Noise, some of it figurative, dominated a nearly three-hour meeting of the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, July 6 – ranging from fictitious bombs to real gun discharge and concluding with audio of a high-pitched, mystery buzzing.
In between, the supervisors fielded concerns about arsenic-tainted soil; voted to join Kennett Square Borough in celebrating National Night Out, a community-policing event; reinforced the township’s commitment to open space as well as the Chandler Mill Bridge rehabilitation; and voted reluctantly to approve the release of escrow funds for the Granite Ridge subdivision.
Township Manager Lisa M. Moore explained that the bogus explosions were part of a recent multi-agency, tabletop training exercise held at the township that began with a bomb threat at Kennett High during the Mushroom Festival and escalated with explosions at Exelon and in the borough.
“It was a very successful exercise,” she said, adding that gathering representatives from businesses, the county, and other municipalities ensures better preparation in the event of an actual emergency.
Moore also reported that the supervisors held an executive session to discuss the acquisition of real estate. Citing his proximity to the tract, Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens recused himself from a unanimous vote by Supervisors Whitney S. Hoffman and Richard L. Leff to commit $588,450 toward 60 percent of the cost of a 30-acre parcel. Moore said a conservation buyer was purchasing the other 43 acres.
She explained that the location could not be divulged until the negotiations, contingent upon appraisals and grants, were finalized. Once the property is acquired, it would be open to the public and connect to existing trails.
In response to a resident’s question, Hoffman said the township has preserved about 18 percent of its land with a goal of attaining 30 percent.
“The issue of trying to protect what we have has become a very important mission. Many of us are deeply committed to that process,” Stevens said.
He cited the recent news that Toll Brothers has an agreement of sale to purchase the historic, 330-acre Crebilly Farm in Westtown Township as an example of the urgency. That prompted resident Joe Duffy to call Crebilly “the Hope Diamond of Chester County.”
Another conservation-related issue involved the Chandler Mill Bridge. Moore said the township did not receive money in the last round of grants but was committed to trying again and hoped to put the design out for bid and begin work in the fall. She estimated the cost to rehabilitate the bridge for use by bicyclists, pedestrians and emergency vehicles at approximately $450,000, $100,000 of which would be covered by a donation.
Gwen Lacey, executive director of The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC), thanked the supervisors for their work to keep the bridge on the National Historic Register. Stevens responded that the partnership between the township and the conservancy benefited everyone.
The supervisors also discussed a letter TLC sent to the board reiterating concerns about the proposed Bentley Homes development on the Plankinton property, located at 912 S. Union St. The conservancy urged the township to conduct an independent soil analysis to determine the best course for arsenic remediation, to collaborate with its expert on stormwater runoff, and to consider adopting a soil ordinance.
Resident Dave Lewis echoed some of the conservancy’s fears, pointing out that an error in containing the carcinogen could result in its entry into the water system, where it could easily “destroy the whole ecosystem.”
The supervisors agreed to do some research on soil ordinances and the protection they might afford, and they also agreed to consult with the conservancy’s experts on interpreting the developer’s soil report, stopping short of commissioning their own study.
After a lengthy discussion, the board also agreed to do additional research on its gun ordinance after Solicitor David J. Sander outlined its options. 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.
Since then, that provision was shot down by an appellate court. Sander said the township could reenact its ordinance, mindful that the state might institute a similar provision and necessitate “re-repealing it,” but he deemed that possibility unlikely.
Police Chief Lydell Nolt said the township experiences about 20 documented incidents per year of shots fired. He recommended that the language in the former township ordinance regarding backstops be clarified, and the supervisors agreed to reconsider the issue at their July 20 meeting.
Nolt also received a vote of approval to change the status of Police Officer Johnathan Ortiz from probationary to permanent, and he said the township would participate in the National Night Out celebration with the borough on Aug. 2.
“It’s another example of the borough and township working toward a common goal,” Stevens said.
In other business, the supervisors voted to release $245,633.97 in escrow funds for Phase 1 of the Granite Ridge subdivision. Unresolved problems with stormwater runoff in Phase Two of the project prompted a delay in releasing the money, but Moore said the township had no legal standing to continue to withhold it since it is not tied to the current problem.
She said that the developer is working with the township and conservancy to resolve the drainage problems and that the township, which already has $99,000 in escrow for Phase Two, could require an increase in that amount if needed.
Finally, the board spent considerable time discussing an ongoing nighttime noise complaint that has mystified a handful of residents as well as township officials. Moore, who played a recording of the sound, said that not only does it not violate the township’s noise ordinance, but it also can’t be traced to a specific location.
Moore said the group of residents requested that the supervisors conduct a noise audit at a cost of $4,000 to determine the source.
But Solicitor David J. Sander said that even if the source were identified, the township has no recourse. “Legally this is what’s called a private nuisance,” he said. “I’m hesitant to recommend that the township get involved.”
Stevens noted that Moore and other township officials had exhausted what they could do to help. “We’ve done a lot to try and solve the problem,” Stevens said. “Those who are hearing it and annoyed by it have to take the burden.”
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