Kennett Twp. lauds police, collaborations

Kennett Township Police Chief Lydell Nolt’s monthly report at the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, July 20, ranged from routine warnings about heat stroke to an invitation for residents to attend National Night Out festivities on Tuesday, Aug. 2, in Kennett Square.

As Kennett Township Zoning Officer Diane Hicks listen, resident Joseph Corrado explains his rezoning request to the supervisors.
As Kennett Township Zoning Officer Diane Hicks (left) listens, resident Joseph Corrado explains his rezoning request to the supervisors.

When Nolt finished his remarks, Supervisor Whitney S. Hoffman said she felt compelled to express support to members of the department. “It’s been a stressful time for police officers across the country,” she said, referencing a spate of shootings that have targeted police.

Nolt responded that he was grateful to work in a community that values law enforcement. “We have received an outpouring of support,” he said, adding that churches have called to offer prayer vigils and members of the public have repeatedly offered unsolicited thanks. “There’s a large portion of our population that appreciates our law enforcement.”

Continuing a theme of public safety, Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens said the Kennett Fire Company took delivery of its new $1.2 million fire truck, a joint capital expenditure between the township and the borough. Several township officials got an opportunity to ride in the bucket, which can reach heights of 100 feet, with dramatically different reactions.

“It’s pretty scary up there,” Township Manager Lisa M. Moore said, acknowledging a spectacular view. Stevens labeled it exciting, and Hoffman called it “an incredible learning experience,” explaining that one realizes the importance of maintaining 24-foot-wide roads when turning a corner in such a large vehicle.

Stevens said the township is working with several neighboring municipalities on a study designed to figure out the best way to maintain long-term, meaningful relationships for fire and emergency medical services. Moore said the township would be reviewing a draft of the report with its emergency services providers before sharing the information with the public.

Another study is nearing completion, Moore said. A draft of the economic development study commissioned by Historic Kennett Square, the Borough of Kennett Square, Kennett Township, Chester County, Genesis HealthCare and Longwood Gardens, is expected to be reviewed at a public meeting in September. The report is expected to outline priorities for where and how the region should grow while protecting its natural, rural, cultural and historic heritage.

Moore said a third study is about to start that will explore the feasibility of pursuing a new home for the Kennett Library that might also include borough offices and a community center.

Supervisor Richard L. Leff applauded the multiple collaborations. “When we work with other groups, we can accomplish more,” he said.

In other business, the supervisors heard a request from Joseph A. Corrado, who needs a zoning change so that he can subdivide one of six parcels he owns off of Old Kennett Road to create another home for a relative. “It’s pretty much a family compound, and we’d like to keep it that way,” Corrado told the supervisors.

Diane Hicks, the township’s zoning officer, said the proposal makes sense. Solicitor David J. Sander suggested that she help Corrado prepare a petition for the ordinance change and also notify a group of contiguous landowners to determine whether the change should be extended to them. Once that is accomplished, Corrado could then go through the subdivision process, Sander said.

The supervisors voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that enables the township to charge 10 percent interest annually to residents with delinquent accounts, such as sewer bills. They also voted to approve an ordinance that permits the township’s police officers to use a firing range in New Garden Township, an arrangement that facilities training. The $750 cost was budgeted, Nolt said.

The board agreed to advertise the possible reenactment of its gun discharge ordinance. Sander explained that the township withdrew the ordinance after a federal law gave organizations like the National Rifle Association the right to sue local municipalities over gun restrictions, a right that was subsequently deemed unconstitutional by an appellate court. A vote would likely occur at the next supervisors’ meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 3.

After a half-hour of discussion, the board agreed that the next step in a five-year dispute over a stormwater easement between Randy Bishop and Greenwood Mushrooms depends on Bishop.

Bishop, who attended the meeting, repeated his long-running complaint that he never signed a stormwater easement agreement with Greenwood. Moore explained that Greenwood was required to file the paperwork, which apparently didn’t happen since no one can find a signed document. As a result, the township has changed its procedure to ensure that such a situation won’t occur in the future.

In the meantime, the township has attempted to facilitate a resolution between Louis Marson, who owns Greenwood Mushrooms, and Bishop, Moore said. Now that attorneys are involved, the township’s role is limited.

Moore said that Greenwood has offered Bishop a settlement and he needs to respond to that offer. If he rejects it, the company said it would remove the drain on his property, Moore said.

 

 

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