October 2026 News of Interest

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) recently learned of a local push to safeguard the foundational practices and services of Chandler Hall, a long-standing senior living community, amid  its prospective sale to an outside investor.

John Mack, a former township supervisor brought forward a June letter from state lawmakers to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, which expressed serious apprehension that a commercial transition could jeopardize the establishment's traditional Quaker values and critical care standards.

Seeking to protect the well-being of elderly occupants, Mack asked the BOS to pass a formal resolution urging state authorities to bind any new buyer to strict operational safeguards.

Although the proposed measure would not block the transaction entirely, it aims to guarantee that healthcare quality, staffing levels, and community-focused leases remain intact.

Unfortunately, crickets were heard and the BOS chose to take no immediate action.

The October 2026 News of Interest examines several important issues shaping Newtown's future, including the ticking 75-day due diligence clock on the Sewer Authority land sale, a revised vision for Liberty Centre in Newtown Borough, and the YMCA's uncertain future following the sale of Chandler Hall. Also featured are highlights from the September 23 Board of Supervisors meeting, residents' efforts to improve pedestrian, bicycle, and wheelchair safety, and disagreements among supervisors over shared funding for fire services and opioid settlement programs. From controversial land deals to public safety and local government disputes, these are issues every Newtown resident should know about!

The Abandoned Sewer Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) Land Sale

During a 75-day "Due Diligence" period, the buyer - DeLuca Newtown LLC - and its employees, agents, and contractors have the right to study and investigate the property — including the survey and title commitment — to determine whether the property is suitable for the buyer’s contemplated use. Meanwhile, the seller (NBCJMA) agrees to keep the property off the market (not advertised for sale) during this period.

The agreement also anticipates possible Township involvement during the due diligence period.

At the 23 September 2026 Board of Supervisors meeting, John Mack urged the Board to adopt a formal resolution supporting concerns raised by State Senator Steve Santarsiero and State Representative Perry Warren regarding the proposed sale of Chandler Hall. The request focuses on ensuring that any new owner is legally bound to preserve Chandler Hall’s longstanding quality of healthcare, staffing and continuity of care, resident financial protections, and Quaker-based mission of dignity and compassion.

The proposed resolution would not oppose the sale itself. Rather, it would ask the Township to use its public voice to advocate for protections ensuring that a change in ownership does not diminish services or community benefits.

The September 23, 2026, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting focused heavily on public concern regarding two major local developments:

1. Preserving Chandler Hall's Mission
2. The potential residential development of the Newtown Water and Sewer Authority property on Lower Silver Lake Road
3. Bills List Approval
4. Conflict of Interest Allegation
5. Conditional Use Approval of La Scala Fire restaurant
6. Engineering & Infrastructure regarding the Linton Hill Road paving project
7. Environmental Afvisory Council Reorg?

The NAACP Bucks County Branch is deeply concerned by recent reports of threatening communications directed toward a church leader in Bucks County that allegedly included threats of violence, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and racist language and threats directed toward Black Americans.

Acts like these are not okay.

Threats of violence are not okay. Racial hatred is not okay. Targeting people because of their faith is not okay.

Language that dehumanizes entire groups of people or calls for their harm is not something we can dismiss, normalize, or simply scroll past.

Whether directed toward Black people, Muslims, members of a faith community, or any of our neighbors, hate and intimidation affect more than the person who is directly targeted. They create fear, undermine people’s sense of safety, and damage the fabric of our entire community.

But our position on hate is clear. There is no place in Bucks County for racism, religious hatred, threats, or intimidation.

We cannot become so accustomed to hateful rhetoric that we stop recognizing its seriousness. We each have a responsibility to speak up when our neighbors are targeted and to make clear that hatred directed at one community should concern all of us.

The NAACP Bucks County Branch stands against hate in all its forms and remains committed to helping build a Bucks County where every person can live, work, worship, raise their family, and participate in their community without fear.

Hate is not acceptable here. Not against one of us. Not against any of us.

5 Surprising Ways Liberty Centre is Redefining Newtown's Future

Four Key Takeaways from Public Comments Submitted to the Pennsylvania Attorney General

Residents, families, healthcare professionals, and local elected officials have raised concerns about Chandler Hall's proposed transition from nonprofit to for-profit ownership, including its potential effects on resident care, staffing, fees, and community services.

This short audio podcast is a quick review of letters, emails, and handwritten notes sent to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (OAG) regarding the sale of Chandler Hall. The letters were received via a Right-to-Know Law request filed by John Mack.

While the OAG granted the request in part by providing the relevant communications, it also redacted specific details to protect the personal privacy of individual citizens.

However, a 22 June 2026 letter from PA Senate member Steve Santarsiero and PA House member Perry Warren was NOT redacted. These local leaders "requested" that the OAG "take great care reviewing this sale to ensure the public interest, and specifically that of the residents and their families, is maintained through this transaction and under the new management and ownership."

The Newtown Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Wheelchair Safety Initiative is bringing residents together to address dangerous crossings, gaps in sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure, bicycle safety, wheelchair accessibility, and opportunities to obtain state funding for safety improvements.

Key Takeaways

• Infrastructure deficiencies: Several high-risk areas have been identified, including Silo Drive, Chandler Hall, and the Newtown Bypass.
• Funding opportunities: Advocates are urging Newtown Township to take greater advantage of PennDOT grants that can fund traffic and pedestrian safety improvements.
• Administrative concerns: Residents expressed frustration over delays in engineering work, project preparation, and access to information.
• A permanent safety committee: Participants discussed re-establishing a standing Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee to provide a formal mechanism for resident input and professional oversight.

The River Crossing YMCA’s Newtown Branch has been more than a gym; it has been the heartbeat of the community at 190 S Sycamore Street for many years. But as the “transition of seasons” arrived this September 2026, members were met with a chilling blast of reality that far outweighs the typical autumn chill.

A sudden real estate deal - i.e., the sale of its landlord, Chandler Hall - has left this local staple scrambling for survival, turning a routine facility update into a high-stakes race for a new home.

Newtown Borough’s Environmental Advisory Council has opened discussion about regulating gas-powered leaf blowers, citing concerns about noise, emissions and potential health impacts. The EAC says more than 200 communities nationwide have taken action, while nearby Lower Merion and Narberth have adopted phase-outs.

No ban has been proposed yet. Council members discussed options ranging from restrictions on commercial operators only to starting with public education and resident input before considering regulations.

What do you think? Ban them, limit commercial use, or leave the choice to residents?

This Audio Overview focuses on the specific intergovernmental agreements and shared funding decisions that caused split votes among the Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) in the period from January through August 2026.

The contentious votes involved Fire Services Agreement with Newtown Borough and Opioid Settlement MOU with Bucks County. Battlegrounds emerge when the township is asked to share its money or services with questionable payback.

A closer look at how Newtown Township's supervisors voted from January through August 2026

Municipal voting records may look like dry tables of numbers and dates, but they are actually the master blueprints of your local community's daily life, public safety, and future development.

Here, we will dive into the unofficial January through August 2026 voting record of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) to uncover how local government operates behind the scenes.

Apple Montessori School has withdrawn its proposal to convert the former Rite Aid at Goodnoe Corner into an early childhood learning center. The school also withdrew its request for a conditional-use hearing before the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors. Township officials say it remains unclear whether Apple Montessori will return with a revised proposal.

The proposed center would have served 142 students in seven classrooms and included an enclosed outdoor play area and swimming pool. The plan had drawn concerns from supervisors about placing a school in Goodnoe Corner’s busy parking lot; the Board had previously voted to hire outside counsel to oppose the conditional-use request.

The September 9, 2026 meeting of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors focused on intense public scrutiny surrounding the failed sewer treatment plant project.

Public comment was dominated by what residents described as the "muddle" involving the Newtown Township Sewer Authority property. Residents expressed deep distrust following the abandonment of an $11.5 million sewer plant project and questioned why sewer rates had been increased by 47% for a facility that will not be built.

The Board clarified that developer DeLuca has a 90-day feasibility window, but that there are currently no active plans to change the property's existing Office/Research (OR) zoning.

The Board also addressed pedestrian-safety grant opportunities, road maintenance complaints, police activity, and financial matters.

At the September 9, 2026 Newtown Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Todd McGonigal delivered a pointed critique of the abandoned sewer treatment plant project and the political and professional relationships surrounding it.

McGonigal repeatedly asked “Who benefited?” He argued that Newtown residents did not appear to benefit: sewer customers received a 47% rate increase, roughly $11.5 million was spent pursuing a treatment plant that was never built, and the property acquired for the project is now being considered for sale and possible residential development.

A major focus of his remarks was Kilkenny Law and its relationship with Newtown government. McGonigal questioned whether political contributions, municipal appointments, and taxpayer-funded legal work create at least the appearance of a pay-to-play conflict of interest. He cited controversies involving the firm in other Pennsylvania municipalities and stressed that these facts do not by themselves prove wrongdoing in Newtown, but said they warrant scrutiny.

McGonigal concluded by asking the Board of Supervisors to take two actions: reconsider whether Kilkenny Law should continue representing Newtown Township and refuse to rezone the former sewer-treatment-plant property for residential development.

His central message was that before anything further happens with the property, residents deserve a complete accounting of what happened, why millions were spent, who made the decisions, and who ultimately benefited.

Newtown Township faced a tight 18-month deadline to obligate approximately $133,000 in opioid settlement funds (which grew to the final $167,240.04 disbursement in September 2026). Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors voted on June 24, 2026, to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to transfer these funds to Bucks County, because the township lacked the healthcare infrastructure to run drug rehabilitation and treatment programs locally. In exchange, the county committed to supporting the continuation of its co-responder program, which embeds social workers within the local police force to handle emergency substance abuse and mental health calls.

This briefing document provides a detailed synthesis of the financial activities for Newtown Township, as recorded in the Bills List dated September 9, 2026. The total expenditure for this period across all funds is $1,921,548.57.

The township’s financial focus during this period is characterized by significant inter-fund transfers for capital reserves, heavy investment in public safety infrastructure—specifically police vehicle procurement and upfitting—and the fulfillment of substantial administrative and legal obligations, including a $167,240.04 opioid settlement payment.

While the "cloud" is often marketed as an ethereal, weightless medium, its physical footprint is staggering. In the real world, the digital age is composed of steel, heat, and a million-gallon-a-day thirst for water. As these industrial-scale facilities begin to migrate from massive tech hubs into residential suburbs, local governments are finding themselves in a high-stakes game of regulatory catch-up.

On September 3, 2026, the Newtown Area Joint Zoning Council (JZC) met to tackle this looming shift.

The most consequential portion of the application was the proposed Kiddie Academy parcel: it seeks approval for a 2.117-acre lot where the CM district normally requires 10 acres, 36.81% impervious surface where 15% is permitted, a 59.20-foot front setback instead of 100 feet, front-yard play areas, and relief from the five-acre child-care lot requirement. The document also reports proposed disturbance of 17.5% of total woodlands and 44.8% of agricultural soils.

The applicant argued that the unique physical conditions of the property—including irregular parcel shapes, extensive protected natural resources, and a long-standing non-conforming restaurant use—create an unnecessary hardship that justifies the requested relief.

All 4 of the ZHB members present voted to deny the variances.

Comprehensive Analysis of Municipal Expenditures and Fund Allocations

The primary financial drivers for this period include significant investments in professional inspection services, seasonal community recreation programs, and essential public safety infrastructure. Notable highlights include a $74,674.80 payment for monthly inspection fees, over $32,000 in fuel procurement, and nearly $40,000 in capital project acquisitions including a specialized drone and grooming mower.

[Source: Bucks County Herald;]

In Newtown Township, community members have voiced significant opposition to the proposed sale of a 17.5-acre property to the developer DeLuca.

The property is located on Lower Silverlake Rd and is being offered for sale by the Newtown Sewer Authority, which had to abandon plans to build a sewer treatment plan on the site due to opposition by local residents.

The builder intends to construct townhomes on the site, a move that would require a zoning variance for the land previously designated for a wastewater plant. Residents at a local board meeting cited concerns regarding increased traffic, lack of transparency, and the potential waste of public funds already spent on the site.

The potential $11.5 million transaction remains in its preliminary stages, pending official municipal oversight and further public debate.

5 Takeaways from the Newtown Township Public eMailbox

At the recent 12 August 2026 Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) public meeting, a resident's inquiry about meeting procedures was met with a suggestion from the chairman to "send an email" and start a private discourse. 

Neighbors for Open Government & Accountability (NOGA) characterizes this as a “Black Box” tactic to avoid public accountability and on-the-record answers.

My recent "No Canopy For You!" post generated a substantial response on social media. Many commenters questioned the decision to reject the Donatelli's Italian Steakhouse canopy at the former Brick Hotel property, while others raised questions about historic preservation, signage, consistency, and whether approval should have been obtained before the canopy was installed.

Although the comments reflect different opinions, the overwhelming theme of this particular social-media discussion was skepticism about the canopy decision. Many commenters argued that the canopy is attractive, useful in bad weather, and preferable to the temporary tent previously used at the property.

Others raised a broader question: How should Newtown balance historic preservation with the need to keep historic properties economically viable and welcoming to new businesses?

There were also legitimate questions about whether the canopy should have received approval before installation, whether its lettering causes it to function as a sign, and how the Historic Architectural Review Board's (HARB's) standards are being applied to comparable properties.

UPDATE: The canopy has been removed!