The township held its last meeting of the year and approved the 2021 budget.

• The township is holding a blood drive at the township building on Dec. 30th from 2-7 pm. Donors are still very much in need. Sign up at https://redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code Nether Providence.
• Delaware County has approved funds for covid-related child care. The deadline to apply is Dec. 23rd, more information can be found at https://ccpnpa.org/covid-support
• The county continues to sponsor Covid testing each week, they usually announce new dates each week. Up to date information is available at https://www.delcopa.gov/ich/resources/covid19/testing.html
• The Media Food Bank is accepting donations from noon – 2 pm every day. The Henry’s are also collecting for the food bank at 302 Melanies Way.
• South Media Fire Company has their Santa run scheduled for Dec. 22nd from 6-9 pm. Rain date is scheduled for the 23rd.
• One of the cameras in Furness Park was destroyed, the board will discuss replacements in January.
• The board approved the 2021 budget and fees. The recycling fee rises from $76 to $83.50. The sewer fee rises from $548 to $579. The new millage for property taxes is 3.1065 mils, which is not comparable to the 2020 numbers due to the re-assessment (see previous post for explanation of these numbers here, https://gardencity.news/2020/12/11/taxes-after-the-re-assessment/ ). The property tax increase is 2.63% overall, but with the re-assessment individual properties will see changes above and below that.
• The only change to the budget was moving some unassigned money from the NPAA budget to parks capital with the expectation it’ll be used for sports field improvements, possibly at Summit School. The commissioners also expressed a desire to assign funds more clearly to the different sports run by NPAA.
• There was some discussion of contributing more to the library. Although the township has contributed more over the last several years, there was some discussion that its still less than other nearby municipalities.
• The township is still compiling its list of road resurfacing for next year.
• The township is wrapping up leaf collection, do not put out any more leaves. They can be taken to public works to be dropped off.
• The board passed a resolution approving the CDBG grant application for Hepford park improvements (discussed previously). The township is also working on an application for a 902 recycling grant.
• The sewer installed at 310 Wallingford seems to have improved the runoff issues. An escrow request was released to the developer after the engineer’s recommendation.
• The township received the additional funds from PENNDOT for the Moore Rd. project. The board passed motions to accept the additional funding.
• A revised plan for the E Rose Valley Rd. sidewalk was discussed. The engineer had made changes after feedback from residents. There are still some issues with the design that need further review. The township will plan a meeting with residents, possibly online, to discuss the revised plan with them.
• The township received a letter from a firm working on the Delcora/aqua sale demanding the township approve its requested changes or seek new options for sewage disposal by Jan 15th. The board was not amused by these strong-arm tactics and is trying to figure out what’s going on. The board was advised that regulators would not leave the township without sewage disposal, regardless of the letter’s claims.
• The board discussed selling a police car they’re disposing of to Prospect Park, which is in need of it. Selling it to another government would allow they to also transfer some police equipment the township no longer needs, which is a bonus to both townships.
• The board is looking into formalizing a policy of paying fire company deductibles for accidents that happen while en route to and from emergency calls.