| UPDATE ON CLIFTON HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL PROJECT |
| FROM BOROUGH COUNCIL AND MAYOR |
| June 2023 |
| Dear Neighbor: |
| As we enter the summer season, we wanted to provide you with an update on the status of the development of the new middle school in Clifton Heights by the Upper Darby School District. You may remember that after several legal challenges, the Borough and the School District arrived at a settlement in November 2021. That settlement allowed the development of the middle school to go forward, subject to further planning approvals for storm and sanitary sewers and traffic planning. The settlement limited the student population to 800 students (where the School District’s other two middle sch-ools have approximately 1,500 students each). Most importantly to the Borough, the settlement requires the athletic fields to be rehabilitated and ownership of the fields will be transferred to the Borough. |
| Since the time of the settlement, the School District has continued to develop the planning process for the storm and sanitary sewers and the traffic planning. When the District does complete its final plans and submits those to the Borough, the Borough’s Engineer will review all plans to ensure the plans comply with all local, county, state, and federal laws. As of this letter, there are no building permits which have been issued and the Borough is not aware of any start date for the project. The Borough is not aware that the School District has awarded any contracts for construction of the project. |
| Soon, we may begin to see some activity relating to the project at the site. The following are some activities that neighbors may see this summer: |
| 1. The School District has purchased the former upholstery store property at the corner of Springfield and Sycamore. That property will eventually be demolished as part of the traffic plan for the project. |
| 2. The properties on the south side of Revere Road received notices from the School District that rear yard sheds and other structures on the School District’s property will need to be removed. |
| 3. As part of the planning process, the School District needs to perform an archaeological study to ensure that there are no historic objects at the site. Qualified archaeologists will be performing “test digs” over the entire site for this study. 4. The School District’s engineers will continue to perform ground testing on |
| The School District will be required to hold a hearing under Pennsylvania law to explain to the public the costs of construction and the final construction plans. This hearing must be conducted as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Education approval process for the new school. The Borough does not know when the School District will hold this hearing, but both the School District and the Borough will communicate to the public when we find out. |
| Finally, the Borough has applied for and been awarded competitive grant funding from the state to make improvements to the Springfield Road corridor, including new sidewalks and curbs in the area, in anticipation of the sewer work that the School District will need to perform on Springfield Road. The Borough has additional grant applications submitted to the state for other improvements in the area in anticipation of the building of the new school. We will keep you up to date on the status of these grants and projects. |
| We hope this brings you up to date on the status of the new middle school. We will continue to communicate with you as the process moves along and there is new information to report. Have a great summer! |
| Very truly yours, |
| Michael Humphreys |
| President |
| Clifton Heights Borough Council |