By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

The Kennett Square Borough Council held a voting session meeting on Wednesday Sept. 11 that invited State Representative Christina Sappey and State Senator John Kane to touch on several legislative issues pertaining to Chester County and their constituents. 

Sappey, who represents the 158th District, began the meeting by detailing her legislative priorities, and said that her top priorities are on improving infrastructure in southeastern Pennsylvania as she feels the region is “particularly impacted” by the way PennDOT is funded. She also highlighted the importance of childcare for working families, investing in downtown areas and staying “in touch” with municipalities. 

“The priority is you,” she said. “The priority is all of us and everything that we have here.”

Kane, who also represents parts of Chester and Delaware counties in the 9th senatorial district, outlined his background including his work in union labor and his cancer journey. Kane stressed the importance of protecting the working class, providing quality healthcare, prioritizing mental health and stopping the sale of the Chester Water Authority (CWA). 

“I’ll be damned if I’m going to allow that,” he told the audience. “It’s not happening under my watch.” 

Both Kane and Sappey then answered questions from council members and the audience, some of which focused on the future of the CWA and water accessibility in Chester County. 

“The City of Chester is not going to have their problem solved by taking this water authority and selling it to Aqua,” Sappey said. “We really need to figure out how to deal with Chester. They're Pennsylvanians, and I care what happens to them, but I care more about what happens here.” 

The audience and Borough Council also asked Sappey and Kane about the rising cost of fire and EMS services for local municipalities, road conditions and affordable housing. 

After the legislators concluded their portion of the meeting, borough Council approved their consent agenda and the 2023 audit report. The council also approved an action item to consider future improvements to the trail system at Anson B. Nixon Park. 

The Council also gave a proclamation to Kennett Collaborative to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the Kennett Farmers Market, the longest program of Kennett Collaborative. 

The meeting ended with an interactive activity with representatives from the Kennett Greenway regarding the agency’s master plan for the Parrish Trail. Kennett Greenway is an initiative to create, “a 14-mile multi-purpose trail loop that connects the Kennett community to nature and each other,” according to their website. The remaining section of the loop is currently in the design phase of the process and was seeking input from community and council members.

“We wanted to know all of the diverse needs of the diverse stakeholders of this parcel, including you all,” said Nina Davis, director of trail development for Kennett Greenway. 

Kennett Greenway team members set up maps around the meeting room of the Parrish property and had attendees and council members work in groups to decide what they wanted to see in each section of the property to conclude the meeting. 

The Kennett Borough Council’s next work session meeting is on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. and its next voting session meeting is Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.