Harmony Hills and Lexington Square Civic Association
Minutes from March 17, 2025
Website: harmonyhillsde@gmail.com
President: Paul Piscarik 302-733-7547; Vice President: Joe Marvasi 302-442-8635;
Treasurer: Ray Bodnar 302-368-0177; Secretary: Jane Creswell 302-345-4684.
Treasurer’s Report from Ray Bodnar: Starting balance in checking from last meeting: 1,495.90, CD $5,000. Income: $400 from Dues, $80.37 CD interest. New balance in checking: $1,976.27. Expenses: Delmarva (4 months electric $60.84, $29.99 for copy paper, Leh Landscaping for island cleanup and mulch $537, Martin Foster for lawn care at entrance $360, donation to Millcreek Fire Co. for Santa Run, $25 Franchise Tax, $210 yearly PO Box fee. Total expenses: $1,322.83. Balance in checking: $653.44 and CD for $5,000. Dues: Out of 388 homes in Harmony Hills, only 74 have paid dues for 2025 and only 147 paid in 2024. Out of 49 homes in Lexington Square only 5 have paid 2025 dues and 21 in 2024. Other than the above expenses paid by our dues, we need everyone to pay their $10 if we want to continue events like the Easter Egg Hunt, snow removal if we have a bad winter with snow of 4 in. or more and to keep the entrance looking nice. Dues can be paid by cash or check made payable to Harmony Hills Civic Assoc., and dropped off to the treasurer, Ray Bodnar at 207 Tamara Cir (corner of Tamara and Ellsworth) OR, you can go to the bottom of the newsletter and use the QR codes to pay by Venmo, Cash App or Zelle.
Senator Jack Walsh: The yard waste site on Polly Drummond Rd. has reopened. At the last meeting he was asked if something could be done at the intersection of Ruthar and Harmony Rd. since there has been numerous accidents. Adding a straight lane or changing the lights so only one side goes at a time. He contacted DelDot and reported that the consultants are wrapping up a study of the area and he should have the results in the next couple weeks showing if they have any recommendations. Joe Marvasi asked about adding a sign to the current one giving directions to Harmony Hills and Kentmere. Currently the sign has Harmony Hills Straight and Kentmere to the Right. He would like to have Lexington Square to the Left added. He will send an email with a picture to Jack. Fred Maske also asked if a 25 mph sign could be added at the entrance.
Jack also reported that a meeting regarding changes to Salem Church Rd. is scheduled for April 3 at Christiana High School if anyone wants to attend. He also announced that Wilmington/Greenbank Rd. will be closed until March 31 for repairs.
Kirkwood Highway Library: Meetings are available every Thursday 2:30-4:30 with benefit caseworkers. If you need help with Medicaid, Snap benefits, career support, housing, etc., you can go there to meet with a caseworker. Also the Newark Library has closed and will be torn down and a new state of the art library will be built over the next two years. He reported that the construction at Red Mill Rd. is substantially completed and ahead of schedule. In the future, construction at the intersections of Harmony Rd. and Rts. 2 & 4 are planned. However this is not happening any time soon.
A few constituents asked about having Delmarva take trees down that are in the power lines. Delmarva marked numerous trees with yellow dots to take them down below the power lines, however a few years have passed with nothing being done. Many have made numerous phone calls and each time they take a report but nothing happens. Jack said he will talk to his contact at Delmarva.
Jack was asked about the Delmarva delivery charge. He said a couple bills about this are coming up in the Senate’s March 18 meeting. He will report back in the next meeting. Someone asked about the SB21 Corporate Franchise Bill. Jack said 40% of the State budget is from franchise fees and we don’t want to lose them. Some red flags have come up but the bill has nothing to do with billionaires. It doesn’t affect any pensions. The Corporate Law Council did weigh in and approve.
Councilman Ted Sheldon reported on the tax assessment project. The deadline to contest your appraisal was extended to March 31. They are trying to wrap everything up by April 20. You can meet in person or via Zoom to appeal. If you didn’t receive your letter of assessment, go to the New Castle Co. website and do a parcel search. If you appeal, you’ll need to get comps from a realtor going back to July 1, 2024. Also, reassessments will now happen every 5 years. For school taxes, Christina District is not doing a referendum this year, but they can raise the school tax by up to 10% due to the reassessments.
Tim also gave the police reports for Lexington Square and Harmony Hills. Lexington Square had one burglary and one check on the welfare. Harmony Hills had one gun violation, a few domestic disputes, check on the welfare, burglary and a couple civil matters.
EASTER EGG HUNT: Sunday, April 13 at 2 pm.
The Community Easter Egg Hunt – there will be 3 hunts: 1 - 2 yr olds, 3 - 4 yr olds and 5 - 10 yr olds. The hunt will be at the park at the Kingsley Dr. entrance. The face painter will be back again this year.
Volunteers are desperately needed: please contact Jane Creswell 302-345-4684 by phone/text. If high school students want to volunteer, we will give them a letter for school so it counts for community service.
YARD SALE: The spring yard sale is Saturday, May 10, rain date Sunday, May 11. An ad will be placed in the News Journal.
NEXT MEETING: 7pm Wednesday, July 23 at the daycare. Bring a chair.
The QR codes below are to pay the $10 dues for your convenience. All codes go to the Vice President and are distributed directly to the Treasurer on a monthly basis. Please call Joe at (302) 442-8635 for any questions.
