December 15, 2015

Two Pocopson Township supervisors attended their final meeting, one after nearly three decades of township service.

After signing countless bills and ordinances since becoming a supervisor in 2000, Georgia Brutscher penned her last ones on Monday, Dec. 14. Prior to her tenure as supervisor, she served on the township’s Planning Commission, starting in 1986. She did not seek reelection.

Supervisors’ Chairman Barney Leonard also presided over his last meeting. He was appointed in May 2014 to fill an unexpired supervisor’s term until the November 2015 election. However, he withdrew from the race after the primary. Like Brutscher, he previously served on Pocopson’s Planning Commission.

But before either supervisor could make parting remarks, the board had to focus on a lengthy agenda, including several items that had been on the drawing board for years.

The first involved the township’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, known as MS4, a federal mandate that has been in progress since well before 2012, when the township’s first strategy to reduce water pollution was submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The state has been tasked with implementing the mandate for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Brittany Hackman from McCormick Taylor, the township’s engineer, explained that the plan would require Pocopson to remove 35.5 tons of sediment from its waterways annually, using a variety of methods such as planting riparian buffers or improving stormwater basins. She said that number represented a decrease from the previous amount of 500 tons.

The plan is available on the township’s website, and residents are invited to submit comments – written, verbal, or electronic – to the township office by Dec. 26, Hackman said. Once the comments have been incorporated, a report on the township’s strategy will be sent to the DEP.

Asked about a timetable, Hackman said the DEP does not have a deadline for responding. It returned comments on the 2012 submission in 2014, Hackman said. To view the draft, click here.

Another protracted project involved the updating of the township’s construction codes, a process that began in 2008. Leonard, Brutscher, and Supervisor Ricki Stumpo all voted to approve multiple ordinance changes. “Just be gratified your house is already built,” Leonard told the audience of about 15, referencing the complexity of the new regulations.

The board also voted unanimously to approve the bid package for the historic Barnard House, noting that its fate will be up to the next board. Stumpo will be the only returning supervisor; Alice Balsama and Elaine DiMonte will join her on the three-member board.

The Barnard House, once a stop on the Underground Railroad, is being renovated for use as the township municipal building and the home of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center, a repurposing that has stirred conflict for months.

“This is a set of documents that’s ready to be sent out should the new board of supervisors decide to do that,” Leonard said.

Before the vote, resident Sean Rafferty said he believed the action was premature, citing unresolved issues and wasted money. “I still think it’s wrong the way this went down,” he said.

Barbara Holmes, another resident, also took issue with the way the project had been handled and even submitted her resume to the supervisors, offering to “come out of retirement” to serve as project manager.

Representatives of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center attended the meeting to ask when they could move into the building. Leonard and Brutscher said that a certificate of occupancy is pending and that they couldn’t offer a definitive answer.

The supervisors said the bid package would be forwarded to McCormick Taylor for review. Lauressa McNemar, a member of the now-defunct Barnard House Steering Committee, said that review is intended to answer the question: “What is this going to cost?”

In response to questions about the expense of the review, Hackman said she did not believe there would be a cost for the estimates.

In other business, the board passed the 2016 budget, a $4.3 million spending plan that maintains all of the same tax rates as 2015.

Leonard and Brutscher both read closing comments before the meeting adjourned, and resident Holly Manzone presented Brutscher with flowers and a cake in gratitude for her decades of service.

Brutscher said she was privileged to work with many talented civic servants during her tenure, citing three past supervisors – Ted Browning, Bill Sellers, and Steve Conary – as particularly “valued mentors and visionaries.” She said their commitment to forward-thinking zoning and sound environmental policies had left a positive legacy for future residents.

She also expressed hope that the next board would support the Barnard House project because it would benefit all township residents and represents a significant part of the township’s history. “I want to thank all I have worked with; I value the knowledge I have acquired as a municipal employee over the 30 years I have served the residents of Pocopson Township,” she said.

Leonard, whose tenure as a supervisor was much shorter, said he learned a lot about the challenges and responsibilities the position entails. “I implore the new board to weigh each decision not on what is politically convenient for today, but what is in the best interest of our community for the years to come.”

He said he was especially gratified that the Route 52 roundabout had been completed and that the outgoing board was leaving the township in good financial shape. “Out of the 73 municipalities in Chester County, Pocopson Township has the highest median household income, while our total tax rate is the 49^th lowest in the county,” he said.

Leonard urged the new board to follow Brutscher’s lead and “leave the township in a better place than when you found it.”

The next supervisors’ meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 p.m.