Mayor's Message - 6/15/22

Good evening. 

Tomorrow, June 16th the Watkins Senior Center is hosting a table tennis tournament as part of the Delaware County Senior Games. The mission of the games is to engage residents over the age of fifty in two weeks of fun events that promote a healthy, social and active lifestyle.  Our Senior Center staff does an overall great job.

My Recreation Committee with the support of local historians have organized a tour of the Underground Railroad Walking Trail here in Upper Darby in honor of Juneteenth. On Saturday, June 18th from 9am-11am you can join your neighbors for a walk to three Underground Railroad sites and hear from local experts at each site on its importance to the anti-slavery movement in Upper Darby.  This event is free and children are welcome! You can learn more about the event by visiting our website, upperdarby.org 

Upper Darby Township will be hosting a free fireworks display for Independence day on Friday, July 1st at 9:30pm. The event will take place at the Upper Darby High School baseball field. Please come out and enjoy the fireworks!

Community Action Agency of Delaware County has very recently announced a new program called “Beat The Heat” which is part of their Weatherization Works program.  If you are a Delaware County resident, homeowner or renter, and qualify for LIHEAP assistance, you are eligible for a free air conditioning unit.  Please contact Community Action at 610.521.8770 for more information or go to the Community Action website, caadc.org.  

Also, Community Action is partnering with Murphy’s Giving Market to open an Upper Darby office.  Details are being finalized and we will have a ribbon-cutting when the office opens.  Murphy’s Giving Market is a local non-profit which focuses on food insecurity issues and is located at 7408 West Chester Pike.

Work has begun on the renovations to the 2nd Ward Playground.  Renovations include a walking path, new playground equipment, a pavilion, new lighting and cameras.  The basketball courts are still open and the site work is expected to be completed in the next six weeks.

At this point, we had planned on taking a moment for Donna Stilwell, our representative from Brinker Simpson, to provide updates to Council and the public from the Finance Department. Due to the last minute rearrangement of the meeting by Council, this was not able to be presented. A copy of the presentation has been added to the website in the meantime. You can find this by visiting www.upperdarby.org/departments/Finance/SpecialReports

I know that there has been some confusion as to a vote taken by Council at the June 1st Meeting.  A vote which was not on the agenda and which is a violation of the Sunshine Act, a vote which appears to violate the township’s Home Rule Charter.  The Mayor, in conjunction with a majority of Council members in office, can dismiss the CAO (or any Department head).  CAO Rongione has been and continues to be the township CAO.  He has done a fantastic job for the last two and a half years, steering us through the transition and through a global pandemic. He is a dedicated and invaluable team member in my administration. I asked him not to be in person at this meeting, so we can keep the focus on doing good work for the Upper Darby community.  

This concludes my message. Thank you.