Borough Council Hears About Intersection (Again) and the State of the Borough
Yale & Cornell intersection in Swarthmore. Photo from Google Maps.
Concern about the intersection of Yale and Cornell avenues was raised again at Swarthmore Borough Council’s first legislative session of the year, on Monday, January 13. The corner has been the subject of both Public Safety Committee and council meetings in recent months.
Borough resident Cherilyn Scanlon spoke during the public comment session, describing a recent car accident at the intersection in which her daughter had been involved. Scanlon said her daughter was heading north on Cornell Avenue and edged into the intersection to see if cross traffic was coming. It was. A car driving east on Yale hit her vehicle. No one was hurt.
Scanlon offered a photograph which, she said, showed that hedges on Yale Avenue block the view of approaching traffic for drivers heading north on Cornell. “I’d like this to be brought up again,” she said.
Swarthmore Borough Manager Jane Billings said that the hedges Scanlon mentioned comply with borough regulations. She also said she would be happy to meet with the homeowner and ask whether they would be willing to trim them further. Council President Mary Walk urged Scanlon to attend the upcoming Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday, January 27, at 7 p.m. for further discussion of the issue.
Budgets, Bills, and Transparency
Michael Carey reported on behalf of the Finance Committee that borough revenues were higher than budgeted in 2019, and expenditures were lower. At the end of December, the borough’s cash balance was $469,413, or approximately 9% of the total revenue for the year. Keeping a reserve balance of between five and ten percent is considered best practice for municipalities, and Swarthmore’s balance is comfortably at the upper end of that range.
After the council voted to approve the payment of bills for borough expenditures, council member Ross Schmucki drew attention to some items which, he said, he did not question, but found interesting. One was a $3,400 bill for a new sidewalk on the 300 block of Cornell Avenue in front of a half-built house that remains unfinished. The borough judged that the makeshift plywood sidewalk in front of the house was unsafe, so it stepped in to get pavement installed. A bill for the cost of installation will be sent to the owner. If it is not paid, a lien will be put on the property so that the money can be recovered when the house is eventually sold.
Manager Billings took the opportunity to point out the transparency of Swarthmore’s billing system. “I’m sure we’ve all read that there have been some unfortunate cases in nearby municipalities of misappropriation of, in some cases, millions of dollars of funds,” she said. Swarthmore’s bills, by contrast, are seen by department chairs, then by Billings, then by council. She urged members never hesitate to ask a question if they were unsure what a bill was for or where a payment was going.
State of the Borough
Swarthmore mayor Marty Spiegel (right).
Giving the annual State of the Borough address, Mayor Marty Spiegel compared Swarthmore to what people want in a place to live, according to surveys. “We fit almost a perfect profile,” he said, citing such qualities as a stable housing market, good schools, green space, walkable neighborhoods, access to public transportation, and neighbors who look out for one another.
Spiegel lauded the transparency and accessibility of Swarthmore’s government. He pointed out that, despite relatively high local taxes, only about 20% of local taxes are levied by the borough, and he lauded the council and Billings for doing so much “on a shoestring.” As for crime, “Crime [in Swarthmore is largely] people going through stop signs.”
The mayor also addressed the borough’s challenges, focusing on Swarthmore’s downtown, where businesses can struggle. Patronizing our local stores is in our own self-interest, he said.
Overall, the mayor was positive and optimistic. “The state of Swarthmore is incredibly strong,” he concluded. “We are all so fortunate to be able to live here.”
Also at Swarthmore Borough Council:
Recycling
The number of people using the recycling center for paper, cardboard, and aluminum is growing.
When people bring these materials to the Dartmouth Avenue center — rather than leaving them out in their collection bins for curbside pick up — it saves the borough (and therefore borough taxpayers) money.
CPR Training
Fire company president Rick Lee described a CPR training session the company held on Saturday, January 11. Swarthmore resident Kate Davis sponsored the program, which was a fundraiser for the fire company. Davis, a doctor, got the idea after her father had a heart attack while on vacation in France. A stranger gave him CPR for 25 minutes, almost certainly saving his life. The fire company hopes to offer future CPR training sessions once or twice a year.
Committee Meetings
Some Borough Council committees have changed when they meet. Here’s a list of regular committee meeting times for 2020 (subject to change):
Environment: every fourth Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Finance and Community Development: every third Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
General Government and Human Services: every third Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Planning and Zoning: every fourth Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Public Safety: every fourth Monday at 7:00 p.m.
Public Works, Parks, and Recreation: every fourth Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
Editor’s note: All meetings are open to the public! Come raise concerns, or just see how your government works. To view this or any other Swarthmore Borough Council meeting, check out the Borough’s YouTube page.
