Pocopson Township
Chester County, Pennsylvania
 

8:45 a.m., Monday, December 12, 2005

     Sellers opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance at 8:50 a.m.  Supervisors Brutscher and Hubbard were in attendance.  Also attending:  Sandy Retzlaff, Tom Bierl, OSC; Steve Conary, Planning Commission; John Fenn, Township Engineer;

Announcements:  Brutscher announced that KARPC voted to join TMACC.  Brutscher said the KARPC had discussed the Ordinance for the by laws for the scenic by-way.  Sellers said he would like the KARPC to look into the use of the athletic fields for coordination with the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.

Resolution No. 10:  Brutscher read the resolution for the meeting attendees.  

Motion:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded to adopt resolution No. 10 which appoints Umbreit, Korengel, & Assoc., P.C., CPA at a rate of $2,500 to conduct the township audit for 2005. 
Motion carried with all in agreement. 

Toll Brothers/Sheeder Property:  Tom Kessler, Toll Bros.; and Paul B. Ylvisaker, Toll Bros, Attorney; were present to discuss the Route 52 entrance into the Toll Brothers community. 
Residents in attendance:  Judy Stewart, Nora Margetich, Jim Fritsch, Regester Associates; Mr. Clifford;

Kessler said he is working with the residents that are affected and is hoping to come to a successful resolution very soon.  Mrs. Stewart expressed her dissatisfaction with the symmetrical design - Plan 2.

Kessler agreed that Toll Brothers would move the tree on the Ross Property to improve the sight distance at Clarks Lane and Route 52. 

Sellers said there are two designs and one has to be selected.  Fritsch commented that Plan 1 would adversely affect Nora Margetich’s property more than Plan 2, the symetrical design.  Judy Stewart asked about the retaining wall on her property.  Kessler said he would try to accommodate Judy Stewart with a retaining wall, and Jeff Todd, TP&D, was working with PennDOT to see if he could get a retaining wall design approved. Sellers said John Fenn, township engineer, recommends Plan 2 as the safest alignment for the township.  Ylvisaker commented that the value of the right-of-way is far less than Toll Brothers is willing to offer the residents being affected by the entrance, and the third option is comdemnation.

Motion:  Hubbard moved, Brutscher seconded to select plan 2 with the following conditions:  retaining wall in place, address residents (Hoover and Clifford) concerns, moving the tree on the Ross property, satisfactorily address the comments in John Fenn’s review.  Motion carried with all in agreement.

Baily Farm/Minor Subdivision:  Frone Crawford, Esq.; Jim Brandolini; Frank Smith, Apex Engineering; were present to request conditional plan approval of the minor subdivision drawn by APEX Engineering, dated 6/28/05  which separates the Baily Farm from Corinne Village.  Sellers said the conservation easement and the trail easement on Lenape Unionville Road are outstanding issues.  The conservation easement would restrict the uses of the farm. 

After a brief discussion, the following motion was made:

Motion:  Sellers moved, Hubbard seconded to approve the Baily Farm minor subdivision plan, drawn by APEX Engineering, dated 6/28/05 with the following three conditions:
1.  Conservation easement restricting the use of the property to agricultural.

2.  A bike and trail easement on Lenape Unionville Road subject to the condition that it will not be built until the Bailys' no longer own the property or consent to its construction.  A trail easement on Larkin Baily Road and reserve a trail easement from the Corinne Development tract across a portion of the Baily Farm to Locust Grove Road.

3.  The Plan will not be signed until all conditions are met. 
Motion carried all in agreement.

Bill Waddington/Minor Subdivision:  Waddington was present to request conditional final plan approval of the Waddington minor subdivision.   Sellers said the Board would grant an extension to address the final details of the plan as follows; shared driveway agreement, conservation easement, corrections on the storm water calculations, exact location of the driveway shown on the plan, and the location of the septic system for Lot #2 shown on the plan.

Motion:  Sellers moved, Brutscher seconded to grant an extension on the Waddington Minor Subdivision  until January 31, 2006 to address the outstanding issues listed above.  Motion carried.  

Hallelynn Subdivision:  Mr. Becker and his attorney, Stephen McGuire were present to discuss the PennDOT approved entrance to the Boucher/Hallelynn subdivision.  Mr. Becker said PennDOT had issued the HOP permit for the entrance onto Wawaset Road.  Mr. Becker said the easements from the two property owners have been recorded and copies delivered to PennDOT.  McGuire said the final plan will be submitted to the township supervisors for signing in the near future.

Motion:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded to approve the new entrance for Hallelynn subdivsion onto Wawaset Road with the condition that Mr. Becker will post the escrow money needed for the subdivision entrance and public improvements.  Motion carried with all in agreement. 

Public Comment:  Mrs. Steward wanted to voice her concerns about liability to her being created by the retaining wall for the Toll Brothers/Sheeder development entrance. 

Open Space Tax Referendum:  Steve Conary reviewed the presentation from the Open Space Referendum Task Force for the Board of Supervisors.  Sandy Retzlaff and Tom Bierl, Task Force; were also present along with Tara Tracy and Robert Longsdorf from the Brandywine Conservancy.  Conary reviewed the open space priorities and discussed how open space is ultimately less expensive to maintain than developed land.  Conary presented the open space priorities map and said the brown areas on the map are opportunities for the township to consider for protected open space.  Conary said the Task Force recommends placing an open space referendum on May 16 ballot that would include a property tax increase of 1.0 mil dedicated to open space.  This 1 mil would bring in approximately $275,000 per year based on current township valuation and would allow the township to borrow about $4M to fund open space acquisitions and easements.   Conary said this tax should include a “sunset” provision that the tax expires when all obligations are satisfied incurred within five years of the effective date. Brutscher thanked the committee and said the committee had done an excellent job of pulling this together in a short period of time. 

Motion:  Hubbard moved, Brutscher seconded to accept the Open Space Referendum Task Force proposal as it was presented of a referendum on the May 16 ballot that would include a property tax of 1 mil dedicated to the acquisition of open space and easements.  Further, to authorize the township solicitor prepare the ordinance and advertise it for adoption.  Motion carried with all in agreement. 

Budget 2006:  The budget was discussed and several corrections were suggested.  Sellers agreed that the Board would hold a special meeting on December 29, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. to adopt the budget after final corrections were made. 
Sellers also announced that the Board would hold their Reorganizational Meeting on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 at 8:30 a.m.

Meeting Minutes:
Sellers said the minutes of the Board meeting held on November 28th will be tabled until a future meeting.

Sellers moved, Hubbard seconded to approve the minutes of the special meeting held on Tuesday, November 29^th as submitted.  Motion carried

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

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m.

______________________                                                    ________________________
Karen J. Eckard, Secretary                                                       H. William Sellers, Chairman