By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

Supported by an agenda that has focused on public safety, crisis action, transparency and connecting residents and businesses together, Matt Fetick was elected to what will be his fifth  four-year term as Kennett Square Mayor on Nov. 4, defeating challenger and former Mayor Leon Spencer by a vote of 833 to 566.

In a wide-ranging interview, Fetick addressed some of those key issues that are currently impacting his constituency, as he and the Kennett Borough Council prepare to kick off the governing of the Borough in 2026. While issues of varying concerns are top of mind for borough residents, perhaps the most nagging and persistent is in the continued infestation of the Phorid Fly in homes and businesses. Late in 2024, Fetick became the first official in the state to issue an emergency resolution demanding solutions from state officials to an environmental crisis that has impacted the quality of life in the borough.

“The Phorid Fly issue is incredibly frustrating for our residents, but unfortunately, it is outside of our legislative authority and outside of anything we can do other than be a strong advocate,” he said. “We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the emergency declaration, and I intend to take a significant amount of information that I have learned from the last year – stemming from the fact that we have not had any relief for our residents in the last 12 months – and provide that information in a  thoughtful and strong summary to the Department of Agriculture and the Governor’s office.”

Fetick said that he will continue to use his office as a “bully pulpit and advocate” with other area municipalities experiencing the same issue to search for solutions.

“It is unfair that our residents continue to deal with this problem as it is, [and] I plan to be louder and more vocal and push harder that I ever have before,” he said. 

NVF clean-up and development: Will it be safe?

Over the course of the last several months, Fetick has hosted two town hall meetings that have addressed one of the leading issues of safety in the borough: the potential environmental impact the planned development of the 22-acre former NVF site may have on borough residents. The meetings have served as a watchdog overview of the clean-up efforts to remediate the contamination left by prior industrial use, particularly related to PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) and other hazardous materials. 

Currently, the Rockhopper company is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) on extensive soil and groundwater testing and removal to eventually make way for a development along West Mulberry Street to build 294 “for rent” and “for sale” residential units. 

Fetick’s role – as well as Borough Council’s – will be to force these agencies to share their information with the public in full transparency. He said that once the government shutdown has been lifted, he will invite DPA and EPA representatives to the borough for a presentation detailing the specifics of their clean-up and findings.

“I believe that it is really important that residents have all of their questions answered, and that they get to speak to a site that is projected to play an enormous part in the future of Kennett Square,” Fetick said. “To change the use from industrial to mixed-use residential requires an ordinance which Borough Council has to pass, but I have the authority [as mayor] to sign it into law or to veto it, and my intention is to make sure that our residents’ questions are satisfied before I do that.”

Public safety, fire and EMS services 

For the entire duration of his 16 years as mayor, Fetick, a former police officer, has overseen the Kennett Square Police Department, and as he prepares to begin his fifth term as mayor, he and Borough Council are seeking to continue modernizing the department through the use of new resources. He said that moving forward, borough leadership will work with the department to become an accredited police unit and assist conducting a search for the future leaders of the department.   

Fetick also addressed the fire and EMS needs for the borough.

“I have maintained a strong commitment to the Kennett Regional Fire Department, working closely with them to secure the funding and resources necessary to support the crucial life-saving services provided by their dedicated volunteers and career staff,” Fetick wrote on his campaign website.

While it is no longer a member of the Kennett Area Regional Fire & EMS Commission, Fetick said that the borough is continuing to provide its residents with adequate fire and EMS services through a contract it maintains with the Commission. 

“My concern has never been with the level of service or with the providers, but about the intermunicipal agreement and the untapped spending amount per year,” he said. “Borough Council is working with our surrounding municipalities [who belong to the Commission’s membership] to see if there is a path forward for us all to be on the Commission together, moving forward. 

“I fully support being in the Commission – or some type of regional model – as long as we can predict what our future costs are going to be.” 

Immigration resources in Kennett Square

Unlike criminal proceedings in which defendants have constitutional rights to representation, migrants in the U.S. are not entitled to court appointed lawyers; in fact, six of every ten migrant citizens confront the immigration system without a lawyer, and many of these migrants are children.

To help bridge that gap for the Kennett Square immigrant community, Fetick is currently enrolled in the Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates (VIISTA) program at the Villanova University Law School, an online interdisciplinary educational program that trains students to become accredited representatives for the immigrant community and provide low-cost or no-cost legal representation. He is also working with community leaders to establish a non-profit organization that provides these same resources in the Kennett Square community.

As he and the Kennett Square Borough Council prepare to enter 2026 with these and other issues on their agenda, Fetick said that the ability to address them will take a collaboration between elected officials and well-informed and active residents.

“I really want Kennett Square to continue to thrive as a diverse community that respects everybody, and as we navigate what Kennett Square becomes in the next 10, 15, 20 years, I want to assure that everybody has a seat at the table and a voice, as we figure out what we’re going to look like,” he said. “There are a lot of things happening, and it is critical that everyone is being heard and that what they will share will be thoroughly considered.”

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