By Betsy Brewer Brantner
Contributing Writer  

Rachel Yudt, MRCT, the Mobile Crisis Center program director, spoke at the April 6 Oxford Borough Council meeting, and thanked Mayor Phil Harris for reaching out to them and working with them. This program brings mental health specialists to people in Chester County who have a mental health crisis.

Yudt explained, “988 is the phone number to call if you or someone you know is experiencing a mental crisis.”

When you call 988, this is what happens:

First, you’ll hear a message that gives you service selection options including Veterans (Press 1), Spanish-language (Press 2), or your local 988 Lifeline contact center. 

A counselor will say hello and introduce themselves. Your skilled counselor will ask you if you are safe.

After they ask about your safety, your counselor will listen to you, understand how your problem is affecting you, provide support, and share any resources that may be helpful.

From the state that call will go to the county and to the Mobil Crisis Team. The team will then go out to meet that person and make an assessment on their behavior health and make a determination if they need therapy. Sometimes the person may need to go to the hospital to be checked out medically and mentally. This trauma response is free and has proven to be a great solution with people in crisis. The outreach is 24/7.

Van Steifel, a member of the team and certified recovery specialist, said, “ We have a variety of qualified people working with us on this team that can get you the help you need.”

Yudt said, “We take them to Chester County Hospital and if we feel they will be safe we will transport them. We also call Chester County Dispatch and the police and they also may assist us. If necessary, we can call Emergency Management Services.”

Harris and Yudt agreed that in the two years the Mobile Crisis Team has been in service it has been a major improvement in delivering timely care and assessment to those with behavior issues.

Oxford Borough Police Chief Sam Iacono presented his monthly report to Oxford Borough Council.

“We have had 1,037 calls this year,” Iacono said. “We had two girls hit in the crosswalk at the intersection of Market and South Fifth Street. Both are out of the hospital, but one had substantial injuries which will require more time for healing.” He said that the investigation into the accident is continuing.

The police department has a Civil Service Test scheduled for April 18 and the police chief is hoping to add more names to the Civil Service roster. Iacono said that four officers on the police force will be eligible to retire.

“They will be able to retire, but we don’t know if they will. We are trying to build our ranks in the event that they do,” Iacono explained.

He said that two of his officers received training and are now part of a field force team which works with other teams when handling crowd disbursement when needed at other locations.

Iacono also explained that they had issued 21 traffic tickets for the month.

“I want to be clear. When we say we issued 21 traffic tickets that doesn’t mean we didn’t stop more drivers,” he said. “The number of stops are higher. However, some people may be lost, have a medical issue or something else that means we might pull them over. But we don’t issue tickets to everyone we stop.”

In other business, Harris said that he issued a proclamation noting that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). 

SAAM is a time for advocates, survivors, their loved ones, and the community to come together to talk openly about sexual violence and to support survivors, increase knowledge and awareness and identify strategies and resources to prevent sexual violence.

Oxford Borough solicitor Stacey Fuller reported that she is working with all the properties on Niblock Alley that will be involved in the Niblock Alley grant project.

“We are meeting with engineers regarding waterline agreements and other issues that impact property owners along that alley,” she said. “We hope to keep moving forward.”

Oxford Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen welcomed Terry Bonenberger to the position of borough secretary. She will be coming to the borough after having worked in the post office and at other municipalities. 

Garcia-Allen said that the transition with the gates in the parking garage appear to be moving smoothly. She hopes to gain numbers next week. The garage is free on all holidays.

Oxford Borough Council approved the consideration of an application for conditional-use for 55 S. Third Street.

Council also signed off on the Oxford Borough Equal Access Pledge. Harris explained that this came out of the recent county-wide mayors meeting. The Equal Access Pledge states that the Borough of Oxford is committed to providing access and services to all people regardless of their immigration status, language spoken, race, religion, national origin, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Oxford Borough Council approved consideration of Ordinance #981-2026 authorizing the acquisition of certain property interests for the construction of the Oxford Borough Niblock Alley project.

Council approved a resolution #1418-2026 amending the Oxford Borough tapping fee.

Also approved was the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) Certificate of Appropriateness for 401 Market Street, which is the former Borough Hall building.

Borough council signed off on the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce Special Event Permit Application for the Memorial Day Remembrance Walk on May 25, and the Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. Special Event Permit Applications for the Movies in the Park series on June 19, July 17, August 2, and October 3, the Village Market on Thursdays from May 7 through October 22, the Sidewalk Sessions on June 5, the Hometown Harvest on August 7, the Car Show on September 4,  and the First Friday events on October 2 and December 4.

Also approved was the Special Event Permit Application for the Voices Underground Juneteenth Festival on June 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Oxford Memorial Park.

Oxford Borough Council approved the MECO Construction Inc. pay application No. 5 in the amount of $471,026.70 for the Mt. Vernon Street “Dig Once” Project.

The next meeting of the Oxford Borough Council will be held on April 20 at 7 p.m. in the Borough Hall.