MINUTES OF MEETING
JANUARY 25, 2010
At 6:00 p.m. Chairman Joseph Walsh called to order the executive session. In attendance were Supervisors Birch, Chimera, Fox and McDonnell. Also in attendance were John Nagel, Frank Bartle, Richard Brady, Robert Brandt, Bill Kerr and Bruch Shoupe. Items of litigation, potential litigation and personnel were discussed.
At 8:04 p.m. Chairman Joseph Walsh called to order the action meeting and led the pledge of allegiance. In attendance were Supervisors Birch, Fluehr Chimera, Fox and McDonnell. Also in attendance were Frank Bartle, John Nagel, Bruce Shoupe, Larry Gregan, Kevin Costello, William Brightcliffe, Richard Brady and Deb Rivas.
Under public comment, Richard Roller of 1142 Knapp Road, announced that he was attending the meeting with Cub Scout, Brandon Uzdzienski, who was working on his Citizenship in the Community Badge. Mr. Roller asked if the Chief of Police would take a few minutes after the meeting to answer a few questions for Mr. Uzdzienski. Chief Brady indicated that he would be pleased to assist. The Board congratulated Brandon Uzdzienski on his efforts. There was no other public comment.
Solicitor Frank Bartle announced that the Board had met in an executive session prior to this meeting and discussed matters of the potential acquisition of real estate, litigation regarding Keystone Homebrew and the Lesinski matters as well as various other personnel matters which are permissible in executive session under the guidelines of the Sunshine law.
Chief Brady announced that after an exhaustive recruit selection process, the top candidate, Lee Andrew Wagner, was present this evening to be sworn in as the newest Montgomery Township Police Officer. Chief Brady stated that Officer Wagner would begin his new position on January 29, 2010 as a Police Recruit. Chief Brady said that Officer Wagner previously served in the U.S. Navy as an Avionics Maintenance Technician for five years. Resolution #1 unanimously authorized the hiring of Lee Andrew Wagner as a Police Recruit effective January 29, 2010.
Recreation Coordinator, Sudha Suryadevera, introduced Matthew Bamford as the Recreation Intern for Montgomery Township. Mr. Bamford is in his junior year at Drexel University, majoring in Sports Management. Mr. Bamford will be assisting in the Recreation office until June, 2010. Lt. Gordon Simes introduced Melissa Demchik who was recently hired as a police dispatcher. Ms. Demchik has been a police dispatcher for fifteen years, fourteen of those years at the Montgomery County 911 center. The Board and Township staff welcomed both new hires.
Chairman Walsh announced that on January 4th, the Board had extended the appointment of the Township consultants for the purposes of reviewing and deciding on reappointments. Mr. Walsh indicated that the Board was prepared to make its appointments for the year 2010 at this evening's meeting. Resolution #2 unanimously appointed the Township Engineer to be John O. Chambers of Chambers Associates, the Traffic Engineer/Street Light Engineer to be Kevin Johnson of Traffic Planning and Design, the Landscape Engineer to be Judith Stern Goldstein of Boucher & James, Inc., the Building Inspector to be Richard O'Brien of Keystone Municipal Services and the Labor Attorney to be Joseph Rudolf of Reed Smith.
Larry Gregan announced that the Police Pension Plan actuarial valuation report in 2009 projects an increase in the Township's General Fund funding obligation to the plan from approximately $145,000 in 2010 to approximately $405,000 in 2011 and 2012. Mr. Gregan said that this increase is the result of the combination of stock market upheaval and increased benefits awarded in the last collective bargaining agreement. Mr. Gregan stated that since the preparation of the report, the State has adopted Act 44 of 2009 that addresses the substantial increase in funding obligations for pension plans. Specifically, the Act provides new amortization schedules and smoothing techniques. Mr. Gregan said that if the Township takes advantage of the 130% smoothing option, the contributions would be lower for 2011 and 2012 by about $88,000. Mr. Gregan stated that lower contributions now will likely mean somewhat higher contributions 5 to 15 years from now. After some discussion, Resolution #3 unanimously authorized the Police Pension Plan Actuary, Conrad Siegel, to prepare a revised 1/1/2009 Police Pension Plan Valuation Report utilizing optional remedies available for Distress Level 1 Pension plans in accordance with Act 44 of 2009 at a cost of $1,250.
Chairman Walsh announced that the Township would be discussing the solicitation of banking services. Supervisor Fox announced that he is an employee of Univest National Bank and would recuse himself from the discussion. Mr. Walsh said that the Township has been using the banking services of Harleysville National Bank since January, 2006. Mr. Walsh indicated that the Board had asked Township staff to initiate actions to obtain alternative banking services as it was recently announced that Harleysville National Bank had been acquired by First Niagara Bank. Mr. Walsh also indicated that banking services are considered professional services and are not subject to the competitive bidding requirements of the Second Class Township Code. Mr. Gregan indicated that the Township had several options, including remaining with Harleysville Bank and negotiating an extension of our contract with First Niagara Bank, conducting a formal RFP process to solicit proposals from area banks, or negotiate with a local banks that meets our specific banking needs. Mr. Walsh asked the Board how it wished to proceed. Mr. Walsh indicated that he had experiences with both Harleysville Bank and Univest National Bank as the North Penn School Board had switched from one bank to the other. Mr. Walsh indicated that the school board had done extensive research and had selected Univest National Bank as the best choice for their needs. Mr. McDonnell said that he agreed with Mr. Walsh and that Univest National Bank was a very good choice for the Township as he has found it to be a conservative institution. After a brief discussion, Resolution #4 authorized the staff to negotiate a contract with Univest National Bank for services to meet the Township's specific banking needs. The vote was 4 to 0, with Supervisor Fox abstaining from the vote.
Planning Director Bruce Shoupe announced that the staff recently reviewed the building permit fees for new commercial and residential construction. Mr. Shoupe said that the goal of the review was to provide a revenue neutral permit fee schedule, which would require that the fees be rebalanced between the various types of building construction activity. After some discussion, Resolution #5 unanimously approved the 2010 fee schedule, including building and related permits, zoning permits, subdivision applications and highway occupancy permits, and the adoption of the August 2009 International Code Council Building Valuation Data for all new residential and non-residential building construction.
Under the consent agenda, the minutes of meeting for January 4, 2010 and payment of bills were approved as submitted. Resolution #6 approved the escrow release for Montgomery Square United Methodist Church. Resolution #7 approved the escrow release for Residence Inn & Pizzeria Uno Restaurant. Resolution #8 authorized the Township Manager to advertise for bids for the 2010 Curb and Sidewalk Project. Resolution #9 authorized the Township Manager to advertise for bids for Building Grounding Update for the Police Department. Resolution #10 approved the County Wide Earned Income Tax Collection Committee draft By-Laws. Resolution #11approved the amendment to the Employee Handbook for Medical Plan Benefit - Employee Opt Out. Resolution #12 approved the solicitation of comparative quote from Constellation New Energy through Municipal Utility Alliance. All consent agenda items were unanimously approved.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.