Chester County Press 7-22-2015 Edition

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Chester CountyPRESS

www.chestercounty.com

Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas Volume 149, No. 29

INSIDE

Borough, township spar with library board Kennett Township supervisors blast library board, accusing it of several wrongdoings

Kennett Square Borough officials remain adamant in appointing a representative to library board

Tour the county’s most beautiful water gardens......................1B

Concert to benefit scholarship fund.................6A

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

Borough of Kennett Square officials affirmed—and emphasized—the need to have adequate representation on the Kennett Public Library Board at Monday night’s council meeting, but stopped short of voting to withhold funding until the library board acquiesces on the issue. The meeting attracted the largest crowd in recent memory for a Kennett Square Borough Council meeting, and most, if not all, of the people were there because of a recent proposal by Mayor Matt Fetick for borough council to consider withholding its financial support to the library—approximately $37,000 annually—until the borough has what officials consider to be adequate representation on the library’s board of directors. At the very start of the meeting, borough council president Leon Spencer explained that while borough council planned to publicly discuss the library issue, the action items on the agenda did not include a motion to act on Fetick’s request, which was made two weeks earlier. “That is not an action item that will transpire at this meeting,� Spencer told the large audience. He opened the floor to public comment for Kennett Square residents, and if there was a main theme to these comments it was simply that Kennett Square Borough officials and the library board should work together to find solutions to the issues that they are facing. Most of the people who spoke during public comment said that they were not in favor of withholding library funding because it would hurt the programs and services that the library provides for the community. John Thomas, a Kennett Square resident and former council member, was one of those who said that he is not in favor of having the borough withhold funding from the library. However, he added, he also doesn’t think it’s appropriate for the library to deny the Borough of Kennett Square the opportunity to appoint representatives to

What began as a pleasant evening – one that celebrated the appointment of Lydell Nolt as Kennett Township’s new police chief, complete with a large cake for all to enjoy -- ended with an escalation of finger pointing and accusations that coursed through the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors meeting on July 15 like a verbal riptide. Reading from pre-written statements before a packed audience that included three board members from the Kennett Public Library, supervisors Richard Leff and Scudder Stevens unloaded a diatribe of accusations against the library’s board which later escalated in a nearly hour-long tit-for-tat exchange between Leff, Stevens and the library board members in attendance. Addressing the audience -- which included library board members Karen Ammon, treasurer Joan Weber, library board president Susan Mackey-Kallis and Donna Murray, the library’s executive director -- Leff said that the library’s constituents still view the library leadership “through distrustful eyes� and that many of their questions regarding the management and the future of the library have not been answered. Specifically, Leff pointed out three key themes of the public’s dissatisfaction: a lack of trust in the board’s fiscal management and integrity; a lack of community involvement in decision making with regard to important issues such as name changes and plans for the new library; and concern in board composition and effectiveness in decision-making processes. In an effort to open up lines of communication between the board and the municipalities its serves, Leff recommended that a Save the Library Task Force be created to “examine all issues with regard to library funding, library board composition, and the library board’s decision-making process, “in order to determine so as to advise us on options about how best to proceed,� he said. The task force would be made up of representatives from every municipality which contributes to the library.

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Turning faith into action

Kennett Township approves hiring of three full-time police officers By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

Old Fiddlers’ Picnic will mark 87th year ‌....... 3B Photo by John Chambless

Dinniman recognizes Villa Nova Schoolhouse in Oxford......‌...........7B

60 Cents

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Good Neighbors of Kennett Square is tackling four homerepair jobs for needy families this week, changing lives for the better. See story on Page 1B.

Less than a half hour after he was formally sworn in as the new Police Chief for Kennett Township on July 15, Lydell Nolt received yet another gift, and it’s likely to be a gift that will keep on giving. By a vote of 2-1, the township’s board of supervisors approved the hiring of up to three full-time police officers, who are expected to be vetted,

interviewed, tested and hired to begin 40-hour-a-week positions, beginning in August, which will boost the department’s coverage during the 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. time period. Township Manager Lisa Moore said that she and Nolt have begun interviewing potential candidates. The current budget for the township police is $300,000, which represents the salary still being paid to now-retired Police Chief McCarthy, as well

as Nolt’s salary and the salaries of two part-time officers. These additional appointments will add approximately $100,000 to the police department’s annual budget. Board chairman Scudder Stevens and supervisor Robert Hammaker voted in favor of the motion, while supervisor Richard Leff voted against it. Although he agreed that the needs of the police department are growing, Leff believed that Continued on Page 4B

Local churches rise up to help the homeless

INDEX Calendar of Events.......3B Opinion..........................7A Obituaries.......................8A Classified......................8B Police Blotter..............2B

After more than a year of planning, Family Promise of Southern Chester County will begin assisting families later this year. Twenty-five churches located throughout southern Chester County have joined the initiative

Kennett Mayor is a bully

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer With faith and fortitude, dozens of area church leaders gathered at the Assumption BVM Church in West Grove on July 15 to formalize a commitment to helping families in need throughout southern Chester County through the creation of Family Promise of Southern Chester County. At the congregational agreement meeting, church leaders from twelve local churches confirmed their participation as host churches in the program aimed at alleviating homelessness, while an equal number of churches signed on to be support churches. Host churches are where families will be housed overnight, while members from the support churches will help provide meals and other support to the families. Faith leaders and social service workers throughout the

By Uncle Irvin

“Most of didn’t know that this was such a problem,� he explained. “You don’t see people on the street in this area. I was shocked by it.� Rev. Annalie Korengel is the pastor of the Unionville Presbyterian Church, the first

Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick’s proposal to withhold the Kennett Library’s minimal funding to coerce the library board to appoint a Kennett Square Borough Council hand-picked board member from the borough isn’t what is expected from a public leader. In the first place, the library already has a Kennett Square resident on the board. Second, not counting New Garden Township – which contributes little to the library -- Kennett Square Borough gives far less than Kennett and East Marlborough Township,

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Map courtesy of Family Promise of Southern Chester County

area talked about the need for a program like this in southern Chester County, as a growing number of families find themselves without shelter. In the 2013-2014 school year, 494 students in the four southern Chester County school districts were impacted by homelessness.

Gene Daunno, a coordinator at the Willowdale Chapel, said that he was shocked at the number of students who were homeless over the course of one school year, and this illustrates the severity of the issue, even in an area that is comparatively well off.

Less waiting where it matters most – our emergency room. Š 2007 The Chester County Press

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Jennersville.com


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