New members of the Chalfont Town Watch will be on their first patrol on Friday and Saturday, Mike Lamb and Ken Grow told the Millbrook Civic Association’s members during their Feb. 28 meeting at Calvary Athletic Association.
Lamb and Grow have been trying to revive the Town Watch. They said they’ve recruited 15 new members, who will meet at the AA on Deerpath Lane before going out on night patrol.
Lamb also said the Town Watch will conduct a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, at Calvary right before the civic association’s next meeting.
Grow and Lamb still are looking for more Town Watch members. Anyone interested in dedicating just a few hours a month can call Grow at 215–859–8204 or Lamb at 267–294–4760.
Also at last week’s session, Mike Bremser, the civic group’s secretary, said the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment had denied a Red Lion Road resident’s request for a zoning variance that would permit an open-air parking space on his property that is 2 feet closer to the curb than city code allows.
At the association’s January meeting, Stefan Pavlovic’s neighbors on the 3800 block of Red Lion said they had no personal problems with him or how he maintains his property. However, they said they were concerned recent improvements Pavlovic had made looked like the single-family house was being renovated to become a multi-family unit.
Pavlovic denied that, and, despite his offer to accommodate his neighbors in every way, their opinion dominated a vote on that matter, and the civic group let the zoners know they were opposed to Pavlovic’s variance application.
Members were expecting to hear about new plans to develop a property on the 11700 block of Telfair Road, but the property owner did not appear.
In November, residents voted to oppose owner Mike Sperduto’s plans to erect a house with a pair of two-bedroom apartments on his lot at the edge of the city. The land was not zoned for a two-family dwelling, so Sperduto had to apply for a zoning variance.
Because the zoners nixed that request, members said they thought Sperduto would alter his plans so he could build a single-family home, but they have yet to hear from him.
New City Councilman Dennis O’Brien stopped by the meeting to thank residents for their support in the November election.
“It’s this community that got me elected,” he said. “You made the difference.”
The former state representative also asked for his neighbors’ support for David Kralle, his longtime aide, who is now running for his legislative seat.
“He’s like a son to me,” O’Brien said of Kralle, who had worked for him for 10 years.
Kralle almost had no seat to seek. After every census, state legislators redraw House and Senate districts to better reflect shifts in population. In the redrawn district maps, O’Brien’s 169th Legislative District was moved to York County, decimating Kralle’s plans to run for the House. However, a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision scrapped the new district maps, keeping the 169th in Northeast Philadelphia for the time being, and Kralle filed to run.
The candidate said his long experience and work for O’Brien, who briefly served as House speaker, gave him the background needed to be an effective legislator.
“I know how to get things done in Harrisburg,” he said.
The association’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27, at 7 p.m., at the Calvary Athletic Association, 4330 Deerpath Lane. ••
