Coronavirus Latest: Upper Darby Township Council Moving Forward With Controversial $20 Million Land Deal During Pandemic
DREXEL HILL, Pa. (CBS) -- In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Upper Darby Township Council is moving forward with a controversial land deal. That is is not sitting well with some.
Some in Drexel Hill are hot over this. CBS3 has received a blizzard of emails critical of Upper Darby Township Council moving forward with a vote on a controversial land plan in the midst of a national emergency.
Township leaders will meet virtually Wednesday night. They'll take a vote to possibly approve a land management deal at the Aronimink Elementary School property to expand the school for gym and classroom space.
The majority of township council appears to be in favor of the move. Approval would give the school district the green light to put the project out to bid. Costs are expected to surpass $20 million.
What's aggravating some neighbors is the extreme financial uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, and if this meeting tonight should even go forward because of the challenge of participating in the virtual public meeting.
The township says they're adhering to open meeting laws, and the mayor argues they can't let government action grind to a halt during the crisis.
"I think it's important to maintain as much normalcy we can in these times," Mayor Barbarann Keffer said. "The funny thing is I'm the one that requested that the school district do the presentation, to begin with, because I thought it was a better idea to get more people involved and to get them to hear what the plan is about."
"We tried to tell them that the public should be here, the public should have a say in this. Taxpayers are paying for this to the tune of $27-plus million and they didn't want to hear it," parent Margaret Parenti said. "So tonight they're planning on a vote -- same kind of meeting, remote -- and we're trying to tell them that during this coronavirus, this should not be their priority."
The mayor added some people are very excited about this project.
Meanwhile, there is a growing petition with 300 names on it opposing township council even taking a vote on this.