Category: Delco Council

Renaming Binge Looms In Delco? — Delaware County (Pa) Council last night, June 7, voted 5-0 to change the administrative code concerning the process to rename county buildings and other property.

So what new names can we now expect?

Sports Complex Gets Tax Exemption From Delco — Delaware County Council, last night, June 7, unanimously passed a resolution giving the Philadelphia Union soccer team a county property tax exemption for a 31-acre property it is developing next to Subaru Park in Chester.

The for-profit complex will include athletic fields and a structure. Youth leagues are expected to be among its customers especially for tournaments. The fields should be ready by the fall and the building in about a year.

The area will include a river walk which is presumably open to the public.

Council also unanimously amended the administrative code to remove the requirement that employees of Delaware County Conservation District be exempted from the county’s residency requirement.

Controller Joanne Philips objected to the change noting that waivers were already available if necessary.

Ms. Phillips was later cited by Council for her office having received a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finances Association for the United States and Canada.

Council announced that summer concert series is starting and that there will be a Juneteenth celebration, June 19, at Rose Tree Park featuring music and food. The food truck will be set up at 4 p.m.

Also it was announced that $1 million in loans was available at 2 percent interest for brownfields cleanup.

Also it was announced that applications for Delco Greenway Grants are being accepted. The program has created 13 miles of walking trails for the county along with 240 acres of open space.

A contract was approved, 4-0, between the Department of Human Services and the Child Guidance Resource Centers for the next fiscal year. Councilwoman Christine Reuther had to recuse her self.

There were 29 agenda items approved unanimously including a six-year $4,273,401.98 contract with Thomas Reuters Court Management Solutions for moving the Civil Case Management System to the Microsoft Azure cloud, upgrading the the Civil Case Management System; and moving the Family Law section to electronic filings.

Also the county will be buying four Scotsman ice machines for Fair Acres for $30,301.08.

Pride Flag Raising Criticism Outrages Delco Councilwoman –Criticism of the raising of the “pride flag” on a pole at the Delaware County (Pa.) Courthouse brought an intense reaction from Councilwoman Christine Reuther almost to the point of a rant at tonight’s (June 7) County Council meeting

Or maybe it was the continued concerns expressed about the integrity of elections in the county that set her off.

Joy Schwartz, who is a Republican candidate for County Council in November, said the only flags that should be displayed at the courthouse are those that unify and are without controversy. She cited the state flag and Old Glory as examples.

But she said that since the Council seems to want to fly a flag for everyone she offered them a Revolutionary War “Appeal To Heaven” flag.

Mrs. Schwartz said the pride flag symbolizes wokeness.

Wokeness is an intense, unmeasurable faith that holds America is inherently unjust hence injustice is warranted against those who feel otherwise.

Mrs. Schwartz said wokeness is a religion.

Scott Thomas of Marple asked the council to dedicate the entire month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as is traditionally done.

Thomas, who is the judge of elections for his precinct, praised the county and election workers for the training it provided and said their diligence helped in-person voting run smoothly during the May 16 primary.

He echoed the concern of others, however, regarding mail-in ballots. He said observers saw only about 8,000 mail in ballots being counted at the centralized county center while 25,000 were actually tabulated.

Joann Stump of Newtown Square noted that 70 percent of Americans now have doubts about the integrity of our elections. She called out the county on several issues. She said mail-in ballots are printed out of state and shipped to Philadelphia rather than directly to the voter requesting one. She pointed out that Delaware County has half the ballot drop-boxes in the state — yes, more than Philadelphia and Allegheny counties combined — and they are inadequately watched. She noted that the county is strangely fighting several right to know requests regarding election documents. She said that the electronic poll pads that the county is preparing to replace its well-tested and effective ink-and-paper voter lists are internet connectable.

When it came time for council to speak, Ms. Reuther seemed to imply she would ban dissenters from meetings if it wasn’t for state law. She said she wished woke culture was a religion. She said that if it was it would have just as much protection as the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Quick question, does this mean the Sacred Heart of Jesus gets the month, now?

Anyway, Ms. Reuther lashed out at the election integrity people accusing them of causing the doubts.

How Christine? By filing right-to-know requests that the county fights?

Ms. Reuther insisted that the looming poll pads will not be internet accessible. Maybe she’s right about the poll pads. We hope so.

Councilwomen Monica Taylor and Elaine Paul Schaefer, and Councilman Kevin Madden also defended the pride flag raising.

Also speaking in public comments were Michael Straw of Media who said he was happy to see the pride flag was raised; and an Upland woman who said she never received a $2,500 bonus she was due upon her retirement after 35 years with the county Children and Youth Services.

The woman said the county told her she wasn’t entitled to it  because of the timing of the signing of the contract.

She said that was wrong.

She said she may never get money but she wanted council to know she was disgusted 

Madden, to his credit, offered to talk to her afterwards. She said outside that he did and that they will meet next week.

Pride Flag Raising Criticism Outrages Delco Councilwoman –Criticism of the raising of the “pride flag” on a flagpole at the

Councilwoman Implies Delco Didn’t Celebrate Transgenderism; Gets Called Out — Delaware County (Pa) Councilwoman  Christine A. Reuther, implied a transgender celebration did not happen at the courthouse and got called out by the citizens.

Joann Stump of Newtown Square and Carris Kocher of Glen Mills both spoke out against the event at this evening’s, April 5, council meeting.

Mrs. Stump noted that on March 31 the county held a ceremony in which the courthouse was lit up in the colors of the transgender movement and transgender flags were displayed.

She, rightfully, pointed out that this movement is a hateful attack on children and that encouraging children not to talk to parents is a technique used by pedophiles.

She quoted Matthew 18 regarding the fate of those who harm children.

Mrs. Kocher, who also noted that Delco’s council is the legislative body most opposed to transparency she has ever seen, said that what was once thought to be the most egregious crimes against children are now celebrated. She quoted Patrick Henry and said that a virtuous people will be blessed but a people that rejects virtue will be cursed.

In Council remarks, Ms. Reuther disingenuously claimed a transgender flag was never flown from a flag pole and said she doesn’t want the Bible dictating her health care.

Christine, if you ever want to become a man that is your business but this twisted concept should never be suggested to children. For what it’s worth, encouraging self-mutilation and self-hate for anyone is as bad as encouraging suicide.

Would you yell “jump” to someone standing on a ledge?

After the meeting, Mrs. Kocher confronted her and she confessed that Max Bennet’s story in the Media Patch was correct. The courthouse was lit in pink and blue, and small transgender flags were displayed.

Other Speakers

Also speaking were Scott Thomas of Broomall who thanked county Director of Elections Jim Allen for having a public hashtag testing event; and Elizabeth of Ridley who said the county’s Children and Youth Services is not providing adequate help for children and caregivers and is ignoring complaints, as does council.

Department Updates

In other matters County Controller Joanne Phillips updated Council about her department saying that the number of county employees have increased dramatically. She also said county audits are now available free online. Ms. Phillips also said the county now lists unclaimed property on its website before it is sent to the state the property may be claimed by filling this form. She said Delco has returned $46,618 so far.

Also speaking was Health Director Melissa Lyon, who noted her department had just celebrated its first birthday.

A presentation was made for National Library Week. All were encouraged to get library cards which could be either obtained from one’s local library or online.

Why Fight Open Records Appeal?

Solicitor William Martin said the county received more than 500 open record requests last year and requests this year are on about the same pace. He said the county has the right to refuse certain requests and the the one whose request is refused has the right to appeal. He says if the request is granted upon appeal, the “disappointed party” may appeal that to Common Pleas Court, which is what the county is doing to a request it denied but was granted upon appeal.

Hey Bill, why not just, you know, let the public know what is going on with Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., which prints the county’s ballots. There shouldn’t be a controversy.

Or is there something to hide?

The meeting started at 5 p.m., an hour early, to avoid conflict with Passover.

Delco Extends Pact With Fort Orange Press For Mail Ballots — Delaware County Council, March 15, approved by consent 38 items including a contract extension with Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., for the printing and mailing of mail-in and absentee ballots for elections during 2023 not exceed $150,000.

Joy Schwartz of Upper Darby objected to the pact during public comments.

“This was the same company that printed ballots last year, some of which were deemed highly suspicious by one of the foremost forensic document analysts in the world during a hand count back in January,” she said.

She noted it wouldn’t be hard to find a local printer, which in fact had been required by ordinance until the county changed the law last summer.

“(Fort Orange) is this company that prints ballots but does not mail them directly to the requester,” she said. “It delievers them from Albany to Philadelphia, across state lines, by who knows who, before they are mailed out to voters.”

She wondered why they didn’t mail them directly from New York, which is a pretty good point.

The system being used hides the final delivery location and allows the opportunity for massive ballot harvesting.

“If we are outsourcing printing of mail-in ballots, why does the Bureau of Elections in Chester need its own huge, expensive Pitney Bowes MEGA printer at the Wharf?” she asked.

She also pointed out that a right-to-know request had been filed regarding Fort Orange Press which the county denied and continues to deny despite the request being upheld in binding arbitration by state adjudicators.

Robert Mancini, of Media, who filed the request brought the issue up in the second round of public comments.

 Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther responded during public comments that the Secretary of State won’t let them release the records despite the arbitration decision and the county has filed a lawsuit to resolve the matter.

Seriously?

There is no innocent reason why these things should not be open to the public.

Other Election Contracts

The County by consent extended its contract with Phoenix Graphics to provide printing of election day ballots for 2023 in an amount not to exceed $116,063.4; and approved a three-year contract with Hughes Relocations Services for voting equipment services for an amount not to exceed $307,020.

Prisoner Program Approved

The County, with Ms. Reuther dissenting, approved proposed changes to the Inmate Health Care Services Contract provided by Wellpath to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility to include a “return to competency” program through December 2024. The cost will be $226,674 for the rest of this year and $457,157 for next.

Return to competency is for inmates with mental issues who would otherwise be sent to Norristown State Hospital.

Ms. Reuther objected to to the use of county general funds saying the state should pay.

Little Flower Park

Council approved the advertising for the construction of Little Flower Park in Darby Borough. The project had been approved by the previous council three years ago. Ms. Reuther blamed the delay on previous council not allocating sufficient funds. So what is the county funding shortfall now, Christine?

Homeless Death

In the second round of public comments, Mrs. Schwartz brought up the death by exposure of a homeless woman in Upper Darby earlier this year. She wondered why there were no beds available at the Breaking Bread Shelter which had recently been opened by the county to much fanfare. In Council comments,  Chairwoman Dr. Monica Taylor said there had been beds available but the woman died in remote place not in the path of the teams sent to take homeless to shelter on nights with dangerous weather. She said that if all the beds are full on such nights, homeless are taken to a hotel.

More Comments

Scott Thomas of Broomall and Laura Lewis of Radnor expressed concerns about how the county handles elections. Ms. Lewis noted that audit in Allegheny County showed that tens of thousands of votes were counted twice. She also brought up investigations finding problems in Fulton County, Pa. and Maricopa County, Az. You would think Council would start taking these concerns seriously even if they are convinced their elections are working. There is no reason to have 24/7 outdoor dropboxes dubiously surveilled by solar powered cameras.

Also speaking was Kyle from Upper Darby who expressed anger that the county wouldn’t let him raise a transgender flag at an event. Councilman
Richard R. Womack, Jr. said he had no problem with it. Ms. Taylor it was her fault there was a misunderstanding and that she will work with him.

Fair Acres Projects

By consent the County approved a contract for $53,480 with KCBA architects to design a Delaware County Health Department headquarters at Fair Acres Building 1; and a $59,550 contract with USA architects for evaluation services for the placement of the Medical Examiners Office and Delaware County Libraries at Fair Acres Building 7.

Appointments

H. Lynda Kugel was appointed to the Delaware County Workforce Development Board for a term ending Dec. 31; and Al Achert, Damien Warsavage and Nigel David were appointed to the SEPTA Citizens Advisory board for a term ending Feb. 28, 2025.

Other Matters

Ridley will get an $85,000 grant for demotion of a collapsed home at 1250 Mildred Ave.

The County gave final approval for an ordinance putting weight restrictions  put weight restrictions on four county bridges. The Mulford Bridge on South Avenue over Muckinpattis Creek in Glenolden will have a weight limit of 13 tons except 24 ton combinations; The Michigan Avenue Bridge over Little Crum Creek in Ridley Township, 12 tons; The Worral Bridge on Paper Mill Road over Darby Creek in Newtown Township, 15 tons except 20 ton cominations; and the Bonemill Bridge on Station Road over Chester Creek in Thornbury Township, 3 tons.

Delco Extends Pact With Fort Orange Press For Mail Ballots