K-1 Tensions, Traffic Solutions, and a Fire Investigation Update
April 1 Meeting of the Middletown Township Council
The March 6th house fire at Franklin Station cause is still undetermined. Middletown Township’s Fire Chief said that “a Pennsylvania State Police investigator was called in and found nothing suspicious”. The fire originated in the garage, but didn’t extend out to any other living areas and was contained. First units arrived in about four minutes.
The township still hasn’t received anything from RTMSD on the proposed K-1 center. Residents continued to speak their opinions:
In favor: “Half day kindergarten assumes a family structure that most families no longer have…when we offer only half day, we are asking one parent, most often a mother, to leave the workforce or piece together childcare or scramble every single day. That is not a neutral choice.”
Against: “We need to do it in a different manner than this school…this is not a quick fix. [The school district doesn’t] have the funds for this.
In favor: “We are reaping the benefits of all the people that have moved in, in the form of tax dollars. So there are no excuses that we can’t spend what we need to support the people who are paying these taxes and support their children.”
If the school district submits their plan by April 8, it will go to the Planning Commission meeting on May 14th. I counted four residents speaking in support, and three against.
Council will make a decision on a new “Traffic Calming Policy” at the meeting on April 15th. The new policy will help manage complaints from residents about traffic on township roads (not state roads). Middletown residents would be able to petition the township for low speed, neighborhood-focused treatments on township roads with a 25 MPH speed limit. Final decision would then be made by Council.
As always, you can find the meeting in its entirety here:
