WEST HANOVER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
7171 ALLENTOWN BOULEVARD, HARRISBURG, PA 17112
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2002, 7:00 P.M.
REGULAR MEETING
Chairman Jones called the February 19, 2002 regular meeting of the West Hanover Township Board of Supervisors to order at 7 p.m., followed by the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Robert Jones, Chairman
Robert Ziltz, Vice Chairman
Steve Millard, Secretary/Treasurer
Earl Hoffman
Gloria J. Zimmerman
Jim Zeiters, 204 Glen View Avenue. - Mr. Zeiters was present to report on the Route 39 Study Committee. He said that the committee narrowed the consultant choices down to three. They will be interviewed next month at the South Hanover Township building. He said that Derry Township agreed to join the committee.
Jack Waldschmidt, 6962 New Oxford Road. – Mr. Waldschmidt asked the board to install an intersection sign on the east bound lane of Jonestown Road, west of Sarhelm Road. He said that due to the new intersection at Route 22 and Jonestown Road there has been an increase in speeding on Jonestown Road creating a dangerous situation for cars coming out of Sarhelm Road. Mr. Rimer stated that he is aware of the situation and the Roadmaster ordered a sign for that intersection.
Mr. Waldschmidt stated that he was one of the original Sewer Authority Members. He said that he is aware of the problems between the Board of Supervisors and the Sewer Authority. He commented on how the local media is attacking the original sewer board. He said that when the sewer authority was started, they told the users that the rates would come down. He said that it would take more users but the rates would come down. Now that the rates are coming down, the current authority is getting the credit. He said the local media is making negative comments about the original board members. He gives Mr. Young and the current board credit for bringing the rates down. He said the original board was set up as a separation of powers. He asked that the Board of Supervisors not take the Sewer Authority back but keep it as a separation of powers.
John Carricato, 699 Knight Road. – Mr. Carricato stated that the reason the board wanted to take the sewer authority back is because there is no accountability as it is. The public cannot ask questions at a water and sewer authority meeting. He stated he thinks the township should not have the burden of taking over the sewer authority. He wants trusted citizen running the board.
Beth Carricato, 699 Knight Road – Mrs. Carricato feels that for the last five years there has been nothing but problems between the board and the sewer authority. She said that she wants the board to do what is right for the township. She wants the board to make a decision regarding the takeover of the authority. She feels that the township manager should be allowed to do his job and not be micro-managed.
Mrs. Carricato asked about the $851.49 charge for civil action against public officials from St. Paul Insurance Company. Mr. Rimer stated that it is a deductible and is the township’s responsibility. He said the township is the primary insured on the policy and the authority is the secondary insured on the policy. She stated that she attended the last Water and Sewer Authority meeting and found out that the Sewer Authority chose not to use The St. Paul Insurance Company. They chose to retain a personal attorney at a charge of $25,000. If the authority already paid a retainer for their own attorney through the Water and Sewer Authority, will that attorney also cover Mrs. Zimmerman’s litigation as both a Township Supervisor and a member of the Water and Sewer Authority. Mr. Jones feels that as a matter of litigation it should not be discussed at the meeting. Mrs. Carricato stated that it is a public matter since it is tax dollars being used and she as a taxpayer has a right to know. Mr. Rimer stated that it would cover Mrs. Zimmerman as she is protected by Public Officials Liability Insurance.
Earl Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman had no comments.
Bob Ziltz. Mr. Ziltz had no comments.
Stephen Millard. Mr. Millard had no comments.
Gloria Zimmerman. Mrs. Zimmerman complimented Mrs. Fesig on the wonderful job she did at the Valentines Day Party. Mrs. Zimmerman said that Mr. Millard knew about the attorney representing her before she did. She asked Mr. Rimer how Mr. Millard had all the information and she didn’t and she said his response was she didn’t ask. She wanted to know how she was supposed to ask if she didn’t know if anything came in the township mail for her. She stated that everything she gets in the township mail everyone knows about it because it is opened and resealed. She stated that she resents that and wants that to go on the record. She resents that Mr. Millard has all the information up front before she gets it. Mrs. Carricato asked if Mrs. Zimmerman’s mail is opened and Mr. Rimer said no. Mrs. Zimmerman said that it has been opened and looked at.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer why the minutes for the January 7th meeting were not included in the packet. She said she called Mrs. Martin and was informed that the minutes were e-mailed to Mr. Rimer at 5:00 p.m. on January 4th. Mr. Rimer said that he thought the minutes were in a previous packet. He said that it was an oversight.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Yost if he had the information from St. Paul when they had the executive meeting of who her attorneys were. Mr. Yost said that he does not know who her attorney is. Mrs. Zimmerman said she asked Mr. Millard where he received the information. Mr. Millard said that he got the information three or four days before from Mr. Rimer. Mrs. Zimmerman said that there was an executive session the night before that. Mr. Yost said that he was sorry that he could not help her with that because he does not know the name of the attorney.
Bob Jones. Mr. Jones had no comments
PRESENTATION
Confirmation/Loyalty Oath –
West Hanover Township Fire Police -
Mr. Jones stated that the
Township is very fortunate to have the quality of people that we have on the
Fire Police and Volunteer Fire Department.
He thanked them all for doing an excellent job. Mr. Jones read the following motion to
confirm the following individuals to serve in their capacity. In accordance with Section 1914 of the
Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code, I hereby move to confirm the following
individuals as members of the West Hanover Township Fire Police who will serve
the West Hanover Township Fire Company and the Township with the powers
conferred under Public Law 137, No. 74 of June 18, 1941 as amended.
The following people were recognized:
Melvin Gochenaur, Captain, Carl Haederer Adam Colm
Russell Stine, Lieutenant Ronald Livingston Donald Wilson
Samuel Swartz, Sergeant Neil Shatto
Almeda Arnold Jason Harris
Mr. Jones thanked Mr. Bill McCahan, township Emergency Management Coordinator, and his assistant Mr. McNeal, for their service to the township.
Pepsi Cola/Dermody Properties,
Inc. – Overview of Building Project –
Mr. David Loring, Director of Development for Dermody Properties, was present to discuss their newest tenant at Blue Mountain Logistics Park, Pepsi.
Mr. Tom Berry, Distribution Manager for Pepsi, was in attendance to explain their plans for use of a building at Blue Mountain Logistics Park. He explained that the concentrate division, not the bottling division will be occupying the building. He said that they will be warehousing in boxes and cartons, various containers of components that the bottling plants will use to make Pepsi. He said the product comes from Puerto Rico and Texas. The product is broken down into pallets that are used by the bottling division. He said that the building is 250,000 square feet. Half of the building will be devoted to finished goods. He pointed out that it is strictly a warehousing operation. They are not manufacturing or processing anything. He said that 125,000 square feet would be devoted to the soft drink concentrate. There will be 18,000 square feet of refrigerated space. He stated that they would also store products that are classified as hazardous because it is flammable in a 5,000 square feet area.
Mr. Lee Thompson of CCNS was also in attendance. He is an environmental hazardous materials management consultant for Pepsi. He said that Pepsi currently operates three warehouses throughout the United States. He went on to say that Pepsi has a meticulous way of doing things. They stress safety first. He stated that the facility they are proposing is of strategic importance to the northeast. He said the northeast has the biggest distribution of Pepsi in the country. He said that when Pepsi prepares to design a facility, they begin months in advance on how to manage the materials. They come to the area to get an idea of what they have to work with so that they can start designing contingency plans that deal with fire and natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes. They design plans on how to mitigate emergencies, such as spills, fires, and releases. Then they meet with township officials with the proposed plans. They meet with the Fire Marshal to show him the contingency plan. They get feedback on how they can fine-tune their plan. He said that since Pepsi is a food product they run into a gamut of regulations other that the environmental side. The have environmental regulations from the EPA and the FDA. They keep their warehouses clean. From there they begin their operations. In the one hundred thirty plus years that they have been in business, they never had a facility catch fire.
They do have small spills when containers fall. Should they have a hazardous material release inside the building, they employ an outside contractor from the area, H.M.H.T.T.C. to clean up and manage the waste material. In the event of an emergency, they would work with the Fire Department to manage the fire. They go through a very intensive planning period before and during operations. A question was raised about what type of flammable substance might be stored at the facility. Mr. Thompson said that the flammable substance is ethanol. The ethanol is mixed with flavoring oils. The one-gallon containers contain between thirty percent to seventy-five percent ethanol. He said that all carbonated soft drinks have an ethanol-based flavoring. It gives the beverage its color and flavoring. They built a specially designed self-contained flammable room that has sprinklers and is equipped with metal racks.
The transportation of the material is closely monitored. Pepsi Beverage International is part of Chem-Track. They use Chem-Track as an emergency number on all of their shipping papers in the event of an emergency. Chem-Track is notified and will send out a contractor that is a hazardous materials response team from the local area to manage the incident. Pepsi has very strong environmental policies. Everything is shipped off for incineration so that there is nothing going into landfills. He went on to say that incineration is the safest and cleanest way to manage waste materials. It is burned at temperatures above twenty-four hundred degrees. They are putting nothing back into the environment.
A question was raised pertaining to how the material was shipped. He explained that the material is transported in glass containers that are packaged within a cardboard container that has pieces of cardboard around it for protection. This insures that the glass containers don’t move. Then they are put on pallets and shrink-wrapped. Each unit has thirty-two one-gallon glasses. They are shrink-wrapped very tightly to a pallet. Then they are placed into the truck and transported. When the material comes from Puerto Rico, they are coming by boat. Once they make that trip, the highway transportation is the easier trip that they make. He said that on the inbound to the warehouse there would be some pallets of flammable products but not on the outbound.
Mr. Millard asked if the variable percentage of ethanol is for different soft drinks. Mr. Thompson responded by saying yes.
Mr. Jones asked when Pepsi expected to be in operation. Mr. Loring of Dermody Properties stated that Pepsi expects to be in operation by mid April.
Mr. Tim Shatto, Fire Marshal was in attendance. He stated that the reason he in there is because the occupancy of the Dermody Warehouse is changing with the insertion of the twelve thousand gallons of flammable liquid. He said it is changing from S-2 storage facility to high hazard in at least the part of the building where the flammable liquid is going to be stored. He said when the warehouse was built two years ago it was an S-1 or S-2 storage facility, low to moderate hazard. A question was raised back then about the possibility of a new client coming in and wanting to put high hazard material in the building. Mr. Shatto said he was there tonight to tell the residents that he is fulfilling his promise to keep an eye on the building to report what is being put in the building and whether or not the use is changing. He said that although the building will meet all the N.F.P.A. requirements for the flammable liquid storage, the actual use and occupancy classification has changed. He said he addressed the issue with the township manager, the zoning officer and the building inspector. He said it appears that there are language issues in the current ordinance. He feels that the township should look at the current zoning to see how it can define flammable liquids, what can be stored and what cannot be stored. The issue should be clarified for the future.
Mr. Shatto feels that providing the fire suppression system works, the fire department should not be needed to handle a fire within the flammable liquid storage room. The fire department would assist in supplying water to the system.
Mr. Hoffman asked Mr. Shatto if he would put his signature on the entire operation. Mr. Shatto said he will not allow personal opinion to interfere with the decision making as to what the laws and ordinances of the township say. He believes that the public has the right to know what is happening at the facility so that they have an idea what is going on there. He said he will not sign off on it but he was assured that the facility will have a state-of-the-art fire suppression system and that the building would be protected as best as it possibly can be. Mr. Hoffman said that does not answer his question. Mr. Shatto said he would not put his signature on anything until the experts take a look at it. He said that there is no reason to discredit or dispute the design of the fire suppression system because it meets all the requirements of the N.F.P.A.-30.
Mr. Arndt, Townhip Building Inspector, stated that Pepsi has gone above and beyond the minimum code requirements set down by B.O.C.A. They have done everything he has asked them to do and he is satisfied.
Ms. Houck, Township Zoning Officer stated that under the Township Ordinance Section 195-66 is the list of permitted uses for the Industrial Enterprise Zoning District. It is the most intensive zoning district within the township. She said that the use that is being proposed by Pepsi falls under Sub-Section C for distribution centers and Sub-Section N for warehousing. She said that under the ordinance factory and industrial processes of a low to moderate hazard are permitted as defined by the B.O.C.A. National Building Code. She said that Pepsi is not actually processing anything so it is less intensive then the permitted use. She said that the zoning permit was issued because it was a permitted use. If another use of the building came in that was more intensive or a high hazard and not listed as a permitted use in that zoning district and would require an applicant coming in and pursuing a new zoning permit she would refer them to the Zoning Hearing Board. That would allow for due process and public input.
Mr. Jones thanked Mr. Shatto and stated that the township is very fortunate to have him as our Fire Marshal.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Regular meeting – January 22,
2002 – The following corrections were made to the January 22, 2002
Minutes. On page one, under Public
Comment, remove the word that, on
page six, under Old Business, Nominees for Section Representative to the
Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, Mrs. Zimmerman moved, (seconded by Mr.
Ziltz) to appoint Mr. Harold King to the Tri-County Regional Planning
Commission. On page seven, Mrs.
Zimmerman asked that concerning the Petition for Tina Brosius, the fact that
the board does not condone the crime but are asking for fairness of Ms.
Brosius’ sentence compared to others be added.
Mr. Hoffman moved, seconded by Mr. Ziltz to approve the Minutes of
January 22, 2002. Motion passed
unanimously.
Regular Meeting
Minutes-February 4, 2002 – Tabled
Workshop Meeting
Minutes-February 11, 2002 - Tabled
General Fund Balance as of January 31, 2002 $840,714.10
Liquid Fuels Balance as of January 31, 2002 $372,331.94
Deposit on February 7, 2002 $18,283.77
Deposit on February 11, 2002 $3,709.70
Deposit on February 15, 2002 $4,509.41
Total Manual Deposits for the Month of February $26,502.88
Total Automatic Deposits of C.D. Area Income Tax $23,982.06
General Fund Balance as of February 15, 2002 $739,025.44
Liquid Fuels Balance as of February 15, 2002 $372,981.02
Less Payroll 02/07/02 Net: $14,241.06 Gross: $18,815.96
Less Vouchers to be Approved 02/19/02 $53,837.64
Mr. Millard moved, seconded by
Mr. Hoffman to approve the payroll.
Motion passed unanimously.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked about the voucher for the H.R.G Engineering Park Survey in the amount of $15,893.70. She asked if that was out of the recreation budget. Mr. Rimer said that it was out of the Park Development Fund. All the park surveys were budgeted and approved by the board and were budgeted from the Park Development Fund.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked about the Rettew invoice for $2,188.96. Mr. Rimer said that the invoice is for their services in January. He said that this should be the final invoice from them. Mrs. Zimmerman asked about the Wootton, Reed and Associates invoice. Mr. Rimer stated that the invoice for Wootton, Reed included year-end accounting reports such as W-2s as well as their monthly fee.
Mr. Jones asked about Fleetshare. He asked if Mr. Rimer approached the other gas stations in the vicinity for proposals to find out if the township is paying the least amount available. Mr. Rimer said no. Mr. Jones asked Mr. Rimer to send a letter to the neighboring gas stations for proposals.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked when the bill for the septic tank installation at the fire company will be paid. Mr. Rimer said that he thought it was paid. Mrs. Zimmerman said that the board voted to pay the bill but she did not see where it was ever paid. Mr. Rimer said he did not have the bill and that the bill was given to Mrs. Martin and does not know why she did not pay it. Mr. Rimer stated that he would ask the fire company to provide him with another bill. Mr. Millard said that there was a motion to pay the voucher. Mr. Rimer said he would check into the matter.
Mr. Jones had a question about the PP&L vouchers. He asked if the $632.24 was for the traffic signals. Mr. Rimer said yes.
Mr. Hoffman moved, seconded by
Mr. Ziltz to approve payment of the vouchers.
Motion passed unanimously.
Vartan Bank, Final Land Development Plan #01.010, Clover Lane and Allentown Boulevard - Tabled
Mr. Rimer stated that at the March 4, 2002 Board meeting, they would have the last opportunity to act on the plan. Their sidewalk issue was brought before the Zoning Hearing Board.
Mr. Rimer said that the board is free to table the plan due to no new information from the results of the hearing. Mr. Rimer said that they should have the information by March 4, 2002 otherwise Vartan will grant the board additional time.
Sewer Connection Enforcement Activities (Actions). Mr. Yost said that there was nothing to report.
Township Public Property Committee Update. Mr. Jones said he had nothing further to report. Mrs. Zimmerman asked if Mr. Jones considered looking into the building next to the township building that was for sale. Mr. Jones said that the reason that they did not look into it was because the building is used for cold storage. He will inquire as to what price of the property is and get back to Mrs. Zimmerman.
Mr. Jones stated that a workshop was previously held to discuss the next three items. Mr. Rimer is seeking approval to advertise the ordinance revisions for adoption in the newspaper. The board can act on them at the next meeting. Mr. Millard asked if they could be modified when they are ready to vote on them. Mr. Yost said yes, as long as it was not a substantial change. Mr. Millard would like to consider removing the amendment on upgrading from a 60 amp to a 100 amp. He feels that it unreasonable to have to bring the whole house up to standard. This will deter people from upgrading their faulty 60-amp panel to 100-amp panel because they will be faced with upgrading their whole house.
Mr. Shatto said that if you have a 60-amp service panel in your home, the wiring that is associated with that would be at a lower standard. If you install a 100-amp service you have a great potential to put too much of a current draw through existing wiring that is not capable potentially carrying that load. He said that if that part of the ordinance change is excluded, then exclude all of it. He said that the whole issued should be addressed in its entirety.
Mrs. Zimmerman said that all this was discussed at length at a previous workshop meeting.
Motion
– Chapter 78 – Building Constructon-Article I and Article II. – Authorize
Advertisement for Select Amendments to the Code for Adoption – Mr.
Ziltz moved, seconded by Mrs. Zimmerman to authorize advertisement for select
amendments to the code for adoption.
Motion passed unanimously.
Motion
– Chapter 103 – International Fire Code. – Authorize Advertisement for Select
Amendments to the Code for Adoption. – Mrs. Zimmerman moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman
to authorize advertisement for select amendments to the code for adoption. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion – Chapter 148 – International Property Maintenance Code. – Authorize Advertisement for Select Amendments to the Code for Adoption. – Mrs. Zimmerman moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman to authorize advertisement for select amendments to the code for adoption. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion –Review Financing Plan and Authorize Delta Development, Inc. to Prepare Contract for Services to Assist in the Exit 77 Reconstruction Project. – Mr. Jones said that the cost for Delta to represent the township was $4,000 a month. This cost is for lobbying to help get the township financing for the Exit 77 Project. Mrs. Zimmerman feels that the fee is too high. Mr. Yost said that unless the township has the staff to devote time to lobby congressmen, then they should go with Delta. Mr. Ziltz had a question about the paragraph in the contract concerning the notice termination of agreement with Delta. He said that there is a dollar amount where the penalty to terminate fee should be. Mr. Rimer said that could be a zero there. Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Ziltz, to approve the contract with Delta Development for twelve months at $4,000 per month. Mr. Yost advised the board to make sure the penalty is zero. Motion passed 3to 2 with Mrs. Zimmerman and Mr. Hoffman voting no.
Motion
– Ordinance 2002-4 – Adopt Chapter 79 – Building Code Board of Appeals – Mr.
Ziltz moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman to authorize advertisement to establish a
Board of Appeals. Mr. Millard
asked if the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors or the Chairman of the Board
of Appeals would provide notice of meeting.
Mr. Rimer said that the Chairman of the Board of Appeals would provide
notice. Motion Passed unanimously.
At this point in the meeting, Mr. Jones realized that Mr. John Johnson, Fire Chief was in attendance. He said that the township is fortunate to have him as our Fire Chief.
Appointments to Boards and Commissions – Resolution 2002-27 – Environmental Advisory Council – Mr. Rimer informed the Board that Ms. Eileen Smink resigned from the EAC. Mr. Rimer stated that Ms. Susan Brockman provided a resume and is interested in serving. She would be replacing Eileen Smink for seat #3 until the end of 2004.
Mrs.
Zimmerman moved, seconded by Mr. Millard to appoint Ms. Susan Brockman to the
EAC. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion
– Make Open and Available Seat #7 on the EAC for Appointment – Mr. Rimer
stated that Chad Kovak holds seat #7 but has not participated in the EAC
meetings. Ms. Estheimer from the EAC
told Mr. Rimer that he is violating the EAC Bylaws by not regularly
participating in the meetings. The EAC
voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to make vacant seat #7 for
appointment. Mr. Ziltz moved, seconded by Mr.
Millard to make open and available seat #7 on the EAC for appointment. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion – Ordinance 2002- – Acquiring The Project of the Sewer System of the West Hanover Township; Assuming all Obligations. -
Mr. Millard announced that Ken Deaven turned in his resignation from the Sewer Authority.
Mr.
Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman to table Ordinance 2002-__. Motion passed 4-0 with Mrs. Zimmerman abstaining.
Mr. Jones explained that the ordinance that was advertised to take over the Sewer Project has been tabled. He went on to read to the audience the resignation letter from Ken Deaven. Mr. Deaven is resigning for personal reasons.
Mr.
Hoffman moved, seconded by Mrs. Zimmerman to table the resignation of Mr. Ken
Deaven from the Sewer Authority. Motion
failed 2-3. Mr. Millard moved, seconded
by Mr. Ziltz to accept Mr. Deaven’s resignation. Motion passed 3 to 2 accepting his resignation.
Mr. Jones asked Mr. Rimer to send Mr. Deaven a letter thanking him for his service.
Motion - Ordinance 2002-5 Appointing Elected Tax Collector as Collector of Delinquent Taxes -
Mr. Rimer stated that this ordinance is recommended by PSATS to be adopted. This will allow the township tax collector to act as the collector of delinquent taxes within the township for real estate taxes collected after the end of the tax year but before the taxes remaining unpaid are submitted to the county tax claim bureau. He said that this is a twelve to fifteen day period in January. The delinquent taxes are then collected by the county after this period of time is up.
Mr. Yost feels that the township should adopt the ordinance to take care of that gap. Mr. Rimer is seeking a motion to advertise the ordinance.
Mr.
Hoffman moved, seconded by Mr. Ziltz to advertise ordinance 2002-5. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion – Award Bid for Paver/Mower Equipment – Mr. Rimer stated that the bid was advertised and was opened on February 15, 2002. He received three bids for pavers and one bid for a roller. Mr. Harman inspected all the equipment. He is recommending the used 1998-Blaw Knox for $65,000 and the new Hamm Roller for $29,000. Mr. Yost asked Mr. Rimer if he had detailed specs on all of the bids. Mr. Rimer said yes. He said that some of the bids did not meet the specifications. Mrs. Zimmerman moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman to purchase the used 1998 Blaw-Knox paver and the Hamm Roller from Shaull Equipment and Supply Company. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion - Reaffirm and Authorize Execution of Revised Developer Improvement Agreement for Chestnut Ridge Development – Mr. Rimer stated that the Russells have been putting together the final pieces of their approved subdivision plan. One issue of concern was the Developer Agreement between the Russells and West Hanover Township. An earlier version of this agreement was prepared, but it did not reflect the arrangement agreed to by the Board of Supervisors. The developer revised the agreement. Mr. Rimer stated that he and the township engineer met with the Russells about the improvement agreement for Manor Drive from Linglestown Road to Sandy Hollow. Mr. John Melham, the Russells’ engineer was also present at the meeting. Mr. Melham prepared the new agreement. Mr. Rimer stated that Mr. Yost had an opportunity to review the agreement for the township. A copy of the Off-Site Improvement Agreement was enclosed in the packet for the board’s review. The improvement guarantee is in the amount of $25,000. Mr. Rimer stated that as soon as the agreement is executed the developer could get their plans recorded. Mr. Rimer said that they are not getting money from them but an improvement guarantee for the work. Mr. Jones asked what would happen if the work is not done by November 1, 2004, as it states in the agreement. Mr. Yost stated that the township may draw down the necessary funds to complete the improvements or may renegotiate the guarantee Mr. Yost said that if they do not do the work within the time frame, the township has the right to write to the bonding company to the either have the bonding company pay the performance bond or to the bank to collect the funds under the letter of credit. Mr. Rimer said that the township’s obligation is to do prep work to the road. The Russells will provide the base work to the road. The developers of Millstone will provide the finish work.
Mr.
Jim Russell said that the sewer was not installed on Manor Drive yet. He said that the dates could change on the
agreement before they sign it but the general purpose of the agreement would
stay the same. Mr. Yost would like to
have final review. Mrs. Zimmerman moved, seconded by
Mr. Hoffman to reaffirm and authorize execution of revised Developer Improvement
Agreement for Chestnut Ridge Development subject to Mr. Yost’s review. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion – Act 67 and 68 Amendments – Ordinance 2002- and -Amending Section 173-7 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance – Definitions; and Section 195-10 Definitions of the Zoning Ordinance. – Mr. Rimer stated that these are suggestive definitions that he would like to seek recommendations from the Planning Commission. He would like the board to make a motion to do so. They would also be sent to the county for review prior to amending the Subdivision and Zoning Ordinance. He said that Act 67 and Act 68 are amendments to the Municipalities Planning Code which called for new changes in procedures and definitions. This is the first step in a series of amendments that will be coming to bring the township’s ordinances into compliance with the state law.
Mr.
Ziltz moved, seconded by Millard, to authorize sending the proposed amendments
to the Dauphin County Planning Commission and the Township Planning Commission
for review and comment. Motion passed
unanimously.
Vacancy on Water & Sewer Authority – Mr. Millard stated that now that there is a vacancy on the Water and Sewer Authority there should be a motion to fill the position. Mrs. Zimmerman asked if Mr. Rimer would have candidates fill out a form and be interviewed and then give the board suggestions. She believed that was the agreement of the board. Mr. Millard said that they aren’t going to do that. She asked if the agreement applies here and Mr. Millard said no. Mr. Millard moved, seconded by Mr. Ziltz to nominate Mr. Robert Jones to fill the vacancy on the West Hanover Township Water and Sewer Authority Board. Motion passed 3 to 2 with Mrs. Zimmerman and Mr. Hoffman voting no.
Mr. Jones stated that it has been the goal to have the supervisors on the sewer authority.
CORRESPONDENCE
Mrs. Zimmerman asked Mr. Rimer if he decided on a date for
the Township Open House. Mr. Rimer
asked the board for suggestions. Mrs.
Zimmerman would like the Open House to be on April 13, 2002 from 9:00 a.m. to
noon. Mrs. Zimmerman moved, seconded by
Mr. Ziltz to have the Open House on April 13, 2002 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Rimer said that he has been compiling a number of complaints regarding Waste Management. He said that residents are complaining that their trash is not being picked up. He will be contacting Waste Management to inform them of the complaints. Mr. Jones said that the trash trucks are still turning at the intersection of Manor Drive and Florence Avenue and ruining the road.
Mr. Rimer would like to inform the board that there would be a helicopter lift of air conditioning units at Blue Mountain Logistics Park on Thursday, February 21, 2002.
Mr. Rimer said that he did not have a response for Mr. Timothy Wagner about the Fox Mill Road Sewer Project. He said that Mr. Young did provide him with a summary of what has been going on and he included the information in the letter to Mr. Wagner.
Mr. Stewart is requesting a street light at the end of J.L. Moyer Court. Mr. Rimer said that this light was not on the approved subdivision plan for Byrnfield. Mr. Rimer said that the board must give authorization to Mr. Yingst to amend his site development plan. Mr. Yingst would provide a description of where the light will go. Mr. Yost suggested that a petition be circulated to the neighbors who will be assessed to see if they are supportive of a light. Mr. Jones requested a report from Mr. Rimer on what is going to be involved, how many property owners will be affected, and how much it would cost. Mr. Rimer stated that J.L. Moyer is not a township street at this time. Mr. Yost said if the township installs a light in one community, then there may be many more requests for the township to provide streetlights elsewhere. Mr. Jones said that the residents of Brynfield should already be paying an assessment on their streetlights. Mr. Rimer said they aren’t at this time because they are not public streetlights. Mr. Yost said that the board would have to adopt a resolution to assess a streetlight tax against the property owners.
Mr. Jones asked who is paying for the streetlights in Brynfield. Mr. Rimer said that the township is paying for those lights. When the street is accepted then the property owners will pay for the streetlights. Mr. Jones would like a report from Mr. Rimer for the next meeting.
No other business was brought before the Board.
Solicitor. Mr. Yost said he received a letter from the Central Dauphin School District Solicitor. He wanted to know about some of the conditions that were attached to the conditional use request. He wanted to know specific information about road improvements so that they can make a determination of cost. Mr. Yost feels there should be a meeting between the board and their staff. Mr. Hoffman feels that the School District is not being fair. Mr. Hoffman said that he was in contact with someone from the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the curve in the road. Mrs. Zimmerman feels that the issues should be in writing. Mr. Jones said that the first step is to have Al Brulo get involved. Mr. Rimer said that there is a traffic study that the School District is preparing. But the School District has not submitted a plan so Al Brulo has not addressed it. Mr. Jones would like the School District to be on the agenda for the next meeting.
Mr. Jones asked Mr. Hoffman to invite the Army Corps of Engineers to the meeting also.
Engineer. Mr. Al Brulo provided a written report.
Roadmaster. Mr. Harman was not present.
Codes and Zoning Administrator. No further report
Park and Recreation Coordinator. Mrs. Fesig thanked Randy Depollo, of the Plumbers & Pipefitters Hall, Karen Zeppuhar, Sharon Cassell and Shirley McCahan for their help at the Valentine’s Day Party held on February 6th. She said that the Park and Recreation Board selected July 13th of this year for Festival 2002. She extended an invitation to the board to participate in the dunking tank. The Park and Recreation Board is sponsoring a Craft Fair on Saturday March 9th at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall. The New York City bus trip will be on March 16th. The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D. C. bus trip is filled.
Manager. Mr. Rimer said that the township is prepared for the audit for the year 2001.
Mrs. Zimmerman asked about the status of the Secretary/Treasurer position. Mr. Rimer said he would be advertising soon. Mrs. Zimmerman feels it should be a priority for Mr. Rimer to fill the position.
Mr. John Carricato, 699 Knight Road – Mr. Carricato said Waste Management misses them often as far as trash collection goes. He said he is paying quarterly for service that they are obligated to perform. He recommends that if a resident does not have their trash picked up they should deduct 1/13 of their quarterly bill for that week. That is what he does. Don’t pay for what you don’t get.
Mr. Bill McCahan – He commended Mr. Millard for the report he did on the truckstops. He said there is no question that there is a disaster at the truckstops. Mr. Millard said that he has an appointment with DEP to see if they will cooperate with the township as far as monitoring the wells at the truckstops. Mr. McCahan asked the board to do what they have to do to get the area around the truckstops cleaned up.
Don Niland, 6916 Devonshire Heights Road. – He said that Mr. McCahan’s advice should be seriously considered. He recommended that the township become more pro-active. He said that Mrs. Zimmerman told him that was DEP’s realm and not the township’s. He said he disagreed. He said that Truckstops of America has the worst spill in South Central regions’s history. There has been leakage there for years. He said they have numerous fifty-five gallon drums that are sitting on bare earth leaking. Someone here in the township should be monitoring that. The municipality has a paramount responsibility to the citizens of the township. Mrs. Zimmerman said that urged Mr. Rimer to send DEP some letters and also said that there should be public awareness via the press. He said that if she did follow through in that respect then that was wonderful. He stated that he hopes that the election to fill a vacancy on the Sewer authority results in a little bit more accountability. He said he went to past Authority meetings and never saw so much disregard for accountability in his life. He asked for more accountability for the financial situation. He asked Mrs. Zimmerman if that information was available to her. Mrs. Zimmerman said that she can go to the Sewer Authority anytime and look at the financial information and that the information is available at the table at every Sewer Authority meeting. She said that the financial records are always in a folder in front of Mr. Young and anyone could look at them.
Mr. Jones stated that Wilco recognized that they had a problem and took care of by installing a state-of–the-art system.
Beth Carricato. – Mrs. Carricato feels that the township needs Delta Development to help obtain funding for the Exit 77 Interchange Project. Mrs. Carricato feels that the township should be more proactive concerning the oil leakage at the truckstops. Mrs. Carricato feels that conditional use restrictions should be kept track of and maybe placed on the deed.
Don Steinmeier, 11 North Fairville. - Mr. Steinmeier stated that it would be in the best interest of the ratepayers to have the $50,000. check back from Rhoads and Sinon that was voted on by the Sewer Authority to be given to them as a retainer to get involved in a legal fight with the Board of Supervisors. He feels that the problem should be resolved without a legal fight. He said that the new majority on the Sewer Authority ought to get it back. He stated that he disagreed with the previous majority on the Sewer Authority Board.
Jack Waldschmidt, 6962 New Oxford Road. – He asked Mr. Yost how four members of the Supervisors get together and not be in violation of the Sunshine Law. Mr. Yost said because it was an advertised public meeting. Mr. Yost said they could go to a social event together as long as they don’t discuss business township business.
Gloria Zimmerman. – Mrs. Zimmerman requested a third letter be sent to the businesses near the truckstops about the litter. She feels that a letter should be sent with a fine. Mr. Rimer said that under the property maintenance code they could fine them. Mr. Arndt is working with the owners to resolve the problem. Mr. Jones agreed that they should be fined. Mrs. Zimmerman informed the audience that at 7:00 p.m. on February 28th there will be a presentation on the Growing Greener Assessment program.
She said that the township should not be involved with Sewer Authority.
Mr. Millard. Mr. Millard asked if all of the boards could get together for pizza and discuss their ideas. Mr. Jones asked that a workshop meeting be held on March 11th at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Millard asked about items that are brought up and then disappear from the agenda, such as use of the downstairs conference room and the agility program. He said another issue was the sidewalks. He said that the board should start thinking about having the people who should be installing sidewalks put them in. Mr. Jones asked about the survey that H.R.G. is conducting. Mr. Rimer said he is waiting to get prints from Harold Hotter from H.R.G. Those will used to supplement the Ped Path Study. After the board sees the agreements, the board could make a motion to ask all those property owners who have agreements to construct their sidewalks. Mr. Millard asked about the property owners who don’t install their sidewalks. Mr. Rimer said that the board could use the sidewalk assessment ordinance and have them constructed according to the ordinance. Mr. Rimer said that there is an ordinance that permits the board to assess the property owners for the construction of sidewalks on their property or wherever they desire a sidewalk to be constructed. Mr. Rimer’s recommendation is to wait for the Ped Path Plan. Mr. Jones feels that Allentown Boulevard needs sidewalks and Mr. Millard agreed.
Mr. Millard said that issues are brought up and not completed. He feels that they should stay on as Old Business until the board decides to take it off.
Mr. Ziltz commended Mr. Millard for his report. He asked what else the township could do to be more proactive. He said that the property owners’wells around the area of the truckstops could be contaminated and they wouldn’t even realize it. Some contaminates are odorless and tasteless. Mrs. Zimmerman said that they should go to press with the information to make the public aware of the situation. Mr. Ziltz said that writing letters is the first step but what do you do beyond that. Mr. Millard said that DEP requires the truckstops to self-monitor. He said that DEP should give the township the authority to do the testing instead of the truckstops. Mr. Yost said that they should initially test ten percent of the neighboring wells for contaminates. If the test results are zero it might not go any further but if there is a thirty percent rate of problem then they could expand the testing. Unfortunately, there would be no reimbursement for the costs to the township for testing as there is with Act 537. There is no program available. Mrs. Zimmerman said that there are grants for Brownfields to make people clean them up. The township could get grants to do that. Mr. Millard said that DEP tries to get the owners to do it rather than tap into their super-fund. However, with the truckstops, the problem is so massive they don’t know where to start. He said that in 1999, 34,000 gallons of fuel was spilled.
Mr.
Tim Shatto said that a year or so ago the fire department responded to a fuel
spill along the creek. He said that the
sides of the banks of the creek were black with diesel fuel. There were dead fish and snakes all over. He said that it was absurd to spend money
for a footpath through the township when the township is sitting on an
environmental catastrophe and the public needs to know the extent of the
disaster. He said the businesses would
never incur the expense to clean it up because it affects their bottom
line. They will do just enough to appease
the agencies so no one shuts them down.
If the business is shut down then something will get done. Mrs. Zimmerman said that Mr. Marcy from the
Patriot News would write about the great concern West Hanover has for their
environmental issues. Mr. Jones asked
Mr. Rimer to obtain the the names of the twelve residential property owners
closest to the truskstops so that the township could test their wells. Mr. Ziltz, moved, seconded byMr. Millard, to
have the township test the twelve residential wells closest to the
truckstops. Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman said he has nothing against Henry Young. He stated that he and Mr. Ken Gross spent at least two months trying to get a better price for the sewer. That was two years ago. They finally succeeded. It was given to the right people and turned down. A year ago, he looked for another source and got the sewer rent down to twenty-three dollars. He thinks the sewer authority and the public should get together to get this solved. He said that there is money out there to be had to get the sewer rate down even lower. According to his report, there is over one million dollars in the bank that is not in West Hanover Township. It is going to take cooperation among all of us to get it done. Mr. Jones said that if Mr. Hoffman has sources of financing that the board could obtain with a lower interest rate then what it currently has, then he would like to know about it. Mr. Hoffman said that it is in the works.
Mrs. Zimmerman moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 p.m. The motion was unanimously approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephen Millard
Township Secretary
Transcribed by P. Marks