November 8, 2005

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 and David Henderson.  Jarrett Miller 
was absent.

VISITORS/PUBLIC COMMENT
No visitors present.

MINUTES
Sachar moved to approve the minutes of 10/27/05 as presented.  Henderson 
seconded.  Carried.

REPORTS
Roadmaster – Dave reported that the crew is preparing the equipment for 
winter.  Roads were graded one last time and the pump is back on the Oshkosh.  
Lay off will begin at Thanksgiving.

Agility, CDL Driving Hours, Elk Creek Road Agreement, Dirt and Gravel 
Roads Grant Application, Francis Road Grant Application – nothing.

Falls Road Bridge #1 – Dave reported that the west side concrete work is 
completed.  They are forming the footer for the east side and hope to pour the 
footer tomorrow.  If the weather is favorable, they have the chance to get the east 
side poured by next week.  Then they will back fill, set the beams and pour the 
parapet walls.  That will complete the job until next spring when the blacktop will 
be put down.

Improper Verizon Road Bore at 9450 Mohawk Road – Dave reported that 
Verizon’s engineer apologized but they subcontracted the work to Thayer 
Construction.  Thayer was to contact the Verizon engineer but we have not heard 
back from them as yet.

FINANCIAL AND TAXES
Bills – Sachar moved to approve the bill list for payment totaling $5,643.59 
general fund, $1,804.72 state fund and $983.63 equipment fund.  Henderson 
seconded.  Carried.

Payroll – Henderson moved to approve payroll #22-05 as presented.  Sachar 
seconded.  Carried.

Clean and Green Reassessments, Procurement Cards – nothing.

Dry Hydrant Grant – the labor cost to install the two hydrants was taken from 
the fire department fund.  The grant of $600 is for the labor.  Henderson moved 
to send the grant amount of $600 to FTVFD.  Sachar seconded.  Carried.

PLANNING, ZONING, RECREATION, SAFETY, SANITATION/RECYCLING, 
HEALTH AND THE COMMON GOOD
Planning Commission Minutes – reviewed.

Regional Planning – Dave reported that he talked to Tom Graney who will give 
thought on how to do a regional zoning ordinance.  He said he would e-mail his 
thoughts to us.  No word as yet.

Sachar – regional zoning should reflect what already exists.  Discussion

Industrial Park/KOZ, Recycling, Edinboro Lake Watershed – nothing.

Shooting Range – letter received from Lt. Fetterman was mailed to the residents 
who signed the original complaint.

Storage Trailers – Dave will rewrite the Storage Trailer draft ordinance.

History Grant – the printed copies should be back by the 11th of November.  
Dave will pick up the VHS tapes from EUP and get one to each interviewee.

Ordinance Compliance/Zachary Smith, 8244 Crane Road – the aerial photo 
shows multiple vehicles that appear to be abandoned.  We will proceed with a 
violation notice.

Henderson – we have also had correspondence with and complaints against the 
Brown (M/M Jim Carver, occupants) property at 10916 Route 98.  We must treat 
everyone the same.

Wetlands Replacement – Michael Baker Inc. called and said you can use 
current wetlands and enlarge it and that would qualify as a replacement.  The 
company is calling around to see if anyone has a suitable site.

Henderson – you could have a wooded area that was wet and designate it.  It 
doesn’t need to be wet all year or have standing water.

SOLICITOR
Vittorio Judgment – the Township won a default judgment.  Vittorio did not 
show up.  He has 30 days to appeal the judgment then it can be executed for 
sheriff sale.  He can buy the land back throughout any of this period.

OLD BUSINESS
Internet Broadband – we need 50 customers to sign up for broadband.  
Discussion on DCED’s and Verizon’s interpretations of the same law.

Henderson – the key may be to get moving quickly so we can be near the top of 
the list.  Hugh Crandall said he would call people to get them to sign up.

Discussion on “communities” (different phone exchanges) within the Township.

PennDOT Stop Signs – new PennDOT regulations makes townships liable for 
stop signs intersecting with township roads.

Henderson – the law does not say we are forced to maintain or erect stop signs.  
It says we “may”, it does not say we “shall”.

Discussion on PennDOT’s regulations being implemented from their 
interpretation of the law and on their responses to local government’s objections.

Henderson – they’ve stuck us with maintenance of 25 stop signs and if there is 
an accident at an intersection, we will be the ones getting sued, not PennDOT.  If 
someone calls and says a stop sign is missing, we have to fix it 24/7.  We need 
to get ECATO to have this reviewed by their solicitor.  One problem is, the 
southeast part of the State has been doing this for a long time.  This is really bad 
for small municipalities.

NEW BUSINESS
Coaxial Cable Customer Letter – discussion on the letter concerning major 
networks deciding to charge local cable companies for their signals.

Henderson – we need to find out what’s going on and take a position on this 
issue.  This will affect the customers in our franchise area.  This may have 
something to do with going from analog to digital.

CORRESPONDENCE
Zoning Change to E.C. Maps in Waterford Township – the proposed change 
would have no affect on this Township.  No comments.

Letter from Katelyn Pontore/GMHS – John will respond to her request for 
information on local government services.

President’s Award/PSATS – we will nominate Dave Henderson for his work of 
installing dry hydrants throughout the Township to improve fire protection.

ADJOURN
Sachar called the meeting adjourned at 2103 hours.

Bonnie J. Bernhardt, Secretary