Buckingham swears in police officer, holds marijuana program

Buckingham Township swore in its second police officer in three months at last week’s board of supervisors meeting. A native of Northeast Philadelphia, Officer Kevin Myslinski joins the department having served for over five years at Temple University. Officer Myslinkski is a graduate of St. Joseph University’s criminal justice program and the Philadelphia Police Academy.

On Feb. 25, the township hosted a free educational program on marijuana. Chairman Jon Forest called the event a success with a great turnout, much like last year’s program focused on opioids. The event should return next year with a different focal point decided by the host, the Buckingham Advisory Network.

The supervisors released various payment, including for the continued expansion of Holicong Park. Phase 2 of the project is under way with a tentative completion date in late spring or early summer.

However, the park isn’t the only public space that’s getting an upgrade. Road improvements may be coming to your area as the supervisors announced a project bid for 2020. They selected 11 roads for work, including a section of New Hope Road between Holicong and Pineville. A full list of roads receiving improvements can be found at the township office.

A property of 43.3 acres along Holicong Road will be converted into an Agricultural Security Area this year. Creating a security area is the first step in preserving a piece of property and is a process the township previously completed in-house. The state has since claimed that responsibility and the procedure can take several months, but must be completed within 180 days. The land is contiguous with other preserved farms and touches Holicong Park.

To end February’s final board of supervisors meeting, members voted to approve an ordinance amending the township’s non-uniform pension plan. The Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System (PMRS) changed the legal language in its agreements according to requirements from the IRS. It must now go to every municipality it holds plans with to readopt those agreements with the new language.

The pension plan itself is not affected, only the language that PMRS was required to clean up. Buckingham Township has already adopted a similar ordinance for the police pension plan, which was also affected.