The Sheriff's Drone Program Got Pulled a Day Before Anyone Could Vote

The Sheriff’s drone program got pulled

The solicitor announced that two items on the online agenda wouldn’t be on it anymore.

The one that caught my eye was Item 10C which was a $50k grant to establish a Public Safety Drone Program for the Sheriffs Office.

I checked tuesdays prelim meeting and it was quickly tabled with no reason given at either meeting.

Some context, (5) weeks ago this council accepted a $1.45mil grant for drone detection.

…and all but a fraction of it goes to Axon Dedrone sensors, portable deployment kits, software licensing, training, installation & five years of maintenance.

This passed over NO votes from Phillips and Reuther. Phillips called it “a Flock camera for the sky.” Reuthers objection was that the county applied for $1.4mil in surveillance equipment “without a particular use in mind.”

Monica Taylor, Elaine Schaefer and Richard Womack voted FOR this.

AND NOW…the Sheriff asked for $50k to start flying them, with an attempt to bury it in a long item consent agenda.

It got pulled a day before anyone could vote on it. I don’t know whether that’s because somebody privately objected, the Sheriff’s office wasn’t ready, or if it was snuck on there without council knowing.

The deputy sheriffs missing compensation study

Dan Harold, elected president of the union came with members of the Sheriff’s Dept.

He said the union spent over two years bargaining a new contract, which was signed in April. That contract apparently had an addendum recognizing that deputies need a new pay scale, and promised the union a compensation study by Sept 1st and a new pay scale in place by Jan 1st of next year.

It’s Oct 7th and still no study. They have lost a lot of deputies, some with 15 years of service, over the last couple months due to the current pay scale.

Nobody on council responded to him.

More on this in an upcoming piece.

ChristianaCare Update

Doug Hazar, Sr VP, and Pauline Corso gave an update on what ChristianaCare is actually doing in Delco.

7 of their 11 SE PA sites are now in Delco. Four came out of Prospects’ pillaging of Crozer.

It’s a 20k sq foot neighborhood hospital, 10 bed emergency department and 10 bed inpatient unit, with 24/7 emergency physician coverage.

The second floor opens Oct 19th with primary care, cardiology, imaging and some behavioral health. And then Springfield opens next fall. Almost 100% of the Aston staff are former Crozer employees.

To reiterate… it’s not a trauma center…so no operating rooms OR intensive care. All trauma patients continue to Riddle.

Public comment

Alexis Bird, Edgemont. She asked for…a county run escrow fund data centers pay into for fire readiness, hazardous waste rules for routine battery replacement as well as post fire runoff and for the county to move quicker on their stormwater draft.

Marge LaRue, Aston. Her grandson Nick was shot and killed at his high school football game in Sept 2022. She brought his picture and was told she couldn't display what they called “a prop.”

She spoke about the Garden of Love in Upper Chi, which is a memorial for murdered children where Nick has a space. She then thanked residents who showed up to clean it before last months vigil. Her main ask is to vote Nov 3rd for candidates who support common sense gun laws.

Rich and Lisa Small, Collingdale. Here representing Delco Loves Animals, pushing for a countywide animal welfare center.

They discussed their intake of dogs from Chester, including those that are deceased. Chester has no municipal animal control and no intake shelter.

The county has offered them a building, but given much information otherwise…like actually which building, how much space, who pays utilities, and who they're supposed to talk to in order to get the ball rolling.

Deirdre McCleary. Asked council to publish the full cost of issuance on the 2026 bond financing, including Ballard Spahr's fees and how the firm was selected.

Kathy Buckley, Edgemont. Her new bit…combining the cybersecurity attack with instilling more doubt in our elections. She said elections director Jim Allen has told the League of Women Voters the attack didn't affect the election while the county tells residents it can't release information.

Michael Straw, Media Borough. Called it irresponsible to put the green infrastructure bond referendum on the ballot at all, citing a 55% tax increase over three years.

Charlie Alexander, Broomall. Came with a GoPro on this head and then went after Councilwoman Reuther for “cluthing pearls,” Womack's back taxes, what he called “wasteful spending” and a call for the Attorney General to investigate the county's tax seizure practices.

Reuther answered him at length. The mobile health unit and the vending machines are grant funded, not tax funded. And on the referendum: it authorizes borrowing up to $120mil over ten years. She said, "It may be less than that. It may not happen at all."

Then she finished with: "Sometimes people who show up with GoPros on their heads are not here to actually convey information, but to convey misinformation."

Resolutions

One to approve alcoholic beverages in Rose Tree Park for the Festival of Lights during the Holiday Vendor Market.

Another is the county agreeing to the Chester County Health and Education Facilities Authority issuing tax exempt bonds for a Main Line Health project.

Junior Council

The program had a record number of applications this year. 20 students from 8 schools, every region of the county represented. They present monthly on topics they choose, with a full report at the next meeting.

Everything else

• Phillips disclosed she is a breast cancer survivor while announcing a free mammogram event that the Health Department is running on Oct 28th, 9-3, at 151 W. 5th St. in Chester…
• Over 43,000 mail and absentee ballots went out last Thursday. Community drop boxes open 24/7 starting Oct 10th. Find your drop dox here.