Category: Delco Council

Delco Says No Illegals At Don Guanella — Delaware County (Pa) Council vehemently denied, last night, March 20, the rumors that unused institutional buildings will soon house illegal immigrants.

The latest involves the former Don Guanella building on Sproul Road in Marple.

The building had been used by the Catholic Church to house and teach boys with mental disabilities. It is zoned residential/industrial.

The county acquired it in 2021 as part of a plan to develop a 213 acre park.

Solicitor Jonathan Lichtenstein said the reports that it will house illegal immigrants are false. He repeated the denials that the shuttered Springfield and Delaware County Memorial hospitals will be used likewise.

While it is possible that the county could be out-of-the-loop regarding plans for the privately owned hospitals, the county is either out-and-out lying regarding Don Guanella or one can be confident there are no plans that it will be used as housing.

Lichtenstein also said the county will not be hiring illegals, a subject that came up regarding its ordinance change allowing for out-of-county workers.

The Don Guanella property was rumored to be on the agenda at last night’s Marple Zoning Hearing Board. It was not, though. We have heard that it will go before the township planners, however.

Sanctuary County

Council also took issues with claims made March 6 that Delaware County was a “sanctuary county”.

Councilwoman Christine Reuther said the county has researched the minutes of council meetings going back several years and has not found a declaration that Delco was a sanctuary county.

Ms. Reuther said the source for the claim was Center for Immigration Studies, which was somehow biased or untrustworthy.

She said the claim is based on a policy that the county prison will not house illegals solely due to their immigration status and that this follows federal law.

This was hotly discussed here in 2016.

The discussion ended when Bryan Griffith of Center for Immigration Studies sent us a now-broken link to a Temple University Study from March 2015 that said Community Education Centers, which then ran the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, instituted a policy on Aug. 5, 2014 that it would not hold individuals based solely on ICE detainers.

At least our county officials are getting warmer to the truth. Last meeting, they said it stemmed from Delco agreeing to join the US Department of States Refugee Resettlement Program in January 2020.

Wikipedia also lists Delco as a sanctuary for illegals for what it’s worth.

And former Philly Major Jim Kenney has also called Delco a sanctuary.

Illegals do seem to go free here after committing serious crime. Consider Sharon Devaney’s testimony about how an illegal speeding through an intersection in Haverford nearly killed her and her daughter.

And then was freed by police.

In public comments, Kathy of Haverford asked if the county was going to use NGOs as cover to house illegals

She also took issue with the semantic games being played regarding the use of illegal immigrant vs the virtue-signalling undocumented worker.

Opioid settlement

Council was told that the county has received $10.6 million of the $63 million it is to get over 18 years from the $1.07 billion that Big Pharma Johnson and Johnson has agreed to surrender to Pennsylvania for its destructive opioid pill pushing.

The county can only spend the money on things relating to opioid remediation and must do it in a limited time.

It will be giving $4.1 to various universities, hospitals and non-profits.

Councilman Kevin Madden noted that four people die each week in Delco from an opioid overdose.

Kathy of Haverford asked if any of the money could be used at the prison.

Zencity

Council approved 27 consent items including a one-year, $60,000 professional services agreement with ZenCity Technologies US Inc.

Zencity is an artificial intelligence-based software claimed to give local governments “true knowledge” about what their communities want rather than having to consider points made by people speaking at their meetings.

Carris Kocher of Concord noted the Zencity is a foreign entity with headquarters in London and Tel Aviv and expressed concern about how it would be used.

Public Comments

Carl Bell (phonetic) took issue with proposed changes to elections. He defended Dominion voting machines and said hand recounts would take forever.

Dean Dreibelbis of Edgmont said our election security systems was not certified for current environment.

Kimberly Brown of Colwyn took issue with council’s public comment policy, and the jail oversight board.

Laura Lewis of Radnor noted that the Dominion Voting Systems documents leaked to Sheriff Dar Leaf of Barry County, MI showed that Serbians could remotely access Dominion voting machines.

She also said that France could hand count its election in a day.

Carl McIntyre (phonetic) of Upper Darby thanked council for a grant for his LGBT organization.

Kathy from Haverford asked why County Council no longer allows comments on its Facebook page. She said that this violated a recent Supreme Court decision banning blocking of comments by government leaders.

Councilwoman Reuther said Delco’s cyber security was more robust than required and that Leaf shouldn’t be trusted because he was a Trump supporter or something.

She said County Council can block comments on its Facebook page because it blocks them from everybody. She said people had been putting too much misinformation on the site.

Delco Says No Illegals At Don Guanella Delco Says No Illegals At Don Guanella

Delco Gets Report On Libraries — Delaware County (Pa) Council, last night, March 20, was told that Marple and Middletown public libraries were among the best in state but there may be as many as 10 that were below average and on their way out.

Council was told that the average cost of a library in a community is $30 per capita and the county’s average is $26 per capita.

Councilman Kevin Madden said community libraries are surprisingly growing in importance in the day of the internet. He said they are not just for books but are becoming community centers.

He noted Delaware County has more municipalities per square mile than any other county in the country. This has led to the county’s old and crowded southeast quadrant to have what might be the high density of community libraries in the county.

Wannabe hipster wine moms have led to some unnecessary controversy, though, regarding the library’s place in the community.

Carris Kocher of Concord said she did not want tax money going to drag queen shows for kids.

Joy Schwartz of Upper Darby said that illegals appear to be camping at the Bywood branch of her township’s library system.

Councilwoman Christine Reuther responded by saying just because they are homeless doesn’t mean they are illegals.

The video of the meeting can be watched here.

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History Was Topic At Delco Council — Delaware County Council, last night, March 20, approved an $85,000 grant to the Delaware County Historical Society for preservation of its collection.

The Society has sold it’s long time headquarters at 408 Avenue of the States in Chester and is looking to move.

In public comments Carris Kocher of Concord said the amount was too late too late.

Councilman Kevin Madden took issue with her. He said that while the building may be sold but the collection is safe.

The vote was 4-0 with Madden abstaining as he is on the Society’s board.

In another matter of history, Janet Lloyd Murphy of Middletown expressed concern that county might have forgotten its promise of help for a project to restore The Old Main building on the Crozer Chester Medical Center campus in Upland into the MLK Center for Peace and Justice.

She said she reached out to county officials in February but had not heard back.

Solicitor Jonathan Lichtenstein said he had gotten her message and would be contacting her.

County Executive Director Barbara O’Malley approached her after the meeting and said the county was fully behind her project.

The Old Main was part of the Crozer Theological Seminary where Martin Luther King Jr. studied. His dorm room was in the Old Main.

Yeadon Mayor Rohan K. Hepkins asked council to give its support for celebrations honoring Flag Day. Yeadon was the home of William T. Kerr who got the event recognized as a national holiday in 1949.

He said he has invited Joe Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro to a celebration and asked the county to consider providing a grant.

History Was Topic At Delco Council

Delco Passes Movie Making And Residency Changes; Bond Issue — Delaware County Council, last night, March 20, unanimously passed ordinances allowing commercial movies to be filmed in county parks and to allow the issue of general obligation debt of $74.5 billion to pay for infrastructure projects.

It also passed with Dr. Monica Taylor dissenting an ordinance to allow the hiring of non-county residents for all jobs except those requiring local residency by state law.

Carris Kocher of Concord said she had asked courthouse workers if taking an oath was still a requirement. It wasn’t as there were many employees who weren’t citizens. It would be unfair to ask them, she was told.

She asked if at least citizenship would be a requirement.

Joy Schwartz of Upper Darby asked if the county would hire people without permanent addresses.

Carl Bell (phonetic) asked why the need to hire outside the county.

Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther said she would be happy to hire someone without a permanent address. She said the law need changing because of trouble hiring people.

Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer said that Delaware County was the only county in the state besides Philadelphia that had a residency requirement. She supported changing the law.

Councilman Kevin Madden said he has changed his mind over the past few years due to the hiring problems.

Councilman Richard Womack said he also changed his mind. He noted the number of positions the county already exempts from the resident requirement.

“You might as well get rid of (all exemptions},” he said.

Ms. Taylor, the lone dissenter, said it was best to hire from within Delco.

In the second round of public comments, Mrs. Kocher returned and emphasized the need for a citizenship requirement.

She noted that that foreigners are being hired by many counties to help run elections.

Bell also returned and asked if the county could hire from other states. He also wanted to know how the new policy could help get workers if Delco was still paying less than other counties as one council member said.

There was no discussion regarding the bond issue and the change to the movie making rules was greeted positively by all.

Kathy from Haverford said she had relatives in the movie industry and the county would have no problem getting filmmakers to pay a fee for the use of the parks.

Delco Told Prison Bosses Retaliated Against Guards Who Met With Councilman And Exec Director— Frank Kwaning, president of the Delaware County (Pa) Prison Employees Independent Union, yesterday, March 6, praised county Executive Director Barbara O’Malley and Councilman Richard R. Womack for their recent tour of the county’s George Hill Correctional Facility and the point they made to privately talk with correctional officers.

Kwaning said, however, the prison administration retaliated against those officers after the county officials left.

Womack said that he was appalled to hear that and asked Kwaning to supply him with specifics.

Kwaning, a 14-year-veteran, of the facility was among the 68 fired after the County took over the facility in April 2022. He and 12 other former correctional officers filed a federal lawsuit, Feb. 29, saying their termination was improper.

Ms. O’Malley, earlier in the night, said major upgrades have been planned for the prison and that she would investigate all complaints. She said, however, she was satisfied with how things were going there.

The rank and file have long been warning council of dangerous conditions at the facility.

Oaths

Carris Kocher of Concord during public comments took issue with Solicitor Jonathan Lichtenstein’s claim that only elected officials were required to take oaths of office. She read to him state law that specifically cited clerks and deputies.

She also asked why the county needed process servers outside the elected constables, who are recognized law enforcement officers.

A Concord man brought to council’s attention a matter of suspicious zoning in his township.

Delco Prepares To OK $74.5 Billion Bonds — Delaware County Council, yesterday, March 6, held the first reading of an ordinance to allow it to issue general obligation debt of $74.5 billion to pay for infrastructure projects.

Solicitor Jonathan Lichtenstein said it was not expected that the entire allowable amount be borrowed.

The maximum interest rate allowed would be 6 percent.

Council also recognized March as National Women’s Month albeit the definition of a woman was left undefined.

The county-owned Fair Acres Nursing Home in Middletown was recognized for having been declared one of the nation’s best nursing homes by Newsweek magazine.

Council approved 31 consent items. These included an agreement of sale with Commonwealth Land Title Company to buy 123 N. Olive St., Media for $775,000 and a contract with WGL Energy services to become part of the Sustainable Energy Partnership of Southeastern Pennsylvania for five years at 67 cents per megawatt hour.

Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer commented and expressed great approval at the latter one.

Public Defender Again Criticized

Former public defender John Baldini (phonetic) of Upper Darby again criticized how Chris Welsh is running his old department. He took issue with statements by councilmembers defending Welsh last month.

Baldini said things are much worse. Judges previously had three public defenders of varying degrees of experience and the younger ones were mentored by the older. Now indigent defendants have access to just one inexperienced attorney, he said.

Delco Prepares To OK $74.5 Billion Bonds

Ordinance Would Allow Out-Of-Delco Hiring — Delaware County Council, yesterday, March 6, held the first reading of an ordinance that would allow the hiring of non-county residents for all posts except solicitor, executive director and other positions mandated by state law.

Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther said the county was having trouble filling positions and noted that government employment has fallen by 7 percent over the last decade.

Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer pointed out that the county has lost good workers because they had to move a mile away. She said Philadelphia is the only other county that has a residency requirement. She said that 42 percent of the county workers already have an exemption.

Councilman Richard R. Womack said he had mixed feelings about changing the policy and that, if it should change, he would hope county residents would still get a preference in hiring.

Executive Director Barbara O’Malley also said she had mixed feelings but that the change was necessary.

Solicitor Jonathan Lichtenstein said the part of the bill providing for reimbursement for relocating only applies to those moving to the county and is not automatic.

Speaking against the ordinance were Joy Schwartz of Upper Darby and Carris Kocher of Concord.

John Baldini (phonetic) of Upper Darby said the county should open up but there should be a salary cap on non-county residents.

The ordinance is expected to pass at the March 20 meeting.

Delco Concedes CYS Is Poorly Trained And Understaffed — Delaware County, Pa. Executive Director Barbara O’Malley, last night, March 6, addressed the horrific stories concerning the county’s Children and Youth Services Department.

Mothers had been separated from their children for almost a year and stigmatized as abusers on the flimsiest of claims.

In at least one case, it was reported that the child, after removal, was placed in an environment in which he was sexually abused.

Further, the rulings by CYS have kept these women from getting jobs — at least two are teachers — or otherwise working with kids.

Ms. O’Malley reported that CYS was extremely understaffed and Delco was having trouble finding workers (see other story). She also noted the department’s training was poor.

Somewhere in her statement was a vague promise to improve things.

Recognizing the problem is a positive but immediate action can and must be taken to end immediate suffering.

First step is to make right the lives of those who were victims of this incompetency.

County Council can do this.

Simply call the person in charge and say let it be so. If this person won’t make these problems go away you make her go away and hire someone who knows what he’s doing.

By the way, we’ve heard reports of retaliation by CYS against a woman who spoke out. We are watching.

Second step is to create policy in which children aren’t removed due to domestic complaints unless a, hopefully, better trained supervisor does a follow up investigation. This is especially true if a judge has awarded custody to the accused.

Third step is don’t hire consultants that hire people implicated in serious scandals involving the removal of children.

That would be you, CAI.

Delco Concedes CYS Is Poorly Trained And Understaffed