7171 ALLENTOWN
BOULEVARD, HARRISBURG, PA 17112
MONDAY, MAY 7,
2001, 7 P.M.
REGULAR
MEETING
Chairman Zimmerman called the regular meeting of May 7, 2001 to order at 7:01 p.m., followed by the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Gloria J. Zimmerman, Chairman
Kenneth W. Gross, Vice Chairman
Earl B. Hoffman, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Robert R. Jones
Stephen L. Millard
Jim Zeiters, 204 Glenview Avenue. Mr. Zeiters said he had reviewed the agenda
earlier in the day and noted that one of the items for action was an agreement
for purchase of the sewer capacity. Mr.
Zeiters went on to say that he reviewed Sections 303 and 304 of the Municipal
Planning Code. He called the Board’s
attention to Section 303, which states:
“The construction, extension, or abandonment of any waters lines, sewer
lines, or sewage treatment facility has to go before the Planning Commission
and they have a 45-day period to review it.”
Mr. Zeiters also said that representatives from the Central Dauphin School District appeared before the Planning Commission on April 19, at which time a presentation regarding the proposed school building was made. Mr. Zeiters pointed out that Section 305 of the Municipal Planning Code states: “The location, demolition, removal, sale, or lease of any school structure or land shall be submitted to the municipal and county planning commissions for a 45‑day review as to whether it complies with their comprehensive plan.” He said it was his opinion that in dealing with school districts in the past when he served as Director of the Tri‑County Planning Commission, the review process should have occurred before reaching the point where the school district was discussing the type of building it planned to construct. Mr. Zeiters said that the proposed plans by Central Dauphin School District did not conform to the West Hanover Township Comprehensive Plan. He said he thought that perhaps the Township would have to amend the Comprehensive Plan before it could accept the school district’s plan.
Following Mr. Zeiters’ comments, Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Yost
to comment. Mr. Yost said that he had
not had the opportunity to review the sections of the Municipal Planning Code
that Mr. Zeiters referred to, but he said that if Planning Commission review
was necessary, it could certainly be done and that the Comprehensive Plan could
be amended as well, if necessary.
Mr. Jones asked how that would fit in with going to the Planning
Commission first for its 45‑day review.
Mr. Yost said that the Township would not be able to take final action
on any plan until the Planning Commission’s comments would be received. He said that many times the Board might
schedule public hearings in anticipation that the comments would be received
from the Planning Commission prior to the hearing date.
Gloria Zimmerman.
Mrs. Zimmerman thanked everyone who attended the Open House, but went on
to say that she was disappointed that none of the other supervisors attended.
Mrs. Zimmerman said she spoke with the new building inspector
and requested that a meeting be set up with the developers. Mr. Rimer said that he and Mr. Arndt had
discussed the meeting earlier in the day and that Mrs. Hoepfer was preparing an
invitation, which would be sent to all the developers in the community, both
big and small. He said the meeting
would probably occur during the week of May 14, likely in the afternoon. He said the meeting would be an opportunity
to introduce Mr. Arndt plus provide a handout regarding some of the application
expectations and ways to make the process smoother for everyone. He said there would also be a question and
answer period.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked if her understanding was correct in that
the road bids would not be ready until July 1.
Mr. Brulo said he anticipated that the bid package would be available
within two weeks and that a notice to proceed would be issued to the contractor
by July 1.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked if the planning for 2002 would begin as
soon as the road bids were out for 2001.
Mr. Rimer confirmed that the 2002 planning was already in process
between himself and Mr. Harman.
Mrs. Zimmerman said she received a note from Mrs. Marks stating
that she had called Ron Marsico’s office and that his office reported they
would take care of the stop sign at McDonald’s. She said it did not appear that the sign had been taken care of
and asked that Mrs. Marks make another call to Representative Marsico’s
office. Mr. Rimer said he would ask her
to do that.
Earl Hoffman.
Mr. Hoffman had no comments.
Ken Gross. Mr.
Gross had no comments.
Steve Millard.
Mr. Millard asked if anything was happening with Mione’s or whether it
was a dead issue. Mr. Rimer said that
due to time constraints and the fact that the Township office did not have
adequate staffing, he had not been able to make Mione’s a priority.
Mr. Millard said that one of the items discussed when Pilot
Corporation was in for plan approval was their detention pond and the condition
thereof. He said he believed that
something was broken in the inspection process and suggested that Township
personnel inspect the detention ponds at all of the truck stops, as Pilot’s was
not the worst, and that the Township in turn charge the businesses for the
inspections. A discussion ensued as to
whether or not that would be a possibility.
In conjunction with that, Mr. Rimer said that Tim Shatto, the fire
marshal, had discussed the possibility with him of perhaps conducting an annual
or semi-annual inspection of public buildings relative to fire safety as a way
in which to build a relationship between the businesses and the Township. Mr. Yost said that the Township could
inspect the detention ponds but would have to adopt a special ordinance to
charge the businesses for that inspection.
Mr. Millard asked Mr. Rimer whether he had conducted any interviews in connection with the search for a Township Secretary. Mr. Rimer said that following the last executive session of the Board, he had done nothing further regarding filling the position. He said he was waiting to hear the wishes of the Board relative to the direction that position should take, specifically as far as the Township’s relationship with Wooten and Reed or whether more responsibility would be assumed at the Township level. Mr. Millard said he basically saw the position going one of three directions: (1) that the Township would hire its own accountant; (2) that all of the accounting would revert back to Wooten and Reed; or (3) the relationship would remain similar to what it currently is. Mrs. Zimmerman said she had tried to that accomplish at the last executive session. She asked Mr. Rimer to schedule an executive session for May 14 at 6 p.m., just prior to the workshop meeting.
Bob Jones. Mr.
Jones said that the Waste Management trucks continue to turn left on to
Florence Drive thus causing more damage to the roadway. Mr. Rimer responded saying that Mr. Harman
had been in touch with Waste Management and that he would request Mr. Harman to
follow up with another call.
Mr. Jones referred to Mrs. Zimmerman’s earlier question
regarding the road bid package.
Mr. Brulo responded saying that the bid package would be ready
within the next two weeks, followed by a four-week period to receive bids,
another one to two weeks to award the bid, and then issue a notice to proceed
to the contractor by July 1.
Mr. Jones asked about the project list for 2002. Mr. Rimer reiterated that he and Mr. Harman
had already begun preparation of the project list for 2002 bidding.
Mr. Jones said he noticed from Mr. Harman’s report that the
road crew was working on drainage and getting ready to do paving. Mr. Rimer said that the road crew was doing
prep work for not only the contract but the Township’s own drainage and paving
projects.
Mr. Jones noted that another bill had been paid for service to
the HVAC system. Mr. Rimer said he
would be discussing the replacement of one of the air conditioning units later
in the meeting.
Mr. Jones pointed out that there appeared to be a discrepancy
relative to the amount of funds deposited by the Township. He said the total deposits shown for the
month of April were $61,905 even though a deposit in excess of $146,000 was
made the week of April 18. Mr. Jones
expressed concern over the amount in the bank account. Mr. Rimer said that the deposit
information was only put on the agenda for informational purposes and that the
bank was fine.
There were no public hearings/meetings scheduled.
There were no presentations scheduled.
Mr. Hoffman moved, seconded by Mr. Gross, to approve the
Minutes of April 16, 2001.
Two corrections were noted on the Minutes of April 16, 2001,
specifically on page 2, delete the word “He” at the end of the page and on page
5, in the second paragraph of the subheading Swatara Township Sewer Capacity,
the first sentence should read: “Mr.
Jones said he didn’t see a problem with going for it and Mr. Millard agreed
saying that the Township had been paying on the capacity for 15 years and using
it had never been addressed.”
The Minutes were unanimously approved as amended.
Liquid Fuels Balance as of
May 3, 2001 $388,781.02
Deposit on April 3, 2001 $
4,759.80
Deposit on April 6, 2001 $
6,621.86
Deposit on April 18, 2001 $146,120.61
Deposit on April 23, 2001 $
5,561.30
Deposit on April 25, 2001 $
43,650.31
Less Payroll 05/02/01 Net:
$10,631.67 $ 14,329.94
Less Vouchers to be approved
05/07/01 $ 31,357.55
Total Invoices that could be
paid with Liquid Fuels money $ 0.00
Mr. Hoffman moved, seconded by Mr. Gross, to approve the
payrolls of April 18, 2001 and May 2, 2001.
The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to pay the
vouchers. The motion was approved 4-0,
with Mr. Hoffman abstaining.
#01.001 MF/SB Stephanie Rider/Walter Kuntz, 1144 Piketown
Road. Robert Reed of Reed
Engineering was present. Mr. Rimer
reported that this plan was ready for action by the Board. Mrs. Zimmerman said that it was her
understanding that there had been septic problems at 1144 Piketown Road in
the past and asked Mr. Rimer to determine whether or not they had been
resolved. Mr. Rimer said he would do
so.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, for the Stephanie
Rider/Walter Kuntz final subdivision plan #01.001 and for the Board of
Supervisors to waive the West Hanover Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance for preliminary plan requirements, original property description map,
contours, erosion and sedimentation control, stormwater management plan, sewage
module, and direct the Planning Commission memorandum be incorporated into and
made part of this motion. The motion
was unanimously approved.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to
approve the Stephanie Rider/Walter Kuntz final subdivision plan #01.001, 1144
Piketown Road, tax parcel #68-014-004 and 010 contingent upon certification of
ownership and dedicatory statement are signed by the owners. The motion was unanimously approved.
#00.019, F/SB/LD Bradford Estates Phase 1, Sarhelm Road and Jonestown
Road. Brian Fincher and Paul
Navarro of Navarro Engineering were present to answer questions regarding the
plan. Tom Trite of Yingst Homes was
also present. A question was raised
regarding the ten contingencies shown on the memorandum from the Planning
Commission dated May 3, 2001. Mr.
Fincher said that five of the contingencies were addressed.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, to approve the Bradford Estates Phase 1 final subdivision plan #00.019, Jonestown Road and Sarhelm Road, tax parcel #68-028-042, 115 contingent upon verification of survey monuments and markers by the Township Engineer, posting of proper improvement guarantee for public improvements, submission of an agreement for improvements to Route 22/Jonestown Road and the relocated Jonestown Road, approval of the PA DEP Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit, approval of the Clean Stream Law Permit, stormwater management plan, and direct the Planning Commission memorandum be incorporated into and made part of this motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
#00.020, F/LD IFR Furniture, Sarhelm Road and Jonestown Road. Sam McDonald of J. Michael Brill and
Associates was present. Mr. Rimer said
that IFR planned to construct a 34,000 square foot building on one of the lots
in the Bradford Estates subdivision.
Mr. Millard raised a question regarding the size of the proposed
building and whether or not it would be affected by an amendment made in August
2000 to the Village zoning district that prohibited construction of buildings
in excess of 5,000 square feet.
Mr. McDonald responded saying that Janet Hardman, the former
Codes and Zoning Administrator advised him, that IFR’s plan be grandfathered in
because of a subdivision plan that had been recorded earlier. A brief discussion followed as to whether or
not the proposed building would be grandfathered or not since the land
development plan was submitted in October 2000, which was after the amendment
to the Zoning Ordinance. During the
discussion, it was suggested that the plan be tabled and that Mr. Yost research
the matter and report back at the May 14 workshop meeting.
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to table the plan. The motion was approved 4‑-1, with Mrs. Zimmerman voting nay.
Sewer Connection Enforcement Activities (Actions). Mr. Yost reported that two property owners
had recently connected. He said he was
working with one other resident to connect, as there was money in the budget to
assist with connection charges.
Proposed Amendments to Chapter 85 – Burning, Open. Mr. Rimer asked the Board to table this item
until he was able to verify one final time that he had received all the final
corrections from Tim Shatto.
By consensus, the Board agreed to table this item.
Township Public Property Committee Update. Mr. Jones said he had nothing new to
report. Mr. Hoffman said that he had
received copies of the blueprints for the Township building. A suggestion was made that perhaps Mr. Jones
and Mr. Hoffman could meet to discuss the direction of their committees.
Swatara Sewer Capacity.
This item tabled until the workshop on May 14, 2001.
A BOS Conference Attendance Authorization Township Code
Section 607.(4). Mr. Rimer asked
the Board to approve attendance for himself and Harold Harman at the PennDOT
Public Works Management Seminar on May 11, 2001 in Carlisle, at a cost of $20
per person.
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Gross, to approve attendance at the seminar for Mike Rimer and Harold Harman at a cost of $40. The motion was unanimously approved.
Authorize Implementation of the Act 537 Plan – Fox Mill Road
Sewer Service Area. This item is
tabled until the May 14, 2001 workshop.
Resolution 2001-32, Authorize Township Manager to Executive
Reimbursement Agreement with PennDOT for Ped/Path Plan Study. Mr. Rimer said the resolution would
authorize him to execute the PennDOT Transportation Enhancement Program
Reimbursement Agreement with PennDOT for the PedPath Plan project.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Millard, to authorize Mr. Rimer to sign the agreement with PennDOT. The motion was unanimously approved.
Authorize Purchase of Desk and Shelving System for Building
Code Administration Office. Mr.
Rimer said that since the Township now had a full-time Building Code
Administrator, he needed additional workspace.
He said the new desk and shelving system would be put in the Codes and
Zoning office. Mr. Rimer said he
consulted with Phillips Office Products and they sketched out two options for
additional workspace. Mr. Rimer said
staff was requesting approval of Option 2, as shown on the handout given to the
Board, at a cost of $2,028.78.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, to approve the purchase Option 2. The motion was unanimously approved.
Proposal Selection for Multi-Purpose Court Improvement
Project. Mr. Rimer said that the
Park and Recreation Board would like to start an in-line hockey program in Fall
2001. He went on to say that Ms. Fesig
ordered the new basketball posts and that, in order to complete the project,
she was now requesting the Board approve the resurfacing of the multi-purpose
court.
Ms. Fesig addressed the Board saying that the cost of
resurfacing the multi-purpose court was allocated in the Park and Recreation
budget. She said she received four
quotes: (1) Central Penn Asphalt in the
amount of $6,666; (2) Lancaster Asphalt Systems, Inc. in the amount of $6,760;
(3) Pavin Paving and Sealing in the amount of $10,470; and Sealco Contractors,
Inc. in the amount of $15,560. Ms.
Fesig said she was requesting permission to have Lancaster Asphalt Systems do
the job at a cost of $6,760. A question
was raised as to why she wanted Lancaster Asphalt Systems to do the job when a
lower quote had been received. Ms.
Fesig responded saying that Lancaster Asphalt Systems had offered over 100
references. Mr. Jones said he thought
that Central Penn Asphalt had offered the lowest bid and also that the owner of
the company lived in West Hanover Township.
He went on to say that he thought it sent a poor signal when the
Township did not use businesses from the Township whenever possible.
Mr. Jones asked who would be using the court. Ms. Fesig responded saying that West Hanover and Lower Paxton would like to start a joint in-line hockey program for older children. Mr. Jones asked about charges for Lower Paxton Township participants. Ms. Fesig said that the Park and Recreation Board would be discussing non-resident charges at its meeting in the near future.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman,
to have Lancaster Asphalt Systems do the project at a cost of $6,760. The motion was approved 4-1, with Mr. Jones
voting nay.
CD School District Request for Zoning Amendment. Mr. Rimer said the Township received a
letter from Dennis Shatto, the solicitor for the Central Dauphin School
District. Mr. Rimer said that Mr.
Shatto’s letter described his interpretation of the Township Zoning Ordinance
in regard to the zoning map and split zoning district and he also requested
that the Board of Supervisors undertake a series of zoning amendments to
accommodate the proposed school.
Mr. Rimer said he asked the zoning officer to provide an
interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance.
The zoning officer indicated that even though a stream split the
property, it does not mean that all uses in each district were permitted and
could be applied interchangeably for the property in question. Mr. Rimer said that if the Board of
Supervisors chose to do so, it could direct staff to prepare an amendment to
the Zoning Ordinance. He said the
amendments would have to be reviewed by the Township Planning Commission and
the Dauphin County Planning Commission.
He said it would also be necessary to make the amendments available for
public review and to hold a public hearing on the matter.
Mr. Jones said that he believed the school district was putting
the cart before the horse.
Mr. Millard said he thought the situation with Central Dauphin was
too volatile and thought the Board should wait to act on the solicitor’s
request. A brief discussion followed
regarding whether or not the Board should authorize preparation of an amendment
to the Zoning Ordinance allowing the school as a conditional use in the FRA
zoning district. Mr. Rimer pointed out
that by making it a conditional use, the Board could impose
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, to have staff prepare an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. The motion was approved 3-2, with Mr. Jones and Mr. Millard voting nay.
Following the vote, Mr. Millard raised a question as to whether
or not Mrs. Zimmerman would have a conflict of interest on voting for this
matter, as she was an employee of Central Dauphin School District. Mrs. Zimmerman said she did not believe she
had a conflict of interest because she had nothing to personally gain one way
or the other if the school was built in West Hanover Township.
Authorize Growing Greener Ordinance Assessment. Mr. Rimer said he received a memorandum from
Ann Hutchinson advising that the cost of doing the assessment would be approximately
$750, which included $500 for the assessment plus travel costs of approximately
$250. Mr. Rimer said that Ms. Hutcinson
would be making a presentation in relation to the Tri‑County Regional
Planning Commission on Tuesday, May 22, if any of the Board member were
interested in attending. Mr. Gross
suggested that some of the Board members attend that presentation before making
a final decision on whether to participate in a growing greener assessment.
Mrs. Zimmerman said that Mrs. Buskirk had sent a memorandum to
the Board regarding the assessment, and Mrs. Zimmerman said that Mrs. Buskirk
was very thorough in her research and felt that it was a good idea to
participate. Mr. Millard also said he
believed it would be worthwhile to have the assessment completed.
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to authorize the expenditure of $750 to complete a Growing Greener Ordinance assessment. The motion was approved 4-1, with Mr. Gross voting nay.
Authorize Purchase of New AC Unit for Township Building. Mr. Rimer said that Environmental Services
and Control were out again to service the air conditioning and advised him that
it would be necessary to replace the existing unit used to cool the meeting
room and stage area. Mr. Rimer said he
obtained several quotes and would recommend to the Board that they approve the
purchase of an air conditioning unit from H.B. McClure in the amount of $3,800.
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Gross, to authorize H.B. McClure to install at new air conditioning unit. The motion was unanimously approved.
Initiate Land Use Plan RFP Process. Mr. Rimer said he forwarded the draft RFP to
the EAC and the Planning Commission for comment. He received some comments from the EAC, which would be
incorporated, and was waiting to see if the Planning Commission had any
additional comments. Mr. Rimer said the
RFP basically was seeking interest from different firms as to whether or not
they might be interested in doing a project to update the Township’s
Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Rimer said he
believed that the Board should be involved along with the Planning Commission
to select a committee to guide the project.
He reminded the Board members that in accordance with the Municipal
Planning Code, the Board had to work with the Planning Commission to accomplish
the task at hand.
Mrs. Zimmerman said it was her understanding that the project
was in the 2001 budget. Mr. Rimer
responded saying that $6,000 had been budgeted and the Planning Commission
hoped to obtain a grant of approximately $30,000.
Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Millard, to initiate the Land Use RFP process. The motion was unanimously approved.
Traffic Signals Application for Pilot Corporation. Mr. Rimer asked the Board to authorize the
execution of the Application for Permit to Install and Operate Traffic Signals,
which basically stated that the Board wished to have the traffic signal
installed by Pilot Oil Corporation at the intersection of Jonestown Road and
Route 39.
Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Millard, to authorize execution of the application. The motion was unanimously approved.
Agreement for Purchase of West Hanover Sewer Capacity at
Swatara Township Authority. Mr.
Rimer said he provided a memorandum to the Board regarding the offer to sell
the Swatara capacity for $625,000. He
said the Board had discussed the possibility of selling the capacity to Lower
Paxton Township in May 2000. He said he
also provided the Board with a memorandum dated May 5, 2000 from the Township’s
accountant in regard to the amount expended by the Township through the end of
1999.
Mr. Millard asked why this item was on the agenda. Mrs. Zimmerman said she received a telephone
call asking to have the matter placed on the agenda. Mr. Jones asked whether the Board could vote to sell the capacity
at the May 7 meeting in light of Mr. Zeiter’s earlier comments. He also asked what could be done if the
Township sold something for less than its value. Mr. Jones said that Chuck Wunz from HRG had placed a value of
approximately $1.2 million on the capacity approximately two years
earlier. Mr. Gross he believed it was
imperative that the Township sell the capacity before Swatara did another
upgrade, the cost of which the Township would have to share. Mr. Millard said there would be more
advantage to keeping the capacity and using it. He said the Township could realize over $400,000 in income if it
used the capacity. Mr. Yost said there
was no legal problem in selling the capacity for $625,000.
Mr. Millard said that something was broken with the Board. He said he and Mr. Jones had written letters
to the people in Country Manor and held a meeting asking them if they minded
having the Township take over the capacity and the people said they did not
have a problem with that idea. Mr.
Millard said he and Mr. Jones proceeded to work under that premise but said
they were stonewalled by Lower Paxton Township. He said it finally occurred to them that Mr. Gross had been going
off on his own and making a deal to sell the capacity. Mr. Millard said the Township had over $1.2
million invested in the capacity and that if the Board sold it for $625,000, it
would be squandering over $600,000 in taxpayers’ funds.
Mrs. Zimmerman said that Mr. Gross did not go off on his own
but that Mr. Hawke, the chairman of the Lower Paxton Board of Supervisors, had
approached her. Mrs. Zimmerman
said she had given the Board that information.
Further, she said that she asked Mr. Gross to meet with Mr. Hawke, since
Mr. Gross had been on the Board when the negotiations began a couple of years
ago, when neither she nor Mr. Millard were supervisors.
Mr. Millard said it was his opinion that Mrs. Zimmerman had no
right to do what she did.
Mr. Gross said that what Mr. Millard seemed to fail to realize
was that when he talked to the people of Country Manor, he was talking about
their sewage, which had nothing to do with the 414,000 gallons owned by West
Hanover Township. Mr. Gross said the
people in Westford Crossing and Country Manor were using capacity owned by
Lower Paxton.
Mrs. Zimmerman said she had asked Mr. Millard to arrange
another meeting with the residents since it had been over a year since the
original meeting. She said to the best
of her knowledge that had not been done.
Mr. Gross said that back in 1998, Lower Paxton had offered the
Township $750,000 and that some of the Board members got up and walked out of
the meeting. Mr. Jones said that was
not true. Mr. Gross said the Township
had the capacity paid for now and asked whether everyone should just wait until
the Township got hit with a bill for upgrading the Swatara plant.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, to sell the Swatara capacity to Lower Paxton Township for $625,000.
Mr. Millard said the capacity could be sold, and that in fact it
could have been sold to Bradford Estates.
Mr. Gross said the capacity could only be sold to members of the Swatara
Authority. Mr. Millard said he meant
that the Township would use the capacity and that if there were 2,000
customers, the Township would realize a profit of over $400,000 a year. Mrs. Zimmerman said she didn’t believe
that was a proven factor as Mr. Jones and Mr. Millard had not considered
administrative costs, etc., in that projection. Mr. Millard said those factors were considered.
Beth Carricato of 699 Knight Road spoke from the floor raising
a point of order. She said that the
agenda was misleading because at one point it showed that the sewer capacity
was tabled until May 14 and that at another point it showed an agreement to
sell the capacity. She said it was her
opinion that the public should be given the opportunity to comment before any
action was taken to sell the capacity.
Mr. Yost agreed that the agenda was misleading; however, he clarified
that the matter is actually two different issues even though it appeared to be
one issue on the agenda. Mrs. Carricato
said she believed the Board would be betraying public trust to vote on the
matter.
Mrs. Zimmerman said the purchase of the capacity had been
discussed for years. Mr. Millard
referred to two letters he had in hand, one dated in 1993 stating the capacity
was valued at $1,138,493 and another one from 1994 wherein it was valued at
$1,174,585. Mr. Millard said selling it
for $625,000 was ludicrous.
A brief exchange between Mr. Gross and Mr. Millard took place,
after which Mr. Millard said he believed that if the Board worked together
things could be worked out. Mrs.
Zimmerman said she had been asking for the Board to work together since January
2000 but that it hasn’t happened.
A question was raised again relative to Sections 303 and 304 of
the Municipal Planning Code relative to selling the capacity. Mr. Yost said he did not see anything in
either section regarding capacity and that he did not believe that capacity fit
into the definition in the Municipal Planning Code.
Mrs. Zimmerman called for the vote. The motion was approved 3-2, with Mr. Jones and Mr. Millard voting nay.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer whether or not the Planning
Commission had received a copy of #4 on the correspondence list regarding the
creation of the Township Planning Association.
Mr. Rimer said he would verify that the Planning Commission received a
copy of the memo from Keith Hite, Executive Director of PSATS.
Mr. Jones asked about the letter from Bob Fowler, the program
administrator for the Swatara General Municipal Authority and whether the
Township had money borrowed through them for the sewer capacity or the sewer
plant. Mr. Yost said that it pertained
to the capacity relative to the refinancing that was done three or four years
ago.
Mr. Rimer called the Board’s attention to a copy of a letter
Mr. Gross received from the Central Dauphin Area Income Tax Bureau regarding
its proposed merger with Capitol Area Tax Bureau. Mr. Rimer said it was his understanding that the Board had to
adopt a resolution regarding the merger.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer to add this item to the workshop agenda on
May 14, 2001.
Mrs. Zimmerman said she and Mr. Rimer received a letter from a
resident asking for permission to put a mobile home on their property. She asked that this item be added to the
workshop agenda for May 14, 2001.
Solicitor. Mr.
Yost said he had no further report.
Engineer. Mr.
Brulo said the Board received his written report.
Roadmaster. Mr.
Rimer referred the Board to a written report from Mr. Harman that was included
with the packet.
Codes and Zoning Administrator. Mr. Rimer said that he received resumes from
four people interested in the position.
He has called all four candidates and will be setting up interviews in
the near future. Mrs. Zimmerman asked
to be advised of the interviews so she could sit in on them.
Park and Recreation Coordinator. Mr. Rimer reported that Ms. Fesig did pass
CPR. Ms. Fesig reported that the
Log Cabin had been sprayed for bees and recommended that a maintenance program
be established. She said the bees have
caused a lot of damage to the Log Cabin.
She said that she was in the process of obtaining estimates to repair
the tennis courts at Lenker Park. Ms.
Fesig said that the 2001 Festival Committee would be meeting at the Township
building on Thursday, May 10, at 6:30 p.m., if any of the Board members wished
to attend. She reported that 16
residents and 3 non-residents participated in the CPR class, which was held
recently. Ms. Fesig announced that the
Summer Playground Program would run from June 25 through July 31 and that she
was in need of helpers. Ms. Fesig asked
the Board to authorize a payment in the amount of $900 to cover the cost of the
bus for the trip to Washington, DC.
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to authorize the $900 payment. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mrs. Zimmerman congratulated Ms. Fesig on a great job!
Manager. Mr.
Rimer thanked the Board for working through all of the agenda items. He said he had no further report.
Mrs. Zimmerman called the Board’s attention to Mr. Rimer’s memo
dated May 2, 2001 regarding the American Chestnut Foundation. Mrs. Zimmerman attached to the memo was a
letter from James Egenreider regarding preservation of the American
Chestnut. Mr. Rimer said that the EAC
and the Historical Society had been provided copies of the letter and were
considering ways the Township could get involved.
Beth Carricato, 699 Knight Road. Mrs. Carricato asked whether or not the sale
of the Swatara capacity was a done deal.
Mrs. Zimmemran said it was.
Mrs. Carricato asked whether the sale of the capacity could
impact the recent 537 Plan Augmentation since Mr. Yingst’s development in Lower
Paxton was scheduled to hook into the West Hanover sewer. She pointed out that since Lower Paxton
would be gaining substantial capacity, perhaps Mr. Yingst could use the Lower
Paxton capacity negating the need for the proposed plan on Sandy Hollow Road
and Terrann Drive. She asked Mr. Trite,
a member of Mr. Yingst’s staff, to comment on that issue. Mr. Trite said as far as he knew the sale of
the capacity would not impact what was already proposed.
Mrs. Zimmerman said that the Board was waiting to hear from
Lower Paxton regarding the Intermunicipal Agreement.
Mrs. Carricato said she supported the American Chestnut
Foundation program.
Ruth Shields, 837 Pheasant Road. Mrs. Shields suggested that some of the
funds realized from the sale of the Swatara capacity might be used to remodel
or to help the Fire Company pay for its new septic system.
Larry Suhr, 7010 Fishing Creek Valley Road. Mr. Suhr said that during its discussions,
the Board referred to the accounting firm of Grace, Reed, and Kreider. He said that Grace, Reed, and Kreider was
now Wooten Reed and Associates.
Mr. Suhr said that he did not want political signs placed on
his property and that he had destroyed the ones that were placed there without
his permission.
Mr. Suhr said he wanted to register a complaint about the
property located at 1716 Fishing Creek Valley Road. He said the property looked like a junkyard for over ten years
and that evidently it was a junkyard condoned by the Township since nothing was
ever done about it.
Bob Jones. Mr.
Jones asked whether or not the Sewer Authority had paid the pension. Mr. Rimer said it had not. Mr. Jones said he believed that the Board
should rescind the Administrative Services Agreement since the Sewer Authority
was not following it.
Mrs. Zimmerman said this matter would be discussed at executive
session on May 14, 2001.
Mr. Jones asked about the $1,000 received from AT&T, which
was shown on the General Funds Receipts for April 2001. Mr. Rimer said that represented the lease
payment for the cell phone tower at the rear of the Township property.
Mr. Jones asked whether or not the tax collector was up to date
with her rent payments. Mr. Rimer
reported that she had fallen behind on her rent and that he would send her a
letter. Mrs. Zimmerman asked whether or
not the repairs that Mrs. Kelemen had requested were completed. Mr. Rimer said that Mrs. Kelemen had advised
she would furnish him a list of repairs that had to be made but had not done so
to date.
Steve Millard.
Mr. Millard said he would like to have the members of the Water and
Sewer Authority attend the workshop on May 14, 2001 in order to discuss
implementation of the Fox Mill Road project.
He said that among the things to be discussed at the workshop would be
who was going to do the project and also who would be paying for the
project. Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer
to send a memorandum to the Sewer Authority requesting their attendance. Mr. Rimer said he would do so.
Ken Gross. Mr.
Gross had no comments.
Earl Hoffman.
Mr. Hoffman said he would like the Board to entertain the idea of having
a meeting regarding his proposed project for the Township building. He said he needed to have the engineer and
the solicitor there as well. Mrs.
Zimmerman suggested that Mr. Hoffman make the presentation and that the Board
would proceed to get it finalized once it had the details.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, to adjourn the meeting. The motion was unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at 9:53 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Gail A. Martin
Township Secretary