November 3, 2020 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Birmingham adjusts proposed budget

Birmingham Township supervisors Monday night added another $6,000 to the proposed 2021 budget. The additional expense follows from a request from Good Fellowship Ambulance service.

Chaz Brogan, of Good Fellowship, told the supervisors during their Nov. 2 Zoom meeting that Good Fellowship has a shortfall of $685,448 this year, mostly due to the pandemic. He said ambulance calls are way down. The ambulance service makes its money by billing fees for use. With ambulance calls down, he said, so is their revenue.

“Half of the shortfall is on us,” Brogan said, adding that the company will hold fundraisers but wants the 10 municipalities it serves to make up the other half of the shortfall. Birmingham’s portion, based on its 2 percent of the territory’s population and 2 percent of its ambulance calls, is $6,047.

Brogan also said the ambulance service is considering coming up with a multi-year contract so the municipalities will be able to budget for the service, knowing what to earmark over a five-year period.

The Board will vote on the budget during the supervisors’ Dec. 7 meeting. According to township Secretary/Treasurer Quina Nelling, the draft budget anticipates $2.16 million in revenue, including a carry forward from this year — and $1.66 million in expenses.

Other business

• Supervisors approved a request from Ann Siemer, of the Recreation and Open Space Committee, for a new sign for Sandy Hollow Park. She told supervisors the current sign at Sandy Hollow has deteriorated over the years and needs to be replaced. She anticipated the cost to be about $1,400.

• Supervisors’ Chairman Scott Boorse said at the end of the meeting that the township would maintain its current status regarding COVID-19 and hold its Dec. 7 via Zoom.

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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Kennett ponders future of EMS

Local News Kennett, Local News

Kennett Township supervisors will not yet make a decision about the future of EMS delivery in the township.

During a more-than 2.5-hour-long special meeting on Thursday, the supervisors voted 2-1 to table a decision for a month.

But the discussion itself prompted comments at the Kennett Borough meeting Monday night from both a borough council representative on the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission and from the public itself, as well as lengthy discussions on some Kennett community Facebook pages surrounding the potential vote and its implications.

At issue is a recommendation that Kennett Township use Longwood Fire Company’s EMS service for the entire township. Currently, Kennett Fire Company provides BLS, or Basic Life Support, service to township residents west of Bayard Road, and Longwood provides both BLS service east of Bayard Road and ALS, or Advanced Life Support, service to the entire township.

Both EMS services are part of the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission.

EMS delivery in Kennett Township is an issue with a long history among Kennett and Longwood fire companies and the supervisors.

Under the second-class township code, the supervisors designate their fire and EMS providers each year during the reorganization meeting in January. Township Manager Eden Ratliff said in the special meeting that it was being brought up for discussion because “the Kennett Township real estate tax does not fully support EMS expenses” for 2021.

Kennett and Longwood fire companies, and their EMS services, are part of a regional fire and EMS commission that, among other things, sets funding requests from the six-member municipalities. For 2021, the commission is asking for a 15 percent increase across the board from Kennett Borough and the townships of Kennett, East Marlborough, Pocopson, Newlin, and Pennsbury.

Funding from each municipality is based on previous years’ population, assessed value, and fire/rescue and EMS responses in that municipality. The 2021 funding requests are based on 2019 data.

In his presentation, Ratliff, a member of the commission, said the group had recommended the use of a single EMS provider but left the decision up to Kennett Township and Kennett Borough. Township Supervisor Scudder Stevens, who is also on the commission, said the commission’s goal “has been and continues to be that the two service providers work together to find a way to overcome any of the inefficiencies that may, in fact, exist there.”

Longwood Fire Company’s EMS provides BLS and ALS service to the townships of East Marlborough, Pennsbury, Pocopson, and 60 percent of Newlin; BLS service to Kennett Township east of Bayard Road; and ALS service to all of Kennett Township and Kennett Borough.

Kennett Fire Company’s EMS provides BLS service to Kennett Township west of Bayard Road, and to all of Kennett Borough.

At the special meeting, the first motion was to authorize Kennett Township to designate Longwood Fire Company as the primary EMS responder for the township. Supervisors’ Vice Chairman Whitney Hoffman made the motion, and there was silence when Supervisors’ Chairman Richard Leff asked for a second. After consulting with the township solicitor about his ability to second the motion, Leff did so.

Stevens then made a motion to table the first motion for three months. Hoffman moved to amend Stevens’ motion and table discussion for a month. Since no supervisor seconded Stevens’ motion, it couldn’t be discussed further. Stevens seconded Hoffman’s motion to delay discussion and a decision for a month.

“Looking at the impact on Kennett Borough and Kennett EMS and the impact on the community, I think it deserves a little more of a deep dig to properly reflect what is really going on,” Stevens said.

Ratliff cautioned against delaying, saying that making a decision now would allow Longwood Fire Company to prepare for the change, Kennett Fire Company to look at the personnel changes, and Kennett’s EMTs to have time to look for another job if necessary.

The vote to delay discussion and a decision for a vote was approved 2-1, with Leff voting against it.

About Monica Fragale

Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies. She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field. But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard. Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.

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Art Live: Community Art Center

Arts & Entertainment

Situated on a four acre estate built in 1889 by the Henry P. Dixon family, Community Arts Center (CAC) sits majestically on Plush Mill Road in Wallingford, PA. The non-profit had numerous events and projects scheduled for 2020 but only one stayed on track – building a wood fired kiln. Executive Director Paul Downie explained, “It’s the only thing that stayed on schedule this year because it was already funded and it was outside.” For some, building a wood fired kiln might not seem like a priority to focus on during a pandemic but for this arts center, it made sense. The ceramics program at CAC wasn’t always its biggest, but over time it has become its most robust program. Downie shared a little more history, “The art center started in 1948 in another similar estate. After it was sold to PennDOT in 1967 for the Blue Route (I-476) planning, CAC bought this building in 1968 and moved over here.”

The first major addition to the new property was the Beatrice S. Dallett Ceramic Arts Building in 1995. And, The Potters Guild has been an active partner to CAC since its inception. Many of its classes are taught by guild members. Wood fired pottery is the oldest method of firing clay and for Mark Tyson, a Potters Guild member, instructor at CAC and a clay purist, spearheading the effort was a dream for him. According to Downie, it will now be a big part of the programming. “We’re still working out the kinks of how it interfaces with the rest of our ceramics program but we are excited.” In addition to the wood fired kiln, CAC has a soda, raku and several electric kilns. CAC offers classes in photography, printmaking and more. Painting and drawing enrollment is good too but ceramics keeps growing. Downie said, “I think it’s a trend bigger than us, but it is definitely pronounced here.” CAC also has a music series it dubbed ‘Friday Night Live’. Being a musician, Downie’s network is big. “We’ve been fortunate to have booked some relatively famous people. This fall we moved the concerts outside and it’s been really popular.”

When asked how CAC is surviving this year, Downie said, “It’s been a financial struggle for sure. A few people were temporarily laid off and one position remains suspended for the foreseeable future. We were closed from mid-March to mid-September. We didn’t do any on site summer programming. We had some online instruction for adults and teenagers but not for the kids and summer camp here is a big deal. Financially this has been the most painful and emotional issue. We usually have 700 registrations over an eight to nine week period so we lost a lot of revenue. We did organize one program for the kids: making 250 art kits that they could pick up and work with at home but that revenue was negligible and the labor was huge. I know some organizations held in person camp and online camp for young kids but I didn’t feel either of those options would be a positive experience, and I didn’t want bad memories attached to the art center. That was the choice we made. If we are still living with the virus next summer, we’ll hold in person summer camp because we know a lot more now about how it’s transmitted. Even if we have to deal with masks, we can do it.”

Friday Night Live Concert at CAC on the lawn – photo by Lisa Schaffer

In person classes started mid-September. To date there hasn’t been any [Covid-19] exposure but the main obstacle is people’s reluctance to come back. “On the one hand, people who are here seem comfortable, and I haven’t gotten any negative feedback so hopefully the word is spreading that it’s safe. On the other hand, winter is coming. We’ll continue to do things on line and we are actually doing some classes in person and online.” Winter classes start this week at CAC. There are some exhibitions on view now too including a fascinating retrospective titled “Intimate Regard: Roger Anliker” in the Duke Gallery, through November 13^th and a photography show of works by longtime CAC supporter Todd Swimmer in the Stairwell Gallery. The next “Friday Night Live”, a concert with local blues and jazz singer Lisa Chavous, is scheduled for November 13^th. Downie is confident about CAC’s future. “Our philosophy is to minimize the financial pain, keep people engaged at the level we are at now, and slowly ramp that back up. We should be able to endure the losses and return to a thriving situation. That is the game plan.” For more information on CAC visit here.

‘Peace Love and Happiness’ by Randall Graham – at Gallery 222

Other art exhibits include Gallery 222 in Malvern who is hosting Randall Graham this month for a solo show titled “Peace, Love and Happiness”. Graham, who studied at The Carlin Academy of Fine Art and with Bo Bartlett, teaches traditional painting fundamentals at his studio in Malvern, where he paints some of the time. He also enjoys plein air painting and, has developed his own “en rain air” style; painting scenes while looking through a window of his minivan when it’s raining. According to Graham, the juxtaposition of abstract and reality creates emotional paintings which have become very popular with collectors. Visit here for all the details.

Number Yellow by Michele Green at Station Gallery

In Delaware, Station Gallery is featuring Michele Green this month with a series of new paintings inspired and infused by colors in nature and Rehoboth Art League is holding its annual Holiday Fair and Fine Craft Show live, this Saturday and Sunday. For more information visit here.

In Philly, Bertrand Productions at Globe Dye Works is hosting “NO FAIR”, an invitational including 20 renowned national artists who’ve had to rearrange schedules due to Covid-19 fair cancellations. It will feature jewelry, ceramics, vessels, furniture and more. To schedule an in-person visit, click here.

Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!

About Constance McBride

A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.

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