Public meeting to discuss financing stormwater management

CHELTENHAM » On Wednesday, Jan. 27, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Cheltenham Township will hold a virtual public meeting to review and discuss the Cheltenham Township Stormwater Remediation Feasibility Study and Implementation Plan.

Arcadis, a Pennsylvania state experienced environmental consultant retained by the Township will lead this initial public meeting and future related meetings over the next several months. This project is being overseen by the Stormwater Advisory Committee, which consists of township staff, commissioners, and an informed group of volunteer residents and nonresidential property owners who have expressed an interest in this topic.

Increasingly frequent severe weather events, heightened federal and state regulations on water quality and aging and inadequate stormwater conveyance systems have contributed to skyrocketing stormwater costs and devastating impacts for the township and its property owners.

Through this project, the township Board of Commissioners is prioritizing improved stormwater management and reducing water pollution. This study will help the township understand the cost of meeting stormwater management goals and requirements over the next decade. The process has the potential to calculate the shortterm, intermediate and long-term costs, determine the various funding

sources, and introduce a comprehensive set of solutions to this long-standing concern.

One likely recommendation the commissioners will consider is the implementation of an annual fee assessed to all properties — usually based on the amount of impervious coverage. This solution has two distinct benefits. First, it will shift more of the fiscal responsibility for stormwater control on

those commercial and nonprofit properties which have the largest impervious surfaces that create the most problems with current infrastructure. Second, it will provide a fairer funding source than simply imposing increases on township property taxes. All the fees generated will be explicitly dedicated to the improvement of stormwater management and the reduction of pollutants in the township’s waterways.

For more information, visit our Stormwater Matters webpage: www.cheltenhamtownship.org > Departments & Services > Projects, Plans and Studies > Stormwater Matters.

Township residents, businesses, taxpayers and those interested in this matter are invited to learn more by participating in this virtual public meeting. To do so, you can connect to the “Stormwater Matters” meeting from your computer,

tablet or smartphone, or regular telephone by preregistering. To pre-register, email LCartlidge@Cheltenham-Township.org or call (215) 887-6200, ext. 114, for a link or dial-in number for the meeting. Our Zoom account only permits 100 attendees. If you cannot participate in the meeting realtime, the meeting will be recorded and posted on the Township’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.