2009 News

April 16, 2009

Green Is In the Air: Commissioners Tout Environmental Initiatives as Earth Day 2009 Approaches

The Bucks County Commissioners, Chairman Charles H. Martin, Jim Cawley and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, held their Earth Day-themed meeting at the newly reopened Delaware Valley College Farmers Market, a partnership with Yardley’s Shady Brook Farms. Touting its locally grown produce, the owners and operators encouraged Bucks Countians to take advantage of the riches of Bucks County’s agricultural community.

The board passed 41 resolutions from 16 departments, including preservation of the 67-acre Weidman farm in Bedminster.  Mr. and Mrs. Weidman attended the meeting, and expressed their appreciation to commissioners for the opportunity to have their farm preserved in perpetuity. Along with two other farms approved for preservation by the commissioners at the meeting, one in Haycock Township and another in Bedminster, program manager Rich Harvey noted the total number is up to 127 farms, spanning a total of just over 11,000 acres.

In keeping with the green theme, Kris Kern updated the commissioners on a municipal open space grant to acquire 13.68 acres at Bustleton Pike in Lower Southampton Township, the first under the county’s open space bond referendum overwhelmingly passed by voters over a year ago. 

Other contracts passed by the board included several Children and Youth items related to foster care, adoption, shelter and group home services; an Emergency Services contract to conduct a feasibility study of a regional fusion center for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force; and an agreement with the Bucks County Security Guards Association, its first union contract which goes through December 2011.   

Though all items were passed, Commissioner Marseglia abstained from items 7 a and c, and cast nay votes on items 3 a, c and d, 8 a and b, 6 b and 9 h (click here to view agenda).

Chief Operating Officer David M. Sanko’s regularly scheduled report raised the importance of buying American. He recommended to the commissioners that they resolve whenever possible to use American products and services for any projects paid for with American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (more widely known as the stimulus act) funds. The resolution was unanimously adopted.

A presentation by Community Services Division Leader and Planning Commission Executive Director Lynn Bush rounded out the day’s events.  She provided an update on the BEGIN (Bucks Employees Green Initiative) Committee’s efforts, indicating the county is on track to recycle 4 tons of cans and bottles each year. Commissioner Jim Cawley reflected on a time when employees in the commissioners’ office in the courthouse would collect plastics, glass and cans to take them home to be recycled. That was his motivation for initiating the now successful county program. Bush also highlighted a record 1.1 million pounds of collected household hazardous waste removed from the waste stream as a result of the county’s HHW partnership.   Looking to the future, she alluded to better environmental property management and further energy-saving measures to be implemented.

Capping off the morning’s meeting was a reemphasized commitment from Commissioner Martin to resolve the issue of compressed natural gas usage by year’s end. Martin introduced this issue to senior staff members several weeks ago as one of his top-10 priorities for 2009. 

Two occasions were recognized by the assemblage on the rainy Spring morning. The first was National Infant Immunization Week, which promotes the benefits of immunizations and focuses on the importance of immunizing infants against vaccine-preventable diseases by age two.  Accepting a proclamation was Bee Diddy, the county’s immunization mascot, along with Bee Keeper Janice Anastasi and Mary Jane Costa of the Health Department. 

For close to 40 years, the Week of the Young Child has focused public attention on the needs of young children and their families and emphasized the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. Accepting was Marcia Straka of Bucks County Head Start.

The next meeting of the Bucks County Commissioners will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6 at the Upper Bucks Senior Center, Milford Fire Company in Quakertown.