By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

As Dr. Richard Leff and Patricia Muller tucked into their first full meeting as board chairman and vice chairperson of the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 15, they heard township Manager Alison Dobbins and department heads list a series of highlights from 2024 that ranged from new projects to a clean financial audit for 2023.

In her administrative report, Dobbins listed the following accomplishments the township made in 2024:

• An historic marker dedication was made at the Brandywine Battlefield
• The completion and dedication of the Kennett Greenway on Chandler Mill Road
• Supporting the efforts of local organizations to obtain funding for interior renovations to the Fussell House and
• The township’s Finance Department accomplished a clean 2023 compliant audit

Dobbins also listed the passage of key ordinances and resolutions the township made in 2024 that included the adoption of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Plan in March; the adoption of resolutions that have streamlined the township’s committee structure; the establishment of the Medal of Merit; the financial support of the Kennett Fire Company’s Fire Apparatus Fleet review and assessment; the authorization of a feasibility study for the expansion of a municipal facility for the township’s administration’s offices and its Police Department; and the three-year agreement the township signed with the Kennett Area Park Authority to support Anson B. Nixon Park.

In her report, Finance and Human Resources Director Amy Heinrich listed the following budget highlights that begin the new year:

• The township’s General Fund revenue through December 2024 is $894,000, or 9.5 percent higher than budget projections
• Overall, taxes are $180,000 above budget and real estate taxes ended 2024 at $18,000 above budget
• Earned income tax ended the year $88,000 above budget and above 2023 by 7.6 percent, and real estate transfer and local service taxes are $56,000 and $21,000 above budget, respectively
• Building and zoning fee revenue is showing an increase of $479,000 – a 130 percent increase over budget, and
• Interest income is $106,000 or 47 percent above budget, and income for the Public Works Department is $27,700 -- or 222 percent over budget 

Police Chief Matthew Gordon highlighted several initiatives the township’s Police Department was involved in during 2024 that included:

• Participation in 15 community events
• Hosting a successful National Night Out in partnership with the Kennett Square Borough Police Department
• The hiring of Officer Dave Ford, and Officer Ben Thomas’ successful first year in the department, where he answered nearly 500 calls for service, assisted in two felony investigations and completed SWAT training
• Continued patrol of the Greenwood Elementary School
• Department participation in the Sunny Day Camp, that promotes strong relations between police and children and adults with special needs, and 
• Partnering with the Pennsylvania State Police to provide services for President Joe Biden and his motorcade through Kennett Township on Dec. 31, 2024.

Director of Public Works Ted Otteni discussed several projects his department accomplished in during 2024 that included stabilization of the smoke house roof at the Spar Hill Preserve property; the completion of the paving and embankment remediation project along the Chandler Mill Road portion of the Kennett Greenway; the replacement of a failing drainage inlet and pipe in the Hamorton neighborhood; and renovations to the administrative offices and police department in the Township Building. Otteni said that the department is currently at work to replace the pump station force main on Rosedale Road.

New connectivity to Anson B. Nixon Park

In other township business, the supervisors gave their approval for a trail easement agreement with COR Management, LLC., the owner of a parcel along Walnut Road, to allow the township to initiate the full use of a paved trail across the property that provides a connection from The Flats at Kennett to Anson B. Nixon Park as well as other destinations in Kennett Borough. 

The easement is 15 feet wide and approximately 50 feet in length.

The board also voted in favor of accepting the Route 41 Corridor Improvement Study and Corridor Improvement Plan. The origins of the plan date back to 2022, when Kennett, New Garden, London Grove and Londonderry townships were awarded a Vision Partnership Program grant from Chester County to develop a transportation study and corridor improvement plan for the corridor, extending from the Route 796 intersection in Londonderry Township to the Route 7 interchange in New Garden Township.

While Kennett Township comprises only four-tenths of a mile of the corridor, the board said that it recognizes its major connectivity to several roads and traffic patterns in the township.

The board also approved the appointments of George Plumley as a full member of the township’s Planning Commission and Diane McGovern as an alternate member of the Commission.

In his closing comments regarding the proliferation of the phorid fly in southern Chester County, supervisor Geoffrey Gamble called for the legal reinstatement for the use of the pesticide Diazinon in Pennsylvania. Although it is still available in other states, Diazinon was banned by the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection for public use in the Commonwealth in 2004, due to its high health risks.

The township’s Historical Commission will present “Homes with History” on Feb. 8, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Township Building’s meeting room. The event will feature speaker Jeffery Marshall, who will discuss how to research historic properties and discover the unique history of buildings in the township.

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