December 20, 2023

_1JF5942 — Supervisor Noelle Barbone, left, with a bouquet from fellow Supervisor Samantha Reiner. This was Barbone’s final meeting after eight years on the board.

It took three meetings, but Chadds Ford Township now has a budget for 2024. As Supervisors’ Chairman Samantha Reiner said, “The third time is the charm.” But the third time also became the last time for one supervisor to sit at the big table.

There was no opposition to the budget proposal during the Dec. 19 work session despite including a fire tax to help fund the Concordville Fire and Protective Assn. As previously reported, that tax had been the sticking point during the previous attempts to pass the budget. Several residents challenged the need for the tax, but none of them attended the Dec. 19 meeting.

Chadds Ford used to have a dedicated fire tax, but that was moved into the general fund in 2012 so it wouldn’t be a separate line item.

The newly reinstituted fire tax is 0.0650 mils and will provide $60,000 for the fire company. Concordville will also get another $40,000 from the LST, or Local Services Tax for a total of $100,000, Reiner said. Chadds Ford had been giving the fire company $65,000.

(A mil is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.)

The millage rate for the township general fund is 0.3195 mils. Other than the fire tax, there is 0.0072 mils for Rachel Kohl Library and 0.1660 for the Open Space Fund. There is also a fire hydrant tax of 0.0670 mils for properties within Fire Hydrant Districts. (Supervisors have said over the years that the extra millage for being in a hydrant district is offset by lowered insurance rates.)

Supervisors passed the budget 2-0 during the Dec. 19 session, which also happened to be the last meeting for Noelle Barbone as a supervisor.

Barbone has served on the Board of Supervisors for eight years. She was appointed in 2016 and ran for a full six-year term in 2017. Before becoming a supervisor, Barbone served on the HARB.

“I chose not to run again,” she said. “I thought it was time to give someone else a chance.”

That someone else is Timotha Trigg who ran unopposed in the Republican Party primary and faced no opponent in the general election either. She’ll take her seat on the board after she is sworn in as part of the annual reorganization meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 2. The regular January meeting will follow the reorg.

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 Dec. 20: Thefts, DUIs, harassment

Police

Pennsylvania State Police

Media Barracks

• Kelle Wyly, 37, of West Chester, was arrested for drug possession in Concord Township, a state police report said. The arrest came at 6:05 p.m. on Nov. 20 on Temple Road. According to the report, police were dispatched to the area for a suspicious person, and troopers found a person matching the description given. It was also determined that there was an active warrant from Montgomery County for her and that she had drugs in her possession, the report said.

• Police said Nancy Denig, 56, of Chadds Ford, was arrested for shoplifting at Wegmans on Nov. 9. She is accused of stealing almost $261 worth of merchandise.

• A 51-year-old man from Seaville, N.J. was arrested for DUI in Birmingham Township on Dec. 3. Police said they initiated a traffic stop for traffic violations at 12:36 a.m. on Brinton Run Road near Birmingham Road. An investigation led to the determination that he was driving under the influence.

• For the second time in as many months, state police are investigating a case of shoplifting at Lululemon in Concord Township. On Dec. 12, some stole $650 worth of clothing from the store. Lululemon was also the victim of shoplifting on Nov. 20 when five men stole $16,000 worth of merchandise.

• Someone broke into a car parked on Naamans Road and stole some oxycontin and $1,000 worth of makeup. Police are investigating the Nov. 19 incident.

• Police are investigating a case of physical harassment that happened on Nov. 24 in Concord Township. A 27-year-old man was arrested. The victim was a 53-year-old man.

• Zachary Knight, 23, of Wilmington, was arrested for DUI following a 3:50 a.m. traffic stop on Dec. 17. Police made the stop on Route 202 at Brandywine Drive in Chads Ford Township. No reason for the stop was mentioned in the report.

Avondale Barracks

• Police are investigating a break-in at Plaza Azteca on Onix Drive in East Marlborough Township on. Dec. 17. They were responding to a report of a burglary in progress at 5:25 a.m. on Dec. 17. According to the report, a witness observed a person in all black clothing use a tool to smash a front window and enter the restaurant. The unknown suspect then broke another window on a door to gain access to the manager’s office and ransacked it. It is unknown if anything was taken at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

• A 31-year-old man from Bear, De., was arrested for DUI on E. Street Road in East Marlborough Township. Police said they saw a vehicle pulled off to the side of the road near N. Walnut Road at 2:12 a.m. The driver was unconscious, but the engine was running. The man came to after several attempts to wake him. Police determined he had been driving under the influence and field sobriety tests indicated impairment. He was taken into custody, and it was learned that there was an active arrest warrant for him.

• Police arrested a 26-year-old man from New Castle for forgery and counterfeiting after making a traffic stop because the car had a fraudulent temporary registration. The report said the driver “provided clearly counterfeit/fraudulent insurance and registration cards for the vehicle and was charged with providing altered/forged/counterfeit documents to law enforcement. The incident happened at 11:18 p.m. on Dec. 15 at the intersection of E. Baltimore Pike and Ladbroke Lane.

• A 45-year-old man from Essex, Md. was arrested for DUI near the intersections of Routes 1 and 52 at 2:17 a.m. on Dec. 9. Police said they made the stop after observing multiple traffic violations. The driver showed signs of impairment, the report said, and there were odors of both alcohol and marijuana. Alcoholic beverage containers, drugs, and drug paraphernalia were in plain view.

• Police said they arrested a 28-year-old woman from East Lansdowne for DUI following a two-car crash on Route 1 in East Marlborough Township on Dec. 8. The suspect, not named in. the report, displayed indicators of impairment, and field sobriety tests also indicated impairment.

• State police said they arrested a 40-year-old man from West Grove with DUI in Kennett Township on Dec. 15. The arrest came after a 12:08 a.m. traffic stop at the intersection of Quail and Raven lanes.

Kennett Square Police Department

Daniel Rizzolo, 42, of Folcroft, was arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct, following an altercation, according to borough police. The report said he allegedly struck a female subject on the right side of the face, causing minor swelling. The incident occurred on Dec. 3, at approximately 5:27 p.m. in the 300 block of S. Broad Street. Rizzolo was taken into custody and was transported to Central Booking at Chester County Prison, where he was processed and held for arraignment. The case is pending a preliminary hearing.