By Eliza Mohler, Staff Writer, The Times
KENNETT –Staying informed about criminal activity just got easier for residents of the township.
At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Chief of Police Lydell Nolt announced that the Pennsylvania Crime Watch program is now fully functional in the township. The website address is www.crimewatchpa.com, and residents should select Kennett Township as their location when they sign up. There is also an app version of the program that can be downloaded to iPhone and Android cell phones.
Nolt is encouraging all residents to sign up for the program, and he noted that the police department hopes it will help foster the spread of important information that residents usually receive from the media and social networking sources.
“This is the way of the future in communicating information from police agencies to the public,” he said. “This is a program that is encompassing providing data for the community.”
He added that any information posted to the Crime Watch website is retractable if needed, including from search engines and social media.
Nolt also reported that 20 pounds of unused medication was recently collected at a drug take-back event at Longwood, and any unwanted drugs can also be brought in to the township police office.
After months of negotiating details, the board unanimously approved the final plans for the Sinclair Springs townhome project on West Hillendale Road, pending a list of 19 conditions that the developers must fulfill as the project goes forward.
“I hope it’s really successful,” Supervisor Whitney Hoffman said. “It’s been a long process, and I’m glad we got through it.”
In her report, Township Manager Lisa Moore said that grant funds are starting to be used to upgrade the surfaces of the Parrish, Whittle, and Pennock Park trails. A new trail will be installed along Chandler Mill Road by the fall, and work will be done on the Chandler Mill Bridge to make it more pedestrian-friendly. Moore also announced new Kennett land and trails website: www.kennettlandandtrails.com.
The township is in the process of applying for a grant to install a traffic light at the intersection of 82 South and Route 1, and to upgrade the existing traffic signal on 82 North. Township grant coordinator Mike Guttman recently received an award from the Transportation Management Association of Chester County for the active transportation plan he is developing for the township.
A new floodplain ordinance, referred to as Ordinance 270, was introduced by Moore for approval by the board. She said the previous floodplain ordinance was very old, so the township worked with a pro bono consultant provided by the county to create a new standalone ordinance. The plan has been reviewed by the Chester County Planning Commission, and Supervisor Richard Leff and township attorney David Sander noted that it is a standard plan. The ordinance passed unanimously.
The meeting ended on a celebratory note, as Hoffman announced that Moore has been working for the township for 20 years as of Friday, June 16. “It only feels like 40,” Moore joked. The supervisors praised Moore for her hard work on behalf of the township leaders and constituents.
“Thank you for being there all this time,” Chairman Scudder Stevens said. “Without you, it wouldn’t happen.”
