Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 156, No. 28
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
$1.00
Somerset Lake residents to New Garden: ‘Share the cost of fixing our sinkhole’ By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer For the last year, the sinkhole between Lake Shore Lane and North Shore Lane Buttonwood Road in the Somerset Lake development in Landenberg has been Topic A for the residents who drive along the road. The sinkhole started off small but has in the last several months grown to a sizable girth of four-feet deep and eight-feet-wide. The frustration over the sinkhole isn’t just shared over the hedgerows; it’s also been on the agenda at several homeowners’ association
INSIDE
meetings. At New Garden Township’s July 5 meeting, what to do with the sinkhole was on the agenda and became the latest action taken in a back-and-forth of meetings and letters. On June 14, the Somerset Lake Service Corporation submitted to the township a list of 14 possible solutions to repair the hole in the road that involved the installation of barriers and forms meant to stabilize the area, strengthen the nearby stormwater basin and eventually reopen that portion of the road. In a June 21 letter to township Manager Ramsey Reiner and Public Works Director Ken Reed, David L. Sibert of Brandywine Valley Properties on behalf of the Somerset Lake Service
Corporation submitted a document that outlined the steps the Corporation would be willing to undertake in the hopes of reopening the road, which has been closed to vehicular traffic for the past several weeks. In late June, members of the Somerset Lake Service’s Board of Directors met with New Garden Township Board Chairman Steve Allaband and supervisor Dave Unger – a resident of Somerset Lake -- to see what could be done to fix the problem and restore normalcy to the quiet lakeside community. In the board’s discussion of reasonable alternatives on July 5, however, only one option was considered – the installation of a large steel plate over the sinkhole. Fixing the problem this
way is very likely to be far more complicated than slapping a steel plate down and reopening the road. Emphasizing a ballpark figure only, Reed estimated that the cost to purchase and install a 15-20-foot-long, 18-inch-thick steel plate would be under $20,000. Somerset Lake resident Don McConathy, who was present at the recent meeting between the Corporation’s Board of Directors and Allaband and Unger, said that he would supply the township with updated design proposals. He then showed the supervisors three engineering concepts that would provide longterm stability of the road and the basin – all of which has gone to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for review.
Whose road is it? The upshot of the Corporation’s proposal, however, submits that the township is responsible for not only the repair of the pipes beneath Buttonwood Road but for the surface of the road. Subsequently, the proposal calls for a cost-sharing between the Somerset Lake community and the township to complete the repair of the sinkhole and its connecting pipes beneath Buttonwood Road. McConathy did not provide firm cost estimates to
the board. “The homeowner association’s position is the road [surface] belongs to the township [and] the pipes under the road belong to the township,” McConathy said. “We kind of feel that there is some responsibility on the part of the township. We looked at this and said, ‘If the township were to help us, what’s the best way to do that?’ “If you provide some of the material costs to us, we can do the rest of the construction work. If the township then would deal Continued on Page 2A
FROM OUR LENS
Bikefest & United Way of Southern Giveaway held in Chester County Kennett Square appoints new CEO Equine healing arts...1B
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After a national search, the United Way of Southern Chester County announced that Terry R. Vodery has been appointed CEO-designee. She will officially take over the CEO position on Aug. 31 when longtime CEO Carrie Freeman retires. As part of careful transition planning, a twomonth overlap was designed so that Freeman could help County’s efforts to reduce the new CEO become acclihomelessness are showmated with the organization. ing results...4A Vodery is the former executive director of United Way of Cecil County, Maryland, where she was responsible for setting and implementing strategies which led the organization through the unprecedented challenges and demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was responsible for financial and business affairs, including the annual campaign, and worked across private, public, and corporate sectors to improve conditions for the people of
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Terry Vodery
Cecil County. In her 20 years as a nonprofit advancement professional, Vodery has worked for United Way of Delaware, the University of Delaware, and the Music School of Delaware. In addition, she serves on the board of directors of New
Horizon Now, a multi-service agency serving needy families in Camden County, New Jersey. Vodery has past roots in southern Chester County. She is a proud graduate of Lincoln University. She is a native of Delaware and is the mother of one son.
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
On July 9, Kennett Trails Alliance, Bike Kennett, Trek Bicycles Newark, and Zummo Bikes teamed up to sponsor Bike Fest at Pennock Park in Kennett Square. As part of the event, 100 free refurbished adult and youth bicycles and helmets were given to members of the community. Pictured with a new bike owner is Bike Kennett founder Josie Marsh.
AROUND THE REGION
by Gene Pisasale
Blobfest 2022: Sci-Fi film still delights By Gene Pisasale Contributing Writer The 1950s were years dominated by the “space race” between the United States and the Soviet Union, as each country tried to outdo the other in rocket technology. Scattered reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) intensified public interest in understanding what existed far beyond our atmosphere. America was fixated on outer space- and the possibility of life on other planets. Eager to cash in on the craze, filmmakers began producing movies which had space as their main theme, releasing dozens of
films highlighting space ships and aliens. A 1958 Sci-Fi movie titled The Blob is the inspiration for Phoenxville's Blobfest, which took place from July 8-10. Filmed in the Downingtown and Phoenixville area and featuring a young Steve McQueen, the plot revolves around a red gelatinous substance which escapes from a crashed meteor. Appropriately, the Blob itself has somewhat mysterious origins. The Colonial Theatre, where some scenes were filmed, mentions that the original idea for the movie came from a Philadelphia police report of an object “falling Continued on Page 3A
The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville during Blobest 2022, held July 8-10.