PALMER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING

DECEMBER 7, 2009

 

      A general business meeting of the Palmer Township Board of Supervisors was held on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Palmer Library with four Supervisors in attendance:  Dave Colver, Bob Lammi, Mike Mitchell and Bob Smith.  Ann-Marie Panella was absent.  Also in attendance were the Planning Director, Public Services Director, Police Chief and Township Solicitor.  The Township Manager was absent.  Chairman Colver convened the meeting and led those present in the Pledge to the Flag. 

 

2.   APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS DECEMBER 7, 2009

 

      INFORMATION

 

      The report will be provided at the meeting.

 

      DISCUSSION

 

      On motion by Smith, seconded by Mitchell, and agreed by all, the Board approved the disbursement of funds for December 7, 2009.

 

3.   APPROVAL OF MINUTES – NOVEMBER 24, 2009

 

      DISCUSSION

 

      On motion by Smith, seconded by Mitchell, and agreed by all, the Board approved the minutes of November 24, 2009.

                 

4.   WOODRIDGE FALLS FINAL PLAN

 

      INFORMATION       

 

      The Board needs to approve/disapprove the final plan.

           

      DISCUSSION

     

      Bruno said he circulated a letter this afternoon to the Board with respect to some outstanding items related to recreation, traffic, and storm water issues.  Bruno said at the last Board of Supervisors meeting we discussed having the plan reviewed tonight with two other matters scheduled for public hearings on December 29; the zoning amendment request and a conditional use application.

 

      Jim Preston – Attorney, Don Frederickson and Dominic Colangelo from Finelli Engineering, Steve Santola - Counsel for Woodmont Properties and Abe Atiyeh the Applicant were in attendance.  Preston said they were here before and the plan was deferred to this evening.  Preston said it was felt the plan approval could be approved prior to the zoning hearing and conditional use hearing scheduled for December 29.  Preston said we are looking to have a final approval prior to the December 29th date.  Preston said the outstanding issues that remain are storm water drainage on 25th Street – when we last met there was need for clarification by the engineers.  Preston said we are proposing a certain dollar amount that we feel would be sufficient in the 25th Street area to cover contingencies of the scope of those improvements.  Colver asked if there were any significant changes since the last two or three times the Board saw the plan.  Frederickson said it all stayed the same.  Colver asked if there were any issues related to the November 6th Township Engineer letter.  Preston said they were okay with the letter.  Colver asked Ron Gawlik from Pidcock Engineering if there were any issues from Pidcock’s stand point.  Gawlik said other than the offsite detention basin there are none.  Lammi asked Frederickson to review the waivers on the plan with the Board.  Frederickson reviewed the waiver requests and said the five acre pond will be dedicated to Palmer Township.

 

      Bruno asked if anyone could elaborate on the offsite storm water issue.  Frederickson said they are working on the final number.  Gawlik said they have been discussing the issue with the applicant’s design engineer team.  Gawlik said their initial concept was an overly large box culvert at the sum of $400,000+.  Gawlik said we suggested a modification and it is now a revised box culvert at an approximate cost of $315,000.  Gawlik said we again had discussions about being able to reduce the size yet again, but the final details and cost estimate has not been finalized.  Colver asked what condition all the pipes are in that are coming from all the directions into this area.  Frederickson said you can access them and it is partially stone culvert with 30 to 50 years worth of repairs.  Frederickson said it has withstood the test of time and it is currently under size which caused some flooding in past large storms.  Frederickson said the pipe that was pulled out of the ground in a previous large storm will be fixed with our detention pond.  Gawlik said we are working out the details of the size of the culvert.  Santola said we feel that the $304,000/$308,000 area is where we are hoping to be.  It appears it will come in a bit lower than that – so that would be able to be achieved.  Colver said there are some Recreation Board members here tonight to discuss another topic but since they are here tonight could we review the recreation area on the plan.  Preston said there are two acres of property for recreation dedication and we also propose a $50,000 contribution toward recreation.  Frederickson said there will be a private clubhouse with a swimming pool for the community.  Atiyeh said their preference for the two acres would be to serve the immediate neighborhood of Palmer Township.  Santola said our clubhouse includes a full gym, recreation room, yoga room, etc.  Colver said there has to be some consideration on what you are doing as far as walking paths, clubhouse, etc.  Lammi asked Frederickson to review the storm water management for the development only, not the regional detention basin.  Frederickson reviewed the on-site storm water management plan.  Gawlik confirmed that the pond manages both the on-site storm water and the area storm water. 

 

      Bruno confirmed that he received a letter from Attorney Preston today regarding a request for a waiver of recreation fees, proposal related to traffic and storm water improvements at the intersection of 25th Street and Lieberman.  Preston said that is correct.  Bruno said on the plan the recreation area shows as an easement.  Bruno confirmed that it is intended for public use. Preston said correct.  Bruno confirmed they are proposing a $50,000 recreation fee on the two acre parcel.  Preston said correct.  Bruno clarified the letter states the applicant would secure and construct storm water drainage improvements with a “not to exceed” cost of $317,000.  Preston said correct.  Bruno said what if it is higher than $317,000.  Preston said it is a not to exceed figure.  Bruno said he would like to point out to the Board if it exceeds that amount there would be a dilemma.  Atiyeh said they feel the number is only going to get better.  Colver said it sounds like we need to quantify the off site storm water and the recreation fee.  Lammi said the whole financial thing needs to be worked out and there are so many pieces involved.  Lammi said we also need to keep in mind the zoning map changes that are needed.  Lammi said as far as the plan is concerned - he has no problem.  Lammi said we still have a lot to work on from a financial analysis standpoint.  Lammi said we typically do not waive recreation fees.  Preston said we need to spend some time understanding the financial end because maybe we are asking for relief on one area but there will be more money in other areas.  The Board agreed to put the plan back on the December 21st agenda so the applicant can provide answers to the outstanding questions talked about tonight.  Lammi made a motion to table the item until the December 21, 2009 Board of Supervisors meeting.  The motion was seconded by Smith, and agreed by all four supervisors in attendance.

 

5.   TOWER ONE PROPOSED LOCATION DISCUSSION

 

      INFORMATION       

 

      Representatives from Tower One will be in attendance with proposed tower locations.  The Board needs to approve/disapprove the locations.

 

      DISCUSSION

 

      Larry Romanowski and Nick Pullen from Tower One were in attendance.  Colver said representatives from Tower One have been here three or four times in the past discussing possible tower locations.  Bruno said he has the agreement but he wasn’t aware we would be taking action tonight.  Romanowski said when we met three weeks ago we talked about four possible sites and we have now narrowed them down to two sites; the recycling center on Hartley Avenue and the yard waste facility off of Berks Street.  Romanowski distributed exhibits to the Board for the Hartley Avenue and the yard waste center locations.  Romanowski reviewed the plans with the Board.  Romanowski said the Hartley Avenue proposal does include the new land acquisition that the township is looking to purchase.  Colver asked when the poles would go up.  Romanowski said most likely in the spring.  Romanowski said once we have a viable tenant it takes about four months.  Lammi asked if it needs to be put right where they are showing it on the plan.  Romanowski said no – it can be moved.  The Board asked the Public Services Director to share with Tower One a plan of possible future expansion on the site to ensure proper location of the tower.  Bruno asked if they have enough to move forward without the exact location on the property being worked out.  Romanowski said they did.  The Board agreed it is a good site for the tower.

 

      Romanowski said at the yard waste facility we located the pole outside the existing yard waste facility compound along the existing drive.  Colver said some day we hope to own everything in this area and have a regional park but we don’t own all the parcels yet.  Romanowski said they will look into it in more detail with Tom Adams to make sure all the parcels are owned by the township where the tower will be located.

 

      Colver said the Board is in agreement of the two locations and they can go and market the sites.  Bruno said he will get them a letter noting they can move forward and market the sites.  Carman noted the yard waste facility is zoned residential and may not allow this type of use.  Bruno said the township is exempt from the zoning requirements.  Bruno said we are never going to develop residential areas at either of these locations.

 

      Smith made a motion to approve the general location of the towers with the understanding that specific sight locations on the properties would be confirmed at a later date with lease execution, and conditioned upon all zoning issues being resolved.  The motion was seconded by Lammi, and agreed by four.

 

6.      RECREATION BOARD DISCUSSION

 

      INFORMATION       

 

      The Recreation Board has asked to attend the meeting to discuss increases in fees and setting up background check accounts.

 

      DISCUSSION

 

      Marc Knox, Bill Webb, Cheryl Nielsen and Jim Worley were present from the Recreation Board.  Knox said they had three items to discuss.  Knox said the Athletic Association (AA) wants to raise the registration fees to $50 per participant beginning with the baseball/softball season in 2010.  Knox said the Recreation Board would like to ask that the 2-2-2 committee be re-established and that we take $15 of the $50 fee and put it in a separate fund for paying the background check fees and then using the money for future capital improvements.  Knox said the 2-2-2 committee would be tasked with managing that fund and make sure the money is put to the best use.  Bruno asked who receives the funds now.  Knox said the registration money goes through the community center.  Knox said $25 goes to the AA and the community center gets $5.  Knox said the current registration fee is $30.  Colver said with the fee increase to $50, $15 would go into the capital project fund and $5 would go to the community center, leaving $30 to the AA.  Bruno asked who would manage the account with the $15 for capital improvements.  Bill Webb said it would be managed by the 2-2-2 committee that consists of two members of the AA, two members of the Recreation Board, and two Township Supervisors.  Colver asked how many signups we get in one year.  Knox said about 1700.  Jeff Young said the AA does some of their own fundraising that would also be used for capital projects.  Lammi said in 2008 there was $52,000 collected in registration fees.  Bruno said a capital improvement implies improvements made to township owned property.  Bruno said any money generated should be controlled by Palmer Township.  Bruno said the 2-2-2 committee can be a recommending body on how money can be spent but the township still needs to authorize the spending.  Bruno said if the committee is in charge of spending the money the two Board members could be out-voted four to two.  Bruno added ultimate approval should come from the Board of Supervisors.  Young said he would like the 2-2-2 committee to make recommendations to the Recreation Board before it comes to the Board of Supervisors.  Colver said he feels the members of the 2-2-2 committee should have to go back to their groups with updates – you don’t want to keep having meetings back and forth.

 

      Smith said the AA went to the Recreation Board regarding background checks and then they came to the Board of Supervisors with a proposal.  Smith asked if the township pays the background check fees - does the township own the background check process.  Lammi said he feels the background check process should be a top priority and the AA should pay for those fees.  Once the background checks are paid for then we can start up the $15 fund for capital projects.  Bruno said the township would be writing the check to the AA and the AA would pay the background check service.  Young said he was unaware that the AA came to ask for the increase in fees.  Lammi said the Township Manager can set up an account to hold the money.  Young said he feels it is important to go back to the AA so they understand they have ownership.  Knox said when new members come on board we want to make sure a system has been established for them to follow.

 

      Knox said the Recreation Board is looking for some direction.  We went through the AA bylaws as requested by the AA president.  Knox said the Recreation Board is a big portion of what the AA does.  We are looking for more clarification from the Board of Supervisors to relay to the AA.  Knox said the AA needs to understand that the Recreation Board runs the township programs.  Jim Worley said the question is - are the programs the townships or are the programs the AA’s.  Jim said he feels the AA doesn’t understand the responsibility they have to the Recreation Board and the township.  Lammi said the existing township ordinance states the Recreation Board manages the recreation programs – it’s pretty clear.

     

      Knox asked if the Board of Supervisors has any other recommendation for them to get involved in.  Smith said he feels the biggest responsibility of the Recreation Board is to evaluate all the future development in the township.  Smith said he would like the Recreation Board to look at future developments and give this Board more input from a recreation aspect.  Smith said another thing he would like to see is quarterly updates that he could bring to the Board of Supervisors.  Lammi asked how often the 2-2-2 committee will meet.  Young said it was set-up to meet quarterly.  Smith said that would be a big help.  Knox said as new presidents and new members came on board things changed and we got away from the committee.  Lammi said maybe the 2-2-2 needs to be made more formal by being included in the township ordinance.  Smith added the Recreation Board is also going to have to think about changes being made in sports – like the same sport playing more than just one season.

 

      Bruno recommended the AA be given the same opportunity to hear tonight’s conversation before a motion is made to designate the $50 fee.  Colver said when the AA was here requesting the increase the increase was due to covering the background check fees.  Young said now the funds are going to be inside the township which wasn’t discussed with the AA before.  Lammi suggested the Recreation Board go back to the AA with tonight’s discussion.  Knox and Smith said they will attend their meeting Thursday night. 

 

      Nielsen asked if both the summer playground and the new summer camp program will run in 2010.  Colver said we left both in the budget for 2010.  Colver said we agreed to let both programs run for one year to see what happens since it is believed to address two different groups of kids.

 

7.   PUBLIC COMMENT

 

      None

     

8.   REPORTS

       

      Solicitor

·        Bruno reviewed the Remaley Industrial Park plan with the Board.  Bruno said back when the plan was created it proposed Lot 3 and a Berkley Street that would connect to a previously proposed subdivision.  Bruno said the Township Engineer looked into this and it goes back to when the property to the south was subdivided and there is no reason for it to go further.  Bruno said he sent the owner and developer of the property a letter last Friday suggesting minor changes to the subdivision improvements agreement.  Bruno said he met with the tax assessment office last Friday and received parcel identification numbers for the three lots.  Bruno said the improvements agreement is in a form acceptable provided the agreement of sale and concepts discussed tonight are acceptable.  Bruno said he has no final purchase agreement tonight and because of time constraints on an anticipated closing date being prior to your next meeting he would recommend approving the revised preliminary/final subdivision plan for the three lot subdivision conditioned on: the developer signing the subdivision improvements agreement acceptable to the township; developer sign agreement of sale, that the plan note the proposed road know as Berkley Street be extinguished upon recording of the plan; and the plan be recorded simultaneously with the subdivision improvements agreement. 

 

Lammi, made a motion to approve the revised preliminary/final subdivision plan for the three lot subdivision conditioned on: the developer signing the subdivision improvements agreement acceptable to the township; developer sign agreement of sale; that the plan note the proposed road know as Berkley Street be extinguished upon recording of the plan; and the plan be recorded simultaneously with the subdivision improvements agreement.  The motion was seconded by Smith, and agreed by four.

 

Mitchell made a motion to authorize the Chairman to sign the subdivision improvements agreement conditioned upon the developer signing the agreement and Lot 3 being extinguished from the plan.  The motion was seconded by Smith and agreed by four.

 

Mitchell made a motion to authorize the Chairman to sign the agreement of sale authorizing the township to purchase the land in the amount of $869,526.  The motion was seconded by Lammi.  Bruno asked to amend the motion to include that the agreement be to the satisfaction of the Township Solicitor.  Mitchell amended his motion, Lammi seconded the motion, and it was agreed by four. 

 

·        Bruno said he received the IDI decision today from the Commonwealth court.  Bruno distributed the opinion to the Board to review.  Bruno said the decision is affirming the trial courts decision upholding the conditions of Lower Nazareth. 

·        Bruno had one real estate and two litigation items for executive session.  Bruno recommended a motion be made to go into executive session rather than adjourn the meeting should further action be needed after the executive session. 

     

      Planning Director

·        Carman said there was miscommunication with the developer of Villages of Mill Race regarding the street lights.  Met Ed was waiting for information from the developer and the developer said he didn’t know the township passed the resolution accepting the streets.  Carman said they hope to get the lights working in the next week.

 

      Public Services Director

·        Adams said the paving was completed at Fox Run.  Colver asked Adams to make sure the Road Superintendent gets the development on the schedule for plowing now that the roads are done.

·        Adams said the Public Services Department will start their last run through the township for leaf pickup on December 14th.

     

      Police Chief

·        Fretz said they made it through the annual bonfire again this year without incident.  Fretz said the kids were well mannered.

 

      Supervisors

·        Lammi said John Balas attended the last two or three ESC meetings and he indicated he would like to join the committee.  On motion by Lammi, seconded by Smith, and agreed by all, the Board appointed John Balas to the Environmental Steering Committee.

·        Colver had one real estate item for executive session.

 

      On motion by Smith, seconded by Mitchell, and agreed by all, the Board adjourned into executive session at 9:25 p.m. to discuss two real estate and two litigation items.

 

      After Executive Session the Board reconvened the public meeting and the following motions were made by Lammi, seconded by Smith, and approved by four:

 

Motion to authorize the Solicitor to make a demand and/or claim against Lexon Insurance Company for the amount necessary to complete unfinished public improvements in the Chrin Commerce Center due to the bonding company’s failure to issue an extension of the existing bond subject to the demand being rescinded in the event the extension is received prior to December 13, 2009.

 

Motion to authorize the Solicitor to make a demand and/or claim against United States Surety Company for the amount necessary to complete unfinished public improvements in Parkview Estates Phase 5 due to the bonding company’s failure to issue an extension of the existing bond subject to the demand being rescinded in the event the extension is received prior to December 18, 2009.

 

Motion to authorize the Solicitor to make a demand and/or claim against United States Surety Company for the amount necessary to complete unfinished public improvements in the Parkview Estates Phase 6 due to the bonding company’s failure to issue an extension of the existing bond subject to the demand being rescinded in the event the extension is received prior to December 10, 2009.

 

Mitchell made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:40 p.m.; it was seconded by Smith, and approved by four.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Robert G. Anckaitis

Township Manager