September 2, 2020

More stormy weather predicted

Severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds are predicted for tonight and into tomorrow. Weather reports are saying locally heavy rain capable of producing flooding beginning as early as 7 pm through late-night, then again Thursday during late afternoon and evening hours through late night.

The National Weather Service advises avoiding driving or going outside during severe thunderstorms. If encountering roadway flooding, never drive through water. Turn around, don’t drown. Never attempt to move or traverse downed trees or wires.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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Housing assistance available in DelCo

Along the Ford

Assistance is now available through the Delco CARES Program to qualified renters and homeowners in Delaware County who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rent and mortgage relief programs are made possible through CDBG-CV and ESG-CV funds from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The funding available for rent assistance is $369,000 and $1.16 million is set aside for mortgage and utility assistance. Grants are available on a first-come basis to eligible applicants whose households have lost income due to the pandemic.

The County has partnered with three non-profit organizations to administer the funds: Community Action Agency of Delaware County, Media Fellowship House, and Chester Community Improvement Project. Successful applicants must meet the eligibility requirements established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rental Assistance:

To be eligible for rental assistance, households must be able to document that their housing crisis is related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Household members must be homeless or at risk of homelessness and have an income that is at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as defined by HUD.

Those who qualify for rental assistance may be eligible to receive funding to cover up to six months of rental arrears or move-in costs such as security deposit, first month’s rent and if required by the landlord, last month’s rent. Payments will be made directly to the landlords on behalf of the qualified household.

The Delco CARES Rental Assistance Program is operated on behalf of the County by the Community Action Agency of Delaware County. Residents who are interested must call CAADC for an appointment at (610) 874-8451 or visit https://caadc.org/

Homeowner Assistance:

To be eligible for homeowner assistance, homeowners must be able to document that they have been financially impacted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The applicant must be an owner-occupant of their residence with a household annual income of no more than 80% of the HUD-defined Area Median Income, be up to date on mortgage payments as of March 1, 2020, have home owner’s insurance, and be up to date with County, municipal and school tax payments.

Homeowners may be eligible to receive assistance for mortgage and utility costs for a period not to exceed three months. Total assistance available can be no more than $6,000, of which no more than $1,000 may be for utility payments. Eligible utilities include water, sewer, electric, and gas. Financial assistance payments through this program will be made directly to the mortgagee or utility vendor.

For an application and more information, homeowners can call either the Media Fellowship House at 610-565-0434 or https://mediafellowshiphouse.org/ or Chester Community Improvement Project (CCIP) at 610-876-8663 or https://www.cciphousing.org/

Additional information programs to assist residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic can be found on the County’s COVID-19 resource page.

About Press Release

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Concord gets ‘clean audit’

Local News Concord, Local News

Concord Township supervisors Tuesday night heard from Township Manager Amanda Serock that the township is in good financial shape. Serock gave a brief rundown on the latest audit. “It was a clean audit; no findings,” she said.

Giving a summary of the audit report from the firm Leitzell & Economides, she said the township’s long-term debt is $12.1 million with more than $4 million of that being for the sewer system. Fund balances as of Dec. 31, 2019, were $2.6 million for the general fund, $500,000 for highway aid, while the Open Space Fee in Lieu Fund balance was $1.7 million. Fee in lieu is money developers pay to a municipality in lieu of land for open space.

The Open Space Fund had a balance of $2.8 million, and the Capital Reserve Fund had a balance of $8.9 million, Serock said.

“About 90 percent of that fund,” she added, “is tied up in agreements and contracts. So, this fund is a little bit different in terms of how it’s used.”

Other funds — tree, hydrant, and library — also had surplus balances. She said.

Serock added that Council had earmarked $1.5 million committed for future land purposes and more for trails and parks, plus another million for open space purchases.

The full audit report is on the township website.

Other business

• During the meeting, Council approved spending $110,000 to buy 1.5 acres of land from the George Zechman estate at 40 Beaver Valley Road — near the First State National Historical Park. The purchase expands Concord’s land preservation to more than 300 acres.

• Council also extended the township’s emergency declaration through Oct. 9. The declaration limits the number of people in the township building and requires those entering to wear masks and practice social distancing. Council meetings are currently limited to 10 audience members.

• The township will hold its Fall Recycle Day on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 8 to 10 a.m., and hold the annual Harvest Festival on Oct. 24. The festival events will be changed because of COVID. The event will be at the township park from 1-3 p.m. with fewer or modified events. Details of those changes still need to be worked out. Community Day this year will be at the township park on Saturday, Sept. 12.

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.

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Op/Ed: Questioning Westtown on Crebilly hearing

Opinion

Well, some of us were able to attend Monday night’s hearing, virtually, via the Zoom platform. Once logged on, I am pleased to say, zoom worked very well. It seems the township capped the meeting at one hundred attendees, including callers, leaving MANY left out. Who made this decision and why? I do not know.

A specific number of up to 300 virtual attendees was discussed and decided upon over a month ago. I do not understand what changed. And why didn’t a listserv from the township, notifying the public of the additional Aug. 31 hearing, go out sooner than Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 a.m.? I do not know. I have no answers.

Why was the township ‘reminder listserv’ sent out 15 minutes prior to last night’s hearing? I do not know that either. I was told in a phone conversation it would be sent out Sunday evening. And why were only some of the board of supervisors and not all of them, provided with the appropriate documents for last night’s hearing? Again, I do not know. I’m just the piano player.

Unfortunately, by the time the issue was remedied, the hearing was almost halfway over and many, understandably, had already given up. I have been assured from reputable sources that moving forward, all Zoom hearings in the future will accommodate everyone (up to 500 people). That’s more like it! There were easily a few hundred people wanting to watch the hearing. A hundred logged in successfully before the block and many of them were couples.

I truly commend the public for their fine display of participation. And thank you to the public officials doing the best they can under the circumstances. I am terribly sorry for so many that could not log on or call in. I cringe in frustration- yours and mine. The amount of wasted energy by myself and others over battling logistics, missing and/or incorrect information and what feels like apathy- needs to stop. The board of supervisors has enough to focus on. With so much at stake, well beyond Westtown borders, let’s hope the rest of the township team steps up their game for the greater good. Not a moment too soon.

Ah but all is not lost. As luck would have it, for those who missed, here is the bootlegged video recording of the evening (my apologies for any barking dogs in the background):

https://crebillyfarmfriends.com/meeting-videos/

To briefly recap, township solicitor Patrick McKenna, did a great job, as usual, steering the ship for the entire evening. Most of the evening centered around testimony presented by Toll’s traffic consultant Nicole Kline. Ms. Kline is brilliantly talented when it comes to evading a straight answer and I commend Kristen Camp, solicitor for the Planning Commission, for her tenacious and relentless pursuit of just that- a straight answer. There was also more discussion regarding a mini-roundabout (what Toll has proposed) vs a full roundabout (what the PC would like for safety reasons) on West Pleasant Grove Road.

In addition, it was incredibly disappointing to learn, at the end of the hearing, not every board member was presented with proper documentation for the evening. Yet another detrimental oversight during the most important hearing in Westtown Township’s history.

Please mark your calendars for the next hearing to be held virtually, Monday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

Those with party status will continue to have an opportunity to question Toll’s traffic consultant.

Decisions being made now will permanently affect our lives, our national history, and the surrounding community we all hold so dear. We will not go away. We must not give up. We must keep going. I sincerely thank you for your continued participation in pursuit of the best possible outcome for Crebilly Farm.

If not you, then who?

Mindy Rhodes
www.CrebillyFarmFriends.com

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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Police Log Sept. 2: Homicide investigation, identity theft, harassment

Police

PennDOT and the Pennsylvania State Police are reminding motorists to travel responsibly ahead of the Labor Day holiday. During the 2019 Labor Day holiday enforcement period, troopers made 610 DUI arrests and investigated 45 crashes in which alcohol was a factor. According to PennDOT data, in 2019, there were 2,995 crashes resulting in 46 fatalities statewide over the holiday week from Friday, Aug. 30 through Sunday, Sept. 8. Of the total fatalities, 19 were alcohol-related, and three were drug-related.

Pennsylvania State Police

Media Barracks

• State police from the Media Criminal Investigation Unit are investigating a homicide in Concord Township. They identified the victim as Theodore Frederick Field, 22, of Glen Mills. According to the report, state police learned of a shooting on Spring Lawn Road. Field was shot once in the abdomen and taken to Paoli Hospital, where he died from the injuries. The shooting took place on Aug. 23 at approximately 6 p.m.

• A 27-year-old man from Chadds Ford was the victim of identity theft, a police report said. His identity was used to open a Target Store credit card and to rent a vehicle in Arizona.

• Police said they’d be further investigating and filing charges following an harassment incident involving a 33 year-old-man from Aston and a 61-year-old man from Chadds Ford at the Kohl’s store in Middletown Township on Aug. 28. A report said there had been a crash at the store entrance and that the driver of the striking vehicle — the Aston resident — had shoved the other driver causing him to fall.

• Police arrested a 27-year-old man from Philadelphia on harassment charges following an incident with a Glen Mills woman on Aug. 20 in Concord Township. No details of the incident were released.

Avondale Barracks

• Police arrested two 22-year-old men from Linwood on drug charges following a traffic stop on Cossart Road near Stockford Road in Pennsbury Township on Aug. 23. Details weren’t given, only that police made the stop for vehicle code violations and that a probable cause search revealed marijuana and paraphernalia. The incident happened at 11:49 p.m.

• Cherlyn L. Clark, 37, of Wilmington, was cited for failing to clear the intersection of Route 926 and Parkerville Road properly on Aug. 11 at 9:35 a.m. She was also taken to Jennersville Hospital for treatment of suspected injuries, police said. According to the report, Clark was driving north on Parkerville, stopped at the stop sign, but failed to clear the intersection when she was struck by a vehicle having the right of way traveling east on 926.

• State police arrested two men from Lincoln University on drug charges following a traffic stop in West Marlborough Township on Aug. 8. Police gave no reason for the stop, nor did they identify either man by name, but one is 63 years old and the other is 64. According to the report, a trooper stopped the 2015 Ram 1500 on Doe Run Road south of N. Chatham Road at 4:50 p.m. When the trooper approached the vehicle, the report said, he could smell the aroma of marijuana coming from the truck’s cabin. A probable cause search revealed crack cocaine and paraphernalia.

• A 33-year-old man from Coatesville was arrested for drug possession while waiting for a ride at the East Marlborough Township Wawa on Aug. 1. A police report said troopers noticed a minivan parked in the lot with the driver — not named in the report — standing by waiting for a ride at 1:48 a.m. because the van was stranded. While talking with the driver, marijuana could be smelled. A search revealed marijuana and paraphernalia.