Pocopson Township
Chester County, Pennsylvania
 

   Sellers called the meeting to order at 8:55 a.m. and opened with the pledge of allegiance.  Supervisors Brutscher and Hubbard were in attendance along with Road Master, Bill Harwood. 

Announcements:  Brutscher reported that she could not attend the Kennett Area Regional Planning Commission this month and requested Zeke Hubbard to attend in her absence.  He agreed.

Baily Farm / Corinne Village:  Craig Kologie, Castle Valley; was present along with Frone Crawford, Solicitor; Sue Ahern, Evans Mill Environmental; Jim Brandolini, Developer;
Kologie reported that DEP issued an incomplete letter dated April 24, 2006 to the sewage facilities plan.  Kologie discussed the ownership arrangement for the Baily Farm/Corinne Village sewage facility.  DEP is questioning why the township does not want to own the plant since the plant is going to serve approximately 10 off site properties.  Kologie said the Developer is responsible for installing collection and hookups for the off  site properties, and the 10 off site properties should be shown on the plan.  Kologie said the final ownership agreement will be signed by the township and AQUA Pennsylvania, and DEP will need to review this final agreement.  AQUA plant ownership versus township ownership was discussed.  The Board agreed that township ownership or leasing to AQUA PA could be a viable option.  The Board agreed they were more comfortable with AQUA PA owning and operating the plant. Sellers expressed concern about the smaller homes located on Corinne Road paying the same monthly sewage fee as larger new homes, and requested Castle Valley to come up with a formula to adjust the billing rate based on the size of the house. Sellers said the off site homes will be mandated to hook up to the sewage plant.  Crawford said that Sue Ahern, Evans Mill Environmental, had issued a letter dated May 4, 2006 to the township addressing items raised in the DEP letter dated April 24, 2006.  Crawford said that DEP should be advised in the township’s letter that the ownership issue will be addressed along with the sewer agreement in the near future.  Crawford asked the township secretary to add a cover letter to the Evans Mill letter and forward it to DEP as soon as conveniently possible.

Burnett Property / Comitta:  Tom Comitta and the Burnetts were present.  Comitta said he would like to get the Board’s suggestions on the applicant’s proposal for their property located on Hickory Hill Road. The Burnetts wanted to retain the house and barn and create three more lots for each of their children.   Comitta said the Burnetts may have to go to the zoning hearing board; because, one of the lots is an eighth of an acre short of the required acreage.  Comitta said there is no proposed infrastructure on this plan. Sellers said the road servicing the three homes will have to be built as a private road, because the ordinance only allows for two homes on a private driveway.  Sellers commented that lot 2 will have to be accessed from the private street and not enter onto Hickory Hill Road to reduce the amount of entrances onto Hickory Hill Road.  Comitta discussed the topo of the property.  Brutscher expressed concerned about sight distance for the new entrance.  Comitta said he didn’t think there was 500’ of sight distance to the south.  Sellers expressed concern with the number of lots being created by this subdivision in an area of the township that is mostly protected.  Comitta thanked the Board for their time, and said he would consider their suggestions in the next revision.

Toll Brothers/Sheeder Property:  Chris Schubert, Attorney; & Tom Kessler, Toll Brothers, Inc.; were present to discuss the sewer construction agreement.  Schubert said Ross Unruh was reviewing the final sewer agreement.  Schubert said that DEP made it clear that the sinking fund and the timing of the offer of dedication of the sewer plant would be necessary before they could approve the sewage planning modules.  
Sellers discussed the landscape plan that was submitted to the township last week and said that the number of trees and shrubs on the proposed plan was not sufficient and did not meet the township ordinances.  Brutscher expressed her concern, and said she felt that the landscape plan needs to be upgraded significantly.  The secretary will contact Gary Burcham, Landscape Architect, to discuss his review of the Sheeder Tract landscape plan, and see if any action needs to be taken on this matter.  Brutscher said the Supervisors are vehemently opposed to the name of the community, and reiterated again that this community is not located in Chadds Ford and is located beside the Pocopson Elementary School.

2006 Marshalton Triathlon Committee / Motion: 
Brutscher moved, Sellers seconded to approve the Special Event permit for the Marshalton Triathlon, submitted by Gary D. Gordon, Chairman, 2006 Marshalton Triathlon Committee, that will be held on Sunday, October 1, 2006; Raindate of Sunday, October 8, 2006.  The certificate of liability insurance and the special events permit have been submitted as part of this application.  Motion carried. 
Hubbard abstained as he has a personal relationship with the applicant.

Roads:  Harwood discussed the purchase of a compact track loader for construction of trails in the township at an approximate price of $33,000.  Harwood said he would be seeking low interest state funds to finance the remainder of the purchase after the initial township deposit. The Board agreed that a track loader would be a good investment for the township and authorized Harwood to proceed with the purchase.

Treasurer’s Warrants:  The warrants were approved and signed as submitted.

Minute of April 10, 2006:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded to approve the minutes of April 10, 2006 as submitted.  Motion carried. 

Natural Resource Ordinance:  The Supervisors agreed to advertise the Natural Resource Protection Ordinance for adoption, and requested the secretary to make sure the township engineer had reviewed it also. 

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m.

______________________                                        _____________________
Karen J. Eckard, Secretary                                           H. William Sellers, Chair.