If 2023 was any indication of what was to come, 2024 promises to be another very busy year for New Garden Township, as it will continue to navigate several large initiatives that include ongoing cultivation and planning for New Garden Hills, the Village of Toughkenamon and the 105-acre Smedley Preserve. 

As part of a presentation by grants coordinator Linda Rivera at the Jan. 22 Board of Supervisors’ meeting, the township will also be doing some digging of another kind this year – in the form of pursuing grant opportunities intended to pay for several projects in the future.  Among the grant opportunities the township plans to pursue are:

• VPP Grant, available to all county municipalities in Pennsylvania who want to improve their planning and zoning;
• Local Share Account Statewide Grant, available to municipalities throughout Pennsylvania to develop projects that improve the quality of life in the community;
• The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Community and Watershed Forestry Grant, that provides financial assistance to locations needing forest buffers, lawn conversion and community tree planting;
• Watershed Restoration and Protection Program, that provides grants to municipalities seeking to restore and maintain streams and watersheds;
• SS4A-FY24 Safe Streets and Roads Grant, that supports the development of safety action programs that identify a municipality’s most significant roadway safety concerns;
• Multimodal Transportation Fund Grant, that provides funds to help ensure safe and reliable modes of transportation in a municipality;
• Business in our Sites Grant, that helps communities attract growing and expanding businesses by providing assistance in finding appropriate sites to develop;
• The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Keystone Communities Program, that helps in the development of downtown and commercial districts, as well as the distressed industrial and manufacturing areas of a community; 
• KC Program Planning, Development and Public Improvement Grants, that helps pay for engineering, legal, consulting and other costs associated with starting a construction project designed to improve neighborhoods and communities; and the
• Snow & ATV Grant, that helps municipalities fund the purchase of all terrain vehicles used in maintenance and construction.

If acquired, Rivera said that the grants will support the continued development of the master plan for New Garden Hills; construction at the Smedley Preserve that will include pedestrian crossings, park entrances, bridge replacements and trail improvements, meadow restoration and tree plantings and new maintenance equipment; and several components in the plan to revitalize the Village of Toughkenamon, such as sidewalk enhancement, parking, crosswalks, pedestrian safety and economic development.

In other business, the board adopted the township’s end-of-the-year actual revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2023 budget, as was introduced by township Manager Christopher Himes. Provided as a comparative snapshot of the financial performance of fiscal year 2023 that looked at adopted, amended and actual year-end revenues and expenditures, the presentation showed several surplus revenues and reductions in expenditures in its General Fund, Capital Fund, Airport Fund, Airport Capital Fund, Open Space Fund, Recreation and New Garden Hills Fund and Fire and Sewer Fund.

In summary, the township final fiscal year 2023 saw a year-end revenue of $14.65 million and expenditures totaling $13.1 million, a cash savings of more than $1.4 million that Himes said could be used to support township fund programs. 

Citing a surplus interest income balance of $962,470 generated from canceling the Phase 2 development of New Garden Hills, Himes recommended leveraging a portion of the surplus interest income ($875,763) into the township’s original FY 2024 Paving Program, in order to complete crucial paving projects on Hillendale, Pemberton and Starr roads.                               

Continuing progress at the Kennett Library

In his presentation, Kennett Library Director Chris Manna shared several new initiatives scheduled to dot the library’s calendar in 2024 that will include upcoming TED Talk series on civic and social literacy; an expanded menu of adult literacy classes and U.S. citizenship classes – programs that reached more than 3,000 individuals in 2023; a bipartisan-sponsored upcoming monthly film and conversation series that will introduce topics such as how to run for office and how to support voters rights; as well as continuing to screen free films at its 110-seat auditorium.

The library will also develop workforce development initiatives with small business association agencies, as well as partner with area companies to provide living wage job solutions to anyone who attends these programs. It will also continue to be a major stakeholder in a program co-sponsored by the Jastamaere Foundation, AHHAH and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide free books to youngsters aged one through five throughout Chester County. Currently, 7,000 children in the county are registered in the program, and in an effort to advance the program, the Kennett Library will be hosting an event on April 17 that will invite 25 state legislators to explore ways of expanding to a statewide distribution program. 

Manna said the fundraising efforts for the library have raised more than $21 million toward its $22 million needed to complete the total cost for the new facility on State Street. 

In other township news, the board approved its 2024 service agreements with the Avondale Fire Company, as well as its first-quarter payment to the fire company and its EMS in the amount of $246,187.50. 

New appointments

The supervisors also approved the appointment of several residents to fill board and commission vacancies. Katrina Lawrence, Don Morgan and Robert Perrotti have been appointed to the Planning Commission; Ronald Dungey is a new member of the Zoning Hearing Board and David Trexler has been named an alternate board member; the Historical Commission has appointed new members Sarah Hazelwood and Michael Lowenstein; Kecia Crowl has been appointed to another term on the Open Space Review Board; and Brianna Small has been appointed to the Parks & Recreation Committee. Vacancies still exist on the Building Appeals Board, the Community Maintenance Review Board and the Board of Auditors.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].