Solebury Supervisors honor Noel Barrett as board term ends

The Solebury supervisors honored fellow member Noel Barrett Tuesday with a plaque for “outstanding service to our community” as he ended his six-year term on the board.
“I don’t usually like to digress at our meetings,” said board Chair Mark Baum Baicker, “but I’m hoping you’ll bear with me ... It’s about a friend of mine. Someone I’ve known for a long time and someone who is one of the smartest and most interesting people I know.
“He’s an avid reader and history buff. You may or not know that since the inception of the long-running Antiques Roadshow (television) series on PBS, he’s been the resident toy expert.
“We’re pretty certain that at 81, he’s the oldest township supervisor in Bucks County. He may not say a lot at our meetings, but behind the scenes his thoughtful perspectives have been instrumental in keeping our township on a stable path for the past six years.”
The “six years just flew by and it’s been an honor to be here,” Barrett, said after the meeting. The Carversville resident, who did not seek reelection, said he plans to stay active in local and area politics.
“I have been on the board longer with Noel than with anyone else here,” said Supervisor Kevin Morrissey. “On numerous occasions he was a very important vote to enable us to direct the township. Noel accomplished this while still maintaining a very busy schedule with his antique business and his television commitments.... Thank you for sharing you expertise with Solebury Township. I know the community is much better for it.”

In other matters at their Dec.14 meeting, the supervisors unanimously voted final approval for the township’s 2022 budget, which contains no tax hike and keeps the millage at 24.8102.
This means the owner of a house assessed at $65,000 will still pay $1,612 in local real estate taxes. This does not include county or school taxes.
The board also awarded a landscaping maintenance contract to Professional Landscape Services for $27,325 a year for three years.
Baum Baicker concluded the session by noting it was his “best guess” that masks will still be mandated for attendance in the new year.
“Based on the latest numbers we’re seeing – as of (Dec. 13) – the seven-day average of Covid cases in Bucks County had more than doubled over the past two weeks, the positivity rate was up to 10% and there were 27 deaths over the past two weeks,” he said.

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