Arcadia/Mayfield Contract Violations, Single-use Plastics Ban Plans, Bid Awarded for 2023 Road Paving Program, Consortium vs Sale of Public Sewer System, NESD Report, more…

This is my personal summary of the March 22, 2023, meeting of Newtown 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

• Public Comment – Andrea Ahern
• Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) - Single-Use Plastic Ban Plans
  Engineer’s Report - 2023 Liquid Fuels Road Program – Recommendation to Award Bid
• Solicitor’s Report: Resolution to Join Consortium Opposing Sale of Public Water and Sewer Systems to Private For-Profit Companies
• Manager’s Report - NESD Report
• Official Video
• Video Transcript

The March 2023 Issue of Mack’s #NewtownPA News of Interest

CONTENTS:

• EAC wants to ban single-use plastics & use solar power for Municipal Center
• NTPD Releases 2022 Annual Police Report
• 2023 Road Paving Program
• February Meet Mack Monday Meeting Summary
• Summary of February 22, 2023, #NewtownPA Board of Supervisors Meeting
• Elen Snyder Announces Re-Election Bid For #NewtownPA Township Supervisor
• Newtown Township Will Reapply For Federal SAFER Grant To Hire More Firefighters. Will 4th Time Be The Charm?

Full issue: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/noimar2023.html

Welcome to Meet Mack Monday for February 20, 2023. This short, 15-minute presentation covers recent issues of interest and decisions by township supervisors, including:

* 2023 Road Repaving Program: How Are Roads Selected?
* Earned Income Tax: 2022 Data, Future Concerns
* Reduced Speed Limits: What’s Next for Newtown-Yardley Road and Sycamore Street?
* 2022 Speeding Citations: Which Roads Saw The Most Citations? Which Saw None?
* Newtown Shopping Center Traffic Study
* Environmental Advisory Council Update: Earth Day Celebration, Single-Use Plastics Ban, and Solar Power

[image shows a section of the 2023 Road Paving program Map.]

The township will advertise a base bid listing parts of six roads totaling 2.32 miles, and alternate bids listing parts of 11 roads totaling 2.18 miles. The base bid is budgeted at $703,514 and the alternate bids at $638,994, though true costs won’t be known until bids come back.

Township Engineer Leanna Colubriale said the tentative schedule is to advertise for bids the week of February 13, open bids March 14, and award a bid on March 22.

Supervisor John Mack remarked on the rising cost of repaving roads, noting that this year’s program will cost somewhere around $300,000 a mile.

More...

Planning Commission Report, Earned Income Tax Trends, Joint Zoning Council, 2023 Liquid Fuels Program, Sycamore Street Speed limit Reduction, More…

This is my personal summary of the February 8, 2023, meeting of Newtown 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

• Planning Commission Report – see Full Summary
• Earned Income Tax (EIT) Trends
• Joint Zoning Council Report
• Engineer's Report
  • 2023 Liquid Fuels Road Program
• Solicitor's Report
  • Speed Limit Lowered to 25 MPH on Sycamore Street
• Manager's Report
  • Police Report – Traffic Citations (January 2023 and all of 2022)
• Official Video
• Transcript

[In an attempt to maintain vital transportation funding that is being lost as gas tax revenues go away, Oregon has a program for a mileage-based fee to be paid on electric vehicles in lieu of a gas tax to fund infrastructure repairs. Currently the fee is less than 2 cents per mile. Pennsylvania is considering a similar proposal which will be important to townships for help in funding road repairs.]

For Oregonians who drive, chances are that the vehicle they use to get around is much more fuel efficient than models from just a few decades ago — particularly if it's a hybrid or electric vehicle.

That's a net positive for drivers and for the environment, but not for the Oregon Department of Transportation. The agency relies heavily on revenue from gas taxes, and the money pays for upkeep on roads, bridges and other transportation projects.

In Oregon, the state part of the gas tax is 38 cents a gallon. For Washington drivers, it's 49 cents a gallon. Both state transportation agencies are feeling the fuel efficiency squeeze.

As more people go hybrid or electric, there's a looming eventuality that gas tax revenue will fall off a cliff.

More...

Welcome to Meet Mack Monday (MMM).

I am John Mack, your host and a Newtown Township Supervisor.

Each month I host a Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting to inform residents of items that are of interest to them and to get feedback and comments from them. This helps me keep better informed of residents’ concerns when voting on important issues at supervisor meetings.

This video was presented at the October 17, 2022, MMM meeting via Zoom. It included the following discussion Topics:

* 2023 Budget Highlights
* Newtown/Wrightstown Police Services Agreement
* NO TURN ON RED - Pedestrian Safety
* Old Business: Wawa Update, Toll Bros Update

The Supervisors authorized the award of the 2022 road program to Harris Blacktopping in an amount not to exceed $811,794.50 (see twp engineer's recommendation). This was enough to pave 3.4 miles of roads.

More details... 

Russian Stock Divesture, Planning Commission on Wawa Land Development Plan, SIngle-Use Plastics Resolution, Billboards on the Bypass? Sycamore Street parking, 2022 Road Program, More...

This is my personal summary of the April 13, 2022, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary. See my meeting notes for more details.

Access the 2022 BOS Voting Record (UNOFFICIAL).

Agenda items:

• Divestiture of Russian Investments in Pension Funds
• Planning Commission Recommends BOS NOT Approve WaWa's  Plan
• Single Use Plastics Resolution
• 2022 Road Repaving Program Recommendation
• Ordinance Prohibiting Parking on N. Sycamore Street
• More...

Legalization of Cannabis, LOVE is LOVE, EV Charging Stations, Blue Point Grille: Transfer of Liquor License, 2022 Road Program, Sycamore Street Improvements, Divestiture of Russian Stock, Live Stream Video of BOS meetings, Fire Services Agreement with Newtown Borough, First Phase of ARP Spending, More...

This is my personal summary of the March 9, 2022, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

More details...

The Municipal Liquid Fuels Program funds a range of projects to support the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of public roads or streets.

The amount of a municipality's allocation is based on its population and miles of roads on its approved liquid fuels inventory. To be placed on the system, a road must have a minimum of 33-foot right-of-way in a township and 16 feet in a borough. The "cartway" (drivable surface) must be a minimum width of 16 feet, and the road must be a minimum of 250 feet in length.

Newtown Township has 67.29 miles of roads that meet these criteria.

In 2022, Newtown will receive $558,474.88 in liquid fuels funds vs. $552,277.09 in 2021 – only a 1.1% increase.

Meanwhile, in 2019, the township received $611,209.38 in Liquid Fuels funds [LINK: https://sco.lt/6cVfMG] A PSATS video [LINK: https://youtu.be/tCtMp0qejRw] explains that the amount of liquid fuels funds have decreased in recent years "due toe the growth of alternate fuel vehicles and more fuel efficient cars."

“We appreciate that PennDOT recognizes that local government is an important partner of the transportation network in Pennsylvania, being responsible for 2/3 of the road miles in the commonwealth,” said Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Executive Director David Sanko. “This liquid fuels distribution is an integral part of local funding, but by no means enough to cover the costs of building and maintaining our portion of the network.”

The township supervisors at their Jan. 19 meeting unanimously voted to advertise for bids on the 2022 road improvement program estimated to cost about $3 million.

Board members also approved advertising for bids on painting three of the four township swimming pools and repairing four tennis courts at the township’s Community Park on Edgewood Road.

In addition, the supervisors at the meeting unanimously voted to approve a $307,500 settlement of a lawsuit filed by a former police officer who had been fired by the township.

On the road program, the township will advertise for a base bid on repaving all or parts of 56 roads totaling 11.41 miles. In addition, two alternate bids will ask for prices on doing some parking lot paving at Memorial Park on Woodside Road and repaving some roads in the Yardley Run development, township Engineer Andy Pockl said.

Township Manager Kurt Ferguson said this year’s plan represents a dramatic expansion of the road improvement program, which for the last several years has repaved an average of about 2.5 miles a year.

His proposals to fund the 2022 program include taking out a $1.65 million loan and using about $750,000 of American Rescue Plan Act money.

Concrete Replacement Work

Week of 8/30/21: Chestnut Dr, Candlewood Ct, Chesapeake Dr, Commonwealth Dr

Week of 9/6/21: Jonquil Dr, Sibelius Dr, Cypress Pl, Quince Cr
Sterling St, Norwood Ave, Grant St

Roadway Milling

Week of 9/20/21: Chestnut Dr, Candlewood Ct, Chesapeake Dr, Commonwealth Dr

Milling/Paving

Week of 9/27/21: Chestnut Dr, Candlewood Ct, Chesapeake Dr, Commonwealth Dr
Jonquil Dr, Sibelius Dr, Cypress Pl, Quince Cr
Sterling St, Norwood Ave, Grant St

Paving

Week of 10/04/21: Jonquil Dr, Sibelius Dr, Cypress Pl, Quince Cr
Sterling St, Norwood Ave, Grant St

Please note that the schedule will be revised on a weekly basis due to any unforeseen issues that may arise. Please email any questions or concerns to pwdirector@newtownpa.gov

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) invites the public to a virtual plans display regarding the Swamp Road Bridge Rehabilitation Project, located over a Tributary to Neshaminy Creek in Newtown Township, Bucks County. This project will rehabilitate the bridge by reconstructing a stone masonry retaining wall and repairing the existing stone masonry bridge components.

Traffic Impact
During construction, traffic will be detoured around the project area. The proposed detour route will use Worthington Mill Road to Route 413 (Durham Road) to the Newtown Bypass.  Vehicular access to the neighborhoods and homes on Swamp Road will remain available when the detour is in place.

Project Schedule
The project is currently in preliminary engineering and construction work is expected to begin in fall 2024. Following the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts, a virtual plans display is available for review and comment online from August 1, 2021, to August 30, 2021.

More...

The recently completed Newtown Citizens Survey reveals that many residents are concerned about the condition of roads, streetlights, etc.

Question 8 of the survey asked respondents to rate several services as Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. Responses weighted using scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being “poor” and 4 being “excellent.”

Snow removal, street cleaning, street lighting, and street maintenance received were among the services receiving the worst ratings.

One of the goals of the Newtown Township 5-year financial plan is to attract new business to Newtown and help all businesses thrive. When asked to identify the two TOP priorities that the township should focus on for attracting new business, Public Infrastructure was the top choice with 45.6 % of respondents.

More...

Figure: 2020 Road Repair showing "base bid" roads. Not shown are "alternate bid" roads that include all of Fountain Farm Lane, Newtown Gate Drive, and a portion of Upper Silver Lake Road. [Read "2020 Road Program Falls Victim to COVID-19"]

The following is a brief summary of the July 8, 2020, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting via Zoom based upon the official minutes of that meeting.

Reports of Officials

Engineer's Report: 2020 Liquid Fuels Road Program Re-Bid – Bid Award. Ms. Colubriale reported three bids were received on June 18 and after discussion with Township staff it was decided to complete the work included under the base bid and alternate bids 7, 8, and 9. The total is roughly 2.8 township miles and the low bidder for the combination of Base Bid and Alternates, is James D. Morrissey, Inc.

Base Bid

Portions of U. Silver Lake Rd., Penn St., portions of Newtown Yardley Rd., and Swamp Rd.

Alternate Bids

Alternate Bid No. 7 – Silver Lake Road

Alternate Bid No. 8 – Newtown Gate Drive

Alternate Bid No. 9 – Fountain Farm Lane

TOTAL COST: $621,046.75

Mr. Mack added that Commonwealth Drive is not on the list but asked if it was a candidate to be patched with the new milling machine. Mr. Lewis said he is aware of the situation but has no available work force at this time due to having no summer hires and he will have addressed as soon as he is able. Mr. Davis also encouraged caring for this roadway as he has seen it and confirms it is bad. Mr. Lewis said it will be on the list for next year’s road program and will be patched in the interim.

When will construction begin?

More…

Public Safety

Police Report: Chief Hearn reported there were 1,541 calls for service during June including 14 arrests, 8 DUI’s, 45 traffic accidents and 123 traffic citations. The Chief reported two major deployments of resources, one on June 4 to the Garden of Reflection for a vigil and on June 6 for a protest at Washington and Sycamore and both events were peaceful and held without incident.

More…

Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions

Planning Commission (PC): Newtown Bucks Associates for the Newtown Shopping Center on West Road Mr. Fidler reported the Planning Commission met via Zoom on July 7 and reviewed an amended application for Newtown Bucks Associates for the Newtown Shopping Center on West Road where the applicant is seeking variances to construct a 12,500 square foot building for Old Navy and proposed additions to the existing Chick-fil-A to improve efficiency and traffic circulation. Mr. Mack said he sees the need for Chick-fil-A improvements but has concern over the Old Navy in Newtown.

More…

Board Member Reports

Calabro on Save Outdoor Dining: Mr. Calabro said as businesses begin to expand their services, they must understand the safety regulations they have to adhere to. He added there are rules and regulations that go with protecting the public and said it is important to protect outside diners with barriers.

Mack Opens Up Discussion on E-30 Ordinance: Mr. Mack reported at the Joint Zoning Council meeting the E-30 amendment for the combination convenience store/gas station was finalized. Mr. Sander argued that the draft be first approved by Provco – the Wawa developer that is suing Newtown Township. Mr. Calabro said the BOS is trying to pass this for the betterment of the Township and added we have shown good faith in this ordinance and need to show backbone against Provco. Mr. Mack agreed with Mr. Calabro and said we are getting closer to what Provco originally proposed. The Board’s consensus was bypass the Provco reviews and to send the draft directly to the Bucks County Planning Commission for review.

Fisher on Econsult Surveys: Mr. Fisher reminded all that Econsult has sent out surveys to the Business Commons and the NBA and he encourages all to take the survey; there is also citizens survey on the Township website.

More…

The Newtown Public Works Department released the 2018 road paving schedule. This schedule, of course, depends upon the weather.

There are a couple of changes from the original list published earlier this year (see here). Quaker Drive in Devonshire Estates and part on Sentinal Avenue at the intersection of Quaker Drive are not on the list due to Sewer Authority work. The Township decided that it wouldn't make sense to repave the roads and then patch them up after the sewer work. Consequently, this road work will be rescheduled for 2020.

Meanwhile, Franklin Court has been added to the list.