SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
WEST HANOVER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
CENTRAL DAUPHIN SCHOOL BOARD
7171 ALLENTOWN BOULEVARD, HARRISBURG, PA 17112
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2001
Chairman Zimmerman called the October 9, 2001 joint 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 B. Hoffman, Sr., Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Robert R. Jones
Stephen L. Millard
Michael L. Mausner
Helen Wagner
Robert Lang
OTHERS PRESENT
Michael D. Rimer, Township Manager
Dr. Barbara S. Hasson, Superintendent of
C.D. School District
Gail L. Bramer, C. D. School District
Douglas Graby, E.I. Associates
Bill Brubaker, E.I. Associates
Bob Ziltz, W.H. Twp. Resident
Loretta Blaydon, W.H. Twp. Resident
PUBLIC COMMENT
No public comment was offered at this
time.
SUPERVISORS’ AND
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS’COMMENT
Earl Hoffman – No Comment.
Ken Gross – No Comment.
Robert Jones – No Comment.
Steve Millard – No Comment.
Gloria Zimmerman – Mrs. Zimmerman
stated that two weeks ago at a regular Board of Supervisors meeting it was said
that the School Board was not worried about doing anything in West Hanover
because there were three supervisors who would vote for anything the School
Board wanted. Mrs. Zimmerman stated
that she was very offended by that remark.
She explained that a resident of West Hanover Township was at the School
Board meeting. The resident heard that
comment at the meeting and repeated it at the supervisors’ meeting.
Dr. Hasson indicated that Mrs. Linda
Turns made that statement during public comment and that it did not come from
the School Board. She said that the
School Board was offended by the comment as well.
Mr. Millard said that the comment was
made by Mr. Bannon during a construction meeting. He said Mr. Bannon was the one who made the comment and Mrs.
Turns told the Board about it.
Dr. Hasson indicated that the remarks
were not made at a construction meeting because she was present at all of the
construction meetings. She said the
issue was what occurred at a township meeting, based upon the School District’s
request to have the Board of Supervisors approve language change to the Zoning
Ordinance in order to make school a permitted use in a particular zoning
district. Mr. Shatto, the Solicitor for
the School District as well as Mr. Bannon reported the results of the Township
Supervisors’ meeting saying it was a 2-2 vote, and that the issue was not
resolved.
Mrs. Zimmerman thanked Dr. Hasson for
her comments.
DISCUSSION POINTS
A.
Text
Amendment Changes for New High School
§
50
ft. height limit for auditoriums, gymnasiums, theatres and similar related
ancillary facilities
Mr. Graby, from E.I. Associates,
explained the need for a 50 foot height limitation instead of the 35 foot
height limitation required in the FRA Zone because of the proposed stage in the
auditorium and the gymnasium.
§
50
foot height limit for academic classroom wings
Mr. Graby stated that the School Board
decided to go with a three-story building and that plan called for a 15 foot
floor-to-floor height between classroom floors. When adding the three floors and the roof structure, the height
of the classroom wing would be 45 to 48 feet.
He stated that he contacted several of the fire local departments to
determine their concerns and collect input regarding the three-story building
especially in the academic wings. He
spoke with Brian Hench of the Linglestown Fire Company because he felt that the
Linglestown Fire Company would be the first to respond to any kind of emergency
with a 95 foot platform fire truck. Mr.
Graby stated that Mr. Hench did not have any concerns and that there was an
intermunicipal agreement between West Hanover Township and Linglestown Fire
Company. Mr. Graby indicated that he
also contacted Paxtonia Fire Company, which has a 100 foot Platform fire truck. He spoke with Doug Lowman. Mr. Lowman had no concerns about the
three-story building in the academic wings.
Mr. Graby also contacted Bill McCahan, Emergency Management Coordinator
for West Hanover Township, as well as the Fire Marshal, Tim Shatto. Mr. McCahan preferred not to comment at that
time.
Mr. Graby described the fire suppression
system that is being considered. At the
present time the building is being designed in accordance with 1999 BOCA
Code. If the Board of Supervisors
adopts a new code in 2002, they would adhere to the newly adopted code. The plans call for a state-of-the-art fire
alarm system, smoke detector system, and fire suppression system.
§
To
allow elementary and secondary schools in FRA zone as a conditional use
Mr. Graby stated that the School
District preferred Option 1 from the two options being presented to the Board
of Supervisors. Option 1 lists the
school as a permitted use, as opposed to a conditional use. He stated that according to the Zoning
Ordinance, government buildings, public recreational areas, and any use
determined by the zoning officer of the same general character are a permitted
use.
Mr. Rimer stated that the applicant has
submitted two options for the Zoning Amendment Application. Option 1 was to permit the school as a
permitted use with a series of standards that would be attached to the general
regulations. These general regulation
standards would be enforced through the zoning officer.
Mr. Rimer stated that option 2 was to
permit the school as a conditional use.
Mr. Rimer explained that a conditional use is a “permitted use” with
certain conditions and that this type of text amendment would allow the elected
officials to review those conditions and solicit public input for that type of
use prior to permitting the activity.
He also indicated that it is typical for uses of community-wide impact
to be listed as conditional uses in zoning ordinances.
The West Hanover Township Planning
Commission recommended Option 2.
§
Increase
impervious surface coverage from 20 percent to 25 percent
Mr. Graby stated that the School
District is asking for an increase in impervious coverage from twenty to
twentyfive percent. Mr. Graby indicated
that the Planning Commission is recommending that also as a condition in Option
2.
B. Land
Development Process and Schedule for new high school
§
Bidding
new high school in January 2002 for opening 2004-05 school year
Mr.
Graby stated that if they submitted a Conditional Use Application at the end of
October, the Planning Commission would make a recommendation to the Board of
Supervisors in the middle of November.
The Board of Supervisors would then set a hearing date for the
conditional use. The School District
would schedule a pre-application meeting with the Township and begin the land
development process by the end of December.
He indicated the School District hoped for a final land development plan
approval by the end of March 2002. The
District would like to start building by June 2002 and have the building
constructed by June 2004.
Mr.
Millard asked a general question to the School Board member present as to
whether or not the newly elected School Board would change the policy
directionon whether there would be two high schools or three. Mr. Graby said
that he could not answer for the new board coming in.
A School
Board member spoke from the audience commented that the chances of a third high
school being built were unlikely because two of the four new board members
coming on are from Swatara Township. The two persons from Swatara Township
would likely prefer the high school be built in their township. The School Board member from the audience
stated that the decision of where to build the high school was made based on
where the building was needed.
Mr.
Millard suggested Mr. Young, Chairman of the Sewer Authority had concerns about
whether or not the pumping station was going to be able to accommodate a high
school the size they were proposing.
Considerable discussion ensued from the Board and audience regarding
capacity of the pumping station based on 1,700 students and the nature of the
pumping systems. Mr. Graby stated that
this is the first time he heard that there was a concern about capacity.
Mr.
Rimer advised the school board that before they do any work in the floodplain,
they might need to get approval from the Zoning Hearing Board under the
Township’s Flood Management Provisions and he suggested that the District start
the request for a special exception along with its conditional use hearing
procedures if necessary.
C. West Hanover Elementary School
Mr.
Graby stated that the district is seeing significant growth in West Hanover
Township. He stated he was hoping the
township would work with the District in the future relative to whether or not
the School Board would want to add on to West Hanover Elementary School or look
for a new site for an elementary school.
OTHER ITEMS OF DISCUSSION THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE BOARDS
Mrs.
Zimmerman stated that a public hearing is scheduled for Monday, October 15,
2001, at 7:15 p.m. at the West Hanover Township Municipal Building. She stated the discussion between the School
Board and the Board of Supervisors is public knowledge.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Loretta
Blaydon expressed concern that the new high school when completed would already
be at full capacity when it opened. She
believed that the District should be looking toward the future and of potential
development in the district. She stated
that a third high school would have taken care of that.
SUPERVISORS/SCHOOL BOARD COMMENTS
Dr.
Hasson stated that the reason the District requested the meeting with the
Supervisors was because the School Board also has a public meeting on October
15, 2001 and members of the School Board and staff would not be able to be in
attendance at the Board of Supervisors’ public meeting to answer questions and
that she had hoped to address concerns before the Board deliberated publicly.
Mrs.
Zimmerman stated that the main concern was the height of the proposed school
building.
Mrs.
Lucas stated that there were two issues involved in the 50 foot height
limit. Number one is if they were not
granted the 50 foot height limit, it would enlarge the footprint of the
building, which would mean more impervious coverage on the site. Secondly, Mrs. Lucas indicated that creating
another wing over increasing the height of the classroom wing would cost the
School District taxpayers a half million dollars more in construction costs,
which the District could spend on other projects such as West Hanover
Elementary. She also expressed concern
about the amount of time it takes for the students to change classes at the
present Central Dauphin High School because it is one story. She said that when the building is spread
out it takes longer for students to get to classes and that a three-story building
could improve student movement.
Mrs.
Lucas referred to the comparison of the School District’s request to allow for
building height increases with past decisions related to building height at the
Dermody site and their request for a height variance. Mrs. Lucas stated that Dermody is a different situation with
different public concerns because the nature of the use and the fact that the
proposed buildings are so close to people’s houses. Granting the variance for Dermody would have had significant impacts
on property owners and their views from their homes. Mrs. Lucas indicated that the height text amendment for the
School District request will not have this impact due to the size and location
of the site and that there are no homes near the construction area.
Mrs.
Lucas stated that the Township, as well as others in the community, would gain
the use of the athletic fields, which is a big plus for the community. She stated that the School Board has gone
out of its way to protect the environment on this site thus far. The District has discussed and intends on
keeping the house and the barn for an environmental center for students and
some of the things that contribute to the impervious coverage. She stated that it would be a huge benefit
to have an environmental center on the site.
She is hoping that impervious coverage will not be an issue for the
Board of Supervisors.
Mr.
Millard asked if there would be a pedestrian access to the school. He asked if the School Board would be
willing to provide an easement if a pedestrian path was needed in the future.
[Considerable discussion ensued from the audience,
which could not be heard clearly.]
Mr.
Mausner stated that the school was being built based upon what needs were right
now. He said that the District was
restricted by the Department of Education and that they could not build
classrooms for future use and keep them empty.
He indicated that the School Board represented the taxpayers and they
are trying to provide the best education possible. He also indicated that the School District determined that there
would be two high schools and not three.
They plan to make the two high schools the same size. They will shift 300 students from the
Central Dauphin High School to the new school.
Mr.
Jones asked about the funding for the new high school. Dr. Hasson explained that the taxes were in
place to fund the project.
Mr.
Millard asked about the nature of the athletic activities and where the games
would be played.
Mr.
Gross asked Mr. Brubaker about the nature of the issue with the Corps of
Engineers. Mr. Brubaker explained that
it was about the wetlands on the site.
Mr. Gross expressed concern about a dangerous curve a quarter mile from
the Route 81 underpass on Piketown Road that could cause problems with school
busses especially in the winter. He
said the creek comes right up on to the road on the left side and that the
fence was right on the edge and there would nowhere to go.
Mr.
Millard asked if the Army Corps of Engineers could move the creek to which
someone responded that it was no longer done.
Mr.
Gross asked what was going to happen when the ice came up on the road and the
road had to be closed as had occurred in the past. He said that now is the time that they should do something about
it.
Mrs.
Zimmerman thanked Mrs. Lucas for coming to the Open House in April and for
bringing the school plans with her. She
stated that Mrs. Lucas was very informative.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked the Board members and the CD School Board members for any additional comments. Hearing none, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail
A. Martin,
Township Secretary
Transcribed by Peggy Marks