Dear Friend of the Barclay Grounds,

At the Chester County Commissioners’ meeting on Monday (December 8th) the Commissioners will consider whether or not to increase their grant award for the purchase and preservation of the Barclay Grounds.
You may recall that earlier this year the Commissioners granted the Borough $125K towards the Barclay Grounds purchase (vs the $500K that the Borough had requested; and the $250K that the County’s Director of Open Space Preservation had recommended). In making the award the Commissioners made it clear how much they had appreciated receiving – and were influenced by – the many e-mails sent to them in support of funding the Barclay Grounds. Commissioner Farrell (who initially appeared set to vote against providing any funding) noted that the e-mails helped to convince him that the Commissioners should make an exception for the Barclay Grounds to their general philosophy of only funding open space preservation in the townships and only funding infrastructure projects in the Boroughs.

The Commissioners also noted that the Borough could return later this year to request more money if the Commissioners felt that the Borough had put more “skin in the game”. With the recent Borough Council vote (5-0) to send a letter of confirmation to the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) that it would guarantee a match for the DCNR grant of $600K – as well as working towards establishing new sources of revenue (e.g. the Commercial Recreation Fee In Lieu) that could be used to fund part of the Barclay Grounds purchase, I believe the Borough has made a good faith effort to meet the Commissioners’ request.

I hope that the Commissioners will grant additional money for the Barclay on Monday – but I believe that their decision will rest on their perception of the amount of public support for the project. So I am writing to ask you make a phone call, or send an e-mail, to each of the Commissioners (see their contact information below) before Monday’s 10 am meeting to let them know your position on the importance of preserving the Barclay Grounds.

As with most public officials they place a lot of weight on visible support at their meetings. So, if possible, please also come to the meetings on Monday in the Commissioner’s Board Room (313 West Market Street, West Chester, PA 19380) to demonstrate your support. The first meeting of the day (the “Sunshine Meeting”) is the one where your presence would probably have the most impact. This will be held at 10:00 am and is a meeting to obtain public comment on issues (although there will be no voting on those issues during the meeting). The second meeting (the “Commissioners’ Meeting”) will be held at 1:30 pm. This is when they will actually vote on issues.

Thank you for your continued support of preserving the Barclay Grounds as a new park for the Borough of West Chester.

Best wishes,

John
Commissioner Ryan Costello
313 West Market Street
Suite 6202
West Chester, PA 19380
610.344.6100
610.344.5995 (fax)
rcostello@chesco.org

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone
313 West Market Street
Suite 6202
West Chester, PA 19380
610.344.6100
610.344.5995 (fax)
kcozzone@chesco.org

Commissioner Terence Farrell
313 West Market Street
Suite 6202
West Chester, PA 19380
610.344.6100
610.344.5995 (fax)
tfarrell@chesco.org