MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISOR
SCHUYLKILL TOWNSHIP, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
MEETING DATE: January 4, 2010

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
Barbara Cohen, Chair; Norman Vutz, Vice-Chair, Jim Morrisson, Fred Parry, Laurie Williams

Also present: 
Mary Bird, Township Manager; William Brennan, Township Solicitor, Mr. John Sartor, Township Engineer; Rick Beittel, Jr., Fire Chief; Nick Cinciripino, Roadmaster; Jim Fetterman, Chief of Police; Jim Shaughnessy, Recycling Coordinator; Madeline Harbison, Township Secretary.

CALL TO ORDER

The public meeting was called to order by Mrs. Cohen at 7:45PM immediately upon the closing of the reorganization meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  

Mrs. Cohen invited Schuylkill Township residents to attend a play entitled “From Out the Fiery Furnace” being presented by the National Park Service Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site on February 9, 2010 at the Schuylkill River Heritage Center.

Mrs. Williams let the Board know that Corporal Crabtree sent a gracious note thanking the Board for their commendation at the December 4, 2009 Board meeting.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:   

There were no items brought to the Board’s attention.

Motion to Approve Consent Agenda Format for the year 2010.  Mrs. Cohen made a motion for the continued use of the Consent Agenda format for Board of Supervisors meetings during the year 2010.

Motion Vote: The motion passed 5-0-0.

CONSENT AGENDA      

  • Approval of Board of Supervisors’ Minutes of December 2, 2009 Regular Board of Supervisors Meeting and Minutes of December 16, 2009 Budget Meeting.
  • Approval of Treasurer’s Report for Period Ending December 31, 2009
  • Approval of Payment of Township Bills for Period Ending December 31, 2009
  • Acceptance of Department, Committee, Commission and Council Reports as posted and received by the Board of Supervisors for the month of December 2009.

Motion to approve Consent Agenda:  Mrs. Williams made a motion to approve the consent agenda.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Morrisson. 

Motion Vote: The motion passed 5-0-0.

BOARD DISCUSSION ITEMS

  • Old Business
    • Toonerville Trolley Trail – Phase I Update.  Mrs. Cohen gave a brief update on her meeting with the YMCA and Gilmore & Associates regarding the trail easement(s) needed through the YMCA property for the Toonerville Trolley Trail.  The objective of the Trail Task Force for 2010, Mrs. Cohen went on to say, is to get all the planning work done and in place so that the implementation monies needed may be sought in 2011.

      • Mr. Parry inquired as to the cost of the trail.  Mrs. Cohen responded that the cost of the preliminary work to be done by Gilmore & Associates had been budgeted.

      Mrs. Williams commented that she had walked the proposed trail route with Mr. Sartor looking for existing trails and said that Gilmore & Associates has done an excellent job in the preliminary siting of the trail to join with trails already in the vicinity.

      Mr. Walter Frasch asked what was the purpose of the trail.  Mrs. Cohen replied that the Township hoped to eventually provide a contiguous link for its residents to the Schuylkill River Trail.  Mr. Morrisson added that this is part of the trail system included in the Township’s Comprehensive Plan which, in turn, is part of the overall Master Plan for the Township.  Mr. Parry commented that the trail plans would need to be scrutinized for accessibility.  A resident added that without sidewalks in most of the Township, the trails are the only safe routes for pedestrian traffic and she heartily supported linking as many of the separate trails systems already in place in the Township

  • New Business
    • Opening of Bids for Advertised 2007 Ford Crown Victoria Police Car.
      • Robert Crabtree, Phoenixville, PA................. $ 3,010.00
      • Friends Auto Sales, Inc,, Island Lake, IL....... $ 4,670.00
      • Bay Ridge Motors, Inc., Staten Island, NY..... $ 4,268.00
      • Police Car Store, LLC, Bala Cynwyd, PA..... $ 4,801.00
      • Grace Quality Used Cars, Inc., Morrisville, PA.................
        $ 4,346.00
      • Motion.   A motion to accept the $4,801.00 bid from the Police Car Store, LLC, Bala Cynwyd, PA was made by Mrs. Cohen and seconded by Mr. Vutz.
      • Motion Vote.  The motion passed 5-0-0.
    • Legal Matters.

      • Mr. Brennan updated the Board members on the following Township legal matters:

      • Pulte – A $35,000.00 settlement agreement has been received; Mr. Brennan would like to review at the February Board meeting.
      • Levin – Mr. Brennan briefly recapped the case for Mr. Perry and mentioned that three (3) procedural orders have been received from the courts in favor of Schuylkill Township.
      • City Switch – Mr. Brennan requested this be discussed in executive session as he would like to go over some legal strategies with the Board.
      • Higby – A non-jury trial has been scheduled February 17 - 19 before Judge Griffith.
      • Reeves – Oral arguments were held several weeks ago; waiting for the results.

        • A resident questioned Mr. Brennan on the Potters Pond [Higby] case regarding the course of action open to the Township should a court decision made in favor of Schuylkill be appealed by the developer.  Mr. Brennan responded that, barring any unforeseen caveat put in place by the courts, once a favorable decision for Schuylkill Township has been made, the Township has the right to move forward with the “punch list” items

  • Resolutions/Ordinances
    • There were no items for the Board’s attention
  • Subdivisions/Land Development
    • Motion to Approve Escrow Release #1 for the EDC Property – 1000 Township Line Road.
      • Motion.    Upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer, Gilmore & Associates, dated December 18, 2009, that the site improvements required in connection with the development plan of EDC Property Company, 1000 Township Line Road, have been completed to the extent that $85,842.00 may be released from Escrow, a motion was made by Mr. Parry for Escrow Release No. 1 in the amount of $85,842.00.  This release reduces the amount remaining in the escrow account to $280,298.91.  Mr. Morrisson seconded the motion.
      • Motion Vote.  The motion passed 5-0-0
    • Motion to Approve Escrow Release #3 for FCBP, Lot #1 – Pitter Patter Learning Center. 
      • Motion.    Upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer, Gilmore & Associates, dated December 17, 2009, that the site improvements required in connection with the development plan of FCBP Lot 1 Pitter Patter, have been completed to the extent that $9,000.00 may be released from Escrow, a motion was made by Mr. Morrisson for Escrow Release No. 3 in the amount of $9,000.00.  This release reduces the amount remaining in the escrow account to $253,019.59.  Mr. Parry seconded the motion.
      • Motion Vote.  The motion passed 5-0-0
    • Additional Business
      • There were no items for the Board’s attention.

    At 8:15 PM the public meeting was suspended and an executive session convened.  Supervisors present were Mrs. Cohen, Mr. Morrisson, Mr. Parry, Mr. Vutz and Mrs. Williams.  Also present were Mrs. Bird, Township Manager and Mr. Brennan, Township Solicitor.

    The public meeting was reconvened at 9:30 PM.  Mr. Brennan reported that matters discussed in executive session were litigation and compensation matters.

    Mrs. Williams addressed the Board regarding the Phoenixville Area School District’s (PASD) middle school building project and asked that they consider waiving the Township’s permit/building fees for the PASD middle school.  Mrs. Bird responded that as no actual “building” was being done within the Schuylkill Township boundaries, there would be no permit fees to waive.  Mrs. Bird did say that she felt the PASD should pay the engineering review fees required for that portion of the project within the Township rather than the Township residents assuming that burden.  No action was taken by the Board on this matter.

    Mrs. Williams brought up a complaint made by Mr. Gary Jenkins, 110 Russell Road, regarding the anti-skid mix used by the Township on the roads.  Mr. Jenkins felt the mix was too abrasive and caused a puncture to his bicycle tire.  Mrs. Bird updated the Board on this issue; letting them know that the anti-skid mix used within Schuylkill Township is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and is the same mix used within all neighboring municipalities.  Mrs. Bird further explained that the pieces within the mix that Mr. Jenkins assumed were glass were actually the road salt contained within the grit.  Mrs. Williams thanked the Township Manager and the Roadmaster for their research of the mix used by the Township and for their succinct memo informing the Board of the results of that research.  Mrs. Williams asked the Township Manager to share the memo with Mr. Jenkins.

    ADJOURNMENT

    At 9:35 PM, a motion was made by Mr. Parry to adjourn the meeting.  Mrs. Cohen seconded the motion. 
    The motion passed 5-0-0.

    Next Regular Board of Supervisors’ Meeting:  February 3, 2010, 7:30 PM

    Respectfully submitted,



    Madeline M. Harbison
    Township Secretary