Category Archives: News and Event Blog

Please see the flyer below for information and details regarding an upcoming entertaining and educational presentation by the New Britain Borough and Chalfont Borough Bird Town programs.

Please join your friends and neighbors on Wednesday, December 5th @ 6:30 PM for the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony along with Santa’s Arrival at the Town Center (Giant Supermarket) in New Britain Borough.  At 6:30 PM, CB South’s choir will begin performing.  At 7:00 PM, the tree will be lit and Santa will arrive.  There will be cookies & hot chocolate, and special gifts for your little ones.  Bring your camera and get a photo with Santa!  Sponsored by the New Britain Civic Association & Chalfont New Britain Business Alliance (CNBBA).

We’re excited to share that the parking lot at our administration building is officially paved! Expect to see parking lines and landscaping added soon! Funding for this project was awarded through a grant from Bucks County through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

The New Britain Civic Association will be hosting its annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday, December 5th, in the Borough’s Town Center.  Choir starts @ 6:30 PM and Santa arrives when the tree is lit @ 7:00 PM.  We hope to see you there!

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

Fall is around the corner and with the seasonal change comes crisp nights and falling leaves. The Borough’s Code Department would like to remind residents to clear their gutters of leaves so that rain can properly drain away from your house.

Along with colder nights comes turning on your heater and possibly lighting a fire in your fireplace or wood stove so please be sure to have your chimney swept annually, as creosote will build up in your chimney as a result of burning. A permit is required if you are installing a heating stove or replacing your liner. A required permit brings about an inspection after the work is finished and this is for your safety and to make sure that all connections are complete and correct. A disconnected liner in your chimney can cause harm to you and your family.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas. It comes from anything that burns fuel. A carbon monoxide detector should be located on the lowest living space in your house. Be sure to have your heater serviced annually as a number of carbon monoxide incidents come from heaters that are not functioning properly. When starting your car to warm up in the garage, please make sure that the garage door is raised because your car emits the highest levels of carbon monoxide during the warm up period.

If you should have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Borough’s Code Enforcement Department by calling 215-348-4586.

Written by Mike Italia, Building Inspector / Zoning Officer

Join us on Saturday, December 15, 2018 @ 12:00 PM at the New Britain Baptist Church Cemetery for our annual Wreaths Across America Ceremony.

Wreaths Across America is a nationwide program to remember and honor our fallen heroes by placing holiday wreaths on the graves of Veterans laid to rest in cemeteries across the United States. Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, the mission to Remember, Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 1,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.

The New Britain Borough Historic Preservation Committee is proud to sponsor Wreaths Across America again this year at the New Britain Baptist Church Cemetery and H. Walter Harvey World War I Memorial. The ceremony will start promptly at Noon on Saturday, December 15, 2018. There is no better time to express our appreciation than during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We hope you will join us to show our veterans that we will not forget the sacrifice they made for our freedom.

You can help honor the veterans buried in our historic cemetery by sponsoring a wreath. Each wreath is only $15.00 and your donation is tax deductible. To sponsor a wreath, please make checks payable to “WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA” and mail or drop them off to: New Britain Borough, Attn: WAA, 45 Keeley Avenue, New Britain, PA 18901.

Donations should be received by: Monday, November 19, 2018.

Donations can also be made to our location by visiting http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/. Please search for New Britain Baptist Church Cemetery (PANBBC) to ensure your donation is applied to our location.

Written by Jackie D’Agostino, Historic Preservation Committee

The Borough’s Historic Preservation Committee is highlighting nine borough properties that are on the Heritage Conservancy’s Register of Historic Places. Current pictures of the properties as well as a brief history of each property is now on display on the 2nd floor of Burkart Hall. In addition, there is a book with more historic and architectural detail and the original application filed to be considered for inclusion on the Register. Heritage Conservancy’s Register of Historic Places brochures will also be available.

If you are interested in registering your property with Heritage Conservancy’s Register of Historic Places, their criteria for qualifying properties is as follows:

• The property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our local or national history; or
• The property is associated with the lives of persons significant in the past; or
• The property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of an important architect, or that possesses high artistic values; or
• The property has yielded or may be likely to yield significant historic or prehistoric archaeological resources.

Any structure that is approved for the Register of Historic Places is eligible to display a plaque to recognize its historic and/or architectural elements. Listing on the Conservancy’s Register of Historic Places does not impinge upon the rights of property owners in the maintenance, modification or sale of their property.

Please contact the Borough office at 215-348-4586 for times when the second floor of Burkart Hall is open and/or more information about this program. Burkart Hall is located at 56 Keeley Avenue.

Written by Marie Coia, Historic Preservation Committee

You’ve probably heard the expression, “Fall is for Planting,” and it’s true. The cooler Autumn months are the best time to plant many trees and shrubs. At this time of the year, the soil is still warm, but the temperatures are cool. There is less of a threat to plants from pests and disease and there is less of a chance that new plants will be stressed by a lack of water. The roots of trees and shrubs planted in the fall are better prepared to start growing in the spring and those deeper, more established, roots are better able to handle drought when summer comes.

When planting trees and shrubs at any time of the year, choose species that are native to our part of the country. Native plants are part of the local ecosystem and are a crucial part of the food chain that support the birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators that inhabit our yards and gardens. Native plants are both beautiful and easier to maintain than non-native plants, which are less adapted to growing here.

So what to plant? Here is a list of some of the very best native trees and shrubs that benefit birds in two very important ways: these species all serve as a host plant for the insects and caterpillars that all birds need to feed their young in the spring, and they also provide nuts or berries that birds eat at other times of the year.

• Large Deciduous Trees: Oaks, Black Cherry, River Birch, Red Maple, Black Gum
• Smaller Flowering Trees: Flowering Dogwood, Pagoda Dogwood, American Plum, Choke or Pin Cherry, Crabapple
• Large Evergreens: American Holly, Eastern Red Cedar, Eastern White Pine
• Shrubs: Serviceberry, Red or Black Chokeberry, Gray/Silky/Redosier Dogwood, Winterberry, Inkberry, Bayberry, Elderberry, Blueberry, Spicebush, Arrowwood Viburnum

For more specific information on how native plants are crucial for the survival of birds, read Doug Tallamy’s book, Bringing Nature Home, which the Borough’s Bird Town Committee offers for sale. For more extensive lists of native plants that benefit birds and pollinators, check out the resources available on the Bird Town Organization page.

Written by Tom Price, Bird Town Program

New Britain Borough is pleased to announce the award of a $10,000 grant through PECO’s Green Region Program! The grant will be used on the two service islands along Butler Avenue between the Town Center shops and Tamenend Avenue. The borough will replace the diseased ash trees on both islands with new foliage, as well as add new benches close to the sidewalks. Special shoutout to volunteer Tess LaMontagne for her significant contributions to this grant application.

The New Britain Civic Association is hosting its annual Duck Derby at Covered Bridge Park on Saturday, September 29 from 11 AM – 3 PM. Come enjoy food, prizes, vendors, raffles, entertainment, and special activities for kids.

And don’t forget to buy a duck! Ducks will be raced in the creek, and winners can earn up to $500. The proceeds from this event benefit the New Britain Civic Association and another local community non-profit. For more info, please visit http://www.newbritaincivic.org/