By Nancy Johnson

Correspondent

At their annual reorganization meeting, the Penn Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to retain Curtis Mason as chairman and Victor Mantegna as vice-chairman.

The board revised their meeting schedule for the upcoming year to add a work session in most months as they anticipate needing the additional time to work on a revision of the township’s subdivision and land development ordinance (SALDO), as well as its zoning ordinance. From January through April, as well as September and October, the supervisors will meet on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. From May through August, plus November and December, the board will only meet on the first Wednesday of the month. All meetings are slated for 6 p.m.

At the meeting, Mason reviewed some of the major accomplishments in the township during 2014:

Another year with no tax increase to residents;

Sunnyside Road Bridge and associated road work complete;

Public sewer system sold for $3.6 million;

Won lawsuit to keep LED billboard from being erected on bypass;

Bought portion of property adjoining township building to expand park by 1.5 acres;

Appraised two properties for a potential active park site. Lawyers are reviewing the appraisals;

Constructed three new utility buildings in park;

Jennersville Regional Hospital expansion completed;

Penn Medicine office campus under construction and due for completion in summer 2015. As part of this project, Woodview Road will be widened and bypass exits will get signals;

Dansko’s new warehouse building completed;

YMCA expansion is 50 percent complete;

The Red Rose Inn will have a section removed, which will make it possible to reconstruct a dangerous intersection. The basic plans have been submitted to PennDOT;

An ongoing dispute with West Grove Fire Company Ambulance over fees is now settled among all five participating townships, yielding a substantial savings for Penn Township.

Looking ahead to 2015, the board has made revising the outdated SALDO a top priority. Acquiring land for an active park and begining plans and funding is also high on the list.

"We recently have had two properties appraised and it’s in the lawyers' hands now," Mason said. "If these don’t work out, we’ll move on to other properties. We made a promise to do this, and now we have to money to move forward."

Other goals include revamping the township website, which is already underway, expanding the computer system, and possibly building a new utility building and garage next to the existing office.