HARRIS TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Meeting Minutes April 11, 2016

Transcription

1 HARRIS TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Meeting Minutes April 11, 2016 Board Members in Attendance: Staff in Attendance: Public in Attendance: Dennis Hameister, Chairman Bruce Lord Nigel Wilson Charles Graham Frank Harden Amy Farkas, Township Manager Todd Shea, Zoning Officer Mark Boeckel, Senior Planner Debbie Lang, Administrative Secretary Van Winter, Boalsburg Fire Chief Chad Stafford, PennTerra Engineering Joleen Hindman, West Penn Power Gert Aron, Boalsburg Village Conservancy Mike Herr Mary Herr Jeff Fisher Jeremy Hartley, Centre Daily Times Len Rockey Nancy Rockey Tina Mueller Mike Mueller Ron Kreidler Ann Kreidler CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Hameister called the April 11, 2016 regular meeting of the Harris Township Board of Supervisors to order at 7:32 PM. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Supervisor Wilson moved to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2016 regular meeting. Supervisor Graham seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as submitted. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS: There were no citizens present to discuss items that were not on the agenda. Page 1 of 11

2 4. TOWNSHIP BUSINESS: a. PRESENTATION OF CHECK FROM WEST PENN POWER FOR THE BLACKSMITH PROJECT: Ms. Farkas introduced Ms. Joleen Hindman from West Penn Power who was present to present a $500 donation for the Blacksmith Shop project. Gert Aron, representing the Boalsburg Village Conservancy, was also present. Ms. Hindman explained the Blacksmith Shop restoration met the First Energy initiatives and therefore, she was pleased to present the check to Mr. Aron towards this restoration project. Mr. Aron thanked Ms. Hindman for the donation. b. PROCLAMATION HONORING MIKE THE MAILMAN HERR ON HIS RETIREMENT: Chairman Hameister and the Township recognized Linden Hall resident Mike The Mailman Herr on his retirement from the US Postal Service. Mr. Herr spent most of his career working at the post office on Penn State s campus. Chairman Hameister presented Mr. Herr with a proclamation congratulating Mr. Herr on his retirement. Mr. Herr thanked the Township for this proclamation. c. BOALSBURG INVESTMENT GROUP LOT 1R PHASE 1 FINAL SUBDIVISION PLAN: Mr. Shea said on March 31, 2016, Harris Township received the above referenced plan, which proposes to create a smaller Industrial Park lot and officially create Lot 15, one of four new lots proposed by the previously approved preliminary plan. Lot 15 is in the General Industrial zoning district. A review of the plan has been completed and a few comments must be addressed, but they are not expected to take much time or be difficult to address. Copies of the review comments and a plan sheet were included with the agenda. Chairman Hameister said when all the trees are planted in this subdivision, it will be very nice. Mr. Stafford said he is confident all the issues of the Zoning Office, Township Engineer and Senior Planner can be addressed without any problems. He said he will schedule a meeting with Mr. Shea and/or Mr. Boeckel to make sure everyone is one the same page with the changes. Supervisor Graham moved to approve the Boalsburg Investment Group Lot 1R Phase 1 Final Subdivision Plan contingent upon satisfactory completion of the comments from the April 5, 2016 letters of the Township Engineer and Zoning Officer and the April 6, 2016 memo of the Senior Planner. Vice Chairman Lord seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. d. PROPOSED ORDINANCE 325: AMENDING THE SETBACK REGULATIONS FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES UNDER AN ACRE IN THE AGRICULTURAL ZONING DISTRICT: Page 2 of 11

3 Ms. Farkas said at last month s meeting, the Board forwarded a request from Dave Glicini and Jane Teeple to rezone their property at 1902 Bayletts Lane to R-1 to the Planning Commission. The property is 0.62 acres in size and contains a single family home. It is currently zoned Agricultural. The property owners would like to add a garage, but are unable to meet the setbacks for the Agricultural Zoning District. At the March meeting, Staff discussed a simpler route with the Board - amending the Agricultural Zoning District regulations to provide that the setbacks for lots that are less than 1 acre in size would follow the setbacks for the R-1 Zoning District. This would make the setbacks 20 feet in the front on local and collector streets, 8 feet on the side and 30 feet in the rear. This amendment would affect about 20 properties that are zoned Agricultural but are less than 1 acre in size. The Board asked the Planning Commission to consider this when they discussed the rezoning request. The Planning Commission concurred with Staff and suggested that an ordinance amending the Agricultural regulations be prepared. Proposed Ordinance 325 was included in the Board s packet. If the Board is comfortable with the ordinance as written, the Board should schedule a public hearing and possible adoption for May 9 th Chairman Hameister asked where these other nineteen properties were. Mr. Boeckel said they are scattered throughout the Agricultural zoning district and some are on Brush Valley Road and some are in Shingletown. In response to a question from Chairman Hameister, Ms. Farkas said Staff has not heard from any of the other nineteen property owners regarding this change. Supervisor Harden moved to schedule a public hearing and possible adoption for May 9 th. Supervisor Wilson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. e. PROPOSED ORDINANCE 323: WIRELESS FACILITIES: Ms. Farkas said the Township adopted its communications tower ordinance in In the ensuing years, the wireless industry has exploded and is currently serving over 350 million people in the United States. The facilities that are being installed, however, are not only traditional cell towers. New facilities are smaller, more targeted, and more numerous than cell towers. Distributed antenna systems (DAS) and data collection units (DCU s), for example, are often placed along the public rights-of-way on new and existing utility poles. In residential subdivisions in which utilities are underground, for example, these mini-cell towers are highly visible and are being installed essentially on residents front lawns. Concurrent with these changes in wireless technology have been major changes in wireless facilities law at both the federal and state levels. For example, the FCC issued an important ruling on wireless facilities siting which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 in the case of Arlington, Virginia v. FCC. The FCC has also issued at least three Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM s) in the past two years. Meanwhile, there have been new state laws Page 3 of 11

4 addressing wireless facilities, including the PA State Legislature s enactment of the Wireless Broadband Colocation Act in November Most current municipal wireless ordinances do not address these new technologies or new regulations. As such, they will not protect residential neighborhoods when companies attempt to install mini-cell towers on residents front lawns. Most likely these ordinances also fail to address wireless facilities in the public rights-of-way or the deployment of new collocated antennas. The Board asked the Planning Commission to draft a wireless facilities ordinance as part of its 2016 Work Plan. A draft ordinance, which regulates both Tower-Based wireless facilities that are located inside and outside the right of way and Non Tower-Based wireless facilities that are located inside and outside of the right of the way is included in the packet. Ms. Farkas showed the Supervisors a power point that explains the ordinance in greater detail. The Planning Commission reviewed this ordinance at their March meeting and recommended that it be referred to the Board of Supervisors for action. If the Board is comfortable with the ordinance as presented, a public hearing should be scheduled for May. Supervisor Lord asked if what we see does not have stealth technology. Ms. Farkas said that was correct. Mr. Shea noted a utility must obtain a right of way permit, not a zoning permit. Vice Chairman Lord also asked if the six foot height requirement for non-tower based facilities inside the right of way was a total of six feet or an additional six feet. Ms. Farkas said it would be an additional six feet. Vice Chairman Lord asked if these towers could be in someone s yard and Ms. Farkas they could and the utility would have to get an easement from the property owner. Chairman Hameister asked what determines need. Ms. Farkas said need is specified in the ordinance. Supervisor Harden asked about the retention of experts. He said the ordinance states once approved, we can bill for services. He wondered what happens if the request is not approved and if we could still bill the applicant. Ms. Farkas said she will ask our Solicitor about this. Supervisor Graham asked about the height of 200 feet in section Ms. Farkas said this is for large cell towers. Mr. Shea said this requirement is the same as the current ordinance. Chairman Hameister asked if the other managers in the area have seen this proposed ordinance. Ms. Farkas said the adjacent municipalities all have ordinances and are all very similar to this one. Supervisor Graham moved to set the public hearing and possible adoption for May 9 th. Vice Chairman Lord seconded the motion which passed unanimously. f. BOALSBURG SMALL AREA PLAN: Mr. Boeckel said in October 2013, the authorized the creation of a small area plan for the Boalsburg area. A Steering Committee comprised of residents, property owners, business owners and other stakeholders was appointed to prepare a Page 4 of 11

5 small area plan that establishes a long-range vision to guide the future growth and development of the Boalsburg area. Additional citizen volunteers were appointed to various subcommittees that worked on developing the small area plan's contents. Over the past two years, the Steering Committee and related subcommittees met diligently to study and consider Boalsburg's future. The draft small area plan, which was completed in August 2015, contains a vision statement for the Boalsburg area, along with goals and actions that if implemented, can help the community achieve the plan's vision. At the September 23, 2015 Board of Supervisors meeting, the Steering Committee presented the draft small area plan to the Board of Supervisors and were asked by the Board to hold a series of open houses to obtain feedback from the public. Throughout the month of February 2016, the Boalsburg Small Area Plan Steering Committee held a total of four open houses in order to obtain feedback on the Small Area Plan and its contents. Approximately 50 residents, property owners and business owners attended the open houses, many of which provided either verbal or written feedback. This feedback was reviewed by the Small Area Plan Steering Committee on March 31, Feedback related to the plan was overwhelmingly positive and no changes to the contents of the plan were proposed. A final draft version of the plan, which is included with the agenda, has been prepared for review by the Board of Supervisors. Prior to taking formal action on the small area plan, the Board of Supervisors should receive the plan and refer it to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation. Chairman Hameister said Mr. Boeckel and the Committee did a very good job with this project and thanked them for all their hard work on it. Supervisor Graham moved to refer the Boalsburg Small Area Plan Final Draft to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation. Supervisor Harden seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. g. PROPOSED ORDINANCE 324: ADOPTING THE TOWNSHIP S CODIFIED ORDINANCES: Ms. Farkas said a public hearing was held on this matter earlier in the evening. Proposed Ordinance 324 adopts the codification for the Township. The codification incorporates all of our ordinances and amendments into one seamless document. Once our codification is adopted, the code of ordinances will be placed on the Township s website. Residents will also be able to access our ordinances through General Code s mobile application. Yearly updates will be made to the codified ordinances to keep them current. Chairman Hameister asked how this document would be indexed. Ms. Farkas said the document would be keyword searchable. Vice Chairman Lord asked about the amendments and said the Page 5 of 11

6 common theme was violations and penalties. Ms. Farkas said these changes were made to adjust for the length of time since they were last updated. Vice Chairman Lord moved to adopt Ordinance 324, the Township s Codified Ordinances. Supervisor Wilson seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. h. COG PRIORITIES: Ms. Farkas said at its March 28, 2016 meeting, the General Forum agreed to use the following approach to continue discussions on the five priority questions that were posed to each COG Committee, Authority, and Board that receives their funding through the COG: Receive the Committee/Authority/Board priority memos at the March 28, 2016 General Forum meeting. The municipalities identify questions that they may have regarding the Committee/Authority/Board comments and bring those questions to the April 25, 2016 General Forum meeting. At these municipal meetings, the elected members of the respective Committee/Authority/Board should help to respond to questions asked by their Authority/Board/Council governing bodies. At its April 25, 2016 meeting, the General Forum refers the questions to the appropriate Committee/Authority/Board for a response. The Committee/Authority/Board considers the questions from the municipalities and prepares a response. At the May 23, 2016 General Forum meeting, each Committee/Authority/Board Chair presents an overview of the initial comments and the responses to the questions that were asked by the municipalities. In accordance with the approach, the General Forum unanimously approved the following motion in reference to the five priority questions that were posed to each of the COG Committees, the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority and the Schlow Library Board of Trustees: That the General Forum refer the eight Committee/Authority/Board priorities memos to the municipalities for discussion, with any municipal comments or questions being referred back to the COG by April 21, 2016 for inclusion in the General Forum agenda packet for its April 25, 2016 meeting. Chairman Hameister said the Public Services & Environmental Committee discussed allocating funding for the fiber optic study and said if funding is allocated for this project and other committees also request funding for what they feel are priorities, the contingency fund would be depleted. Supervisor Graham said none of the other committees were requesting funds. Page 6 of 11

7 The Supervisors discussed allocation of time and resources now that they have these comments from the various committees and felt this is the missing piece. Supervisor Graham said Mr. Steff will probably prepare all the comments and put them in the program plan. Chairman Hameister asked where this thing goes now that all these comments are together. Supervisor Harden said the Transportation and Land Use Committee did break down time, staffing, etc. Vice Chairman Lord said it would be the same as the Small Area Plan in that it is a vision. He said he would like to see something in writing as to what is going to happen next in this process. Ms. Farkas said she will forward these comments on to Mr. Steff. i. RESOLUTION 16-08: AMENDING AND RESTATING THE TOWNSHIP S RETIREMENT PLAN Ms. Farkas said as part of the state s audit of our pension plan, they asked that the Board of Supervisors to re-adopt our retirement plan. Two amendments are also needed to the plan. The first amendment pertains to contributions and will make the plan consistent with our accounting practices. It reads as follows: Section VI Contribution Provisions Harris Township employees who have worked one full year will be eligible to participate in the 401(a) plan; at this point, he or she will receive the plan-specified contribution amount for the year beginning the date that he or she was employed to the date of plan enrollment, which is the employee s one year anniversary. The second amendment provides an option for employees who are terminating their employment with the Township. Employees will have the option of depositing any unused vacation and sick time into their retirement plan, in accordance with the provisions in our personnel policy. Ms. Farkas said an employee who leaves with goodwill can deposit 10 percent or 10 days of unused vacation and sick time into their retirement plan, whichever is less. Supervisor Graham asked if other municipalities allow reimbursement of unused sick days. Ms. Farkas said she did not know the answer to that question. Supervisor Wilson said the school district gives their employees a flat rate for unused days. Supervisor Harden said putting all the time into a PTO (personal time off) bank would make this all cleaner. Supervisor Graham asked how many sick days an employee could accumulate. Ms. Farkas said it is an unlimited number. She said this was decided prior to the Township having short term disability insurance. Vice Chairman Lord moved to approve Resolution 16-08, amending and restating the Township s retirement plan. Supervisor Graham seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. j. REQUEST TO CLOSE EAST MAIN STREET TO HOLD A WINE WALK ON JUNE 17TH: Page 7 of 11

8 Ms. Farkas said Fran Fisher and Sons, Duffy s Tavern and Magnum Broadcasting are requesting the closure of East Main Street from the Diamond to Academy Street on June 17 th from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM for the first annual Wine Walk. The event will run from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM and will feature 14 wineries, 1 brewery and 2 food vendors. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Boalsburg Village Conservancy. The organizers are also requesting the use of the Boalsburg Fire Police on June 17 th from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM to assist with traffic control for the event. Chairman Hameister asked who would be monitoring the age limit. Ms. Farkas said she would check with Mr. Fisher on this. Vice Chairman Lord asked about the resident parking along this street. Ms. Farkas said it would be the same as it is for Memorial Day and the residents would be asked to move their vehicles from the street. Supervisor Graham moved to approve the closure of East Main Street from the Diamond to Academy Street on June 17 th from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM and the use of the Boalsburg Fire Police on the same day for the first annual Wine Walk. Supervisor Harden seconded the motion which passed unanimously. k. REQUEST FOR C-NET SPONSORSHIP: Ms. Farkas said the Elks Club will hold their Flag Day ceremony on June 14th at 6:00 PM at the Military Museum. They have asked if the Township would sponsor the airing of the program on C-Net. As a reminder, there is no direct cost to the Township to sponsor programs on C-Net. Our annual contribution is calculated over five years and is based on the number of programs we sponsor over that time period. Supervisor Harden moved to approve the sponsorship of the Elks Flag Day ceremony on C-Net. Chairman Hameister seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. l. BOALSBURG FIRE COMPANY REQUEST TO USE FIRE POLICE: Ms. Farkas said the Boalsburg Fire Company is requesting authorization to use the Alpha, Centre Hall and Port Matilda Fire Police to assist with traffic control at the Fire Company Parade on May 28 th and the People s Choice Arts Festival from July 14 th - 17 th. The Fire Company would also like to have approval to use members of the Centre County Fire Police Association as needed for additional assistance at these events. Supervisor Harden moved to approve the use of the Alpha, Centre Hall and Port Matilda Fire Police for traffic control for the Fire Company Parade and the People s Choice Arts Festival, and the use of the Centre County Fire Police Association as needed for additional assistance. Supervisor Graham seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Page 8 of 11

9 m. TRICK OR TREAT NIGHT: Ms. Farkas said the General Forum has asked each municipality to designate October 31 st from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM as Trick or Treat Night. Supervisor Graham moved to designate October 31 st from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM as Trick or Treat Night. Vice Chairman Lord seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. MANAGER S REPORT: Ms. Farkas said brush collection started today and leaf collection will begin on Monday, April 18 th. Supervisor Harden asked if because of the snow on Saturday, if the crew will make more than one trip around the Township to collect brush. Ms. Farkas said they would not. Ms. Farkas also said she would like to thank Ferguson Township and State College Borough for storing our excess salt. Chairman Hameister noted the refund from our health insurance cooperative and from the State College Police total more than $73,000. Ms. Farkas also said the Warner Boulevard detour started today. She said the lane has been completely removed so vehicles cannot travel past the signal. Vice Chairman Lord said he is interested in pursuing giving employees a break on their health insurance premiums due to the refund. Ms. Farkas said last year, the Supervisors approved a three month break on the insurance. She said she asked Ms. Sukhorukov, our Finance Assistant, to figure out how much that would be. There will be four employees eligible for this break and the total would be $5, Supervisor Graham asked if the remaining refund money would be put into a reserve fund. Ms. Farkas said it is usually put in the General Fund but we could put it in a reserve fund. Supervisor Graham asked if this amount could be used to help pay the premium and that way the employee would be paying less over the course of the year. He said he believed COG uses any refund to reduce the overall premium. Vice Chairman Lord moved to give employees who have family or employee and spouse coverage a three month break on their health insurance premium from May through the end of July. Supervisor Harden seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 6. APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS: Vice Chairman Lord moved to approve voucher transmittal sheet No , in the amount of $93, Supervisor Harden seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Supervisor Graham noted it probably cost more to process the check for PA One Call than it cost us for the service. Ms. Farkas said Ms. Sukhorukov has been working hard to get all of our accounts accessible to be paid on line. This will save us approximately $ Page 9 of 11

10 7. COG COMMITTEE REPORTS: Executive Committee: Chairman Hameister reported this group received an update on the transportation plan. They also discussed the IT study and the COG priorities. Human Resources Committee: Supervisor Wilson said this group did not meet. Finance Committee: Supervisor Graham reported this group will meet on Thursday, April 14 th at 8:30 AM and will discuss the CATA budget, the budget process and the format for the Capital Improvement Plan. Public Services and Environmental Committee: Chairman Hameister reported this group had a presentation from PSU on the letter they received from DEP regarding the beneficial reuse lines on campus and the permitting process. They also had a discussion with Cory Miller on options on the sewer permit issue and nutrient management. Ms. Farkas said a letter was received today from DEP stating we do not have a nutrient management problem. Chairman Hameister said they also had a discussion on the fiber optic subject. Ms. Farkas said the Manager s group had a presentation from Angel Hernandez on fiber optics and Mr. Hernandez is looking into this. Spring Creek Watershed Commission: Chairman Hameister said this group had a presentation from Todd Giddings on ground water in the Township. Transportation and Land Use (TLU) Committee/Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization (CCMPO) Coordinating Committee: Supervisor Harden reported the MPO will meet on the 20 th. This date was changed due to Election Day. The TLU met on April 4 th and this was a semi-annual joint meeting of the TLU and CRPC. The group discussed the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Program (CHIP). This was a review of what the purpose was and overview of the CHIP. They also received a review of the 2017 work projects and priorities. Staffing plans were also reviewed. There is still some work to do to complete the staffing numbers. The 2015 CRPC Annual Report was also presented at the meeting. The members are to review the annual report and make comments to Jim May or Marcella Bell by April 11, The final draft will be presented to the COG General Forum on April 25, Public Safety Committee: Vice Chairman Lord said the Committee sold the 25 year old ladder truck and took delivery of the new truck last month. He said unit 514 is being repaired from the I-99 accident. He said the Committee also discussed COG priorities. Parks Capital Committee: Vice Chairman Lord said this Committee did not meet. Boalsburg Heritage Museum Association: Supervisor Graham said the Museum purchased the Tannery House. He said this property was formerly part of the Haines plantation. He said the Museum will open in late April and the display will be old merchants of Harris Township. Page 10 of 11

11 Vice Chairman Lord asked if there are any plans for the house. Supervisor Graham said not at this time. He noted the house is currently being lived in. He said the Moses family was very generous with the price for this property. Supervisor Graham also said the Blacksmith Shop is under contract with Duerr/Visnovsky, who will have the work completed by Memorial Day. He said the windows in the shop are an issue and they are not sure if they can be restored. He asked Ms. Farkas how much money is in the account for this project and she said there is $27,015 in the account. She said the general appeal letter raised $17,000. She said when this work is done there will be a celebration to thank everyone. Small Area Plan Committee: Supervisor Graham said this Committee is almost over. He said the report from this Committee was well received. Supervisor Harden said he recently toured the UAJA plant and he has been stopped a couple times by constituents with volumetric billing questions. He asked about our representatives to this agency and asked if it was appropriate to ask them to come to a meeting and give them some direction on what the Township would like to see from UAJA. He suggested the Supervisors and Staff prepare some questions for the representatives and get some answers to these questions. Ms. Farkas said we certainly can ask Mr. McShea and Mr. Guss to come to a Board meeting to discuss these concerns. She suggested sending the questions to them ahead of time and then asking them to come to the Board meeting in May. The Supervisors were asked to send their questions to Ms. Farkas. She will contact Mr. McShea and Mr. Guss about attending the May meeting. 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Board convened to an executive session at 8:50 PM to discuss a personnel matter. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion by Vice Chairman Lord, second by Supervisor Harden, the meeting adjourned at 9:10 PM. The motion was approved unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Farkas, Township Secretary Page 11 of 11