Welcome to Upper Saucon Township

MINUTES
Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors
Regular Meeting
Monday, October 4, 2010 – 6:00 P.M.
Township Municipal Building

Members Present:
Miro A. Gutzmirtl, Chairman
Stephen Wagner, Vice Chairman
Joseph M. Horvath
John E. Gilda, Jr.
Joaquim "Jack" DeMatos

Staff Attending:
Thomas F. Beil, Township Manager
Robert E. Kassel, Jr., Asst. Township Manager
Dennis Harman, P.E., Township Engineer
Thomas Dinkelacker, Township Solicitor

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 rise and recite the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

PUBLIC COMMENT
Michael Horton, Candidate for 131st House Legislative District – Michael Horton explained his background and experience and gave a summary of his positions on statewide issues. Chairman Gutzmirtl asked Mr. Horton to consider advancing the following legislative agenda if he is elected State Representative:

Assist the Township in securing grants and/or obtaining stimulus funds for infrastructure projects.
Increase state funding for preservation of open space / farmland.
Pass legislation that would allow municipalities to declare moratorium on new development in order to update land use ordinances.
Pass legislation that would allow school districts to levy impact fees on new development.
Amend the MPC to make it easier for municipalities to charge developers for costly transportation infrastructure improvements.
Pass legislation that would authorize impact fees to support local police, recreation, fire and emergency services, as well as other areas affected by new development.
What can the state do to make it easier for volunteer fire departments to recruit new volunteers and retain existing volunteers?
Amend bidding requirements of second class township code – raise the threshold at which townships must advertise for bids on purchases and contracts from the current $10,000 to $25,000.
Pass legislation that would allow municipalities to advertise bids and public notices on web or in weekly publications like Penny Power instead of being forced to run ads in daily newspapers like The Morning Call. Advertising in the daily newspaper is very expensive, plus it does not appear to be an effective means of notifying Township residents.

Mr. Horton said he will look into these issues. If elected, he committed to providing periodic updates to the Board on issues of importance to the Township. Chairman Gutzmirtl noted that the current State Representative for the 131st District was provided with a copy of this list over two years ago, and she has yet to respond.

Mr. Horton responded to questions from the Board members on a variety of different topics.

CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS
Chairman Gutzmirtl said the NeighborFest event held at the Township park was a huge success. He thanked Tracy Roman and the other members of the Park & Recreation Commission for their efforts in planning and organizing NeighborFest. Sharyn Heater, Director of Community Development, was also commended for her efforts in preparing an outstanding Township Newsletter.

PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 141-A – COMPREHENSIVE AMENDMENT TO ZONING ORDINANCE OF 2009
Ordinance No. 141-A modifies, clarifies and supplements the recently enacted Upper Saucon Township Zoning Ordinance of 2009, and the Upper Saucon Township Zoning Map dated
April, 2009 and contains some 92 revisions to the existing Ordinance.

Public Hearing on Proposed Ordinance No. 141-A
Thomas Dinkelacker, Township Solicitor, introduced the ordinance and summarized its relevant provisions. Attorney Dinkelacker introduced the following exhibits into the record:
T-1: Complete copy of the proposed ordinance
T-2: Copy of the public notice
T-3: Letter from Sharyn Heater transmitting the proposed ordinance to the Township Planning Commission dated August 19, 2010.
T-4: Letter from Sharyn Heater transmitting the proposed ordinance to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission dated August 19, 2010.
T-5: Review comments received from the Township Planning Commission dated
September 30, 2010.
T-6: Review comments received from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission dated June 25, 2010.
T-7: Review comments received from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission dated October 1, 2010.

The exhibits will become part of the official file and available for public inspection at the Township Building.

Attorney Dinkelacker asked if anyone from the public wished to comment on the Ordinance. There was no response.

Adoption of Proposed Ordinance No. 141-A
Motion made by Mr. Wagner and seconded by Mr. Horvath to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 141-A which modifies, clarifies and supplements the recently enacted Upper Saucon Township Zoning Ordinance of 2009, and the Upper Saucon Township Zoning Map dated 4/09.

PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 141-B – ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT – VILLAGE COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICT
Thomas Dinkelacker, Township Solicitor, introduced Ordinance No. 141-B which amends the Upper Saucon Township Zoning Ordinance by (1) creating a new VC-Village Commercial Overlay Zone, and (2) making the necessary revisions to fully incorporate the new VC-Village Commercial Overlay Zone throughout the Ordinance text. Attorney Dinkelacker introduced the following exhibits into the record:
T-1: Complete copy of the proposed ordinance
T-2: Copy of the public notice
T-3: Letter from Sharyn Heater transmitting the proposed ordinance to the Township Planning
Commission dated July 28, 2010.
T-4: Letter from Sharyn Heater transmitting the proposed ordinance to the Lehigh Valley
Planning Commission dated July 28, 2010.
T-5: Review comments received from the Township Planning Commission dated
September 30, 2010.
T-6: Review comments received from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission dated
August 27, 2010.

The exhibits will become part of the official file and available for public inspection at the Township Building.

Attorney Dinkelacker asked if anyone from the public wished to comment on the Ordinance. There was no response.

Adoption of Proposed Ordinance No. 141-B
Motion made by Mr. Wagner and seconded by Mr. DeMatos to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 141-B which amends the Zoning Ordinance by creating a new VC-Village Commercial Overlay Zone and establishing regulations for the new VC-Village Commercial Overlay Zone.

MINUTES
Regular Meeting of September 20, 2010
Motion made by Mr. Horvath and seconded Mr. DeMatos to approve the Regular Meeting minutes of September 20, 2010.

MOTIONS
Proposal from Municipal Resources of Pennsylvania To Develop Job Descriptions and Evaluate The Township’s Staffing Needs
Motion made by Mr. Horvath and seconded by Mr. Gilda to accept the proposal dated August 19, 2010 from Municipal Resources of Pennsylvania to develop job descriptions for various Township positions and evaluate the Township’s staffing needs.

In response to a question from the Board, Mr. Beil explained that some work on job descriptions has been done in the past and that the prior work will be turned over to the consultant. The Township has 30 job classifications with formal job descriptions for only a handful of the positions. The project is scheduled for completion in 90 days.

Center Valley Manor – Release of Funds (Final)
Motion made by Mr. DeMatos and seconded by Mr. Wagner to authorize the release of construction security in the amount of $67,629.00 for the Center Valley Manor Subdivision in accordance with the memo dated October 1, 2010 from the Director of Community Development.

Proposal From The Trust for Public Land To Develop Strategy For Preserving Open Space
Motion made by Mr. Horvath and seconded by Mr. Gilda to accept the proposal dated November 16, 2009 from the Trust for Public Land for consulting services to assist the Township in developing a strategy for preserving open space.

DIRECTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS
Zoning Hearing Board Agenda – October 11, 2010
Mr. Beil reviewed the two appeals on the docket for the October 11, 2010 Zoning Hearing Board meeting, noting both are routine matters. The Board did not deem it necessary to oppose either of these appeals.

BILLS, PAYROLL, AND COMMISSIONS
Prepaid Invoice List #10042010, dated 09/30/2010, for $100,036.65
Warrant List #10042010, dated 09/30/2010, for $420,731.60

Motion made by Mr. Horvath and seconded by Mr. Wagner to authorize the payment of the Prepaid Invoice List and the Warrant List.

Mr. Gutzmirtl asked for a more expansive description of each invoice listed on the Warrant List. Mr. Kassel explained that the computer software used to generate the Warrant List limits the description to a set number of characters.

COURTESY OF THE FLOOR
Ed Szapacs 3654 Station Avenue – Mr. Szapacs suggested that there may be other municipal software programs available that would allow a larger comment field on the Warrant List.

Ray McFadden, 3715 South Saucon Avenue - Mr. McFadden questioned whether his recreational vehicle would be permitted to be parked in his driveway as it has been since 1986. Mr. Beil pointed out that the new ordinance did not prohibit recreational vehicles, but required them to meet certain setback requirements.

EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board met in executive session to discuss a personnel matter.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by Mr. Horvath and seconded by Mr. Gilda to adjourn the meeting.