August 8, 2000 The meeting of the Supervisors of Franklin Township, held in the Township office, was called to order by Chairman John Sachar at 2000 hours with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present were Sachar, Denver Ireland and David Henderson. VISITORS/PUBLIC COMMENT No one present. MINUTES Henderson moved to approve the minutes of 7/27/00 as presented. Ireland seconded. Carried. REPORTS Continued Hearing for Dan and Kathy Netzler - no word from the Netzlers. Will call and ask them to attend the August Thursday morning meeting. Superintendent - Dave reported that the pipe on Silverthorn is done. Board reviewed the list of areas damaged by flooding from the recent storm. Ireland - are we able to recoup any of this money? Dave answered no, he asked but the damage was not severe enough. Discussion on the water damage to New Road and on PennDOT's undermined pipe at New and Route 98. We received 4.26 inches of rain. Crew has spent 3 days repairing damage. The front bay will be cleared so Otteni Industries can come in and clean the walls the last week of the month. Two dry hydrants will be installed at Simmons on Old State and Lohse on Fry. Some ditching and requested ditching will be done. Whenever possible the crew is working on the Oshkosh. It's spreader should be here tomorrow. West County's ambulances with small diesel engines are having problems with the injectors fouling. Beatty Diesel says that it is from poor fuel. Fuel samples were sent for analysis. When the results are in, if needed an additive will be added to the fuel in the diesel tank. Discussion on the amount of guide rail needed on Francis. Mager Tree Report - nothing. Agility - Ray is finishing up the mowing round for PennDOT. Dave reported that he thinks the State is behind on their work because of storm damage and may not get to seal coating Fry Road for several weeks. Falls Road Bridge #2 Dedication - Senator Jane Earll is available on September 12 and 13. Board set the dedication date for September 12 at 6 p.m. Amended Bridge Agreement/Resolution #2-00 - Henderson moved to sign the amended contract agreement and to adopt Resolution #2-00 designating Chairman John Sachar as signatory. Ireland seconded. Carried. Contract and Resolution were signed. Falls Road Bridge #1 - discussion on the water overflow over the bridge during the recent storm. Dave reported that he measured the amount of overflow and Mark Corey can now determine the height and span needed for the new bridge. Falls and Francis Signs/Speed Limit-Ordinance #2-00 - Board reviewed the letter and revised map to be sent to Dennis Howard and Bob Everhart. Dave said he will draft the required ordinance and have our Attorney review it. Discussion on yield vs. stop signs. Henderson moved to advertise a public hearing for Ordinance #2-00 for September 28, 2000 at 8 a.m. Ireland seconded. Carried. Airport Millings - hauling is suppose to begin on Tuesday next week. Storage room was made on the upper lot. Gravel and Dirt Roads Program - Leroy Gross from Soil Conservation does not feel that there will be word on this program until next year. It looks good for funding our roads next year. We have 8 or 9 places that qualify. The amount of funds we receive depends in part on how many apply. Discussion on the damage from the storm. FINANCIAL AND TAXES Bills - discussion on various bills. Henderson moved to approve the bill list as presented totaling $15,188.75 general fund and $3,858.20 state fund. Ireland seconded. Carried. Payroll - Henderson moved to approve payroll #16-00 as presented. Ireland seconded. Carried. PLANNING, ZONING, HEALTH DEPARTMENT Planning Commission Minutes - Hugh Crandall submitted his written concerns and suggestions for the comprehensive plan update. Henderson responded with his views and concerns. The other Board members were encouraged to set down their ideas on paper and send them to the Planning Commission. Sachar noted that Mr. Crandall's suggestions will be taken under advisement. Ward and Carol Sanders Mylar - Ireland moved to accept the Sanders Mylar, 10827 Ivoray Road, as submitted. Sachar seconded. Carried. Mylar was signed. At the Planning Commission's request, the set back lines were revised to meet zoning regulations. Update Comprehensive Plan - nothing. Industrial Park/KOZ - nothing. Buren Subdivision Progress - reviewed letter sent by our Attorney to the Burens concerning the legal problems with the deed. SOLICITOR Western Trail/G. Antolik - reviewed letter from our Attorney to Engineer Bruce Simmons. Impact Fee Ordinance - nothing. Storage Trailers - Attorney Schroeck is researching permitting fees for storage trailers and ground level trailers. Henderson - there are two principles involved. They are not taxed by County Assessment and we would have to battle each one that moved in and incur the legal expenses involved. Any permit fee should be substantial but reasonable so they are either converted to a taxable status or removed. Sachar - find out what the dealers charge for a storage trailer and for a ground level storage trailer. Any fees set could be based on that. Henderson - the County doesn't tax them because they are motor vehicles. Sachar - if they were a building, they wouldn't bring in much tax. Abandoned Gas Wells - the list from DEP shows that there are 34 wells in the Township. A few have had the separator equipment removed from them. Dave will try to get the production records on them from DEP. Discussion on the possibility of condemning them and the steps to follow to do it. Henderson - our liability is to have them set there deteriorating and when they blow we have to solve the problem under an emergency management situation. Sachar - are we going to get into a hole that gets deeper and more expensive as we go along? Henderson - we'll get the production records and the leases that are at the Courthouse with the records of the lines and right-of-ways. At the present, you're looking at the research cost. Sachar - hold the cost down to the very minimum. If it's going to cost a couple thousand dollars, I'm not interested. Henderson - we could easily have that much in one well blow-off. I'd be called as emergency manager and I'd call an expert to repair it, someone like Mountain Resources. OLD BUSINESS Lights on for Safety - nothing. Census - nothing. FTVFD Meeting - will try to get them here for the August 31st meeting. Recycle/Junk Cars - will set up with Denny's Auto Wrecking to get the ones that are accessible. Henderson - do we want to go in with the tractor and make a mess with all the rain we've been having? Sachar - I don't think we're responsible for repairing any mess made. Will call each person on the list who needs their item hauled out and inform them that the Township is not responsible for any damage done. Community Character Education - Board will pick some things that we can do through our newsletters. Recreational Complex at VFW - Henderson and Ireland will go to the VFW next Monday. Henderson - Crandall's suggestion of Dave's Pond as a park was a good one. I would like to talk to Dave Strong and see if we could get a First Right of Refusal contract if he ever wants to sell. There are big grants available for the purchase of land for parks. Caldwell Truck - Board is to make a decision. Dave suggested that the de facto standard may be a building to put the truck in. The other problem is heavy loads going over the road. Ireland - I've only noticed the tractor there, not the trailer. Henderson - even the tractor is overweight. Discussion on home occupations, who has them and who doesn't, who needs them and who doesn't. Sachar - a home occupation should not change the character of the neighborhood. There should be no outward appearance of the home occupation. NEW BUSINESS None. CORRESPONDENCE Reviewed. ADJOURN Sachar called the meeting adjourned at 2142 hours. Bonnie J. Bernhardt, Secretary