The Kennett Township Board of Supervisors concluded its 2023 meetings with two key items on the agenda: recognizing outgoing supervisor Scudder Stevens for his 12 years of service to the board and adopting several township initiatives.

With Stevens serving as the ceremonial chairman for the meeting, the board:

• Approved the implementation of Ordinance 305 that establishes a tax credit for volunteer first responders in the township as a means of incentivizing volunteerism at any of the three area fire companies – the Longwood Fire Company, the Kennett Fire Company No. 1 and the PoMarLin Fire Company – in accordance with Act 172 of 2016. First responders who reside in the township and comply with the incorporated active policy will receive a 100 percent rebate of their real estate taxes and up to $1,500 of their earned income tax;
• Approved the waiver of two requested subdivision and land development ordinances related to the Health Center Building at the Kendal at Longwood community, which is in the planning stages to remove a portion of the existing building, add an addition and undergo renovation. Kendal at Longwood was requesting to waive the requirement of curbing along the proposed parking within the project site to provide a user-friendly environment for those residents with mobility restrictions; and
• Voted to waive four requested subdivision and land development ordinances that will allow a preliminary/final plan to be submitted for the construction of the new, 105,000 square-foot Greenwood Elementary School, which when completed will contain a one-story wing with a two-story classroom wing behind it and be able to have a capacity of 660 students.

The board also voted to execute its agreement with the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance (BRC) for the construction of the Kennett Greenway easement on Chandler Mill Road. The BRC’s office is located at the confluence of Chandler Mill Road and the Chandler Mill Bridge where the Greenway is intended to be built. Township Manager Eden Ratliff said that the BRC will provide the township with easements necessary for the project, including a donation for the temporary construction easement, which has a value of $3,400. 

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