As has been the case for several years, there will be no tax increase for residents of Birmingham or Pennsbury townships.
Both municipalities have passed their respective budgets for 2016 and township property tax millage rates remain steady.
Pennsbury’s budget is balanced with revenues and expenses projected to be $1,616,625. Property taxes remain at 1.49 mills. (A mill is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.)
Township Manager Kathy Howley reminds residents that there is a 0.312 percent earned income tax in the township. She said many people forget about that tax and are surprised when the tax collection agency — Keystone Collections — contacts them for back taxes.
Howley also said the new budget includes a $500 increase for Bayard Taylor Library and a $25,000 increase for Longwood Fire Co. The library will receive $35,500 from the township, and the fire company will get $150,000.
Birmingham Township property taxes will also remain steady at 1.6 mills, the same level since 2010.
Expenses are estimated to be $1.5 million while revenues, which include $737,607 carried forward, is anticipated to be $2.1 million.
According to Birmingham’s Township Manager Quina Nelling, sewer rates will remain at $145 per quarter.
Property owners in both townships will also be paying Chester County property taxes at 4.163 mills and Unionville-Chadds Ford School District property taxes at 26.99 mills.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
Kennett Township Supervisor Bob Hammaker accepts a plaque from Supervisors' Chairman Scudder G. Stevens as Township Manager Lisa M. Moore (right) and Supervisor Richard L. Leff applaud his service.
Kennett Township ushered out 2015 with a full plate that included a heap of budget numbers, a side of shiitakes, and a dollop of blackberries.
Kennett Township Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens congratulates David Shepherd for his years of influential service to the township.
The final supervisors’ meeting of the year began on a celebratory note as David Shepherd and Bob Hammaker were honored for their years of service to the township. It ended with the passage of the 2016 budget, a multi-fund spending plan that contains no tax increases.
Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens, who presented plaques to both men, applauded their exemplary contributions, and he noted the presence of many supporters in the audience, including family members and township volunteers and employees. Shepherd served on the township’s Planning Commission for six years and logged a decade of service on the Historical Commission. Stevens said it was impossible to measure Shepherd’s positive impact.
Shepherd joked, “One wonders what should I say? I think the smart answer is say thank you and sit down.” However, he said he wanted to express gratitude to the many supervisors, fellow commission members and township staff members who provided thoughtful counsel and assistance to him during his tenure.
Numerous Kennett Township employees gather to recognize Township Supervisor Bob Hammaker (sixth from right) at his last meeting.
“It’s been a wonderful experience to be on these commissions,” Shepherd said. “I leave this with a lot of fond memories.”
In recognizing Hammaker, Stevens said he was sorry to see the end of his colleague’s 12-year stint as supervisor. In addition to Hammaker’s service to the township in that capacity as well as his five years on the Environmental Advisory Committee, Stevens voiced appreciation on a personal level.
Stevens said Hammaker was particularly supportive and encouraging when Stevens joined the board, facilitating his transition. “I am eternally grateful for his actions in that regard,” Stevens said.
Hammaker, visibly surprised by the attention, also expressed thanks to his colleagues and staff. “I’m not going to make a speech,” he said.
A cake enjoyed by the approximately 40 attendees at Wednesday night’s Kennett Township supervisors’ meeting celebrates Bob Hammaker’s township service, which spanned nearly two decades.
Not a problem, responded Township Manager Lisa M. Moore, as Sara Meadows, who chairs the Historical Commission, presented Hammaker with a vanilla cake featuring blackberry filling. Moore said it would be cut and distributed while the supervisors got back to the business on the meeting’s agenda.
One of those items involved a vote on the preliminary land development plan from Kennett Square Specialties to build 38 mushroom houses on a 15.5-acre tract on Ways Lane, which is zoned limited industrial. With some conditions, the Planning Commission recommended the plan for approval on Nov. 12, Moore said.
In response to concerns from resident Joe Duffy about smells emanating from the operation, Lou Caputo, one of the applicants, explained that the facility would not be used for composting or growing mushrooms, but rather for preparing exotics like shiitakes for growth.
Caputo said the process involves sterilizing an oak sawdust and grain mixture formed into a log and then inoculating it with shiitake spores. By the end of a 5 ½-week process, the log would be petrified. Caputo said some of the logs would be sold as is and others would be transported to a growing facility, where “like a chia pet, it has to be submerged in water” to grow.
Kennett Township Supervisor Richard L. Leff (clockwise from left) joins outgoing Supervisor Bob Hammaker, Police Chief Lydell Nolt, Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens, Roadmaster Roger Lysle and Township Manager Lisa M. Moore to recognize Hammaker’s impact on the township.
The supervisors voted unanimously to approve the preliminary land development plan. They also passed the 2016 budget after hearing some modifications from Moore. The budget includes an accounting of six funds – capital, general, library, open space, sewer and state.
Highlights include two anticipated open-space purchases totaling $2.5 million, one of which is likely to be announced in February, Moore said. The projected balance of the open-space fund at the end of 2016 is nearly $2.9 million. Moore said the township also budgeted $90,000 to start a sustainable development office that would look at development proactively and assist in the coordination of grants. To view the budget, click here.
Stevens said work would definitely begin on the Chandler Mill Bridge in 2016; however, the extent of it cannot be assessed yet. The township can’t determine the stability of the foundation until the bridge is deconstructed, Stevens said. “We won’t know until we’re in the big muddy up to our elbows,” he explained.
In other business, Kennett Township Police Chief Lydell Nolt said police responded to 401 incidents last month, with state police handling 69 of them. He noted that people are particularly susceptible to theft at this time of year, and he urged residents and businesses to consider installing surveillance cameras.
A Nether Providence woman hired as a companion for a 90-year-old resident of an assisted living facility is accused of stealing more than $10,000 from her, said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan.
Marianne Smith
Marianne Smith, 53, has been charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, receiving stolen property, theft by deception and false impression. The arrest follows an investigation conducted by Det. Edward Kazlo of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Senior Exploitation Unit, said a press release from the district attorney’s office.
The investigation began after the Nether Providence Police Department alerted Kazlo about a possible theft, stemming from Smith’s four-year tenure as a companion for the 90-year-old resident of the Plush Mills Senior Living Facility in Wallingford.
In May, Smith was given the victim’s debit card and PIN number by Rosemary Lavin, who had power of attorney, to pay Smith and purchase items for the victim, Tina Fright, on an as-needed basis.
Between May and July of this year, Lavin noticed $10,000 had been withdrawn from Fright’s account. Concerned about the spending, Lavin asked for the debit card to be returned, but Smith ignored the request and continued to make withdrawals, the release said.
On Aug. 2, Lavin cancelled the card and terminated Smith’s employment. During an interview, Smith told detectives that Fright had asked her to take money to repair her car, put new windows on her house, repair her porch, and take her family on vacation.
On Oct. 30, detectives interviewed Fright and asked whether she had authorized those purchases and she said no. “I may be up in age, but I’m not naïve,” she reportedly responded, the release said.
“Our seniors deserve to enjoy their retirement and hard-earned money without the fear of being victimized,” District Attorney Jack Whelan said in the release. “Marianne Smith stole that liberty, betraying the trust of the person she was hired to look after, stealing the victim’s money for her own leisure.”
Smith was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Deborah A Krull and released on $10,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21 at 8 a.m., according to court records.
In business, the results you get can be relatively proportionate to the effort you put in. So far so good, but a problem arises when people don’t do anything or do the wrong thing to try to get results.
Far too often, people will play the blame game. “I tried this to get more business happening and it didn’t work and the same with that, and that and on and on … nothing’s working!”
I think it’s a bit like this, I want to build a house, I have some materials and I put them together but it’s not working… of course not — no plan coupled with low skills, I may end up with a house with no floor, no roof or missing a number of key items. The same in business, if you need to market the business you need to know something about marketing, human resources; you need to know finances, tax, operational issues, hopefully you get the picture.
If you don’t know something you need to find out how to do it properly. Take marketing for instance, doing it properly makes a huge difference to the results, doing it long enough to see the results really flourish is another thing again. Being able to measure the results is another thing again.
OK, I hear you saying: “There are only so many days in the week and hours in the day.” Here are my responses:
If you don’t like doing any of the things that must be done in business, get someone else to do it. Outsource the task to free you up to do more of what you really want to do in the business.
Plan your time better, delegate more.
Many people in business work long hours, often doing only the tasks that need to be done in business hours in that time slot (calling customers etc.) then working after hours on other tasks like bookkeeping.
Stop procrastinating; either you want the business to do well or not; if not get out of it.
Stop using creative avoidance techniques to “stay busy” and get nothing done.
Success is working toward any worthwhile goal, therefore get better at setting your goals.
Focus on the results you want by being outcome driven.
Your business should provide a great lifestyle for you in so many ways; let it be all it can be by being the best business owner/operator you can be. Being at fault should not be an option, being successful should be your main priority.
* Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm in West Chester, PA, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small & medium sized businesses. For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or MariaNovak001@yahoo.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to: editor@chaddsfordlive.com
Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small businesses. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the Marketing & Sales Industry ... 13 of those as the sole sales representative for a Pennsylvania payroll company growing their client base by over 500%. Maria Novak Dugan is also the former Managing Director of the Delaware Chapter of eWomenNetwork. Creating, developing, and conducting this division of a national organization strengthened her knowledge of networking, event planning, fundraising, and small-business development.
For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or Maria@Maria-L-Novak.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com
Helen Galloway Soliwoda, 92, of West Grove, died Sunday, Dec. 13, surrounded by her family. She was the wife of Walter S. Soliwoda, with whom she shared 72 years of marriage.
Born in Lincoln University, she was a daughter of the late Wesley and the late Susan (Miller) Galloway.
After high school Helen worked at Hercules as a secretary. In 1962 she was the second woman to graduate from Lincoln University and earned a bachelor’s degree in English with honors and was salutatorian. Her son Wes graduated from Avon Grove High School the same day. Later on Helen earned a master’s degree from the University of Delaware in special education. She worked at Goldey-Beacom College, Garnet Valley School District, and was a licensed realtor.
Mom was a graduate of Grace Bible Institute and was a devoted member of the West Grove Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday school and participated in the Mission Circle.
She loved traveling with her husband and was able to visit places near and far including Europe, the Holy Land, Alaska, Hawaii and much of the western United States.
In addition to her husband, Helen is survived by two sons, Wesley and his wife Evelyn and Gary and his wife Andrea all of West Grove; one daughter, Elaine Rhodewalt of Sandy, Utah; seven grandchildren, Cindy Hazewski (Thomas), Lynn DiFilippo (Rico), Stefan Rhodewalt, Lauren Rhodewalt, Jordan Ellis (Joseph), Ryan Soliwoda, Devin Soliwoda, Colby Soliwoda and four great-grandchildren, Justin, Kaylee, Jacob and Joseph.
She was predeceased by two brothers and four sisters.
You are invited to visit with Helen’s family and friends from 10—11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at the West Grove Presbyterian Church, 139 W Evergreen Street, West Grove, PA 19390. A memorial service celebrating her life will follow at 11. Interment will be held privately this week at the Faggs Manor Presbyterian Cemetery in Cochranville, PA. Contributions in her memory may be made to the West Grove Presbyterian Church or City Gate Mission, 17 N. 7th Ave, Coatesville, PA 19320. Arrangements are being handled by the Foulk & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (610-869-2685) of West Grove. To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family please visit www.griecocares.com.
Chadds Ford Township Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Bob Reardon is blaming the holiday season for a delay in rendering a decision on whether Stonebridge Mansion may be used as a residential lifestyle modification treatment facility.
The decision is now tentatively scheduled for Dec. 22.
Stonebridge, at 681 Webb Road — on the southwest corner of Webb and Route 1 — lies within the R-1 residential zoning district, but owners Drew and Nicole Barnabei want to use the 25-room mansion for business purposes.
The board held two hearing sessions on the matter in October and November. When the hearing closed last month, Reardon gave attorneys on both sides a deadline for filing their findings of fact and conclusions of law so that a decision could be rendered on Dec. 16.
However, Reardon said both attorneys were late, and board members need more time. The board set Tuesday, Dec. 22, as the new date, but Reardon said solicitor Frank Sbandi would ask the Barnabeis’ attorney for a further extension.
The board has 45 days from the close of the hearing — which was Nov. 18 — to render a decision. That period ends Jan. 2, and Reardon said Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and preparation could get in the way of that time frame. The board would need written permission from the Barnabeis to go beyond Jan. 2.
If the Barnabeis do not grant an extension, the decision will be made next week, Reardon said.
The Barnabeis argued that using the home as a residential rehab center is a use by right, but if the zoning hearing board disagreed, they were seeking “reasonable accommodation.”
Their attorney, Jim Byrne, said denying the use would be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Fair Housing Act.
During testimony, it was revealed that the home would be used as a facility for up to 15 people recovering from substance abuse.
However, the township, through attorney Kathy Labrum, argued that the property could not be used for commercial purposes because it is zoned for residential use only. Additionally, the house does not meeting building code specs for such a use.
Labrum also asserted that, should the use be permitted, the Barnabeis plan to vacate the mansion as their home and leave it for use solely as the rehab center.
According to Nicole Barnabei, she made the application for zoning approval at the instruction of the federal district court. She went to federal court after the township denied her request to use Stonebridge as a rehab center. She said she was told in federal court that they (federal court) could not do anything without her first getting a decision from the township Zoning Hearing Board.
This is not the first time the Barnabeis have been to the hearing board. Two years ago, they wanted to use Stonebridge as a for-profit wedding venue, a use the board denied. That decision was upheld by the Court of Common Pleas when the decision was appealed.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
• It’s Breakfast with the Trains on Saturday, Dec. 19 at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. From 8:30 to 10 a.m., museum visitors can take part in a behind-the-scenes visit with the Brandywine River Museum of Art Railroad. Discover how the extensive layout, one of the world’s largest, is created, and the complicated multitasking it takes to keep everything running. This before-hours event includes a private tour of the trains in action with Brandywine RR engineers, including special activities for the youngest train fans and a continental breakfast in the museum café. Children will receive a Brandywine RR souvenir; ages 3 and older accompanied by an adult are welcome. Tickets — $20 for museum members and $25 for others — are limited. Reserve online at www.brandywine.org/museum/events or phone 610-388-8326.
• The mushroom will drop again this year. Kennett Square will usher in the new year with its annual Mushroom Drop. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, in the heart of Kennett Square, a 500-pound stainless steel mushroom glittering with thousands of lights will be lowered with a countdown to the new year. It is the finale of Midnight in the Square, Kennett Square’s family-style New Year’s Eve bash with music, food and fun. The night will include children’s activities beginning at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, and there will be a heated tent that has a cover charge of $10. General admission is a nonperishable food item for the Kennett Food Cupboard.
• It’s still two months away, but chocoholics should mark Feb. 21 on their calendars. That’s the day for the United Way of Southern Chester County’s annual Chocolate Lovers Festival. Hundreds of chocolate treats from cakes and brownies to candies and cookies will be available for tasting at Kennett High School from 1 to 4 p.m. General admission is $10 per person (or $30 for a family of four) and gets you six tastings. Special Connoisseur tickets — $25 per person or $45 for two — allows for noon admission and free parking. Parking for others is $5. For advance tickets, go to www.kennettchocolate.org Chefs and bakers who want to enter their chocolate creations may win ribbons in several categories — amateur, professional or student. There is no entry fee, but the deadline to enter is Feb. 17.
• The Kennett Area Senior Center sponsors Zumba classes on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. with professional instructor Kim Malone. The class is open to all ages: teens through seniors. Come check out a class ($8 drop in fee) or just sign up for a 10-class session ($59/adult, $49/age 15 and younger).
• With just a week left until Christmas, Kennett Square invites area residents to shop and dine before the holidays. Free three-hour holiday parking will begin on Thursday, Dec. 17 and continue through Jan. 3. For a calendar of events on the many scheduled activities, click for More information.
• PennDOT announced that all driver’s license and photo centers, including its full-service center in Harrisburg, would be closed Friday, Dec. 25 for the Christmas holiday. Photo centers will not offer extended hours on Thursday, Dec. 24, and will close at the same time as driver license centers. However, customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services online at www.dmv.pa.gov. There are no additional fees for using online services.
• Motorists can check traffic conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com, advises PennDOT. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 770 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.
• Christiana Care Health System’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health will offer a support group for people who have received or plan to receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators. The free sessions will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, and Tuesday, March 8, at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, 4755 Ogletown-Stanton Rd. in Newark, De. The meeting includes a topic-based presentation, an opportunity for questions and answers, and a group support session. Family members are welcome to attend. Registration is requested by calling 800-693-CARE (2273) or 302-623-CARE (2273).
