September 27, 2001 The meeting of the Supervisors of Franklin Township, held in the Township office, was called to order by Chairman John Sachar at 0805 hours with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present were Sachar, Denver Ireland, David Henderson, Gary Truitt, Jarrett Miller and June Shelhamer. HEARING: ORDINANCE #2-01, NO BURNING OF RECYCLABLES, 0806 HOURS Sachar read the proposed ordinance and asked for comments from those present. Henderson suggested a delay of approval until the Solicitor arrives. The more normal burnable items that are prohibited from being burned are plastics 1 and 2, oil, tires, newspapers. He said that we had considered magazines but haven't done anything on that. Sachar - it baffles my mind that we'd enact an ordinance that enforcement is so absurd. DEP has mandated this if we want to keep getting grant money. Henderson - where this is practical is in larger municipalities where the density is great. The idea is noble; the practicality is impossible. Ireland - did we send a letter to our legislators on this? Henderson - we said we would get the county municipalities together through ECATO and have them send a letter. VISITORS/PUBLIC COMMENT No comments. MINUTES Henderson moved to approve the minutes of 9/4/01 as presented. Ireland seconded. Carried. Henderson moved to accept the minutes of 9/11/01 as corrected with the addition of "either EIT or RE". Ireland seconded. Carried. REPORTS Superintendent - Dave reported that the crew has been mowing, doing maintenance and sign inventory. Ireland - did you ask Washington Township if they plan on putting tar and chip on Fry? Henderson answered no. Sachar - some residents have expressed concern about the depth of the ditch at Mohawk and Old State. Henderson - it's only one foot deeper than it was and will seek it's own level. We could tube it. It looks much deeper than it was but is only one foot deeper. Sachar - it's three feet wide with a 90-degree slope. It would be a job to get a vehicle out of it. We could slope the edges with a 12" cut. Discussion. Mager Tree Report - nothing. Agility - Dave reported that when we're done with the last round of mowing, we would do the state roads again including brush cutting. They will owe us. We could use their skid-steer under our guide rails to clear them out. International Cab and Chassis - will put an ad in the Truck Trader. Eureka Road #4 Paving Project - the objection period is in progress. Gary Truitt - have we heard anything from Rep. Boyes? Henderson - his office called. They will set a meeting date. George Antolik arrived at 0822 hours. West Stancliff/I-79 Project - Dave reported that the fabric will be laid on 10/2/01. Material will be put down on 10/3/01 weather permitting. Will make the decision to go or no go on Monday with Russell Standard. A little rain may not be a problem. Once the fabric is on the road must be closed. We can't put the material down if there is too much rain. If it becomes sticky it won't roll. The material is machine applied. Dave will work out the details with Bobby on Monday. Henderson - I suggest using official road closed signs put up by Protection Services. If we put up ours, they'll be stolen. We will need 3, one at Silverthorn, Fry and Shadduck. They will need to be up 2 days, one for the fabric and if we get one layer of 2-A down we could open it up that night. It would only have 4" of material on it. We may need three days. Zessinger Pit Gravel/R. Ivancic - Summerville will move back into the pit and supply us with the remainder of the gravel owed before it gets too wet. We owe Rudy $120 for 240 yards delivered. Henderson moved to pay Rudy Ivancic $120 for 240 yards of gravel. Sachar seconded. Carried. Ireland - do we need to give him permission to continue to take gravel from Rudy's? Dave answered no. Pressure Washer Replacement - our pressure washer died. It would cost $1,400 to repair it. Ganzer has a nearly new one for $2,000 and will allow us to make payments of $400 a month until it's paid. Discussion on new vs. used. Ireland - are both with a warranty? Dave answered yes, one year all parts and labor. Henderson moved to purchase a used pressure washer from Ganzer Equipment. Ireland seconded. Carried. FINANCIAL AND TAXES Bills - discussion on various bills. Henderson moved to pay the bills as listed totaling $7,012.77 general fund; $2,894.21 state fund; $75.00 fire dept. fund. Sachar seconded. Carried. Payroll - Henderson moved to approve payroll #19-01 and #20-01 as presented. Sachar seconded. Carried. Cost Charge for Tax Certifications and Memo Bills - June gave the history of the problem she is having. Attorneys and Realtors call for taxes at closings. The State Ethics Commission says that tax collectors can charge as long as there is a resolution from the municipality. Each municipality has their own established rate. She is also having a problem with memo bills on real estate tax payments. It takes her several hours to straighten out the service company's mistakes. Most people with a mortgage send their tax bill to their mortgage company. The tax service companies that handle the bills then pay them, usually the wrong amount. Sachar - what kind of fee would you charge the tax service company? Shelhamer - $5 a parcel. Other townships have such an ordinance. Girard and Greene are two that do. Henderson - does it have to be an ordinance? We set all our charges and fees at our annual organizational meeting. Sachar - if a company knows that you'll charge $5 a parcel, they'll do their job right. Shelhamer - not necessarily. It can wait until the January meeting. Henderson - you always wonder if they are working in the homeowner's best interest. A homeowner puts his money in escrow in good faith. I don't like the way they're paying at face in the discount period and June then sends them the discounted amount back. I'll bet they're pocketing the discount money. Sachar - should the State Attorney General be looking into this? Henderson - I can see a 2% rake off that these companies are taking. Sachar - get us copies of these other township's ordinances. June will do. State Tax Collectors Convention - Henderson moved to preapprove June Shelhamer's expenses to the State Tax Collectors Convention in York, PA. Ireland seconded. Carried. Attorney George Schroeck arrived at 0847 hours. June Shelhamer left the meeting at 0849 hours. PLANNING, ZONING, RECREATION, SAFETY, SANITATION/RECYCLING, HEALTH AND THE COMMON GOOD Planning Commission Minutes, Update Comprehensive Plan, Industrial Park/KOZ, Storage Trailers, Ordinance #3-01/Animal Density - nothing. Ordinance #2-01/No Burning of Recyclables - Attorney Schroeck reviewed the proposed ordinance. He said that when an ordinance has penalties included it needs strict drafting for criminal penalties and it needs strict descriptions. Henderson moved to approve Ordinance #2-01, No Burning of Recyclables. Ireland seconded. Carried. Recycle Grant - Dave reported on a joint meeting between Washington Township and Franklin Township that was held in our office with DEP representative Guy McUmber and Kathy Jones, Erie County's recycling coordinator concerning our new grant application. McUmber was discouraging, saying our statistics were not high enough. It is getting harder to get funding because there is less available at the State level. The impression was that voluntary recycling programs are going by the wayside. Henderson - if we get no grant, we can't afford to have a recycle day. We could continue curbside recycling if the residents want it. Discussion. Sachar - this is all voluntary. I think it looks pretty good. Henderson - but from a statistics view, it's not so good. McUmber suggested curbside recycling containers and we looked into them. Residents would only need one because we co-mingle. We need a container big enough to hold a 33- gallon bag and have big wheels so it is easy to wheel down the driveway to the curb. We must make it convenient for the residents. Rubbermaid makes one like that for $73. It would be a 90/10 split and we would charge $7.00 each. We would have to make it clear to the residents that recyclables may be picked up at a later time than their regular garbage so this container can be used only for recyclables. The other option is a 32-gallon size with lid and no wheels. It would be a long time before we got our 90% funds back from the State. The front money would be expensive. We would need to educate our residents. Schroeck - you could pass an ordinance and make recycling mandatory. Sachar - we're trying to increase our statistics. Henderson - in all other municipalities the ownership of the container remains with the township. Haulers can tell us if the containers are being misused. October 4th is the deadline for the grant application. If we decide in the end not to buy the containers, we just wouldn't use that part of the grant. Sachar - I can see they're just nudging us off the list of grants. Henderson - we haven't applied political pressure yet. Every level of government has its priorities. All these grants may go away. Schroeck - what's the option? If it's illegal now to burn, why not make everybody buy one. Henderson - it's a way to limit our costs, buy small quantities and order more as needed. Once the grant is approved, we'd be reimbursed. We make an estimate on the number needed, say 200 and put it in the grant. We can buy 25 and if we need more order another 25. Henderson moved to add 200 Rubbermaid recycle containers with big wheels to the Recycle Grant application. Ireland seconded. Carried. Brad Bierer from Fairview Township arrived at 0925 hours. Hawthorne Ridge Road/Brooks Road - Mr. Bierer stated that Fairview Township would like to discuss the possibility of Franklin Twp. taking over the maintenance of Brooks Road in exchange for Fairview taking over the maintenance of Hawthorne Ridge Road. Henderson - what about cross-pipes? Bierer - we replaced the pipes on Brooks, one by Chivers and one by Kallenbach. There is a problem about 100 feet from Gudgeonville, it's a washboard. You have to grade Brooks to Francis anyway and it would be more convenient for you than for us. It's 7/10's of a mile. Henderson - this would start the first of the year? Bierer - yes. If you grade Brooks before snow, do the whole thing and charge us for it. Henderson moved to grade all of Brooks Road this fall and bill Fairview Township for their section. Ireland seconded. Carried. Mr. Bierer left the meeting at 0931 hours. Welka's Disposal Ordinance Violation - Dave reported that Welka's was picking up only one bag of recyclables last week even though the letter that we sent was received well in advance of pick-up day. Henderson -they should have responded. We'll give them one more meeting. History Grant - word was favorable. Carol Sanders will call back on whether she will head up the project. Lights on for Safety - nothing. Truitt - if RECA picks up the cost for a year, why does the Township want to foot the bill long term? Henderson explained the long-term safety benefits. Census Undercount - nothing. SOLICITOR Western Trail/G. Antolik - Antolik asked if Engineer Mark Corey had completed his inspection. Henderson - Mark was to do the final inspection but we haven't heard from him. We're waiting for Mark. Is it growing grass or not? Antolik - I haven't looked in the last couple of days. Impact Fee Ordinance, Oshkosh Registration - nothing. Nudity Ordinance Comparison - Schroeck reported that work is progressing on this issue. Each Supreme Court Justice wrote an opinion about the size of a phone book. Felicia Schroeck is reviewing the opinions. Henderson - the important thing is that our ordinance doesn't say anything contrary to Erie's ordinance. Sachar - we could do nothing until someone challenges it. Henderson - they'd come in with lots of money, we can't afford a challenge. Schroeck - for the several hours that you've invested, you'll have a good analysis. Zessinger Pit Agreement - Ireland said that if we are going to finish the pit to do it and be done with it. If we're taking out more, do it. Schroeck - we could put in a revisal, to take out the remaining yardage. Sachar - how much material should we reserve? Schroeck - a reasonable amount. What has to be hauled over by Summerville? I'll send this to them. When it comes back and you sign it, it's done. Do you want this to take effect January 1, 2002? Henderson - yes, send it to them and see how they like it. Waste Management Ordinance Violation - the issue is settled. Waste Management signed the agreement. We sent Mr. DeSimone a list of residents so they could do a mailing to their customers on recycling. Weight Limit Ordinance, Ray Swift Complaint - nothing. GMSD EIT Collection Revisions - the school district is revising several sections of their EIT collection policy. Henderson - two sections are changed. One is that the tax collector is given the right to hold a distressed sale of property for non-payment of EIT taxes. We'd better have a defensible position if she goes ahead with a distressed sale. Sachar - if my employer absconds with my EIT taxes, am I responsible for the missing funds? Schroeck - I don't know, I'd need to read the ordinance. It seems to me that if a corporation takes the money and runs, you can't hold the resident responsible. Henderson - if the corporation takes off, there is the possibility of a distressed sale of the business property. If the business owner thought that was illegal, he'd come after the township too. Sachar - I'd think I'd still be responsible for the missing funds. Discussion. Henderson - the problem is the employer who gets in financial trouble or a self- employed individual who does. OLD BUSINESS Nothing. NEW BUSINESS Nothing. CORRESPONDENCE ECATO Annual Convention - convention is October 25th. Dave and Bonnie will attend all day. John, Denver, June and Gary will attend for dinner only. George McKinley Retirement Dinner - Mr. McKinley is retiring from Fairview Township. All three Supervisors will attend. ADJOURN Sachar called the meeting adjourned at 1017 hours. Bonnie J. Bernhardt, Secretary