The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors, held in the Township building, was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Chairman Kenneth Miller; others in attendance were Supervisors Zoe Perkins and Karl Brachwitz, Manager Allen Heist, and Solicitor Allan Greenwood.
Township Park excavating and seeding - Four bids were received and opened, with results as follows:
| Phase 1 only* | Phase 2 only** | Phases 1 & 2 | ||
| 1) | Edward McGinn General Contractors,
Inc. West Chester, PA |
$322,000.00 | $26,500.00 | $348,500.00 |
| 2) | J.A. Taddei Corporation Broomall, PA |
168,000.00 | 168,000.00 | 331,000.00 |
| 3) | Bedrock Construction Inc. Lafayette Hill, PA |
119,000.00 | 146,000.00 | 265,000.00 |
| 4) | Greenway Services, Inc. Horsham, PA |
134,534.00 | 79,908.00 | 214,442.00 |
| * | Phase 1 - Grading and seeding of soccer fields and baseball field | |||
| ** | Phase 2 - Parking lots, access road, paved play area, trails | |||
Camphill Village Kimberton Hills has again this year made a $2,000 donation to the Township in lieu of taxes.
East Coventry Township, in a letter dated August 7, has requested a mutual aid agreement with West Vincent Twp. for a wood chipper, which they are considering for purchase and our boom mower. After some deliberation, the Board agreed not to enter into this agreement, since the need for both pieces of machinery would be at about the same times for each township.
PennDOT has reminded the Township of their Highway Turnback Program which is made available each year. An annual maintenance payment would be made to the Township at $2,500/linear mile, as well as payment for any rehabilitative work needed to assure that the road is in satisfactory condition. Manager Heist was requested to determine if there is a breakdown for a township to do winter maintenance only (ice and snow removal). A decision will be made at the next meeting.
Brown - Unanimous approval was granted for a 30-day extension of review time with a motion from Mrs. Perkins and a second from Mr. Brachwitz.
Exxon - With a motion from Mr. Brachwitz and a second from Mrs. Perkins, the Board acknowledged receipt of a land development plan for the site of the former Loomis gas station at Rts. 100 and 401. The plan shows access from Rt. 401, Rt. 100, and Birchrun Road, with 2,656 sq. ft. of building proposed. Plans will be sent out for review.
Fraley - The only outstanding item for this subdivision is a review of the Driveway Access Easement and the Declaration of Covenants, to be done by Planning Solicitor Fronefield Crawford. Mrs. Perkins motioned for final approval of the Fraley subdivision subject to Mr. Crawford's review of these items; it was seconded by Mr. Brachwitz and carried unanimously.
SHEEDER MILL - In an effort to proceed with this re-subdivision, Mr. Siana brought in revised plans showing a phased proposal. Phase 1: As-built location of Hunt Hill Road, showing re-location of the cul-de-sac; Phase 2: Increase of one additional lot from the approved plan, which will require a variance from the Zoning Hearing Board. After a short discussion, Mr. Brachwitz made a motion to grant final approval to Phase 1 only; it was seconded by Mr. Miller and the motion carried unanimously.
OLD RIDGE FARM - Manager Heist reviewed the history of this subdivision, submitted by William Seltzer, which was approved December 26, 1990 with 6 conditions. This subdivision was never recorded. According to a letter from Steve Difrancesco of Hunter, Reed and Company, Inc., who represents the present owners of the entire original 12-lot subdivision, Mr. and Mrs. Neff "would like to maintain this subdivision in its present 'approved but undeveloped' condition for an indefinite period of time . . . so long as this is legally permissible and feasible." A letter of opinion was requested from Fronefield Crawford, the Township Planning Solicitor. Several questions were raised in the letter, which was discussed at the August Planning Commission meeting, although no one representing the Neffs was present at the meeting. One of the questions is whether the subdivision is "dead or alive" since it has been almost 8 years since approval and still is unrecorded. Board members decided not to take action until the Neffs or a representative can attend a meeting to discuss their plans for the use of the land. An invitation to attend the next meeting will be offered.
MATTHEWS MEADOWS - Two escrow releases were granted approval with a motion from Mr. Brachwitz and a second from Mrs. Perkins:
Beginning Monday, August 31, the Board of Supervisors work sessions which have been held on Friday afternoons at 3:00 will be scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on the first, third, and fifth (when applicable) Monday of each month (except for September 7, which is Labor Day; that meeting will be on September 8). These sessions will take place in the meeting room at the Township building. Mrs. Perkins pointed out that 2 motions had been passed at the August 14 work session: 1) To award the bid to move the traffic signal pole at Rts. 100 and 401 to the lowest bidder and 2) to award the bid for repairs to basin #2 at St. Stephen's Greene to Pickering Valley Contractors at $47,265.30. Although the Board tries not to conduct official business at these meetings, members felt that both these actions were justified.
Dust control has been requested on several gravel roads that have not been treated with Pennzsuppress. Manager Heist reported seeing an ad in the Township News magazine for Dustkill, a soybean oil product being used for dust control and stabilizing of the road. In figuring the cost, it seems to be just a little less expensive than the Pennzsuppress we have been using, which was approximately $8,000/mile total cost (including grading prior to application). Approval was given to try Dustkill for a total of one mile on Bartlett Lane and Jaine Lane, since Pennzsuppress has been used on other sections of those roads.
Mrs. Perkins requested update on several items: 1) Hidden Pond stormwater management - Manager Heist is waiting for a response to a letter he sent to Bryn Mawr Trust Company; 2) St. Stephen's Greene basin #2 - on the agenda for an executive session after this meeting; 3) purchase of the Evans farm for the Township building site - Solicitor Greenwood is waiting for a response to his letter to the Evanses.
Mr. Brachwitz warned attendees that Ron Gaffey, who lives next to the Township building, was robbed of over $2,000 worth of equipment, which was taken from his garage.
David Kusner had several items of business: 1) Since at the combined meeting on August 25 there will be no opportunity for comments from the floor, Mr. Kusner brought up the topic of changing the acreage required for horses from 2 acres/horse to 2 acres for first horse and then 1 acre for each additional. He wondered if the amount of "usable land" would be compared with pasture acreage. The Board will consider this as it comes up at a combined meeting. 2) A conditional use application will be received shortly for a commercial horse stable near the Censers' residence. The topic of "usable land" was again used in reference to this use. Board members made him aware that they cannot determine anything of this nature before an application is received. 3) While Mr. Kusner is generally pleased with the adoption of the Township well ordinance, he is now concerned about reports that radium is being found in water supplies in New Jersey and wanted the Board to be on guard since more development is on its way.
Mr. Brachwitz made a motion to approve the bills list dated August 24, 1998; it was seconded by Mrs. Perkins and carried unanimously.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m., after which a scheduled executive session was held.
Respectfully submitted,