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Posted 6/18/08
I'm compiling an e-mail list of
Ward 11 residents who would like to be notified immediately and
directly when news of general interest and importance to Ward
11 residents occurs.
To get on the list, just
send me your e-mail address. Be assured that I will not give
it to any other party under any circumstances, and you can be
removed from the list any time simply by notifying me.
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Posted 7/20/08
Yet
another award was bestowed on Abington Township by Money Magazine
when it announced this month that Abington is among the 100 Best
Places to Live in America. This extensive study by Money is based
on such things as safety, educational facilities, taxes, housing,
jobs, arts and leisure activities, and medical care. Abington
is the only community in Pennsylvania to receive this honor.
This is not the type of recognition
that must be applied for. Money found Abington on its own. You
may recall that Abington was also recognized in another study
as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People. Awards like
these benefit all Abington residents by attracting new residents,
boosting real estate values and providing incentives for us all
to do our part in keeping a great community great.
#
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Posted 7/21/08
Several
residents have contacted me to ask when Verizon FIOS would be
available in Abington. Verizon has already begun installing FIOS
in several neighborhoods, but they have not provided a schedule
of future installations. By one estimate, installations in Abington
should be complete or almost complete in about a year. For further
information, contact Verizon.
#
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Posted 8/21/08
At a public meeting last evening (8/20/08) the
board of commissioners unanimously approved the creation of a
new mixed use overlay district for the development of the former
Williard property at Highland Ave. and Wharton Rd.
The new development, which met
with the approval of all residents in attendance, will create
an attractive and well landscaped cluster of new buildings to
replace the existing vacant building.
The new development will include a health
club, bank, restaurant, retail space, an office building, and
a parking building. The area will be well landscaped and will
provide transitional areas between the development and residential
areas.
A previous proposal for the building
of a supermarket on the site was abandoned because of strong
opposition from residents.
# # #
Posted 9/18/08
By
now, you should have received a letter from the township outlining
all of the changes as well as the reduced costs for trash pickup.
If you have any questions about the system, feel free to call
the Public Works Department at 267-536-1033.
# # #
Posted 10/5/08
It
isn't necessary to place your glass/plastics recycling container
for pickup every week. Any time it is only partially full, you
can skip placing your container for pickup. When you do that,
you save one stop by the truck thus saving costly gasoline and
time. That makes your recycling effort even more valuable.
#
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Posted 10/22/08
Over
100 years ago, in 1906, Abington Township organized its first
"police force and night watch" consisting of 6 officers
who patrolled our then rural area on horseback and on foot.
In 2009,
Abington Township boasts a nationally accredited police department
consisting of 91 sworn police officers plus supporting personnel.
T he Abington
Town Watch, a volunteer organization that Abington Police Chief,
Bill Kelly describes as the "eyes and ears of our police
department, works with our police officers to help maintain Abington
Township as a benchmark for quality living in a safe environment.
You can help in this worthwhile and satisfying
effort by volunteering as little as 2 hours a month in the Ward
11 Town Watch. For more information, call Dave Rondinelli in
the Abington Police Department: 267-536-1074
#
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Posted 12/08/08
Interest in the so-called
Rydal Waters property and how it will be developed continues
at a high level. Following is a summary of the most recent meeting
on that project. I thank Ward 7 Commissioner, Ernest Peacock
for providing this brief update:
On December 4, 2008, Philadelphia Presbytery Homes, Inc. (Presby)
presented testimony to the Board of Commissioners (Board) on
their request for a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. The
amendment would apply to the existing Neighborhood Residential
(NR) district designation for the property bounded north by Brook
Road, east by Rydal Park, south by the Baederwood and Noble Plaza
Shopping Centers, and west by Old York Road. The property is
otherwise known as Rydal Waters. The amendment would change the
district to Senior Neighborhood Residential (SNR).
The purpose of the SNR is to create a specialized district for
residential living for senior citizens that is in close proximity
to assisted living and skilled care facilities (Rydal Park).
This development would also provide a transitional use between
existing single family neighborhoods (Brook, Huntingdon, and
Susquehanna Roads) and more intensely developed properties (Rydal
Park and the shopping centers).
The primary differences between the existing NR and the proposed
SNR are as follows:
1. NR = 85 parcels (approx. 25 acres) with single family detached
dwellings / SNR = one parcel (approx. 25 acres) with 96 single
family detached and semi-detached dwellings
2. NR = no age restriction / SNR = age 62 and up only
3. NR = residential use only / SNR = accessory uses such as a
clubhouse, swimming pool, and related social/recreational facilities
to support the entire SNR community
After presentation of testimony by Presby representatives and
questions from the Board, Board President Carol DiJoseph announced
that the Board would take the matter under advisement and vote
on the request at a subsequent meeting of the Board (date to
be determined).
# # #
Posted 1/13/09
On January 8, 2009,
the Abington Board of Commissioners voted to grant the text amendment
to the zonng ordinance described in the above posting. The SNR
zoning district requested by Philadelphia Presbytery Homes,
Inc. has been approved and redevelopment will proceed accordingly.
# # #
Posted 3/19/08
You may have heard about
a recent increase in burglaries in our region lately. While the
stories circulating now seem to increase the severity of the
problem each time they are repeated, there has indeed been an
unusual increase in this type of crime in the past few weeks.
Keep in mind, however, that the majority of these crimes have
occurred in surrounding communities -- Cheltenham, Jenkintown,
and Glenside.
There
is some speculation that the incidence of this type of crime
may have some connection with the current economic crisis. Whatever
the reason, the Abington Township Police Department has created
an area task force to examine these crimes and to redeploy their
officers to respond accordingly. Police Chief Kelly reports that
some arrests have already been made and some other suspects have
been identified. It's this kind of professional response from
our police department that has allowed Abington to enjoy one
of the lowest crime rates of any community in our area.
The
message below was originally circulated by the Montgomery County
Emergency Alert system and the Lower Moreland Police Department.
The message is universaI, so I'm taking the liberty of reproducing
it once again for your information.
CRIME
ALERT
Have you ever seen a strange vehicle
in your neighborhood?
Have you ever seen someone, whom
you did not recognize, walking around your neighborhood?
Have you ever seen something unusual
or suspicious occur in your neighborhood?
When you saw one of the items listed above, what did you do?
What action did you take?
We find that residents often sense
that something isn't right, but they are reluctant to call the
police. Investigations of some recent neighborhood burglaries
revealed that neighbors had noticed suspicious activity on their
street but did not report it to police until after a crime had
been committed. Therefore, we urge residents call the Police
Department whenever you notice anything out of the ordinary in
your neighborhood. You know your neighborhood better that anyone
else. The Police Department will investigate all reports to determine
if the activity involved is criminal in nature or not.
Please help us ensure the safety
and security in Lower Moreland Township. Dial 911, whenever you
see something you feel may be suspicious.
Tip: Often burglars will knock
on a door to see if anyone is home. If no one answers, they break
in. If a resident answers the door, the burglars will make up
a name and ask if that person lives there or if you know where
they live. When you tell them you don't know the person, they
thank you and leave. They move to another area and try again.
They will sometimes use a woman to do this as they are less threatening.
If this happens to you and it seems odd, call 911.
# # #
Posted 5/16/09
The
owners of the Baederwood Shopping Center have still not presented
an acceptable plan to the township for the renovation of the
property. I want to thank the Ward 7 commissioner (the property
is in Ward 7) for the following update:
Township staff met with Brandolini
on March 11, 2009. Brandolini reiterated its desire to build
a mixed-use project (retail, office, residential). Staff reiterated
the concerns we have conveyed to Brandolini for the past 14 months.
Staff also expressed that the township is interested in a development
that is consistent with the 2005 Abington Township Comprehensive
Plan and the on going Old York Road Corridor Study. Please note
that this meeting was strictly informational. No decisions or
agreements regarding project specifics were made.
As a result, Brandolini granted
an extension to the timeline for the Curative Amendment hearing.
This means that the hearing will be held by the Board on
or before June 30, 2009, instead of the original date of April
29, 2009. This extension will allow Brandolini to examine the
concerns referred to above and, hopefully, craft a plan that
is mutually beneficial to the developer, the immediate community,
and the Township as a whole.
Once
this matter is finally resolved, I'll post the results here.
#
# #
Posted 5/16/09
As
you may remember, the township police department conducts a month-long
"traffic blitz" twice a year (June and September to
coincide with school opening and closing). This is intended to
serve as a reminder to all drivers that it's important to obey
our speed and other traffic regulations. During the "blitz"
traffic enforcement is stepped up to be even more strict than
usual.
A part of this program is the placement
of "slow down" yard signs throughout the township to
keep our citizens and other drivers alert to the need to obey
speed limits. If you would like one of these signs placed in
your yard during June, just e-mail me your name and address and
I'll arrange for it. If you have a sign, we ask that you remove
it at the end of June and store it in your garage or basement
until the next blitz (September) when you can place it in your
yard again. Because the signs lose their impact if they remain
in view permanently, we ask that you display them only during
the blitz periods.
Thank you for your interest and
help in this important program.
# # #
Posted 5/16/09
Are
you interested in how your local government works? If so, you'll
want to tune into Channel 43, Abington's municipal channel (for
those of you who subscribe to Verizon TV, their channel numbers
are 24 and 34). These channels now carry the monthly Board of
Commissioner's meetings as well as the major committee meetings
- Public Safety, Public Works, Public Affairs, and Code Enforcement.
The meetings are televised for
one week at 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. starting on the Monday
immediately following each meeting. The schedule for the meetings
themselves is listed on your township calendar.
# # #
Posted 6/14/09
As Police Chief Kelly likes to
point out, cooperation between our police department and our
residents is one of the most important reasons why Abington enjoys
a consistently low crime rate. Two recent events help to illustrate
that point.
In the first, a Ward 11 resident heard a noise in her driveway
in the middle of the night. She looked out the window and saw
a man with a flashlight trying to get into her car. She immediately
dialed 911. Our police arrived so quickly that the perpetrator
was still in the resident's driveway when they arrived. Both
the criminal and an accomplice waiting in a nearby getaway car
were arrested.
This fast police response was made possible by Abington's special
911 dispatch system. Unlike the vast majority of Montgomery County
municipalities, calls to 911 by Abington residents are sent directly
to our own police department. In most other communities, 911
calls are sent first to a remote central dispatching facility
from which the calls are directed to the proper police department
with the help of a computer-aided dispatching system. This, of
course, takes extra time, a disadvantage from which we are protected.
In the second incident, a resident in the North Hills section
of Abington returned home from a shopping trip to find a man
walking out of her front door. Abington Police were notified
and they apprehended the suspect about a block away from the
victim's residence. The suspect later admitted his involvement
in this burglary as well as several others in the area. After
arraignment before District Justice McHugh, he was sent to Montgomery
County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. His hearing before District
Justice Price is scheduled for June 17 at 10:00 A.M.
These are just two illustrations of how our citizens can help
to put the bad guys behind bars. Chief Kelly advises us to call
police any time we see suspicious activity or a suspicious person.
An unnecessary call is a far better alternative than a failure
to catch a crime in progress.
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