McDaniel Civic Assn.

Minutes - October 2014

Civic Association meeting opened at 7:00 PM on Monday, October 27 at Aldersgate
Church by RJ Miles, President.  Treasurer,
Mike Lauser was present, as well as Debby Waxman, Secretary.  Our Vice President, Ellen Callahan, was
otherwise engaged. There were approximately 45 people attending the meeting.  As ever, we do appreciate Aldersgate Church
for the continuing generosity in providing space for these meetings.

 

            RJ took questions and answered them
with our State House Representative, Deborah Hudson.

 

            875 
homes comprise the Civic Association with just over half being in dues
compliance, but finances are in good shape at about $25,000.  Snowplowing that is not reimbursed by DelDot
is paid for with the dues.  The contract
for plowing has already been signed for the 2014/2015 year, but RJ will talk to
them about getting some more sand/salt on the hills/roads that require that
approach, such as Windley which is always shady. It was suggested that we open
up the purse strings a bit if needed to get more sand and salt. It was
explained that we automatically get plowed if snow is over 4”.  Under that, it is a conscious decision based
on timing of the storm, upcoming temperatures, etc.  Deborah suggested we call her if we wanted a
barrel for Windley.

 

Repairs
and paving are done by analysis with DelDot as to which are the worst and need
to be fixed first.  It is very expensive and
there is just not enough taxpayer money to cover them all.  Sometimes a patchwork effort is all that can
be given.  As to speed bumps, the newer
ones seem to be more effective at noise reduction as well as speed – they are
not as tall and abrupt, but instead about a car length.

 

As
to the speeding issues on Shellpot (and other roads), she suggests we all be
responsible for calling the police (County) with specific times of day and
location for a recurrent problem, and vehicle and tag number if possible, and
ask for a patrol monitor.  With enough
complaints, the NCC police will rove for three days.  This is an effective, albeit short term
measure.  The non-emergency number for
NCCPD is 573-2800

 

            A four-way stop was requested at
Sharpless/Lyndhurst by the Daycare.

 

            Mention was made of the numerous
bushes and trees that make vision difficult. 
Again, it was recommended that each residence notify the County Code of
the specific location and problem.  This
can be done anonymously at 395-5555.

 

            The different colors of reflective
tape on the fire hydrants indicate various gallons per minute flow rate.

 

            Deborah was not able to answer what
will now happen to the closed dump such as where the garbage is going now and
if they are going to cover the site.

 

            The meeting was then turned over to
our New Castle County Councilman, Bob Weiner. He had some news for us on
various Concord Pike Land Use applications.

           

            The current Season’s Pizza on
Concord Pike has a  Minor Land Development plan to demolish a portion
of the existing structure to construct a 4,498 square foot retail and
restaurant expansion and renovation.  The
thinking is to make Season’s Pizza smaller because a lot of their business is
take-out, and add perhaps a Jewish Deli, something this area does not have.

 

            Oceanus
gas station has shuttered and is considered a brown site.  DelDot is having the owner clean up before
putting up a restaurant.

 

            The
closed Wings-To-Go and the adjacent building will be razed and one new building
will house a Mediterranean restaurant. 
There is a large billboard there which is being determined who/what owns
it and if it can be taken down.

 

            It
also appears that Ralph and Rose Pepi have plans to spiff up the corner and
move the sidewalks farther back from the street at Silverside and Concord
Pike.  There are plans to cut a road
through Silverside from the back of the shopping center through to the Post
Office and back through Season’s to get some traffic (and walking and biking)
from having to get onto Concord Pike.

 

            In
conjunction with the Governor, State, County, Greenways and Brandywine
Conservancy, more plans are in the works for a continued “Ardenesque” pathway
on Shipley road and Grubb Road (Naamans to Arden).

 

            Long-term
it is proposed to build three underpasses on Concord Pike, (1) just south of
Silverside Road, (2) Widener Law School and just south of the Five Restaurants,
and (3) at Pennsylvania line.

 

            Bob
goes on to state that we’ve seen an 80% reduction in crime due to Predictive
Policing, which entails getting to the hot spots faster.  We can all help by calling the non-emergency
number (573-2800) to report graffiti, kids hanging in groups after dark, etc.
Advised that there is now a budget of $500,000 for heroin education which has
become a significant problem.

 

            Bob
talked about how much he has enjoyed being our public servant and hopes we’ll
continue letting him serve.  Mentioned
that either him or his aide, Lou Hinkle are available 24/7 to answer any
questions, complaints, assistance, suggestions, etc. (Bob@BobWeiner.com, lhinkle@nccde.org, www.BobWeiner.com).

 

            Bob answered the question of whether
we could get cooperation with our dues for beautifying our community, and he
answered that the County Parks Department would be happy to work with us.

 

            He also did not know what was going
to happen with the closed dump. He was also unaware of what the regulations
were regarding salting the roads near where it would drain into Shellpot
Creek.  Suggested that DNREC should have
that answer.

 

            Quite a bit was discussed regarding
sewer timeline/schedule, as well as the lateral lines from our homes to our
streets.  We can email Lou Hinkle to get
the current construction schedule.  No
one at the meeting had remembered ever getting a letter for the free lateral
clean-out (since expired) and this needs to be addressed.  This is important because the line from our
homes to the street is our responsibility for maintenance.  We should have this cleaned out ourselves
once a year (about $150) versus having broken lines that can cost up to
$7,000.  Bob suggested we can get the
sewer folks into our next meeting for a presentation.

 

            Both in-neighborhood and Concord
Pike itself have residences worried about speeding and failure to stop at stop
signs.  The neighborhood is County Police
while Concord Pike is State Police.  Both
can be called by residences and they will step up monitoring.

 

            The safety issue at McDonald’s was
discussed.  Unfortunately, there is no
solution because the building and drive-through are grandfathered in.

 

            The meeting was then turned back
over to RJ.  He advised that he is
stepping down as President as of January 1, 2015, but will serve as a Board
Member.  Debby will also be stepping down
as Secretary, but will keep some duties as a Board Member.  Ellen Callahan will also be stepping down as
Vice-President.  Mike Lauser expressed
his willingness to continue as Treasurer. 
He introduced Blaine Breeding as volunteering to take over as President,
and Shaun Orr as Vice President.  He then
asked for volunteers for Secretary and Jenna Jackson offered.  Volunteers were also asked to serve on the
Board and Jeff Clouser volunteered. 
Blaine, Shaun, and Jenna  were all
nominated, seconded and voted in as officers unanimously.  RJ Miles, Debby Waxman and Jeff Clouser were
all nominated, seconded and voted in unanimously as Board members. We welcome
all and expect to have a meeting of officers and Board members within a
month. 

 

            As
there was no other business, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Debby Waxman, Secretary