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At the December 12, 2023, Newtown Borough Council public meeting, attorney Timothy J. Duffy, representing Steeple View, L.P., claimed that Newtown Township “still supports” the proposed Steeple View pedestrian bridge (for background read "Proposed Steeple View Pedestrian Bridge: Is It a Bridge Too Far?; https://sco.lt/6MchWK).
Mr. Duffy claims he “doesn’t know why they [Newtown Twp] wouldn’t.” This was in response to questions posed by Council member Kris Bauman who was concerned that the Township may not approve the bridge, which would link the Steeple View "greenway" trail in the Borough to Carl Sedia Park in the Township.
Perhaps Mr. Duffy is referring to a letter he sent to the township asking: “...as we move toward final approval in the Borough, both my client and the Borough would like to determine whether the Township - on a non-binding basis, of course - is interested in the bridge or, to the contrary, has no interest.” Mr. Duffy asked that the Township Manager “...put the question to the Board for its comment.” I am not sure how how other supervisors feel about this bridge, but I have some concerns. And so do at least 30%-40% of Newtown Twp residents who responded to my survey: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/blog/?viewDetailed=202312081315
P.S. After the Q&A, the Council went on to approve the Steeple View project by a 5-1 vote.
Some comments from Newtown Township residents bwho responded to my survey (https://forms.gle/LkSieg9UyEHfymNy5):
"Wow, after viewing the video of Mr Duffy, it becomes clear that the current Township Supervisors' input does not matter. The Boro Planning Commision's opinions also got dumped re: parking. Soon, the taxpayers of the Township may get dumped as well."
"Mr Duffy's comment that the Township Supervisors are already in favor appears to be a "now you see it, now you don't" theme song that the developer keeps playing. Duffy lead the Boro Council to believe it's a done deal to have a creek bridge! You can fool some of the people some of the time...."
In relation to this, I searched twp Board of Supervisors (BOS) minutes from 2015 through 2023 for any mention of the proposed Steeple View bridge and find that Mr. Duffy first appeared before the BOS on December 14, 2016.
I found NO mentions in any minutes of the BOS approving an easement or any official vote by the BOS to approve this bridge which would be built partially on township property. Also, the BOS membership has changed significantly - several members mentioned above are no longer on the BOS.