Westchester public safety meeting: police report on attempted stabbing, mental‑health staffing, ambulance funding proposal and crosswalk study

Westchester Borough’s public safety committee met for about 39 minutes on an April evening to hear routine monthly reports from the fire and police departments and to discuss several ongoing safety and service items, including a proposed municipal advisory board for Goodfellowship Ambulance Company, a traffic‑safety study at Bradford Avenue and West Gay Street, and four special‑event applications for the summer and fall.

The most newsworthy item was a police briefing on an attempted stabbing that led prosecutors to upgrade charges to attempted homicide and on an increase in mental‑health related calls in March. Westchester Police Chief Josh Lee described the March 21 incident as follows: “that suspect attempted to stab a relative of his in a common area of this apartment complex,” and said officers arrested the suspect after a struggle; no officer injuries were reported. Lee said investigators reviewed video that supported upgrading the charges after consultation with the district attorney. He said there was “no serious injury” to the victim.

Chief Lee also reported a rise in calls classified as mental‑health related, saying the department recorded about 20 such calls in March, up from “7 or 8” the previous month. The borough is hiring a social worker to coordinate crisis responses; Lee said the social worker’s start date is set for “mid to late in May” and that he will provide a bio at the next meeting. The department is also advancing two officer candidates through civil‑service interviews and expects to present names to the mayor for hire in June. Lee said roughly 130 people initially applied for the open position, about half advanced and 26 remained for oral exams.

On department equipment and community support, Lee publicly thanked the Westchester Exchange Club for donating a ballistic vest for police canine Odin that cost about $5,000. “Hopefully that vest is never tested,” Lee said.

Fire Department assistant chief Greg Whitmer delivered a brief report noting the department’s March activity and equipment status: the department responded to roughly 30 incidents in March, including one small commercial dryer fire at Gay Street Plaza that was contained to the appliance, and recorded 31 false fire alarms within the borough. Whitmer also said a ladder truck remained out of service while the chassis and cab are being repaired and remounted, and that a previously announced medical‑physical program for volunteers is ongoing with strong participation.

Goodfellowship Ambulance Company provided both a monthly operations update and a separate proposal. Justin Robbins said Goodfellowship responded to 645 dispatched emergencies in March, 208 of them within the borough, and noted an uptick in late‑night calls (around 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.) and an increase in calls for “emotional disorder,” which rose to the service’s second‑most common dispatch type for the month. Robbins announced Goodfellowship’s annual open house on May 20 at 5 p.m.

Separately, Chas Bergen, Goodfellowship’s executive director, presented a proposal to create a municipal advisory board to give participating towns greater transparency and input into the ambulance company’s finances and operations. Bergen said Goodfellowship currently receives more than $600,000 in municipal support from 10 municipalities and expects that to rise next year; the service is entering the third year of a three‑year contract and will begin 2026 contract discussions with municipalities within about 60 days. The advisory board proposal would ask each municipality to nominate a primary representative and an alternate; Bergen requested that at least one designee be an elected official. Borough officials asked for time to review the proposal; the committee tabled the item to May and said they may call an executive session to discuss shared legal counsel questions before acting.

Traffic and pedestrian safety at Bradford Avenue and West Gay Street drew extensive discussion. Committee members and the borough’s traffic engineer have exchanged prior reviews, including a set of recommendations from East Bradford Township’s traffic engineer. Committee member Sean (identified in the meeting as the committee chair) said the borough can implement short‑term measures such as paint and additional signage and pursue a school‑zone speed limit request through PennDOT, which will require additional traffic engineering work and data collection. He estimated, without committing a formal quote, that the engineering review could cost in the “$1,000 to $3,000” range based on an hourly rate of about $175. The committee asked staff to compile the materials and bring a recommendation to the next work session and confirmed consensus to direct staff to engage the traffic engineer to study that intersection.

Parks and recreation and public‑safety staff reviewed four special‑event applications. Keith Kurowski described event layouts, required public‑works support and police staffing plans. The events discussed were a Jitters hot‑dog festival planned for Gay Street (to be fenced and policed by two officers, with two temporary bars on the street), the Friends of Marshall Square Park summer concert series (no additional borough overtime anticipated), a chili cook‑off planned for October (expanded to both sides of Gay Street and requiring more staffing), and Porchfest (with updated layout and expected overtime and parking restrictions). Kurowski reported last year’s total costs for one expanded event at about $19,548 and said the borough’s net charge after parking revenue credits was about $16,058; he said applicants were notified in advance that fees and service levels could change if events expand. The committee discussed ensuring medical standby coverage for events; Goodfellowship confirmed it had been notified but said its initial notice was informational rather than a formal request for on‑site service, and staff and Goodfellowship agreed to coordinate a formal request after the meeting.

Finally, officials discussed a draft intergovernmental agreement to formalize the Westchester Regional Emergency Response Team (regional ERT). Chief Lee and other speakers said the team functions as a regional tactical/response unit (similar to a SWAT team) and has operated for more than 20 years. One member municipality’s auditor recommended formalizing the arrangement for accounting and fund‑management reasons. Solicitors from all participating municipalities have reviewed a draft and asked for comments by the end of the month; the committee did not act on the agreement at the meeting and expects the item to return for action in May.

No formal votes or ordinance adoptions were recorded in the meeting minutes excerpt; the committee recorded the following administrative outcomes: consensus to place the Bradford/West Gay crosswalk traffic‑engineer study on next week’s work session agenda, and tabling the Goodfellowship advisory‑board nomination item to May for further review and possible executive session.