Roosters, ice-cream trucks top wish lists of things to be muzzled
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Resident Robert Whiteside chats with Kennett Square Police Chief Edward A. Zunino after Wednesday night’s public forum with borough officials.
About 30 Kennett Square residents attended a public forum Wednesday night, where they questioned, griped, groused, criticized, lamented, challenged, and even berated some borough practices.
Their audience included members of Borough Council, which organized the event; Police Chief Edward A. Zunino; Borough Manager Brant Kucera; Assistant Borough Manager Karen Scherer; Mayor Matt Fetick; Codes Enforcement Officer Russell H. Drumheller; Fire Chief Steven Melton, who is also foreman of the Public Works Department; and Denise Rodriguez, the bilingual Borough Hall receptionist.
Passions periodically ran high as residents detailed items on their wish-they-would-disappear lists, a motley catalog that included chickens, roosters, liquor, sing-song ice-cream trucks, trash, and a variety of parking infractions – ranging from vehicles parked on lawns to those obscuring sight distance at intersections.
But by the end of the two-and-a-half hour session, the participants had high praise for the process and appreciation for the news that Borough Council planned to repeat it.
Russell H. Drumheller offers residents insight into a day in the life of a borough code enforcement officer.
Council President Leon R. Spencer Jr. explained that council meetings don’t always provide adequate time to address residents’ concerns and that sometimes council members need time to investigate complaints. The session began with a handful of agenda items that had surfaced at previous meetings and ended with any “other concerns” that people wanted to discuss.
Spencer encouraged residents to continue to make their thoughts known and to pick up the phone when they see something inappropriate. He read from the pet ordinance so that citizens would know that poultry cannot roam freely – or live in people’s homes. “You’re all the eyes and ears of the community,” he said, urging feedback.
The residents learned from Drumheller, the codes officer, that just because a rusting refrigerator is still sitting on someone’s lawn does not mean that a complaint wasn’t addressed or that the person wasn’t cited. Drumheller explained that sometimes cases get dragged out in court and that he doesn’t have the authority to remove the offending item. “We can’t trespass on private property,” he said.
To residents’ surprise, 92 percent of safety inspections receive a failing grade the first time, Drumheller said. Prefacing his remark with “knock on wood,” the fire chief said he credits code enforcement’s vigilance for the borough’s “low fire loss.”
Citizens learned from the police chief that although gangs continue to have a presence in the community, members know that the police are watching. “They’ve learned for the most part to stay under the radar,” Zunino said. “A few years ago, they would have been in colors” and would have been meeting in the open. “They’re getting smarter,” Zunino said. “We know who they are, and we keep an eye on them.”
Borough Manager Brant Kucera (from left), Council President Leon Spencer, and Mayor Matt Fetick listen as residents air their concerns.
Zunino said members of his department have seen an increase in thefts from unlocked vehicles, and he urged residents to lock doors and keep valuable out of sight. He said that the thefts are primarily “crimes of opportunity,” and that vehicle break-ins typically occur when a laptop, camera or purse is visible.
Council Vice-President Danilo P. Maffei used the meeting to gauge interest in the feasibility of a block-captain program. He said he got the idea during the ice storm when power outages made communication a challenge. He said some neighborhoods already have unofficial spokespeople, and he wondered if spreading and formalizing that concept would benefit the community. He said he hoped to schedule a workshop on the subject in the near future.
“If you have interest, ideas, communicate that with Dan,” said Spencer. “I think it’s a fantastic idea,” added borough resident Robert Whiteside.
Asked by Spencer at the end of the session to assess its worth, council members all expressed enthusiasm, explaining that they gleaned valuable information. Council Member Patrick B. Taylor said he took three pages of notes and would be more aware of citizens’ concern, such as illegal parking and free-roaming chickens, which are also illegal. “Now I’m going to be looking,” he said. “This is a good opportunity to hear things,” agreed Council Member Geoffrey R. Bosley. “It’s a different type of meeting.”
Members of the public were equally positive. Whiteside said he would encourage other residents to attend the next forum, and he thanked the borough officials who made it possible. “I think people need to come out and support you,” he said as others in the audience nodded.
Don Wilson, another borough resident, echoed Whiteside’s sentiments and said it was the first time in more than 13 years that he could remember officials’ offering an opportunity to focus exclusively on citizens’ concerns. “I think it’s very constructive,” Wilson said.
After the meeting, Spencer said he was pleased with the outcome as well as its reception. “I think the citizens feel as though they were heard – and they were,” he said. “That’s a critical piece of what we do – of what any governmental agency should do.”
