Borough’s proposed 2015 budget hikes wages, taxes, and fees

Council appoints high school student Tony Gomez as ‘Junior Council Person’ By Rick Marts, Correspondent, The Times Kennett Square Borough Council President Leon Spencer (center) administers the Junior Council Person pledge to new council member Tony Gomez, a junior at Kennett High School, with his aunt, Perla Bustos, holding the Bible. On Monday night, Acting Borough Manager Joe Scalise...

Kennett Sq. gets group home code in compliance with feds

Codes Department Chief predicts up to $30 million in new development within 5 years By Rick Marts, Correspondent, The Times Joe Scalise, acting Kennett Square Borough manager; Leon Spenser, Council president; and Matthew Fetick, Borough Mayor, discuss enacting amendments to the Borough’s zoning ordinance regarding group homes, Monday night. KENNETT— At its Monday night public meeting,...

Kennett Square honored for financial reporting

Borough Manager Brant Kucera resigns, takes position in Oregon By Rick Marts, Correspondent, The Times Kennett Square Borough Manager Brant Kucera, left, who submitted his resignation letter on Monday night, discusses the Borough’s 2014 Capital Development Plan with Council President Leon Spencer at a meeting of the Borough Council, Monday night. At Monday night’s Borough Council meeting, Don...

UPDATE: Borough’s water gets OK after tests

Many residents did not get the ‘boil water’ notice; some may still be without full pressure By Rick Marts, Correspondent, The Times Kennett Square Borough Manager Brant Kucera provides the Borough Council with the timeline and status of the water main break that occurred late Saturday, September 13 UPDATED: Wednesday, 2 p.m. KENNETT SQUARE — After the pledge of allegiance at Monday...

Borough adopts ordinance to manage chickens

Flurry of complaints about neighborhood deterioration, YMCA, and Council unresponsiveness And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere hulas hoop, But there is no joy in Kennett – the haughty chicken has been cooped. (Apologies to Ernest Thayer, author of “Casey at the Bat”) Rusty Drumheller, the Borough’s Codes Department director, summarizes the proposed ordinance on “keeping fowl”...

Borough Council agenda shows Kennett Square is thriving

Municipal tax rate may be high, but Borough Manager says service quality makes it worth it By Rick Marts, Correspondent, The Times KENNETT — While international and national news reports show the Mideast in dangerous disarray and our own borders being flooded with homeless refugee children from Latin America, the Borough of Kennett Square is moving forward at full speed with infrastructure improvements,...

Winter of 2013-2014 yields nine borough heroes

Council approves ‘3rd Thursdays on State Street’ to help merchants recoup lost sales Kennett Square Borough employees and officials were honored this week for their exceptional efforts during this past winter’s extreme weather. From left: These recipients included John Vernon, department assistant director; John Morris, streets department foreman; Eric Petrucci; Mark “Jake”...

Kennett Council rejects Historic District law, 4-3

Distaste for government overreaching trumps desire to protect architectural heritage By Rick Marts, Correspondent, The Times Kenntt Square Council member Dan Maffei (center) gave a passionate defense of a proposed Borough ordinance to redraw the Historic District and create a Historic Architectural Review Board, but the new legislation was defeated by his colleagues on the council, by a 4-3 vote. KENNETT...

Borough crime dips; code enforcement stirs concern

Tractor Trek Across America to include parade in Kennett Square By Rick Marts, Staff Writer, The Times KENNETT — Monday night’s meeting of the Kennett Square Borough Council started and ended with spirited complaints about local code enforcement in the residential neighborhood of Stenning Hill, located across Rt. 82 from Kennett High School. Residents’ concerns about falling housing values...

Good initial reports on Mushroom Drop

Kennett Square swears in mayor, council at largely quiet meeting By Rick Marts, Staff Writer, The Times District Justice Daniel Maisano (far right) administers the oath of office to three new and two reelected Borough Council members (from left to right) Patrick Taylor (accompanied by his wife in pink), Lynn Sinclair, Brett Irwin, Dan Maffei, and Geoff Bosley, Monday night. KENNETT SQUARE — The...