The Middletown Township board of supervisors convened for its bi-monthly meeting on Monday, June 14.
Preliminary and final land development was unanimously approved for an expansion to the Pennswood Village retirement community, located at 1382 Langhorne-Newtown Road in Newtown.
There will be two new freestanding, three-story buildings, each housing 15 independent living units. This would increase Pennswood’s total count of independent living units from approximately 300 to 330. An existing space would be reconfigured to add six new personal care units. Also, renovations are proposed for the skilled care area, but this would not increase the community’s capacity beyond approved limits.
Next on the agenda, the board unanimously approved amended preliminary and final land development for Provco Pinegood Middletown’s proposed Wawa at 639 E. Lincoln Highway in Langhorne.
While the Wawa was already approved prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, attorney Ed Murphy, representing Provco, said the organization wished to add a special feature.
“In response to the pandemic, Wawa introduced the concept of the drive-thru, which they historically never had,” he said.
According to Murphy, Wawa wanted to “hop in” and add a drive-thru to this upcoming location before construction was complete.
Township manager Stephanie Teoli Kuhls shared an update on PennDOT’s impending US Route 1 project, which is slated to include the US 1 bridge over Business Route 1 through the interchange with Maple Avenue.
PennDOT is seeking to improve the current setup of two lanes in both directions with no shoulder. By 2026, the concrete islands will start to be removed and drivers will have access to full shoulder lanes.
“One of the reasons these roads are so unsafe is because of the limited acceleration time to get onto the roadway,” said Teoli Kuhls.
PennDOT is completing preliminary engineering through the end of 2021, and a final design is expected to be available in early 2022. Public feedback is requested at us1bucks.com/section-rc3 by July 2.
“There will be many opportunities for folks to provide feedback,” said Teoli Kuhls. “There will be lots of public meetings.”
When one resident expressed concern that her home will be negatively impacted by construction, Teoli Kuhls told her that PennDOT will reach out with more information on what to expect.
The entire three-phase project stretches through Middletown Township, Langhorne Borough, Langhorne Manor and Bensalem Township.
In other news, a number of locals were recognized during the meeting. The Middletown Community Foundation presented scholarships to four graduating Neshaminy High School seniors who participated in community service. Since launching its scholarship program in 2002, the foundation has granted 176 scholarships totaling $186,000.
Bernadette “Bernie” Frisch, secretary to the township manager, celebrated her retirement after 30 years of service. Representatives were present from the offices of Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, Sen. Tommy Tomlinson and Rep. Tina Davis to gift Frisch with commendations and a flag that was flown over the Capitol.
There were several appointments, including Kevin Strouse to the Township Zoning Hearing Board, and Javon Smith to the Human Relations Commission.
Additionally, the board approved resolutions to officially recognize June as Pride Month in Middletown Township, and Juneteenth as a township holiday.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
