Summary of August 5, 2020, Newtown Board of Supervisors Meeting: Police Report, Economic Development Committee, E-30 Ordinance, More...

The following is a brief summary of the August 5, 2020, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS Definition) Zoom meeting based upon the official minutes of that meeting, which you can find here. You also can view the video archive here.

Police Report

Chief Hearn reported the department responded to 1,566 calls for service during July including 20 arrests, one was for theft/fraud of over $400K from Bucks County Community College; there were 11 DUI’s, 56 traffic accidents, and 148 citations issued. He said the department is continuing to utilize grant funding from the state with aggressive driving initiatives continuing through August 23.

Chief Hearn reported there was good dialogue at the town hall meeting on July 23 despite the low turnout due to Covid19 restrictions and the School Board Meeting [read "Summary of Police Town Hall Meeting with Chief Hearn"]. He continues to offer similar type meetings to HOA’s and business associations in an effort to partner with the Township residents and businesses.

The Chief said he was asked about a National Night Out on October 26, and after looking into it, Middletown Township advised they usually hire 20-25 officers for the event and he does not think Newtown will be able to do that. [Read "#COVID-19 Delays - in Some Cases, Cancels - National Night Out Community Policing Events"]

Emergency Services Department Report

Chief Forsyth reported there were 107 calls for service during the month of June including one building fire, two dwelling fires, two cliff rescues at Tyler Park and 63 EMS calls.

Chief Forsyth reported Emergency Management is in the process of starting reimbursements and have submitted a grant to the fire commissioners office for state of PA for $27,466.72; the FEMA grant is expected to be around $20K and the list of reimbursements for the county appears to be in excess of $12K with an expected total reimbursement between $52 to $53K.

Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions

Economic Development Committee (EDC): Mr. Peters, Chairman of the EDC, reported the committee has been meeting weekly since mid-June via Zoom and have had guest speakers including Margie McKevitt, COO of Bucks County. He said the committee identified that businesses may need to consider relocating as they restructure therefore, the committee has been examining tax incentives, Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act (LERTA) and looking at inventive ways to disseminate information to businesses and residents.

Mr. Oxley noted that the EDC had a restructuring and Matt Peters will be the sole chair of the committee.

Board Member Reports

Council Rock School Board Anti-Racism Resolution: Mr. Mack reported the Council Rock School Board passed an anti-racism resolution which includes hiring an external consultant to conduct a diversity focused curriculum and equity audit and to create a systemic employee training program centered on diversity, equity and inclusiveness. Mr. Mack has been in contact with Mr. Tate of the school board and he plans to attend future meetings.

Reports of Officials

Solicitor's Report: E-30 Ordinance – Authorization to Advertise Mr. Sander provided a brief history of the E-30 Ordinance - Convenience Store/Gas Station. He said it is close to final, but there is no action to enact the ordinance today; it is still open for questions, comments and potentially revisions. He said the motion today authorizes the ordinance be sent to the BCPC, be advertised twice in the newspapers and for each of the three Townships to hold public hearings to consider the ordinance. Mr. Fisher asked about the deadline and Mr. Sander said it is mid to late November, however the Townships’ want it completed in October.

Manager's Report: Public Works Report Referring to the public works report, Mr. Mack noted paving repairs were done on Tamarack Court with the milling attachment and he mentioned that Commonwealth Drive needs attention. Mr. Lewis explained the extent of work needed on Commonwealth Drive is more than the milling machine can handle and he said it is on road program for next year.

Mr. Mack also questioned the 17 resident concerns on the report and asked if the public works director could provide a more detailed report going forward.

Old Business

Human Relations Commission (HRC) Applications: Mr. Lewis said the deadline was reached and there are four applications in the packet for review. Mr. Mack said six were received as two additional were submitted after the deadline; he said he is not opposed to accepting them. Mr. Mack suggested postponing the selection until the next meeting as he has not had a chance to review the applicants. Mr. Calabro said the BOS will postpone the vote on HRC members until the next meeting.

Live Meetings: The BOS agreed to meet live on August 26 due to the public interest in that meeting. Mr. Lewis will get estimates from consultants on the cost to run the Zoom meetings with enhanced security measures and the BOS will review the estimates and determine how future meetings will be conducted.

Votes on Motions

The following are my personal notes that I used to prepare for this meeting. I may not have asked all the questions in the notes at the meeting. You can also download the PDF version here.

Posted on 28 Aug 2020, 12:54 - Category: Board of Supervisors Minutes