[0:00] Everyone, I'd like to call to Order County Council's Agenda Me, a regular meeting for Wednesday, September 17th, 2025. Please rise to the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:24] Thank

[0:30] you, everyone for joining us today. I will kick it over to our solicitor just for some opening comments.

[0:37] I could evening everyone. First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming out today.

[0:41] you all individually have things that you could be doing other than being here, but you chose to come and participate in government, which is awesome.

[0:52] And I respect that you are taking the time to provide that input, and it's something that everyone in this room actually has in common.

[1:02] So thank you for being here, and I hope you take a moment to acknowledge yourselves for that part of you,

[1:09] that you care and you're participating.

[1:12] I want to set some expectations for public comment

[1:15] that will happen.

[1:17] The first is an expectation of myself.

[1:19] Okay, as a solicitor, from time to time,

[1:22] I need to speak up and I expect myself to be fair

[1:27] and attentive and observant of the law.

[1:32] And if I err because I'm a beautiful human,

[1:35] like all of you and we do err sometimes,

[1:37] I do expect you to hold me accountable within the appropriate form, whether that's after the meeting or an email to the clerk or in some way.

[1:46] And I expect of myself to receive input and continue to evaluate my performance and my service to the county and to our community.

[1:56] This meeting is a forum for respectful discussion and open expression.

[2:01] Everyone has the right to be heard and there's a specific time for that.

[2:04] many of you are accustomed to the rules of that, the three-minute cutoff, and we do ask,

[2:10] please refrain from heckling, speaking out of turn, or otherwise disrupting the proceedings.

[2:17] With the right to be heard, there's the responsibility to listen. If disruptions occur,

[2:24] the meeting will be paused until orders are stored. And individuals who persistently

[2:29] violate those rules of decorum, maybe ask to leave. Those are my comments, and I look forward to

[2:36] listening to you all during public comment, and thanks again for being here and participating in

[2:41] government. Thank you, Miss Alvary. I will move on to council announcements, and first we have

[2:47] council member Shaefer. Thank you, Dr. Taylor. I have two announcements this evening.

[2:54] The first, I'm very thrilled to share details about a few upcoming events that are being

[2:59] billed as three cheers for Delco's birthdays, a three-day celebration of history, hometown

[3:05] pride, and America's upcoming 250th. This exciting celebration organized through a partnership

[3:12] with America 250PA Delco, visit Delco and the Delaware County Historical Society takes place

[3:18] This next weekend, September 26th through September 28th, all in service to three birthdays,

[3:25] the 236th birthday of Delaware County, the 130th birthday of the Delaware County Historical

[3:33] Society, and the once in a generation, Miles Joan of America's 250th birthday, the semi-Queen

[3:40] centennial, coming up on July 4th, 2026.

[3:43] So, this is not a single festival, but rather a series of fun Delco events happening across

[3:48] three days, ranging from historical open houses and community happy hours to the debut of

[3:54] the Delco downhill derby, a big birthday celebration right here at the courthouse, with

[3:59] the weekend culminating in the inaugural Delco 10 mile aerobrace.

[4:04] The fun begins on Friday, September 26, with an open house at the Historical Society right

[4:09] here in media, followed by birthday cheers on the county courthouse, courthouse steps on Friday

[4:15] at 4 p.m. This celebration will feature live music, speakers, birthday cupcakes for everyone,

[4:21] and the unveiling of a new America 250 banner that will hang in front of the courthouse through July

[4:27] 4th. These banners carrying the themes of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness will serve as

[4:33] a visual reminder of the role Delaware County has played in shaping American democracy.

[4:38] We encourage the public to come out, enjoy a cupcake, and be part of this exciting community moment.

[4:45] Later that evening, cheers for Delco Happy Hours. We'll be taking place here in media and across the county in Ridley Park,

[4:53] Prospect Park, Clifton Heights, Chadsford, and other locations.

[4:56] These events give residents a chance to raise the glass in Delco.

[5:00] With Delco pride, while proceeds benefit community history programs leading in to 2026. Finally, on Sunday,

[5:08] September 28th, the weekend wraps up with the most anticipated event, the inaugural Delco 10-mile

[5:14] or park pitch. This new road race, which I'd like to point out was the idea of my colleague,

[5:21] council member Christine Ruther. Begins at Rose Tree Park in Upper Providence, passes through media

[5:27] and another Providence and finishes at Subaru Park in Chester.

[5:31] The response to my race has been incredible.

[5:34] More than 1,200 runners are registered with bibs selling out quickly even after the cap was expanded.

[5:41] We even have participants coming from as far away as Florida and California to run right here in Delco.

[5:47] Thanks to strong volunteer support, the race is ready to go.

[5:50] We're encouraging residents to come out along the course and

[5:53] year-on-runners between 7.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. along the route.

[5:58] Together, these events honor our past, celebrate our present, and build excitement for America's

[6:03] 250th.

[6:04] For more information on the weekend schedule, including the race details, visit America

[6:09] 250paDelco.org or America10Milor.com, and the 10 is the numeral not the letters.

[6:16] We hope to see you out there next week, and if you would like a cupcake, please join us

[6:21] on the court have steps and next Friday.

[6:25] My second announcement is about Suicide Prevention Month.

[6:31] As many of you know, September is Suicide Prevention Month,

[6:35] and earlier this month at our September 3rd Council meeting,

[6:38] we heard from Colonel Arthur Jenkins

[6:40] from our Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

[6:43] and from Janet Drightline from our Department of Human Services

[6:46] about the Suicide Prevention resources available

[6:49] to our residents and to our veterans.

[6:52] I want to remind everyone that if you are in crisis,

[6:55] or if you know someone who is,

[6:57] our mobile crisis team is available at 855-889-7827,

[7:03] or you can call 911.

[7:05] The crisis connections team does more than respond in emergencies.

[7:10] They also work proactively with community groups,

[7:13] educators, law enforcement, and medical professionals

[7:16] professionals to prevent crises and raise awareness of the mental health challenges linked to

[7:21] psychiatric illness, substance abuse, trauma, and violence. Really, it's just a great resource in

[7:27] this county. September is also recovery month, which highlights the many resources and supports

[7:35] available for individuals and families impacted by substance abuse disorder and mental health conditions.

[7:41] One of the most impactful resources here in Delaware County is the warm handoff program whose mission is to provide comprehensive support and linkage to treatment.

[7:50] Through this program, residents can access recovery planning, family support, and referrals to community services.

[7:57] Certified recovery specialists are available 24-7 at 855-687-2410 or online at MVPRecovery.org.

[8:09] MVP has been a truly great partner and we're proud to say that they do such a great work here in Delaware County.

[8:16] I also want to take a moment to recognize two outstanding individuals whose work related to recovery and suicide prevention has recently received some very well deserved a claim.

[8:27] Shannon Fitzpatrick-Thomas, our community and court and community connections administrator, was honored on World Suicide Prevention Day

[8:36] with the Mary Ellen Carpenter Appreciation Award by survivors of Suicide Inc.

[8:42] Recognizing her more than 25 years of dedication to Suicide Prevention in Delaware County, this is a very big deal.

[8:50] And

[8:55] Shannon Optaneker, a certified recovery specialist embedded in our office of adult probation and parole through MVP Recovery,

[9:05] was invited to present at the AOPC regional summit in Chester County on the vital role that CRS's play on

[9:14] diversionary treatment court teams offering hope and guidance through lived experience.

[9:19] That is an honor and proof that the work that we are doing here in Delaware County is being recognized beyond our borders

[9:25] regionally and across the Commonwealth. And I believe we are very fortunate to have two of these

[9:32] Both Shannon's, Shannon fits Patrick Thomas and Shannon up in Naker, here with us tonight.

[9:38] So if would you both please stand up, if you are here.

[9:43] And let's give them a round of applause.

[9:51] Thank you for your work.

[9:53] We are all the better for it.

[9:55] And that is the end of my comments.

[9:58] Thank you, Council Member Schaefer, Council Member Rue.

[10:00] I

[10:04] also have two comments. First, we have municipal elections coming up on Tuesday, November 4th. The right to vote is central and fundamental to our identity as Americans. I want to stress the continued importance of every voter exercising that right, having your voice heard at the ballot box and participating in shaping our shared future. This year, like every year, Delaware County relies on the dedication of

[10:32] thousands of residents who serve as election poll workers.

[10:36] It's hard work, it's a long day, but it's also extremely important work, and I would urge

[10:41] all residents who are able to consider serving.

[10:44] There's truly nothing more patriotic than taking part in our election process.

[10:49] Serving as a poll worker provides hands-on civic engagement, ensures fair and smooth elections,

[10:54] strengthens community trust, and inspires confidence in the integrity of our elections.

[10:59] It's also extremely rewarding work.

[11:03] Mail and ballots are expected to go out beginning on October 4th, possibly sooner.

[11:09] Remember, Pennsylvania voters must apply each year to receive a mail-in ballot.

[11:13] If you have not applied in 2025, you may apply for this election or make a plan to vote in person.

[11:20] Applications for mail-in and absentee ballots now, or by early October,

[11:25] or, excuse me, applications for mail and ballots and absentee ballots now or by early

[11:31] October to be sure you have time to receive and return your ballot.

[11:36] Completed mail ballots must be received by the Bureau of Elections, by 8 p.m. on election

[11:42] day, Tuesday, November 4th.

[11:44] That means you can either mail them in time to be received in the mail that's delivered

[11:50] prior to 8 p.m.

[11:53] You can go to the county voter services office and drop it off by hand or you can drop it in any of the drop boxes that are around the county and you can go to our website to find out where they are located.

[12:09] There are fewer now than there used to be. I'm told for administrative reasons.

[12:13] For more information, visit the Delco Votes website at delcopa.gov slash vote, the site lists sample ballots, polling location, ballot drop boxes, election results, and resources for voters and poll workers.

[12:28] I urge everybody, especially those who want to get their voters out, to make sure they take a look at the sample ballots because various questions carry over to the other side, and you may want to remind your voters.

[12:41] You can also call the Delaware County Election Hotline at 610-891-VOTE with any election-related

[12:49] questions.

[12:52] I feel like I get to say that every year, but my second announcement, I want to call attention

[12:57] to tomorrow's annual senior expo at the Drexel Brook.

[13:01] The event runs from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

[13:03] It brings together more than 70 vendors and organizations with resources for seniors,

[13:09] families, and caregivers.

[13:11] The expo is one of the largest and most popular senior events in our region, offering

[13:15] everything from health screenings and state programs to interactive activities, live music,

[13:21] raffle prizes, and refreshments.

[13:23] It's a true one-stop opportunity for older residents and their families to connect directly

[13:28] with providers, ask questions, and discover new services, and supports.

[13:32] Several Delaware County Departments will also be participating, including our Office

[13:37] of Services for the Aging, COSA, I think because it's actually the County Office

[13:43] of Services for the Aging, which will be on site to help residents learn about county

[13:48] services, programs, and opportunities designed to support healthy, active, and engaged lives

[13:53] for seniors. And I'd like to thank Senator Tim Carney and Representative Heather Boyd for once

[13:58] Again, hosting this popular event now in its six-year.

[14:02] It continues to grow each year

[14:03] and has become valued tradition in Delaware County.

[14:06] We look forward to welcoming seniors,

[14:08] the families and caregivers tomorrow

[14:09] with the Drexel Brook at 4,700 Drexel Book Drive

[14:13] and Drexel Hill from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

[14:19] Thank you Council Member Madden.

[14:23] Thank you, Taylor.

[14:25] Tonight I also have two announcements.

[14:27] First, I'd like to highlight

[14:29] that September is library card sign-up month, and here in Delaware County, frankly, we have a lot to celebrate.

[14:36] Libraries truly are, for everyone, no matter your age, background, or goals.

[14:42] A single library card can open the doors to endless possibilities.

[14:46] Whether you're diving into a new hobby, searching for your next great read,

[14:50] brushing up on text skills, or helping a child succeed in school, it all starts with a library card.

[14:56] Today's library's connect communities to information and

[15:03] We are proud to say we have the second-highest library outlet density in the entire country. Just one card gives you access to 28 locations across our county. We're basically the library capital of America, and that's something to be proud of. Getting a library card is free, easy, and empowering for students. It's a key to academic success. For adults, it's a gateway to lifelong learning, and for everyone, it's a smart way to stay connected.

[15:29] to your community. This month, Delaware County Libraries are hosting a series of special

[15:36] events to encourage residents to sign up. One highlight is read at Rose Tree on Wednesday,

[15:43] September 24th, so next Wednesday, from 5.30 to 7.00 pm. Families are invited to join staff

[15:50] at Rose Tree Park for an evening of reading and activities and, of course, to sign up for a card.

[15:55] I want to thank the staff and leadership of Delaware County Libraries for the work they do every day

[15:59] to keep our communities engaged and informed.

[16:03] I encourage every resident, if you don't already have a library card,

[16:07] make this the month you go out and get one.

[16:09] For more information or to sign up online, visit delcolibraries.org

[16:15] or stop by any of our 28 locations across Delaware County.

[16:21] My second announcement is that I want to bring to everyone's attention that we have

[16:25] have two openings on our Delaware County Sustainability Commission.

[16:29] The Sustainability Commission plays a vital role in guiding our county's environmental

[16:34] and energy policies.

[16:36] Members provide recommendations on everything from responsible purchasing and energy efficiency,

[16:42] to air quality, storm water management, natural resource protection, and climate resiliency.

[16:48] And the work of the commission helps ensure that Delaware County continues to grow in a way

[16:53] that protects our environment,

[16:55] supports sustainable practices,

[16:57] and strengthens our communities for future generations.

[17:00] Right now, we are seeking applicants

[17:02] with specific areas of expertise.

[17:05] One opening is for a representative

[17:08] with specific experience

[17:10] in water resource management,

[17:12] and I want to emphasize that this seed

[17:14] has been opened for more than a year.

[17:16] This is a critical area for a county

[17:18] with direct impact on storm water management,

[17:20] flooding, and the health of our rivers

[17:23] is streams and drinking water.

[17:25] Filling this role is a top priority.

[17:27] So if you or someone who you know is an expert

[17:31] in water resource management, please let them know about this.

[17:35] We could really use their help in this position.

[17:39] The second opening is for representative

[17:41] with expertise in energy efficiency

[17:43] and green building practices.

[17:45] This includes knowledge of sustainable design,

[17:48] energy conservation, and innovations

[17:49] that can help the county reduce costs,

[17:52] save energy and reduce our overall carbon footprint.

[17:56] We encourage anyone who feels they can contribute in these important areas to step forward and to apply.

[18:02] The commission includes both designated members of county government and

[18:06] county residents who bring their professional knowledge and personal commitment to sustainability.

[18:12] Sovereign on the Sustainability Commission is a meaningful opportunity to share your expertise,

[18:16] give back to the community and shape policies that will guide Delaware County's future.

[18:20] In addition to the vacancies I just mentioned on our Sustainability Commission, we also have eight openings on the Board of Directors for the Hero Scholarship Fund of Delaware County.

[18:31] For those that aren't familiar with it, the Hero Scholarship Fund was founded in 1977, and it provides educational scholarships to the children of police officers and firefighters who have died or were killed in a line of duty.

[18:46] To date, 36 children have received support with more eligible for future scholarships.

[18:53] Funding comes from community traditions like the annual Hero Bowl football game and

[18:58] the Springfield run for heroes as well as voluntary donations from jurors serving in Delaware County.

[19:05] These community contributions make a direct difference in the lives of children who have endured profound loss.

[19:12] Directors are appointed by County Council to three year terms and me quarterly, and applications are due by September 19th, 2025, so in a few days, although honestly given the fact we've got so many openings, if you're a little late, I'll bet we can find a way to get you in, so please, if you have interest, please reach out to learn more and apply, visit our website delco.pa.gov, click on the government tab, then click on boards and commissions.

[19:40] and like I said, applications will be accepted through September 19th.

[19:45] Thank you all.

[19:46] Thank you, Council Member.

[19:48] Mr. Walak.

[19:51] Good evening.

[19:55] Tonight I have two announcements.

[19:57] The first is this Friday, September 19th.

[20:00] 12 noon. On the steps of the county courthouse, the other county council and the other county team will join our Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, led by Colonel Arthur Jenkins, Jr. To raise the United States Air Force flag and honor of the Air Force 78th birthday.

[20:19] We will hear from retired Master Sergeant Tanya Harris of our Office of Military and Veterans Affairs who will provide a brief history of the Air Force in vital role in defending our nation.

[20:31] The Air Force was established as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, and for the past 78 years has carried out an admission to fly, fight, win, protect our nation in the air and space and cyberspace.

[20:46] and supporting peace and stability across the world.

[20:51] We will also be joined by the family of First Lieutenant William E. Woody Rice,

[20:57] a distinguished member of the Legendary Tassisky Airmen,

[21:00] who was a longtime Delaware County resident who passed away in 2022.

[21:06] Lieutenant Rice's daughter, Ms. Janice Robinson, will speak on behalf of the family.

[21:11] His legacy as one of the first African-American military aviators

[21:15] who bravely served our country in World War II,

[21:19] remains an enduring source of pride and inspiration

[21:22] here in Delbert County.

[21:24] This ceremony is a part of our ongoing tradition

[21:27] here in Delbert County,

[21:29] to honor each branch of our military

[21:30] with a flag raising at the courthouse

[21:33] on their founding anniversaries.

[21:36] Earlier this year, we raised the flags of the Army

[21:38] and Coast Guard,

[21:40] and later this fall,

[21:41] we will recognize both the Navy and Marine Corps.

[21:44] I hope that many of you can join us this Friday at 12 noon to honor our Air Force, celebrate

[21:51] his proud history and pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of those who have worn his uniform.

[21:59] For my second announcement for tonight is in regard to a Pennsylvania Career Link Awareness Day.

[22:06] I would like to share that tomorrow, Thursday, September 18th,

[22:11] Gilbert County will host the Pennsylvania CareerLink Awareness Day at the PA CareerLinks

[22:16] media and check the locations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This annual event is organized by

[22:23] the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. It gives residents and employees a chance

[22:28] to explore the wide range of services. CareerLink provides to help people connect with meaningful

[22:34] employment and career pathways. Highlights include free professional headshots

[22:40] employer-led workshops on digital recruitment and entrepreneurship in a community.

[22:49] Launch and learn sessions call the startup of you.

[22:53] Veterans can also access a program on entrepreneurship and individuals re-entering.

[22:59] The workforce are encouraged to attend the second-chance job-seekers workshop.

[23:04] And for young people, the Chester Career Link will host a special youth open house

[23:08] from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

[23:11] With this workshop and networking opportunities,

[23:15] they'll later in the day to allow students

[23:16] to participate after school hours.

[23:19] We're also proud to partner with the Pennsylvania Department

[23:22] as a labor and industry in health

[23:23] to pilot a new initiative that provides on the spot

[23:28] birth certificate for pre-registered residents

[23:31] at our Chester Career Link Office,

[23:33] helping to remove areas that can stand in the way

[23:36] of employment, education, and benefits.

[23:39] The Pennsylvania Career Link Awareness Day runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both locations

[23:45] with the Chester site open until 6 p.m. for the second hour in youth open house.

[23:51] I want to thank Kate McGeever and the Delaware County Workforce Development Team, our local

[23:58] Pennsylvania Career Link staff, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, and all of

[24:03] our community partners were making tomorrow possible.

[24:06] I encourage residents to stop by the media

[24:08] and check the Pennsylvania CareerLink locations tomorrow.

[24:11] The Pennsylvania CareerLink and media is located

[24:15] at 901 South Media Line Road and Media.

[24:20] And the Pennsylvania CareerLink and Chester's location

[24:22] is found at 701 Crosby Street,

[24:26] Sweet Bay and Chester.

[24:28] Thank you.

[24:31] Thank you, Mr. Rolman.

[24:33] Great, and so for my first announcement, I want to highlight an important event happening

[24:37] tomorrow. Thursday, September 18th and Friday, September 19th. That speaks to the health

[24:43] and well-being of families here in Delaware County and across the region. Delaware County

[24:48] is proud to support the born to thrive. The South Eastern Pennsylvania Maternal and Infant

[24:53] Survival and Equity Summit, which will be held at Subaru Park in Chester. This event is

[24:59] being presented.

[25:00] In partnership with the Office of Representative Gina Curry, Nemours and the Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus. Born to thrive, brings together community voices, healthcare innovators, and policy experts to confront the maternal and infant health crisis in Southeast Pennsylvania. And to boldly reimagine what it means to be well beyond medicine. Tomorrow's program includes a policy hearing from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by a fireside chat from 3.30 to 5.

[25:28] and Friday includes from 9 to 4 p.m. panel discussions and breakout sessions.

[25:35] All sessions are open to the public and will provide opportunities to hear directly from experts and community leaders who are working to improve outcomes for mothers, infants and families.

[25:45] I encourage residents to join us at Subaru Park, one stadium drive and Chester for this important community event.

[25:52] But for my second announcement, I'd like to highlight two important events being hosted

[25:57] tomorrow by our Delaware County Health Department, led by Director Laura Warner.

[26:02] First, from the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, September 18th, our Health Department will

[26:07] host the kickoff to N. Rostate Cancer, the Delaware County Health Department Wellness Center

[26:13] at 125 Chester Avenue in the Aden.

[26:16] This men's health event emphasizes preventative care, Jefferson Health will provide free prostate

[26:22] screenings with a simple blood test, no appointment or insurance required, local organizations

[26:28] will also share health information, and there will be giveaways and raffle prizes.

[26:33] It's a vital opportunity for men in our communities to check in on their health.

[26:37] Also, tomorrow, from 5.30 to 7.30 pm, we will gather at Sharon Hill Park,

[26:43] at 12.01, Chester Pike, Sharon Hill, for the Rally for Recovery and Observance of National Recovery Month.

[26:51] This event in collaboration with the Department of Human Services Office of Drug and Alcohol is a time to celebrate those in recovery.

[26:59] Remember, lives lost and bring hope to families and communities still affected by substance use.

[27:05] There will be live music, food trucks, yoga speakers, and access to recovery and wellness

[27:12] resources.

[27:13] It's free and open to all.

[27:15] If you have any questions about either of them, please call the DCHD wellness sign at 484-276-2100

[27:23] to available 247 for residents seeking health information, services, or support.

[27:30] All right.

[27:30] And with that, that concludes our county announcements.

[27:33] I will move into our presentations, agenda item 4A calls for the Delaware County Zero Waste Plan by Rebecca Yerkovich, our Director of Sustainability.

[27:50] Good evening members of council and members of the Delaware County community.

[27:55] I am thrilled to come for you this evening to present Delaware County's Zero Waste Plan.

[27:59] This plan comes as a companion document to the sustainability plan, which was released

[28:05] in 2023, and it serves to really take a deeper dive into the county's waste system.

[28:12] So during this evening's presentation, I'm just going to give you a brief tasting and overview

[28:17] of our plan, recognizing the many components and resources that this serves to offer both

[28:22] our government as well as our community.

[28:25] So, I apologize this is a little tiny, but it's worth noting that this planning started

[28:30] in 2022 with several goals, but overall really serving to guide the county's transition

[28:37] toward zero waste while evaluating the effectiveness of our existing programs, identifying opportunities

[28:44] for expansion, and also looking at opportunities that zero waste can serve as a mechanism toward

[28:51] leverage and count other county goals such as reducing costs and creating efficiency.

[28:57] Throughout this process, it was pivotal to have community input and release stakeholder

[29:02] environment drive, stakeholder engagement drive this process. From 2022 through 2025, there were

[29:09] several opportunities for stakeholders to provide feedback, including through 20 listening sessions,

[29:15] 3 in-person workshops, 3 online workshops, as well as 3 advisory committees, which all

[29:23] provided their time and expertise toward shaping this document.

[29:27] Throughout the process, there were over 500 different touch points with our community

[29:31] members and opportunities to shape this plan.

[29:37] Once we had everybody on board, it was really important for us to take a step back and say

[29:41] what are we actually talking about?

[29:43] Zero waste can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

[29:48] So here in Delco, it was decided that this is what zero waste is.

[29:53] The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse,

[29:59] And

[30:00] And recovery of products, packaging and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that can threaten the environment or human health. In adopting this definition, it was important for all of us to be pulling in the same direction and really have a unified front when we say we're striving for zero waste.

[30:22] After we kind of knew what everybody was talking about, it was important for us to identify kind of those guide rails or what are the shared values throughout this process.

[30:30] So there were 10 shared values or guiding principles which were identified in this planning

[30:36] process by our members of the public which are abbreviated here on the screen.

[30:42] And as we're striving for zero waste, it was also incredibly important that we have

[30:46] a new lens of thinking as shifting towards zero waste does challenge the norm and requires

[30:52] kind of a new way of thinking.

[30:54] The adoption of the zero waste hierarchy from the zero waste international lines served as

[31:00] the agreed-upon lens for us to really recognize that there's kind of good, better, and best opportunities

[31:06] for us to rethink all of our actions to reduce wasting.

[31:13] Once we all had our shared values and

[31:16] our lens in which we were going to be evaluating Delaware County's systems, it was important to

[31:21] recognize what we already have. So while you see on the screen is a brief infographic of our current

[31:28] waste system, as well as a map highlighting the different holding methods that our communities

[31:34] are using.

[31:36] In this document, we recognize the existing practices in waste, as well as recycling

[31:42] and specialized services.

[31:44] We have an open discussion about the challenges of our existing system.

[31:50] And we also took a step further to have a lifecycle analysis, which looks at the scientific

[31:55] background to show the true cost of current practices of incineration versus those of landfilling.

[32:04] In identifying the kind of existing practices, it was then time to lay a roadmap for the future.

[32:12] 129 different recommended actions were identified, and these were further broken down into 17 key

[32:18] initiatives and four categories. Each action has an identification in terms of resource

[32:24] intensiveness, so if it's kind of something we think we can do in the short term

[32:28] mid or long, as well as identify the lead and partner organizations.

[32:35] The first

[32:35] category of actions in which we recognized were policy actions, so these are

[32:40] those that reflect a top-down approach. So recommendations for policies or

[32:45] municipal ordinances that will help codify new roles for supporting zero waste.

[32:52] Next we looked at opportunities from going bottom up in shifting the culture

[32:57] around waste in our communities. This was opportunities and actions to promote changing habits

[33:03] on a community scale to increase diversion.

[33:07] We also identified actions called curbing waste,

[33:11] which look at opportunities to improve our curbside collection, to increase services,

[33:16] improve equitable bulk pricing, and service offerings, and increase additional diversion.

[33:23] And finally, our last category of actions was building better systems infrastructure.

[33:29] And this really serves to look at systematic change and updated infrastructure that will

[33:34] further support zero waste into the future of Delaware County.

[33:39] When looking at the implementation and impact of this plan, it's recognized that most implementation

[33:44] will happen on a county staffing level with the assistance of grant funding.

[33:48] However, it's important to recognize that community implementation is also required.

[33:54] If we want to see a more sustainable Delaware County, everyone has a role to play.

[33:58] The impact of this plan, if implemented in totality, would be an 82% diversion of waste throughout

[34:05] the county.

[34:09] And as a summary, just to hit the point home, it's recognized that we don't need a handful

[34:14] of people that are doing zero waste perfectly, but we need millions of people who are doing

[34:18] it imperfectly.

[34:19] Thank you for your time.

[34:30] Thank you.

[34:30] Questions or comments from Council?

[34:32] Well, I want to start out with a huge expression of gratitude to the many people who

[34:38] paid in hours and hours and hours of their time, including the Sustainability Commission.

[34:44] There was a subcommittee of the Sustainability Commission who worked hard on this.

[34:49] There was an advisory committee from the Solid Waste Authority and a zero waste system

[34:57] sustainability.

[35:00] An advisory committee that stemmed out of the sustainability plan. So there were a lot of people focusing on this and giving a lot of input. And for those of you out there who are listening tonight, thank you. We are so grateful. Most of all, I want to express unbelievable gratitude to director Yarkovich, who has led the ship for over three years at this point. And it's been quite a journey. And we have all learned from it. I learned a lot through this process.

[35:29] I know everyone did. So thank you for all that you have done to bring this forward.

[35:35] I'm really proud of what came out of it. I'm really proud to accept it tonight.

[35:41] It's not perfect. It's not going to happen tomorrow. You know, the problem with reality is that you

[35:48] have to work within it. But this plan has really attainable aspirational goals over the long term.

[35:59] and the only way to change reality is to start somewhere and that is what this is. This is a

[36:05] thoughtful, written down, hold ourselves accountable plan to start making progress towards this goal

[36:13] and to get towards perfection and change the reality that we are constrained by right now.

[36:20] So I'm thrilled to accept it. Thank you for all the work that went in it. I hope everyone in this

[36:26] room takes a moment to go read every one of the 129 action items in this plan and start

[36:34] to take some of those actions yourself.

[36:36] So thank you.

[36:38] Thank you.

[36:38] Yeah, I mean, this is one where, like many things, tonight's presentation by Rebecca is sort

[36:44] of the tip of the iceberg.

[36:46] And as Elaine said, the amount of effort that's gone into what we're sort of seeing in summary

[36:54] reform tonight is truly extraordinary, and it really is a reflection of the contributions

[37:01] of so many people, which we really are appreciative of.

[37:05] I think if you do go through the 100 and however many points, I think what you're going

[37:11] to see is that there are some that are really, you know, we can implement pretty quickly,

[37:15] but there are others that are dependent upon substantial investment that in some respects

[37:22] the effects has been deferred and is going to be meaningful and isn't going to happen tomorrow, but when done and I'm really thinking particularly around our processing, it's going to be extraordinary what that's going to allow for municipalities to do.

[37:41] So, Delaware County candidly for a long time has been somewhat fragmented and reliant upon individual municipalities to do whatever they can do, and it's lacked leadership and this plan really represents major step forward of leadership by the county Rebecca with your leadership.

[38:03] So thank you once more with everything you've done here to ensure that, you know, in a fragmented county like Delaware County is where we have so many municipalities in a small area.

[38:15] You need leadership to really step forward and something is important, sustainability, and now we're doing so.

[38:21] So really, this is a major milestone and I can't thank you enough.

[38:26] Thank you. I get the joy of looking at this both as a council person and as an ex officio,

[38:35] non-voting board member on the Solid Waste Authority, where that trash sores, I get elections,

[38:42] I get to deal with it all, but I think it's really important what the final slide said was that,

[38:52] you know, we can't focus doing things perfectly. We have to do as much as we can, however imperfectly.

[38:59] And, you know, another way of looking at it is, don't let perfection be the enemy of good.

[39:08] Trash, as I have come to realize, and any of you who deal with it professionally,

[39:14] understand it's actually a really complicated business and it is there are things that we aspire to and identify in this plan that we recognize can't happen without state law changes.

[39:34] as they can't happen without municipal buy-in.

[39:39] There are things in the reality

[39:42] of what the Solid Waste Authority has to deal with,

[39:45] including the State Department of Environmental Protection,

[39:49] which just got its first act 101 coordinator,

[39:54] Act 101 is the Act that governs solid waste disposal.

[39:58] It's first 101.

[40:01] And so there's a lot of change going on there. And it's a new world to navigate as our solid waste authority is trying to expand the landfill that it owns and build capacity, including at the transfer stations. And one of the really great things about having a countywide municipal authority that handles transfer stations, that handles, it can set up a place to do,

[40:29] a lot of regular recycling, which now is really ad hoc.

[40:34] It's a question of, gee, does the county do it a couple times a year in conjunction with

[40:38] the other counties to some state reps, have shredding events or electronic collection events?

[40:43] I mean, there's, we don't have a dedicated electronic recycling spot in Delaware County that's

[40:51] always open.

[40:51] And so to that's something that is being proposed as part of a transfer station overhaul

[41:02] that the Solid Waste Authority wants to do, but there's a lot of things that go into

[41:06] it, including how they're going to finance that, how they're going to do that while keeping

[41:10] rates competitive and market for the municipalities so they're not driven off in other directions.

[41:15] And their whole goal is to be able to provide more services to foster recycling, reuse,

[41:25] repurposing, composting, and to be able to do it at the same cost that a municipality

[41:30] might otherwise just be able to get rid of their trash for.

[41:33] Which if you think about it, doing something collectively like that would be a great thing.

[41:41] and that's the benefit of having a collective resource that all of our municipalities deal with,

[41:46] but they have to choose to deal with it. And all of us play a role in that as residents,

[41:52] not just of Delaware County, but as residents of the communities we live in. And we are all,

[41:59] we can all ex, you know, every time I, you know, I can't find a recycling bin and I put an aluminum

[42:05] them can in the trash or you know I beat myself up or you know forget my bags and get a plastic

[42:11] bag when I know I have plenty of reusable bags but I also have learned to love by nothing

[42:18] and you know swap sites in my neighborhood and have been amazed at what you can get rid of when

[42:26] you just put it out on your curb. So my statement to all of you is this plan does not include

[42:35] that everybody wants, but some things that people want, we can't do, we certainly can't do without the state proving them.

[42:45] Some of the things people want to do, we can't do unless we find a way to pay for it.

[42:49] Paying for it may involve some other things, people don't like, like potentially sending some trash to Ray World.

[42:58] There's not perfect answers, there's only better answers.

[43:01] and I think this plan is moving us in that direction and it's a step in changing the culture by showing people what is possible, the easy stuff, what is desirable, maybe the harder stuff.

[43:20] But we're never going to get on that road if we don't see the map, and this is a map, so thank you.

[43:29] Thank you.

[43:32] Any additional questions or comments?

[43:35] I just want to thank you and the entire team and everyone who has worked on this for your work.

[43:40] Yes, thank you for it.

[43:42] Sure.

[43:42] Thank you to Council for your continued support as well as our community and members of staff.

[43:47] Thank you.

[43:55] Next item on the agenda.

[43:57] We have our register of wills, most servants, and round you own here to give us an update from the registered wills office.

[44:05] Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Taylor. Thank you, Council.

[44:12] And, Delco residents, it's great

[44:14] to see a packed house here for the riveting Register of Wheels update. I know that's

[44:18] what you're all here for.

[44:22] Now, I do want to, I know you have a lot of important business

[44:27] to get to. So I'll try to keep this moving quick apology at the top. Back to school has been

[44:35] back to germs at the Rangione household. So we're a little under the weather. I might not

[44:40] have my normal herb here. But thank you so much. Thank you for this opportunity. As you know,

[44:48] I was appointed to this office 20 months ago. I began serving in January of 2024. And I have to say,

[44:56] I've been an attorney for about 20 years.

[45:00] And I've been involved in politics and government even longer than that, and serving as your register of wills here in Delaware County for these last 20 months has really been wonderful. It's really been one of the best experiences that I've had in my entire career. We just help people every day. That's what we do. It's not contentious. It's not political. It's just providing good government service to our residents.

[45:29] every day. And I've really enjoyed it. I was born and raised in Haverford Township,

[45:36] graduated from Haverford High School, Immigraduate of Villanova and Villanova School of Law.

[45:40] So the opportunity to kind of culminate my Delco life by serving Delco residents has really

[45:48] been fantastic. So what do we do in the Register of Will's office? We help people navigate

[45:57] life's biggest moments. All of these things that happen, the death of a loved one, or getting married, they're accompanied by tremendous government bureaucracy.

[46:09] And so whether you were having one of the best days of your life, celebrating the fact that you're going to be married soon, or you're having a very difficult emotionally taxing day with the death of a loved one, there's government bureaucracy that goes along with it.

[46:25] and we're there to help people navigate those moments.

[46:29] And it's really nice to be able to support people

[46:32] in those times.

[46:33] And so what I like to say is we're on a mission

[46:36] to make Delaware County residents

[46:38] the most prepared community in the country

[46:41] for these transitional moments.

[46:43] And that's what we try to do.

[46:45] How have we done that in the register of Will's office?

[46:48] Well, we've done it by really building

[46:52] and growing a tremendous staff.

[46:54] We brought on a new chief deputy, Jason Cuts, he's Delaware County resident, he's got an MBA from Drexel University

[47:01] So his level of skill and acumen for business systems is really something that we haven't had

[47:07] So we're improving service delivery, we're modernizing our process, we're bringing in online probate and

[47:17] and scheduling. Julie Everett is our first deputy, and I could not possibly be happier

[47:23] than to celebrate her. She's been with the county 25 years. She is the absolute epitome

[47:29] of a public servant. She comes to work every day. She's so knowledgeable and helpful and compassionate

[47:35] and we're just so fortunate to have Julie. We also have looked within the county and found

[47:46] found and promoted talent to build our staff.

[47:49] Cara Boland has been with the county for about 10 years and she's been in our office

[47:53] a little bit over a year and she's been promoted twice.

[47:57] She's now our orphans court supervisor.

[48:00] And it's really a thing that we take a lot of pride in growing and developing our staff,

[48:06] giving professional development opportunities for people.

[48:09] same thing with Nyoka, Nyoka, came to us from Trinidad and she's got a wealth of experience

[48:18] in HR and business systems and she's taken to learning the paralegal process and the orphans

[48:25] court discipline and so we're thrilled to be able to promote her.

[48:28] So I just wanted to highlight some of our staff and some of the staff development because

[48:32] professional development and growth opportunities have really been something that we've tried

[48:36] to focus on in the register of Will's office.

[48:41] We are about 20 employees and I have this slide in there because we've also done some

[48:48] innovative things.

[48:49] We created a second paralegal role to create more growth opportunity and pathways for

[48:55] success for our employees.

[48:57] We want to be able to attract and retain the best talent and we have to give them pathways

[49:04] for growth in order to do that.

[49:05] So, by creating the paralegal position and creating the communications and community outreach

[49:11] coordinator position, we've created more meaningful career paths in our office and more

[49:17] ways to serve our Delaware County residents.

[49:21] We did about 25,000 unique interactions with the public last year.

[49:26] So we have a lot of forward facing interaction with our residents, but very few people know

[49:32] what we do.

[49:33] and so to go back to that mission of making Delaware County the most prepared and knowledgeable residents in the country when it comes to these things, it's important to be out in the community.

[49:46] So we've made it our mission to be out at events partnering with other elected officials.

[49:51] We held a press conference around the real ID because there was so much confusion about what the requirements were.

[49:58] and that press conference.

[50:00] It was very well received and we were able to get a lot of good information out to the public. And we wouldn't have been able to do that if we didn't have that community outreach capacity inside of our own office. So, I don't want to get too far into this without I sort of have buried the lead here. As we seek to modernize the office and grow the staff and grow their skills,

[50:29] It's also important that we deliver service and generate revenue.

[50:35] We're one of very few revenue-generating offices in the county.

[50:39] And in 2024, we generated over $2 million on a less than $1 million budget.

[50:44] So we're very proud of our role and our capacity to help fund county operations

[50:50] and bring in revenue to the county government.

[50:54] We're also proud of the fact that in 2024, we were about 15% under budget, and we will come in

[51:02] approximately the same amount under budget here in 2025. So I want you to rest assured that while we're

[51:09] doing all of these things in the register of Will's office, we are also keeping a careful eye on

[51:16] your tax dollars and the county budget and doing our best to run efficiently and smoothly while

[51:23] improving service delivery. One thing that people might not know that we do is we collect

[51:30] the inheritance tax, which is a Pennsylvania state tax. So we are simply the collector of that

[51:36] tax at the county level. I mention that because we process about six or seven million dollars a month

[51:42] in inheritance tax, but only 0.05% of that comes back to our office as a commission for being the conduit collector of the tax.

[51:56] And it's an interesting note because one of the other things that I've really tried to bring to the office is a more connected and involved Delaware County.

[52:11] I love Delaware County, I believe in Delaware County, I'm born and raised here, I'm raising

[52:16] my family here.

[52:17] So I want us to be real meaningful partners and players in our region and our commonwealth.

[52:24] So I serve on the legislative committee for the Pennsylvania State Association of Registers

[52:30] of Wales.

[52:31] And I also serve on the executive committee for the Pennsylvania Association of County officials.

[52:36] And in those capacities, people aren't used to seeing Delaware County people participating

[52:44] in these kind of regional and intergovernmental organizations.

[52:48] So it's really been great to fly the flag there.

[52:51] And I mentioned it in the context of this inheritance tax piece because we are pushing two different

[52:58] pieces of legislation in the state, one that would actually dramatically reduce, and in some

[53:04] cases eliminate the inheritance tax and one that would increase our revenue to the county

[53:10] on the commission. So that one would actually keep the tax the same but generate revenue for

[53:15] the county. So that's a long way of just saying your register of wills is out there flying the delco

[53:21] flag and interacting, making sure that people know who we are and what we're about. So I mentioned

[53:30] All of those interactions with the public, we do about 3 or 4,000 probate appointments every year, so probate is the legal process that happens after someone passes away where we identify and appoint a qualified executor, either someone who's named in a will or someone who has the right to serve by the laws of in test to see.

[53:57] A really big thing this year was, again, the marriage licenses.

[54:00] If you can see this graph, we issued more than twice as many certified copies of marriage

[54:07] records this year than last year.

[54:10] And that was almost entirely attributable to the real ID deadline, because people didn't

[54:15] understand that they needed a certified copy of their record.

[54:18] We had just floods of people coming from the DMV.

[54:23] And so this is another area, though, where we've also expanded our community outreach tremendously.

[54:31] We thought, hey, you know, back in the day, you would have a marriage announcement published in the newspaper.

[54:38] But that's a lot less common now.

[54:40] It's more social media and those kinds of things. So we've got a great dedicated staff.

[54:45] We have this marriage wall and love cubicle.

[54:50] we really try to make it a nice experience for people to be a part of their celebration.

[54:56] Our senior marriage clerk, man.

[55:00] He has also created a marriage song playlist that is up to about 80 different songs. And it's nice. It's just a fun thing to give people a more personalized experience in the office. So it's one of the ways that we're improving the experience that residents are having at the government center. Again, call back to our real ID. We really are on this mission. We're trying to get as much information into our residents' hands as possible.

[55:29] so I wanted to include this slide.

[55:34] I'm also the clerk of the Orphans Court, another thing in the office that nobody really knows what that means.

[55:41] The Orphans Court is a subdivision of the Common Police Court. We handle trust,

[55:48] guardianships, adoptions, paperwork of that type. It's very sensitive work. Those are the only filings in our office that are not public.

[55:58] you actually need a court order in order to obtain those records, so that's

[56:03] something that we take very seriously. We've become very involved in the

[56:07] county's overall records process, so we've helped spearhead the record retention

[56:14] committee working with Councilwoman Ruther in the Public Works Department because

[56:20] we have space issues, we have a lot of old records that need to be digitized and

[56:25] managed. So our office has taken the lead on that. But just to bring it full circle, community

[56:38] outreach has really been the hallmark of the last 20 months. Do we want to provide excellent

[56:45] service every day? Absolutely. Our goal is to be a premier provider of municipal services.

[56:50] is do we want to do it coming in under budget,

[56:53] saving the county money and generating revenue?

[56:56] Absolutely, but none of it matters if we don't educate

[57:00] the public, if we don't let the public know who we are

[57:04] and what we're about.

[57:05] So we've had incredible uptick in our social media

[57:11] presence and views.

[57:12] We're working on some videos that will simplify our

[57:17] process and make them more accessible to people.

[57:19] We've participated in dozens and dozens of community events across the county, and we've also done small things in the office like give all of our people business cards and

[57:32] Uniform email signatures. Just so everybody knows, hey, this is this is who I am. I'm a probate clerk. I'm proud of what I do. And we provide the service professionally.

[57:45] So, it's from these little things to much larger strokes that have added up to a really

[57:55] successful 20 months that I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have had.

[58:04] And yeah, we're going to continue to be on that mission of making Delaware County residents

[58:13] the most prepared in the country, and getting out there. And we want something that people hear

[58:21] me talk about is I believe that the government can and should be a force for good in people's

[58:27] lives, right? That's why I've chosen to do this with my career. And so we take very seriously the idea

[58:36] of getting the word out. And we've had some success doing that. And so please take a look

[58:43] for us on your social media, take a look for us when we're out in the community at these

[58:48] events. We'd love to see you and talk to you more about how our office can help and be

[58:57] service. So thank you very much.

[59:07] Thank you for the presentation and update on all this happening

[59:10] here office. Any questions or comments from council? I just want to make two comments first. I

[59:17] really appreciate the registered wills stepping in on the document retention. In fact, I need to give

[59:24] you and Jason cuts a call. But it's one of those things that sort of involves everybody in the county

[59:32] Until recently, it didn't really have leadership, just because we're pulled in so many different

[59:39] directions.

[59:40] And it is one of those things where some of the people who are most integrally involved,

[59:44] integrally involved, like the register of wills are independent elected.

[59:47] So, the fact that it's not council leading it, you know, we have to pay for the storage

[59:53] and everything.

[59:54] And we're very interested in supporting this and making it happen.

[59:57] But but having somebody step up and volunteer.

[1:00:00] We're really professional resources with some really good project management experience to help lead this effort has been invaluable. And the other thing I want to point out, because again, I'm, you know, I'm kind of, I get in the weeds and things. And I do know that one of the efforts that you've been working on that you didn't mention, because it's boring over the last 20 months, is there, you know, we, I know our, our controllers office,

[1:00:29] does internal business practice reviews and had done one of your office, I think, right

[1:00:37] before you got there, right around the time you got there, and it came up with a lot

[1:00:41] of recommendations about things that could help with workflow, like doing monthly transfers

[1:00:49] of the revenue that's generated, making sure all the recommendations are done in a timely

[1:00:54] basis, things that a lot of times there wasn't a staff to do or there wasn't that, you know,

[1:01:02] people were very focused on the legal side of things but not necessarily on the business

[1:01:07] side of things and I think I want to just thank our registered wills at a time when the

[1:01:12] county is watching every penny and wanting to see it come in on a timely basis, having

[1:01:19] saying that sort of responsiveness, it's a huge help and I just want to thank you for

[1:01:26] that work.

[1:01:27] I know it's something that I think, you know, our previous registers of wills would

[1:01:31] have done, but things worked out in such a way that you were able to bring resources to

[1:01:37] bear that hadn't been there.

[1:01:38] But it was great.

[1:01:42] It's great.

[1:01:42] And it's the direction and leadership that I'm very grateful for among our other role

[1:01:49] officers. So thank you. Thank you. Vincent, you said that you were under the weather and that you

[1:01:55] wouldn't bring your usual energy, but that wasn't the case for my year. No, and I think we all

[1:02:02] really appreciate the energy that you've brought to your office and making sure that it delivers the

[1:02:10] the best possible product we can to our residents. So thank you, Vince. Sure.

[1:02:14] I

[1:02:16] want to say thank you to you and your team for the service they can provide for the community

[1:02:22] and you know it's very important and and how you go over and above to make sure that you go to

[1:02:29] extra step to walk them through a process we need because they're great comments from residents

[1:02:36] as far as the register of wheels and how helpful your team has been so I just want to

[1:02:41] commend you and your team. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for the work.

[1:02:47] Thank you for you and your team and you know you have really tried to make reduce your budget

[1:02:54] and make your office more efficient and more user-friendly and so thank you for those efforts because

[1:03:00] we do hear positive feedback from residents who have come in and interacted with the office. So it

[1:03:06] does show. Thank you for the work you put into that. Great. Thank you all that and we do have the

[1:03:11] best register of wills in the country. There you go. Thank you. Thank you everybody.

[1:03:22] All right with

[1:03:23] that we will move into our public comment. First I would like to announce an executive session that

[1:03:30] occurred yesterday afternoon on litigation. Real estate matters and today this afternoon on personnel

[1:03:36] matters. Just as a reminder, for public comment, we will start with individuals who have signed

[1:03:41] up for public comment. Executive Director O'Malley will call those individuals out. If you did not

[1:03:46] get a chance to sign up, there will be opportunity after everyone who has signed up has gone. When you

[1:03:53] come forward, please set forward, state your name and municipality, and there is a three minute limit

[1:03:58] on your time, which is on the screens in front of you.

[1:04:02] If Liz Piazza and Gary Ryder

[1:04:06] And Ms. Piazz, before you start, just one more reminder.

[1:04:09] If you do have public comment on the ordinance 2025-7 authorizing the establishment of a county

[1:04:18] demolition and rehabilitation fund, there will be opportunity during the public hearing

[1:04:23] for that.

[1:04:23] So we will not be accepting any public comments on that ordinance at this time.

[1:04:28] Just a point of order is, but that, oh, sorry, wrong ordinance.

[1:04:33] Yeah.

[1:04:38] Good evening, Council. Liz Piazza and Candidate for County Council, and I live

[1:04:43] in upper Providence. Yesterday I heard Council members blaming the Sunshine Laws and

[1:04:48] having to resort to one on one phone calls to discuss the real and stuffed substance issues

[1:04:55] with the current Human Relations Commission. What is the need to be behind the scenes?

[1:05:00] As an elected public official, you have the forum here, and now to be clear about the exact issues and concerns with the current ordinance, and given the potential that a poorly planned HRC can lead to thought policing, loss of faith in our judicial system, and the financial burning of training, support, and resources it would place in our already inflated budget. You not only have the ability, but the duty to be clear

[1:05:30] and transparent. At multiple points during this discussion, you changed to the ordinances

[1:05:36] which described as tweaks while also substantive and substantial. So what is it? I doubt there

[1:05:45] is a hold up over the weather, over weather, a sentence or two needs a period versus a comma.

[1:05:52] If council wants to grant 13 volunteers the ability to issue subpoenas in post-fines,

[1:06:00] potentially in fringe on personal freedom, you need to be clear about what criteria you

[1:06:06] are using in the selection process, as well as how you will ensure that these chosen few

[1:06:12] wouldn't be one-sided political retribution machines.

[1:06:16] I am against discrimination, and I stand for fair treatment of Delaware County citizens,

[1:06:23] passing a resolution to enforce an ordinance, yet to be clearly and properly defined, puts the

[1:06:29] court before the horse, and is an ill-advised proposition that will only lead to confusion and

[1:06:36] a waste of tax payers' dollars.

[1:06:38] Thank you, Council, and have a good night.

[1:06:41] Gary Ryder, Mary Nisa Kustinesti.

[1:06:49] Gary Ryder, Marble Danship.

[1:06:53] I don't have too much to say.

[1:06:56] I'm still concerned about the ongoing.

[1:06:58] That's my main concern here.

[1:07:01] We see no progress being done.

[1:07:04] I don't know how people didn't fall and get hurt back there.

[1:07:07] And then walking past.

[1:07:08] I don't know what you guys are doing, but I've got to do something with it.

[1:07:15] Other than that, the HRC, I don't know much about it, but I heard, you know, I can't

[1:07:21] believe you're going to point people that can hand out fines and subpoenas.

[1:07:28] That's totally unfair, unconstitutional.

[1:07:31] You know, what's next like our religion?

[1:07:35] You're going to take our religion away from us, too.

[1:07:38] You know, I mean, this country was formed on religion.

[1:07:44] Our forefathers came here, escaped England because of religious prosecution.

[1:07:52] We do the pledge of allegiance under God.

[1:07:55] When you go to court, you swear on the Bible.

[1:08:02] There's a lot of things in God we trust on our money, so think about who you're putting

[1:08:12] in here, I mean, people going crazy, it's nuts.

[1:08:18] And earlier, Ms. Shapler, you mentioned you got to stay within the realm of reality.

[1:08:27] I can take a, sure, people aren't going to like this, but I can take a GI Joe doll and

[1:08:35] put a Barbie dress on it.

[1:08:37] It don't make it Barbie.

[1:08:39] Thank you.

[1:08:41] Mary Lisa Kostynesky and Linda Embry.

[1:08:59] Good evening, members of the council and Delwa County residents.

[1:09:04] My name is Mary Lisa Kostynesky.

[1:09:06] I live at 4042, Dayton Road, and Drexel Hill.

[1:09:10] Delaware County is wonderfully diverse.

[1:09:12] As a teacher and principal at Bywood Elementary School

[1:09:15] for 20 years, I met many different people

[1:09:18] and many from all over the world.

[1:09:20] It was a life-changing and enriching experience

[1:09:23] and one that I continue to count

[1:09:24] among my greatest blessings,

[1:09:27] meeting people who seemed so different from me

[1:09:29] and the people I knew.

[1:09:31] And yet I learned they were not so very different

[1:09:34] from my family and my friends. A different language, different clothes, different foods,

[1:09:42] different complexions, and different customs did not take away the fact that they are people

[1:09:46] and human, just like I am. We are here to make sure that those of us who appear different

[1:09:52] are protected by the same safeguards that we expect for ourselves. I was surprised to learn that

[1:09:57] despite state and federal laws over one-

[1:10:00] Number 3 of workers are not protected against employment discrimination. If an employer has fewer than 20 employees and employee is not able to make a complaint of discrimination at the state or federal level, we need small local businesses to keep our community vibrant and healthy and we want our community members to know they are valued and essential members of this community so they will stay. The creation of a volunteer human relations commission will help to provide education and forced all instances of discrimination

[1:10:28] and prevent them from becoming litigation.

[1:10:31] Sometimes a claim of discrimination can be traced to a misunderstanding,

[1:10:35] like a restaurant patron feeling ignored,

[1:10:38] when the problem is due to short staffing of servers.

[1:10:41] Having a local commission to help resolve claims of discrimination

[1:10:44] helps to build understanding among community members

[1:10:48] with the common goal of building and maintaining a strong and thriving community.

[1:10:53] If we are honest, we have all felt discrimination.

[1:10:56] Have you noticed people treat you differently once your hair is gray?

[1:11:00] Would it surprise you to learn that 40% of people have dealt with age discrimination?

[1:11:05] I know I will have to be working for a long time, and age discrimination is a real concern.

[1:11:11] How about the statistic that two out of three black women have been told they need to change

[1:11:15] their hairstyle if they want to be hired?

[1:11:18] When my hair was short and dark, my boss told me I looked too harsh and suggested I go

[1:11:24] later, maybe some blonde highlights. Right here in Upper Darby. True story. And I think

[1:11:32] about people whose gender identity doesn't conform to others' expectations, people

[1:11:36] with a physical disability, a mental health condition, are neurodivergent, are deaf,

[1:11:41] blind, overweight. This is not about needing people to grow with thicker skin. This is

[1:11:48] about all of us wanting to make sure that no one is made to feel less than or unworthy of

[1:11:54] respect and protection against discrimination. Thank you.

[1:11:59] Linda Embry, Marsha Highley.

[1:12:13] My name is Linda Embry.

[1:12:15] I live in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and I appreciate the opportunity to be here to make public comment.

[1:12:21] I'd like to speak in favor of the non-discrimination order ordinance before the council.

[1:12:28] And thank you for considering it.

[1:12:30] But all of us want to be seen for who we are.

[1:12:36] We all want to be treated with respect and dignity, all of us, all of us.

[1:12:45] My transgender daughter is no different.

[1:12:48] She is a woman.

[1:12:51] She wants to be seen as the woman she is.

[1:12:54] She wants to be treated with respect and dignity, just like I do, just like you do.

[1:13:04] It's pretty simple.

[1:13:06] This ordinance adds additional protected classes including gender identity and puts a system

[1:13:13] in place to fairly address grievances at minimal cost to the county.

[1:13:18] This means that when a transgender person or person of any protected class experiences

[1:13:25] discrimination in our county, we say no.

[1:13:29] We say we see you, we value you, we respect your right to be treated with dignity and

[1:13:37] equity.

[1:13:38] It's not just words.

[1:13:40] We have protections in place to allow your grievance to be heard and addressed.

[1:13:45] So, we're not just giving lip service. We've put things in place to make this happen.

[1:13:53] I, it's really not a lot to ask of our community. See me, treat me with respect and dignity.

[1:14:02] Thank you all.

[1:14:04] Marsha, Filey. Thanks, Harris, Poker.

[1:14:15] Hello, I'm Marsha Healey. I live in Swarthmore. I'm here in favor of the Human Rights or Human

[1:14:21] relations commission. Transgender and homosexual persons have existed since the beginning of

[1:14:26] humankind. Banting and suppression will not change that. As fellow human beings, members of our

[1:14:33] society, citizens are loved ones. They deserve the same freedoms and protection as everyone in this

[1:14:40] room to peacefully conduct their lives. Unfortunately, the current government has made transgender people

[1:14:48] their scapegoats. Unsubstantiated blame and falsehoods are being put upon them.

[1:14:54] Military benefits are being denied them. Healthcare is being denied to them.

[1:15:00] It is not a safe time to be transgender. Sadly, this is why this cost-free human relations commission is very necessary. Thank you. Harris-Koker, Marge LaRue.

[1:15:20] Good evening, Keras-Koker-Konker Townships. I had a question from Mr. Womack on the career link open house. Did I hear you say that birth certificates would be provided on the spot? I will remind this is not

[1:15:35] a question to answer session, though, but we'll have to be a happily listened to your questions.

[1:15:39] Okay. Thank you, Mr. Womack.

[1:15:41] I am addressing the matter of the change from an ordinance to a resolution on tonight's agenda

[1:15:49] for the Human Rights Commission. I point out that that link did not went nowhere and the public

[1:15:57] had no opportunity to view the new proposed resolution prior to this meeting. So if you

[1:16:07] proceed to pass that ordinance, you will once again be in violation of the Sunshine Act.

[1:16:15] I hope you will take note of that and follow the proper procedure if you decide to proceed

[1:16:21] with that. Thank you very much. March LaRue and Clio McIntyre.

[1:16:31] March LaRue asked,

[1:16:35] well, first of all, I support the Human Relations Commission resolution,

[1:16:40] but that's not why I'm here. So, the reason I'm here tonight, my, Nick Ellis Alde,

[1:16:47] my grandson was shot and killed in a school shooting. I was high school football game on September

[1:16:53] On September 27, 2022, with dozens of others, scores of others, Nick has a space at the

[1:17:02] Memorial Garden for murder of children in upper charge hester.

[1:17:05] On September 6, survivors organized a cleanup of the garden to prepare it for a vigil to

[1:17:12] be held there.

[1:17:14] On September 25, the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.

[1:17:19] So, I'm here tonight to say that 60, that's 60 people, Delco residents mostly showed

[1:17:28] up and worked their tails off at that memorial garden from our children.

[1:17:33] They weedwacked, raped, swept, scrubbed, removed debris, painted, repaired crosses,

[1:17:41] is myriad other tasks. So it was a four-hour effort. It was heartwarming to witness so many

[1:17:51] come out in support of murdered children. So we raised awareness to gun violence,

[1:17:57] though not all in the garden were murdered by guns, but we raised awareness to the existence

[1:18:02] of the garden. Many of you may not know it's there, or why. And we raised awareness to the need

[1:18:09] for legislation to end this uniquely American crisis of gun violence.

[1:18:15] So tonight, I'm here to thank the Council for its continuing support

[1:18:20] for recently passing the ban on ghost guns.

[1:18:24] Thank you. Thank you for your continued efforts and support of my family

[1:18:29] and other survivors of my grandson and other murder children.

[1:18:34] Thank you to Joanne, who showed up, put some elbow grease into the effort.

[1:18:43] So, and I want to extend gratitude to my Delco friends and neighbors from Aston, Upper

[1:18:50] Chai, Chester Heights, Garnet Valley, Miggle Town, Glenn Olden, Landstown, Chester, Newtown

[1:18:56] Square, Media of Concert Township, Swathmore, Brumel.

[1:19:01] And if I forgot anyone who was there and I forgot to mention your township, just thank you, my family, and I thank you.

[1:19:11] And thank you.

[1:19:16] File, McIntyre, John Hages.

[1:19:25] Hi, McIntyre, Albert Arby.

[1:19:28] I keep it short tonight because you guys talk to you all a lot already.

[1:19:32] So just to go over some things that I think are important.

[1:19:36] So tonight, you guys will be voting on this resolution to establish an HRC to begin the hiring process.

[1:19:43] It is a momentous occasion for our county to be moving this forward.

[1:19:46] For those that don't know, counties can establish an HRC either by ordinance or

[1:19:51] resolution, both are empowered by the state law.

[1:19:54] So it is a process that can be either or.

[1:19:58] In that case though.

[1:19:59] So, uh...

[1:20:00] And in this resolution, specifically, there's a talk of making sure that these eventual provisions, protections are codified into our ordinance. And to those that had questions about, oh, well, why is there a resolution now? Because there's a reason for first readings. Sometimes you need to make changes. Sometimes you learn, you discuss, you improve. The goal is that Delaware County has the strongest and best possible ordinance that we can deliver.

[1:20:29] And sometimes that takes a little bit longer, but that doesn't mean we can't walk into

[1:20:34] gum at the same time.

[1:20:35] And here in Delco, we're going to do that tonight.

[1:20:38] We are going to pass this resolution, at least I hope you guys do, and we are fully in support

[1:20:42] of you guys doing this.

[1:20:44] And then we will be here for the follow up for the future meetings as we work through getting

[1:20:50] that ordinance delivered and codifying those protections.

[1:20:54] In our resolutions, specifically, it does actually list our protected classes, which is a distinct

[1:21:02] clarification. We are very appreciative of that. This is a start. This is the kick that, you know,

[1:21:09] they start the ball rolling when a much longer process. It's going to take a couple of months,

[1:21:14] got to interview people, appoint people. I really encourage people, though, and I know the ordinances

[1:21:18] is going to change, but I really, really encourage people. No matter what side of the

[1:21:23] aisle you're on, please read the ordinance. Somebody came up here and talked about religious

[1:21:29] concerns. There are specific exemptions in there for people that are running religious,

[1:21:35] mission-driven organizations. There are carve-outs that are built into this to protect people's

[1:21:40] first amendment rights across the board. Please read it. Do not just trust everything you see

[1:21:46] on social media. There's a lot of misinformation floating around here. This is already state law.

[1:21:52] So, frankly, if you have a problem with it, you might actually already be in violation of the law.

[1:21:58] So, please take the time to read it. This is not going to harm people. This is going to help all of us.

[1:22:06] And honestly, just to the county council, thank you for being patient with us.

[1:22:10] I know it has been a journey. It's going to be an even longer journey through it.

[1:22:13] Thank you. This is a historic moment for our county. And after tonight, hopefully, we're

[1:22:21] having even brighter future. Thank you.

[1:22:23] John Haggis, David Phillips.

[1:22:35] I'm Dan Haggis from Darby, Pennsylvania. I'm here to invite

[1:22:42] everyone to the 21st of Trolley Fest. And the out Trolley Fest is something that was

[1:22:49] started that many years ago, and it celebrates the 1858 arrival of the first trolley that

[1:23:00] came from Philadelphia into Delaware County, and it was a horse-drawn trolley.

[1:23:09] And we have celebrated this for the last 20 years, and we're up to doing it on October

[1:23:18] We have always had the Darby Library supporting us, but because of the extensive work that's going on there,

[1:23:27] there are very few rooms available for us to use for this.

[1:23:31] And so we have gone out and talked to people, and we are partnering partly with Eden Cemetery.

[1:23:38] they're going to do a morning walk to describe the people who helped to

[1:23:46] desegregate those trolleys who are buried there. And we also are hopeful in

[1:23:53] the afternoon to have actually play that done with local student

[1:23:58] actors called a streetcar named Freedom, which it tells about this process. And we

[1:24:07] I think that everyone can benefit from knowing about this

[1:24:10] history of our area.

[1:24:13] Thank you.

[1:24:15] Thank you.

[1:24:16] David Phillips, Douglas Lanky.

[1:24:27] Good evening.

[1:24:28] My name is David Phillips.

[1:24:29] I'm a resident of Prospect Park.

[1:24:31] I am the Secretary of the Delaware County Democratic

[1:24:34] Socialist of America, Subchapter.

[1:24:36] I wanted to come out tonight to speak in favor

[1:24:39] of the Crozier Eight, who are eight peaceful protesters

[1:24:42] arrested last week were a citizen.

[1:24:45] they conducted at the Crosure Chester Medical Center, which is obviously been closed.

[1:24:50] We demand that the DA drop the trespassing charges against the Crosure 8,

[1:24:57] and we also demand that the county uphold.

[1:25:00] Our constitutional right to freedom of speech, which is already under attack by the federal government. And we also implore you guys to put all pressure you can, all resources you can to try and reopen those hospitals. And I also implore members of the counting to contact your elected officials and ask them to again reopen our hospitals because this is, you know, critical infrastructure that we need and people are dying and will continue to die without it.

[1:25:29] Thank you.

[1:25:31] Douglas Lanky and Laura Lewis.

[1:25:43] Doug Leigh Falson.

[1:25:46] I am the chairman of the Delaware County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

[1:25:52] And I would like to address an actual attack on First Amendment rights in Delaware County

[1:25:57] and not imagined ones connected to the ordinance about the Human Rights Commission.

[1:26:05] As my colleague just mentioned, on September 9th, eight members of the organization put people

[1:26:12] first were arrested at Chester Crosor Hospital and were charged with trespassing.

[1:26:17] They were peacefully protesting the closure of our hospital system at the hands of private equity.

[1:26:24] These charges were excessive and unnecessary and unusual for the enforcement involving peaceful

[1:26:32] protests. If anybody has ever been to a peaceful protest, if you do get arrested, they usually

[1:26:37] don't charge you. They just send you home. So it's very unusual that they're being charged

[1:26:41] with trespassing. I just have to say, when a parasitic capitalist private equity firm came in and

[1:26:49] destroyed our hospitals, resulting in the deaths of our neighbors, they received no charges.

[1:26:54] But when our neighbors and our residents come out and demand a positive change in the

[1:27:02] direction of providing health care access, they are charged.

[1:27:06] To me, that doesn't seem very fair. So we, as stated by my colleague, we have two demands.

[1:27:12] First, we would like Council to pass a resolution urging the DA to drop all charges against the

[1:27:17] protesters. And secondly, we would like them to publicly affirm that this county supports the

[1:27:23] rights a peaceful protest, and we'll protect residents fighting for health care access.

[1:27:28] Solidarity forever, thank you.

[1:27:30] Laura Lewis, Jim McLaughlin.

[1:27:43] Laura Lewis, round of township.

[1:27:45] Today I'd like to speak again to the proposed County Human Relations Commission.

[1:27:50] While it promises to protect vulnerable groups like the LGBTQ community, it is equally potential

[1:27:58] tool to release everyday life sufficiently vague to randomly target individuals without warning.

[1:28:05] Imagine Molly's cozy corner cafe sits near the waterfront in Delco, catering to workers at the

[1:28:12] Wharf. Its chalkboard sign advertises fish Fridays as the weekly special, a tradition carried on

[1:28:19] since Molly's grandparents originally opened the restaurant. Due to a pass or buys complaint,

[1:28:25] the C.H.R. commission steps in ruling the phrase, Fish Friday's,

[1:28:29] Smacks of Religious Favouritism, Echoing Christian Lenten Practices,

[1:28:34] and excluding non-Christian patrons under public accommodation laws.

[1:28:39] The corner cafe is simultaneously accused of discriminating against patrons on non-fish diets,

[1:28:46] including those with genetic restrictions. Molly's fine $3,200 told to rename the promotion,

[1:28:53] Friday on trace for all persons and required to offer vegan alternatives, requiring many

[1:28:59] reprints, and the risk of allinating regulars in diminishing her meager profits.

[1:29:05] I know this scenario seems implausible to you.

[1:29:09] However, in Oregon, a restaurant was fine for running a simple meatless Monday promotion.

[1:29:15] After activists claimed it was exclusionary, showing how ordinary traditions can suddenly

[1:29:21] be treated as discrimination. That's exactly the danger with Delca's ordinance.

[1:29:28] Molly could never have guessed her Fish Friday chalkboard special would be labeled both religious

[1:29:32] favoritism and dietary bias. As with Brainhead Free, the city of Rockford and Fulton Free,

[1:29:40] the city of Philadelphia, rules are so vague that no one can tell what's allowed.

[1:29:46] people are found to live in fear of arbitrary enforcement.

[1:29:51] We're still, instead of a neutral judge in a real court,

[1:29:55] fines come from a county board of political appointees,

[1:29:58] not impartial court.

[1:30:00] Acting as prosecutor, judge, and jury. The Supreme Court has struck down some more arrangements in the past because they violate basic fairness. The people punishing you should not also hold the power to profit from or politicize the punishment. Establishing a commission is different than giving it the authority to issue monetary fines. In Delco, that means the new commission has the power to regulate even family-run

[1:30:29] and cafes like Mollies without the constitutional safeguards that protect ordinary citizens.

[1:30:36] Thank you very much.

[1:30:37] Jim McLaughlin, Zuleen Mayfield.

[1:30:46] Good evening. I'm Jim McLaughlin of Springfield Township as a former chair of the Solid Waste Authority

[1:30:52] and a concern resident of the county.

[1:30:54] I'm excited to see that this Solid Waste plan is finally reaching you for approval

[1:31:02] after four years of work and much community input,

[1:31:07] I agree with Council Member Ruther

[1:31:09] on the importance of having even an imperfect plan.

[1:31:13] Zero waste plans create jobs and opportunities

[1:31:16] for creativity and innovation

[1:31:17] and waste management practices.

[1:31:20] Of course, the plan is for the county

[1:31:22] to abide by the international peer-reviewed

[1:31:24] Zero Waste Hierarchy, a system

[1:31:26] that considers trash incineration unacceptable.

[1:31:29] The Solid Waste Authority in following the desires of the county and its residents to stop burning our trash and polluting our environment at the incinerator in Chester, the largest industrial air polluter in the region, started in early 2023 to divert waste away from burning.

[1:31:49] No disrespect to the hard work of the director, but I understand that only 7% of the waste is now being diverted down from the intended 15% a couple of years ago that I distinctly recall as an immediate target.

[1:32:05] I understand that Brooks Stair, who is the CEO of the Solid Waste Authority, and whom I helped hire, has advocated for incineration in multiple meetings over the past year, which is very concerning to me.

[1:32:20] I hope that council will ensure that the Solid Waste Authority's leadership is on board with the Zero Waste Plan, and the planned transition away from incineration, a plan that I helped formulate, and that I am disappointed to hear is faltered.

[1:32:35] Not long ago, we laid out a plan for incineration to be phased out in a few years.

[1:32:42] One of the counties, once the counties, two transfer stations were to be rebuilt.

[1:32:49] I only learned recently that this transfer station project hasn't even started, and that's unacceptable.

[1:32:55] It was about to be started when I had to resign in 2020, only two years ago.

[1:33:02] As it's also concerning to learn that the authority recently fired their recycling coordinator putting state grants at risk, which could be funding implementation of the Zero Ways Plan.

[1:33:15] I'm asking that the county ensure that the Solid Ways Authority is actually supportive of this plan and that the county and authority are properly resourced so that this plan can be executed.

[1:33:28] Finally, while serving, we did the financial analysis, and I still believe that the authority

[1:33:34] sells its landfill space to other counties and states at rates below their net present

[1:33:41] value.

[1:33:42] And I hope that the county will find a way to preserve this public asset for county

[1:33:46] use.

[1:33:46] Reflector, hold it back.

[1:33:50] Zoolene Mayfield, Greg Stenstrom, hello

[1:34:02] everyone, I'm Zoolene Mayfield, the chairperson

[1:34:05] of Chester residents concerned for quality living. I think it's ironic that I followed Jim.

[1:34:13] I am in support of the Zero Waste Plan. However, we have to talk about the urgency of now.

[1:34:26] I'm going to give you a couple of statistics for those of us that live in Chester.

[1:34:32] liver and bio cancer are 73% higher than national average.

[1:34:39] Lairn Geo cancer is 67% higher than national average.

[1:34:45] Thank you, Creator.

[1:34:47] Cancer, 37 percent higher than the national average.

[1:34:55] Cancer rates in Delaware County.

[1:35:00] Laranjeele cancers, 89% higher than the national average. Liver and bile cancer, 77% higher than

[1:35:11] the national average. I want to give you one statistic from Marcus Hook.

[1:35:28] Laranjeele

[1:35:29] A couple of weeks ago we had the experience of having one of our members who died from

[1:35:39] a rare, rare form of cancer.

[1:35:43] The man was 38 years old, with a five-month-old baby.

[1:35:51] The same day that his son was born with the same day that he had his first cancer treatment.

[1:35:57] a year prior to that his mother died from cancer. February of this year, I got a notice

[1:36:06] that a childhood friend of mine died from prostrate cancer. Three days after he died, I got

[1:36:15] the notice that the neighborhood father or

[1:36:21] a neighborhood died from prostrate cancer.

[1:36:24] The coincidence is that these two men live directly across the street from each other.

[1:36:33] We cannot afford to continue to kill ourselves by incinerating trash at Coventry World.

[1:36:41] Nothing should prompt people's health, no economics.

[1:36:48] We have to put the money into saving ourselves and we can't wait.

[1:36:54] we don't have three years. We don't have two years. As Jim said, this plan was well

[1:37:01] along its way. What some of you on Delaware County started with the party to do the work.

[1:37:09] Your time is up.

[1:37:10] Do try it from the city of Chester. Thank you. Greg Stenstrom and Char Byron.

[1:37:31] Good evening.

[1:37:33] My name is Gregory Stenstrom. I just want township playing different Stenstrom versus Delaware

[1:37:38] or a county at all.

[1:37:40] Recently filed in the United States District Court

[1:37:43] for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

[1:37:44] and provided by email to council and solicitor

[1:37:47] this past Sunday.

[1:37:49] This evening, each member of council named

[1:37:52] in the lawsuit is all of you.

[1:37:55] As well as solicitor Jack Larkin has been personally served

[1:37:58] with the federal complaint and memorandum of law

[1:38:01] challenging ordinance 2025-060HRC ordinance.

[1:38:07] You are here by served in your official capacities as county officials, and in your individual

[1:38:13] capacities as parties to the action.

[1:38:16] Laurel Lewis, please hand the package to the civil service distribution to the individual

[1:38:19] council members to complete service.

[1:38:23] Laurel will complete an affidavit of service that I will submit to the court tomorrow.

[1:38:27] This lawsuit to shirts that Board in 2025-06 is on unconstitutional and ultra-verus because it creates a partisan human relations commission with quasi-digital powers that unlawfully obstructs citizen rights to do process access to courts and first amendment freedoms.

[1:38:50] I want the record to reflect the due of now been served under defendants in this action.

[1:38:57] An amended complaint will be filed to confirm service in both your official and

[1:39:03] individual capacities.

[1:39:05] You have been personally sued under 42 USC, 1983, 1985, and 1986.

[1:39:13] Separately, I know for the record that criminal referrals have already been filed regarding fabricated

[1:39:20] billing records and dishonest public service and Delaware County's DRAG NETICASE-CV-2023-006723.

[1:39:29] Judicial notice and motions documenting those referrals are on file

[1:39:34] and disclosures have also been transmitted to the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI

[1:39:40] at their request. To summarize, tonight's service completes formal notice of the federal lawsuit

[1:39:47] regarding the EHRC, your each defendants in both your official and individual capacities,

[1:39:54] and criminal referrals have been filed and disclosed to federal authorities

[1:39:57] and the Dragon Eddy Act.

[1:40:00] Opposition that the county has perpetuated, I'll reserve the rain remainder of my time. Thank you. Char Bairam and Napoleon King Cade.

[1:40:20] Char Bairam from Havern for Township. Hello, councilmembers and Delco residents. I'm here as a representative of the Democratic Socialists of Delco, along with my colleagues who spoke earlier. But more of a fundamental

[1:40:36] Currently, I'm here as a fellow citizen and as a person.

[1:40:39] Just to echo my colleagues, I'm also appealing, again, on behalf of the eight Delaware County residents who are unjustly detained on trespassing charges for protesting against the private equity acquisition enclosure of the now former Tester Crosier hospital.

[1:40:55] We are urging you to press the DA to drop these frivolous trespassing charges against the

[1:41:01] wholly justified nonviolent protesters who were arrested for exercising their right to

[1:41:06] denounce this grievous, unnecessary loss to our community's healthcare infrastructure.

[1:41:11] We ask that you please use your positions as able to advocate for those who are simply speaking

[1:41:16] out against the greed and corruption of a for-profit private equity firm that was gambling with

[1:41:21] people's health care access that has and will continue to cost people their lives.

[1:41:27] And one last thought I would like to leave for our residents here as well.

[1:41:32] For anyone who is opposing the Human Relations Commission ordinance, I would just ask you

[1:41:39] to ask yourselves why you feel this way, why you feel that your rights are being infringed,

[1:41:46] and in what way that this is affecting your lives negatively?

[1:41:53] I would just ask what it is about it

[1:41:56] that bothers you or feels that it is imposing on your lives.

[1:42:00] And considering everyone's individuality in this

[1:42:05] and that it doesn't impact us at the end of the day,

[1:42:08] but it involves all of us.

[1:42:10] So just take that into consideration.

[1:42:12] What it is you want to say and why

[1:42:13] and have some self-reflection on this.

[1:42:17] Look into it and process that on your own time,

[1:42:20] but that's just something I ask of all of us,

[1:42:22] including myself.

[1:42:23] Thank you.

[1:42:25] Napoleon, can you pay and Francis are all read?

[1:42:35] Yeah, I'm surprised that my name's been called.

[1:42:37] I'm a reporter for the Spirit Paper in Delaware County.

[1:42:44] So...

[1:42:45] I'm sorry, can you state your name in your resident?

[1:42:47] the Pauline King Cade. I'm a reporter for the spirit of April and Delaware County.

[1:42:53] Do you live here in Delaware County, sir?

[1:42:56] I live in Delaware County. Perfect, thank you.

[1:42:58] I live in Derby Burle. This human relation's

[1:43:02] ordinance is needed. Too many times I have heard since I've been a resident in Derby Burle,

[1:43:12] a color discrimination against my own residence,

[1:43:17] against a business person, a barbershop owner

[1:43:21] and Robert Burrell, who happened to be Jamaican.

[1:43:26] I'm not gonna name names right now,

[1:43:29] but there are members on Darby Burrell Council

[1:43:34] that made a target towards this barbershop owner

[1:43:39] and had him shut down.

[1:43:44] He fought against the Darber Burrow manager and the Darberrow

[1:43:50] class, so he opened his shop back up and he did. So his barber shop is open back up.

[1:43:58] But to think about it, he shouldn't have to go through that type of rhetoric and that

[1:44:03] type of drama from the county, from the borough. This is too much. Delaware County should have

[1:44:15] already have a human relation ordinance in place. Why it takes so long for this to happen.

[1:44:24] And Philadelphia, where I come from, originally from, we have Human Relations Commission.

[1:44:30] before Delaware County, not to have one, that's the slap in the face. There's so much job discrimination, color discrimination, people being targets for no reason, trying to make an honest living.

[1:44:48] And because of their color or because of their nationality, it's not fair.

[1:44:54] So it has to stop. It has to stop now. We have to have.

[1:45:00] A human relations ordinance put in place, and everybody should be on board in this. Everybody should be on board. I mean, it doesn't make any sense. Maybe in a reporter. And I'm coming up here tonight to cover this hearing. I hope it passes. And need to be passed. So I could write a positive story. And I could say Delaware County.

[1:45:28] The Delaware County is moving forward.

[1:45:31] We need to move forward, okay?

[1:45:35] Not go backwards.

[1:45:36] Not to stay in slavery.

[1:45:39] It doesn't make any sense.

[1:45:41] And a nonsense has to stop.

[1:45:43] And it stops with us, given this ordinance,

[1:45:48] Human Relations Commission, thank you.

[1:45:52] Francis Earl Reed.

[1:45:57] There are other residents who would like to speak.

[1:45:59] Please approach the podium and line up against the far wall.

[1:46:03] Thank you.

[1:46:04] Good evening, all members of Delaware County Council and Chairman Dr. Monica Taylor.

[1:46:09] Excuse me.

[1:46:10] Brits is already the third.

[1:46:11] 1403 Chester Pikes, sweet one, fall for Pennsylvania 19032.

[1:46:16] To the federal state and Delaware County taxpayers, this is how the district attorney's office of Delaware County with the support and former state attorney general.

[1:46:23] And Governor Josh Shapiro used your tax dollars on a false prosecutor trial against that for over the third.

[1:46:28] Councilperson Lomax, this is one of the reasons why no psychiatrist will or wants to appear

[1:46:34] in court to testify against step 4, I'll read the third.

[1:46:38] Several council meetings ago, I advise this council to prepare for World War III.

[1:46:42] World War III will be last 23 to 26 years and started three and a half years ago.

[1:46:47] I will prove this true and correct in future council meetings.

[1:46:50] In 1956, the president of Pacific Telephone Telegram predicted everyone will have a phone

[1:46:55] By the year 2000 and live with it in 1968 the co-founder of Earth they predicted by the year 2000

[1:47:01] Everybody would purchase and carry bottle of water in the late 1920s General Mitchell was court-martial forbidden for predicting

[1:47:08] Detailing outlining how the Japanese Navy would destroy Pearl Harbor

[1:47:11] Now it's a person maddened everybody thought these individuals were crazy. Who's laughing at them now?

[1:47:17] Glademar Putin was born on October the 7th

[1:47:19] In 1952, his 5 foot 7-inch is tall, his hero is Joseph Stalin.

[1:47:24] Every time he meets with a president in the United States, he tries to give the impression

[1:47:28] he's bigger than what he is.

[1:47:30] The Chinese philosopher Zen Z wrote the Book of Warfare in 500 BC.

[1:47:34] He warned, don't watch what your enemy is destroying, watch what he is preserving for

[1:47:38] victory.

[1:47:39] The Ukrainian flag is blue for the sky, gold for the golden fields of wheat, barley and

[1:47:43] rye.

[1:47:44] The Russian Army is destroying the population in the cities of Ukraine, but if not destroyed

[1:47:48] has employed farms, houses, barns, and of stolen tons of farm equipment.

[1:47:52] It has just been reported to Russian, the Russian Famine of 2025 is worse than

[1:47:57] the crop failure of 2008, Russia is starving.

[1:48:02] Councilperson Ruther, the demonstration for no Kings Day in front of the courthouse

[1:48:06] doesn't apply to President Trump.

[1:48:08] To be a King in a White House, you have to be over six foot three,

[1:48:11] and brought it as wide as this podium, oversized feet, and hands large enough

[1:48:15] the bomb-basketballs.

[1:48:17] During the 2016 presidential debate, Marco Rubio confronted and laughed at President Trump

[1:48:22] for having small hands.

[1:48:23] President Trump has the same foreign policies to prevent war that President Roosevelt

[1:48:28] tried unaffectively in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

[1:48:32] When God creates kings for the White House, the United States changes the world, enlightening

[1:48:36] new policies, laws, conditions, et cetera forever.

[1:48:39] President Washington changed the world with the American Revolution.

[1:48:43] President Lincoln used the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and slavery around the world.

[1:48:48] They both use fire and brimstone and work to make these changes permanent.

[1:48:51] They did not want or to be honored with peace prizes.

[1:48:54] I cannot stress this point enough to this council.

[1:48:57] You must be ready for situations coming to and facing the United States and Delaware County.

[1:49:01] Thank you for this time.

[1:49:03] Next speaker, please.

[1:49:14] Joe Fanny, as I mentioned at the last county council meeting,

[1:49:19] you can still accomplish giving your goals of this proposed HRC, even if you change your procedures

[1:49:26] thereby assuring a fair process. This isn't about discriminating against people.

[1:49:30] This is making sure my opinion that the accused have an opportunity, and I don't see that here,

[1:49:37] and that's why I object to it. I'm not trying to put anybody down. It doesn't look right,

[1:49:43] that up to 13 appointed volunteers picked by the county council and unelected will have legal

[1:49:48] authority over any complaint. I urge you to vote it down and it's

[1:49:52] entirely at this point. Reorganize and resubmit it to assure the community and

[1:49:57] any accused people that the procedures are

[1:50:00] There. One other thing. I've held back saying a couple things the last time, and unfortunately

[1:50:06] I need to match the tone of some of my critics. Getting a little fed up with some of the

[1:50:11] rest of us are also, with some us speaking down to us, at least this way it appears to me.

[1:50:17] If we just read, and by the way, thanks, Kyle, I was hoping to say what you said. If we just

[1:50:22] read the ordinance 92,000 times, we'll finally understand, we'll be educated, we'll learn,

[1:50:29] will comply. We are not smart enough to understand. We need you to tell us what to do.

[1:50:35] I don't need anybody to explain anything to me. I've read it. I know what it says.

[1:50:40] I'm college educated. I own two businesses and I support two scholarships to those businesses.

[1:50:46] And I'm not sitting around wearing a green shirt and watching a view. This is not about

[1:50:50] objecting to this, but trying to discriminate against people. It's like plugging up all the holes.

[1:50:56] this is not strong enough to protect the accused people. So I'm not saying don't do it.

[1:51:02] I'm saying postpone it, have more discussions and do it the right way. Thank you.

[1:51:08] Next speaker please.

[1:51:17] Still Michael, I'm still homeless and I just want to say I'm still volunteering. I'm ready to go

[1:51:25] whenever you approve it or if you don't. It doesn't really matter to me. I don't care. I want to thank

[1:51:31] Thank you for not doing that with Donald Woodella. That's kind of where I live. So thank

[1:51:34] you very much for that. And that's it. I'm still here to volunteer.

[1:51:41] Next speaker, please.

[1:51:48] Thomas DeLuca's free field township. I just wanted to come up

[1:51:51] tonight to say thank you to Council for the time you took yesterday to explain what was

[1:51:56] going on.

[1:52:03] I'm told it's on. Let me know. No, no, no. I might move from the people

[1:52:06] speaking behind me. Sorry. Thank you. I don't need any more time. I'll be very quick.

[1:52:11] I just wanted to thank you all for, I'll wait till they start it again.

[1:52:15] All right, try again.

[1:52:20] Just wanted to say thank you yesterday for your time listening to me and listening to

[1:52:23] me two weeks ago.

[1:52:24] And just remind everyone that I came up here with a story that's real.

[1:52:28] I didn't have to invent it in my head.

[1:52:30] I'd go to fish Fridays all the time.

[1:52:32] I'm a practicing Catholic and I think they're a great thing when restaurants offer them.

[1:52:37] but that is not what this non-discrimination ordinance

[1:52:40] and HRC are about.

[1:52:42] It's not a thing that's going to threaten someone's business.

[1:52:45] These hypothetical and real things are based on real fear

[1:52:49] that are based on information people are reading

[1:52:51] that's generated by AI or created by bad faith actors online.

[1:52:55] And you read absolutely insane stories

[1:52:57] and they seem very real.

[1:52:59] So I'd encourage everyone to make sure

[1:53:01] when you read about a restaurant

[1:53:02] that's been persecuted in some way for a meatless Monday.

[1:53:07] You go to your preferred search engine, which is hopefully not Google and search for that

[1:53:12] story and find it more than one space or find it on the actual restaurant's actual active

[1:53:17] Facebook page.

[1:53:17] Because if you can't find those things, someone's probably lying to you just to stroke your

[1:53:22] fear.

[1:53:23] But the fear that I brought last two weeks ago to this meeting was real.

[1:53:27] I was discriminated against just because I was dating another man at the time by a landlord

[1:53:31] who said Gays don't pay and hung up the phone. After already having improved me for that apartment

[1:53:36] and having taken a check for me. That is not something that I think most people in this room would

[1:53:43] be okay with. I think most people in this room would all agree that that's wrong and that's exactly

[1:53:48] the type of situation that the HRC exists to educate people about and also to work with parties to

[1:53:58] come to a resolution. Thank you for your time. Thank you for the work you're putting into the ordinance.

[1:54:03] I look forward to coming back very soon when it gets passed and thank you for passing the resolution

[1:54:07] to get started in the meantime. Have a good night. Next speaker, please.

[1:54:19] Michael Stroud,

[1:54:20] media borough. Good evening, Delaware County Council. I come before you with a few questions and

[1:54:25] concerns as it relates to the table, non-discrimination ordinance and the resolution that follows.

[1:54:29] First, I'd like to bring up some questions since it couldn't be on the agenda meeting yesterday.

[1:54:38] Where a substantial discussion took place about the proposed ordinance and not bringing it forward to the second reading for today.

[1:54:48] What are the changes that are being discussed for this proposed ordinance that you think are necessary?

[1:54:55] necessary because obviously the commission portion of it has been pulled.

[1:55:03] So, what part of the ordinance enforcement mechanism itself? Are you considering changing? I don't need an answer right now, but I would like it maybe to be fleshed out a little more publicly. During the meeting we heard a very substantial back and forth on the ordinance itself, and so I think it would be good to hear that in a public meeting.

[1:55:28] Finally, on the ordinance, I want to address some concerns that were brought up because I

[1:55:35] did in fact read the ordinance and I understand that many have said that on its face this commission

[1:55:40] isn't going to be used to target people for their speech. However, I have to ask what guardrails

[1:55:47] will this council put on this commission so it won't devolve into what I just recently saw the

[1:55:57] openly gay. As a gay man, he's one of the individuals that this commission was created

[1:56:03] to protect. Yet, on a social media post that was later deleted, the commission claimed

[1:56:08] that he was calling for violence against individuals he was calling attention to. Scott

[1:56:15] Buster, Scott Brestler himself called this a defamatory remark. I want this commission

[1:56:21] if it's passed to protect LGBT people, not target them.

[1:56:25] We already know that this council is going to have to raise taxes for this upcoming year

[1:56:30] from what we saw with the 2025 budget.

[1:56:34] In order to balance its budget, this council is using $14 million from our funds balance,

[1:56:39] $12.9 million left over from our funds, and $8.2 million from transfers that we know nothing about.

[1:56:45] That's more than $35 million in revenue that this county is going to have to make up this here,

[1:56:50] which will likely result in another substantial tax increase.

[1:56:53] We're already spending money on condom vending machines for yoga and electric vehicles for

[1:56:58] the health department, just to name a few line items.

[1:57:01] I wonder what the potential costs will be and where the funding will come from for this commission

[1:57:06] because the future financial outlook for this county doesn't look great. Thank you.

[1:57:17] Seeing no additional public comments, I will look to Vice Chair Wilmak for the motions.

[1:57:26] Yes, I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the minutes of the regular meeting held on September 3, 2025.

[1:57:34] Second motion, a second. Any questions or comments on the minutes? Hearing none, all those are favor signify by saying aye.

[1:57:42] Aye. Any opposed? The I's have it.

[1:57:44] All right, on 7 a move for the approval for resolution 2025, 10 county of Delaware,

[1:57:55] commonwealth of Pennsylvania, establishing a county human relations commission.

[1:58:02] Second, motion and second, no, you cannot call out.

[1:58:08] Water from the public.

[1:58:09] I will address procedural issues that were raised in public comment at the end of the meeting.

[1:58:14] Thank you.

[1:58:14] I'm sorry, we are not interrupting the meeting.

[1:58:17] This is public speaking time is for thank you.

[1:58:21] It was available for the public.

[1:58:26] I am going to ask you to wait.

[1:58:29] I will address the issues that are raised at the end of the meeting.

[1:58:32] This is not public comment time.

[1:58:34] We will continue.

[1:58:37] It was available.

[1:58:39] Please sit down.

[1:58:41] Thank you.

[1:58:42] Moving on to item.

[1:58:44] We had a motion and a second.

[1:58:46] Are there any questions or comments on the item?

[1:58:49] Yeah, I would just like to, I'm not going to rehash

[1:58:52] the entire conversations that were had yesterday.

[1:58:55] I would encourage anybody who's interested

[1:58:57] to watch the videos, which is something we do.

[1:58:59] We videotape our meetings and we post them.

[1:59:01] And if you were not able to watch it real time,

[1:59:04] you can watch it tomorrow.

[1:59:05] It was an extensive discussion.

[1:59:08] And despite what people say about us hiding

[1:59:13] being from the sunshine, you know, it was a public discussion.

[1:59:16] We also follow the sunshine law when we have one-on-one conversations.

[1:59:21] And one of the challenges of having five county council members who have different schedules

[1:59:26] and are allowed to and frequently do have other jobs because of the, you know, pay.

[1:59:33] This is not a full-time job here in Delaware County.

[1:59:35] It is difficult to get all of us in a room and also given the amount of business that

[1:59:43] we have, it's very difficult to discuss nuances of an ordinance that's as detailed as the

[1:59:54] Human Relations Commission ordinances.

[1:59:56] And to somebody who suggests that why don't we table it?

[2:00:00] And get it right, well, we tabled it, and we're going to be working on it to get it right. And the reason we are doing that is because we have a difficult task here. It's not just making sure that the procedures work and that it's set up correctly, that there's guidance to our executive director who appoints the members of this board, which is in the ordinance.

[2:00:28] But it is important that we all have a shared expectation about what's within the scope of this ordinance and what isn't.

[2:00:40] I think what I heard from Council in our discussion yesterday was we all see the need for this ordinance.

[2:00:50] what, and I think, coming closer to it having had an opportunity to have more discussions, I think, we are getting clearer on what the role would be in a homeral county as opposed to an immunosuppality in a Philadelphia and a city.

[2:01:09] I am looking forward to engaging with my fellow council people in a way I did not have the opportunity to do after numerous meetings with the state and other counties who have these ordinances.

[2:01:27] I didn't have a chance to have one-on-one conversations with all of them.

[2:01:33] And I also learned yesterday, partly because I was out of town for a family funeral, I didn't learn it last week, that our solicitor who's actually the third solicitor who's looked at this ordinance because we have been discussing having an ordinance like this in our one-on-one conversations for over a year.

[2:01:57] And Mr. Lichtenstein was initially involved, Jack Larkin in our solicitor's office was

[2:02:08] working with the drafting, Ray McGarry played a role in our interim situation and our

[2:02:16] new solicitor Leopry stepped into the situation a week ago.

[2:02:20] And therefore, we only found out recently that some of the changes that made substantive changes to the rights.

[2:02:29] They're not big changes. One of them was deciding, gee, instead of starting age discrimination at 35, we will follow the federal guideline and go to 40.

[2:02:41] But that's a substantive change in rights.

[2:02:43] And recognizing that this is a highly scrutinized issue and wanting to make sure what we put forward is going to be consistent in all respects with state law and will have gotten it's end with our county charter.

[2:03:02] Our solicitor advised us that when you're changing substantive rights, you should have a second.

[2:03:08] and you should have, you should start the process over again,

[2:03:11] and basically have a first reading

[2:03:14] and then a second reading.

[2:03:17] So we're going to view who are wondering why we're going out

[2:03:22] at the way we're going at it.

[2:03:24] It's because it's not, you know,

[2:03:27] they talk about finding out how legislation is made

[2:03:30] and it's like seeing the inside of the sausage factory.

[2:03:33] And all you gotta do is look at the fact

[2:03:36] that our entire state budget's going to be decided by a few caucus leaders who apparently

[2:03:41] aren't even talking to their members because their members have no idea what's going on out in

[2:03:45] Harrisburg. Let me tell you, we're sharing a lot more information with you as members of the

[2:03:51] public as we work through the questions. Some of the questions being the same questions

[2:03:56] of people here are asking tonight. They're good questions, but I will also say this that we will

[2:04:03] work through them and our goal is to get this done. That's why this resolution is here.

[2:04:10] This resolution is here to basically send a signal and to address the fact that we want

[2:04:17] to go forward with this process and start the lengthy process of finding people who can

[2:04:25] do what's required of them as members of this commission go through the training and should

[2:04:31] have a common understanding with this council of what the scope of it ought to be, and that's

[2:04:36] going to take a while. So we're starting with a resolution that will then be author, you know,

[2:04:44] we'll then have to create this commission, and then there will be, but well before the effective

[2:04:53] of date, its statutory authorization will be contained in the ordinance.

[2:05:00] I'd like to go ahead and make some comments. Please stop calling out or we will have to go to recess and you will have to be Ms. Coker. I'm reluctant to respond to someone who's calling out, but just because I hope please stop. I'm responding to you, okay? So, you know, I, because I appreciate that it is coming from a genuine concern. What I'd suggest is look at, there's an agenda and there's an agenda packet. And if you ever hold on, I'm trying to respond you, so please stop calling. If you go into the agenda,

[2:05:29] and you're having issues with the links in there,

[2:05:31] please go to the agenda packet.

[2:05:33] And I mean, I just tried it,

[2:05:35] and I tried it earlier, and it is all in there.

[2:05:37] So I understand your concerns,

[2:05:39] but I'm telling you it's been there.

[2:05:41] Okay, I'd like to go ahead and offer some comments.

[2:05:46] I'd like to start out with the fact that I am 100%

[2:05:49] behind the establishment of this Human Relations Commission.

[2:05:53] I plan to vote on the, yes, on the resolution tonight,

[2:05:56] and I plan to vote yes on the ordinance

[2:05:58] that will be coming forth, coming shortly after the resolution is put in place.

[2:06:06] I wish we lived in a world where we didn't need to establish a commission like this,

[2:06:13] but we don't. To the contrary, we live in an era right now and a landscape of real

[2:06:24] animosity of unkindness, of people making people, other people, certain classes of people

[2:06:32] feel like they are less of really unacceptable unkind and ugly behavior that has been normalized

[2:06:40] over the last couple of years. And it's been embraced. This kind of ugly discriminatory

[2:06:47] us versus them, behavior has been embraced by the highest levels of government in our country right now.

[2:06:53] So yes, yes, this is needed. This is needed locally. This is needed here and now.

[2:07:00] And I feel very comfortable working with my colleagues to make sure that this happened to protect our residents

[2:07:07] from the real discrimination that is happening right now in our country and in our county.

[2:07:15] Now, I like to speak to the fact that we are passing a resolution tonight, and we are

[2:07:23] holding off on the ordinance, and I don't want anyone to interpret this as any kind of

[2:07:30] retraction or retrenchment from at least my desire to have this commission in place.

[2:07:36] Instead, it's quite the opposite.

[2:07:39] that we want, we care so deeply about this,

[2:07:41] that we want to do it right,

[2:07:43] and we don't want it to be subject to challenge.

[2:07:46] We're abuse.

[2:07:49] And to that end, this resolution

[2:07:52] will get the ball rolling, put this commission in place,

[2:07:55] which is going to take a fair amount of time.

[2:07:59] Simultaneously, while that is being put in place,

[2:08:03] we will put together an ordinance

[2:08:05] that works for this county.

[2:08:09] Now, I thought it was a fair comment that people are curious what are some of the issues

[2:08:15] that we're grappling with.

[2:08:17] And I'd like to share some of the issues that I'm grappling with.

[2:08:21] None of them are insurmountable and we will have an ordinance that works for us.

[2:08:26] For me, one issue that needs to be addressed is the redundancy.

[2:08:32] And I feel we need to avoid duplicating rights that are already protected and that

[2:08:40] residents can already see redress for at the state level.

[2:08:45] And in fact, many of our residents already do that, and we learned in the last year,

[2:08:52] over 75 Delaware County residents have gone to the state and gotten their claims addressed

[2:08:58] by PHRC.

[2:08:59] So people are doing that, and in my opinion, given the burdens that we have already,

[2:09:04] I'm not sure we need to duplicate those rights, but that's something we need to discuss.

[2:09:11] I also would like to make sure that we emphasize the value of mediation in this ordinance.

[2:09:19] We learned that in some jurisdictions over 50 percent of claims are settled right away in a

[2:09:28] mediation. And to me, there's a lot of value in that, finding things that happen, addressing

[2:09:36] them right away, mediating them, and saving the money of a long drawn out hearing. I also

[2:09:42] think we need to take a very careful look at the protected classes that we are including

[2:09:46] and make sure that we have done that thoughtfully for the benefit of all of our residents.

[2:09:50] And, of course, we need to do a financial analysis of how we can do this that is the most

[2:10:00] Beneficial to our taxpayers. A lot of these issues came out since we introduced that ordinance and this is democracy. This is how it works. We put out an ordinance for a first reading. We have discussion. We've had consultations with other counties, municipalities, the PHRC themselves. We're working hard to make sure that we do this right. And I look forward to hopefully very shortly when the ordinance is in front of us. And we can pass that and have a full work

[2:10:34] I'll keep my remarks fairly brief tonight on this topic because this isn't going to be the last time we speak about it, and I've already said on the record.

[2:10:44] My general thoughts about the extraordinary importance of having a human relations commission in this county.

[2:10:53] But, you know, I think as my colleague said, there's a reason for

[2:10:58] passing resolution tonight so that we can get the ball rolling with finding

[2:11:05] appropriate people who would be willing to serve on such a commission,

[2:11:10] understanding kind of what's going to be, what it's going to be used for,

[2:11:15] while also giving ourselves time to ensure that a commission in Delaware County

[2:11:21] works the way we hope that it does, and I think what we all have really struggled with

[2:11:29] is that there is no perfect comparative, even if we look at other municipalities or

[2:11:34] counties that have it in this state or others, Delaware County is inherently different from

[2:11:40] any other county, and that's the case for any county, and we want to ensure that the concerns

[2:11:46] that folks have raised and we all, also, differing levels share around just how much burden maybe placed upon it, depending on the way in which it's going to operate, what sort of cases would come before it, what we do is it relates to cases being able to be heard locally versus at the state level, these are all things that will impact the number of cases that come before it a year.

[2:12:15] and I think we're all attempting to determine answers based on an imperfect

[2:12:22] data set because it doesn't exist, right? So I heard what Councilwoman Schaeffer said

[2:12:31] in terms of some of her comments and concerns and I share them. You know, I think one I will

[2:12:36] mention is with regards to duplication at the state level, I think another factor to be considered

[2:12:42] that I'm certainly focused on is just how many cases are at the state level currently

[2:12:46] and how challenged it is for them to work through the current case load.

[2:12:51] So, you know, duplication makes some sense to not have here,

[2:12:55] but at the same time, if a case is going to be sitting on a dock at the state level for two years,

[2:13:00] what really is being accomplished.

[2:13:02] So I'm certainly concerned in that regard.

[2:13:05] But again, just to give you a flavor of some of the things that we're kind of working through,

[2:13:10] that's sort of it.

[2:13:11] So, again, please understand, for those who care about seeing in HRC locally, we share the urgency, but we also want to make sure that we do this right.

[2:13:23] And what I'd also say is, any ordinance that may be passed, it's not set in stone.

[2:13:33] We are going to be doing so with an eye toward a strong starting point.

[2:13:39] But with an understanding that as we get more actual data and track record of how it's operating and how it's deviating from what we might want to see and whether the burden is greater or perhaps less and we can take on more.

[2:13:58] We intend and future council people hopefully will make sure that we amend it accordingly to ensure we get it closer and closer to right over time.

[2:14:15] So that's where I am and I think that's generally speaking where council is.

[2:14:19] But I'm very excited for this resolution to pass as an important first step toward having a functioning HRC in Delaware County.

[2:14:31] I

[2:14:36] have much to say tonight that I don't think I need to.

[2:14:39] Many people who knows me and those my history and my background that I've been fighting with civil rights.

[2:14:45] Good God knows how long and I have also been a victim of discrimination in many ways.

[2:14:52] So, in many times, so I do support this award, I mean, excuse me, this resolution.

[2:15:00] I would like to move forward to working and moving forward to making it into a ordinance as well. Also, one of my concerns was that those of you that know that I had been leading up the budget task force. I just want to make sure it is done cost effectively as well. And I, you know, wouldn't continue to move forward and continue to build on it. And like my colleagues has already said, we had some discussions. We feel like there are some things that we maybe need to tweak.

[2:15:29] some things that we need to really take a deeper dive into and make sure we get it right.

[2:15:35] I think that's what residents want to say. They want to see us take the time and make sure it's done right.

[2:15:41] And I'm totally for that. And like I said, being in here for years, fighting against discrimination,

[2:15:51] This is the second day to the day.

[2:15:56] So, how will be supporting the resolution tonight?

[2:16:02] And for my part, I will take much time.

[2:16:05] I am happy to support the resolution of establishing the Human Relations Commission

[2:16:11] while it is really just the beginning and it's really a first step.

[2:16:15] It does signal a step forward in ensuring equity and fairness across Delaware County.

[2:16:22] But our ultimate goal will be to establish and strengthen this work through an ordinance.

[2:16:28] And so I look forward to the steps moving forward and hearing from my colleagues on

[2:16:33] the changes and adjustments that they want to make to the ordinance and actually seeing

[2:16:37] it move forward the new ordinance for a first reading, as they've stated today.

[2:16:44] Jim, any additional questions or comments?

[2:16:47] Quickly jump in, the objection as the procedure is noted, and for anyone who has not been able to access, although we've been able to confirm that many people are able to access, we'll check our IT.

[2:17:01] I do know that our county clerk works incredibly hard to make things available and was here very, like after the meeting, making sure that everything was available.

[2:17:11] we had confirmation at 6 o'clock that the resolution was available.

[2:17:15] And there are hard copies at the back of the room if should anyone want to see something.

[2:17:20] And I have a hard time accessing it online.

[2:17:23] For those who do not know, there is a distinction between an ordinance and a resolution.

[2:17:28] So ordinances, we need to do two readings.

[2:17:31] It is legislation.

[2:17:33] County Council actually doesn't need a resolution to create boards.

[2:17:37] In other words, it is in our charter that they have the authority to create commissions,

[2:17:41] but they have chosen to do this by resolution, and based on the facts that are before me right now,

[2:17:48] it seems like everything is procedurally in order.

[2:17:51] But the objection is due to the noted thank you.

[2:17:55] Any additional questions or comments from Council?

[2:17:58] Hearing none, all those are favourable by saying aye.

[2:18:00] Aye.

[2:18:01] Any opposed?

[2:18:03] The ayes have it.

[2:18:03] Item

[2:18:19] 8A, I make the motion for the second reading of the hearing and consideration of ordinance

[2:18:26] 2025-07, authorizing the establishment of a county demolition and rehabilitation fund.

[2:18:36] Second, motion a second and we have Ms. Laura Goodrich-Carned here to present.

[2:18:42] Yes,

[2:18:45] so this is the second reading of ordinance number 2025 is 07, which is an ordinance of the county of Delaware, Pennsylvania pursuant to act 48 of 2024, establishing a county demolition and rehabilitation fund and imposing a fee to be collected by the Delaware County tax claim bureau from purchasers at sales under the real estate tax law and by the Delaware County Sheriff from judicial sales in mortgage foreclosure actions.

[2:19:12] Defining terms and providing for separability, repealer, and effective date.

[2:19:17] The full details can be found in the printout that is available in the back of the room, as well as the information in the packet.

[2:19:23] And to further present and summarize the act, we have the executive.

[2:19:28] Thank you.

[2:19:29] Good evening, Madam Chair and members of Council.

[2:19:32] Act 48 of 2024 was passed with bipartisan support in the PA legislature before being signed into law on July 8th of 2024.

[2:19:40] It provides counties the ability to create a demolition rehabilitation fund through the establishment of a fee not to exceed $250 that is imposed on the purchasers, mortgaged in foreclosure and tax sales.

[2:19:53] The fee would become a condition and collected at the time of conveying title to the new owner.

[2:19:58] the fee is only a-

[2:20:00] Thickable to any purchases made in mortgage foreclosure, upset tax sale, judicial tax sale, or repository purchases.

[2:20:06] The fee is in addition to the purchase price and all other associated fees and costs.

[2:20:10] It is not applicable when the purchaser is a non-profit, such as a lamb bank or a governmental entity.

[2:20:15] This is not imposed on current property owners.

[2:20:18] This is not imposed on purchasers of property through the open market.

[2:20:22] This is only applicable when a property owner makes a tax payment or mortgage payment.

[2:20:29] This is only applicable on those property sales through mortgage foreclosure.

[2:20:34] Judicial sale, upset sale, or repository purchase.

[2:20:38] Funding can be used by the county, the redevelopment authority, and

[2:20:41] lambing for the purpose of rehabilitating blight and property in the county.

[2:20:44] This is new legislation with a broad definition appearing to allow for a variety of activity.

[2:20:49] In that, while demolition is specifically mentioned, we are hopeful that if instituted this fund would assist the redevelopment authority.

[2:20:56] in working with our municipalities to transition vacant, unused,

[2:21:00] blighted property back to prevent active views.

[2:21:03] When the redevelopment authority is approached for assistance,

[2:21:06] one of our biggest impediments to engage in these projects is the financial sustainability.

[2:21:10] The calls for assistance are for vacant, vacant properties,

[2:21:14] blighted properties, properties that are not maintained

[2:21:16] and that are burdened on the neighborhood and can drag down property values.

[2:21:21] There are approximately 100 parcel sales

[2:21:24] between the upset, judicial, and repository sales annually, which would provide $25,000 towards

[2:21:29] helping bring the property back to productive use. Unfortunately, I did not have the ability

[2:21:35] to find out how many sales are made through foreclosure sales annually before approaching

[2:21:40] the board this evening. And then also, currently, there is only one county in Pennsylvania that

[2:21:45] enacted Act 48 that were aware of. That's Clarion County. They have had this implemented since

[2:21:52] In the beginning of 2025, when speaking to a member of Clarean County Government, they really don't have an assessment on how that is working out for them.

[2:22:00] Clarean County, just for edification, is a population of all of 40,000 residents, and they were getting ready to have the first sale.

[2:22:08] The reason why we don't have this broadly applied throughout Pennsylvania at the moment is because it does require the county bodies to approve and implement the Act 48 ordinance in

[2:22:20] And in 90 days prior to the beginning of the following calendar year.

[2:22:27] So in order to be able to proceed with having this ability in 2026, we would ask for your approval this evening.

[2:22:35] There are four other counties currently considering Act 48.

[2:22:38] They include Jefferson, and Rose, Skookle, and Westmoreland.

[2:22:42] Thank you.

[2:22:45] Thank you, Director Carnot.

[2:22:48] Any questions or comments?

[2:22:49] And I just want to thank you for bringing this opportunity to our attention.

[2:22:54] It's extraordinarily difficult for, you know, the county can only raise revenue under the local tax enabling act and under other specific rifle shots that the state allows and largely we raise money off the property tax.

[2:23:12] So, well, this is a way for banks doing foreclosures and speculators to kick in a little bit to make sure we can address light in the area and hopefully strengthen our tax base so that we can, you know, generate additional dollars organically instead of by raising knowledge or it's peanuts, but it's important.

[2:23:39] Thank

[2:23:42] you, but we will move into our public hearing at this time.

[2:23:46] Are there any comments from the public on this ordinance?

[2:23:52] If you do have comments, please step forward.

[2:23:54] State your name, municipalities, there's a three minute limit.

[2:24:00] John, I guess it ought to be burrow.

[2:24:03] And we both, Davenure Kaima, as you know, set the greenest buildings, one that's already built.

[2:24:09] Because of the inviting energy materials that passed investment, the older houses are good

[2:24:13] houses and I think our situation now is we are turning inward and we need to take better care

[2:24:21] of what we have. I think you heard me say this before. Roosevelt's advice was do what you can

[2:24:27] with what you have where you are. And I think that there are rehabilitation possibilities. One of my

[2:24:33] hopes for Woodburn is that it can be a place where we can teach how to take care of older buildings,

[2:24:38] how to do flat plaster, which is virtually every house built for 1939, to think outside

[2:24:46] the box in terms of adaptive re-uses and what we can actually do with what we have honoring

[2:24:52] the past keeping the indoor plumbing.

[2:24:55] Thank you.

[2:25:00] Additional questions or comments on this item? All right. I will close the public hearing and look to council for any council comments.

[2:25:11] Hearing them, I looked at this guy. I'll know for a roll call, but Mr.

[2:25:17] Mr. Ruther. Yes, and shaper. Yes, Mr. Madden. Yes, Mr. Wilmac. Dr. Taylor. Yes, ordinance, 2025, 07 passes, five to zero. Thank you very much, council. Thank you.

[2:25:34] Item

[2:25:37] 9A, a move for the approval to amend contract number 8CR 9 slash 19 with child guidance

[2:25:45] resource centers in court to extend the term of the contract through December 31, 2027

[2:25:52] 72. So this is approval.

[2:25:58] Motion in a second. Any questions or comments?

[2:26:01] I would just like to note for the record that I need to abstain from this vote as a board

[2:26:06] member in my private capacity of Child Guidance Resource Centers in the additional questions

[2:26:13] or comments.

[2:26:14] There are none.

[2:26:15] All those are very significant for me.

[2:26:16] I say aye.

[2:26:17] Any opposed?

[2:26:19] The ayes have it.

[2:26:23] Go to our consent agenda.

[2:26:26] This one let the public know that our items are our consent agenda has been viewed and

[2:26:31] discussed at length at our pre-agenda meeting on this past Tuesday.

[2:26:36] any member of council has the right to remove any item from the consent agenda or they can

[2:26:42] elaborate on any item they choose to do so if no one is objecting to removing the consent

[2:26:49] agenda items I would like to make the motion to approve consent agenda items 10A through 10X

[2:26:55] has described and written on tonight's agenda subject to solicitors approval.

[2:26:59] Second motion and second any questions or comments on the consent agenda.

[2:27:04] Hearing none, all is a very significant five by saying aye.

[2:27:07] Aye.

[2:27:08] Any opposed?

[2:27:09] The I's have it.

[2:27:10] Mm-hm.

[2:27:14] And in 11, I'd like to move for the approval to reappoint Lisa Gaffney to a term ending June

[2:27:21] 1st, 2029, and Anthony Maas to a five year term ending June 1st, 2030, to Delaware County

[2:27:30] test the waterfront and industrial development authority.

[2:27:35] Second motion motion.

[2:27:37] Second any questions or comments?

[2:27:39] Hearing none all those are favor signified by saying aye.

[2:27:42] Aye.

[2:27:43] Any of those?

[2:27:44] The aye's have it.

[2:27:46] Aye.

[2:27:46] I am 11 big.

[2:27:47] I'd like to move for the approval to reappoint Helen, Gramell, and

[2:27:52] their grain to a three year term in the September 1st, 2028, to the Delaware County Library Board.

[2:28:00] Motion in a second. Any questions or comments? Hearing none, all is a favor, signify by saying aye.

[2:28:05] Aye. Any opposed?

[2:28:08] The ayes have it.

[2:28:10] I'd like to make the motion to be cleared by the control office for the payment of current bills.

[2:28:16] Second. Motion to the second, controller, Phillips.

[2:28:19] I just want to report that the county council payable department process, $13,305,181 and $82 cents of payments.

[2:28:33] About $7 million came from our general fund and included 60 plus payments to municipalities for

[2:28:40] a really transfer tax, so that people understand many payments were passed through that money comes in and

[2:28:47] he goes back out to our municipalities. So I request that sign off from you.

[2:28:55] Thank you. Any questions or comments? I know those are very signified by saying I

[2:29:00] any of those in the eyes have it.

[2:29:03] Dr. Taylor, if I could just have one minute, so I didn't take three minutes of public comment,

[2:29:07] but I just wanted to note that having listened to all the comments and read the

[2:29:12] ordnance and resolution, I wanted to say that I support the action that was taken by council tonight.

[2:29:17] And I want to see the HRC established in the smartest, most efficient, budget-conscious

[2:29:24] manner possible, and that's going to take some time for Council to work through.

[2:29:29] I appreciate all the comments and concerns and questions of people.

[2:29:33] And I also just wanted to add questions regarding, I know you'll be considering oversight, the

[2:29:39] organization, and staffing resources that it will take from the county, which will all go into

[2:29:43] to the budget idea, but I do appreciate your action tonight and support it.

[2:29:53] Director.

[2:29:54] Yes.

[2:29:55] I wanted to mention that I was privileged to attend a regional summit.

[2:30:00] Hosted by the Pennsylvania courts, dealing with those with mental health and behavioral health issues that are appearing in our courts, obviously the volume of individuals with those concerns are growing, ending up in our justice system, ending up in our prisons, and really not receiving the care that they need. It was inspiring to hear the programs and services and the ways that courts are addressing this throughout the region to borrow some ideas and glad to be joined by our President

[2:30:29] the Judge, Councilwoman Ruther, District Attorney, Stolsthymer, and Representative Lee

[2:30:34] and Krueger, as well as other county staff to learn some best practices and how we can

[2:30:39] do better and add to the variety of programs and services, including our treatment courts,

[2:30:46] to really help to divert and better serve our residents with behavioral health issues,

[2:30:50] as opposed to having them dealt with the justice system.

[2:30:57] Thank you, Executive Director.

[2:31:00] Ms. Aubrey?

[2:31:02] I already made some of the comments and noted the objection to procedure regarding the availability

[2:31:08] of items but we do always, our county clerk works incredibly hard to not only make sure

[2:31:13] that things are posted but also make sure that there are ample coffees in the back of the room.

[2:31:20] We will look at IT and if people we have recently floated over to a new spot so we happy to help people

[2:31:28] navigate the shifts if there's difficulty locating things and move forward there.

[2:31:34] I also, in the public comment, there were a couple of speakers who discussed rests and

[2:31:41] prosecutions, and so I will point out for those who don't know, County Council has no authority

[2:31:47] over the district attorney, the district attorney's office. This will lead prosecutor here in

[2:31:52] Delaware County and is an elected official who has discussion over their own actions.

[2:31:58] So that all of the comments urging Council to assert power over that independent elected official aren't I just wanted to make those speakers aware that Council doesn't have that authority over the district attorney or over what charges that or any other prosecuting authority chooses to spring. Thanks.

[2:32:27] Thank you. Now, I look for council comments, council member Schaefer.

[2:32:33] Ruth, you know, I just wanted to note that a lot of people have commented in the past that

[2:32:39] I don't pay attention and I don't look up. I've gotten that criticism before. I got

[2:32:45] it at the job that I was in, and I found out subsequently many, many years later

[2:32:52] that another attorney was really upset that I wasn't seemingly paying attention during

[2:32:59] a meeting.

[2:33:00] I was doodling and she mentioned this to our joint boss who subsequently, who said to

[2:33:07] her, leave her alone.

[2:33:09] And sure enough, I went into her office with a bunch of questions about the presentation

[2:33:14] because it affected a project I was working on and she has under the impression I wasn't

[2:33:17] listening to her at all.

[2:33:18] It's a form of active listening, it's much easier for me to listen when I take notes.

[2:33:22] So with that, I want to just make a couple of responses to people who came for the

[2:33:27] performative part of the meeting and to make their public comment but not to hear what

[2:33:31] we actually had to say.

[2:33:33] So I will point out to Ms. Piazza that I just found it absolutely hysterical that she thinks

[2:33:41] this Human Relations Commission is going to be used for political retribution.

[2:33:49] This is coming from a Republican candidate who is an avid supporter of our current president.

[2:33:55] If you just read the news, you don't need a Human Relations Commission to use government

[2:34:00] for political retribution. Just putting it out there. Second, the Mr.

[2:34:05] And this is Haggis who left, historic Eden Cemetery is one, it's a national treasure

[2:34:12] and it's here in Delaware County and I am so glad today as I read about the National

[2:34:19] Park Service being forced to whitewash its presentations on slavery at the President's

[2:34:26] House, that Eden Cemetery is a private nonprofit.

[2:34:31] It is not subject to the oversight of the National Park Service.

[2:34:36] As a result, they can and will continue to have presentations on things like freedom riders who had to go through the dangerous process of desegregating trolleys.

[2:34:46] And I'm also really interested in going to trolleyfest.

[2:34:50] Ms. Lewis, who is here, thank you for sticking around.

[2:34:53] And I must say you, even this cooker always do.

[2:34:56] And I want you to know that I do appreciate that.

[2:35:00] I had trouble figuring out how the ordinance, even the ordinance as previously drafted, applied to your hypothetical, but since I am going to be reviewing it, I will take some time and try to see if I can figure out if there's some tortured application of that human resources commission ordinance that, in draft, that would apply and I will make sure we address it.

[2:35:26] To Mr. McLaughlin, who left, he was on the Solid Waste Authority board, he left, and did not—so

[2:35:34] he would not know because he left two years ago that since he departed, unless he's been following

[2:35:40] their meetings, which God knows most people don't, since he left, the construction costs that

[2:35:49] authority found when doing its engineering had doubled from what the original estimates were.

[2:35:57] That, and the costs of continuing the expansion at the landfill have increased substantially.

[2:36:05] All of which means that the financial analysis that he was very proud of doing and justifiably

[2:36:09] so no longer can cover the costs.

[2:36:14] Second, the solid waste authority doesn't have the ability to double its fees because it

[2:36:20] It has to remain cost competitive for the municipalities with alternative haulers or it will lose them.

[2:36:29] If Mr. Stairs, who he held tire, is advocating that we continue to allow some trash to go to the incinerator.

[2:36:44] It's because the authority which needs additional revenue needs to maximize its revenue and reduce its cost.

[2:36:50] to cover construction for the transfer stations and landfill, the authority makes a lot more

[2:36:59] money on trash that municipalities take directly to Ray World.

[2:37:05] It is a callous financial decision, but the opposite opportunity is to lose the benefits

[2:37:12] that are reconstructed transfer station, and they're probably only going to be able to do one.

[2:37:19] and it's not likely to be in Chester, I don't think, but that's not my call, that's the board's call.

[2:37:26] They need revenue to do it. And finally, there's something else he's not aware of.

[2:37:30] That I was made aware of last year, last summer, when I went up to Earl Township. Earl Township in

[2:37:38] Birx County is the host of the county's landfill that was supposed to take all of our trash.

[2:37:43] That landfill is subject to a county host agreement, which is required under Act 101, and it currently prevents Delaware County from taking its own municipal waste there unless it has no other place.

[2:37:59] like if Cabanta were out and Fairless Hills was out of commission, we can take our own ways there.

[2:38:06] Otherwise, they have been allowing us to take some ways there, but the reason we haven't kept up with the original projections is because those projections were made when people were unaware of the host agreement, which Earl Township went to great pains after the transition plan was announced to tell the solid waste authority of your plan to enforce.

[2:38:27] First,

[2:38:29] finally, to Mr. Finneo, I think I already addressed that, that we were, in fact,

[2:38:37] tabled the ordinance because we do want to get it right.

[2:38:39] That was his request, and not an unwarranted one, and we are doing that.

[2:38:44] So I just wanted to, and finally, for Mr. Strav, who asked questions, which were answered,

[2:38:49] I really wish that the spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Senate Republican campaign committee had taken 20 seconds of his time up here to fill us in on what was going on with the budget, but he didn't.

[2:39:09] That's a shame.

[2:39:12] So we will have to wait and hear from somebody else. I guess. Thank you.

[2:39:20] Council member Madden.

[2:39:22] Further for time. Council member Wilma. Nothing else to say tonight.

[2:39:28] Thank you. And I have nothing else. I will entertain the motion to adjourn.

[2:39:34] Motion is second. All is a favor. Signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed?

[2:39:39] the eyes are at the gets in the back.

County Council

Agenda

Transcript