May 14, 2015

After 42 years of police service, Kennett Township Chief of Police Albert J. McCarthy has announced his retirement.

In an email, Kennett Township said McCarthy, 64, would receive his retirement badge at the supervisors’ public meeting on May 20 at 7:30 p.m.

“It was just time,” McCarthy said. “I always wanted to serve others, and I hope that I’ve done that.”

He declined to say whether the decision was influenced by a car accident last month, the second time in less than four years that he rear-ended another vehicle.

“It was entirely my decision,” he said of his retirement. “The township has been very good to me.”

Lt. Richard H. D’Ambrosio, who heads the Avondale barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police, said McCarthy was not cited for the April 13 crash because McCarthy might have suffered a momentary seizure caused by a previous brain injury.

The Kennett Township supervisors immediately placed McCarthy on non-disciplinary administrative leave while the circumstances of the accident were investigated. D’Ambrosio could not be immediately reached for comment about whether the investigation had been completed.

McCarthy generated headlines on Oct., 12, 2011, when he rear-ended a Jeep on southbound Route 82, south of McFarlan Road, and left the scene. He returned after the other driver called 9-1-1, not realizing that he was responding to a crash he had caused. He later explained that he was being treated for what doctors had determined was a seizure disorder.

After a period of desk duty, McCarthy was cleared to drive by his doctors and the state, and he resumed his normal duties.

Before working for Kennett Township, McCarthy was a longtime officer with Kennett Square, having joined the Kennett Square force as a patrolman in 1973. He became the borough’s chief in 1988.

In March 2001, McCarthy made national news after he left his unloaded gun in a bathroom of an elementary school after being distracted by an electronic page. When a student found the gun and alerted teachers, McCarthy admitted his error and offered to resign, earning widespread praise for his acceptance of responsibility.

McCarthy continued as Kennett Square chief until a contentious parting that culminated with his resignation in September 2007 – and litigation over back pay McCarthy said he was owed. The federal case was dismissed in May 2010 “without cost to either party,” according to court records.

 

The Concord Township Government Study Commission has been operating since November, and this month members finally opened up the proceedings to learn what residents want.

There has always been a public comment period during the commission’s proceedings, but commission Chairman James Gray limited the comments to agenda items and only at the beginning of the meetings, before the commissioners took up those agenda points.

For the hearing, Gray said comments would be limited to five minutes, but did allow some people to go longer and also allowed them to speak a second time after others had made their comments.

At the outset of the hearing, solicitor Michael Maddren said the commission has three options to consider. It can either recommend no change to the township government, or it can recommend one of the state’s optional plans or it can recommend that the township create its own home rule charter.

About 15 people attended the May 13 hearing, and 10 took the opportunity to make suggestions and ask questions.

Rufus Miley spoke about the options Maddren addressed, but reminded the commissioners that Supervisors’ Chairman Dominic Pileggi said the purpose of last year’s ballot question that created the commission was an attempt to counteract a citizen-led petition to change Concord from a Township of the Second Class to a Township of the First Class.

While Miley said he doesn’t think there’s any real need to change the form of township government, transparency is an issue.

“There are a lot of people who do not support the Board of Supervisors, be they Democrat or Republican. They do not agree with the way things are operated, but changing [the form of government] I don’t think will make any difference,” Miley said.

He added that if there were a change to Township of the First Class, members of the new governing body would be appointed by the Court of Common Pleas and that could result in “a better chance to have more diverse representation.”

Maddren later addressed the issue of changing to a Township of the First Class by saying that state law doesn’t allow the commission to consider that as an option.

(In a telephone interview the day after the hearing, Maddren explained that the commission, though created by referendum, was formed under the state’s Home Rule and Optional Plans Law, which constrains the commission’s recommendations and rules out suggesting a change to Township of the First Class.)

For Anne Mueller, it’s all about restoring trust and confidence.

“The thing I would really like from all of you is to really be able to bring back trust and confidence in the township. We’ve had a number of issues over that last two or three years that have caused a lot of division,” she said.

She added that there’s been a loss of credibility because the township overuses its consultants, specifically mentioning Pennoni Associates, an engineering firm, and land consultant Tom Comitta.

“They make too many big calls when there ought to be someone who’s on the board who really knows, technically, what they’re recommending and how to interpret that,” she said.

Mueller also said that virtually every member of the Board of Supervisors has some link to a special interest.

“I have a sense that almost everybody on the township supervisors’ board has got some tie to building or construction or sewer system or a relative or someone that is a close connection,” she said.

She said transparency would allow the residents to know what those potential conflicts of interest are.

“We need to know who the supervisors are and where they eventually have conflicts of interest so that we can move around those and not have any of our processes colored by the potential of a conflict of interest,” Mueller said.

Dan Foster, a former Democratic Party candidate for supervisor, also called for more transparency in government. Further, he suggested rotating the chairmanship of the Board of Supervisors and having regional representation on the board, something Mueller also favors.

Foster also said he would like to see a way to separate the legislative and executive functions of the supervisors.

“That’s a lot of power in one central location…because right now the Board of Supervisors can, basically and essentially, pick and choose which ordinances they want to enforce through waivers and variances,” Foster said.

He said separating executive and legislative powers would be a way to fundamentally change the structure of government.

Several other residents spoke for geographic representation, having supervisors elected by precinct, and for a shorter length of time in office. John Shoenberger said six years is too long a term for supervisor.

Virtually each of the residents said they feel the current supervisors don’t really listen to them.

Township Supervisor John Gillespie, who has attended several of the commission’s sessions, said he was disappointed with the resident turnout for the hearing. He said he thought there would have – and should have – been more people attending.

But he also reiterated a point he told the commission early on, that no matter what the commission decides, he strongly recommends keeping a five-member board to run the township government.

Gillespie said he was a township engineer for several different townships during his professional career and saw many different styles of government. However, the one thing that stood out was that a five-member panel, whether they’re called supervisors or commissioners, works best. More than that, he said, is inefficient.

“I’d like to see the township stay with five supervisors with a home rule charter,” Gillespie said. “We don’t need a police department, but possibly a constable with police authority to enforce some of our ordinances.”

The commission has until early August to make a recommendation. If the choice is to maintain Concord as a Township of the Second Class, the commission will issue a report to that effect and that will conclude its business.

If the recommendation is to accept one of the optional plans in the Home Rule and Optional Plan Law, that recommendation will go on the next ballot for the voters.

However, if adopting a home rule charter is recommended, the commission will have another nine months to draw up the charter before that is put on a ballot for voters to accept or reject.

Plans for a 107-unit townhome community advanced on Wednesday, May 13, during a meeting of the Chadds Ford Township Planning Commission.

The developer, K. Hovnanian, needs a zoning change for its 20-plus-acre parcel at 600 Brandywine Drive and has been working with the township for a couple of years. In April, the supervisors requested a more refined plan and asked the applicant to confer with Tom Comitta, who would serve as a land-planning consultant.

Both Comitta and Hovnanian representative John H. Kennedy made presentations, indicating that the supervisors’ concerns had been addressed. The Planning Commission voted to recommend the zoning text amendment, and the Chadds Ford Crossing project will now return to the supervisors’ agenda.

The commission also voted to recommend a zoning text amendment for Ed Morris, who wants to build an assisted living facility on Route 202 at the old C Harry B 4 U Buy location.

The bulk of the nearly three-hour meeting focused on the township’s proposed noise ordinance. Commission Chairman Craig Huffman said the proposal has generated a lot of discussion, and it continued to do so on Wednesday night.

Several residents suggested changes, such as limiting construction noise and imposing different permit requirements for businesses and residents. Bob Banks, the missions pastor at Calvary Chapel, which has generated a number of noise complaints, questioned the intent of the ordinance.

“We do have a feeling the ordinance is directed at us,” Banks said, suggesting that would represent an unfair, discriminatory approach. He said he would challenge the township to make sure whatever is passed would be enforced consistently.

Huffman said the township has received valuable input from a variety of sources, including E. Carr Everbach, a Swarthmore College engineering professor, and Maurice Todd, a former Planning Commission member, who made additional suggestions at the meeting.

“It’s a work in progress,” Huffman said. “I hope to have something we can vote on in June.”

To review the draft, which is available on the township website, go to http://www.chaddsfordpa.gov/public/media/30%20Draft%20Noise%20Ordinance%20-%20ECE%20-%204.29.15.pdf.

In other business, the Planning Commission did not embrace either of the sketch plans presented by Regester Associates, Inc. in behalf of the owner of 52 Woodland Drive.

James E. Fritsch of Regester said the new owner of the property was considering retails shops, which is a permitted use, or an apartment building, which is not but might be preferable to nearby residents.

The board agreed that both concepts posed problems. As proposed, the shops lacked the needed parking spaces, a requirement not likely to be waived. And Hoffman said the township has no need for apartments. “I think that would be a hard sell,” added William Mock of the Planning Commission.

A plan to expand Mongiovi Orthodontics at 4 Woodland Drive also met some resistance.

Eric J. Janetka explained that the practice itself would not expand but simply needed more space to update and modernize. The board had numerous questions about landscaping, lighting and stormwater management.

Huffman recommended that Janetka work on the issues with township engineer Michael Schneider and come back in June.

Finally, the board heard from Township Manager Amanda Serock that the township, despite its hallowed Revolutionary War ground, has no regulation in place to protect its historic resources during excavations. She said the county has recommended adopting an ordinance.

Supervisor Samantha Reiner said Supervisors’ Chairman Frank G. Murphy had requested a copy of Thornbury Township’s ordinance, which could possibly be used as a model.

Huffman, who acknowledged being “a history buff,” said he was concerned about adding layers of expense to developers for archaeological studies. Reiner suggested that perhaps grant money would be available and that a sliding fee scale could be devised, depending on the scope of the development.

The issue will be reviewed without input from the board’s vice-chairman, Michael Ashmore. Huffman announced regretfully Wednesday night that Ashmore had submitted his resignation. Huffman expressed gratitude for Ashmore’s tireless efforts over many years.