Chester City benefits greatly with a strong relationship with Delaware County Council. As the county’s only city, a strong Chester creates an even stronger Delco.
I open the Daily Times this morning and read that County Council candidate Joe Lombardo questions our current council for spending $50,000 to help with a one time cut of Chester City parks with no regard for our depleted public works staff, the poor working condition of our equipment, or the public health impact of high grass. In the same article, Joe expresses his distain for a county health department because he says it will take away fees from municipalities with no regard for the people with the largest health disparities in the county here in Chester.
Sadly, even some Chester people don’t recognize the value County Council has to help Chester become a strong city again.
I believe the Chester voters are a lot more politically engaged thanks to a recent election here and are paying attention to the County Council election. Now they know Joe Lombardo won’t be a friend to Chester.
Chester Matters Blog 
For him to make a comment as such, he has to be racist and unconcerned for the citizens of CHESTER, if he was in tune with the plight he’d definitely understand why 50k was spent on grass cutting and the deplorable conditions of the city… no worries,we will definitely make it know in the polls when he’s up for re-election! See ya Joe, you’ve gotta go!!!
You are so correct Anonymous, therefore Joe;
let the door knob hit you where the good Lord split you!!
Omg, Delco Council allocated 50,000 to cut Chester’s grass. Mr. Lombardo failed to mention the 30 million dollars, yes 30 MILLION dollars!! To but land in Marple to keep developers from placing houses there. Yes he failed to mention the millions of dollars that Delco applies for and receives because of Chester’s statistics on poor health, poverty and crime. Mr. Lombardi, if only we could get and keep Delco’s foot off our neck. So when we need assistance, since the county is the 5th most affluent County in Pennsylvania, wealth built off of Chester, historically and currently. Just cut the freaking grass!!
Yeah. But he’s proud as Clifton mayor that his town received between $25 to $30 million in redevelopment money and the municipal building renovation was completed. I wouldn’t worry about cutting grass either if I had $30 mill to work with.
Keep Chester ,”Clean and Cut” utilize more local resources like having block parties for clean up days or encouraging volunteers to be responsible for areas of our city that are constantly overlooked or looked at constantly as blight or an eyesore! Come on now, there are options that don’t require the deepest of pockets or backseat driving from the fringe. It starts at home and I have never seen anyone from our county or city council, with a mower or grass trimmer putting in that work that would give you the insight of the demand and or requirements needed to make a detailed assessment.
I did see the mayor on a riding mower this summer. I’ve seen council members doing community clean ups over the years. However, your point is well taken that more needs to be done to encourage community involvement and more citizens need to volunteer when these clean-up events pop up. Nothing proves Chester city government is broke more than the fact that we can’t afford to cut our own grass. We cannot dismiss this real fact. There’s nothing wrong with Chester city government asking for help. There’s nothing wrong with Delaware County Council helping us.
This nonsense will continue as long as Delaware County continues to be organized as “Chester that dangerous place where poor lazy blacks live” and “Every place else”. The dollars allocated to Chester are going to continue to shrink because it now only constitutes 6% of Delaware County’s population. This situation can only get better if Delaware County organizes funding by watershed, not by zip code.
So, so many problems in Delco stem from this inability to consider each watershed as a whole. Our sewer authorities arrange themselves by watershed, but that’s about it. We have a whole segment of Delco who continue to indulge themselves in the idea that because they are still on a septic tank, the rest of the county doesn’t matter. A decade ago, some of them had to connect up to the sewer system, and they’re still whining.
Further up another of Delco’s creeks – Darby Creek – a town council (who shall not be named) saw fit a few years ago to allow the banks of the creek to become their personal garbage dump, because it ran through the “poor” ward. They did not cease and desist until there were engineers who could make calculations, neighbors who could cite horror stories, and ward leaders who bought in that there was a problem. These days, there is a LOT of buy-in by a lot of residents because they’re all now using the paved paths and the benches.
Talk up those watersheds. Make sure every adult and kid knows what a watershed is, and whether they’re Ridley Creek, or Crum Creek, or Chester Creek. I know that you, Stefan, have been the voice that’s making the oxbow of Chester Creek more than just a tragedy from the ’70s. Eyre Park is a correct use of the creek’s flood plain: there’s no debate about that. But until there’s sufficient community buy-in to increase the foot traffic and decrease the morons tearing up the park signage, a$$es like Lombardo will continue to hog the microphone.