Pocopson Township
Chester County, Pennsylvania
 

May 12, 2003

Brutscher opened the meeting at 8:48 a.m. with the pledge of allegiance.  Present was Supervisor Hubbard.  Absent was Supervisor Sellers.  Also present was Bill Harwood.

Announcements:  Brutscher announced the Toll Brothers PRD Hearings will commence tonight at 7:00 p.m. in the township building.

Bayard Taylor Memorial Library:  Donald W. Altmaier, President of the Board of the BTML accompanied by Cap Weill, a member at large from Pocopson Township made a presentation to the Board.  He explained library funding and the need for municipalities to support the library.  He said 9% of the library cardholders are Pocopson Township residents.  Mr. Altmaier requested the township to support the library in 2003 and 2004.  Brutscher commented that when the consortium had originally calculated Pocopson’s fairshare it was based on the first BTML budget, and the current budget has increased greatly.  Brutscher said Pocopson Township will never be able to contribute their fairshare based on the current budget. Brutscher said the amount you are asking the township to contribute is more than we budget for our park and recreation department and more than we contribute to the fire and ambulance companies, and these things benefit every resident in the township.  Brutscher continued, Pocopson has not changed its stand on BTML moving from the borough and again questioned the size of the new facility and ability to secure funding to operate such a project when the library presently was having funding problems.  She also questioned the publicized phasing of the project as to the viability of such a plan.  Mr. Altmaier had no comment.  Brutscher and Hubbard agreed that the Board would revisit the issue of BTML funding by the township.  Brutscher stated she would attend the July meeting of the library consortium. 

Chester County Prison Expansion Project:  Ron Nagle was present to discuss and present the sewage facilities project for the prison expansion project.  Mark Prowder, URS, presented the sewage facilities plan for the prison.  Prowder said the treatment process needs to be modified to address DEP violations for the current BOD being emitted from the pond on the site.  Prowder said the new facility will continue to use spray irrigation and several new ponds will be required.  DEP requires the county to install solid handling facilities to handle effluent.  Prowder said he had brought information on phragmites in response to concerns Supervisor Sellers had expressed about the rapid spreading of this plant.  The information states that although the Phragmites readily reproduce vegetatively by rhizomes, few seeds germinate and those that do are not green and die when the seed reserves are consumed during growth.  Prowder said the quality of the effluent could be used on golf courses and areas of active recreation.  DEP is pushing the County prison project to construct a system similar to the one at Kendall Crosslands.  A resident asked what effect the spray irrigation will have on the neighbors wells.  Prowder said there are test wells around the county prison for testing, and that this facility will not affect the neighboring wells.  Kristin Hoover stated that she did not understand why the prison sewage facility was building the facility to handle 200,000 gallons a day instead of the originally reported 140,000 gallons a day.  Hubbard pointed out that the board felt a 200,000 gallon a day facility was needed to properly handle the amount of waste being generated by this facility.   Prowder said the calculations for this facility will be put forth in the ACT 537 process.  Yelton asked about the size of the reed beds and whether they generate an odor.  Prowder said they can generate an ordor in the spring time.  Brutscher asked how far the Kendall cottages are away from the reed beds.  Prowder said the closest house is about 600 feet away.  Prowder said the wastewater is disinfected and filtered in response to a question from a resident about infectious wastes.  A resident pointed out that the prison board report from last month states that there are many prisoners in the prison with infectious diseases ie. HIV, Hepititous C, etc.  Brutscher said the Board would like to discuss this material with Mr. Sellers since is the expert on sewage management facilities, and get back with Mr. Nagle and county officials.  Yelton suggested that if the County does not produce documents by the time of the next extension, he requested the Board to turn the prison expansion project down.  The Board acknowledged Yelton’s comment.

Busby Property – Lot Line Change:  Harwood said that Mr. & Mrs. Busby, Clarks Lane, are submitting a plan dated 4/21/03 to move the lot line on the Busby properties to make Mr. & Mrs. Busby’s two acre lot a conforming lot. 

Becker Property – Pocopson Road:  Mr. Becker’s property on Pocopson Road is being flooded by the discharge from the drainage pipe on the Pocopson Elementary School property.  Harwood said he has scheduled a meeting with Mr. Becker, John Fenn, P.E., and himself to discuss how to correct this problem. 

Chester County Challenge for Cancer Race:  Brutscher said that she had spoken over the telephone with Mr. Steven’s representing the Chester County Challenge for Cancer Bike Race.  Stevenson said the portion of the bike race being run on Wawaset Road would occur between the hours of 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. and a flagman with cones and signs at the beginning and end of the road would be present to alert motorists.  Brutscher and Hubbard agreed this would satisfy the township and decided to allow the race course to go down Wawaset Road.  The secretary will notify Mr. Stevens.

• Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded, that as long as the township is named an additional insured for the event and the conditions that were discussed over the telephone with Mr. Steven’s on May 8 are met, the township will allow the race to occur.  Motion carried.  

West Chester Regional Planning Commission:  Robert Woodward was present to discuss that WCRPC is seeking a qualified consultant to create a circulation needs assessment and land use analysis for the northern and southern tier of an area known as the Greater West Chester Area.  This assessment would not be another traffic study but would assess the needs of community businesses and such.  Woodward said the County is going to support this project with funding possibilities as much as $100,000.  Brutscher asked if this study will benefit Pocopson Township and whether the township contribution would be pro-rated based on how much the study would benefit the township.  Woodward said that possibly this would be a consideration and he wasn’t sure how much this study would benefit the township.

Unionville School District – Light at Route 926 and Pocopson Road:  Harwood said the light at Route 926 and Pocopson Road pedestrian crossings need to be revamped per a recent PennDOT inspection, and Harwood said he would like the school district to reimburse the township the money necessary to correct this problem.  The board agreed with his suggestion.  Harwood said he would discuss this with a school district representative.

Tractor Purchase / Trail Mowing:  Harwood presented several tractor brochures to the Board for their consideration.  This tractor is being purchased to mow trails in the township and will be partially funded with grant money from the state.  The Board discussed the various tractors.

• Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded, to designate Bill Harwood to purchase the New Holland tractor TC33D with a mowing attachment to mow trails in the township not to exceed $16,000 and to be purchased through the state program and to be funded with the state grant monies and open space fund money.  Motion carried.

Public Comment:  There was no public comment.

Other Business:  Brutscher suggested that when the trails are installed in the new Megill subdivision (Winterwood), the trails should be installed in the neighboring links by the township.  Harwood said the tail easements will need to be identified on neighboring properties before any work could be done.  Brutscher suggested that the Open Space Committee look into a grant to pay for surveying the easements.

Minutes of April 14, 2003:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded, to approve the minutes of April 14, 2003 as amended.  Motion carried.

Minutes of April 28, 2003:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded, to approve the minutes of April 28, 2003 as submitted.  Motion carried.

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

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 11:08 a.m.

______________________                                        _________________________

Karen J. Eckard, Secretary                                           Georgia Brutscher, Vice Chair.