Present: EAC – Marlou Gregory (Chair), Ian Plant, Steve Frasch and Jerry O’Dell.
Board of Supervisors (BOS): Laurie Williams (BOS Liaison to EAC), Jim Morrisson and Lee Ledbetter.
Open Space Commission liaison to EAC: Linda Hartman
Meeting called to order at 8:00pm.
EAC Meeting Summary: The meeting summary of the previous September meeting was read and approved.
Announcements:
Linda Hartman was introduced as the new liaison representative from the Open Space Commission; She explained that her remit initially was to focus primarily on Valley Park issues, and that this could expand as further open space parcels are acquired.
Mrs. Gregory announced that retiring Supervisor Lee Ledbetter is to be honored by the twp at the forthcoming Founder’s Day.
Mrs. Gregory advertised a forthcoming Green Home Tour event being held by Delaware Valley Green Building Council on Saturday December 5 from 10am to 2pm. Details are available at
http://www.dvgbc.org/education/view/green-home-tour.
Public Participation: Nil
New Business: Nil
Open Space Commission Update: Mr. Plant indicated that he had attended the recent OSC meeting and given a presentation on the potential for a twp trail linking Oaks to Valley Forge Park. Outstanding Action: Mr. Plant to participate in a OSC organized trail walk through the Thompson tract on a date to be arranged by the twp manager.
Clean Energy: Mr. Ledbetter reported that the wind energy industry is currently booming, to the extent that they are running out of technically qualified personnel to enable further growth. Consequently, a scheme is being developed to encourage suitable training at appropriate technical schools whereby a windmill could be donated to schools that provide training, and that such a proposal may be forthcoming from the technical school on Charlestown Road which may require some ordinances to be looked at to see if they are compatible with the recent development of wind turbines. Mr. Ledbetter indicated that he is due to discuss the matter further with the school.
Grants: Mrs. Gregory outlined a forthcoming grant opportunity under the PECO Open Space Program as part of the Green Region Program. Bids are due by 15 Jan 2010. It was agreed that it was likely that some of the potential activities associated with development of Valley Park could qualify for assistance under the grant program. Mrs. Gregory indicated that she will pass details to the initial Valley Park Management meeting. Outstanding Action: Mr. White undertook to investigate what grant resources could be tapped for support to produce a combined management plan for Pickering Preserve, Valley Park and the Twp Building tract.
Old Business:
Trails: Mr. Plant reported that he had held a meeting with Michael Hott of Chester County GIS Dept, who had explained that the twp currently had some unused GIS task hours available within the current year budget. It had been agreed that Mr. Hott would utilize some of these hours to produce a trails overlay to add to the suite of GIS overlays utilized in twp EAC meetings. Outstanding Action: Mr. Plant agreed to discuss the East Pikeland and Phoenixville Borough French Creek trail developments with Mrs. Cohen and also look elsewhere to discover if any formal plans exist from which a course of action for Schuylkill Twp could be determined. Mr. Plant to seek to develop an overlay addition that can identify which lot parcels contain approved trail easements
Rails-to-Trails (RTT): No activity reported.
Toonerville Trolley Trail (TTT): Mrs. Gregory indicated that in light of Mr. Plant’s anticipated absence, she would attend the next TTT coordinating meeting on 10 November. Outstanding Actions: Mr. Plant to confirm exactly where the trail should be in the peripheral areas of the Fernleigh and VFW developments and then address action to remove overgrowth and blockages through the Twp Manager. Mr. Plant to investigate development of a common sign to be erected to indicate trail locations within the twp, with a design consistent with the twp ‘historical site’ sign. Mr. Plant to attend future TTT meetings.
Operation Safe Kids/Rte 29 Sidewalk: No activity reported.
American Ink & Coatings: Mr. Plant indicated that he had made initial enquiries at the alongside National Christian Conference Centre to determine their interest in the proposed trail and discovered that it is likely to be significant. He now has the contact details of the manager to speak with, to determine whether a link to their internal trail network would be viable. Outstanding Action: Mr. Plant to generate a feasibility study proposal by Feb 2010 to determine whether a trail link from VFP to the Schuylkill River Trail at Oaks could be constructed, possibly using funding from next year’s EGGS program, once he has determined whether the land owners (Valley Forge Park and Norfolk & Southern Rail) and other stakeholders would be supportive of the proposal. Mr Plant to share his observations regarding trail potential with the Historical Commission.
Environmental Overlay: Mr. Plant reported that the overlay was being passed to the Twp Engineer for review, principally to determine whether his comments from the last draft he saw had now been adequately addressed, and to gain his opinion as to whether the proposed ordinance was likely to be workable in practice. It was anticipated that the review will be complete by late November and that a discussion on his findings will be held early December, with the overlay being ready to be presented to the BOS in February 2010.
Pickering Preserve: Mr. O’Dell reported that he had checked on the state of new trees within the Preserve and that they appeared to be in good health, but noted that some of the ones planted on the Levin property on Pothouse Road were in need of treewrap. Noting that this was an ongoing maintenance burden and that getting volunteers to undertake such tasks was increasingly difficult, it was considered that future plans to plant trees or other such things with ongoing maintenance requirements should include a budget for these activites when proposed, and that this should be a learning point for the Valley Park Management Plan task force when formed. Separately, it was noted that despite Mrs. Williams asking for opportunity to raise the issue in previous BOS meetings, no action had yet occurred to place deed restrictions or conservation easements upon the parcels containing either PP, the twp building or Valley Park. During discussion, it became apparent that a number of easements upon twp properties are held by organizations including the Natural Lands Trust, the French and Pickering Creeks Trust and the Horseshoe Trail Association, but that no comprehensive picture exists of what and where these are. It was agreed that the twp needs an inventory of twp easements, covering conservation and trails, to be compiled on GIS. Mr. Plant stated that during his recent meeting with Mr. Hott regarding GIS trails overlays, he had enquired whether it was possible to compile a trail easements overlay and been informed that Chester County does not hold the information. Mr. Ledbetter explained that only recent housing developments had included trail easements within their approvals process, and that information on these was available within the twp building, whilst the majority of the other easements were held by the organizations mentioned earlier who should be able to furnish us with details of what they hold. As an initial attempt to begin to gather the information, Mrs. Gregory undertook to ask for details of the French and Pickering Creeks Trust easement holdings within the twp. Mr. Morrisson undertook to craft a motion for the BOS to approve action for the twp solicitor to identify a suitable holding organization and to then create conservation easements and deed restrictions to apply to the three properties. Outstanding Actions: Mr. O’Dell to liaise with the Roadmaster to schedule cutting back of invasive species that have overgrown the area of backfill soil beside the car park.
Deer Hunting on Pickering Preserve – No activity reported.
Valley Park: Mrs. Gregory reported that she had enquired as to the status of the letter that was supposed to have been sent to residents whose properties bordered the park, to inform them of the change in ownership and restrictions to use of the land, including access for ATVs and hunting, and that the twp supervisor had suggested that she should draft it. The Supervisors present indicated that it was not Mrs. Gregory’s responsibility to draft the letter and Mrs. Williams undertook to pursue the issue with the twp manager to ensure that a letter was sent. Mr. Morrisson advised that although the recommendation of the EAC to allow the Whitetail Association to hunt in the park was not agreed at the last BOS meeting, the issue was to be raised again at the next BOS meeting and a further vote taken. Mrs. Gregory indicated that she is keen to get started with all party discussions on formulation of a management plan for the park. Mr. Ledbetter suggested that as an initial step, liaison representatives from the OSC and the Historical Commission should meet with EAC representatives to establish each group’s responsibilities and proposed timescales for action, and present an outline plan to the BOS. Mrs. Hartman agreed to ask the OSC to nominate a representative for the Management Plan task force.
Brake Ordinance – It was noted that recent correspondence from a twp resident has prompted further debate regarding the issue of this ordinance which has not yet been approved and does not currently have the support of the Chief of Police. It was also believed that approval to introduce the ordinance may be required from PennDoT, and that to reduce the noise problem, an alternative may need to be pursued, such as prosecuting offenders under the nuisance ordinances.
Northern Federation’s Development of a Regional Park and Recreation Strategic Plan (RPRSP): No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. Frasch to attend the next meeting of the Federation at which the RPRSP is discussed.
Lyme Disease: No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. White to discuss with Mrs. Williams a proposal to publicize the Lyme Disease public health risk, via an information page on the local public service cable tv channel.
Township Web Site: No activity reported. Outstanding Actions: Mr. Plant to generate a set of suitable MWO reference links for addition to the twp website. Mr. White to gather opinion about web site development from other twp bodies such as the Planning and Historical Commissions, investigate what could be done to meet any proposed improvements, and if appropriate, propose suitable budgetary input for the 2010 twp budget.
Whitehorse Road Bridge: No activity reported.
NPDES Permit: No activity reported.
SALDO Tree List – No activity reported.
Old Schuylkill Elementary School (Environmental Showcase Plan): No activity reported.
Treevitalize: No activity reported.
EAC Budget: No activity reported.
Developments:
Reeves Property – It was noted that the appeal that had been lodged regarding the request for information from PADEP had been denied and that the next opportunity for action would be when development permit applications are next submitted.
Pasquale Pond – Mr. Ledbetter reported that contrary to the information that he had previously provided, the bid document for the pond work had not yet been issued.
Valley Forge Meadows: No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. Kunz undertook to determine from the Twp Manager whether the documentation received is a formal application ready for review, and to request that an EIA and wetland delineation be provided.
Sue Ellen Masters Property (100 Ferry Lane) – No activity reported.
Ink and Coatings – No activity reported.
Phoenixville Middle School: No activity reported.
Miller Property – No activity reported.
Announcements: Nil.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:44pm.