WEST HANOVER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
7171 ALLENTOWN BOULEVARD, HARRISBURG, PA 17112
MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2001, 7 P.M.
REGULAR MEETING
CALL
TO ORDER
Chairman Zimmerman called the June 4, 2001 regular meeting to order at 7 p.m., followed by the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Gloria J. Zimmerman, Chairman
Kenneth W. Gross, Vice Chairman
Earl H. Hoffman, Sr., Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Robert R. Jones, Supervisor
Stephen L. Millard, Supervisor
Donald Niland, 6916 Devonshire Heights Road. Mr. Niland inquired as to status of the Sales Agreement between Lower Paxton Township and West Hanover Township for the sale of the capacity at the Swatara Treatment Plant. Mr. Rimer responded saying that the agreement had been executed by the Chairman of the Board and the Township Secretary, but clarified that he was not sure of the status of the agreement. Mr. Niland asked if anyone knew the status. Mrs. Zimmerman said that the matter was voted on 3-2 and that she had signed the agreement. Mr. Niland said he was asking whether or not the agreement had been executed by both parties, to which Mrs. Zimmerman responded in the negative.
Mr. Millard asked if the agreement, which was missing, had been located. Mr. Rimer said that it had not been located. Mr. Rimer explained that after the last meeting (May 21), in light of some of the comments that were said relative to legal action against the Board of Supervisors, Mrs. Zimmerman had asked him to hold the agreement until such time as she had done some research. He went on to say that the agreement was missing from the Township Secretary’s office and that its whereabouts was unknown.
Mr. Jones asked whether or not it was possible that the Township Secretary had mailed the agreement to Lower Paxton. Mr. Rimer said he had been asked by Mrs. Zimmerman not to mail the agreements. Mr. Jones asked Mr. Rimer whether he had checked with Mrs. Martin to determine if she knew where the agreements were. Mr. Rimer said he had e-mailed Mrs. Martin but that she also did not know the whereabouts of the agreement.
Mr. Niland asked what the Board’s intentions were relative to the agreement. Mrs. Zimmerman responded that the matter had been voted upon, that the agreement was signed, and should go on to Lower Paxton Township for execution. Mr. Rimer said he would have another copy of the agreement executed by the Board Chair and the Township Secretary.
Mr. Niland asked whether or not anyone had contacted Lower Paxton Township to discover if the agreement was there. Mr. Rimer said no one had called.
Donald Steinmeier, 11 North Fairville Avenue. Mr. Steinmeier voiced concern over the fact that the Swatara capacity, an asset worth in excess of $1 million and paid for by the taxpayers of West Hanover Township, was sold for half price. Mr. Steinmeier said it was his opinion that the Board of Supervisors had missed a golden opportunity to put the Swatara capacity to work with Mr. Yingst’s projects. Mrs. Zimmerman advised Mr. Steinmeier that the capacity could not be sold to anyone other than a participant in the Authority. Mr. Steinmeier responded saying there were ways around that through Act 203.
Mr. Steinmeier went on to say that he had always felt that the Board of Supervisors should hold public hearings to receive input from the residents as to whether or not the capacity should be sold. He said the Board should not have sold the capacity to Lower Paxton Township and that the Board needed to reconsider its position.
Bob Burk, 7050 Linglestown Road. Mr. Burk said he had called Mr. Rimer about the agreement and that Mr. Rimer had advised him that the agreement was missing. Mr. Burk polled each member of the Board to determine whether or not anyone knew anything about the whereabouts of the agreement. Each responded in the negative. Mr. Burk said he believed the signed agreement would surface at Lower Paxton Township. He said the sale of the capacity was not handled right from the beginning, that it was not negotiated right, and that it was just another way to circumvent the people of the Township.
Beth Carricato, 699 Knight Road. Mrs. Carricato asked if there was going to be a joint meeting because she did not see Henry Young present. Mrs. Zimmerman responded saying that Dave Wingeard was present and that Mr. Young was recovering from surgery. Mrs. Carricato then asked about Ken Deaven. Mrs. Zimmerman said she did not know why Mr. Deaven was not present. Mrs. Zimmerman said that the majority of the Water and Sewer Authority was present.
Mrs. Carricato said she attended the last Water and Sewer Authority meeting and that it was a complete miscarriage of the democratic process. She said there was nothing on the agenda and that when Mr. Millard attempted to bring matters up for public deliberation, he was insulted and shot down, as were the members of the public. She went on to say that both Mr. Young and Mr. Long, the Authority solicitor, treated the public very poorly. Mrs. Carricato said that one thing Mr. Long finally said was that if the Township were ever going to be able to move forward, everyone would have to work together. Mrs. Carricato said she hoped the June 4 meeting would be a beginning.
Donald Niland, 6916 Devonshire Heights Road. Mr. Niland said he didn’t know that the agreement with Lower Paxton was actually missing; he said he was interested in its status. He asked if that agreement did leave the building without the directive of someone in authority and if it showed up at Lower Paxton, would Lower Paxton have a right to act on it. Mr. Yost said he only discovered that the agreement was missing when he arrived at the meeting. Mr. Yost said he did not want to get into the legality of the matter.
Mr. Niland requested that someone from West Hanover Township contact the Lower Paxton Township office and find out whether the agreement was there or not. Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer to follow through with Mr. Niland’s request. He said he would do so.
Mr. Niland polled each Board member to determine when they knew the agreement was missing. Mrs. Zimmerman said she asked Mr. Rimer to confirm with the security company, Sonitrol, who was in and out of the building on Wednesday, May 23. Mr. Rimer responded saying that he had followed up on that request and that no unauthorized person entered the Township building.
Mr. Niland asked when anyone considered that a theft had occurred. Mr. Rimer said that the Township Office had not been broken into and that he was hoping that the agreement would resurface. Mr. Niland pointed out that if someone came in and found a computer missing, it would be reported as a theft. He asked if the document that was missing was any less important since it was a $625,000 sales agreement. Mr. Yost responded saying that he did believe it was less important because the agreement could be recreated without any difficulty but that if a computer were missing, it would have to be replaced and would cost the Township money. Mr. Yost said that the fact that the document was missing was not a very big deal, although he clarified that statement saying that he was concerned about any document that wandered off.
Pat Cassel, Oak Grove Road. Mrs. Cassel raised several questions regarding the invoices to be paid at the June 4 meeting, specifically the invoices for inspecting the fire extinguishers and the bus trip to Inner Harbor. Mr. Rimer said the fire extinguishers at the Township Office were inspected and that participants who planned to go to Inner Harbor were charged a fee and that the income offset the cost of the bus. Mrs. Cassel also inquired about the bill from Walters for repair of the septic system at Houck Memorial Park. She wanted to know whether Mr. Rimer was referring to the park at the Fire Company or the elementary school. Mr. Rimer clarified that the incident occurred at the park at the elementary school.
No comments were offered at this time.
Amendment to Article 11 – Repealing Village Zoning – Tabled until July 16, 2001.
Joint Meeting with West Hanover Water and Sewer Authority to Address the Fox Mill Road Project and Resolution 2001-34. Mr. Rimer outlined six talking points for the special meeting: (1) getting an overview of the project; (2) discussing the project coordination responsibilities; (3) financing the project; (4) implementing the project schedule; (5) allowing the public to comment; and (6) closing remarks. Mr. Rimer said the joint meeting was advertised, and he then asked Mr. Brulo to provide a summary of the project.
Mr. Brulo said the 537 Plan Augmentation was sent in by the Township to DEP and it was approved by DEP on March 20, 2001 to take care of the existing problem down on Fox Mill Road. He said the catalyst to the project was Donald Kerstetter, who had a failing septic system wherein the sewage came to the surface and eventually found its way into the Manada Creek. Mr. Brulo went on to say that the plan submitted to DEP looked at three major alternatives: (1) to connect the three homes to the existing plant; (2) to install a small flow treatment plant; and (3) to rebuild the septic system at the property. Mr. Brulo said the third alternative was eliminated because the SEO was unwilling to permit any septic work down by the floodplain. He said the second alternative was eliminated due to maintenance—chemicals, shorter duration life cycle, and NPDES permitting.
He said the Board of Supervisors chose Alternative 1.c., which included three grinder pumps, one for each property, would go to a common force main, go under Manada Creek, then bore under Jonestown Road, and tie into the pump station on the south side of Jonestown Road. Mr. Brulo said DEP approved that option on March 20, 2001 and directed the Township to implement the 537 Augmentation Plan. A workshop meeting was held on May 14, at which point the Board approved a motion to implement the plan.
Mr. Brulo said the question at present was how the plan would be implemented. He explained that one way would be for the Township to do the project; the other way would be to assign the project to the Authority. He said if the Authority were to do the project, it would put up the capital costs for the improvements and conduct the financing as part of the system. He said if the Township were to do the project, it would put up the initial capital costs and then the Township would probably turn it over to the Authority. He explained that could be done by financing the project over a fixed amount of time (i.e., 10 years) and the Authority would pay the principal and the interest or that it could be handled as a balloon payment wherein the Township would front the dollars and then, after a specified time, the Authority would pay the principal and the interest. Mr. Brulo said that most likely at some point the Authority would need to finance future projects and then the financing for the Fox Mill Road project could be added to that amount. Mr. Brulo said it was HRG’s recommendation that the Authority do the project, since it was an extension of the existing facility.
Mr. Rimer said the implementation schedule was fairly aggressive and called for preliminary design work to be completed in May 2001, which meant the Township was behind by four days.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked David Wingeard to join the Board at the front of the room to discuss the project. Mrs. Zimmerman introduced Mr. Wingeard as the Vice Chairman of the Water and Sewer Authority.
Mr. Wingeard said that he lived in the Township for almost 20 years. He went on to say that he had been in discussion with Henry Young, Jeff Wendle, and Mark Salisbury. He said that the proposed project called for everybody on Fox Mill Road to pump over to the gravity line via a grinder pump from each property.
Mr. Wingeard said the Sewer Authority already owned a grinder pump that could pump from all three properties. He said that Mr. Salisbury had consulted with the manufacturer of the grinder pump, J.T. Sealy, and was told that it had the lifting capacity needed to use one grinder pump for all three properties. He said that would be a reduction in cost to the homeowners, as they would not have to purchase individual grinder pumps. He also said that the Authority would be willing to pay what the EDUs cost initially for the system, which was approximately $5,000. Therefore, the Authority would pay $5,000 per home, or a total of $15,000 in addition to the grinder pump. Mr. Wingeard explained that the $15,000 would then be subtracted from the construction costs and that the balance would be split between the three property owners. He said the final cost to each property owner would depend upon the amount of the bids, but that it was estimated that each property owner would pay between $2,000 and $7,000, including the typical tapping fee. Mr. Wingeard said that was one option to consider but went on to say that the Authority had not spent a lot of time exploring other avenues since the project had not yet been officially turned over for implementation.
Mr. Jones asked Mr. Wingeard to explain the $5,000. Mr. Wingeard said he would prefer to have Mr. Wendle explain it at some point in the future. He said that when the original system was conceived and built, each EDU cost approximately $5,000. Mr. Millard said it was his understanding that it was averaged out and, if that were the case, then Fox Mill Road would have to be included in the total sum and then create an average after that. Mr. Wingeard said the homeowners on Fox Mill Road would pay the same monthly sewer rate as everyone else, or $30 per month. He said the costs paid by the homeowners would be similar to a user fee.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked if she was to understand that the costs therefore to the homeowners would be the $2,600 tapping fee paid by the original customers and then the user fee referred to by Mr. Wingeard. Mr. Wingeard responded saying that the original tapping fee was approximately $2,000 and it would depend upon the amounts of the contracts as to how much the homeowners on Fox Mill Road would have to pay. Mrs. Zimmerman said that it was her understanding that they would have to pay between $5,000 and $7,000. Mr. Wingeard concurred with Mrs. Zimmerman.
Mr. Millard said he would speak for himself but that he also believed that the rest of the Board members would agree that the homeowners on Fox Mill Road should be charged the same as the people in the Skyline View area. He said that originally the homeowners had to pay a $2,000 tapping fee, a $600 connection fee, and then the price of a grinder pump if one was required. He said he didn’t believe the homeowners on Fox Mill Road should have to pay any of the costs to do the conveyance line. Mr. Millard pointed out that the supervisors had basically already gone through the same discussion with the residents on Sandy Hollow and Terrann Drives whereby they were assured they would not have to pay the extra costs and would be treated the same as everyone else. He said he recommended that the Water and Sewer Authority pay for the cost of the sewer project out of its $1.5 million surplus or else it could be financed.
Mr. Wingeard said the Sandy Hollow area was outside the original 537 Plan—beyond the 20‑year limit. He said Fox Mill Road would be considered within the immediate needs area. He said developers were helping the Sandy Hollow and Terrann Drive areas. He said that most likely there were other areas in the immediate needs area where sewer lines would have to be run and that some type of criteria or formula had to be established to help pay for those lines. Mr. Wingeard said the Authority would not be able to pay for every lineal foot that might have to be run to serve everybody in the immediate needs area. Mr. Millard asked him why the Authority couldn’t do that.
Mr. Wingeard responded saying that perhaps sometime in the future that would be a possibility but not at the present. He said everybody kept talking about the Sewer Authority’s $1.5 million surplus. Mr. Wingeard said that out of that surplus, it was required that the Authority maintains one year’s debt service to Pennvest, which would account for approximately $600,000. He said that currently Mr. Rodemoyer and Mr. Salisbury were hand feeding lime into the sludge process and that, because of the amount of sludge being processed, it would be necessary for the Authority to construct a lime silo at the sludge facility, which would be out of the $1.5 million reserve.
Mr. Wingeard said the other item that the Authority needed to consider purchasing was a screen for any influent or raw sewage. He went on to say that when the value engineering was done for the treatment plant the screen was eliminated. He said all types of materials were going through the treatment plant and being discharged into the creek or into the sludge. Mr. Wingeard said that the biosolids regulations were going to change in the near future, and that it would be necessary to install a screen very soon. Mr. Jones asked if the screen would exceed $100,000. Mr. Wingeard responded saying that it may, as it was a mechanical screen.
Mrs. Zimmerman said she did not want to see a special district established and that she wanted the residents on Fox Mill Road to pay only $30 per month.
Mr. Millard asked what would constitute a quorum for the Sewer Authority. Mr. Yost said he was not an expert on Authority law, but that he thought it would be a majority of the membership.
Mr. Millard asked whether or not the plan would have to be resubmitted to DEP if the plan were changed from three individual grinder pumps to one grinder pump for all three homes. Mr. Rimer said he did not have an answer to that question, although he pointed out that the concept proposed by the Authority was similar to Alternative 1.c.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked where the grinder pump would be placed, if only one was going to be used. Mr. Wingeard said that a right-of-way would be required from at least one of the homeowners and that the Authority would maintain it as part of the deal. He said the final points had not been worked out.
Mr. Millard asked whether or not the resolution would serve as a direct order from the Board to the Authority if it were approved. He said he wouldn’t see any reason why the Board could not specify how it wanted the project financed. Mr. Yost said he did not think there was any prohibition about making a direction regarding financing but pointed out that the Board really did not have the legal authority to require the Sewer Authority to follow its wishes.
Mr. Millard responded saying that he didn’t know why the Board could not issue a directive. Mr. Yost explained that the Authority was a separate organization with a separate legal standing. He said the Authority’s power was under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Act and that the Board did not have the ability to tell the Authority exactly how to do a project. He said the Board did have the ability to tell the Authority to do the project or have the Township do the project itself. He went on to say that the Board of Supervisors did not possess the power to tell the Authority, as a separate legal entity, how to do the project or how to set the rates. He said the Board could make a recommendation but that the final decision was up to the Authority.
Mr. Millard said he would like to add the following paragraph to Resolution 2001-34: “WHEREAS, the West Hanover Township Board of Supervisors wishes that costs incurred with the implementation of the revised Act 537 Plan be administered in such a manner that the future customers will only be required to fund the construction costs from the sewer line to their homes.”
Mr. Yost said he would understand that to mean that the Board would want anybody that connected to the sewer in the future to pay the same amount as the parties paid in the past. He said that in many municipalities residents who connect to the sewer at the present time pay a higher amount than those who connected 20 years earlier do. He asked if Mr. Millard was sure that he meant to limit the connection fees? Mrs. Zimmerman said the Authority had already done that. Mr. Wingeard said the Authority froze the tapping fee at $1,900 for any existing properties. He said that was why he had a problem with a resident coming into the system six or ten years later and paying the same amount. He said that to offset the inequity of that, he believed that construction costs could be tacked on to the tapping fee of $1,900. Mr. Millard said he believed the Fox Mill Road project was going to be a nightmare.
Mrs. Carricato asked to address the Board. Mrs. Zimmerman invited her to come forward. Mrs. Carricato said that from what she had observed thus far in the meeting, things were no different than they ever were. She said she continually heard about how the Board had to discuss issues. She went on to say that Mr. Young never discussed anything and that she believed that it would be a travesty if the project were turned over to the Water and Sewer Authority because the residents on Fox Mill Road would be stuck paying for the project. She said it was apparent to her that no resolution had been reached on the matter.
Mr. Wingeard said he wished to correct Mrs. Carricato and said that if the resolution was passed the way it was he would vote to accept it. He said the residents on Fox Mill Road would not be paying the entire cost because the Authority was going to put in $15,000 plus a grinder pump and then maintain the pump over its lifetime. He said the Authority would be willing to sit down with the three homeowners on Fox Mill Road and talk with them about the project. He said it would be necessary to obtain a right-of-way from one of the three homeowners.
Mr. Gross moved to adopt Resolution 2001-34 and send it on to the Authority. [Mrs. Zimmerman called a five-minute recess.] Following the recess, Mr. Jones seconded Mr. Gross’ motion. It was unanimously approved.
As a member of the Water and Sewer
Authority, Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mrs. Zimmerman, to accept the
project from the Board of Supervisors.
The motion was unanimously approved.
Workshop Meeting, May 14, 2001. Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Millard, to approve the May 14, 2001 Minutes. The motion was approved 4-0, with Mr. Hoffman abstaining, as he was not present at the workshop.
Regular Meeting, May 21, 2001. Mrs. Zimmerman said the May 21, 2001 Minutes would be held for approval at the workshop meeting on June 11, 2001.
General Fund Balance as of May 31, 2001 $970,467.58
Liquid Fuels Balance as of May 31, 2001 $388,781.02
General Fund Balance as of May 17, 2001 $978,554.24
Liquid Fuels Fund Balance as of May 17, 2001 $388,781.02
Deposit – May 4, 2001 $ 15,806.14
Deposit – May 14, 2001 $ 13,396.67
Deposit – May 14, 2001 $ 298.00
Deposit – May 16, 2001 $ 3,493.05
Deposit – May 22, 2001 $ 14,603.20
Deposit – May 30, 2001 $ 6,959.71
Total Deposits as of May 31, 2001 $ 54,556.77
Automatic Deposit from CD Income Tax – May 15, 2001 $ 9,749.05
Less Payroll 06/01/01 Net: $13,270.54 Gross: $ 17,631.95
Less Vouchers to be approved 06/04/01 $ 23,446.19
Total invoices that could be paid with Liquid Fuels funds $ 0.00
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Millard,
to pay the payroll. The motion was
unanimously approved.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to
approve the vouchers in the amount of $23,446.19. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Millard raised a question relative to the SEO services for April asking whether or not that total included the Millstone project. Mr. Rimer said it did not include the Millstone project. Mr. Gross suggested that Mr. Millard refer to the invoice from Light-Heigel.
Mr. Jones raised a question relative to the $6,400 bill from Waste Management for Spring Clean-Up. He said it was his understanding that Spring Clean-Up was provided as a service in the Township’s contract with Waste Management. Mr. Gross said that was correct but that if the tonnage collected went over a certain limit, then the Township was liable for the balance. Mr. Rimer reminded the Board that it had discussed the Waste Management contract several months earlier because Lower Paxton was interested in eliminating the once-a-year clean-up and allowing residents to put large items curbside each week. Mr. Jones asked Mr. Rimer to determine what Waste Management considered extra tonnage. Mr. Rimer said he would follow up on that item.
#01.005 F/SB Brock Ehler, 862 Piketown Road, Tax Parcel #68-016-021. Tim Mellott of R.J. Fisher & Associates was present. Mr. Mellott said that the subdivision consisted of a 12‑acre tract that was being subdivided into two lots. Mr. Fisher responded to several questions from Board members. Following a brief discussion regarding a note on the plan relative to future subdivisions, Mr. Yost said that the plan before the Board met the requirements with the exception of the variance that had been granted by the Zoning Hearing Board. He went on to say that the subdivision was not proceeding under the old plan but was proceeding under the current ordinances and that he didn’t see that a future subdivision would be prohibited.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Millard,
for the Brock R. Ehler final subdivision plan #01.005 and that the Board of
Supervisors waive the West Hanover Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance for preliminary plan requirements, 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. Hoffman, to approve the Brock R. Ehler final subdivision plan #01.005, Tax Parcel #68-016-021 contingent upon verification of survey monuments and markers by the Township Engineer, approval of the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan by the Dauphin County Conservation District, approval of the Planning Module Exemption by the Department of Environmental Protect, interpretation by the Township Solicitor regarding engineering comment #4, certification of ownership shall be signed and notarized, wetland certification shall be executed, and surveyor’s certification shall be executed. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Brulo noted that engineering comment #4 had been addressed.
Sewer Connection Enforcement Activities (Actions). Mr. Yost said there was nothing new to report.
Ordinance No. 2001-06, Chapter 85 – Burning, Open. Fire Marshall Tim Shatto was present to discuss the proposed Ordinance with the Board. He said Mr. Millard and staff, as well as he, had spent 8-10 months working on the new Ordinance to bring it up to date and rectify some of the problems that had been occurring. Mr. Shatto said one of the main purposes of the new Ordinance was to alleviate some of the complaints filed by residents in the R-1 and R-2 zoning districts regarding neighborhood burning. He said the new Ordinance would prohibit open burning in those districts, with the exception of a recreational campfire or grilling.
Mr. Shatto went on to say that he had been called out on a neighborhood complaint and became involved in a serious altercation noting that the State Police had to be called in to settle it. He said that basically the new Ordinance would specify that there would be no open burning in R‑1 and R-2. He said with the advent of the recycling program, there were adequate ways to get rid of refuse.
Mr. McCahan interjected the fact that the new Ordinance would give a lot of authority and guidance to those firemen called out as a result of a 911 call and that the document would be in hand saying what could or could not be done.
Mr. Shatto went on to say that he had checked with DEP and the Bureau of Air Quality and was told that if the smoke from a fire stayed on the homeowner’s property that was fine; however, if the smoke went on to a neighbor’s property that would violate the State’s air pollution and air quality laws. He said DEP encouraged municipalities to enact such ordinances and that West Hanover’s proposed Ordinance was drawn from examples furnished from the Bureau of Air Quality.
A question was raised as to whether or not the Ordinance would discriminate against those people residing in the R-1 and R-2 districts. Mr. Rimer responded saying that the districts were chosen from an administrative standpoint due to the nature of the development in those areas.
Another question was raised as to whether or not the Township had substantive reasons for doing that. Mr. Yost responded saying that he believed it did based on a combination of the zoning areas, which were the more dense zones in the Township, as well as the size of the lots. He said he was comfortable with the proposed Ordinance and suggested that it might have to be fine-tuned as incidents occurred. He said the Township might find it too stringent or not stringent enough but that it was a good first step.
Mr. Steinmeier asked whether or not there would be a public hearing. Mr. Yost advised there would be no public hearing but that the adoption of the Ordinance had been advertised in accordance with the Second Class Township Code.
Mr. Millard raised several questions regarding Section 85-5.a., and a discussion followed between he and Mr. Shatto.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to adopt Ordinance 2001-6. The motion was unanimously approved.
[Following adoption of Ordinance 2001-6, Mr. Millard left the meeting.]
Township Public Property Committee Update. Mr. Jones and Mr. Hoffman had nothing new to report.
Resolution 2001-34, Assignment of Fox Mill Road Sewer Project to the West Hanover Township Water and Sewer Authority. [Resolution 2001-34 was adopted during the joint meeting earlier in the evening.]
Authorize Purchase of New PC for Codes and Zoning Office. Mr. Rimer referred the Board members to the proposal, which had been included with the packets, for a new computer for the Codes and Zoning Office.
Mr. Gross moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman, to approve the purchase of a new computer for the Codes and Zoning Office. The motion was unanimously approved.
CORRESPONDENCE
No questions were raised regarding the correspondence included with the packets.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer for a status regarding participation in the INVEST Program. Mr. Rimer said that no funds had been transferred to the INVEST Program but pointed out that, at this point in time, the Township was not suffering any monetary loss since the stock market had taken a downward turn and the interest rates for INVEST had fallen as well.
Solicitor. Mr. Yost said he had no further report.
Engineer. Mr. Brulo said that the Board had his written report.
Roadmaster. Mr. Harman was not present at the meeting.
Codes and Zoning Administrator. The position is vacant.
Park and Recreation Coordinator. Mrs. Fesig said she had no report.
Manager. Mr. Rimer said that the road crew would be beginning the in-house road projects on Tuesday, June 5, and pointed out that he had provided a listing of those projects to the Board members at an earlier date.
Mr. Rimer also reported that the Clover Lane project would begin in the near future. He said a public relations program would begin to inform the neighbors on Clover Lane that the road project would be happening as well as to seek some temporary construction easements from their properties. Mr. Rimer noted that there would be a need for some detours during the course of the project and said he would keep the Board updated accordingly.
Mr. Hoffman questioned whether or not any streetlights would be installed at Clover Lane and Route 22. Mr. Rimer reminded Mr. Hoffman that the Board had discussed a street lighting project while building the 2001 budget but that it had been removed from the 2001 budget because of monetary constraints.
Mr. Rimer announced that H.B. McClure had installed the new air conditioning unit.
Mr. Rimer also reported that the signalization project at Jonestown Road and Route 22 would be moving forward. He said the Highway Occupancy Permit had been submitted to PennDOT and that Pennsylvania Power and Light had been requested to move several poles. He said the improvement project would begin in the near future.
Bill McCahan, Jonestown Road. Mr. McCahan said that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had given Truckstops of America two weeks to resolve their on-site problems.
SUPERVISORS’ COMMENTS
Earl Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman had no comments.
Ken Gross. Mr. Gross had no comments.
Bob Jones. Mr. Jones said that it was his understanding when the Board approved the building for Jack Brown there was not supposed to be any outside storage at the site. He said the property was unsightly with trash sitting all around and he suggested that a letter be sent to them. Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer to check into the matter. Mr. Rimer agreed to do so.
Gloria Zimmerman. Mrs. Zimmerman said she received a letter from the Fire Company asking if the Township would purchase GIS mapping software at a cost of $900.
Mr. McCahan said that Dauphin County would purchase one module and that the Fire Company was requesting that the Township purchase the other module. Mr. McCahan stated that a mapping project had been included in his 2001 budget that he presented to the Township, but that the Board had removed the project.
Mr. Rimer said that the county’s mapping data was not available to the communities to utilize and that Mr. McCahan was right that the Township had a GIS mapping system that it spent $30,000 on and was not being utilized. He said that it took time and money to update the GIS information. He said he was hoping that the Township could get in with the Dauphin County IT Department and become a partner with them. Mr. Rimer went on to say there were a lot of different strategies and that all of them took money and were not a priority.
Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Gross, to adjourn the meeting. The motion was unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail A. Martin
Township Secretary