions LLC during their meeting Wednesday, where they voted unanimously to defend the board’s decision, which was made earlier this year.

The board voted 5-0 to hire conflict attorney Nate Fox of the Obermayer law firm in Doylestown at a rate of $325 an hour for the appeal, which was filed in Bucks County Common Pleas Court in March. 

The zoning hearing board (ZHB) unanimously turned down Provco Pineville’s variance requests for the superstore in February, following five meetings on the proposal that started in October.

At the September 22, 2021, Newtown Board of Supervisors public meeting, Township Engineer Leanna M. Colubriale gave updates on two projects: (1) Lower Dolington Road Multi-Use Trail and (2) Brixmor /Village at Newtown Shopping Center Traffic Study.

[Image: Chief Forsyth presented Gundy with a plaque recognizing his quarter of a century of service to the Newtown Emergency Services Department. Gundy was among the first career firefighters hired by the township 25 years ago.]

Longtime Newtown firefighter John Gundy Jr. was recognized on Sept. 22 at the board of supervisors meeting for his exemplary service to the community.

After 25 years with the township, Grundy retired from the Newtown Emergency Services Department in August to take on the job of Bucks County Chief Fire Marshal.

At the September 22, 2021, Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting, several residents of Delancey Court - including HOA Officials - commented on the Toll Bros All Saints Cemetery proposed settlement plan. The purpose of the plan is to settle Toll's appeal of the denial of the September 9, 2020 decision of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors denying Toll’s conditional use application seeking to develop 45 single family homes on approximately 158 acres of the All Saints Cemetery property located along Twining Bridge Road near its intersection with Durham Road (S.R. 413). See the plan here: https://bit.ly/TollSettlementPlan

On August 27, 2021, Toll sent a letter to over 280 residents - including 33 Rittenhouse Court residents in Delancey Court - who live within 500 feet or so of the property. Find the letter here: https://bit.ly/27Aug2021Toll_Letter

Commenters complained that they were not given adequate notice. Specific complaints included: (1) the planned access to Durham Road via Municipal Drive was unsafe, (2) a 2008 traffic study said the preferred access should be at North Drive, and (3) the Township should not be giving up public land to allow access to Municipal Drive.

A Bucks County program that aims to give residents support and services beyond police response during mental health and drug abuse emergencies is expanding.

Late last year, the county launched the co-responder program in Bensalem with the goal of getting residents the help they might need beyond an initial 911 call. Under the two-year pilot program, two co-responders, who are licensed social workers, go out to various calls, including those about aging concerns and those that are often rooted in mental health and drug abuse issues.

The Bucks program began with a partnership with Bensalem Police last year.

Last week, County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia announced that the county had received a $424,000 state grant that it will use to expand the program to Middletown and Falls. The grant was provided through the state Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

In the months since its inception, the program has been seeing success, officials said. Bensalem Director of Public Safety Fred Harran said the two co-responders have made 160 different contacts since the start of the year.

Harran said residents with mental health issues who had called police before are now calling the co-responders for assistance, freeing up officers to do other things.

“It’s a win-win all around," he said.

With the new grant, the county is able to hire two more co-responders that will work in Falls and Middletown. The two will work in tandem between the two townships, according to Marseglia. One will be based in each department.

“We have a lot of contacts, daily with people who are struggling with mental health issues and the pandemic has only exacerbated that," Falls Chief Nelson Whitney said. "So it’s a great time to bring on a program to try to help.”

Rachel Neff, human services director for the county, said Falls and Middletown were chosen because Whitney and Middletown Chief Joseph Bartorilla had expressed interest in joining.

You might have been tempted to attend the in-person September 21, 2021, Newtown Economic Development Committee (EDC) meeting to learn more about “Economic Development projects for 2022 budget” – which was an item on the publicly advertised agenda.

This was the first mention I have seen of the 2022 budget in ANY official agenda for a public meeting. Not even supervisors know what projects will be in the proposed preliminary 2022 budget, which will not be presented to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) until October 18, 2021.

However, the EDC discussion actually focused on the Bucks County Planning Commission (BCPC) REVISED proposal for Planning Services to Develop an Overlay District to the LI and OLI Zoning Districts.

Learn more about what is planned for the overlay of these districts...

After three grueling hearings and one public comment session, the Newtown Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) denied Wawa's requests for variances to the new E30 Special Exception zoning ordinance.

At its September 20, 2021, meeting, the ZHB voted 4-1 to grant a special exception for the Wawa convenience store/gas station, which the Township did not oppose, but DENIED ALL VARIANCES by a 3-2 vote.

That means that the Wawa can operate at the proposed location on Lower Silver Lake Road and Newtown Bypass, however it will be limited to 6 gas fueling stations (Wawa asked for 8), and there will be no signs other than what is allowed by the E-30 Special Exception ordinance.

In the Bristol Township School District, the wheels on the bus go round and round — except for routes 24, 30, 65 and 87.

Driver shortages prevented those buses from running on either Friday morning or afternoon, the district announced in a transportation update the night before.

“There are bus routes that cannot run or can only partially run on Sept. 17,” the announcement shared on Facebook read, along with an apology for the inconvenience to families.

"We are doing our best to transport our students with the drivers we have and working through the shortage to the best of our ability," the post continued.

The school district gave a heads up to families on Sept. 12 about the issue, writing that in some cases, drivers are doubling up on their runs to make up for the shortage.

Bussing to its Catholic schools continues despite the setbacks, according to a statement.

Warnings about the impacts of ongoing driver shortages, exacerbated by the pandemic, began coming at the end of last school year from transportation companies and school districts.

Weeks into the new academic year, Pennsylvania School Bus Association Executive Director Ryan Dellinger said that the problem had reached “a crisis point.”

A lack of drivers impacting schools nationwide and across the commonwealth is hitting close to home. The Bucks County Intermediate Unit is also dealing with a shortage of van drivers.

During a Constitution Day discussion at Bucks County Community College’s Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks in Bristol Township last Friday [September 16, 2021], representatives from law enforcement and the Bucks County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) discussed their collaboration.

The Bucks County NAACP has been meeting with county police chiefs in recent weeks to talk about building better relationships between the officers and residents.

Bensalem Township Public Safety Director Fred Harran and Bucks County NAACP President Karen Downer explained how their two organizations work together.

Residents who want to make a complaint about police don’t have to make it directly to the department, which some people may find discouraging. They instead can make their complaint to a community leader or religious leader in their community, who then brings it to the police department, Harran and Downer explained.

The leader of Bucks County’s largest police department said his agency investigates complaints and brings in the NAACP to review them, as well.

“We’ve got nothing to hide,” Harran said.

Downer said a look at the evidence helps the group determine if the Bucks County NAACP is able to help the complaint take their dispute further.

On September 9, 2021, Francis Hanney, Senior Manager - Traffic Services Division/ADA Coordinator at PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) - hosted an online meeting with residents to discuss road improvements to facilitate access and egress to the recently approved Arcadia Green development at the intersection of Newtown Bypass and Buck Road. For background, read “Newtown Residents Lash Out Against Arcadia Settlement.”

At least 4 options with variations have been proposed by the developer and by residents in the neighboring communities. For an explanation of the options, read "Controversy Regarding Proposed Arcadia Newtown U-Turn Option."

In this 21-minute audio snippet from that meeting, Mr. Hanney explains why he is opposed to all the options other than the U-turn option at Mill Pond Road. He also discusses criteria that must be met before the limited access restrictions on the Bypass may be lifted.

Do schools officials treat students of color differently? Data, especially surrounding school discipline, suggests some students are treated differently in local schools, and that could be purposeful or unconscious bias.

The nonprofit Center for Public Integrity joined with the USA Today Network to analyze more than 230,000 cases in which law enforcement was called upon to handle a student. Researchers used the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education and found that the consequences of school policing disproportionately fall on students with disabilities and Black children.

Consider just a few of the numbers:

• Pennsbury School District is 6% Black. Yet 19% of out-of-school suspensions were Black students, according to records from the 2017 school year, the latest figures available.
• In the New Hope-Solebury School District, Hispanics account for less than 6% of students, records show. Yet one in four students who received an out-of-school suspension in the 2017-18 school year was Hispanic. Of three cases involving police, two were Hispanic students.
• In Bensalem, Black students account for 12% of the student body and 27% of out-of-school suspensions.
• In the Quakertown Area School District, 10% of cases referred to police were Black students, though Black students make up just 2% of the students.

More...

Report from Technology & Communications Committee, hybrid meetings, Newtown Shopping Center traffic study, opioid litigation, police report, More...

NOTE: I was not able to attend this in-person meeting because I was quarantined with COVID! The doctor said this is the first case he's seen of someone who received the Moderna vaccinations! I was able to attend virtually via speaker phone.

Some of the issues that were discussed and/or voted on include:

• Technology & Communications
• Public Comment on "Lazy Citizens"
• Engineer's Report: Brixmor Traffic Study
• Solicitor's Report: Opioid Litigation
• Police Reports
• Manager's Report
• September 8 2021 Bills List: $229,948.67

Access my notes...

In Pennsylvania, 734 of 1,540 law enforcement agencies reported a total of 81 hate crimes. Among the reported incidents, 59 were race, ethnicity or ancestry related.

The number of reported hate crimes in our state increased last year compared with 2019, when 45 hate crimes were reported.

Here's a look at what 2020 data revealed about why victims of hate crimes were targeted in Pennsylvania:

• Race/ethnicity/ancestry: 59
• Religion: 13
• Sexual orientation: 4
• Multiple biases: 3
• Gender identity: 2

Most Prevalent Bias Type:

• Anti-Black or African American: 29
• Anti-other race, ethnicity or ancestry: 13
• Anti-Jewish: 11
• Anti-Asian: 8
• Anti-White: 4
• Others: 16

See the full 2020 data report for Pennsylvania; https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/hate-crime

In a comment made at the September 8, 2021, Board of Supervisors meeting, 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.

In my opinion, Mr. D’Aprile’s comments are an insult to residents who are NOT lazy such as the elderly, the handicapped, and anyone susceptible to COVID infections.

UPDATE (9/22/21): Video Gold submitted more detailed proposals/quotes for various options to implement hybrid public meetings via Zoom, Youtube etc. (view the proposals/quotes). At the September 22, 2021, BOS meeting, supervisor Kyle Davis requested that the township get more details about the equipment needed. No further action was taken. Background: "Residents Say YES To Hybrid In-Person/Online Public Meetings."