MINUTES OF MEETING
MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
JULY 24, 2006
At 7:00 p.m. Chairman Bill Sarosky called to order the executive session. In attendance were Supervisors Greenberg, Kuhn, Prousi and Witmer. Also in attendance were John Nagel, Merle Ochrach and Ken Amey. Potential litigation matters were discussed.
At 7:35 p.m. Chairman Bill Sarosky called to order the work session. In attendance were Supervisors Greenberg, Kuhn, Prousi and Witmer. Also in attendance were John Nagel, Merle Ochrach, Rich Brady and Deb Rivas.
Chairman Sarosky announced that he would be presenting the annual donations to various organizations in the Township. Chairman Sarosky presented checks to the PEAK Center, Inc., the Visiting Nurses Community Association, the North Penn Visiting Nurse Association and the Montgomery Township Historical Society.
Chairman Sarosky made a general comment regarding land planning. Mr. Sarosky stated that one of the most difficult aspects is trying to be proactive in land planning. Our Zoning Review Committee has been proactive in reviewing our ordinances, but the Township also needs to review certain tracts of land in the Township to see what, if anything, the Board would like to see happen to those tracts. The Board mentioned that our Comprehensive Plan was not consistent with our zoning plan. The Board asked Ken Amey to join the Zoning Review Board. Mr. Sarosky also asked the Supervisors to review certain tracts in the Township and communicate their ideas to the Zoning Review Board. Supervisor Kuhn mentioned that the Township should consider utilizing the “official map” and Ken Amey mentioned that he has been in contact with County planners who have said that many municipalities are asking about using official maps and options for doing so.
At 7:55 p.m. Chairman Sarosky called to order the regular meeting. In attendance were Supervisors Greenberg, Kuhn, Prousi and Witmer. Also in attendance were John Nagel, Merle Ochrach, Rich Brady, Kevin Costello, Bill Brightcliffe, Monica DeCaro, Ken Amey, John Chambers, Earl Armitage, Rick Tralies and Deb Rivas.
Chief Brady introduced Brian M. Schreiber and announced that Mr. Schreiber was to be sworn in as the Township’s newest police officer. Chairman Sarosky administered the oath of office and by a unanimous vote, Resolution #1 appointed Mr. Schreiber as a police cadet with an effective starting date of August 11, 2006.
There was no public comment for any item not listed on the agenda.
The next item on the agenda was the consideration of Ordinance #06-208 - Verizon Franchise Agreement. Under public comment, a resident of the Village of Neshaminy Falls voiced his concerns about how this agreement was publicized, how many meetings were held and what would the rates and services be for Verizon. John Nagel explained that there were at least three public meetings regarding this franchise agreement. Merle Ochrach also explained that the Township did not have any control over what rates or services would be charged by Verizon. Dan Reavy of Verizon also explained that Verizon would be supplying fiber optic directly to the home of each customer that wanted to acquire their services. After additional discussion, Resolution #2 unanimously approved Ordinance #06-208 - Verizon Franchise Agreement.
At 8:12 pm, Chairman Sarosky opened the public hearing for the Conditional Use for Zehr Tract. Mr. Sarosky explained that the applicant had asked for a continuance of this hearing. There were no comments from the Board and Resolution #3 unanimously approved the hearing to be continued to September 25, 2006. The hearing closed at 8:15 pm. Under public comment, Dave Kittka of 104 Quail Court asked what the Board had just done. Chairman Sarosky explained the process involved in holding a conditional use hearing and that the Board had just taken action on continuing the hearing to the Board meeting of September 25, 2006. Frank Tome of 1216 Stump Road inquired as to when construction might begin on such a project. The Board indicated that they had no idea on how long this process could take. Lisa Meade of 116 Devonshire Drive asked when the public would be able to comment on what they would like to see happen to the property. The Board indicated that a public comment opportunity would be made available at the September 25, 2006 meeting. Chairman Sarosky explained that the Board has considered many options regarding this property, including the purchase of it. The Board feels that it has a very fine park system in place and is benefiting from an additional 20 acre park from the Cutler Group to be constructed on Hartman Road in the future. If the current park system did not exist, the Board might consider the purchase of such a piece of land, but the Township cannot afford to purchase this ground. Instead, Chairman Sarosky made a motion to consider a public hearing on September 25, 2006 after 8:00 pm to rezone the Zehr Tract to all R1 Residential. Supervisor Witmer seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. Under additional public comment, Andrea Schoneker of 122 Andrew Lane asked if public use of the property is then limited if it is rezoned to R1? The Board explained that if anyone decides to develop on the R1 tract, they will still have to comply with various open space requirements. Those open spaces would be public spaces. Kim Braccia of 1146 Stump Road said that the developer has contacted her to use part of her land. Ms. Braccia indicated that she felt like something was going on behind the scene and it was unsettling to not have a plan of what is to come. Roy Rodriguez explained that a conditional use plan was submitted to the Township for the hearing and is available for viewing in the Planning Department of the Township building.
Frank Bartle, representing Commerce Bank, provided an updated plan showing the changes discussed at the last meeting with regard to the drive through. After a brief discussion, Resolution #5 approved the revised plan changes for the Commerce Bank.
Under the consent agenda, the minutes of meeting of July 10, 2006 and payment of bills were approved as submitted. Resolution #6 approved the extension of medical benefits. Resolution #7 approved the escrow release for Home Depot. Resolution #8 approved the escrow release for Clayton Hill II. Resolution #9 approved the 2006 Novachip project. Resolution #10 approved the public safety sidewalks. Resolution #11 approved the Stump Road Fire Station field survey proposal in the amount of $5,100. All resolutions were unanimous.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.