Pocopson Township
Chester County, Pennsylvania
 

Board of Supervisors' Meeting Minutes
7:30 p.m., Monday, February 11, 2008

 Present: Georgia Brutscher, Steve Conary

1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mr. Conary.

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Announcements: None.

4. Public Comment:

a) Mark Padula, Patrick Henry Circle, Red Bridge Farms: Mr. Padula is requesting the Township’s assistance with an issue that he has discussed with Rep. Barrar’s office. Since 2006, Mr. Padula has spent $10,000+ to improve the appearance of the stormwater management basin behind his property by installing a spring house over the outlet structure, adding grass and other landscaping, etc. He was recently informed by the developer that a condition for dedicating Patrick Henry Circle is that the basin be enlarged to its as-designed size. Padula would prefer that the basin be left in its current condition and that future stormwater management needs be addressed differently. If that is not possible and the basin must be expanded, then Padula is also concerned that there are not sufficient funds escrowed to correct problems if the expansion is done incorrectly.

Conary asked if there might be an alternate design that’s less invasive to Mr. Padula’s property but still meets stormwater needs. If the Red Bridge developer, Ted Gorman, is willing to modify the original design, the Board of Supervisors would consider it; but they can’t force him to change an already approved plan.

Brutscher and Conary agreed to send a letter to Ted Gorman. If Mr. Gorman is willing to work with Township Engineer John Fenn, at Padula’s expense, to re-engineer stormwater management in the area of Patrick Henry Circle, the Township would support the effort. Mr. Padula will be copied on the letter. The Board cautioned that this could be expensive for Mr. Padula if this modification affects the entire plan; Padula thinks it could be accomplished by an amendment to the final plan.

 b) Barbara Holmes of Brandywine Hills: Ms. Holmes had earlier submitted an application for the Secretary/ Treasurer position. She wanted to provide additional information and would like to be considered for any open management position. Brutscher thanked her and said that the Township has hired someone but will be happy to keep her letter in our files.

 5. West Chester Library

Two representatives from the West Chester Library (WCL) attended. They hope that Pocopson is happy with the decision to support that particular branch of the Chester County Library System.  Pocopson residents can borrow from the WCL’s own collection and can access other libraries’ items by requesting materials, on-line or via telephone, from other Chester County branches.

Conary asked how many different residences within the Township are using the WCL. According to the WCL, this information is difficult to track because many people in the WCL service area use more than one library, and because residents can use a library card issued at any County library, even if the owner’s doesn’t reside there. Conary said that he would like to know specifically if Township residents are using Bayard Taylor, WCL, or both. The library will get back to us with more data on Township usage statistics.

The summer reading club is currently advertised to the West Chester School District, and Pocopson Elementary will be added to that list. Brutscher asked if the bookmobile still comes to Pocopson Home. It doesn’t, but the WCL can contact outreach services to arrange to have boxes of books sent to Pocopson Home. Brutscher also invited them to Founders Day; WCL distributed info last year but will try to have bigger presence in 2008.

6. Amended budget: The amended 2008 Township budget was advertised for public inspection in the Daily Local News. There were no public comments.

Motion: Brutscher moved to approve amended budget; Conary seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

7. Escrow / Bond Releases:

-     Toll Wastewater Treatment Plant Bond Reduction #2: Release of bond for $824,875.00, with a balance of $682,504.75 remaining after this reduction.
Motion: Brutscher moved to approve the bond release; Conary seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

-     Toll Escrow Release #5 Revised: Board will not release funds until the UCF School District approves Toll’s plans to relocate the trail between Riverside and Pocopson Elementary.

-     White Farm: Release #1 of $40,565.00, with $1872.00 to Township for engineering review
Motion: Brutscher moved to approve Escrow Release #1 once construction review sum is received by the Township; Conary seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

8. Treasurer’s Warrants: Approved as submitted

9. Public Works Report

Bill Harwood reported that he plans to purchase a new backhoe (approved at the January 28, 2008 meeting) through the PACC Contract with the City of Harrisburg. PACC is cheaper than the State contract, and Pocopson purchased its last few items of heavy machinery through PACC. List price is $91,000; contract provides $17,000 discount, for a price of $74,000, excluding anticipated trade-in of $19,000. Harwood will obtain interest rate, term and payment options.

MS-4 retention basin reports are due to John Fenn. The Township has 45 basins and has completed reports on about 25 of them. There is a groundhog problem near Olmsted and Osborne Place; Harwood will advise them that they should trap the groundhogs to protect their berms. Harwood will also identify basins with trees in and/or around them so that the Township can advise those HOAs to clear those areas. Some basins haven’t been cleaned out in decades and may need to be dredged.

10. Review of Minutes: Meeting of January 28, 2008

Motion: Brutscher moved to approve minutes as submitted; Conary seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

11. Old Business: None.

12. New Business

Board of Supervisors Appointment:
     Conary announced that he and Brutscher have selected Lauressa McNemar to fill the open Supervisor position. Her term will run until the first Monday in January, 2010. Supervisors will be elected at the November, 2009, municipal election for one 2-year term (McNemar presently serving) and one 6-year term (Brutscher currently serving).
Motion: Brutscher moved to appoint Lauressa J. McNemar as Township Supervisor; Conary seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

Planning Commission Appointment:
     Conary resigned from the Planning Commission, effective immediately.
Motion: Conary moved to appoint Robert Costello, an environmental engineer and lawyer, to the Planning Commission to serve out the remainder of his term, which expires 12/31/2008; Brutscher seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

Report from H. William Sellers, Project Management Consultant:
Trails: Sellers has met with Brandywine Conservancy and Regester to complete the paperwork for a $16,000 State Planning grant.
Under the County matching grant for trails construction, the County will pay for half of our costs, excluding labor. It is unlikely that the Township would need to rent any equipment for this project because we already own a backhoe and skid loader.
Sellers and Harwood will work on bidding the necessary materials.

Sewage: Sellers is crafting a new sewer ordinance based on ones received from Castle Valley and another Township. After Solicitor review, the Board should promptly advertise and adopt the ordinance so that Riverside residents can be billed.
The Township will need to notify Toll residents that bills are forthcoming.
Sellers will forward a draft ordinance to the Board and to Ross Unruh by February 15.

Railroad: The railroad’s initial estimate for signalization in conjunction with the Route 52-Pocopson Road intersection improvements is $118,000. John Fenn will review that estimate and advise of the minimum standards required by the PUC, compared to what the railroad would like to have.
Sellers noted that there should have been an easement from the railroad permitting Toll access across the tracks; two large drainage pipes that go under Pocopson Road and into a drainage swale reportedly washed out the ballast under a section of the tracks. Tom Kessler of Toll will follow up with the subcontractor and Sellers will check Final Plan Approval.

Roundabout: Sellers reported that through mid-January, VanDemark & Lynch had billed the Township $105,000 and is now estimating an additional $193,000 for work through 2008, plus $50,000 for consultants. Some of the cost overruns are due to federal requirements that led to increased design costs. Gannett Fleming’s estimate for the work is $182,000; with about $30,000 of the work already completed by VanDemark & Lynch.

The Board discussed having VanDemark & Lynch complete drainage and sedimentation work and then have Gannett Fleming take over the remainder of the Roundabout project. VanDemark & Lynch estimates $83,000 for design of the Route 52 bridge.

Conary asked Sellers to determine VanDemark & Lynch’s charges for work performed but not yet billed for January and February, 2008. Sellers will arrange a meeting with VanDemark & Lynch for the afternoon of 2/19 or 2/21 to further discuss this issue.

Other New Business:

Conary said that a resident on Route 52 across from Riverside has complained that excess soil was removed from their property as part of the Route 52 widening. Toll Brothers has responded that they will reshape the bank and add soil when the road work is completed this spring.

Conary officially welcomed Susan Simone, the new Township Secretary.

The Township will send a contribution for 2008 to the Unionville Recreation Association. An annual contribution to the West Chester Library will be considered when they have provided the information requested.

Harwood reported that he is working on a recycling grant application (due June 8). Prior step is to draft a recycling ordinance for review by Planning Commission and Solicitor.

Deer feeder program: One employee is studying for the pesticide handling test to obtain the public/commercial certification required by the program to service the feeders, which contain a pesticide that kills deer ticks.

13. Correspondence:

Motion: Brutscher moved to release the Courts at Longwood Letter of Credit for $39,583.00; Conary seconded; motion was approved unanimously.

 14. Adjournment: At 9:20 p.m, Conary moved to adjourn the meeting; Brutscher seconded; approved unanimously.

___________________________                            _____________________________

Peggy Lennon, Acting Secretary                                   Stephen R. Conary, Chair