Westchester committee moves Bird Town resolution to work session; sustainability group to lead application

The Administration, Communication & Technology Committee voted 2‑0 on Sept. 9 to forward a resolution authorizing Westchester to apply to the Pennsylvania Audubon Society's Bird Town program to a forthcoming work session for further consideration.

"This is a relatively new municipal sustainability certification program," Connie McEvoy, chair of Westchester's Sustainability Advisory Committee, told the committee. She described Bird Town as a program that scores municipalities on actions such as open‑space preservation, stormwater management, pollinator plantings and clean‑energy initiatives.

McEvoy said the borough already meets several of the program's basic criteria: "We have four meadows, including one at Hillsdale School. The borough uses no pesticides on borough‑managed properties," she said, and cited rain gardens and pollinator gardens as additional examples. She said an application requires a $100 fee and an annual report updating the borough's activities.

The sustainability advisory committee recommended that the borough create a three‑member Bird Town committee to manage the application and follow‑up. McEvoy said she would serve as one member and that Dr. Jennifer Ewing, an avian researcher at Westchester U, had agreed to serve as a second. The committee also hopes to recruit a member of the Westchester bird club.

"They provide a ton of materials, so we wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel," McEvoy said of the Bird Town organization. She added that the university has an ornithologist and related resources that could support educational and outreach components.

Mayor Lillian de Baptiste did not oppose the proposal but asked clarifying questions about how the designation would be used; the committee chair responded that the designation could appear on road signs, the borough website and other communications. The motion to forward the resolution to work session passed 2‑0; no roll‑call names beyond committee membership were recorded in the transcript.

If approved after work‑session review and any subsequent formal action, the borough would pay the $100 application fee, establish a small oversight committee, and submit the required annual updates to maintain the designation. McEvoy characterized the program as an extension of existing sustainability efforts rather than a new, resource‑intensive mandate.

Next steps: the resolution will be placed on the committee's work‑session agenda for further review and potential recommendation to the full council.