By Eliza Mohler, Staff Writer, The Times
William Holdsworth was named Monday night as the new Chief of Police in Kennett Square.
KENNETT SQUARE – Kennett Square Borough Council voted unanimously on Monday night to conditionally offer the chief of police position to current borough Lieutenant William Holdsworth. He will be sworn in on April 3, succeeding Ed Zunino, who retired in 2016.
Mayor Matthew Fetick said that after a process of screening 50 applicants from across the country for the position, it was clear that Holdsworth “absolutely was the most qualified candidate.” The council also approved conditional offers of employment for three new full-time police officers.
President Danilo Maffei opened the meeting, and the entire council was present.
Holdsworth provided the police department report, in which he noted that in the month of February, there were 571 calls for the month, 14 arrests, 113 traffic citations, and 34 traffic warnings. He added that calls for the month and for the year to date were down from the same time frames in 2016. Fetick gave an update from the public safety committee, noting that the sidewalk project along Walnut Street from the YMCA to Anson B. Nixon Park is still underway, and they are looking into the possibility of adding a stop sign in the area in order to help pedestrians cross the street safely.
In her Historic Kennett Square report, Mary Hutchins noted that the Winter Fest on February 25 was a success despite the unusual weather, and that the recently closed Half Moon restaurant is in the process of reopening as Grain Craft Bar and Kitchen.
Borough Council President Danilo Maffei holds up a prototype of a proposed public sculpture, which is slated to be commissioned from artist Rob Sigafoos and installed near the Creamery.
She then discussed a public art initiative that the Historic Kennett Square Design Committee has been working on with local metal artist Rob Sigafoos, who has offered to donate a large metal sculpture to the borough. The metal piece, featuring a “K” and a “2” to represent Kennett Square, would be 13 feet tall and four to six feet wide, and it would be installed in a kiosk area near the Creamery. Hutchins gave a prototype of the sculpture to the council for review, and they gave her permission to proceed with the project, with the recommendation that she work with the borough’s codes department as planning continues.
“This could be our own Love Park sculpture,” Maffei said.
Hutchins introduced a presentation by Abe Hughes about the Kennett Arts Alliance, which is looking to enhance the public art scene in the borough while building on the successful efforts of Historic Kennett Square.
“We want to attract local investment and capitalize on tourists who are coming in from Longwood and Winterthur,” Hughes said. “It would integrate diverse populations, and what we’d like to do eventually is make Kennett known for the arts.”
He also discussed the group’s idea to create an art district along Birch Street that would allow for participation from all artists in the area to create their work in affordable spaces.
Eden Roberts, a project manager with the Delaware Valley Development Company, gave a report to the council on a proposed project to build 60 units of affordable senior housing on Mulberry Street, which would be called Red Clay Manor. Each unit would cost approximately $850 per month, which she said is significantly less than the average cost of renting an apartment in the borough. Council members had several comments about the plans, including reservations about rezoning the area to address the variances that would need to be considered, as well as potential difficulties that could arise in working with nearby property owners and the railroad tracks.
“This is our one shot to make this happen,” Maffei said. “What we don’t want down there is to say we can’t get across the railroad tracks so now all of a sudden your proposed road that’s supposed to go across the railroad tracks turns into a cul de sac. We don’t want cul de sacs in the borough, we want to complete our grid.”
Roberts said that the notes she received from council would be addressed, and that the company would make another presentation at a later date.
Borough Council member Wayne Braffman demonstrates the effect of gerrymandering on Kennett Square during the discussion to approve a resolution by council to work towards stopping the practice.
Council member Wayne Braffman gave a presentation on his proposed resolution against gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. The resolution calls upon every elected official in the state and country who represents voters in Kennett Square to publicly support and work for passage of legislation to end gerrymandering.
Braffman shared a map that demonstrated the effects of gerrymandering on the 16th congressional district, including Kennett Square, over a 20-year period.
“The reason that it’s coming to a head this year is that the next redistricting will take place after the 2020 census, and to change the current system, which allows for political gerrymandering, our state constitution requires a three-year process,” Braffman said. “So if we actually want to do something about it this decade, we have to start now. If we don’t get it done this year, it doesn’t happen.”
After a few comments in support of the resolution, the council voted unanimously to approve it.
During his president’s report, Maffei announced several vacancies on various commissions and boards in the borough, including two vacancies on the Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, two vacancies for alternates to the Civil Service Commission, one vacancy on the Historical Architectural Review Board, one vacancy on the Kennett Area Park and Recreation Board, three vacancies for the Kennett Square Human Relations Commission, and one vacancy on the Property Maintenance Appeals Board.
Special events permits were granted for Third Thursday events on May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, and September 21, as well as the annual Memorial Day parade on May 29. The Red Clay Valley cleanup will be held on Saturday, March 25; information on how volunteers can help is available at www.brandywineredclay.org. He also said that the MLK Community of the Greater Kennett Area is holding a food drive now through April 1 to benefit the Kennett Area Community Service Food Cupboard and the Bridge Food and Clothing Ministry in West Grove. Non-perishable food items may be dropped off at Borough Hall during standard business hours or directly at the Food Cupboard, located at 136 West Cedar Street, from 9 am-5 pm Monday through Friday, or 3 pm-6 pm on March 31 and 8 am-12 pm on April 1.
