Mayor's Message - December 20, 2023

Hi Everyone, a few housekeeping reminders first: Christmas and New Years fall on the next two Mondays this year, so please check the trash and recycling calendar on the website to see how your collections are affected.

I have been blessed with a dedicated and energetic leadership team who have made improvements that will benefit their staff and our community for years to come.  There is a long list of accomplishments throughout the administration and I will try to highlight as many as possible:

The Police Department, headed by Superintendent Tim Bernhardt

1. Is now a qualified, accredited law enforcement department by the commonwealth
2. Has invested in body cameras, a new Sally port, employs a Victim Rights advocate and is home to an office for the Domestic Abuse Project
3. Began initiatives in Community Policing such as the TAPS program which operates in UDHS, Bonner-Prendie High School and the Municipal Library on Bywood Avenue

The Fire Department first under the stewardship of Chief Sawyer and now Chief Boyce

1. Improved their ISO rating in last year’s assessment which demonstrates concrete steps they have taken to increase public safety effectiveness
2. Implemented a comprehensive Fire Code Inspection Program, a False Alarm initiative, and insurance reimbursement procedures
3. Opened their free smoke alarm inspection and installation program to renters in addition to homeowners

The Public Works Department, under Joe Martin has

1. Revamped the Sellers Library campus, removing rusted and bent fencing and repairing the barn building
2. Expanded the Yard Waste collections from twice a year to weekly from April to November and saved the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars with a new recycling vendor and professional development within the sanitation division
3. Had new roofs and solar panels installed on the township building and Watkins Senior Center and a new roof on Sellers Library
4. Worked cooperatively with the Shade Tree Commission, the Tree Tenders and other volunteers on the 69th Street project & Gillespie Park improvements, the streambank stabilization project by the Swedish Cabin and dozens of other projects throughout the township

Another way to track our progress is by district:

1st District

1. Fern Boulevard Street-Scaping project complete
2. Built the Bloomfield Road extension of the Darby Creek Trail 

2nd District

1. The bridge spanning the Darby Creek at the Swedish Cabin
2. The recreation trail through Gillespie Park

3rd District

1. The bridge at Drexel Gardens Park
2. The streambank restoration project at Drexel Gardens Park

4th District

1. Traffic-calming measures on Parkview & St. Laurence Roads
2. New basketball hoops at Parkview and Westview playgrounds

5th District

1. Traffic-calming measures on Owen Avenue
2. The Clyde & Gisela Hunt Tree Nursery and existing building improvements in Naylors Run Park

6th District

1. The complete renovation and renaming of the Stonehurst Hills Recreation Area
2. Infrastructure Improvements to Aberdeen Park
3. The Market-Powell Street-Scaping project

7th District

1. Stormwater and street-scape improvements to Municipal Parking Lot #1 and around the township building on Garrett Road and Long Lane
2. The facade-and-street light improvement project on the unit block of Garrett Road
3. The construction of the the first phase of the Naylors Run Trail starting at Chapman Park in the 7th District and continuing to Long Lane in the 6th District

Below-ground initiatives/projects:

1. As a board member of the Community Action Agency, I assisted in bringing a Community Action Agency office into the township and it is currently housed in Murphy’s Giving Market on West Chester Pike
2. Across all departments, we have made improvements that allow interacting with the public easier with online payments and forms options; the ADA-accessible One Center on the ground floor of the township building on Garrett Road; the transition to Open Gov, 21st Century software, has been completed for the Finance Department led by Diane Scutti and will continue through each department including L&I, headed by Dan Knowles, and the Department of Community and Economic Development, under Rita LaRue.
3. The Department of Leisure Services, led by Bill Kaplan, continues to grow and innovate with new programming since the pandemic and has recently launched the Office of Community and Cultural Affairs. 

I have heard maybe more often than I would like that I don’t talk about the good things that are happening here in Upper Darby.  And I think about our township Facebook posts, the mayor’s messages which happen twice a month, the website, the monthly e-letters (you can sign up for these through the website), the township YouTube channel and I know that there is always room for improvement regarding communication and at the same time, we’re not operating in a cave.  One thing I did innovate as a pivot from the COVID pandemic is the outdoor neighborhood meetings: we’ve done a couple of dozen of them since 2021 and by we, I mean, representatives of the Police, Fire, Public Works and L&I departments and myself would go to a neighborhood to talk about a neighborhood issue like traffic calming, or residential permit parking or a recreation trail that borders their property lines and then open up the meeting to the department leaders to talk about what they do, how to contact the township for various issues and answer residents questions.  Turnout and reception at these meetings were generally very good and the creation of these meetings is one of the things of which I am most proud during my tenure.  Going to the people beats having them have to come to us.

Looking back, I am also proud of the activation of our boards, commissions and committees.  We have met and now work with a broad spectrum of talented people who volunteer their time and energy to various township offices, people from all areas of the township and who are not “party” people.  Another highlight of the last four years has been working with various local organizations and volunteers on COVID testing and vaccine clinics, the food drives, tree plantings, neighborhood and park clean-ups.  All these things form the foundation of the dynamic, engaged Upper Darby community that I know it to be and that I love.

I’m heading into the home stretch here with people that I’d like to thank: (and this is not in any particular order)

Alexis Cicchitti and I have been friends for over twenty years when she was then working in the police department. The Municipal Clerk position is a tough one, especially navigating the waters of what can generously be described as a contentious council. Thank you for your 27 years of service to the township and best wishes for a happy and healthy retirement.  We’ll see each other.

Mike Galante, our energetic and creative engineer, who has made every land development and project better with stormwater and infrastructure improvements, whether it was for the Wawa on Oak Avenue, the Drexeline development, Delaware County Community College, the vast stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements he oversaw with Joe Martin, or the road paving and ADA-ramp program.

I’d like to thank State Representatives Margo Davidson, Mike Zabel, Gina Curry and Heather Boyd, as well as State Senator Tim Kearney and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon for supporting our grant applications and other initiatives which needed the assistance of state and federal government to push them over the finish line.

Which brings me to Delaware County Council: thank you to Monica Taylor, Christine Reuther, Elaine Schaefer, Kevin Madden and Richard Womack without whom countless programs and most notably the Darby Creek Trail and bridge would not have happened this quickly.

Special thanks goes to Vince Rongione, Alison Dobbins and Scott Alberts who were a tremendous, incredible help after the 2019 election as well as the launching and leading of my administration.  Our entire community really went through it: the transition, the pandemic, the looting, Trashgate, August flooding - all in 2020!   Their hard work and dedication to serving our community and bringing their best every day has made all the difference in shepherding projects to completion and in the daily operations of this entity and to moving Upper Darby forward.  We have a lot of successes to look back on and I thank you for joining me on this ride.

The biggest thanks goes to my family: my husband John and daughters Raeleen and Gaeli who have encouraged and supported me the entire way through from 2007 and the single-stream recycling movement to elected office for the last 10 years: 6 on council and 4 as mayor.  Over the years, we’ve opened our home for canvass launches, petition and notarizing parties, dozens of meetings.  Many people sitting up here have been in our home, more than once. We’ve opened ourselves to a lot of political nonsense that was unnecessary and personal and ultimately completely unsuccessful.  The new mayor and new council should feel very optimistic for their future given the election results in November.  Best of luck to Mayor-elect Brown.  I’ve tried to give you the best transition possible and am in your corner as you go forward.

Thank you to the voters for giving me the opportunity to serve our community.

Mayor Barbarann Keffer