Upper Chichester Resident Survey

The Town Commissioners, and the Revitalization and Economic Planning Committee would like to know your perceptions and attitudes about living and working in Upper Chichester. This survey is anonymous and your personal identity will not be known, so please feel free to be totally honest. The data results will only be tabulated in the aggregate and will be used to attract businesses and jobs into the area and for long-term planning.

Business Survey:

http://www.upperchichester.org/Article.aspx?id=17

Resident survey

http://www.upperchichester.org/Article.aspx?id=16

Chichester High Choral Group Has School Spirit

The Chichester high school Choral group were recognized for the participation in the Heritage Festival at the May 17^th Chichester School District Board Meeting.

 On April 17^th, the fifty-five member Choral group boarded a bus bound for Annapolis, Maryland to partake in the Heritage Festival,  which refers to one of the various band and choir festival s that take place in the country.

“We got up bright and early on a Saturday morning to board a bus at school at 6:45 AM,” stated chorus member Stephanie Kelly, who is a senior at Chichester high school. “the whole trip was a lot of fun and we got to see a lot of the sights in Annapolis.”

Also, on hand to represent the Chichester choral group at the meeting were juniors Rich Tutak and Katie Van Newkirk.

 Throughout the year, The Heritage Festival organization holds several festivals at different locations through out America, such as New York City and Cleveland, Ohio.

Highschools throughout the U.S. are invited to register and participate in the festival of their choice, where they can compete against other high schools for gold, silver, and bronze placements.

Also, at the festivals student choral and band groups are invited to perform in front of adjudicators or judges, to be critiqued on their performance, as well as awarded points.

The festival also offers ‘mini-clinics’, which occur after a performance, during which judges can give immediate feedback and direction on improvement, while the performance is still fresh in the students’ minds.

“The choral group has been in different competitions over time, but it was apparent at this particular competition we were competing with the big dogs,” stated school board member Paul Amand. “We received good feedback and I am very proud of the choral group’s performance.”

During their performance, the group performed three songs including “Jesus Spread My Love Around and “No Mirrors in my Nana’s House.”

The Chichester choral group placed bronze for their performance and was awarded a plaque at an awards ceremony held at the Medieval Times Restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland.

“I just want to say these three young people are very involved in a variety of groups at school,” stated Chichester high school president Nancy Alexander. “That shows a lot of school spirit.”

Spirit is something the Chichester choral group undoubtedly possesses. The group also is involved with such philanthropic programs as VH1’s Save the Music Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of music and art programs in schools.

“We held an ‘open mike’ night where anyone could come out and sing or perform music,” explained Tatuk. “We paired up with Garnet Valley high school and had over 39 acts. We haven’t totaled up all the proceeds but all of it is going to the Save the Music Foundation.”

The group also recently held a concert in conjunction with the Elam United Methodist Church in Glen Mills. The concert raised money for the James Riley Family Fund. The fund benefits the Riley family, who had their Upper Chichester home devastated by fire back in March, leaving the family of three homeless.

“It’s great to see these students reach out and help others,” stated school board president Howard Adams.  “You’ve done a great job all year long and we are very proud of you.”

May Upper Chichester Board of Commissioners Meeting

Residents at the May 13^th Upper Chichester Board of Commissioners meeting were able to learn first hand about various changes taking place in Upper Chichester Township.

The engineer’s report revealed that the township will begin advertising for bids from companies interested in repairing Meetinghouse road, which is estimated to be a $30,000 project. The funds for the project would possibly come out of the PLGIT fund.

“It is not an emergency to begin repair on Meetinghouse road but I would like get authorization to begin advertising for bids,” stated township engineer Lisa Catania.

“We should receive some good bids,” added Catania.

In other news, 1^st ward Commissioner Joseph DiMarco announced at the meeting that trash fees will be refunded to senior citizens in the township.

“This refund will be opened to people who are also eligible for the Pennsylvania Property Tax Rebate Program,” explained DiMarco.

The program benefits eligible Pennsylvania residents age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older, and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income eligibility level for the Property Tax Rebate Program is $35,000 a year, excluding half of Social Security income, and the maximum rebate is $650 for homeowners.

Applications for the trash fee refund must be made to the township for the calendar year for which an individual wants to be refunded for.

Another change being made to the township will have to do with the Free Library of Upper Chichester.

The library has approached the board of commissioners about changed the title of the library, according to 2^nd ward Commissioner Nicole Whitaker.

“The library actually would like to change their name to the Library of Chichester to include both the lower and upper areas,” stated Whitaker. “Since patrons from both use the library and.”

Whitaker also went on to say that the library would also like to take the word ‘free’ out of the title, since the library actually charge patrons for the rental of such items as DVDs.

Board president James Stewart replied that he was okay with eliminating the word ‘free’ from the title, but really could see no point in changing the title to just ‘Chichester”.

“Marcus Hook Library is called Marcus Hook and we also use their library,” replied Stewart. “So, why change the name from Upper Chichester to just Chichester?”

Chichester Juniors Prove to be Business Savvy

Three members of Chichester high school group Chichester Future Business Leaders of America were recognized at the school district board meeting on April 20th.

Eleventh graders Aseel Abdalla, Michael Pugliese and Thomas Campuzano all recived first place, at the FBLA state competition, in the Banking and Finacial systems event. The competition took place in Hershey, PA from April 11th to 14th.

Prior to the state competiton, the three students had particpated in the organization’s regional competition, where they placed first in the team event, which lallowed them to move on to the state competition.

During the state competiton, the three students competed by taking an objective test in the preliminary round which placed them in the top ten out of 28 regions.

As they moved into the final round, the Chichester students had to give a presentation in front of a panel of five judges on solving a given business problem. Chichester excelled and recieved first place for their presentation.

The group is a branch of the National Future Business Leaders of America- Pheta Pi Lambda organization, which is the largest student – run business related group in the country.

The goals of FBLA-PPL include aiming to help students to facilitate a transition from school to career, as well as to learn and practice efficient money management.

The organization holds competitions yearly, which topics ranging to cover technology concepts, website development, Accounting I, Management Decision Making, Public Speaking I, and Impromptu Speaking.

Now, because of their successful performance at the State level competition, Chichester FBLA -PPL has been to participate in the national competition at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennesse. The competition will take place from July 12th to the 18th.

The only dilema with the Chichester FBLA success is the issue of money. The cost to send the students to compete in Nashville is close to $6000, and the school is unable to provide funding.

“We are trying to fundraise money for the trip through selling candy at the school and contacting local businesses to see if anyone would like to donate any funds,” stated FBLA advisor Deborah Litchko.

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Holy Saviour Offering Free Legal Presentation to Seniors

The  Helping  Hands Ministry of Holy Saviour Parish wants to invite all seniors, caregivers, disabled regardless of age), and everyone who is interested in the changes in our Health Care Systems to an informative presentation on Elder Law. 

This free program will feature Elder Attorney Dana Breslin, Esq., and will focus on absolute need for a Will, a Living Will, a Durable Power of Attorney, Medicare, Medical Secondary Insurances, and Nursing Home Information. 

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to bring them and they will be answered at the session.

This event will be held on Monday, June 7, 2010, at 7:00 PM, at Holy Saviour Hall (108 East Ridge Road, Linwood).  Call 610-485-2520 to register.

Updates on Whose Property is it Anyway

Check out the Whose Property is it Anyway? post below for updates and additonal information.

Marcus Hook Elementary Students are Phanatics for Reading

 Excitement  and laughter poured out of the Marcus Hook elementary school gymnasium as students were treated to a surprise visit from the Philly Phanatic at their Phillies Rally this afternoon. The secret surprise assembly was a reward as a result of the school’s third glass being picked a winner of the Phillies’ Be a Phanatic about Reading program.

The third grade class, which is taught by Mrs. Louanne Mason, had exceeded their reading target goal given to them by the Phillies.

The program, which is also sponsored by Verizon, encourages elementary school students to read, a book of their choice, for  at least  fifteen minutes a day. Students reported to their classroom teacher how often they had read, which teachers kept a log of and periodically sent in to the Phillies for review.

The top performing schools were pulled from the progress reports sent in by teachers, with the top schools winning a surprise visit from the Phanatic and smaller prizes such as Phillies books and book markers.

The Phanatic’s entrance came as a surprise to the school’s students, who all had been gathered in the gymnasium for what they thought was going to be a regular Phillies pep rally.

“It was a secret assembly,” explained school principal James Adair. “The Phillies wanted to make it a surprise for the students.”

Adair even got the opportunity to  perform a skit with the Phillie Phanatic, acting out the Phanatic’s latest book, The Phantastic Journey. Students in Mrs. Mason’s class also each received a copy of the book.

“It’s really wonderful and good for the kids,” stated Mason, holding the plaque her class was awarded for being top readers.

After the skit, the Phanatic danced and goofed off for the entire school, resulting in much giggling and plenty of picture-taking by parents.

“It was really exciting,” stated 3rd grader Sadie Smagala. “My mom would be laughing and having fun if she were here.”

“Yea, it was awesome!” added classmate Kaitlyn Mc Kinney.

When the asked if they were going to keep reading even the contest was over, both girls enthusiastically replied that would.

“I love to read!” exclaimed McKinney.

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Students are entertained by the Phanatic

                     

More info on St. Martin’s Property Plans

One thing that Father James Evans wants to make clear is that while the Church Housing Corporation of Pennsylvania would like to build a  community for low-income seniors, it is not going to a homeless shelter.

“There were people in the community who expressed concer that we were  going to build a homeless housing on the property due to rumour that were circulating,” explains Evans. “We are only interested in building a retirement comunity for seniors who have an income of  $27,250 pera person or $31, 100 per a couple.”

However, Evans adds while using the term homeless conjures up images of  people who sleep on grates, the term actually can describe people who aren’t living on the street.

“People who are considered legally homeless aren’t always on the street,” states Evans. “For example, The term can be applied to a person who uses more that fifty percent of the income to pay their rent.”

The corporation, which also formerly built similiar facilities in Phoenixville and Upland, focuses it’s mission on doing just that; providing affordable housing for the elderly.

The Church Housing Coproration of Pennsylvania came into existence in 1978 when the Episcopal Dioceses’ Convention called for affordable housing for the elederly to become a priority.

“The Episcopal church felt it was time to undertake creating housing for the the elderly as part of its mission,” stated Evans, who is currently CEO of the corporation. “St. Peter’s Church in Phoenixville took on this mission and I was put in charge.”

Evans is a priest at St.Peter’s Episcopol Church, which the Church Housing Corporation operates out of.

In 1983, HUD awarded the mission at St. Peter’s funding and two years later, the Church Housing Corporation officially opened.

Since then, CHC has successfully spearheaded four retirement communities for low-income elderly residents, including ones in Upland, Brookhaven, Allentown, and Phoenixville.

One of the reasons CHC chose the site at 700 Meetinghouse Road is because of the number of elderly people who qualify for low-income housing in the Upper Chichester area, as well as the fact the church’s building, which still stands on the property, is operated by an Episcopal group. The church and the property it sits on owned by the Episcopal Dioceses of Pennsylvania.

“Half the elderly population Upper Chichester qualify for low-income housing,” says Evans.”So, this is actually serving a need with the community, which is affordable housing.”

“Pennsylvania has the second highest eldery population in the country,” added Evans. ” So, the need is there.”

To qualify for low-income housing, income per a person would be $27,250 or less and $31.100 or less per a couple.

There would be a total of three buildings built next to the church. The first  building to be built would be the larger of the three, being four stories high and containing 80 units. Each unit would have one bedroom and bathroom.

There would also recreation areas in the building for activities, social services, and a dining hall with commercial kitchen.

The facility would be intended for residents 62 years of age or older, with funds would be paid to the township in lieu of property taxes for the subsidized housing.

“Since, we a are a non-profit corporation and tax-exempt,” explained Evans. “We would be using funds taken from the  rent paid by the residents and using it pay the township instead of property taxes.”

The other two buildings would three stories high, with 24 units in each building.  The units would geared towards residents who want to purchased their apartments and therefore, would be subject to normal property taxes.

Residents would be able to pick from one bedroom or two bedroom units.  There would be a limited number of social services avaliable on-site, in contrast to the first building. The residence would be intended for seniors 55 years and older.

However, this  facility will not be like a nursing home.

“They are for seniors who want to live independently,” states Evans. “There will no skilled nursing care. If a senior may need some assisted living care, we can provide them with that through the church, on a as needed basis.”

Evans further stated that facility would be very similiar to those at the 32 year old Lutheran Knolls facility at 1800 Mill Road in Boothwyn.

“Lutheran Knolls has a good history with the community and this facility would be very similiar to theirs,” said Evans. “I think they do a very good job, and I think we can,too.”

“Like Lutheran Knolls, the retirement community would not increases traffiic at peak hours or would lower the property value of homes surrounding the area,” added Evans.

Also, like Lutheran Knolls, CHC would develop and maintain the St. Martin’s property. In addition, the buildings would be  highly monitored for fiscal responsibility and upkeep.

However, plans for the retirement community are still in the discussion stage,and Evans would like to open that discusion to Upper Chichester residents.

A meeting to discuss plans for St. Martin’s property will be held on May 4th at 6:30pm at Upper Chichester Municipal building.  The meeting will be opened to the public.

“We need the community’s imput and to talk to the planning commision,”stated Evans.  ” There are several entities we have to go through before we can get approved, such as zoning, the township, and PennDot.”

“We want to make sure we do everything the right way and do all the work we need to do first,” added Evans.

Retirement Community Plans for St. Martin’s Property

Possible plans for a retirement community to be built on St. Martin’s Church property are currently in discussion between Chichester township and Fr. James Evans of St. Peter’s Place.

The retirement community, which would be located at 700 Meetinghouse Road, would be developed in two phases.

The first phase would be geared towards developing 80 rentable units for residents over 62 years of age. There would also be  several community fellowship areas, such as a dining hall, an activities area, and a social services area.

The second phases would consist of building two buildings, three stories each, that would be aimed towards residents over the age of 55 and who are interested in owning a unit, as oppose to renting. There would be 24 units in each building.

The retirement community will provide housing for seniors who $27,250 a year or less.

More information will be added to this post as becomes avaliable.

Whose Property is it Anyway?

Questions over who exactly owns a lot of land on Locust Street in the Boothwyn section of Upper Chichester arose during the April 8th commissioners’ board meeting.

The two 150 by 100 foot lots are situated directly behind Chichester High School on Locust street, which is off of Meetinghouse Road.

“There’s a ‘For Sale’ sign on the lot,” stated Locust street resident Bob Kaufmann. “We own a portion of that lot and were never approached about it going up for sale.”

“It’s stated in our deeds that we own a portion, which is about six to eight feet on the right side of the lot,” added Kaufmann.

Kaufmann, who lives with his wife Linda, alleges that they have also been paying taxes on the lot for the past 20 years that they have lived at their residence on the 2100 block, as well as maintaining the lot as part of their property.

“The township taxes residents on what is considered your property size,” explained Kaufmann. “We’ve always been taxed for our portion of that lot along with the rest of our property.” Other Locust street

Residents, like Ford and Geri Thomas, share the same view as their neighbors.

“We have lived there for 31 years and no one has said anything to us about developing that lot,” stated Mrs. Thomas. “We just saw the sign after it was put up.”

Another worry of residents is the fact that the lot is boxed in from the sides by residential homes and Chichester High School.

“How are they going to get through to the lot?” questioned Kaufman. “Are they going to have cut through one of our properties?”

Concerned, both Kaufmann and Thomas called REMAX realtor, Lee Garrell, whose name and number were on the ‘For Sale’ sign.

Garrell only heightened their apprehension.

“He told us he was given verbal permission by the township and he has the right away to do whatever he wants with the property and doesn’t need a variance,” said Thomas.

Board president James Stewart stated he was not aware of any verbal permission given to Garrell by the township nor was aware of any official talk of plans for the lot.

“Nothing official has been said to the board about the lot,” stated Stewart.

But who actually owns the lot? While Locust street residents are stating that they each own a portion of it, Board President James Stewart stated the lot is actually owned by the township.

“I am ninety-nine percent sure the township owns the lot,” said Stewart, but added that he would “check into it.”

A call to Garrell at his Blue Bell office only added to the confusion.

“It is actually privately owned by an attorney and has been for the past 25 years,” stated Garrell, who would not reveal that attorney’s identity.

“I am representing that attorney and all communication about the property goes through me,” further stated Garrell.

Garrell explained that the lot owner approached REMAX Real Estate Company a few months ago about putting the lot up for sale.

 Also, plans for the lot will depend on the prospective buyer.

“We can build two houses on the property,” stated Garrell. “They can be big or small, depending on how much the buyer wants to spend and what they want build. After they give us their price range, we can start giving them their options.”

“We’re flexible,” added Garrell.

Garrell also explained that since there is no sewer line under the lot, one would have to be run in from Meetinghouse Road. Garrell also explained that the lack of sewer line is one of the reasons the plot hasn’t been developed over the years.

“Running the sewer line is also included in the price of the property,” further stated Garrell. That price is $75,000 per a lot.

A look through files at the Media Courthouse Office for the Recorder of Deeds revealed that Allen H. Tollen is the official owner of the two lots of land. Tollen, a Newtown Square resident, acquired the land in 1986 and has been the owner ever since.

The actually address of the property is c0nsidered Meetinghouse Road.

A phone call to Tollen at his law office in Media further proved that he is the owner of the property.

“Yes, if the deeds state I am the owner, than I am still the owner,” stated Tollen.

As for whether any residents of Locust Street own a portion of the plots, Tollen wouldn’t really say.

“They own what they own and I own what I own,” stated Tollen. “I wouldn’t say I owned anything of anyone else’s and I hope they wouldn’t say that about my property.”

“It will all get sorted out in the end,” added Tollen.

When asked why he wanted to sell the property after so many years of owning it,” Tollen simply stated, “I have owned it kind of forever and it is doing me no good just sitting there. So, it’ s time to sell it.”

Residents, however, are not going to take this lying down. “Something similar to this happen 15 years ago with property on Meeting House Crossing,” recalled Thomas. “None of the neighbors knew the township had plans to build there until it was already in the works. There are now about 69 houses there that had been built.” Because of this, Thomas stated, she is ready to voice her opinion to the township if such plans for the lot do materialize.

The Kaufmanns also stated they would do they same. “If they’re going to do what they want with the lot and say we have no ownership of it, than start giving us the tax money back we have paid over the years on it,” added Kaufmann.