Parks Township
Board of Supervisors
September 18, 2017
The
Parks Township Board of Supervisors held their regular monthly meeting on
September 18, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Community Building, 26 Jackson Street,
North Vandergrift.
MEMBERS PRESENT: F. L.
Shannon, Chairman Paul
R. Duriancik, Vice-Chairman Thomas M. Filo, III, Member Mary E. Ralston,
Secretary-Treasurer
VISITORS PRESENT: Jeff
Retter, Joe Seren, Jay Start, Gregg Artman, John Bierer
OTHERS PRESENT: Chief
Doug Ciuca, Parks Twp. Police
Mr.
Shannon called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm following the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag. Copies of the
Agenda, Minutes, Treasurer's Report, and Bill Payment List were posted on the
bulletin board for review. Public
comments will be taken at the end of the meeting. Mrs. Ralston was taping the meeting.
Mr.
Filo made a motion to adopt the Minutes of the August 21, 2017 regular monthly
meeting and Mr. Duriancik seconded it.
Minutes will stand as presented.
Mr.
Duriancik moved to accept the Treasurer's Report for August 2017; Mr. Filo
seconded it; and Mr. Shannon made the vote unanimous. Receipts were $58,280.50 and expenditures
were $105,815.94 leaving a total balance of $356,833.72 (General Fund -
$141,062.03; Capital Funds - $39,152.35; Fire Escrow - $13,956.94; State Fund -
$141,229.12; and Street Light Fund - $21,433.28).
Mr.
Duriancik asked what we got from Walsh Equipment for $892.68 and Mrs. Ralston
told him 8" pipe for the Kepple Hill Project. He asked about the payment to Russell
Standard Corp for $700.00 and was told
it was for blocks of crack sealer. Mr.
Duriancik then moved to approve the Bill Payment List for August 17 thru
September 13, 2017. Mr. Filo seconded it
and Mr. Shannon made the vote unanimous.
Each Supervisor stipulated that his vote did not include anything
pertaining to himself or any member of his family.
CORRESPONDENCE
KVWPCA
sent a copy of their July 19, 2017 Minutes.
PTMA
sent a copy of their July 25, 2017 Minutes.
Paradigm
Liaison Services sent an invitation to the 2017 PA Pipeline Safety Program
being held on October 3, 2017 at the Rustic Lodge in Indiana. Anyone interested should let Mrs. Ralston
know to send an RSVP. Mr. Filo and Mr.
Shannon cannot go; Mr. Duriancik and Mrs. Ralston will attend. The Maintenance Crew usually attends to get
credit for safety training.
The
Armstrong County Commissioners have been holding public agenda meetings
followed by question and answer Town Hall meetings; the last two will be held at 7:00 pm on September 21st at West Shamokin
Jr/Sr High School, and September 28th at Apollo-Ridge High School.
STAFF REPORTS
Police Report - Mrs. Ralston read the Police Report for August 1
thru August 31, 2017.
Maintenance
Crew - Mr. Duriancik reported the
Crew has been working on the roads scheduled to be seal coated, which include ,
in the order to be done starting on Wednesday, E-3 on E. 2nd Street, Jackson,
Kepple Hill Road, West Penn Road, and Locust hill and on Thursday, Mc-70 on
Locust dirt, Hickory (from Ridge Road to second driveway), Piper Hill Road
(Lower Mateer side from the top of the hill down to Hunt's driveway), Laurel
(from entrance off Route 66 by Hamm's over to Allen's driveway), and Garvers
Ferry (from the bottom of Stitt's Run up to Park's driveway). The leaves will have to be blown off before
they seal coat. Mr. Filo asked if
anything was going to be put on Hemlock Road and Mr. Duriancik replied that
there is more solid road than there is dirt and E-3 would have to be used or it
won't penetrate. It is not scheduled for
this year. Garvers Ferry hill might be
closed for a day so there won't be any wash-boarding. The Crew did some patching on Cell Tower Road
today. Mr. Shannon asked if they looked
at the pipe on Cell Tower and Mr. Duriancik told him that when they put that
pipe in, it was aiming for Cupec's garage where it always washed out; the owner
at that time was present and when asked if it would help to have the pipe
angled, he said yes so that's what they did.
The Supervisors discussed the
problem on Johnson Street near the Milliman residence in Kiskimere. Mr. Duriancik commented that he looked at it
and you might put some cold patch at the catch basin so that the water runs
into it, but as far as berming different sections, he's not sure if that will
help. Mr. Shannon stated that the only
thing he can see is on her side of the road, you can maybe build a windrow to
take the water out into the open field, and that was there before; there was a
ditch there before. Mr. Filo added you
can see right at her property line there was a ditch there but now it is solid
in front of her house. Mr. Shannon said
they are the ones who filled that in. Mr.
Duriancik told her husband that if they cut it down any deeper, there will be a
big ditch where they park; Mr. Milliman told him it is running right down the
sidewalk. Mr. Duriancik said they might
be able to take a little bit of cold
patch and build that up right there, where it is still in the right of way. The
catch basin doesn't look like it is taking the water; it can either be lowered
a little bit or you can cold patch around it to make like a little trough so
the water is channeled into it. As far
as cutting off that ramp, Mr. Duriancik doesn't see what that is going to do;
and about the springs, there's nothing they can do about that. Mr. Shannon said he knows for a fact that on
her side of the road it was built up; there was a ditch there that someone
filled in. Mr. Duriancik stated the
whole road needs reshaped, but again that's not going to happen tomorrow. Mr.
Shannon reiterated that if they build it up with a windrow, cut a ditch, and
let it run down into the field, that would
fix the problem. They would have
to deal with any parking problems.
TOWNSHIP COMMITTEES
Parks Committee - Since there wasn't a quorum, those in attendance
worked on the floor plan for vendors for the Craft Show scheduled for December
2, 2017 at the PTVFD Social Hall from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Mr. Duriancik stated that they have all that
mulch on top of the ash pile that might be in the way this winter. Mrs. Ralston commented she was hoping that
some of it would be put on top of the black mulch in the North Vandergrift
Park; she did get an okay from the State to do that but no one ever had
time. Mr. Duriancik asked if the borders
were changed and Mrs. Ralston told him Baylee Summerhill took care of it, and
there are a couple extra pieces that were put in one of the trailers at the
maintenance shed. The wood mulch would
just be put on the top to cover the black mulch; it should not be mixed
together. It needs about 4"-
6" of mulch to reach the tops of the border pieces.
Mr.
Duriancik brought up about ordering salt; he doesn't know where we will put it;
there is no place to put it. Mrs. Ralston said an order has to be placed
by the end of December; we can call then for delivery the middle of
January. By then we will know how the
winter is going. Right now the salt bin
is completely full. Mr. Duriancik asked
if it was possible to split a load of salt with another municipality. Mrs. Ralston said they probably would have to
have their own bid.
Mr.
Filo asked why we were covering up the black mulch in North Vandergrift. Mrs. Ralston explained that we need to put
something there because it is compacted so much; plus, it is very hot to walk
on. We would just cover what is there,
no weeds will grow up through the black mulch.
Any weeds that start growing on the wood mulch would just have to be
pulled out; after a few times, it won't grow back.
Planning Commission - The meeting was cancelled; the next meeting will be
on October 9th.
OLD BUSINESS
Pump Station Road Update - Mr. Shannon
talked with Mr. Bill Braun of Senate Engineering, and he was going to contact
the DEP to see if they would reconsider changing the permit and permitting us
to install a box culvert. He said the
price of $60,000 we are being quoted is
way off; it will probably be more like $100,000 or more.
MS-4 Program Compliance - Notice of Intent -
Our application was submitted on time; Senate sent us a map and there were only five drops that had to be
documented. We met all the requirements,
and had to pay the State a $500 filing fee.
Kepple Hill Slide Repair - Mr. Duriancik reported that he met with Mr. John
Poproch and Mr. Ray Suhadolnik from PennDot District 10 to look at the slides
on Locust and Kepple Hill Roads. Mr.
Suhadolnik said what they did on Locust
is fine, there's nothing wrong with it.
At one part where it is vertical, straight up and down, he would fill
that in so it would slope down, maybe add a little topsoil and mulch that, and
you might be okay. No matter what they do, there's no guarantee, but it looks as though
pretty much all of the water is cut off from going there. Again,
the upper end towards the farmhouse, you might extend the guide rail out
one more; the one towards Hungry Hollow you might extend that out another one
and level it out a little bit. The other
thing was to put a catch basin across the road where there is either a pipe or
a groundhog hole, where the water is going down, and put a 15" pipe across
the road. He said if test borings are
done, you are talking big, big money. As
far as the Kepple
Hill Slide, Mr. Suhadolnik said it is not as bad as you might think. Mr. Duriancik asked if he thought the road
could be moved over and he said yes, the road could be moved over as far as
possible. There's
a ledge that sticks out that will probably have to be hammered down; it is that
gray shale that is real hard. The
contractor will have to do a One Call.
Obviously, the gas company is going to say they have nothing in there,
but according to the contractors he talked with, they want those lines drilled
to be sure there is no gas in them. Even
PennDot said they are in our right of way and the gas company should have to
take them out. If we put the catch basin
in, then ± 175'
of 15" perforated pipe will be installed to keep all of the water on the
upper side to go into the 30" pipe on the big bend. Then you are going to cut the road and remove
all of the old pipe, and move as far
back into the hillside as you can, but you might run into those gas pipes and
they are going to have to be cut off.
Mrs. Ralston reminded them that all of the gas companies are going to be
at the meeting on October 3rd at the Rustic Lodge in Indiana;
that would be a good time to bring this up, especially with PA One Call and
everybody there. Mr. Duriancik said
again, you are going to have to cut the surface of the road, dig out that
material and see what you have down in there.
Knepshield is going to check down at Riverview Homes to see if material
can be dumped there. Gabion baskets may
be needed, we don't know yet. The cut
area has to be filled with good material; the guy from PennDot said all
limestone should be used. Mr. Duriancik
said the top 4" or so you need to put a 19 mm binder and a wearing course
over that. The guide rails will be taken
out to begin with, and another company will reinstall them. The Township will supply all materials for
the job, which is the catch basin, the 15" perforated pipe, and whatever
else is needed. One quote says they will
supply the binder and paving materials. The
Supervisors reviewed the quotes received from
White's Excavation, Knepshield Excavating, and Nagy Construction. Mr. Duriancik said every quote is a little different;
some are more detailed than others. After
a lengthy discussion, Mr. Filo stated since the quotes are all over the place,
we should take what the PennDot guy said, put it in a letter, send it to the
contractors and tell them to quote only for what's listed. That way they are all on the same page. Mr. Duriancik said the goal is to keep 100%
of the water off the road and from running down over the side. Mr.
Duriancik stressed that they can't wait till the next meeting to make a
decision. He agreed with what Mr. Filo
suggested and said they need to write up exactly what is needed done. Mrs. Ralston reminded everyone that if the
quote is over $19,700, the project must be bid.
PennDot would come and write up the project description and the
bid. She will ask Mr. Poproch to come to
the office to do the bid documents. A
special meeting can be scheduled if needed.
Seal Coat Project - Week of Sept 18th
- This was discussed previously in the meeting under the maintenance
report. The total cost will be
$29,500.00.
Low Volume Roads Grant Application - A grant application was submitted to the
Conservation District for a project to control the mud flowing into the parking
lot off the back hill, requesting a grant for $9,000 with a Township match of
$2,000 for a total project of $13,000.
Locust Road Slide - Senate Proposal - Mr. Shannon clarified that Mr. Duriancik was pretty
much satisfied with what is being done out there. At the August 21st meeting, the Board voted
to accept Senate Engineering's proposal for engineering services to prepare
required design and drawings for the stabilization of the landslide on Locust
Road for $17,380.00. The signed
agreement was sent back to Senate. Then
the Supervisors changed their minds, Senate was
notified, and they have sent a new proposal. Mr. Duriancik made a motion to
rescind the motion made at the August 21st meeting to accept Senate
Engineering's proposal; Mr. Filo seconded it, and Mr. Shannon made the vote
unanimous. Mr. Duriancik commended Mr.
Jeff Retter for all of his input on the
slide repair.
Mr. Filo and Mr. Shannon also thanked Mr. Retter. The Supervisors reviewed the three quotes for
the slide repair on Locust, and all agreed they were going to try to fix it
themselves. Mr. Retter stated they
should have an excavator out there. They
briefly discussed pipes, inlets, and outlets in the slide area. After reviewing everything, Mr. Filo
suggested they contact Mr. Knepshield and let him know exactly what they need
done. After discussing the list of
things needing done, Mr. Shannon made a motion to ask for quotes for items 3,
4, 5 (Contractor to do PA One Call; remove and replace existing 15" N-12
culvert pipe that is clogged or collapsed which goes thru the spill area to
Jeff Retter residence; place layers of rip-rap and fabric in the excavated area
and modified stone back to grade; compact all materials) with the Township
doing the remaining work, which consists of removing guide rails; re-grade and
elevate road with #2A modified where rails were located to slope road towards
new catch basin (the Township already did this), and installing new catch basin
and approximately 40' of 15" N-12 culvert pipe. Mr.
Filo seconded it and Mr. Duriancik made the vote unanimous. If needed, under drain could be installed
later. Mr. Duriancik clarified that it
was contingent on the price.
Armstrong County Blight Task Force
Report - Mrs. Ralston attended the
meeting the Commissioners held, and the first recommendation was to create a
Land Bank, which is actually a separate entity.
They would have first choice on all tax claim sales, and would receive
all repository properties, which they would be responsible for selling. Westmoreland County has this, and Vandergrift
and Allegheny Township are involved, along with Kiski Area School District,
which must be involved. All
municipalities will be asked to join in this, and to adopt a Property
Maintenance Code, because the feeling is if you take care of things before they
get out of hand, you won't have to deal with all of these blighted
properties. Mr. Duriancik asked if the
property maintenance code was for all homes, and Mrs. Ralston clarified all
homes. The County is concentrating on
the gateways into Armstrong County, and that would be Apollo, Parks Township,
and Leechburg in our area. They have
already selected a house in Leechburg and one in Apollo to tear down because
they were already in repository. Parks
Township had no houses in repository in the North Vandergrift area. Mr. Duriancik asked about the one on
Washington, and Mrs. Ralston explained that there is already a demolition
permit issued for it; the owners are tearing it down. There will be a lot more information coming
out on this and they are asking all municipalities to support it.
NEW BUSINESS
Hoffman Kennels Contract Renewal for
2018 - Mr. Filo made a motion to
renew the contract for 2018 at a monthly cost of $130.00. Mr. Duriancik seconded it and Mr. Shannon
made the vote unanimous.
MMO for 2018 Police Pension Fund - We need $95,086 for the 2018 Budget. This was done under the formula the State
Auditors required for last year.
Mockenhaupt has been contacted to see how to incorporate the income from
the FCB Investment. Mr. Shannon moved to
accept the MMO; Mr. Filo seconded it, and Mr. Duriancik made the vote
unanimous.
Armstrong County Interim Billing
Resolution - Ms. Jeanne Englert sent
a copy of an Interim Billing Resolution that the County is requesting that all
municipalities are adopt. Mr. Filo moved
to send the Resolution to the Solicitor for review. Mr. Duriancik seconded it. Mr. Shannon added he didn't want to sign it
before it was reviewed by the Solicitor.
LERTA Renewal Resolution - Our LERTA Ordinance expired September 2016; the
County has asked that we renew it and extend the expiration date. Mr. Duriancik asked if this would be the same
area, and Mrs. Ralston said only the expiration date would be extended. Mr. Duriancik made a motion to extend the
expiration date of the LERTA Ordinance; Mr.
Shannon seconded it, and Mr. Filo made the vote unanimous. The Secretary will ask the Solicitor to
prepare a Resolution extending the date.
Mr.
Duriancik stated that where the water line was installed, plus other places on
Armstrong, Run Road, in front of Mrs. Ciuca's place, and at Kiski Highlands,
the repairs are not being made in a timely manner. The one on Forest and Orchard took years to
get fixed. He talked with Mr.
Knepshield, who said he will try to get those all done. Mrs. Ralston had two invoices from Mr. Knepshield
that she asked the Board to approve. one
was for $4,295.00 for the work done on Kepple Avenue; the other was for 20' of
pipe on Elm Street. After the Board
discussed the bills and the work done, Mr. Filo moved to pay the invoice for
Kepple Avenue, Mr. Shannon seconded it, and Mr. Duriancik made the vote
unanimous. Mr. Knepshield will be asked
to explain the charges for Elm Street.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr.
John Bierer had some complaints about Laurel Road; he said the end of his
driveway is bad. Mr. Duriancik stated
that it needs bermed and the ditches need cleaned. Mr. Bierer commented that parts of the road
have been patched, but his area is always missed. Mr. Shannon stated they will have to
determine what the issues are and try to address them.
ADJOURNMENT
The
next regular monthly meeting will be held on October 16, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the
Community Building, North Vandergrift.
There
being no further questions or comments, Mr. Filo moved to adjourn at 8:25 pm
and Mr. Duriancik seconded it.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mary
E. Ralston
Secretary-Treasurer