The borough received 40 emails regarding the placement of a Ballot Drop Box at the Municipal Building. The council failed to put the measure to a vote stating that they were merely a tenant and could not authorize the Ballot Box. It was proposed that a Drop Box be hosted instead by the Rachel Kohl Community Library with full support of the Chester Heights Borough Council. The library will be meeting with the Election Bureau tomorrow and the Library Board will be voting on the matter shortly (I think he said tomorrow night).
Development:
103 Valleybrook Road the owner did not secure easement rights onto Mattson Rd. but still plans to move forward with a land development request for 8 single homes and is asking the borough to provide feedback on how to get a zoning variance to allow for their 32 townhomes.
Powell Estate would like to proceed to make a presentation at the September 28th work session via zoom or in person. They are seeking a zoning code change based on the permitted under the Planned Residential Development provision of the MPC for their 52 home development.
If the event is in-person it would take place that the Village of Valleybrook Clubhouse. There will be a restriction on the number of people who are permitted to attend the meeting to meet CDC guidelines.
There will be a Zoning Board Hearing regarding the approval for the Carwash at the corner of Valleybrook Road and Route 1 on September 29th - The developer has promised that he will have a traffic expert at the zoning hearing meeting to address any issues. The borough is planning to hire a traffic engineer to review the implication and to make an independent study on our behalf. The engineer will attend the meeting on the borough's behalf.
The hearing will take place at the Village of Valleybrook Club House Located at 265 Bishop Dr. The capacity of the building is limited to 25 people and there will be a zoom capability for anyone who wants to participate. https://zoom.us/j/99989652506?pwd=MTF6OHZwWWNxSGsraFFjaEZVaEVNQT09
Meeting ID: 999 8965 2506
Passcode: 996302
More information can be found in the public notice from the Public Notice issued by the Borough.
School District News:
The school district will continue virtual school through 10/9, but they are trying to make it sooner for the younger grades.
Garnet Valley School District has filed a lawsuit asserting that the reassessment process has incorrectly undervalued commercial properties forcing residential properties to take on a higher tax burden.
Committee & Staff Reports:
Fire Marshal reported serious contamination, dumping, and fire hazard issues at 18 Smithbridge Road - owned by the Powell Estate and currently occupied by Scapeworx. The fire marshal will be working with the solicitor to resolve the issue.
The council will be advertising for the 2021 Snow/Winter Services contract with bids due on October 26th, 2020 with a final vote on November 2nd. The contract will be for 1 year.
The Strine Property - the new piece of land purchased for open space. The borough has requested a tax exemption and has received a temporary one for this year. They will be going through the process to make it a permanent tax exemption.
Want to know how far back the Chester Height Park goes? Now you can walk the perimeter, follow the pink flags and find out. The white flags represent where the corner stakes will be placed at the corners where it will border the Old Quarry Knoll Development.
Rachel Kohl Community Library will begin limited grab and go pick-ups tomorrow (9/15/2020).
Fiance - Budgeting begins and requests for the budget are due Sept 28th, 2020.
FUN FACT (independently verified and not part of the meeting):
The total new assessment for all Borough Properties is now $464M of which $10.7M is tax-exempt. This number will change once all the appeals are completed.
Chester Heights Recycle Day – September 26th 2pm – 4pm.
One person per car!
Give away free Wawa coffee voucher and a CHB coffee mug (not dishwasher safe).
You must have your card to drop off electronics.
Max 5 pieces of electronics per person.
Council would like 10 volunteers for the event you can email laura.lim@chesterheights.org to volunteer.
Public Relations – Communications
Special edition for the 75th Anniversary Newsletter will be sent out in early October. Councilwoman Ellis refused Councilwoman’s Clarkes request to review the newsletter before it went to print. For the last 2.5 years, the communication committee has not included the council in the review process of the Newsletter as was the practice in all years prior when Councilwoman Clarke was President of Council.
I am proud to say the communication committee has heard our request and will post all 75 years of the borough minutes on the borough website. They plan on doing it in stages with a decade per month.