Newark Post: Push for county park on former orphanage site remains strong

Lisa Diller, NCC 5th District

Hat-tip goes to Karie Simmons for an excellent article in the Newark Post. Hope for a regional park in Ogletown remains strong, but with Councilwoman Diller an unwilling champion, it will be difficult to track Exec Meyer's progress. As much as we would like to back off and trust that our leaders will follow through, episodes of poor decorum and lack of communication remains a stumbling block. Excerpts:

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer says he is “committed” to finding the funding the county needs to buy the Felician Sisters’ 181-acre parcel on East Chestnut Hill Road and turn it into a public park.

“Not only am I committed to it, I’ve already made numerous phone calls about it,” Meyer said Tuesday during a Civic League for New Castle County meeting.

Several members of the group Save The Orphanage Property (STOP) – formerly Save Ogletown Pond – turned out to the meeting at the Christiana Presbyterian Church on North Old Baltimore Pike to protest the controversial housing development planned for the land at 487 E. Chestnut Hill Road, which is just east of Newark, and press Meyer for updates on the community’s desire for a park there instead.

Angela Connolly, a Todd Estates resident and STOP co-founder, said that over the past two years she has spent fighting the project, she has often heard the words “last chance.”
[Full article . . .]

Frank Warnock comments to Executive Meyer that the TIS (Transportation Impact Study) for the Chestnut Hill "Preserve" is all but worthless. It was doctored in favor of the developer, to fall short of nearby failed signalized intersections thus giving the project the go-ahead. Angela Connolly is seated to his left. (photo by Karie Simmons)