Board of Commissioners
March 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes - 3 -
COLEBROOKDALE TOWNSHIP
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
MEETING MINUTES OF March 20, 2017
The regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Colebrookdale Township was held on the above date at the Township Building. President Todd Gamler called the meeting to order at 7:40 PM with all present joining in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
The following Commissioners were present: Todd Gamler (President), William Spade (Vice-President), Commissioner Daniel Ritter, Commissioner Linwood Bartman and Commissioner Rudy Rivera. Also present were Manager Cindy Conrad, Treasurer/Tax Collector Joan Herb, CEO Paul Labe, Road Master Michael Hillegas, Police Chief David Viola, Township Engineer John Sartor and Solicitor Jeffrey Karver.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Jay Clough, KCBA Architects and Greg Miller, Boyertown School District, addressed the Commissioners to discuss the BASD Jr. High West approval resolution, stormwater and land development agreements. The Commissioners asked about the parent drop-off location during construction. Mr. Clough explained what has been put in place to assure the safety of the students and where construction workers will park behind jersey barriers and fencing and enter the building. Workers and students will never mix. He noted the expected completion date of August of 2018.
Engineer Sartor pointed out that in working at the Boyertown High School the contractors were given, by ordinance, dispensation from the Board of Commissioner to work on weekends. This was brought up at the Jr. High meeting this week. Mr. Clough requested permission for double shift work on Saturdays and some Sundays at the Jr. High school. Sundays will mostly be indoor work. The concern of noise over the weekends was discussed and Mr. Clough said they will carefully abide by the ordinance.
Commissioner Bartman asked if the inspectors are on site on weekends will they get time and a half pay. Engineer Sartor said yes, that is the agreement at the High School and the School District is aware of it. There was a motion by Commissioner Ritter, seconded by Commissioner Rivera to authorized allowable weekend hours of construction at the Boyertown High School and Jr. High West, with 48-hours notice to Engineer Sartor for inspections. There was no public comment. Motion carried.
Chief Viola stated he has concerns about alarm calls during construction on weekends as there were quite a few at the High School. Mr. Clough said he will set the alarm on ‘test’ as he cannot completely disable it. He cannot guarantee there won’t be one or two that get through.
Solicitor Karver informed the Commissioners the Conditional Final Plan Approval Resolution No. 3-2-17, the Land Development Plan agreement and Storm Water, Operations and Maintenance agreement have all been prepared by his office to include some changes requested by the School District. They have all been signed by Dr. Faidley, however his signature needs to be notarized. The documents were given to Mr. Miller who will have them notarized and returned to the Township the next day.
There was a motion by Commissioner Spade, seconded by Commissioner Rivera to approve the Boyertown West Middle School Land Development Plan Improvements Agreement. There was no public comment. Motion carried.
There was a motion by Commissioner Spade, seconded by Commissioner Rivera to adopt Resolution No. 3-2-17 Boyertown West Middle School Land Development Plan Conditional Preliminary/Final Plan Approval. There was no public comment. Motion carried.
There was a motion by Commissioner Ritter, seconded by Commissioner Bartman to approve Boyertown West Middle School Storm Water Controls and Best Management Practice Operations and Maintenance Agreement. There was no public comment. Motion carried.
Mr. Clough thanked the Commissioners for the approvals and requested permission to begin work at the Jr. High school the next day, in light of the checks for all fees have been submitted, there is a building permit and all paperwork completed. With confirmation from Solicitor Karver the Board concurred work can begin tomorrow.
MINUTES
The March 6, 2017 Board of Commissioners work session and meeting minutes were presented to the Board for their review and approval. On a motion by Commissioner Spade, seconded by Commissioner Ritter, the March 6, 2017 Board of Commissioners work session and meeting minutes are approved. There was no public comment. Motion carried.
FINANCIAL REPORTS
Tax Collector/Treasure Joan Herb submitted the Treasurer’s Report for February 2017. There were no comments from the Board. President Gamler acknowledged submission of the Customer Balance Summary and Deposit Detail Report then read a list of the payment of bills from the following Township funds for approval.
General Fund Expense 3/20/17 $ 37,518.41
Payroll Expense 3/10/17 45,947.58
HRA Fund Expense 3/20/17 480.16
Recycling Fund Expense 3/20/17 1,000.00
Street Light Fund Expense 3/20/17 1,361.63
On a motion by Commissioner Ritter, seconded by Commissioner Spade, approval was given for the payment of the submitted bills. There was no public comment. Motion carried.
President Gamler acknowledged submission of the Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual General Fund statement. The statement was available to the public for review.
In reviewing the Customer Balance Summary Commissioner Ritter asked if Bechtelsville police contract money has been submitted. The Manager reported the second payment check was received today and the third is due soon.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Viola reported Aggressive Driver patrol starts today and the department will receive $1750. Seven officers will be participating.
Chief Viola submitted a list of patrol vehicles with ages and mileage noted along with new vehicle prices quoted for an unmarked car from Milham Ford. He noted the 2000 unmarked vehicle is running badly and he is most anxious to get a new unmarked car.
He asked for the Board’s intention concerning this. Commissioner Gamler asked where the prices were for a marked patrol vehicle. Chief Viola said he will look into that but really likes the unmarked car as a special unit. The Commissioners asked if Sargent Babb drives any other vehicles and is comfortable in them. Chief Viola said yes she can and is able to operate any of them.
Commissioner Gamler reported to the Chief that the contractor to repair the police department offices from the water damage is scheduled to begin the Monday after Easter, April 17th. Chief Viola asked Commissioner Spade if he could look at repairing exposed wires in one of the police offices. Moving desks around caused the wires to be exposed. He or the police secretary will escort him through the offices. Commissioner Spade said he would.
ROAD MASTER REPORT
The Road Master submitted his work detail reports for the weeks of 3/6, 3/13 & 3/20.
Road Master Hillegas reported that they are 70 tons shy of salt for this year. He asked if there were any complaints from the residents about the snow plowing that he should be aware of. Commissioner Gamler noted the number of compliments and one complaint on the social media page. Although there were some phone complaints the Board said the crew did a good job throughout the storm. Road Master said there were some mechanical issues and there were five crew plowing around the clock with four dump trucks, a pick-up and the tractor.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER’S REPORT
CEO Labe reported the one permit application was received for 253 Landis Lane.
CEO Labe submitted a list of fourteen sidewalk snow removal violation door hangers he attached to properties along N. Reading Avenue. The Manager reported that five have already been paid. Commissioner Bartman asked if the violation fines reset each new season because it seems easier for some to pay a $35 fine each year than pay to have it cleared. Solicitor Karver said the fines do not run cumulative for mowing or snow removal though the Ordinance can be changed to address this issue. It was discussed that the ordinance can state after the first fine and a specific amount of time, the Township will send out a contractor to clear the area and bill the owner. The Commissioners asked the Solicitor to look into changing the ordinance.
CEO Labe reported the owners of 472 S. Madison Street have not yet returned the Hold Harmless Agreement. The Commissioners discussed with the Solicitor how to proceed and it was decided CEO Labe will call or visit the owners one last time and inform them that if the signed, notarized agreement is not submitted by the end of business Friday, March 24th, the Township will move forward, not accept his submission and send a citation.
SEO REPORT
The SEO had nothing to report at this time.
SOLICITOR’S REPORT
Solicitor Karver submitted a copy of the letter he sent to the owners of 254 Henry Avenue along with a response from the owners concerning the noise violation created by their family riding dirt bikes and four wheelers around their property. The owner claims he had no notice of the problem prior to the Solicitor’s letter. He said he added a muffler to the bike, tested the noise level with commercial equipment and saw the levels exceed the limit by 8 decibels so told his son not to ride near the neighbor’s property line. He feels the four wheelers are not an issue.
Mr. Bloomfield, the neighbor complaining of the noise was in the audience and told the Board that due to the snow storm the child only rode the ATV. He saw the neighbor standing at the end of his, Mr. Bloomfield’s, driveway testing the noise and according to Mr. Bloomfield it is still as loud as ever.
Solicitor Karver’s letter to the offending property owner specified the Township’s process to enforce the Zoning Ordinance by the imposition of fines for the violation should the noise continue. It also stated that this course of action is only after polite efforts to resolve the problem fail.
Solicitor Karver submitted for the Commissioners information a letter addressing recent amendments to the Municipal Code. It concerns inspections of properties and issuance of Certificate of Use and Occupancy permits. The Solicitor feels this is not an issue for Colebrookdale Township at the present time.
ENGINEER’S REPORT
Engineer Sartor reported that John Aston emailed him for additional information concerning the Christel plan. There were no comments.
COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT – Nothing was discussed at this time.
MANAGER’S REPORT
Manager Conrad submitted a letter from the PMRS administrator with excess interest recommendations for approval. The new contract will add the DROP program and include the excess interest allocation. Based upon new requirements that were placed upon the PMRS by Act 56 of 2010, all defined benefit plans must now have documented in their contract with PMRS how excess interest is to be allocated in the future.
This excess interest allocation has been approved by the Board in the past. Once PMRS receives confirmation regarding the allocation of excess interest, the contract will be completed and sent to the Township for approval by the Board. There was a motion by Commissioner Ritter, seconded by Commissioner Spade to approve the allocation of excess interest as selected on the form from PMRS. There were no public comments. Motion carried.
The Manager reported the Township received the insurance settlement check for the Township building water damage in the amount of $4174.58 after deductible. There were no comments.
The Township received from Specialty Disposal Services at 10 Rowell Road a Residual Waste Transfer Permit Application. There were no comments.
The Township received and email from the County of Berks with the Berks County Redevelopment Authority Annual Report attached and was asked to print it and make it available to the general public. It has been printed and is available for the public. There were no comments.
The Township Manager submitted for consideration ideas for framing the 275th Anniversary Citation the Township was honored with by the PA House of Representatives in February. She suggested having it framed and hung with the flags and Bible in the meeting room. The Commissioners reviewed four different style frames and colors of matting and concurred to frame the document with blue matting and the cherry wood frame at the approximate cost of $227.49. There were no other comments.
COMMITTEE REPORT
The following reports were submitted:
- BAFR 3-16-17 Agenda
- BAFR February Monthly Report
- BAFR Minutes 02-16-2017
- BAFR Treasurer's Report- February 2017
There were no comments.
OLD BUSINESS - There was nothing submitted to the Board at this time.
SUBDIVISIONS/LDPs – The Boyertown Jr. High West approval resolution and agreements were decided on earlier in the meeting.
NEW BUSINESS – There was no new business submitted or discussed at this time.
COMMUNICATIONS
Commissioner Gamler noted the following item was submitted and available to the public:
- Responsible Recycling Services, LLC solicitation
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one addressed the Board at this time. Commissioner Gamler announced there would be an Executive Session held with the Solicitor after the meeting to discuss a personnel issue. The Board will not reconvene.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no other business to come before the Board, Commissioner Spade made a motion and it was seconded by Commissioner Ritter to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeannie DiSante
Township Secretary