MINUTES

 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS                                         LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP

 REGULAR MEETING                                                           DECEMBER 9, 2019

 

The following were in ATTENDANCE:

 

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS                                     TOWNSHIP PERSONNEL

Edward Black, President                                            Thomas G. Vernau, Jr., Township Manager

Dean W. Villone, Vice President                                          Erin G. Trone, Assistant Township Manager

Richard F. Schin                                                                    Richard Grove, Finance Director

Peddrick M. Young, Sr.                                                         David Holl, Public Safety Director

Carolyn Holtzman                                                                  Dan Flint, Public Works Coordinator

                                                                                               John Eby, Building & Zoning Coordinator

                                                                                               Leon Crone, Police Captain

                                                                                               Steven P. Miner, Solicitor

                                                                                               Tina Thomas, Recording Secretary

 

President Black called the December 9, 2019 Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners to order at 7:00 pm followed by a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. He announced that Proof of Publication was available for review.  

 

MEETING MINUTES

November 18, 2019

Commissioner YOUNG moved to approve the Minutes from the November 18, 2019 Budget Meeting. Commissioner SCHIN seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

November 25, 2019

President Black asked the Board for a motion to approve the November 25, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes or for changes. Commissioner Holtzman requested a change to the Minutes regarding the hourly rate to be paid to the Administrative Assistant for the Fire Department. She stated that the approved amount was $14.80, and it was not included in the Minutes. A different amount was included in the budget, and discussion regarding the agreed-upon rate ensued. It was decided to table the vote on the November 25^th Minutes until the discussed amount could be verified from the recording of the meeting. Commissioner SCHIN moved to table the November 25, 2019 Regular Meeting minutes and Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

 

PRESENTATION:  Public Safety Awards

Officer Bryan Rennie, Officer Nicole Boldosser, Officer Torrie Shiley, and Corporal Rick Tamanosky were present at the meeting to receive awards.  Officer Ken Stirling was unable to attend.  Captain Leon Crone spoke about their courageous actions on the night of November 12^th when they were involved in a domestic violence call with shots fired. They came under fire while assisting a New Cumberland officer. He spoke about how they protected the public by containing an active threat until the Special Response Team, including Lower Allen Officer Stirling could arrive. The SRT team succeeded in taking the suspect into custody. Director Holl presented Officers Rennie, Boldosser, and Shiley with Meritorious Service Awards for courage under fire. He presented these officers as well as Corporal Tamanosky and Officer Stirling with a Unit Citation. President Black thanked the officers on behalf of the Board of Commissioners.

 

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: 

There was none.

 

PRESIDENT BLACK

Check Register

Commissioner YOUNG moved to approve the Check Register of December 6, 2019 in the amount of $229,999.30. Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

 

Release from Probation

Vice President VILLONE moved to approve the release of Margarita Cruz from probationary status to regular full-time employment in the position of Codes Technician in the Community and Economic Development Department, effective December 19, 2019. Commissioner SCHIN seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

Release from Probation

Commissioner YOUNG moved to approve the release of Jordan Sipe from probationary status to regular full-time employment in the position of Mechanic in the Fleet Maintenance Department, effective December 10, 2019. Commissioner SCHIN seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

Release from Probation

Vice President VILLONE moved to approve the release of Bryce Thompson from probationary status to regular full-time employment in the position of Maintenance Specialist in the Public Works Department, effective December 10, 2019. Commissioner SCHIN seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

Resolution 2019-8-R-46

Commissioner SCHIN moved to adopt Resolution 2019-8-R-46 authorizing the President of the Board of Commissioners to submit water quality improvement projects for the Growing Greener Plus grants program to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  Commissioner YOUNG seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0. President Black mentioned that the first project was the Beacon Hill Stormwater Basin Retrofit.

 

Resignation

Commissioner YOUNG moved to accept the resignation of Police Officer Timothy J. Cox with regret, effective December 31, 2019. Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion, with regret, and the motion carried 5-0.

 

ANY BUSINESS PERTINENT TO THE TOWNSHIP: 

There was no response.

 

TOWNSHIP ENGINEER

SLD Docket No. 2019-13:  Land Development Plan for 1201 St. Johns Road

Mr. Flint spoke about the proposed construction of a 9,600 square foot building for office and warehouse use to be located at 1201 St. Johns Road. He said it will be built behind the Susquehanna Valley Federal Credit Union on a parcel that has never been built on. There is a secondary use access driveway from the Credit Union property as well as primary access from St. Johns Road. The proposed building will be used for an electrical contracting business. Mr. Flint stated that the plan was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission, including the applicant’s waiver requests with modification. Mr. Flint mentioned that Chris Hoover, Design Engineer, was in the audience and could answer any questions. Mr. Jeff Kolva, the business owner, was also in the audience.

 

Commissioner YOUNG moved to approve a waiver from the requirement contained in Section 192-57.C(9) to provide sidewalks along all street frontage Commissioner SCHIN seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0. 

 

Vice President VILLONE moved to approve a modification of the requirement contained in Sections 192-57.B(2)(h)[2] and 192-257.C(8) to provide curbs, and in sections 192-57.B(2)(h)[2] and 192-257.C(13) to provide fill-in paving on all street frontage, to allow construction as shown on the plan. Mr. Flint explained that curb would be installed along the majority of the property up to the guide rail but not beyond. The curb would be wide enough to accommodate the existing fire hydrant. Commissioner YOUNG seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

Commissioner YOUNG moved to approve SLD Docket No. 2019-13, Final Land Development  Plan for 1201 St. Johns Road, contingent upon the following conditions:

 

1. Lower Allen Township Authority approval.
2. Cumberland County Conservation District approval.
3. Provision of the executed Developers Agreement and financial security.
4. Provision of the executed Stormwater Management BMP Maintenance Agreement.

 

Commissioner SCHIN seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0. President Black welcomed Mr. Kolva to the Township.  

 

Payment No. 3 to Shannon A. Smith, Inc.

Commissioner YOUNG moved to authorize Payment #3 in the amount of $6,629.40 to Shannon A. Smith, Inc. for mechanical construction in the Public Works Building Addition. Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

Payment No. 4 to Penn State Construction

Commissioner SCHIN moved to authorize Payment #4 in the amount of $49,095.00 to Penn State Construction for general construction on the Public Works Building Addition. Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

Payment No. 3 to Pennsy Supply, Inc.

Commissioner SCHIN moved to authorize Payment #3 in the amount of $941,363.08 to Pennsy Supply, Inc. for the construction of the Lisburn-Rossmoyne Roundabout. Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion. Mr. Jeff Logan asked if this amount represented the final payment and President Black replied that at least $100,000 of work still needs to be done. Vice President Villone spoke about hearing positive comments on the roundabout. Lights will be an improvement as well when they are installed. Motion carried 5-0.

 

 

PUBLIC SAFETY

Civil Service Rules Amendment

Mr. Holl spoke about amending the Civil Service rules in Section 3.8 entitled “Rejection of Applicant.”  This lists Disqualifiers, or reasons that the Civil Service Commission can disqualify a candidate and was inadvertently left out. The Commission voted to reapprove them at a recent meeting.

 

Mr. Holl also led a discussion about lowering the minimum entry score for the written exam from 85% to 70%, as well as allowing for interviewing the top 30 candidates. The oral score would stay at 85%. Mr. Holl feels that this will provide a larger pool of applicants to choose from who are Act 120 certified. He stated that the quality will still remain high as the top scoring applicants will make the cut. Commissioner Young asked if CALEA is affected by lowering the minimum written score required and Mr. Holl said that it does not affect any accreditation standards.

 

Captain Crone said that the score used to be at 70%. It was raised due to large candidate pools that had to be interviewed. Now there is a much smaller pool of applicants at 85% and above for the written test scores. Background checks and oral interviews will maintain the high quality level of candidates.

 

Commissioner YOUNG moved to approve the Civil Service Rules Amendments and Vice President VILLONE seconded it. Motion carried 5-0.

 

Civil Service Addition of Zack Walters to the List

Mr. Holl spoke about a revision to the police officer eligibility list and conditional hiring. With the resignation of Officer Tim Cox at the end of the year, a new candidate is being sought to keep our complement up. The previous list only contained one name, Ryan Mennor. A second candidate, Zack Walters, was not eligible at the time of the previous hiring due to being in the Police Academy. He will be graduating in December and will be eligible to be on the hiring list. He also has veterans preference. The Civil Service Commission voted to include him on the list with Ryan Mennor. If neither can come on board, there will not be anyone hired until after the next testing date.

 

Commissioner SCHIN moved to approve adding Zack Walters to the Police Department eligibility list as well as making a conditional offer of employment to replace Officer Cox. Vice President VILLONE seconded the motion and the motion carried 5-0.

 

COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Zoning Hearing Board Report

Mr. Eby stated that there are no new dockets, so there will not be a Zoning Hearing Board meeting in December.

Docket 2019-11:  Continuation of the public hearing for High Associates, Inc. The applicant requested a special exception to reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces at 4910-4932 Louise Drive. The applicant provided sufficient data on the amount of spaces required and the special exception was approved.

 

Docket 2019-09:  Continuation of the application of Sheetz, Inc. The applicant requested variances associated with redevelopment of the properties at 1500 & 1510 Cedar Cliff Drive. An amended application was filed on October 31, 2019 seeking the following variances:

• Variance from the 4,000 square feet maximum use contained in Section 220-49B to permit a proposed fueling area of 5,316 square feet.
• Variance from the maximum fueling capacity limitation contained in Section 22049C to allow for a large enough fueling area for 12 vehicles at a time.
• Special exception from Section 220-241 to reduce the necessary required off-street parking spaces from 79 to 40.

 

Mr. Eby said that both variances and the special exception were approved by the Zoning Hearing Board. Sheetz can now submit a revised Land Development Plan to the Planning Commission.

 

MANAGER

Planning Commission Appointment

Mr. Vernau spoke about an opening on the Planning Commission. The Board reviewed the resumes and selected Mr. Jeff Logan. Mr. Logan accepted the position and will be officially appointed at the January 6^th Reorganization Meeting.

 

Reorganization Meeting January 6, 2020

Mr. Vernau stated that Townships of the First Class are required to have a Reorganization Meeting on the first Monday in January. The Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners is the following week. Mr. Vernau asked the Board if they would like to combine the meetings on January 6^th and eliminate the meeting on the 13^th of January, as neither meeting would last very long. The Commissioners were unanimously in favor of having both meetings on January 6^th.

 

COMMISSIONERS REPORTS

Mr. Holl spoke about a preliminary hearing being held last week for the active shooting case and all charges against the defendant being bound over to County Court. He stated that all of the officers who testified at the hearing did an outstanding job and the defendant is facing very serious charges.

 

Mrs. Trone said that she would miss the next meeting due to being out of town. She wished everyone a happy holiday.

 

ADJOURNMENT

The Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners adjourned at 8:01 pm.