Regular Meeting
July
28, 2009
The
regular meeting of the Millcreek Township Board of Supervisors was called to
order at
7:00 p.m.
by Chairman Curtis in the Assembly Room of
the
Millcreek
Township
Municipal
Building
. Present
were Gerald Wolf,
Brian McGrath
,
Lawrence Curtis
,
Evan Adair
, Esq., Phyllis Vollbrecht, and Richard
Morris, P.E. Mr. Kujawa was on
vacation.
Following
the Pledge to the Flag, Chairman Curtis called for public comment on agenda
items other than development or rezoning applications.
No comments were received.
It
was moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis to approve the minutes of
the meeting of
July 21, 2009
. Motion
carried by unanimous roll call vote.
It
was moved by Mr. Kujawa and seconded by Mr. McGrath to approve payment of the
weekly General Fund bills in the amount of $226,166.75.
Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
A
public hearing was held on the following subdivisions and land development
plans:
Joseph
F. Lochbaum. Subdivision Plan.
A subdivision plan to create a 2.310 acre parcel, Lot A, with house and
garage and a 14.49 acre parcel, Lot B, located at the northwest corner of West
38th Street (S.R. 4016) and Asbury Road in Tract 313.
Engineer
Morris reported that the Millcreek Township Planning Commission recommended
approval.
Joseph
Lochbaum, 3024 Harvest Bend, appeared on behalf of the plan.
It was moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis to approve the
subdivision plan. Motion carried by
unanimous roll call vote.
Derek
B. and Kimberly B. Sanford. Subdivision
Plan. A subdivision plan to create a
one acre parcel,
Lot
1, a 4.991 acre parcel,
Lot
2, with a 3.775 acre residue
parcel, located along the west line of
Grubb
Road
(S.R. 4011) south of
Stone
Creek Drive
in Tract 353.
Engineer
Morris reported that the Millcreek Township Planning Commission recommended
approval with the following:
Variances:
1.
3:1 depth-to-width ratio for
all three lots.
2.
Partial sidewalk variance on
Lot
2 due to topography.
3.
Three accesses off one
driveway entrance.
Kimberly
Sanford, 4206 Woodbrook Landing, appeared on behalf of the plan.
Mr. McGrath moved and Mr. Curtis seconded to approve the subdivision plan
with the variances stated above. Motion
carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Erie
International
Airport
Sand/Salt Storage Facility. Land
Development Plan. A land development
plan to construct a 3,750 square foot sand/salt storage building with loading
apron located 250’± south of the south line of West 12th Street (S.R. 0005)
and east of the Airport Terminal in Tract 380.
Engineer
Morris reported that the Millcreek Township Planning Commission recommended
approval.
John
Morris, Urban Engineers, appeared on behalf of the plan.
Mr. McGrath verified that there would be an infiltration system for
stormwater management. It was moved
by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis to approve the land development plan.
Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Scavella
Building
and Design. Subdivision Plan.
A subdivision plan to create a
3,112 square foot parcel located
along the west line of
Schwartz
Drive south
of
West
52nd Street
in Tract 345. Said parcel to become
an integral part of
Erie
County
Tax Parcel 33-120-528-4.
Engineer
Morris reported that the Millcreek Township Planning Commission recommended
approval with the following:
Variance:
1.
3:1 depth-to-width ratio.
Requirement:
1.
Parcel to become an integral
part of the
Erie
County Index
No. 33-120-528-4.
Dennis
Pistone,
3626 Bellaire Drive
, appeared on behalf of the plan to explain
that the house was on a double lot with the existing garage about two feet over
the property line (
Lot
49). The
subdivision will create a smaller buildable lot (
Lot
48). This
will give him the required setbacks on both lots.
Wayne
Sturgill,
5231 Washington Avenue
, opposed the subdivision because there is
an existing water problem in the back of these properties and construction of a
new house would make the problem worse. There
is also a rodent problem. Engineer
Morris assured him that stormwater management would have to be provided along
with a required grading plan. Mr.
Sturgill questioned the dimensions of the lot and conforming with the size of
lots in the neighborhood.
Sue Weber
,
5338 Norris Drive
, said the Subdivision Ordinance, if it
hasn’t changed since she was a Supervisor, said a lot subdivision was not
permitted that created a lot that is smaller than the size of applicable lots
within that subdivision. It was
determined that a subdivision of a lot (not a subdivision of houses) was
recorded in September of 1946, so there is no formal subdivision.
This is not an issue according to Mr. McGrath
It
was moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis to approve the subdivision
with the variance and requirement stated above and with the condition that a
land surveyor certified grading plan with water directed away from the rear of
the property be submitted to the Engineering Department.
Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Ridgebury
Apartments. Land Development Plan.
A land development plan to construct a three story 45 unit apartment
building with associated parking area located along the south line of
West
Ridge Road
(S.R. 0020) east of
Tamarack
Drive
in Tract 314.
Engineer
Morris reported that the Millcreek Township Planning Commission recommended
approval with the following:
Request:
1.
Traffic signal contribution of
$2,182.00; Route 20 and
McKee Road
($691.00); Route 20 and
Patio Drive
($691.00); and
West 38th Street
and
Asbury Road
($800.00).
Requirement:
1. Sidewalks be
shown from property line to property line.
The
Planning Commission noted that typically the Township does not request three
separate signal contributions at three different intersections, so Engineer
Morris’s recommendation would be for $1,491.00 for
West 38th Street
and
Asbury Road
and $1,491.00 for Route 20 and
McKee Road
.
Colin
Noble, David Laird Associates,
1557 West 26th Street
, appeared on behalf of the plan.
There is a small topography problem with the sidewalk but it will be
worked out with installation of a pipe.
Ronald
Kolb,
4101 Vista Drive
, asked if property owners, when subdividing
and selling a lot, are required to disclose to the buyer that there is a
two-tier pricing system for water in
Millcreek
.
Mr.
McGrath moved, Mr. Curtis seconded, to approve the land development plan with
the request and requirement shown above. Motion
carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Mr.
McGrath moved, Mr. Curtis seconded, to approve Resolution 2009-R-28; a
Resolution declaring
Millcreek
Township
’s intent to follow the schedules and
procedures for disposition of records as set forth in the Municipal Records
Manual approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of
Archives and History, on
December 16, 2008
. Motion
carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Engineer
Morris recommended that First National Bank of Erie Letter of Credit for
$145,595.00 for Fuhrman’s Cider Mill and Bakery (Elmbrook Retail Partnership,
developer) be released due to cancellation of the project.
Mr. McGrath moved, Mr. Curtis seconded, to approve the release.
Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
It
was moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis to approve the Mutual Aid
Agreement between
Millcreek
Township
and
Belle
Valley
, Kearsarge,
West
Lake
, and West Ridge Fire Departments.
The Board requested a formal agreement after years of verbal agreements.
Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Mr.
McGrath stated the Township is getting the Erie Golf Course back into operation
which includes the installation of a new kitchen exhaust hood with a fire
suppression system. The Township is
responsible, by agreement with SMS, to supply all hardware.
Bill Perry
, Building Maintenance Foreman, obtained the
following quotes for the equipment:
Allen Fire Equipment Sales & Service, Inc.
$ 9,600.00
Aaron
Caplan Company
$10,050.00
Andy’s
Equipment Exchange, Inc.
$10,500.00
It
was moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis to purchase the equipment
from Allen Fire Equipment for $9,600.00. After
no public comment was received, the motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
Chief
Carlotti recommended the following appointments to the Millcreek Township
Special Fire Police:
West
Lake
Fire Department
Richard Williams
Kearsarge
Fire Department
Scott Kelso
Belle
Valley
Fire Department
Jonathan Altadonna, Harry Krahnke, Susan Caflisch
It
was moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Curtis and after no public comment,
the motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.
On
the recommendation of Chief Carlotti, Mr. McGrath moved and Mr. Curtis seconded
to hire Cheryl Sidun-Lego for training as a part-time dispatcher retroactive to
July 25, 2009
at the appropriate rate.
Chairman Curtis called for public comment on the matter; none was
received. Motion carried by
unanimous roll call vote.
It
was recommended by Attorney Adair, moved by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr.
Curtis to approve a three-year agreement to end
July 31, 2012
with Hill Engineering, Inc. for reviews,
certifications of stormwater plans, and inspection of improvements.
Chairman Curtis called for public comment on the matter; none was
received. Motion carried by
unanimous roll call vote.
Richard
Figaski,
1528 Westwood Drive
, appeared to ask why, with the Board’s
approval, the Millcreek Township Water Authority is proceeding with a $1 million
loan for future projects. He
doesn’t understand why this is proceeding when the Erie Water Authority and
the Township are in the midst of meetings to take over the Millcreek Water
Authority. Part of the agreement on
the table is that
Erie
will take over the debt of Millcreek
Township Water Authority. They will
also use $2 millions in reserves to do future improvements that are needed in
Millcreek
. By
the time the loan is approved, the project would probably not take place until
next spring. Mr. Figaski encouraged
the Board not to approve this loan that would put
Millcreek
residents further in debt.
Several
weeks ago there was a meeting between Erie Water Works and
Millcreek
officials regarding the lease agreement.
Members of the public were present but were not allowed to attend even
though they said would not participate in the meeting but only monitor it
according to Mr. Figaski. Mr. Curtis
told them that the parties did not want them present at the meeting.
Mr. Figaski said Erie Water Works invited them to the meeting.
They were then told that personnel issues would be discussed so it would
be a closed meeting. He then found
out that no personnel issues were discussed.
Finally he was told that Mr. Riedesel did not want them at the meeting.
Mr. Figaski said the Sunshine Law says a meeting will not be closed as a
matter of subterfuge or deception. He
asked that future meetings be open to the public.
Mr. Kujawa came to the meeting and said the public could attend.
Mr. McGrath said before the meeting that it wasn’t their meeting, so he
asked the Water Authority, who preferred a closed meeting.
Because Mr. Curtis told the public present that the meeting was closed,
he explained that the Board was trying to move things along so it was better to
have the closed meeting rather than not have a meeting at all if the public
attended. Personnel issues were
discussed at the May meeting and were expected to be discussed at this meeting.
Regarding the $1 million loan, Mr. Curtis said the Water Authority must
continue operating in the best interest of their customers.
Low interest rates are available now.
The lease agreement is not a certainty so the Authority must continue
operating as an authority. Mr.
Figaski encouraged the Board to get the lease agreement done.
Sue Weber
,
5338 Norris Drive
, appeared to express her concern over the
recent misuse of the
Millcreek
’s government channel.
There are 7,300
Millcreek
households and businesses currently paying
water rates at sometimes double what the other 10,000 households and businesses
are paying. Over the last month,
those 7,300 customers being charged far more that what they should be water,
also had part of what they paid for cable television used to run a show that
tried to make a case for continuing to charge them an outrageous price for
water. This show gave false
information and bashed Erie Water Works that the Township is negotiating with.
She said the show was to scare
Millcreek
residents into thinking that if the
Millcreek Water Authority system was leased to the Erie Water Works, sewer rates
would increase for
Millcreek
customers.
Millcreek
is living in the dark ages as far as sewer
billing is concerned. All over the
country, sewer rates are based on water usage.
The show also tried to convince homes and business on the
Millcreek
water system that they would have less fire
protection if the system was leased to Erie Water Works.
The show led
Millcreek
customers into believing that eventually
Millcreek
and
Erie
rates will equalize on their own.
Mrs. Weber said the Millcreek Water Authority is the middle man and
should be eliminated. She provided
several examples of differences in water bills presented on the show and how
misleading they were. She criticized
Mr. Riedesel for spending money on a study to have a lake intake when they had
been told several years earlier by DEP that it would not happen and a regional
water system was favored, and the justification for meal tabs for authority
members. Finally, Mrs. Weber told
the Board the show was produced and aired using
Millcreek
cable customers’ money, that the show
contained false information and inflammatory statements counterproductive to the
good faith negotiation the Board is supposed to be conducting on behalf of
thousands of residents. The Board
should have reviewed this show before it aired.
Thomas
Smith,
2927 Westline Street
, asked the Board if the house at
3027 Westline Street
that burned to the ground on June 14 was
going to be demolished. The
residents are concerned with children entering the property because of the
danger. Mr. McGrath explained that
after the completion of the Police investigation, BIU was contacted, and a
letter was sent to the property indicating that the house must be demolished
with 30 days. The property is not
properly secured so the Fire Inspector and contractor will make sure that is
done. Mr. Curtis stated that the
zoning officer talked with the demolition contractor who assured that the
demolition will be done soon. The
neighborhood residents are concerned about what can or cannot be constructed on
that property according to Mr. Smith. He
asked if a mobilehome could be put on the lot where there was a stick-built home
previously. If it could, what would
be the construction requirements? Would
there be a re-assessment of the subdivision then?
How are the water problems on that lot going to be solved?
The Zoning Department and BIU could answer his questions.
However, the Board said there is nothing to prohibit the placing of a
mobilehome on the lot. The chances
of putting a used mobilehome there are slim because of the transportation and
that the home probably would not meet code.
Mr. McGrath suggested the residents talk with Tom Sontag from BIU.
Eric
Lacey,
6044 Grubb Road
, appeared regarding the illegally
constructed wall built by the neighbor on the south side of his property.
The Board came to his house after he appeared at the Board’s meeting on
July 7 and indicated that it needed to be addressed.
He has heard nothing. Mr.
Lacey is concerned about liability as many, many cars and trucks have gone off
the road at that point. The
structure (wall) itself is not in violation but the grading plan has been
violated by the neighbor according to Mr. McGrath.
The water that was supposed to flow to the back of that property now
flows onto the Lacey property. Mr.
Lacey questioned the structure being too close to the property line as being in
violation. Engineer Morris assured
him that a letter of violation will go to the neighbor tomorrow and that there
will be 30 days to construct an approved functional grading plan or face fines.
There
being no further business to come before the Board, it was moved by Mr. Kujawa
and seconded by Mr. McGrath to adjourn the meeting.
The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at
8:22 p.m.
Phyllis A. Vollbrecht
Assistant Secretary
APPROVED:
August 18, 2009
Lawrence
G. Curtis
Brian P. McGrath