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The regular meeting of the West Vincent Township Board of Supervisors was held on the above date at the Township Building. Chairman Kenneth Miller called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m.; others in attendance were Supervisor Zoë Perkins and Township Manager Allen Heist. Minutes: Unanimous approval was granted for minutes of June 4, 11, 18, and 25 upon a motion from Mrs. Perkins and second from Mr. Miller.
Reports: Treasurer’s Report – The following June 30, 2001 account balances were reported: General Fund, $203,935.71; State Fund, $97,163.81; Kimberton Sewer Fund, $38,944.30; Township Building Loan Fund, $715,219.88; St. Stephens Greene Sewer Fund, $23,291.19; St. Stephens Greene Water Fund, $23,732.55. Police Report – Police Chief Karl Jones reported that the Police Department responded to 70 calls in June; the State Police handled 37 additional calls. The Department investigated one residential burglary, one attempted theft, four minor accidents, several incidents of illegal dumping along Beaver Hill Road and Horseshoe Trail, and several bear sightings in the area of Routes 401 and 100; a stolen truck was recovered.
Supervisor Karl Brachwitz and Township Solicitor Allan Greenwood arrived at 7:39 p.m. and 7:43 p.m. respectively.
Peter Berthold, Project Manager for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Engineer Joseph Riley of Ammann and Whitney, and Con/Span Manufacturing Representative Richard Tate were present to report on the status of the South Chester Springs Road Bridge replacement project. The 21’ wide stone masonry arch bridge partially collapsed November 17, 1999 due to a storm event and the remaining bridge section was removed. The new 26’ bridge will consist of a Con/Span precast concrete arch system with stone facing, rustic guiderail, and timber posts. Completion of the design and permitting phase is planned for late Fall or early Winter 2001; construction is projected to begin Spring 2002 and completed Summer 2002. The estimated cost of the project is $400,000. Residents Jeanne Dufour O’Brien, Larry Shontz, Hanno Spranger, and Jane Gaffer questioned the wider bridge span since it ties into a 17’ to 18’ wide roadway (current PennDOT design standards designate 26’ as the minimum criteria for the road classification), signage, and speed limit concerns. Mr. Berthold will look into the signage and speed limit issues and respond to Manager Heist.
Correspondence: Manager Heist advised the Board of satisfactory final reports received on the audits of the Magisterial District Court 15-3-01 and Berkheimer Tax Administrator for the year ended December 31, 2000.
Notification was received from PennDOT informing of the road-widening project scheduled for Route 401 between Route 100 and Route 345 starting in July 2002.
Philadelphia Suburban Water Company submitted its annual 2000 Consumer Confidence Report summarizing the quality of water PSW provided their customers; PSW has a franchise area in the Township.
The Board regretfully accepted resignations from Craig Hannafin, EAC Chairperson and Pamela Shillingford-Brown, EAC Vice-Chairperson. Craig will be relocating to Boston in the near future; Pam, a founding member of the EAC, no longer has the necessary time due to work and personal obligations. Both women will be missed immensely!
Subdivision/Land Development/Zoning: Richard Guarini and Eileen Golden of The Hankin Group, and Elizabeth Witmer, Esquire were present to review the draft Weatherstone Preliminary Plan approval conditions. Ms. Witmer read Conditions 1-6 and 8-17, which are uncontested, into the record. The applicant requested that Condition 18, pertaining to receipt of the Sewage Facility Planning Module and Part II permit approval by DEP and Condition 19, pertaining to receipt of all required road occupancy and traffic signal permits from PennDOT conclude with the phrase “……..prior to final plan approval”; the Board concurred.
A lengthy discussion ensued regarding Condition 7, which pertains to the conversion of the connector road from a two-way road to a one-way bypass road, specifically design and who will pay for the conversion. Both parties agreed to the following revision of Condition 7: “An extra ten (10) feet of right-of-way shall be added to the Route 100 connector road along the Zarichniak property (tax parcel #25-7-5.1) line from road marker RWC-83 and extending 11 degrees 59’51” for approximately 612 feet to the Birchrun Road right of way resulting in the connector road right-of-way being in substantial part sixty (60) feet in width. Developer shall provide a concept plan sketch regarding the conversion of the connector road from a two-way road to a one-way bypass road, it being understood that the concept sketch shall be limited in scope to matters related to the landscape barrier and to the conversion of the space that shall result should the said barrier be removed. The parties shall work together in an effort to reach agreement regarding the same. It is understood that both the Township and the developer reserve the right to take differing positions regarding the question of who shall be responsible for payment for the cost of conversion, as described above, under the terms of the Conditional Use Decision of the Board of Supervisors of 5-27-99.”
Mr. Brachwitz moved to approve the written form of the motion (attached) submitted to the Board of Supervisors prior to the meeting with substantial changes in Condition 7 as described above and the addition of “prior to final plan approval” in Conditions 18 and 19; the motion was seconded by Mrs. Perkins and carried unanimously. Mr. Miller and Mr. Guarini initialed and dated the changes and the Hankin Subdivision - Weatherstone Preliminary Plan Motion of Approval dated 7-9-01 was signed by the Board and Richard Guarini, accepting on behalf of West Vincent Associates, Ltd.
Jane Vasile voiced her concern that the conversion issues were not addressed during the Conditional Use Hearings and Decision Order and resents, as a taxpayer, the potential responsibility for any costs relating to the conversion.
Regarding the possible groundwater mounding elevations for the middle lagoon of the Weatherstone spray irrigation system, the applicant would like to leave the design as is and install a french drain along the topside of the lagoon to intercept any groundwater mounding. DEP recommends that the issue be addressed as part of the Water Quality Management Part II permit application preparation process. The Township Engineer will review possible solutions.
The Board unanimously acknowledged receipt of a preliminary/final subdivision plan for the Water H. and Betty L.G. Dunning property, 2057 Conestoga Road (tax parcel #25-10-14), for two lots on 15.633 acres in the R3 Zoning District upon a motion from Mr. Brachwitz and second from Mrs. Perkins. Mrs. Perkins asked if the Final Subdivision Plan of Oakengates restricted this lot against further subdivision; the issue is being investigated by the Township Engineer and Zoning Officer.
Old Business: A Regional Planning/Zoning Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 12th at the Phoenixville Borough Hall Council Chambers Room to explore the partnership of regional planning using Phoenixville as the urban center; Mrs. Perkins, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Heist plan to attend.
Manager Heist reported working on obtaining a building design consultant list; a consultant will be contracted to re-evaluate and modify the Township Building Project Plans for the Evans property within budget requirements.
Mrs. Perkins requested an executive session immediately following the regular meeting to discuss real estate matters pertaining to Ludwigs Corner.
Bills List: Mr. Brachwitz made a motion to pay the bills on the Bills List dated July 9, 2001; it was seconded by Mrs. Perkins and carried unanimously.
There being no further business, Mr. Brachwitz moved that the meeting be adjourned; the motion was seconded by Mrs. Perkins and the meeting was adjourned at 9:38 p.m.
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