May 13, 2020 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Concord opposes sale of CWA

During a short May 12 meeting, Concord Township Council passed a resolution opposing the sale of Chester Water Authority and announced that the township building would reopen with safety restrictions on May 18. Council also agreed to send a letter to state and county officials to get a plan together so that businesses in Concord Township can reopen. On March 19, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered businesses that he considered nonessential to close in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Councilman Pete Pagano moved for the letter to the county and state for a plan to get businesses functioning again, saying the mandatory closing has caused “an unrecoverable hardship.” He said the curve has flattened and that it’s time to move forward.

While Wolf has lifted some restrictions on some counties, he has continued the overarching stay-at-home for other counties through June 4. Several of the counties have notified the governor that they will not comply with the continued shutdown but will allow their counties to reopen.

Reopening the township building in Concord next week will not, as yet, be a return to normal. It’s for essential business only and there will be social distancing and other safety requirements, according to township Manager Amanda Serock.

She asked residents needing to conduct in-person business to be patient because the office will not be fully staffed throughout the day. Personnel will work in shifts and that could cause delays.

Regarding Chester County Water Authority, the township holds that the city of Chester has no “legitimate ownership claim over any of the assets that belong to Chester Water Authority,” and that CWA should not be sold to get the city out of a financial bind.

The resolution calls the sale of the CWA to a for-profit entity “would have a detrimental impact on the utility rates” and would be ‘an egregious abuse of power” when the public is so focused on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concord Township Council members “urge, in the strongest possible terms” that the Chester Water Authority should continue “as an independent water authority and that the governor and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development “advocate for the best interests of over 200,000 Chester Water Authority ratepayers.”

About Rich Schwartzman

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.

Police Log May 13: Car theft, DUIs, drug arrests

Police

Pennsylvania State Police

Media Barracks

• Michael Collins, 18, of West Chester, was arrested on drug possession charges, according to police. The report said police stopped Collins on Creek Road in Birmingham Township for multiple traffic violations and found him to possess marijuana and paraphernalia. The incident happened on May 7 at 2:41 a.m.

• A 28-year-old man from Springfield, not identified, was arrested for DUI on May 6 at the intersection of Routes 1 and 202 after his vehicle was seen swerving in and out of traffic.

• Police are investigating a reported break-in of an office in The Commons in Chadds Ford Township and are looking for assistance. The break-in occurred sometime between April 24 and 27 at 108 Commons Court. Police are asking anyone with information to the Media barracks at 484-840-1000.

• Police said they arrested Eric Krassnosky, 20, of Trainer, on assault charges in Concord Township. A report said the incident, involving a 22-year-old man from Upper Chichester, happened on April 13 at the Wawa on Route 1.

• A 55-year-old woman had her car stolen from a property on Morris Drive in Concord Township on April 5. Police said the unknown suspect was able to get into the vehicle and take it because it was left unlocked with a spare key inside. Also inside were a purse and a tablet.

Avondale Barracks

• State police said they arrested a 33-year-old man from West Chester on drug charges in East Marlborough Township on May 5. The suspect, not identified by police in the report, was in a car parked at the Wawa at 901 E. Baltimore Pike at 12:34 a.m. The vehicle had been associated with thefts in the Southern Chester County area and the owner had drug-related warrants, police said. Police arrested the suspect, and a search of the car turned up multiple packets of heroin.

• A 37-year-old man from West Chester was arrested for DUI following a May 3 traffic stop on W. Doe Run Road in East Marlborough Township. Police stopped the driver, not identified, for failing to maintain his lane of travel and stopping beyond a stop line. The incident happened at 1:06 a.m.

• Joseph M. Zubillaga, 19, of Kennett Square, was cited for following too closely after rear-ending a motorcyclist in Pennsbury Township on April 28, a police report said. According to police, the motorcyclist was turning right into a gas station at Routes 52 and 926 when he was hit. Longwood Fire Co. transported the rider to Chester County Hospital.

• Police said excess speed caused a one-vehicle accident on Route 1 in East Marlborough Township on April 24. According to a police report, Noah T. Seiter, 23, of Christiana, was driving north on Route 1 when he lost control of the Honda Civic he was driving. The car spun clockwise, left the roadway and struck a guardrail near the Route 82 overpass. Seiter was not hurt, according to the report.

Kennett Township Police

Brian Thuer, of the 100 block of Pierce Lane, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and related offenses, according to police. A report said officers arrived at the residence at 8:30 a.m. on April 24 and found an adult female who sustained injuries after a physical altercation with Thuer. The suspect admitted to grabbing the victim by the throat and tackling her to the floor, police said.

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