MINUTES of MEETING

Durham Township Board of Supervisors

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Township Building Meeting Room

Present:  Supervisors:         Bartley E. Millett, Chairman

                                                Richard M. Johnson, Vice Chairman

Manfred Marschewski, Member

Secretary:             Joseph M. Kulick

Solicitor:               Peter N. Harrison (Not Present)

Road Master:        James Laubach

                Zoning Officer:  Peter W. Bent

Bldg Inspector:  Tim Wittemann (Not Present)

Meeting called to order by Chairman Bartley E. Millett at 7:33 PM.  All in attendance stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

Approval of Minutes from January 09, 2007 Meeting

Vice Chairman Richard M. Johnson made a motion to approve the Minutes as presented.

Member Manfred Marschewski seconded the motion and Chairman Bartley E. Millett agreed.  Motion passed.

Approval of Financial Report Dated January 31, 2007

Vice Chairman Richard Johnson made a motion to approve the Financial Report as presented.  Member Manfred Marschewski seconded the motion.  All agreed and the motion passed.

Updates: 

Mill Roof

Township Manager Joe Kulick presented an update on the progress of the mill roof replacement project.  He noted the receipt of several grants; $15,000 & $10,000 obtained from the Bucks County DCBD, and $10,000 from the state DCED.  The township has also applied for a $60,000 additional grant from the DCED.  Several meetings have taken place with the township engineer, product representatives, and other interested residents.  A draft bid spec will be developed. At present the project is specifying a faux/composite slate product.  An unsolicited bid has been received for composite slate in the amount of $85,500 including cooper gutters & downspouts.   Actual slate would cost approximately $122,700 for the same scope of work. 

Resident Wallace Frank questioned what we can do to prevent the past problems that were encountered during the previous re-roofing of the mill.   The Chairman recommended that the Township Solicitor review all bid documents prior to advertising since this may eliminate some problems encountered earlier.  Several other safeguards were also discussed.  There were no further comments and/or questions.

Township Building Beam Repairs

Joe Kulick noted that the three (3) main wooden beams located underneath the township office have sagged and cracked.  Township Engineer Scott Mease has inspected the problem and engineered a solution utilizing steel u-channels on both sides of the existing beams.  Emergency contractor repairs to cost approximately $3800.00.  There were no further comments and/or questions.

Island Road Rebuilding Project

Road Master Jim Laubach reported minor work clearing downed trees has commenced utilizing the road crew.  Scott Mease is developing specifications to engineer a bid package to be advertised.  Work to be completed over the summer months with funds provided by FEMA.

Lehnenberg Road Bridge Replacement

Road Master Jim Laubach noted that PennDOT will be commencing work on this project shortly.  Road should be closed approximately from April to September with local detours posted by the state.

New Business:

Rohs Minor Subdivision Preliminary/Final Plan Review

Steve Jensen of Daniel Hendricks, PLS and land owner Stephen Rohs were present to present the plan to the Board.  They are proposing to subdivide Mr. Rohs existing 18 acre lot into two lots, establishing a new single family dwelling lot.  The township Planning Commission has recommended the Board approve the subdivision contingent on a legal opinion from the Township Solicitor on the existing three (3) rental units presently on the lot.

The Vice Chairman made a motion to tentatively approve the subdivision and requested waivers, contingent on the legal opinion from the solicitor, a possible donation of $1000.00 each to Community Fire Company #1 and Upper Bucks Regional EMS in lieu of street improvements, the conditions as stated on Scott Mease’s Engineers Review Letter dated 01-03-2007, Bucks County Conservation District approval, and DEP Planning Module approval.  The motion was seconded by Member Manfred Marschewski and agreed to by Chairman Bartley Millett.  Subdivision tentatively approved.  There were no further comments and/or questions.

Letter; Durham Township Planning Commission – Updating Zoning & SALDO Ordinances

The Board reviewed a letter received from the township Planning Commission requesting the Boards permission to proceed with reviewing the townships zoning & SALDO ordinances to correspond with our recently updated Comprehensive Plan.  The Board agreed to the request but limited any grant applications, etc. to the township manager and the Board.  Permission to proceed granted.

2007 Fee Schedule Review 

The Chairman noted the receipt of a final draft of the Fee Schedule and the need for the Board members to properly review the document.  This item was tabled until next months meeting to allow the proper time for review.  There were no further comments or questions regarding this matter.

Sale of Townships 1979 GMC Dump Truck: Opening of Sealed Bids

Township Manager Joe Kulick advised the Board that he had properly advertised the sale of the truck and had received three (3) sealed envelopes in response to the advertisement.  The Chairman directed Joe Kulick to open the bids:  #1. Ray Miller: $279.75   #2. Peter Fleck: $550.00   #3: Bartley Millett:  $501.97.  The Vice Chairman moved to accept the apparent high bid of $550.00 from Peter Fleck.  Member Manfred Marschewski agreed and the Chairman abstained since he was one of the bidders.  Joe Kulick directed to contact Peter Fleck who will have until Friday, February 16, 2007 to accept the vehicle.

Park & Recreation Board Nomination (Erin Goga)

The Chairman announced the receipt of a letter from township resident Erin Goga, requesting the Boards consideration to appoint her to the Park & Recreation Board for a term of five (5) years to end on December 31, 2011.  The Board agreed unanimously to the appointment.

Old Business:  (None)

Zoning Officer Report – Peter Bent

Township Zoning Officer Peter Bent presented the Board with a 2006 Summary Sheet of issued permits.  In January of 2007 a permit was issued: to Paolillo at 2490 Gallows Hill Rd for demolition of existing dwelling and an Enforcement Notice was issued to Ombalski at 568 Mine Hill Rd for illegal construction of a driveway onto Lehnenberg Road along with a storage shed.  They responded quickly and cooperated fully.  There were no further comments or questions.

Road Master Report – Jim Laubach

Road Master Jim Laubach was forced to leave the meeting due to deteriorating road conditions due to a snow event.  Joe Kulick presented his report for him.

Equipment repair included the acquisition of Springfield Townships used 1996 Ford F350 one ton dump truck.  Temporary lettering has been installed along with the township radio.  The front tire on our IH 254 tractor was repaired due to a flat tire.  Building maintenance included repairing the mill bathroom, the post office heater in the mill also required repair to replace the fan blower motor, installed new shelves in the shop.   Road maintenance included the need to salt the roadways for four (4) different snow events (not counting tonight).  Three (3) 25 ton loads of salt have been purchased to date.  We are presently purchasing bulk salt from International Salt at a cost of $48.83 per ton delivered.  This is a cost savings of $4.17 per ton over last year’s supplier Cargill Industries. There were no further comments or questions.

Park & Recreation Board Report – John Perkins

The Park & Recreation Board Chairman noted the board has held two meetings recently.  A survey has been sent out to the residents as an insert in the township newsletter with only 22 responses to date.  He noted that Joe Kulick and he attended the monthly Bucks County Recreation Council meeting and that he has applied for membership in the PA Park & Recreation Society.   Since there were no further comments or questions; the Chairman thanked John for the report.

Public Service Announcements:

The Community Fire Company #1 will be having Sunday Breakfast on Sunday, February 18, 2007 from 8:00AM to 12:30PM.

The Chairman noted that Community Recycling Day will be on Saturday, March 03, 2007 from 9 AM to 12 noon.

Questions/Comments:

Vice Chairman Richard Johnson commented on a recent newspaper article regarding the theft of public funds from the Delaware Fire Company in Tinicum Township.  He felt this stressed the need for the Supervisors to remain diligent in their efforts to carefully control any donation of township public funds to any such organization.  He emphasized the need to obtain accounting documents from every organization we provide funding.

Resident Wallace Frank requested clarification on the townships recycling effort and if we make money on the amount recycled.  Joe Kulick advised Mr. Frank that we do indeed receive yearly grant money based on our population and tonnage of recycled material.

Pay Bills / Close Meeting:

The Chairman made a motion to pay the bills as presented and to close the Meeting, seconded by Member Manfred Marschewski and agreed to by all.  Motion passed.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 PM.

Minutes Submitted by: Township Secretary Joseph M. Kulick