Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 154, No. 29
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
$1.00
INSIDE Kennett Township ‘We’ve been asked to build recovers $1 million the plane while flying it’ Avon Grove School District officials discuss the from former preparations that are taking place for the new school year manager’s alleged $3.2 million theft By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Cecil County Life magazine
On Sept. 4, 2019, smack in the middle of a lengthy investigation by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office that eventually led to the Dec. 10 arrest of former Kennett Township manager Lisa Moore for allegedly embezzling over $3.2 million of township funds, the township’s Board of Supervisors voted to hire the Philadelphia law firm of BlankRome, LLP as special counsel to pursue any civil liability associated with the investigation, and seek to recoup financial losses. Last week, the township got a sizable chunk of that money back. As stated in a July 15 press release, the township has received $1 million from the surety bond that was issued to Moore during her tenure as the township manager. A surety bond guarantees that a specific individual ensure that he/she will act in accordance with certain laws in Efforts to protect Brandy- accordance with the Pennsylvania Second Class Township wine Battlefield...1B Code. The $1 million is now tacked on to the $80,000 that the township had already recovered earlier this year. Kennett Township Manager Eden Ratliff said that the township received the $1 million the week before and deposited it in the township’s bank account. The money, he said, will be invested for now, and because the funds are unrestricted, they can be used by the township as needed. “The township is pursuing every avenue to recover all of the money improperly taken from our residents by Lisa Moore,” said board Chairman Dr. Richard L. Leff. “We are aggressively pursuing additional methods of recovery with our team of loss recovery professionals.” Moore, who was hired by the township in 1997 and promoted to township manager in 2010, had allegedly engaged in several long-time, multi-pronged schemes to steal money from the township. She is alleged to have Illuminated fountains created her own personal parlor game of trickery with return to Longwood...1B
INDEX Opinion.......................5A Obituaries............2B-3B
To Subscribe Call 610.869.5553
Classifieds.................4B
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Continued on Page 3A
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer Avon Grove School District officials planned a special meeting for July 16 so that the school board could approve a district health and safety plan that would lead to the safe reopening of schools. Officials were eager to share details of the plan with the community. Parents, in particular, are desperate for specific details about how education is going to be delivered as Pennsylvania grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. About four hours before
the meeting was to start, Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf’s administration released an updated, more comprehensive set of guidelines for Pennsylvania’s public schools. The new guidelines, Avon Grove School District superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese said, will delay Avon Grove and other school districts from providing details about the reopening to parents and students. “We are now back to the drawing board,” said Avon Grove School Board president Bill Wood, explaining that district officials will
need to incorporate the new guidelines into the plan that had been worked on for weeks. Wood talked about the enormous challenges that school districts face as they develop plans to safely reopen schools for the 2020-2021 school year. With so much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and its impact moving forward, school districts have to be prepared for any eventuality. “We’ve been asked to build the plane while we’re flying it,” Wood said. “Now, we’re being asked Continued on Page 4A
Oxford Borough Council selects contractor for Broad Street project By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer Oxford Borough Council approved Gessler Construction Company, Inc. of Media for a bid of $1,015,390.50 for the Broad Street Project. The project includes paving, sidewalks and curbing. The project is scheduled to begin in September 2020 with a projected completion date of July 2021. Council did not approve a low bid from Breezecon of King of Prussia, because they were not PennDOTprequalified, as required, and there were also some issues with the bid. The majority of the funding for the proj-
ect will come from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Multimodal Transportation Fund. The remainder will come from the borough’s water fund. The former Borough Hall was discussed at the meeting, and council approved a motion to authorize issuance of a request for proposals to sell the former Oxford Borough Hall (train station) at 401 Market Street. Council has been discussing restricting parking on Niblock Alley. Borough solicitor Stacey Fuller was approved to work with the East Penn Railroad to research Niblock Alley. Fuller said, “We need to
know what East Penn owns and if they would have any interest in dedicating the alley to the Borough before we go further.” In other business, Police Chief Sam Iacono informed council that a civil service test has been set up for September 19 to secure a new hire for the Oxford Borough Police Department. Borough council member Dick Winchester asked Iacono about bringing a speaker in from Crime Watch to discuss their Internet program with Council. Iacono said a number of other boroughs, including Kennett Square and West Chester, use this program. The cost of the program
is dependent on the population of the municipality. Iacono will try to schedule them for the October meeting. Council also approved a contract with ServPro in the amount of $7,376.89 for work that needs done at the Oxford Borough Police Station. Borough Manager Brian Hoover confirmed that the Borough performed the first walk-through on phases two and four of Sycamore Crossing to begin their review for possible dedication of the streets by the Borough. Hoover said the majority of the work that needs to be done is on the streets. The solicitor will work with the engineers to prepare a financial security and developer agreement.
Fuller discussed the potential new restrictions that may be coming from Gov. Tom Wolf in response to a rising number of cases of COVID-19. Council president Peggy Ann Russell thanked residents in the Borough of Oxford for their efforts in following mandates and guidelines, which have helped in keeping the numbers down. Council is working on preparing a joint statement regarding COVID-19. Fuller will be reviewing the statement before publication. Council approved an agreement with the nonuniformed employees union regarding how employees will work under the COVID-19 policy.
New mitigation efforts aimed at curbing statewide rise in COVID-19 By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
a lack of a nationwide commitment to social distancing, Pennsylvania Gov. Citing the lack of masks Tom Wolf and Secretary of being worn, out-of-state Health Dr. Rachel Levine travel and visitors and signed new orders for tar-
geted mitigation efforts last week, in response to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. The order went into effect on July 16. Under the guidelines of the new mitigation efforts:
• All businesses in the retail food services industry, including restaurants, wineries, breweries, private clubs and bars are permitted to provide take-out and delivery sales of food, as well as dine-in service in both indoor and outdoor seating areas, providing they strictly adhere to the requirements Photo courtesy of Historic Kennett Square Bar service is prohibited at restaurants, and alcohol of the guidance, as required by the order, including proonly can be served with a meal.
hibition from conducting operations unless the facility offers sit-down, dine-in meals or is serving take-out sales of alcoholic beverages. • All restaurant service must be at a table or booth. • Bar service is prohibited, and alcohol only can be served with a meal. • Take-out sales of alcohol for the purposes of off-site consumption are permitted subject to any limitations or restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania law. • Non-bar seating in outdoor areas (i.e., tables or counter seats that do not line up to a bar or food service area) may be used for customer seating.
• Social distancing, masking and other mitigation measures must be employed to protect workers and patrons. • Occupancy is limited to 25 percent of stated firecode maximum occupancy for indoor dining, or 25 persons for a discrete indoor event or gathering in a restaurant. The maximum occupancy limit includes staff. • All nightclubs, as defined by the state’s Clean Indoor Air Act, are prohibited from conducting operations. • Events and gatherings must adhere to these gathering limitations: Indoor events Continued on Page 2A