Chester County Press 08-21-2019 Edition

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Chester CountyPRESS

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Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas

Volume 153, No. 34

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

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Public invited Acrobats in the sky to new police facility opening on Sept. 21 By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer The New Garden Township Board of Supervisors announced at their Aug. 19 meeting that the public will be invited to the official opening of the new home of the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department, scheduled for Sept. 21, beginning at 9 a.m. The event will begin with remarks by officials, which will be followed by tours of the building, “that will allow the community to see their new police facility,” said Police Chief

Gerald Simpson. The $4.3 million, 11,716-square-foot facility on Gap-Newport Pike, designed by Tevebaugh Associates, is currently in its final stages of construction. When completed, it will offer the Regional Police Department modernism, workability and better connection to the community it serves. Its “softened” or community area will include a 400-square-foot lobby and a 540-square-foot community multi-purpose room, which is equipped with a flat-panel TV, tables for up

Photo by Richard L. Gaw

Performances by several aeronautic pilots highlighted the Annual Festival of Flight and Car Show, held Aug. 17 and 18 at the New Garden Flying Field in Toughkenamon. For additional photos and story, see Page 1B.

to 36 visitors and a seating capacity for up to 90. Just beyond the room is a galley kitchen, which will be used for special event dining preparation and refrigera-

East Nottingham Twp. recognizes Estes’ work as a junior supervisor

enforcement officers and department staff. It will include offices and a conference room; a detective bureau area; interview, Continued on Page 3A

In Lower Oxford Township, supervisors discuss local sewer and water issues

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer Elizabeth Estes recently completed her term as a junior supervisor for East Nottingham Township. The Oxford Area High School senior was the first person to ever serve in that role for the township. At the Aug. 13 township meeting, the East Nottingham Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution honoring Estes for her exemplary service as a junior supervisor. Joe Herlihy, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, West Chester area artists read the resolution, which exhibit in Oxford...1B stated, in part: “Elizabeth Estes has served with distinction as a junior member

tion, and a public restroom. Just off the lobby and community room, the facility’s “hardened” or secure administration area will be accessible only to law

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

Accepting the Cook-Off Challenge...6A

Photo by Steven Hoffman

Elizabeth Estes, a senior at Oxford Area High School, recently completed her one-year term as a junior supervisor in East Nottingham Township.

of the East Nottingham has reported on a monthly Township Board of basis and has been actively Supervisors. involved in the community Continued on Page 2A (D)uring her tenure (she)

The Lower Oxford Township Board of Supervisors discussed the potential sale of the Oxford Area Sewer Authority and voted to join the ranks of Chester County municipalities opposing a takeover of the Chester Water Authority at a meeting on Aug. 12. Aqua America, a privately owned water and wastewater utility company, is involved in both those issues that are impacting southern Chester County. Ron Kepler, the chairman of the Lower Oxford Township Board of Supervisors, provided a quick update about the

potential sale of the Oxford Area Sewer Authority. Kepler said that the Oxford Area Sewer Authority rescheduled its August meeting to Thursday, Aug. 29, and the meeting will now take place in the Lower Oxford Township building at 7 p.m. A representative from DELCORA is expected to be at that meeting. After more than a year of negotiations, the Oxford Area Sewer Authority was set to sell all its assets, including a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system, to DELCORA. But that potential sale was put on hold just last month when it was announced Continued on Page 3A

Franklin Township slates meeting on Route 896 construction plans By John Chambless Staff Writer The long-delayed and much-discussed safety Make plans for this improvements to Route 896 weekend’s country through Franklin Township spectacular...6B are entering a new phase, with a public meeting to review the latest proposals

INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...................2B Classifieds..................4B Calendar of Events.....6B

© 2007 The Chester County Press

scheduled for Aug. 28. In advance of the meeting, Franklin Township officials have posted the proposals online so that the public can come to the meeting prepared with any questions or concerns. The focus of the improvements will be a stretch of about five miles

of Route 896, from Elbow Lane in London Britain Township to Shepherd Lane in New London Township. While there are many smaller measures proposed to deal with drainage issues along the roadway and other concerns, the two major improvements will be a

roundabout at the intersection of routes 896 and 841, as well as a three-way stop in the village of Kemblesville. These two locations were the sites of many of the accidents reported in a 2007 safety study by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission,

which called Route 896 a “High Risk Rural Road” with 132 reportable crashes between 2003 and 2005. Reportable crashes are those which result in a fatality, injury and/or property damage that disables a vehicle. John Auerbach, the Continued on Page 4A

Residents share stormwater concerns with Penn Township officials By Marcella Peyre-Ferry Staff Writer Residents who live on Kelton Road once again brought their concerns about flooding lawns and stormwater coming off the roads to the Penn Township Board of Supervisors during a meeting on Aug. 7. Last year, the township

added large stones along the road edges and installed a pipe from around 198 Kelton Road to the creek. While that was the township engineer’s answer to getting water off the road, the neighbors on the opposite of side of the street from the pipe claim it has created flooding problems for them that did not exist before.

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At this time, the supervisors are sticking by the engineered design, despite the complaints from residents. “We’re not replacing soil and taking rocks out of there unless our engineer tells us so,” Board Chairman Curtis Mason said. Stormwater issues also continue to generate com-

plaints in the Roseview subdivision, where the township is still holding escrow funds until drainage and other issues are corrected. Recently, the escrow amount for the development has been increased to $480,000. One suggestion from the board is to consider connecting berms to prevent stormwa-

ter from running toward the homes, keeping more of it in a basin, but road drainage could also be an issue. One resident on Roseview Road complained of flooding, with stormwater coming at his property with enough force to break the basement window and flood the basement. Their Continued on Page 2A

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