Forks Township's Supervisors probably did not set a record for short meetings but they came close with this night's 45 minute session. The local papers did not report on it. In fact, they were not represented at the meeting at all. Absent also were Chairman David Hoff and Supervisor Bonnie Nicholas.
SUPERVISOR COMMENTS
Supervisor Miller reported that of the two Forks football teams that made the championship rounds last weekend, the peewee team lost to Palmer and the midget team beat Palmer. "So we have a championship midget football team this year," he said. Miller also said that basketball sign-ups are just about over and that there will be 25 teams. Practice starts this weekend.
TREASURER'S REPORT - Secretary/Treasurer Howell detailed the debits (cash paid out) since the last Supervisors meeting. The debits and transfers were approved with a 3:0 vote.
Standing Committee Reports (meetings are open to the public - see the Township calendar for dates and times)
- Public Works - Supervisor Ackerman - said that the committee met two weeks ago and discussed ongoing projects - including Newlins Road and the traffic light at Meco. Of the Meco/Sullivan light Ackerman added that "not everything is ready to go yet." Ackerman also said that leaf pick-up continues and that the leaves are still falling and may be down by next weekend.
- Parks & Recreation - Supervisor Miller - no committee report - see Supervisor Comments above for the park sports/activities news.
- Community Relations - Supervisor Howell - no report
TOWNSHIP MANAGER'S REPORT - Schnaedter - said that he provided the Board with a written report. He had nothing to add to it.
Supervisor Howell said that the Board received a letter from Suburban EMS that listed the monies owed (to Suburban) by Forks EMS at approximately $19,000. Howell explained that Hoff requested this information at the Public Safety Committee meeting last week. Howell added that either at the next Public Safety meeting or the next Board of Supervisors meeting there may be an answer as to when this amount will be paid.
ENGINEER'S REPORT - Hay - agenda items only.
SOLICITOR'S REPORT - Kline - informed the Board that the Letter of Credit (LC) for the Sullivan Trail Business Park (property is on southeast corner of Uhler Road and Sullivan Trail) expires on November 24th and that there is a large amount of work still to be done - $150,000 worth of items. Hay agreed with Kline that the best path is to give them another 6 months to complete the work. Kline said that if, by November 19th, the LC is not extended, he requests permission from the Board to draw on the LC (before the 24th expiration date). The Board voted 3:0 to authorize drawing on the LC if necessary.
Zoning Officer Weis said that there were two bid openings this week (the computer IT system and the interactive display system) and that the bids are being reviewed by staff. A report will be made to the Board.
Supervisor Howell asked if a demolition date has been set for the house on Newlins/Richmond. DPW Director Roberts said that there is a small amount of asbestos in the basement and the DEP has requested more detail. He expects an answer in 15 days.
COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC (NOT AGENDA ITEMS) - Dominic Pettinelli of Marigold Drive expressed his gratitude to the Forks EMS, the Forks Police Department, and to Suburban EMS for the successful at-home delivery of his son John Dominic (Jack) on September 6th.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Resolution for (6) Street Lights & Resolution for (3) Street Lights / The Preserve Development - Hay recommended that the Board pass both resolutions as everything is "ready to go." The Board did that with a 3:0 vote.
Ordinance #307 - Realty Transfer Tax - Kline explained that this ordinance is to authorize the PA Department of Revenue to collect Forks' share of the Realty Transfer Tax (RTT) in instances when the State finds that the value of property has been misrepresented. The 2% RTT is shared as follows: 1/2 goes to the State, and the other half is split evenly between the school district and the local municipality. The ordinance was properly advertised. This passed with a 3:0 vote.
NEW BUSINESS
Resolution for (6) Street Lights / Riverview Estates Phase 3a - Hay explained that this applies to the single family homes north of Winchester and south of Newlins East (from Broadway to Iron Lane). This passed with a 3:0 vote.
Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority - Wastewater Flow Monitoring & Inflow/Infiltration Study Agreement - Hay told the Board that this was previously approved and Kline said that everything is in order. The study is to find out how much groundwater is going into the sewer line/system - because treating storm water reduces the plant's available capacity. It passed with a 3:0 vote.
Patriot Village Subdivision - Developers' Agreements - Kline said that all was in order - the executed agreement, the letter of credit, and the certificate of insurance. This passed with a 3:0 vote. The developers can now draw on building permits.
Authorize Advertisement / Board Vacancies - (2) Planning Commission, (2) Zoning Hearing Board, (2) Recreations Board, (1) Vacancy Board - The Board agreed (3:0) to advertise the openings and set the close of business on December 17th as the application deadline. The vacancies will be advertised in both the Express Times and the Morning Call. The deadline allows time for interviews prior to the last BoS meeting of the year. The new Supervisors will be invited to attend so that they are "up to speed" when they vote to fill the positions at the BoS re-organization meeting in January.
Forks Community Recreation Center - Employee Rate Schedule - Miller said that the township recognizes the benefits of exercise and good health for its employees and proposed that the sign-up fee for (new members only) employees and volunteers be waived and that they pay the same rates as Township residents for use of the Community Center. This passed with a 3:0 vote.
Weyerhaeuser Site Plan - Fort James III - Steve Pany, engineer for JG Petrucci presented the preliminary land development plan to the Board. Pany said that this is the first for the site and that it (lot 17) is a 30 acre parcel. There will be 12 acres of outside storage and 25 employees (to start.) The number of employees may double "if business is good." Pany said that although most of the company's products will be brought in by rail (3 boxcars and some flatcars), there will be 10 trailer loads of plywood delivered by truck per day and they expect to ship out 25 tractor trailer loads of products per day to retail vendors. This is strictly a wholesale company. The 100,000 square foot warehouse building will be sprinklered. They will store their own fleet of 25 trailers onsite (half of them under a canopy.) The township water quality ordinance will be used in the site's stormwater management plan. There will be one detention basin onsite and several infiltration basins around the perimeter of the site for volume control. Lot 17 (Weyerhaeuser) will be responsible for the maintenance of the emergency access road on lot 17. There will be added fire hydrants - per the fire marshal's comments. The products that will be brought in, stored, and shipped out are truss joists, glue laminated lumber, and micro-laminated lumber - all for residential construction. There will be some cutting (of product) done on the site. The periphery will be open for a small emergency vehicle. Kline stated that the Planning Commission recommended conditional preliminary plan approval based on Keystone's letter of 11/2/07, the fire chief's review letter, and a plan note specifying that the lot owners are responsible for emergency access road (west to Kesslersville Road) maintenance. The road to lot #1 will be constructed to public street standards. The lot owners are also responsible for snow plowing and debris removal. The Board approved the preliminary land development with a 3:0 vote.
Public Works - 5 Year Plan - Ackerman made a motion to accept the plan (that the Supervisors received in their packets). Howell said that the plan detailed a $1 million five year capital equipment replacement schedule and he did not consider it to be a 5 year plan. He said that there was no mention of projects, organization, staffing, and there was no review of buildings and grounds. Ackerman said that the rest "will be coming" at the next meeting. Howell said that he thought it should be discussed all at once because 5 year plans should be discussed as a whole. He said he didn't want to approve over $1 million for capital equipment when the plan for the whole department is not complete. Howell also said that with two members of the Board absent, he would not vote on a partial plan. Ackerman withdrew his motion and said that he will have the complete 5 year plan ready for the next Board meeting. It was tabled until the December 6th meeting with a 3:0 vote.
Riverview Estates Phases III & IV - Revised Phasing Plan - Hay said that the residents of Riverview in the area between Winchester, Newlins, and Broadway want their roads paved. This is just to move the line on the plan so that it can happen. The vote to approve was 3:0.
The Preserve - Revised Phasing Plan - Hay said that this was just moving the line on the plan so that all the roads south of Heather Lane can be paved. Phase I includes the pond on Heather Lane and Heather Lane is the construction entrance for Phase II. Zoning Officer Weis added that Old Mill Road will be open all the way through! It was approved 3:0.
Tentative Adoption of 2008 Budget - The tentative budget was adopted in a 3:0 vote. It will now be on the township website for residents to see. Final approval is planned for the December 20th meeting. Had the tentative budget not been approved this night, it would have to wait until the December 6th meeting, and then it would have to be advertised for 20 days. Also, it would not be on the website until after it received tentative approval. It would then be adopted at a special meeting of the Board - after Christmas.
Fort James III - Indemnification Agreement - Kline said that the developer wants to begin the infrastructure improvements and that everything is in order - the indemnification agreement is signed, the money for the escrow account is posted, and the certificate of insurance has been received. This passed with a 3:0 vote.
There was no Executive Session and the meeting was adjourned.
Our objective is to relate what is experienced at Forks Township meetings for those who cannot attend. We are attempting to be as factual as we can. If we make a mistake, tell us via email or COMMENT here in the blog, and we will do our best to correct it. We are not perfect. We want to get it right.
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