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Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity. Curated by johnmacknewtown |
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The Township has received $2,049,842 pursuant to the American Rescue Plan/Act (ARP/ARPA).
Expenditures Approved as of June 8, 2022:
Remaining Balance: $1,096,318
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"I am proud to have secured $1.83M in state funds from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for our district," said Senator Santarsiero on Instagram.
Read more about these grants and projects: https://www.senatorstevesantarsiero.com/newsroom/
Back in May 2021, the Newtown Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to apply for a DCED Watershed Restoration Fund grant to be used for the Clark Nature Center Streambank Rehabilitation project. Read more about that here...
To date - Nov 21, 2021 - I have not heard if Newtown Twp got this grant.
However, I am interested in the $450,000 pedestrian improvement grant awarded to Plumstead Twp. Newtown Twp should apply for such a grant for improving pedestrian safety on N. Sycamore Drive by installing features such as an ADA compliant curb ramp, high-visibility crosswalk and pedestrian push buttons, which will allow better access to local businesses and increasing community connections between the borough and the township.
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The American Rescue Plan has provided Pennsylvania counties, cities, boroughs and townships with $6.15 billion in federal funding, with half disbursed among nearly every state municipality this summer and the second half following next year. This funding offers an unprecedented opportunity for local government leaders to invest in community projects that improve Pennsylvanians’ lives.
Localities have wide latitude in how they disburse ARP funds. But does this flexibility apply to land conservation, waterway restoration, and recreation projects?
To find out, WeConservePA, a charitable conservation organization, sought analysis from attorneys experienced with local government and regulatory issues. As the legal analysis confirmed, many conservation-related projects — investments in parks and other public outdoor recreation spaces, natural infrastructure to prevent pollution and manage stormwater, and land and easement acquisitions in support of these efforts — are among the eligible expenses.
These allowable investments could improve Pennsylvania communities for years, decades, and — in some cases — even centuries. Rather than providing a temporary good, most conservation-related investments deliver enduring public benefits.
Related Content:
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The Newtown Township Parks & Recreation Department submitted an application for a 2021 Healing the Planet Grant through Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
The department applied for the full $25K outlining improvements to the trails and cleaning up the diseased trees at Clark Nature Center, etc.
Announcements of grant awards will be made in August.
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A recently completed Citizens Survey reveals which parks are most popular with residents and whether recreation programs need improving.
Quality of Parks, Recreation programs, and Recreation centers/facilities were at the top of the list following Fire and Police Services! A majority of survey respondents (58.1%) say they have used township recreational programming, which was rated Good by 42% of respondents and Excellent by 48% of respondents.
One item that certain residents believe need improving in Newtown's parks are the toilet facilities, which remained closed up until recently when a resident complained and threatened legal action:
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UPDATE: “Newtown Township Scraps Plan to Open Summer Camps”; https://patch.com/pennsylvania/newtown-pa/newtown-township-plans-open-summer-camps
Newtown Township Parks & Recreation said this week it is still planning to hold its popular summer camps. "Summer camp will be even more important for kids this year because they miss interacting with friends and classmates due to school closings," an update issued Wednesday said.
As of right now, summer camp is still being planned for the summer, but a final decision on if summer camp will be held will be made by the end of May, the update said.
If it is held, "we will be following all CDC guidelines to ensure the safety of all campers and camp staff," the Parks & Recreation Department said.
If officials determine cannot be held, all fees will be fully refundable. The township hosts a variety of weekly camps for all interests. You can learn more here.
How comfortable would you be sending your kids to summer camp? Take my survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CLYN77J
Now that Trump has buried detailed CDC advice on reopening, would you trust “following all CDC guidelines”??? Find those “buried” guidelines here: https://bit.ly/3bbGb1r
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All Newtown Township park facilities will be closed as of 4 p.m. Friday, and will remain closed until further notice, officials announced. The closure is due to the coronavirus crisis, which has caused all non-essential businesses in Pennsylvania to shut their doors.
All park facilities, including restrooms, snack stands, basketball courts, and skate parks will be closed until further notice, the township announced.
"All playgrounds and ballfields should be avoided and used discretionarily in accordance with the recommendations of the Governor's Office, and the CDC," the township said.
Organized sports are prohibited from utilizing the fields until further notice.
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Six Pennsylvania state parks in Bucks County are closed for 14 days effective Sunday, March 15, to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, stat officials announced.
The closed parks include Delaware Canal, Neshaminy, Nockamixon, Ralph Stover, Tyler, and Washington Crossing.
State parks in Chester, Montgomery and Delaware counties are also closed.
"These parks are being closed because they are in counties where there are the most numbers of presumptive and confirmed cases in the state. The closures further encourage people to stay home and to not travel to these areas," the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said.
"We advise people not to visit state parks that are closed; however, trails and roads that pass through parks and forestlands remain open, especially as some are transportation routes or are in neighborhoods that people access them from."
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Warrington Township and the Warrington Lions Club have raised $900,000 for the park, slated to open March 29. It is located at the former site of Twin Oaks Day Camp on Bradley Road.
Warrington Township and the Warrington Lions Club are partnering to open Lions Pride Park, a local spot that will enable a smartphone to be a guide.
The park, slated to open March 29, is at the former site of Twin Oaks Day Camp in Warrington. Lions Pride Park will link to a Bluetooth-enabled beacon app, which will serve as a park guidebook.
Beacons will be located near informative signs and when a smartphone app detects a beacon, a description will be played through the phone’s speaker. The description could be as simple as “oak tree” or as detailed as a webpage. Lions Pride Park will be one of the first parks in the Philadelphia area to have this app, local township officials said. It will also include GPS navigation to help the visually impaired move about the park more easily.
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 29 at the park at 3129 Bradley Road.
I wish we could implement similar technology in Newtown Township parks! There were some proposals made:
At the May 6, 2018, public meeting of the Newtown Township Parks and Recreation Board, I proposed a project to use technology to identify sites within the parks to provide greater details for community awareness. This is a collaboration project with the Township’s Technology Committee. One thought was to have videos from drone fly-overs to create a two minute snippet which would be added to a web page devoted to the parks. The Technology Committee also recommended using geolocation technology to assist with park navigation (see presentation by Jo Vlastaris, former Chair of the Technology Committee, at the June 13, 2018, Board of Supervisors meeting). To date, these options have not been put before the the Board of Supervisors by the Parks and Rec Board.
For more details, see: