PALMER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING

MAY 19, 2008

A general business meeting of the Palmer Township Board of Supervisors was held on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Palmer Library with all Supervisors in attendance. Also in attendance were the Director of Public Services, Police Chief, Township Solicitor, and Attorney Christy Schlottman. The Township Manager was absent. Colver convened the meeting and led those present in the Pledge to the Flag.

2. APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS – MAY 19, 2008

INFORMATION

The report will be provided at the meeting.

DISCUSSION

On motion by Mitchell, seconded by Panella, and agreed by all, the Board voted to approve the disbursement of funds for May 19, 2008.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MAY 5, 2008

DISCUSSION

On motion by Smith, seconded by Lammi, and agreed by all, the Board voted to approve the minutes of May 5, 2008.

4. REAL ESTATE TAX DUPLICATE BILL FEE

INFORMATION

Tax collector, Doreen Umholtz, will be present to discuss her recommendation to begin charging a $5.00 fee for duplicate real estate tax bills.

DISCUSSION

Tax collector, Doreen Umholtz said many residents escrow their mortgages and do not forward tax bills in a timely manner. Umholtz said mortgage companies hire third party administrators and those people used to come to my office and collect the information from her files. Umholtz said the companies are no longer willing to do that and want us to provide the duplicate information. Umholtz said other tax collectors charge a duplicate bill fee to tax service agencies and she is recommending Palmer Township begin charging a $5.00 fee.

On motion by Colver, seconded by Lammi, and agreed by all, the Board authorized the solicitor to amend the appropriate documents to include a duplicate tax bill fee of $5.00 and to bring it back to the Board for approval.

5. ELECTRONIC SIGN DISCUSSION

INFORMATION

The Board needs to discuss establishing a policy outlining standard guidelines for electronic sign requests.

DISCUSSION

Colver said the new sign is up and operational and Supervisor Smith and the Business, Industrial, and Professional group will be landscaping around the area. Colver said he believes it was an excellent partnership between the BIP, Lions Organization, and the township. Colver said we now need to establish a policy regarding who can advertise on the sign. Colver said it should include things like how long messages can run and if it is only for township groups versus non-township groups. Mitchell said when the Lions Club handled the requests it was only for non-profit organizations. Lammi agreed to coordinate drafting a policy for the Board to review at next weeks meeting.

6. COLD IN-PLACE RECYCLING/PORTLAND CEMENT STABILIZATION BID AWARD

INFORMATION

The Board needs to approve/disapprove the bid recommendation.

DISCUSSION

Adams said at the last meeting we awarded the rest of the construction bids but we needed more information regarding the cold in-place recycling bid. Adams said two bids were received.

Adams said there were two options, Option A and Option B. Adams said he is recommending awarding the Option B bid to E. J. Breneman of West Lawn, PA for a price of $430,995.70. Adams said Option B is a new green process where asphalt will be recycled. Lammi recommended we get some press regarding the new green concept of not having to put the used asphalt into a landfill.

On motion by Lammi, seconded by Smith, and agreed by all, the Board approved awarding the cold in-place recycling/Portland cement stabilization bid to E. J. Breneman of West Lawn, PA for a price of $430,995.70 for Option B.

7. PUBLIC COMMENT

None

8. REPORTS

Solicitor

· Bruno had one litigation and one real estate item for executive session.

· Bruno said Jim Raudenbush recently notified his office with some concern regarding contractors performing shoddy workmanship in the township and/or not completing jobs as promised. Bruno said Raudenbush would like the township to have the ability to pull a license if there is this type of activity going on. Bruno said Christy Schlottman did some research and it is a concern because the township could be getting involved in private matters. Bruno said the current ordinance says a Business Privilege License can be revoked for township ordinance violations. Bruno said he wanted to talk about the concept with this Board to see if you share the same concerns that Raudenbush does. Lammi asked if Raudenbush could give them some background on other townships that do this sort of thing. Schlottman said in the Township of Bethel they are given a certain period of time to rectify the problem and then they are entitled to a hearing in front of the Board of Supervisors. Colver asked who deems it necessary. Schlottman said in Bethel Township the building inspector brings it to the Board of Supervisors. Lammi said we do not want to have to hear every little problem like if someone puts a sink in wrong. Bruno said you can see both sides of the story here. The contractor could say we are jeopardizing their ability to do business in the township. Colver said obviously it is a legitimate concern for Jim Raudenbush. Lammi said what would constitute us pulling a license. What would be a minor infraction and what would be a major infraction. Lammi said a lot of details would need to be worked out. Bruno said as a minimum it says licenses may be revoked if there is a violation of the township ordinance. Bruno said he feels it should include them being entitled to a hearing prior to them having their license revoked. Lammi said from the Board of Supervisors perspective it is not an easy thing to manage. It will be very difficult and very time consuming. Panella said if it is a safety violation it needs to be addressed. Bruno said that would fall under violation of the township ordinance. Colver recommended Christy Schlottman discuss Raudenbush’s request in greater detail with him. Bruno said the Building Code Board of Appeals may be the Board to hear the disputes. Colver recommended they gather more details and bring a draft document back to this Board before we consider going through with anything and possibly advertising an ordinance.

· Schlottman said the property maintenance code currently references and adopts an outdated international property maintenance code. Schlottman said the township ordinance needs to be amended to refer to the latest version. Colver said he had no problem with that amendment but added he would also recommend taking a look at enforcement of weed and grass issues. The Board agreed to have the solicitor’s office proceed with the revisions and to bring them back before the Board for review.

Public Services Director

· Adams said the pool was water blasted and repainted. We ran into some time constraints because we needed proper temperatures for painting. Adams said last Wednesday the last coat was put on and it needs six days to cure. In order to fill and test the water by Saturday the existing well will not be able to do the job. Adams said Easton Suburban Water Authority said they can help us fill it with a hydrant but it will cost us between $800 and $1,000 for the water. Adams said there is another issue. When the bottom was water blasted there were some rough spots and the painting contractor thought it would go away after the coats of paint were down, but they did not. Adams said he would like to go out to the pool with the township manager tomorrow and see if he feels we need to smooth out the rough spots or if we can just go ahead and fill the pool. Colver said as long as it will not cut peoples feet it should not be a problem. Adams asked if the township manager thinks it is acceptable would the Board entertain purchasing the water from Easton Suburban. Adams said forecasts predict it being a sunny weekend in the low 70’s. Mitchell asked if the bottom is too rough what needs to be done. Adams said a cement and sand mix would need to be put on top of the rough spots and the problem would need to be addressed again in the fall. The Board agreed they were okay with buying the water from Easton Suburban unless something needs to be done to the rough spots now.

Police Chief

· Fretz said Thursday evening he participated in a safety presentation at the Highlands of Glenmoor. Fretz said the police department received a $300 check from the Highlands group to be used toward the Junior Cadet Camp at the community center.

· Fretz had one personnel item for executive session. Supervisor Lammi suggested Chief Fretz consolidate and eliminate all the backup information in the department monthly report he provides to the Board. The Board agreed to just have the overview sheets included in the monthly report.

Supervisors

· Smith said the Connie Mack League recently requested use of a school district field at the Kunkle tract. Smith said we received a $469 bill from the school district for use of the field. Smith said he thought he remembered when this Board approved the Kunkle tract that we waived the recreation fees for the school district which allowed us use of the fields without being charged. Smith said documents were provided that confirmed what he remembered but before he contacted someone at the school district he wanted to run it by this Board. The Board members agreed that was what was originally agreed to with the school district.

· Lammi said he sent a letter to the Environmental Steering Committee thanking them for their participation in the ecycling event. Lammi said at the last meeting he estimated 75,000 pounds were collected but it was actually 64,000 pounds. 2,400 items were collected with 541 vehicles coming through the drop off area, and 546 pounds of batteries were collected. Lammi said overall it was a good event.

· Colver thanked Chief Fretz, Commissioner Grube, and Barry Albertson for attending the meeting at the Highlands of Glenmoor. Colver said there were about 150 people in attendance and it was a very good session.

· Panella said the annual Memorial Day services will be held Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. at the Memorial Shrine.

On motion by Panella, seconded by Mitchell, and agreed by all, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. with one real estate, one litigation, and one personnel item for executive session.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert G. Anckaitis

Township Manager