Category Archives: News and Event Blog

The document below reflects the results of the Borough’s single trash hauler survey. Thank you to all who participated in the survey!
Survey Results Summary

All Survey Entries

Central Bucks Regional Police Department – Employment Opportunities – Visit CBRPD website at www.cbrpd.net for position descriptions and application.  Applications will be accepted until September 28, 2016.

POLICE CLERK – Part-time clerical position, 20 hrs/wk, CBRPD Headquarters – Doylestown Borough

CROSSING GUARD – Part-time seasonal school year position, M-F, Doylestown Borough

Keeley Ave will be closed on August 24th for roadwork between Butler Ave and the Covered Bridge.  Local traffic will have limited access, but through traffic will need to detour.  The road will be reopened by August 25th.

Please contact the Borough office with any questions or concerns.

New Britain Borough was notified by Aqua PA of the presence of PFCs in the wells that serve Chalfont Borough and portions of New Britain Borough.  While this amount was less than the EPA guidelines, Aqua is taking preventative measures to address the problem.

New Britain Borough will continue to keep residents informed via this page and social media as we receive information from Aqua PA. All questions should be directed to Aqua PA at 877.987.2782.

You can also visit their website at https://www.aquaamerica.com/our-states/pennsylvania.aspx.

Please see the press release below for more information:

Background
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the contaminants to regulate in our drinking water, and they set regulatory limits for amounts of certain contaminants. Aqua uses the EPA’s maximum contaminant levels to ensure water quality.

There are some contaminants for which the EPA develops health advisories that do not have set regulatory limits. The health advisories provide technical information on health effects. PFOA and PFOS are included in those contaminants that have no regulatory limit but are associated with a health advisory. These chemicals are among a family of manmade chemicals that have been used for decades as an ingredient to make products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water, and in products for firefighting at airfields. They are extremely resistant to breaking down in the environment.

In 2009, EPA published provisional health advisories for PFOA and PFOS. At the time they were established, these advisories were as follows: PFOS: 200 parts per trillion and PFOA: 400 parts per trillion. In May 2016, EPA replaced the 2009 provisional advisories with new, lifetime health advisories that combined the two chemicals and set a 70 parts per trillion health advisory level for both.

What has happened recently?
Over the past 3 months, Aqua Pennsylvania has begun to receive laboratory results for PFOA and PFOS. Samples were collected from Aqua Pennsylvania water sources in areas in Montgomery and Bucks counties because of the recent developments with the groundwater contamination from PFOA and PFOS originating from nearby military bases in our region.

Late this week, Aqua received test results that included three Chalfont wells, two of which are well below the health advisory limit of 70 parts per trillion (results were 9.6 and 24), and one that is nearing the limit, at 68, from the sample we took. As a precautionary measure, we are taking the following steps:

1. Today, we are resampling the well to verify the results.

2. Also, we are shutting down the well and only using it as a back-up. This is mainly to ensure firefighters have sufficient water supply to ensure public safety in Chalfont. This is a temporary step.

3. To ensure a safe water supply in the borough in the interim, we will run an interconnect with another water supply that we will ensure is within health advisory limits. Once that fix is in place, which we expect to happen next week, we will shut down the well.

Description

New Britain Borough provides important local services to more than 3,000 residents, and seeks an intern who can help support these activities.

This intern should be prepared to work in a fast-paced team environment, and will finish the internship having gained broad experience in local government administration. The Borough will tailor major projects to intern’s interest area.

Responsibilities

• Assist Borough Secretary with addressing constituent requests and concerns
• Prepare materials for public presentation and consumption
• Support social media and other communication efforts
• Research policy recommendations for Borough Council

Requirements

New Britain Borough is looking for an undergraduate or graduate student who is interested in a career in government. This person should have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and be dependable/reliable.

While general work hours are flexible within the office schedule, there will be a handful of evening meetings depending on the intern’s interest area.

Compensation

• $5,000 for minimum 300 hours of work (pending state funding)
• Will structure internship to comply with school credit requirements

Application

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to sam@newbritainboro.com or in person at 45 Keeley Ave, New Britain PA 18901 by 8:30AM on Monday, July 20th.

An article by Borough volunteer Marge Eberz of the New Britain Bird Town Committee was featured in the latest issue of the Bird Town Flyer.  She describes the wonderful activities and efforts of volunteers at Pine Run Elementary School.

Click here for the latest Bird Town Flyer

Click here to learn more about the New Britain Borough Bird Town Committee

The Borough of New Britain is among a select group of high performing municipalities to become certified through the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program.  The Borough of New Britain is recognized at the Gold level of certification for meeting the program’s rigorous performance criteria which tracks 131 policies and practices that define a sustainable community.

The Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification, administered by the Pennsylvania Municipal League in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh, is designed for municipalities that are working to save money, conserve resources, and serve vibrant communities.  Originally deployed in Southwestern Pennsylvania by Sustainable Pittsburgh, the certification has gone state-wide recognizing small, medium, and large municipalities across the Commonwealth.  The Pennsylvania Municipal League and Sustainable Pittsburgh applaud municipalities for their demonstrated commitment and sustainability performance.

In earning the Gold Certification, The Borough of New Britain is acknowledged for its progress in addressing such areas as community design and land use, energy efficiency, health and wellness, mitigating blight, intergovernmental cooperation, recycling and waste reduction, fiscal controls, and internal management and operations.   Details regarding how The Borough of New Britain is addressing these areas can be found on the certification program’s website:  www.sustainablepacommunitycertification.org.

“We are delighted to see The Borough of New Britain distinguished among local governments that are leading the way in applying sustainability to both their operations and management as well as within the community,” said Gail Markovitz, Director of Training, Pennsylvania Municipal League.

The Certified Community by the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification is intended to bring recognition to municipalities that are applying the policy and practice of sustainability as their way of operating in order to advance community prosperity.  It also serves as a mechanism for sharing best practices for creating a more sustainable Pennsylvania.  “Municipalities that earn the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification are standouts in demonstrating adherence to best practices that elevate them as communities of choice to live, work, and play.  Commitment to continuous improvement is at the heart of sustainability and the certification program is a means to accelerate municipal performance,” said Court Gould, Executive Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh.

Details about The Borough of New Britain’s certification performance can be found by linking to www.sustainablepacommunitycertification.org.

For more information, please visit www.sustainablepacommunitycertification.org  or contact Sam Bryant at 215-348-4586 or sam@newbritainboro.com.

About The Borough of New Britain

Incorporated in 1928, New Britain Borough stretches along Business Route 202 for about 2¾ miles between Chalfont Borough and Doylestown Borough. New Britain Borough is home to more than 3,000 residents and approximately 120 businesses. Existing initiatives and policies have made the Borough a “great place to live”, which is its official motto. The Borough of New Britain is committed to sustainable growth and development, in order to further enhance the health, safety and welfare of the community.

About The Pennsylvania Municipal League

The Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. The PML represents participating Pennsylvania cities, townships, town, boroughs, and home rule municipalities that all share the League’s municipal policy interests.  PML provides a wide array of municipal services including legislative advocacy (on both the state and federal levels), publications designed to educate and inform, education and training certification programs, membership research and inquiries, consulting-based programs, group insurance trusts, and the statewide Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification.  Specific to Southwestern Pennsylvania, PML is partnered with Sustainable Pittsburgh for outreach.

About Sustainable Pittsburgh
Sustainable Pittsburgh affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh region to integrate economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions for communities and businesses. Over the past 17 years, Sustainable Pittsburgh has proven adept at building coalitions for the policy and practice of sustainable development for southwestern Pennsylvania.  SP educates and engages decision-makers and in turn elevates expectations for integration of the 3Es (environment, social equity, and economy) among government, businesses, nonprofits and academia.

New Britain Borough has won First Place in the 2016 Borough News Annual Municipal Website Contest.

Boroughs across the state were eligible to apply for the award based on the content, style and structure of their websites.

This award is a follow up to the 2014 Second Place Award the Borough received from the Borough News for its Newsletter.

The Borough does not plan to rest on its laurels, and wants to continue to provide high value communications to its residents.  If you have suggestions for us, please feel free to contact us!

A copy of the Butler Ave “Main St” Plan presentation is now available to view.

This report was prepared by the Bucks County Planning Commission with input from the Planning Commission and Community and Business Committee.  DVRPC provided financial support for the project.

Next steps will involved public review, including discussion of the plan at a future Borough Council meeting.

Click here to view May 12 Draft Plan Presentation

The New Britain Borough Bird Town Committee was the recipient of the 2015 Bird Habitat Award.  The award is given to the organization that has the most residents sign up to participate in the Backyard Habitat Program.

To learn more about the Borough Bird Town Committee and how you can sign up for the Backyard Habitat and other programs, please click the link below:

Click here to learn more about Bird Town