Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Board of Supervisors Meeting – Monday, May 24 . . . A few interesting topics of discussion

This Monday, May 24 is the Board of Supervisors Meeting which was moved from last week due to the Primary Election (and the township building needing to be set-up as a polling place). In reviewing the agenda for the meeting, a couple of items are of interest under ‘Township Business”:

Resolution authorizing East Whiteland Township, Malvern Borough, and Tredyffrin Township to work jointly to oversee planning, design and construction of the proposed Patriots Path trail. If you recall, there was a lively debate between residents that were ‘for’ the trail and those that were ‘against’ the trail. Ultimately a consensus was reached for the trail to move forward and permit a joint agreement with E. Whiteland and Malvern. My guess is that this resolution creates that working relationship.

Award contract for design of renovations and improvements at the Tredyffrin Public Library. After talking to a couple of people, my understanding is that there were a few items that were not part of the original library construction plans, including windows and air conditioning improvements. This additional library contract must pertain to those items — although I assume any of these additional library improvements will need to be in the 2011 township budget. (Another reason that the work and discussion on the 2011 budget needs to begin sooner, rather than later.)

Discussion about regulating student housing. A student housing rental ordinance for the township has been in discussion for some time, originating with complaints from the Mt. Pleasant community. Several months ago a community town hall meeting was held in Mt. Pleasant which I attended. Without a township ordinance for student rentals, many of the properties in Mt. Pleasant are being sold to investors and converted to student housing. It’s not so much the idea of college students living in the community, it is more about the associated issues, such as increased traffic, noise, trash, etc. Other municipalities (including Radnor) have strict student housing ordinances and Mt. Pleasant residents would like Tredyffrin to consider a similar ordinance. I will be curious to see where the supervisors stand on this issue — I was in Mt. Pleasant yesterday taking photos of the vacant lot (which I will post later) and spoke with a couple of the college students. I would encourage Mt. Pleasant residents to attend Monday night’s supervisors meeting and offer their personal insight on the situation in to the public record.

Here’s an item not appearing on the agenda under ‘Township Business’. I was disappointed that there was no mention of the newly created sidewalks subcommittee on the agenda. Perhaps that update will occur under the liaison report by the supervisors. If you recall back on March 15 Board of Supervisors meeting, the sidewalks subcommittee was formed as a result of the St. Davids sidewalk issue. If I remember correctly, the sidewalks committee was to meet separately has a group and to also hold public focus meetings throughout the township to receive community input. It’s been over 2 months, has the subcommittee held a meeting?

According to Lamina when announcing the sidewalk subcommittee members in March, there was to be a resolution of the sidewalk matter by the end of the year. I voiced a concern from the start that this unresolved sidewalk issue was leaving the township in a tenuous situation with developers/contractors doing work in the township. As long as the issue of sidewalks was ‘on hold’ and without clear direction from the township, enforcement of certain outstanding land development elements could be difficult (including sidewalks, lighting, etc.) I would encourage the supervisors and the sidewalk subcommittee to keep the residents in the loop by providing updates on an ongoing basis so that the timeline of December 2010 can be met.

The Board of Supervisors meeting will be at 7:30 PM at the township building this Monday, May 23. It is important for all of us to stay involved in the governing of our township – plan to attend the meeting or watch from home.

Share or Like:

2 Comments

Add a Comment
  1. Pattye, In the interest of expanding the discussion on these boards, can I respectfully suggest an interesting book review in the weekend WSJ. Page w8 “How the West was Won” by William Anthony Hay. (he is the reviewer). I think you may want to read it and put it up for discussion. The bottom line is how we have risen to meet challenges before helped at crucial moments by bold leaders. That is actually a quote from the last paragraph of the review. Thanks Chet

  2. I was unable to attend, but watched most of the meeting on Channel 2. A couple of my thoughts:

    – It seemed that the BOS, particularly Mr. Lamina, were properly civil in their responses to the public comments. I certainly hope that continues.

    – On the Patriots Path, I think Mr. Olsen has the correct order of what should be the Township’s priorities: Fire and Ambulance, Police, streets and bridges, and Libraries. Anything else should come after that, IF we can afford it. There was a discussion of the costs of additional planning steps and fees associated with grant applications, etc. While there may not be fees, in the past consultants have been engaged to do feasibility studies and help prepare funding requests and part of those costs have been borne by the Township. Also, as I’ve said before, even though state or federal funding may be available, we should assess the cost/benefits of every project as if we were paying for it ourselves – because, in the end, we are.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Community Matters © 2024 Frontier Theme