By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

Eden Ratliff, the former Kennett Township manager who was hired in 2019 to clean up the mess in the wake of what was arguably the worst moment in the municipality’s recent history, was honored with the township’s medal of merit at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on May 21.

Ratliff, who resigned from his former post in February of 2024 to serve as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Charlottesville, Va., was praised at the meeting for professionalizing the township’s government through transparency, professionalism and effective hiring, following the investigation and subsequent arrest of former Manager Lisa Moore, who was sentenced on Oct. 4, 2021 and taken into custody on five counts stemming from her embezzlement of more than $3.2 million from Kennett Township beginning in 2013 and ending in 2019.

Board Chairman Richard Leff told the audience that he first met Ratliff in the summer of 2019 in what became known as “the war room” on the top floor of the Township Building, at a time when the investigation into Moore’s wrongdoing was under full investigation by authorities and forensic auditors. For several months, Leff and his fellow board members Whitney Hoffman and Scudder Stevens were pressed to conduct township business as the investigation proceeded. 

Searching for a ‘change agent’

“We advertised for the position for the new Kennett Township manager and wondered who would be willing to step up to the challenge of coming to a community in such turmoil,” Leff said. “Remarkably, we had over 30 applicants but were told that we could only interview eight candidates. Then I read a resume from a young man – a former Eagle Scout - who seemed to know what was right, and who was willing to take risks in a couple of challenging communities and who put himself on the radio to answer some tough questions.

“So, we added a ninth interview to an already long day of interviews. At the end of the process, it was clear that we wanted someone to change things in Kennett Township, and not to go along with what was done in the past just because that was how it was always done. We wanted a change agent, not someone who would stay the course to keep the waters calm.”

Leff said that Ratliff was the supervisors’ overwhelming choice to become the next township Manager.  

“Eden’s question for every issue during his tenure was, ‘What is best for Kennett Township?’” Leff said. “He may not phrase everything in the most diplomatic manner, and some would consider his style brutally honest, but to me that is remarkably refreshing in a political environment – in a political entity - that is slow to change.” 

As part of his “clean up” of the Moore scandal, Ratliff was given the charge of helping recover the stolen funds and at the time of his departure, the township had recovered 82 percent of the embezzled funds by January of 2024. He also hired Finance and Human Resources Director Amy Heinrich, who tightened the township’s financial checks and balance that recently led to a clean audit, as well as additional new staff. In addition, he helped navigate the restoration of the Chandler Mill Bridge, the extension of Kennett Greenway and the rebuilding of the Spar Hill property.

In his remarks, Ratliff thanked his fellow township staff, supervisors and committee members for the success the township has enjoyed over the past four years. 

“I was just one piece of the puzzle,” he said. “If you’re putting together a puzzle, you have individual pieces, and you may say, ‘That’s going to be an important piece’ and help form a good picture, but it’s the totality of the puzzle as it comes together when you step back and admire the entire picture.”

He cited the supervisors during the time of the Moore embezzlement – Stevens, Hoffman and Leff – for their “bravery” in taking the steps needed to “turn the township around.”

“No matter how difficult it got and no matter how exhausted the board was, every single time, they asked, ‘What’s the right thing to do? Who needs to be a part of the team? How should we approach this for the betterment of the township?’ They were selfless in that way, and they continue to be. That bravery needs to be commended. It needs to be remembered, and it needs to be etched into the history of the township.”

In other township business

By a 3-0 vote, the board officially adopted Ordinance 311 that amends Chapter 232 of the township code regarding the growing of bamboo grasses in the township. Under the ordinance, exterior bamboo shall not be planted, maintained, or otherwise permitted to exist within 40 feet of the edge of a property, and all existing bamboo within 40 feet of the edge of a property must be removed.

Further, property owners must ensure that existing bamboo on their property is maintained and not allowed to encroach or grow upon any adjoining or neighboring property, including all public property and right-of-way. Any bamboo existing anywhere else on a property may not be replanted or replaced if existing bamboo dies, uprooted or is destroyed. 

The passage of the amended ordinance follows the discussion and subsequent 2-0 vote at the board’s May 7 board meeting, when supervisors Dr. Richard Leff and Patricia Muller gave their approval to advertising the ordinance.

The board also gave their approval to an agreement for the fabrication, installation and maintenance of roadway signage through a Wayfinding Program that will permit the township to install signs that will identify and direct visitors to cultural institutions, recreation areas, public facilities and destinations of interest in the vicinity of the township. The installation of the signage is part of an agreement between the township and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that will permit signage in right-of-way areas.

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