Crebilly Farm Update: Part II What Now? 1/27/18

Dear Friends,
Protecting and preserving our Chester County land requires us to pay attention to what is happening in our own backyards, in our townships. If you are like me, the last thing you want to do is pay more tax. In the case of open space referendums, however, a modest tax of .25% (Earned Income Tax only) can go a long way when it comes to protecting our quality of life. For example, every $10,000 of household income, the yearly tax would be $25. Such initiative by a township creates the power to leverage more funding from the county and state.

The more I learn about how Crebilly Farm has become so vulnerable to mass development, the more I understand how important it is for each of us to sound the alarms in our own townships and work to prevent future situations like this one. In July 2017, I joined the Land Preservation and Sustainability Committee in my home township of West Bradford and this past November’s election, West Bradford passed their own open space referendum by a margin of 2 to 1. Myself and many others are committed to being pro-active in the protection and preservation of our county history and land.

MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTCRY is our greatest power against the mass development of Crebilly Farm. Whether you have the time to write an eloquent letter or send an email with only one sentence- I promise, you are helping the greater good. MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTCRY helped give the Westtown Township Board of Supervisors the courage to stand strong in our favor and vote ‘No.’ We need to keep going by continuing to draw attention to Crebilly Farm and her national historic value.

LETTER TEMPLATE
For your convenience, I am resurrecting this great letter template, thanks to Glynnis Harvey, a local concerned citizen:
https://crebillyfarmfriends.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/historical-significance-narrative1.docx

1) TOWNSHIP
*Contact your own township and find out if your Comprehensive Plan is up do date. Ask if your township has set aside funding to protect open space.
*Contact the Westtown Township Board of Supervisors; thank them for their courageous decision and urge them to keep up the good work by continuing to advocate for you, the constituent; since Westttown Township does not have an open space referendum, ask if the township plans to step up and contribute funding for the preservation of Crebilly Farm if the opportunity presents itself:

Ms. Carol DeWolf, Mr. Mike DiDomnico and Mr. Scott Yaws
c/o Westtown Township
1039 Wilmington Pike
West Chester, PA 19382
(610)692-1930

Email: rpingar@westtown.org

Here is a Chester County map of Open Space Preservation Programs:

2) COUNTY
Contact the Chester County Commissioners; remind them how important it is to preserve our national history and the Brandywine Battlefield on Crebilly Farm; encourage them to reach out to these other sources and work together for a solution:

Ms. Kathi Cozzone, Ms. Michelle Kichline, Mr. Terrence Farrell
c/o Chester County Commissioner’s Office
313 Market Street
#6202
West Chester, PA 19382
(610)344-6000

Email: mrupsis@chesco.org

3) STATE
Contact Preservation Pennsylvania; remind them how important it is to continue to work towards the best possible outcome and push to preserve the sensitive habitat, history and open land on Crebilly Farm:

Mindy Crawford, Executive Director
c/o Preservation Pennsylvania
257 North Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717)234-2310 ext. 2

Email: mcrawford@preservationpa.org

4) NATIONAL
Contact the Campaign 1776, Civil War Trust in Washington, D.C and the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia; remind both contacts how important it is to protect the Brandywine Battlefield on Crebilly Farm; remind them Crebilly Farm is one of the only pieces of land left that depicts an original view shed as seen in the Battle of the Brandywine; thank Mr. Lighthizer, of the Civil War Trust, for his compelling letter on behalf of Crebilly Farm and encourage him to remain committed to the welfare of Crebilly Farm in the many months to come:
https://www.civilwar.org/news/statement-civil-war-trusts-campaign-1776-encourages-preservation-crebilly-farm-brandywine

James Lighthizer, President
c/o Campaign 1776, Civil War Trust
1156 15th Street NW
Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202)367-1861 (press 9 and dial last name)

Email: president@civilwar.org

Michael C. Quinn, President and CEO
c/o Museum of the American Revolution
101 South Third Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215)253-6731 (press star and dial last name)

Email: president@amrevmuseum.org

It is important we make sure all of these entities remain informed and connected. When the time comes, they will all need to come together as a whole. Thank you, to all of you. I so appreciate your continued hard work and dedication. When I think of what our brave Revolutionary War ancestors chose to fight for, I am humbled by their resilience, not by doing what was easy, by doing what was courageous and right for future generations.

If not you, then who?
Sincerely,
Mindy Rhodes