Oops, I did it again: I waited to fill my gas tank until Saturday, the day that the Giant gas points expired. And predictably, the gas station in the New Garden Giant shopping center was packed, to the point that an employee had to stand there directing traffic.
The man in the truck behind me said it was so crowded earlier in the day that vehicles were lined up clear out into the shopping center parking lot. He decided to do some other errands and come back later.
The maximum number of gallons you can get using your discount points is 30, and people told me they planned carefully so they could pull into the station "running on fumes" to get as much cheap gas as possible. I saw one guy filling three plastic gas cans in addition to his truck. I didn't plan very well, so I got to buy only 9 gallons rather than the 14-plus that my vehicle holds.
The next gas promotion ends June 23. I'm marking it on my calendar.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Noli me tangere
Mea culpa
I misspoke in last week's column, and it jumped out at me as soon as I saw it in the paper rather than on the screen. The four-way stop that motorists can't seem to quite get the hang of is at Routes 926 and 841, not 841 and 842. Duh! Although, now that I think about it, it would be nice to have a four-way stop at 841 and 842, as well as at 926 and Hood Road.
Thanks to one of my many sharp-eyed readers for keeping me on my toes and not letting me get away with a geographical error!
Thanks to one of my many sharp-eyed readers for keeping me on my toes and not letting me get away with a geographical error!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Earned income tax
Leave it to my fellow West Marlborough residents to find creative solutions to financial woes.
As I've reported before, the township is in dire fiscal shape because of a series of unexpected zoning hearings, for which it has had to fork out upwards of $70,000 in legal and engineering fees (most of the challenges were brought by the small group of Springdell residents -- "the Springdell 8" -- who contend the Whip Tavern mars their quality of life). To prevent township checks from bouncing, the supervisors have had to borrow from other accounts and are now considering imposing a one-half percent earned income tax, which they estimate would raise $110,000 to $120,000 a year.
Who would pay the tax? People who live and work in West Marlborough (your blogger included) or who live in West Marlborough and work in a community that doesn't have an earned income tax. Many residents already pay the tax at their workplace, and if the tax were enacted, those residents wouldn't see a tax increase; rather, the money they already pay would come back to West Marlborough Township rather than staying in the municipality where they work.
One resident asked if the supervisors had considered any other taxes, such as a gross receipts tax or an amusement tax.
"No, we haven't," responded supervisor Bill Wylie, "because they don't represent much of a source of revenue."
Another asked if a tax was really the way to go, because the sky-high expenses might not be ongoing if the Whip situation is resolved. Would the tax be repealed if the money was no longer needed? he asked.
Mr. Wylie said professional expenses are impossible to budget for, and the township also needs to pay back the accounts it had borrowed from. "You don't have to worry about us socking money away," he said.
Another resident suggested asking citizens to make voluntary contributions to the township rather than having to pay an ongoing tax. Mr. Wylie raised a problem with that: what would happen if not enough money was raised voluntarily, and a tax had to be imposed anyway?
The best idea I heard was that we hold a series of fundraisers, with money going to pay the township's expenses.
Where would these parties be held?
Why, where else: at the Whip.
As I've reported before, the township is in dire fiscal shape because of a series of unexpected zoning hearings, for which it has had to fork out upwards of $70,000 in legal and engineering fees (most of the challenges were brought by the small group of Springdell residents -- "the Springdell 8" -- who contend the Whip Tavern mars their quality of life). To prevent township checks from bouncing, the supervisors have had to borrow from other accounts and are now considering imposing a one-half percent earned income tax, which they estimate would raise $110,000 to $120,000 a year.
Who would pay the tax? People who live and work in West Marlborough (your blogger included) or who live in West Marlborough and work in a community that doesn't have an earned income tax. Many residents already pay the tax at their workplace, and if the tax were enacted, those residents wouldn't see a tax increase; rather, the money they already pay would come back to West Marlborough Township rather than staying in the municipality where they work.
One resident asked if the supervisors had considered any other taxes, such as a gross receipts tax or an amusement tax.
"No, we haven't," responded supervisor Bill Wylie, "because they don't represent much of a source of revenue."
Another asked if a tax was really the way to go, because the sky-high expenses might not be ongoing if the Whip situation is resolved. Would the tax be repealed if the money was no longer needed? he asked.
Mr. Wylie said professional expenses are impossible to budget for, and the township also needs to pay back the accounts it had borrowed from. "You don't have to worry about us socking money away," he said.
Another resident suggested asking citizens to make voluntary contributions to the township rather than having to pay an ongoing tax. Mr. Wylie raised a problem with that: what would happen if not enough money was raised voluntarily, and a tax had to be imposed anyway?
The best idea I heard was that we hold a series of fundraisers, with money going to pay the township's expenses.
Where would these parties be held?
Why, where else: at the Whip.
Sine qua non
At their May 1 meeting the West Marlborough supervisors were quick to quash a rumor that reportedly was circulating around the township. No, the township is NOT recommending using eased land as a sorely-needed parking area for patrons of the Whip tavern in Springdell.
Any township regulations "are trumped by a conservation easement," said Supervisor Michael Ledyard, emphatically. "That's the whole sine qua non of a zoning easement." (My Latin professor would have approved of his pronunciation.)
The rumor being spread in local conservation circles was that the township was considering allowing parking on a piece of land adjoining the Whip even though it has a Brandywine Conservancy easement forbidding such use. The township has been working, so far unsuccessfully, with the Whip's owners and some disgruntled Springdell residents to resolve the parking problems, and the supervisors said they just received a zoning ordinance amendment submitted by the Whip's owners that deals with parking.
Any township regulations "are trumped by a conservation easement," said Supervisor Michael Ledyard, emphatically. "That's the whole sine qua non of a zoning easement." (My Latin professor would have approved of his pronunciation.)
The rumor being spread in local conservation circles was that the township was considering allowing parking on a piece of land adjoining the Whip even though it has a Brandywine Conservancy easement forbidding such use. The township has been working, so far unsuccessfully, with the Whip's owners and some disgruntled Springdell residents to resolve the parking problems, and the supervisors said they just received a zoning ordinance amendment submitted by the Whip's owners that deals with parking.
Crown jewel
Supervisor Bill Wylie commended Mrs. Thomforde for her long years of dedicated service. And she responded with a gracious speech expressing her love for the township, which she called "a crown jewel," and urging all the current township officials to work diligently to preserve its rural character.
The photo shows Mrs. Thomforde with Josh Taylor, the current chairman of the planning commission.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
For shame
But someone has taken advantage of the situation and TWICE dumped their horse manure here. Very bad and unneighborly behavior. Keep an eye out, if you would.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thinking ahead
While reviewing the monthly tax collector's report at their May 1 meeting, the West Marlborough supervisors noted that one resident had prepaid her $10 per capita tax through the year 2015. With his characteristic dry humor, supervisor Bill Wylie encouraged other citizens to follow this forward-thinking taxpayer's lead.
Did I mention...
Retired Unionville schoolteacher Don Silknitter was not a happy citizen at the May 1 West Marlborough supervisors' meeting. Mr. Silknitter told supervisor Bill Wylie that he should have informed residents that he spoke with his East Marlborough counterparts about the possibility of "taking back" control of Route 842 from the state.
Mr. Silknitter said the only way he found out about Mr. Wylie's visit was an online account of the public meeting.
"That really ticked me off," he said.
The supervisors were taken aback by his displeasure and denied that the visit was covered up in any way.
They told him they had discussed the possible road turnback at several previous West Marlborough public meetings, and mentioned that they would need the cooperation of neighboring East Marlborough to make it happen. Mr. Wylie said his discussion with East Marlborough about the project was "purely an informal request."
"I didn't think there was anything to report," he said in his own defense. "It's all very preliminary."
"Not everything we do is newsworthy," agreed supervisor Michael Ledyard.
Mr. Silknitter said the only way he found out about Mr. Wylie's visit was an online account of the public meeting.
"That really ticked me off," he said.
The supervisors were taken aback by his displeasure and denied that the visit was covered up in any way.
They told him they had discussed the possible road turnback at several previous West Marlborough public meetings, and mentioned that they would need the cooperation of neighboring East Marlborough to make it happen. Mr. Wylie said his discussion with East Marlborough about the project was "purely an informal request."
"I didn't think there was anything to report," he said in his own defense. "It's all very preliminary."
"Not everything we do is newsworthy," agreed supervisor Michael Ledyard.
He's back
It was great to see Bernie Langer sitting in his usual spot in the audience at the May 1 West Marlborough township meeting. Bernie, a longtime Springdell resident, has had some medical issues recently, and he says the plentiful maple pollen in the air isn't helping the situation.
Unexpected
My friend Alex was in high dudgeon yesterday morning:
"
He realized that he was in an excellent bargaining position as his contract was almost up. He called Verizon customer service immediately; they assured him they'd take it off his bill forever and they even credited him more than he expected.
Moral of the story: Keep an eye on your utility bills and make sure you're not being charged for anything you haven't ordered.
"
He realized that he was in an excellent bargaining position as his contract was almost up. He called Verizon customer service immediately; they assured him they'd take it off his bill forever and they even credited him more than he expected.
Moral of the story: Keep an eye on your utility bills and make sure you're not being charged for anything you haven't ordered.
Only in Unionville
Some friends were going to be away for the whole day, so I offered to help out with the farm work. When I arrived I was greeted by a full-page, typed list of chores, divided into sections for dogs, cat, horses and chickens. In the "horses" paragraph was a sentence that gave me pause: "Just throw it over his stall door -- do not open his door even if it means throwing the hay into his head!" Fortunately it didn't come to that: all the animals behaved beautifully.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen
I love hearing about these father-daughter dances being held this spring by many of our local Girl Scout troops. What a great idea, showing elementary-school girls how they deserve to be treated by a date! The photos just melt your heart: grinning girls in pretty dresses or leggings, hair in barrettes or a French braid, and their proud, good-sport Dads in a jacket and tie or a blue sport coat and khakis. Everybody is just beaming.
A friend of mine who just won a Pulitzer prize for his newspaper photography even made a charming little video of his daughter's dance, edited to the tune of "What Makes You Beautiful" by the boy-band One Direction.
A friend of mine who just won a Pulitzer prize for his newspaper photography even made a charming little video of his daughter's dance, edited to the tune of "What Makes You Beautiful" by the boy-band One Direction.
Results
Here are the top 15 finishers from the "Run for Our Sons" 5K race
held at Patton Middle School on April 21, which I wrote
about last week:
1. Johnathon Ganly 2. Derek Brogan 3. Paul Elsen 4. Erick Marklund 5. Jennifer Welsh 6. William Jeppe 7. Debbie Pelegrin 8. Meg Rosato 9. Michael Reath 10. Alan Horowitz 11. Matt DiPaolo 12. Dewey Atkins 13. Connor Schilling 14. Cole Walker 15. Susan McMahon
Winning time was 18:41. The ages of the top 15 runners ranged
from 10 to 51, and their paces ranged from 6:08 to 7:20 per mile.
There were 284 finishers in all.
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