Board of Supervisors Agenda

MINUTES
Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors
Regular Meeting
Monday, March 12, 2007 - 6:00 p.m.
Township Municipal Building

Members Present:
Miro A. Gutzmirtl, Chairman
Stephen C. Wagner, Vice Chairman
James H. White, Sr.
Joyce V. White
Joseph M. Horvath

Staff Attending:
Thomas F. Beil, Township Manager
Robert E. Kassel, Jr., Asst. Township Manager
Daniel J. Stahlnecker, Superintendent of Water and Sewer
Jeffrey Dimmich, Township Solicitor
Dennis Harman, Township Engineer
Karl Schreiter, Jr., Township Sewer Engineer

CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Gutzmirtl called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Public Meeting Room of the Upper Saucon Township Municipal Building, 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, PA.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Chairman Gutzmirtl asked all in attendance to stand and recite the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

PUBLIC HEARINGS
None

PUBLIC COMMENT
Public Comment is summarized as follows:

Al Siess - Blue Church Road – Mr. Siess spoke on the recent talks to revive railway service to the Lehigh Valley urging the Township to get behind the idea. The current plan, he told Supervisors, would bring rail service just above Quakertown for an estimated cost of approximately $50 million. Mr. Siess contended that several government officials indicated they would rather use those funds to widen Route 22, which would cause the extension of railway service to end in Hellertown and force further urbanization of the Valley. He asked that the Township consider a push to maintain not only the corridor, but the rural nature of the area.

Chairman Gutzmirtl told Mr. Siess that he planned to be vigilant with regards to the situation in the future. He assured Mr. Siess the Township would not be forced into urbanization.

Gretel Ruppert - 5201 Mountainside Lane – Mrs. Ruppert provided the Board with a summary of the latest meeting of the Antique Barn Coalition (ABC).

CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS
Chairman Gutzmirtl mentioned an improper acknowledgement that had been made at a prior meeting regarding the Newsletter Award received by the Township. Secondly, he praised Don Eck, Superintendent of Roads, for the way his crew cleared the roads during the Valentine’s Day snowstorm. He commended Mr. Beil for being fiscally responsible by purchasing slightly used office furniture for the Township from Aldi, Inc., at a reduced cost.  Chairman Gutzmirtl also commended Police Officer Roger Miller and his wife for informing Mr. Beil of the opportunity.

PRESENTATIONS
Regionalization of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Southern Lehigh County
Ed Moreland, Director of EMS Quality Improvement with the Eastern PA EMS Council, gave a presentation to the Board of Supervisors about the state of EMS services in the Southern Lehigh region. He began by explaining there were 16 EMS regions, naming the counties included in those regions, and detailing the responsibilities of his department. He continued by suggesting a possible partial merger of the Upper Saucon, Coopersburg, and Lower Milford EMS teams. The feasibility of a merger, however, would depend on the standard response times for each of the three entities. After gathering response times from each, Mr. Moreland said, he found all three to be, for the most part, outside of the standard response time of eight minutes. He then discussed the possible solutions to the problem of inadequate response times and the specific considerations related to each solution. In addition, he answered questions from each of the five Supervisors, as well as Attorney Dimmich. The questions centered around the process behind a merger, what would be done with things such as structures, equipment, and insurance if a merger took place, what studies would be necessary for a merger and where funding for the studies would come from, and the costs associated with not only a merger, but with the various solutions to the problem of inadequate response time.

SUBDIVISIONS AND LAND DEVELOPMENTS
Saucon Creek Conference Center –Resolution No. 2007-26
A motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. Wagner to adopt Resolution No. 2007-26 conditionally approving the Preliminary and Final Land Development Plans of Sierra Management Company to construct a four story hotel and conference center on seventeen acres at the southwest corner of the Center Valley Parkway and West Saucon Valley Road intersection.

The vote was taken by roll call, and the results were as follows:

Chairman Gutzmirtl: Yes
Mr. Wagner: Yes
Mr. Horvath: Yes
Mr. White: Yes
Mrs. White: Yes

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

Saucon Creek Conference Center Minor Subdivision – Resolution No. 2007-27
A motion was made by Mrs. White and seconded by Mr. Wagner to adopt Resolution No. 2007-27 conditionally approving the Preliminary and Final Minor Subdivision Plans of Sierra Management Company to create various drainage, access, and construction easements on lands of Stabler Land Company known as the Center Valley Golf Course in connection with the development of a hotel and conference center at the southwest corner of the Center Valley Parkway and West Saucon Valley Road intersection.

The vote was taken by roll call, and the results were as follows:

Chairman Gutzmirtl: Yes
Mr. Wagner: Yes
Mr. Horvath: Yes
Mr. White: Yes
Mrs. White: Yes

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

MINUTES
Regular Meeting of April 10, 2006
A motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mrs. White to approve the minutes of the April 10, 2006 regular meeting of the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors.

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

Regular Meeting of May 8, 2006
A motion was made by Mrs. White and seconded by Mr. Horvath to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2006 meeting of the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors.

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

Regular Meeting of June 12, 2006
A motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. Horvath to approve the minutes of the June 12, 2006 regular meeting of the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors.

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
The Board reviewed the following Committee Report:

• Administration and Finance Committee Meeting of January 29, 2007

Copies of the Committee Report were made available to the public.

ORDINANCES

None

RESOLUTIONS
Resolution No. 2007-25 – Regionalization of Ambulance Services
A motion was made by Mr. Horvath and seconded by Mr. Wagner to adopt Resolution No. 2007-25 supporting the concept of a regional Ambulance Service provider in southern Lehigh County.

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

MOTIONS
Award Bid for Water Meters and Readers – Bid No. 2007-02
A motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. Horvath to award the bid for water meters and readers to AquaPro in the amount of $137,579.00.

Mr. White asked if AquaPro was the only bidder.

Mr. Harman said request for proposals were sent to four suppliers and that AquaPro was the only one to respond.

Chairman Gutzmirtl asked if the Township was really paying fair market value for the meters given the fact that there are no other bids to compare to AquaPro’s price.

Mr. Harman believed the price given by AquaPro to be fair noting that it included a natural increase in cost over the prior year. He said the only way the Township could obtain a better price would be to purchase the meters from a wholesaler, which could not be done under the required bidding procedures.

Mr. Wagner asked if these meters were the only type that could be used by the Township, and if the requests for proposals were sent after the company had been identified as a supplier of the particular brand needed.

Mr. Harman responded yes to both of Mr. Wagner’s questions.

Mr. Wagner expressed disappointment in the lack of competition.

Mrs. White inquired if the Township could save money on purchases such as these by participating in a State purchase.

Mr. Harman replied yes, it may be possible to obtain a better price and more bids in the future by piggybacking their purchase.

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
None

DIRECTION / DISCUSSION ITEMS
Purchase of Excavator for Water/Sewer Department
The Township’s Sewer Engineer, Karl Schreiter, Jr., gave a brief presentation to the Board regarding the replacement of a backhoe with an excavator for the Township’s Water and Sewer Department. The condition of the 1987 backhoe, he said, inherited from the Township’s Road Department had deteriorated significantly and needed to be replaced. In the process of pricing new backhoes, he and Mr. Stahlnecker found an excavator would be a more practical piece of equipment for the department because of its versatility. Given the increased depth of many of the new water and sewer sites in the Township, the excavator would be ideal.

A long discussion ensued involving the Board, Attorney Dimmich, Mr. Beil, Mr. Schreiter, and Mr. Stahlnecker regarding the potential uses for an excavator, the total cost of a new excavator versus a new backhoe, and the possibility of using other municipalities’ equipment, renting equipment as needed, or a joint purchase between UST and other municipalities to reduce cost.

A motion was made by Mrs. White and seconded by Mr. Horvath to purchase the excavator with the aluminum shoring boxes for the Township’s Water and Sewer Department at a cost of $190,700.

Chairman Gutzmirtl noted he would vote in favor of the purchase, but would like to see the excavator made available to other municipalities for rent or partial purchase.

The vote was taken by roll call, and the results were as follows:

Chairman Gutzmirtl: Yes
Mr. Wagner: Yes
Mr. Horvath: Yes
Mr. White: Yes
Mrs. White: Yes

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

BILLS, PAYROLLS, AND COMMISSIONS
Prepaid Invoice List #03122007 dated 03/09/2007…….$92,011.02
Warrant List #03122007 dated 03/09/2007…………….$263,156.46

A motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mrs. White to authorize payment of the Prepaid Invoice List and Warrant List #03122007 dated 03/09/2007.

Mr. White had a question regarding one invoice, which was answered by Mr. Beil.

The vote was taken by roll call, and the results were as follows:

Chairman Gutzmirtl: Yes
Mr. Wagner: Yes
Mr. Horvath: Yes
Mr. White: Yes
Mrs. White: Yes

The motion carried by a vote of 5 to 0.

COURTESY OF THE FLOOR
Bob Tettemer – Glen Road – Mr. Tettemer asked if the Township would be gathering input from taxpayers concerning the possible EMS merger before passing a resolution in support of it. He also wanted to know who owned the various equipment used by each of the three EMS teams.

Chairman Gutzmirtl responded those issues would be addressed as the process moves forward.

Mr. Wagner also addressed Mr. Tettemer’s inquiries by reminding him the EMS teams were independent of the Township and were non-profit organizations. The Township was only being included because if a merger were to happen, the Township would have to give the newly-formed organization permission to operate within its borders.

EXECUTIVE SESSION
None

ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. Wagner to adjourn the meeting.

The motion carried unanimously.

                                                                       
Secretary