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Parkside faces tax increase for a fifth consecutive year
Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009
By KENN STARK
Times Correspondent

PARKSIDE — Borough council has unanimously approved a final 2010 municipal budget that will require a 9 percent property tax increase to balance, while next year’s trash collection fee will hold steady.

Next year will be the fifth straight year Parkside residents have been hit with a tax hike. The final 2010 budget calls for a 0.7-mill property tax increase.

The 2010 real estate tax rate will be 8.36 mills. For a property owner assessed at $75,000, the tax increase will translate to paying an additional $52.50 in borough tax next year.

According to Councilman/Finance Chair William Howell, the tax hike is mainly due to a 10 percent increase in health insurance premiums. Most 2010 budget line items are the same or less than this year.

The final budget of $1,136,740 represents a 6.5 percent increase over 2009 spending.

The greatest single expense in the 2010 budget is the $597,000 earmarked for police protection, which is 52 percent of the total.

The trash service fee will remain at $160 per family dwelling in 2010, breaking a chain of four consecutive years of increases.

The borough managed to keep the trash fee in check, despite a 50 percent increase in the processing surcharge levied by the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority. To achieve this fiscal feat, bulk trash collections have been reduced from one per month to just two next year, on April 6 and Oct. 5.

In other tax-related matters, council has unanimously approved a pay raise for the tax collector, bringing the annual salary of Olivia Avila-Deitman to $5,000, effective Jan. 4.

In her December report to council, Avila-Deitman noted that 43 tax folios still remain unpaid for 2009.

Council also approved a tax/revenue anticipation loan in the amount of $100,000. The low-interest loan will be used to pay the borough’s bills in early 2010, until tax revenue starts to arrive in the spring.

[c_yatsuk]

Parkside faces tax increase for a fifth consecutive year

Borough council has [b]unanimously approved a final 2010 municipal budget that will require a 9 percent property tax increase to balance, while next year’s trash collection fee will hold steady...Next year will be the fifth straight year Parkside residents have been hit with a tax hike...The final 2010 budget calls for a 0.7-mill property tax increase...Most 2010 budget line items are the same or less than this year...The final budget of $1,136,740 represents a 6.5 percent increase over 2009 spending....

Hmmmmmm.....makes ya think, does it not?

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Parkside revamps newsletter
Published: Monday, December 28, 2009
By KENN STARK, Times Correspondent

PARKSIDE — The borough has not had a newsletter sent out to residents in the past two years, but that will soon be changing.

Previous black-and-white newsletters were produced by borough Secretary Linda Higgins, then distributed to the community by paid teenagers.

The last newsletter came back from the printer, sat in boxes for months and finally became outdated when no residents came forward to deliver it.

Freshmen councilmen Jason Stamis and Douglas Bull were both appointed to council in the past year to fill vacancies, then both elected to council seats in November. The two tech-savvy councilmen have now collaborated in the writing and composition of an attractive winter newsletter.

“It’s more professional than anything we’ve ever had before,” Higgins said after seeing a draft copy.

The first edition of what is planned to be a quarterly publication was predicted to be in Parkside homes before Christmas.

Volunteers will not be needed for delivery, as each council member will take specific borough streets and hand deliver copies of the newsletter to each address.

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Five new members take office in Parkside
Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
By Kenn Stark, Times Correspondent

Borough council reorganized by swearing in five newly elected officials, making reappointments and naming committee liaisons.

Mayor Ardele Gordon administered the oath of office to those elected in November. Gordon herself was sworn in at the county courthouse earlier in the day, with Magisterial District Judge C. Walter McCray handling the official duties.

Gordon is starting her third term and 10th year as mayor, following 20 years of service as a Parkside councilwoman.

Council President Shirley Purcival was sworn in to start her third full term and 11th year on borough council.

Councilwoman Jackie File-Barlow is starting her fourth four-year term on council.

Councilmen Jason Stamis and Douglas Bull were both appointed to council in 2009 to fill vacancies, then both were elected to continue their service. Stamis was sworn in to serve a two-year term, while Bull is starting a four-year stint.

Councilman James Kilgallen was ill and could not attend the group ceremony, so he will be sworn in by Gordon at another time. Kilgallen was elected to serve his third full term and 11th year on council in 2010.

Tax Collector Olivia Avila-Deitman was sworn in to commence her second full term and eighth year overall at her elected post.

Councilman William Howell nominated Purcival to retain the presidency and Vice President Frank McCollum for VP, as well. Both nominations were unchallenged and the votes were unanimous.

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Parkside seeks energy grant
Published: Monday, February 1, 2010
By KENN STARK, Times Correspondent

PARKSIDE — Borough officials are trying to figure a way to secure a $35,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that requires matching funds.

DCNR grants must be utilized for energy conservation projects. Borough Engineer Lisa Catania, whose family firm wrote the grant application for Parkside, has suggested using the funds to convert the borough’s street lights to energy-efficient lamps.

Catania noted that PECO is planning to institute rate hikes in May, which will see the cost of electricity for traffic lights increase 11 percent, while street light operation will cost almost 5 percent more.

To produce the required $13,000 in matching funds, Catania hopes to apply potential money received from this year’s Delaware County Community Development Block Grant program.

Catania said competition for DCNR grants was keen, so if Parkside cannot come up with matching funds, another municipality will.

In other money matters, a PECO Growing Greener grant has been earmarked to fund a second phase of Woodlot upgrades, including additional landscaping, benches, signage and sidewalks.

Catania is also hoping the borough can find $2,500 to complete the EMS Memorial on Ilg Island (the traffic island at West Garrison Road and Tom Sweeney Drive), where a Liberty Elm tree was planted in October. Completion of the memorial still needs a sidewalk extension and installation of a bench, trash can and three shields — to honor fire, police and medical emergency responders.

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Parkside green recycling lauded
Published: Monday, February 1, 2010
By KENN STARK, Times Correspondent

PARKSIDE — The borough’s first foray into green recycling has been deemed a success, if for no other reason than it managed to keep 125 Christmas trees out of a landfill by chipping them into mulch.

Councilman Douglas Bull, who is a professional arborist and avid recycler, took the curbside collection of trees and chipping process into his own hands in January. As a result, he now has a pile of about 8 cubic yards of fresh pine mulch sitting on his property.

Exactly where the borough will spread the mulch this spring is yet to be determined. Bull is hoping that future green recycling efforts will utilize a truck that would allow residents to pick up the free mulch for their own use.

Bull told fellow council members that he was pleased with collecting 125 Christmas trees for the recycling effort’s first time out, but believes there must be more holiday trees thrown out in a community of more than 700 homes.

In addition to a green recycling encore next Christmas, Bull wants to organize an aluminum can drive for the borough.

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Cop Shop:
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010

Brookhaven Police Chief John Eller recently sent a letter of commendation to Parkside Chief John Egan and borough council, crediting Parkside Patrolman Mark Marchesi’s “alert and aggressive patrol” for helping solve a theft case, according to correspondent Kenn Stark.

At 3:30 a.m. Nov. 25, Marchesi stopped a man walking along Edgmont Avenue carrying a backpack. Marchesi asked the man if he could look into his backpack. Inside, he found a GPS and a radar detector.

Knowing that a rash of car break-ins had been reported in Brookhaven, Marchesi asked the man to come to the police station.

During a subsequent interview, the suspect confessed to committing 30 thefts from vehicles and six attempted thefts in Brookhaven, plus two more thefts in Parkside, over recent months. A consent search was conducted of the suspect’s residence and numerous stolen items were recovered.

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Another Parkside officer, David Barbone, received a special commendation by borough officials for his actions in apprehending an armed felon.

At 2:15 a.m. Aug. 22, Barbone heard a radio report of a knifepoint robbery at the Brookhaven CVS on Edgmont Avenue. Upon arriving on the scene, the officer saw a male fitting the radio description running down Tom Sweeney Drive and pursued him in his squad car.

The suspect hid under a truck parked in a residential driveway, where Barbone trapped the suspect and demanded to see both hands. When the suspect would not show his hands, Barbone maintained his cool and summoned assistance, while holding the suspect at gunpoint.

When help arrived and the suspect was coaxed out from under the vehicle, he was found to have a locking knife with 5-inch blade in the open position.

Barbone’s professional demeanor led to a peaceful arrest and the removal of a dangerous criminal from the streets, for which he was publicly thanked and commended by Parkside Mayor Ardele Gordon and Egan.

Barbone has been a part-time member of the Parkside force for two years. He works full time in the Delaware County Sheriff’s office.

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Three New York residents charged in counterfeiting scam
Published: Tuesday, February 23, 2010

BROOKHAVEN — A multistate scam involving counterfeit “Coinstar” receipts was thwarted by the quick action of two Pathmark employees Sunday night.

Three New York men are in custody charged in connection with a scam that police say stretches into New York and New Jersey.

Around 7:50 p.m. Sunday police were called to the Pathmark on Edgmont Avenue. Two men were allegedly attempting to cash counterfeit receipts from the “Coinstar” machine in the amounts of $231 and $233.

A third man was spotted acting as a lookout and driver of the getaway car, according to Police Chief John Eller.

When a store employee asked one of the suspects for identification and said he also needed to get his manager’s approval for the transaction, the man tried to leave the store but was apprehended by Officer Richard Subers.

The second suspect was attempting to cash in another receipt at the customer service counter when Officer Richard Fuller and Parkside Officer Mark Marchesi apprehended him. The lookout was also taken into custody.

The suspects allegedly had $3,800 worth of counterfeit “Coinstar” receipts in their possession.

A search warrant was executed on the suspects’ car and a GPS seized. According to Eller, the men had the locations of more than 50 Pathmark Stores from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania entered into the GPS. The FBI is now involved in the probe.

According to Eller, police from Ridley, Marple, Teddyffrin Township in Chester County and Philadelphia are also looking into the suspects for similar crimes in their towns.

Charged with attempted theft, criminal conspiracy, forgery and possessing instruments of a crime are Terell C. McQueen, 26, of the 100 block of MacDougal Street; Menelek T. McQueen, 22, of the unit block of Ocean Avenue; and Rayon F. James, 20, of the 400 block of DeCatur Street, all of Brooklyn, N.Y.

The suspects were arraigned by Senior Judge Horace Davis, who set bail at $250,000 cash each. They are being held in Delaware County prison pending a preliminary hearing.

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Parkside parents on guard for children
Published: Tuesday, March 2, 2010
By KENN STARK
Times Correspondent

PARKSIDE — Borough officials contend that all students are safe and all crossing guard posts are covered and backed up, but one Parkside Elementary School parent, whose children cross Edgmont Avenue twice a day, is not so sure.

Lisa Burke’s family lives on West Forestview Road, the same street that serves as the main entrance drive to the school on the eastern side of Edgmont Avenue.

Burke has come before council numerous times in recent years to state concerns or air complaints about crossing guards being occasionally late or absent from their posts. She used her most recent visit to council to hand out literature from the National Center for Safe Routes to School and to volunteer to spearhead a Parkside program.

The crossing guard post at Forestview and Edgmont is one of three guarded crossings for Parkside students. The others are located at Tom Sweeney Drive and Upland Road and at East Elbon Road and Blossom Avenue.

When Burke asked borough council about back-up personnel for each crossing, she was told substitute duty was covered by Mayor Ardele Gordon and Police Chief John Egan. But if all three crossings required a backup on the same day, the math would not add up.

The Edgmont Avenue crossing had been covered by police Officer Mark Marchesi during the morning rush hour for most of the past year.

The extra cost of placing a patrolman on the corner was justified in the short run, as a seasoned veteran was needed to replace crossing guard Fran Edwards. Edwards had covered the bustling Edgmont/Forestview intersection for 25 years, before retiring in 2008.

As of January, Art Smith is now the full-time crossing guard at the Edgmont Avenue post. Council President Shirley Purcival noted that the borough has received no complaints about Smith’s performance since he started working at the busy crossing last year.

Purcival insists the recent change from a part-time police officer back to a full-time crossing guard was not a budget-driven choice. She concedes that the borough will save about $500 this year by just using crossing guards.

“The children are our first concern. This was not just about the money,” Purcival said.

Purcival said her research had found that Delco communities responsible for crossing students on Chester Pike and MacDade Boulevard do not utilize police officers for the task, but all use crossing guards.

Council Vice President Frank McCollum was quick to note that the lack of a police officer standing on the corner does not mean that there is no police presence at the Edgmont Avenue school zone, which is notorious for speeding violations.

On this point, Burke and borough officials agreed — there is too much speeding and stop-sign running within the borough. Aggressive and careless driving is a threat to public safety on every street, all parties lamented.

Burke quoted statistics that have found that a child struck by a vehicle moving at 15 mph has a 95 percent rate of recovery; a child struck by a vehicle going 20 mph has a 50 percent chance of recovery; and a child struck by a vehicle traveling more than 50 mph “is a fatality.”

To truly make a difference, stepped-up police enforcement needs to include residents reporting license plate numbers and witnesses who will testify against offenders in court, according to Egan.

“It happens on my street. It happens on all streets. But if we’re not proactive and willing to step up to the plate to help when the police are not there, then we’re as much to blame as the person running through the stop sign,” Purcival said.