By Betsy Brewer Brantner
Contributing Writer

Hugo Sandoval, the owner of El Nayant Mexican Store in Oxford, recently addressed Oxford Borough Council about the issue of politics—and how politics shouldn’t mix with business.

“Being a business owner, you don't want to put political opinion into that business,” he said. “That could affect my pocket. I try to remain neutral. Social media can ruin you. I am concerned that just having a sign in front of my business could keep people out of my business.”

Sandoval had come to council last year expressing his concern over having a political table set up in front of his business during a community event before last year’s election.

Because of his concerns, borough council has approved amending the Borough Code of ordinances that address special events and public gatherings. The episode happened during a First Friday event planned by Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. (OMI). The person handing out political information was not a vendor who signed up for a space during the First Friday, and this was where the confusion began.

Council member Peggy Russell said, “The problem was a political problem where it portrayed a business as being supportive of that table.

Stacey Fuller, the borough’s solicitor, said, “Trying to come up with an ordinance is tricky when there is a political component to it. You can regulate spacing around a business and signage, not to the extreme, but you can’t regulate what is political.”

OMI hosts the First Friday events and vendors must be approved through them in order to participate.

Fuller will work on amending the special event ordinance and any other ordinance that deals with this issue, and she will bring it before council for the members’ input before it is finalized.

In other business at the meeting, Oxford Borough Police Chief Sam Iacono emphasized that the Oxford Police Department is seeking qualified police officers.

The borough’s Civil Service Commission will administer an entry level police officer examination for the purpose of establishing an eligibility list on Saturday, March 8, beginning at 8 a.m. The examination will include both a physical agility and a written test. Applicants are required to pass the physical agility test in order to be eligible for the written test. 

The requirements for applicants include the following:

• They must be 21 years of age at the time of the test;
• They must possess a high school diploma or GED certificate;
• They must be Act 120- certified or eligible for certification before receiving a conditional offer of employment;
• They must be a citizen of the United States;
• They must possess a valid driver’s license;
• They must comply with any other qualification as set forth in the civil service rules of the Borough of Oxford.

Oxford Borough Council is also accepting applications for Junior Council. High school seniors and juniors should contact the Oxford Borough at 610-932-2500 by July 21 for more information. This is a great opportunity to see how your local government actually works.

The borough is continuing to upgrade water meters. In the fall of 2023, the borough began a series of long-term planning initiatives and improvements to Oxford's water system, including the development of a 10-year capital plan and completion of a water rate study. These efforts overall are meant to ensure the sustainability of Oxford Water as a publicly owned utility. The borough believes that this is in the best interest of Oxford's residents and water rate payers.  Planned improvements include an expansion of the water plant to improve filtration capabilities and to increase capacity. 

In December of 2023, Oxford was awarded a $600,000 grant through the PA H2O Program to support an upgrade to the borough’s water meters. This upgrade will save money over time, enhance the delivery services and improve the customer experience. 

Appointments to upgrade water meters began the week of October 28, 2024 and continued through mid-January of this year. The borough sent a letter to water customers with instructions on how to schedule their appointment with LENEGAN Plumbing and Heating, LLC. Water meter changes are happening in phases.  

LENEGAN employees that come to replace meters are required to have personal identification and vehicles identified with the company’s name. For more questions, call Lenegan at 1-855-892-3830.

Oxford Mayor Phil Harris announced that the Oxford Methodist Church was holding a Chocolate Festival. He also reminded everyone that March 1 was Eli Seth Matthews Day in Oxford. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in May for the work completed on property behind the Community of Love Church. The Community of Love Lutheran Church and Oxford Borough worked together to construct a bio-retention wetland on the church’s property. The project is part of the borough’s Pollutant Reduction Plan intended to help reduce the amount of stormwater that ends up in local waterways.  The planned bio-retention rain garden will enable rainwater to be absorbed into the ground and filtered naturally. The project is considered an example of “Best Management Practices” for controlling stormwater run-off. It will also help the borough meet federal and state regulatory requirements to reduce stormwater run-off as required under the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program. 

Oxford Borough Council also approved a letter of intent to the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services to request technical assistance to complete a study to assess the feasibility of the regionalization of police services. 

Pauline Garcia-Allen explained that the borough had a meeting that was hosted by State Rep. John Lawrence for local officials to discuss the possibility of regional policing. Garcia-Allen said the meeting was friendly, and that representatives from six townships attended. The intent was to get people to think about police protection in the surrounding townships. It was noted that Penn Township was also a part of the meeting.

Iacono said, “I feel we had positive feedback.”

Russell said, “I hope the residents in Lower Oxford were aware of this meeting.

Deborah Kinney, the township secretary/treasurer for Lower Oxford, said in a phone interview, “The Board did discuss this at our board meeting, and they said they feel comfortable with the State Police at the moment. Both Kinney and supervisor Robert McMahon attended the meeting hosted by Lawrence.

Oxford Borough Council also approved the following:

• Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) Certificate of Appropriateness for 24 S. Third Street;
• HARB Certificate of Appropriateness for 142 Penn Avenue;
• HARB Certificate of Appropriateness for 119 S. Fifth Street;
• Resolution #1395 - 2025 authorizing the filing of a grant application to the Chester County Preservation Partnership Municipal Grant Program for proposed improvements to Memorial Park.  

Garcia-Allen explained that the project would be paid for by a DEP fine that comes back to the local municipality, which has to be used for air quality or parks. The borough will also apply for two other grants. The programs will pay for matching funds. The borough plans to construct at performance pavilion and do ADA accessibility improvements on the trails. They will also look at other ADA compliance issues, an electric gateway sign, and try to rectify a problem that occurred when a sidewalk was installed from Ware to the park.

Garcia – Allen also informed council of plans for the Broad Street Bridge.

“This is part of the Niblock Alley Project,” she explained.  “A preliminary site plan is being done by SSM Engineering. It also includes the retaining wall behind NAPA. We need to make an investment in the bridge structurally and aesthetically. We will save money if we make the bridge just a pedestrian bridge and don’t allow vehicle traffic. The thought is to make the bridge a pedestrian gateway to the town.”

Discussions about the project will continue in the near future.