Posted on April 9, 2013
Do you decorate for Memorial Day with bunting, banners and flags to honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces?Morrisville First is sponsoring a contest to find the most patriotically decorated yards in Morrisville Borough. One winner from each ward will be chosen as the best decorated yard for Memorial Day.Each winner will receive a $25 gift card including balloons and a winner’s yard sign.
Contest entry forms are available on www.MorrisvilleFirst.com, the Morrisville First Facebook page, and also at the Morrisville Library, Morrisville Borough Hall, Burn’s Pharmacy and Anthony’s IV Pizza & Pasta on Bridge Street. Entries must be received by May 20. Judging will take place on Sunday, May 26; winners will be notified by 6:00 p.m. the same day. Prizes will be awarded at the Morrisville First resident advisory council meeting on June 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Morrisville Senior Center.
Morrisville First is a resident driven non-profit community organization with goals to make Morrisville a better place to live. For more information about Morrisville First, visit the website at www.MorrisvilleFirst.com or “like” Morrisville First on Facebook
Contest entry forms are available on www.MorrisvilleFirst.com, the Morrisville First Facebook page, and also at the Morrisville Library, Morrisville Borough Hall, Burn’s Pharmacy and Anthony’s IV Pizza & Pasta on Bridge Street. Entries must be received by May 20. Judging will take place on Sunday, May 26; winners will be notified by 6:00 p.m. the same day. Prizes will be awarded at the Morrisville First resident advisory council meeting on June 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Morrisville Senior Center.
Morrisville First is a resident driven non-profit community organization with goals to make Morrisville a better place to live. For more information about Morrisville First, visit the website at www.MorrisvilleFirst.com or “like” Morrisville First on Facebook
6 comments:
LOVE THIS!!!! Morrisville First is really doing wonderful things.
Yes they do, I just wish it was Morrisville All
Let me clarify, this contest is for each Ward, I love it! and I love all Morrisville First does, they are a great group of people! I just wish our Borough was not split by wards. It really breaks up a community to always identify by a ward! I know I know its that way for a reason, doesnt mean you can't wish! I'm looking forward to the decorating!
The Morrisville “Y” needs your help on Spring Clean up days
By Vivian Silvestri Community News Editor
Posted: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 5:39 pm | Updated: 5:54 pm, Wed Apr 10, 2013.
By Vivian Silvestri Community News Editor
Spring “Clean Up Days” at the Morrisville YMCA are Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26 from 3:30-5 p.m. for School Age Service Projects, and Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. for everyone else.
The “Y” needs help with cleaning, raking, planting, generally sprucing up, both indoors and outdoors.
If you would like to help, call Kim at 215-501-6686. The “Y” is located at 200 North Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Petty and backroom politics blamed for holding up $1.4 million in public works projects
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer | Posted: Friday, April 12, 2013 12:00 am
Morrisville residents were oh, so close to having $1.4 million worth of public works improvements started in their community.
Petty politics got in the way, though, one official said. Another believes backroom dealing might be going on.
If all that is put aside, the project can still be saved if the borough council approves a bank loan to cover the costs.
A loan proposed by TD Bank was voted down last month.
Borough Manager Tom Bates said a bickering council is the reason.
“If you want to fight among yourselves all the time, that’s what council does here,” Bates told the council last month. “All you do is three no votes, five yes votes. And now somebody is mad at another council person and they are going to vote no. If that’s what you want to do, hurt the people of Morrisville, God bless you. God bless the people of Morrisville.”
Councilman Victor Cicero, who has been in favor of the project all along, voted against the loan proposal, creating a 4-4 tie, which was broken by Mayor Rita Ledger, a Democrat not seeking re-election. She said the loan terms would have “tied the hands of future councils.”
Cicero said nothing more than the years of the loan was behind his vote. He said paying a loan for 15 to 17 years is too long in his “personal opinion.
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“I didn’t agree with the structure of the loan,” Cicero, a Democrat, recently said. “I’m not against the project. I think it’s a positive move for the borough.”
Rivella, a Democrat running for mayor, on Wednesday said there’s more to Cicero’s no vote than he’s admitting. Rivella said that he believes political backroom deals are being made involving the upcoming election to the detriment of Morrisville residents.
“I don’t want any part of it,” he said Wednesday. “I’m disgusted by it all.”
Bates and Rivella still hope the project can move forward if the council thinks about the residents and approves a loan this month. Bates expects to have two more offers from banks at the next council meeting on Monday.
“We’ll see what Tom has for us,” Rivella said of the manager. “Maybe we’ll be able to resolve this issue once and for all.”
For nearly a year, Morrisville officials worked with consulting firm Johnson Controls on plans for environmental improvements such as lighting at the library and public works facility, streetlights and traffic lights, as well as the first upgrades to borough hall since it was built in 1948.
In recent weeks, Bates received a promise of a bank loan from TD Bank to pay for the $1.4 million project. The interest rate on the loan would have been 2.46 percent, and there was an option to negotiate the rate during the 16th or 17th year; or pay off the entire loan at the end of the 15th year, but no sooner, without penalties. The total loan estimate included fees.
Bates said if the project goes through, taxpayers won’t have to pay a dime directly toward the loan.
The improvements would bring in $2 million in utilities and operating cost savings to the borough, he said. Those savings would pay for the loan. And the remainder would go to the borough’s savings accounts ideally, he added.
Bates obtained four bank loan estimates, but only needed the one, he said.
“All the other banks told me this is the best rate,” Bates said.
The council voted down the TD Bank proposal late last month, though.
A bank loan is needed at this point, considering the borough has already agreed to the project, with the condition of having a viable loan. The borough had that with the TD Bank proposal, Bates said, but that deal won’t be valid when the council meets next.
At that time, Bates warned the council that Morrisville had signed a contract with Johnson Controls, which has contacted contractors, who have reached out to suppliers already. Contractors and suppliers would be in their legal rights to sue the borough for breach of contract, he added. Borough solicitor James A. Downey III agreed.
If one of the two other loan offers aren’t approved, the planned projects can’t go forward.
That would mean no upgrades to the borough’s 632 streetlights by converting them to cost-saving LED lamps, Bates said. It also would mean lighting upgrades won’t be made to the interior and exterior at borough hall. A boiler won’t be converted to natural gas, and new heating and air-conditioning system plans would be axed.
Additionally, windows and doors won’t be replaced in borough hall, or new insulation put in the upstairs council chamber, without the loan money.
Bates has warned the council that, without improvements, repairs will be costly if the boiler and air-conditioning system break down.
If the borough is sued for breach of contract, tax rates might go up to cover legal expenses, he said.
“Don’t blame me. I tried to help you. I tried to make this town nice,” he’s told council. “Your air conditioning sucks. It’s terrible. It doesn’t even work.”
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