Parks Township
Board of Supervisors
March 19, 2018
The
Parks Township Board of Supervisors held their regular monthly meeting on March
19, 2018 at 7:00 pm in the Community Building, 26 Jackson Street, North
Vandergrift.
MEMBERS PRESENT: F. L.
Shannon, Chairman Thomas
M. Filo, III, Vice-Chairman Gregory Artman, Member Mary E.
Ralston, Secretary-Treasurer
VISITORS PRESENT: Jeff
Retter, Rich Simpson, Don Ament, Joe Seren, Jay Start, Kelly Uhing, Ken
Reynolds, Gina
Artman
OTHERS PRESENT: Chief
Doug Ciuca, Parks Township 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 take at the end of the meeting. Mrs. Ralston was taping the meeting.
Mr.
Filo made a motion to adopt the Minutes of the February 12, 2018 regular
monthly meeting; Mr. Artman seconded it and Mr. Shannon made the vote unanimous.
Mr.
Filo move to accept the Treasurer's Report for February 2018; Mr. Artman
seconded it and Mr. Shannon made the vote unanimous. Receipts were $54,705.00 and expenses were
$69,747.65 leaving a total balance of $98,768.19 (General Fund - $163.21;
Capital Funds - $22,242.28; State Fund - $67,785.31; and Street Light Fund -
$8,577.39).
The Police Pension CD at Elderton Bank in the
amount of $72,387.00 matured on 3/18/22018.
Mr. Shannon moved to reinvest the money at the highest possible interest
rate; Mr. Filo seconded it and Mr. Artman made the vote unanimous.
Mr.
Shannon asked if Mr. Suppers had finished installing the lights at the Dime
Building; he was told yes and they are working okay. Mr. Filo moved to approve the Bill Payment
List for February 8 thru March 14, 2018.
Mr. Artman 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 January 17, 2018 meeting minutes.
PTMA
sent a copy of their Reorganization and Regular January 23, 2018 meeting
minutes.
EQT
Production Company sent notification they are applying for a DEP Permit 8: Temporary Road Crossing of Carnahan Run and a
wetland along Piper Hill Road.
Armstrong
County will hold their annual Hard to Recycle Day on Saturday, April 28, 2018,
from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Armstrong Recycling Center at 139 Armsdale
Road, Kittanning.
STAFF REPORTS
Police
Report - Mrs. Ralston read the Police Report for February 1 thru February 28,
2018.
Maintenance
Report - Mr. Shannon reported that there are major problems; the Board looked
at Maple, Highland, Locust, Laurel Rd, and Johnson Street. They have to figure out how and when they are
going to be making these repairs and how they will pay for them. They are getting ready for a paving project;
there are some humps that need worked on.
They discussed having a pre-construction meeting for the paving
project. Mr. Shannon suggested they meet
with Mr. John Poproch. Removing the
humps could be part of the project and included in the bids. Mr. Artman was concerned that once the humps
are removed, the ditches will be really deep.
Mr. Filo asked if removing the humps took the road down to dirt and
gravel, what bearing would that have on the paving project? The Board agreed they will meet with Mr.
Poproch.
TOWNSHIP COMMITTEES
Parks
Committee - Mrs. Ralston reported that Kiski Area School District is going to
permit the ladies to participate in the school summer lunch program; free
lunches will be offered at all three parks beginning the 3rd week of June and
ending the second week of August. Ms.
Meredith Beatty of the Food Program at Kiski will actually train the food
workers here at the Community Building.
The kids will be served hot lunches, which are much better than we were
receiving from the Community Action Program.
The next meeting will be on April 2, 2018, at the North Vandergrift
Park. The Committee will inspect the
parks and come up with a list of what they feel needs done. A tentative date for the next craft show is
September 29th.
Planning
Commission - Ms. Laura Morman, Mr. Tony Tvrdovsky, and Mrs. Ralston attended a
meeting held by the County Commissioners at the Belmont Complex on March
7. They hired a consultant to come up
with sample ordinances that could be used by municipalities county wide to
fight blight and that would not be difficult to enforce. The Planning Commission reviewed the first
ordinance, which was a "Lite Property
Maintenance Ordinance", along with
the second sample, which was for a
ticketing ordinance. The Committee
recommended that the Supervisors review the ordinances, have the Solicitor
review them, and take the necessary steps to adopt them; this would give the
Township the means to address the blight throughout Parks Township.
OLD BUSINESS
Pump
Station Road Update - In the Minutes of November 20, 2017, the Board needed to decide whether they
wanted a box culvert or a to build a new bridge, and that would involve either
keeping the DEP Permit we have or applying for a new one. Senate would do the drawings and all the
specifications but we would have to bid it out.
The Board wanted an estimated cost before deciding what to do. According to Mr. Bill Braun, a box culvert
would definitely be the cheaper way to go.
Senate had estimated a cost of $80,000 to $100,000 at that time, but
they recently completed drawings for two different municipalities for a 20-ft
span and they both came in around $150,000. The longer we wait, the more expensive it is
going to be. Mr. Shannon asked if we
were going to pull the pipes out to comply with the DEP, how long after that do
we have to build the bridge? Mrs.
Ralston said they would have to make sure they had the correct permit before starting anything; and if they
have to apply for a new permit, the
process takes six months to a year. Once
they vote to remove the bridge and either replace it with a new one or a box
culvert, the residents can be told but the pipes will have to be removed, the
design will have to be done, it will have to be bid out, and it would probably
be a year or longer before you could even think about construction. Mr. Shannon asked what the cost difference
was between a box culvert and a regular bridge.
Mrs. Ralston answered that when they first got an estimate for a regular
bridge it was around $79,000 and over the years it keeps increasing. Mr. Shannon questioned whether it was in the
best interests of the Township and the taxpayers for them to pay Senate
Engineering to redo the permits or are they better off to go back to what they have, try to formulate a cost to build a bridge and take
out what's there, until they get the money to build a bridge. Mrs. Ralston said they had looked at different
types of bridges, one where the Township could do a lot of the work, before the
Township started talking about box culverts, and the price then was about
$80,000; that was five or six years ago.
Mr. Shannon stated the decking they have is all rusted and no good
now. Mr. Artman asked about the decking
and beams; and Mr. Shannon said it's been setting at Coleman's for the last ten
years and the Engineers looked at it and said it's all rusted away. Mrs. Ralston will ask Mr. Braun to make a
comparison of the two types, to help determine which type would best suit our
needs. Mrs. Ralston said they would
probably charge us for that and Mr. Shannon stated it still might be cheaper.
Mr.
Shannon brought up that a new bridge will be built at the Drive-In, and he
talked to a company representative about getting the material from the project.
They also discussed pulverizing the
material that is already at the building. Mr. Artman added that the big stuff would be
perfect for Laurel Road, and maybe even Maple Road.
UCC
- Mr. Duriancik did stop by the office and say he would accept the position of
Township Representative and continue attending the UCC meetings. Mr. Filo made a motion to appoint Mr. Paul
Duriancik as the UCC Representative; Mr. Artman seconded it and Mr. Shannon
made the vote unanimous. The Board will
pay mileage and any expenses associated with the position. The Supervisors expressed their thanks to Mr.
Duriancik for accepting the position.
The April 4, 2018 meeting has been cancelled.
County
Aid Applications - The County Commissioners offered a grant of $15,000 for
paving the Kepple Hill Streets where the drainage work was done last summer
(Kepple Avenue, Clearfield, Overlook, Run Road, Armstrong, Clarion, Marshall,
Elk, Cell Tower, Bryan, Erie, and a section of Pleasant View Drive). Mr. Shannon made a motion to accept the
grant; Mr. Filo seconded it and Mr. Artman made the vote unanimous. The contract will state that all work must be
completed by July 31, 2018. Mr. Poproch
will be contacted to take care of all the paperwork.
Quotes
for Jackson St/Alley LVR Project - A
pre-construction meeting was held at the site; only one company attended but
Mr. Gregg Smith said other companies can still submit a quote. The quotes will be opened at the next
meeting.
Truck
Purchase - Mrs. Ralston is getting quotes for financing a new truck purchase in
the amount of $68,218.00. We can either
lease or finance it. Ford Credit quoted
6.45%. Another company said their rate
was usually around 3%. It was suggested
that Dollar Bank Leasing had the lowest interest rate. Mr. Artman moved to accept the lowest rate;
Mr. Filo seconded it and Mr. Shannon made the vote unanimous.
Speed
Limit Ordinance for Slate Point and Ridge Roads - Mr. Filo moved to adopt Ordinance
1-2018, which establishes a 40 mph speed limit on Slate Point and Ridge
Roads. Mr. Artman seconded it and Mr.
Shannon made the vote unanimous. Mr.
Filo moved to buy the necessary speed limit signs; Mr. Artman seconded it and
Mr. Shannon made the vote unanimous.
NEW BUSINESS
2018
Audit - Ms. Gina Artman presented the completed Annual Financial Report for the
year 2017. All accounts balanced with
the bank statements and all deposits and invoices with the cancelled checks
were verified. The Auditors gave
working Supervisors a raise increase of 35 cents which brings the rate to
$13.00 an hour. The audit was uploaded,
accepted, and approved by the State.
Summer
Projects - Mr. Shannon stated they had already covered most of this and they
actually are going to have to discuss this before they make a list. Mr. Artman commented that they have to get
Kepple Hill ready, and then roads that were already done have to be redone or
holes and soft spots have to be fixed.
Mr. Shannon stated the priority will have to be the roads that are going
to be paved. Mr. Artman added that Slate
Point needs the pipes fixed; he thought they had all been replaced but they
weren"t and now they are sinking and need more stone compacted around
them.
Pre-Construction
Meeting and Advertise for Bids for Kepple Paving Project - Already covered
under old business.
PA
One Call Request for "PA 811 Safe Digging Month" Proclamation - Mr.
Filo made a motion to adopt the proclamation and Mr. Artman seconded it.
Spring
Clean Up - The annual Spring Clean Up will be held on May 12, 2018 from 8:00 am
to 12:00 noon. The first pickup truck
load is free, any additional loads will be $10.00 each. Volunteers are needed. Bailey Recycling will collect electronics
again at $10,00 for each item; larger items will cost more. Signs will be put up throughout the Township.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr.
Simpson asked if something was going to be done at Park Street and Terrace
Avenue; when the crew graded, they screwed up the drainage. Mr. Artman said they will have to put a pipe
in there. Mr. Ramer had to put 30
sandbags along the road to keep the water from flooding out his property. The water is completely missing the catch basin. Mr. Shannon said they will take care of it.
Mr.
Reynolds was there about Maple Road and the slide at the bottom. The Supervisors asked who owned the property
on each side of the road. Mr. Reynolds
told them Mr. Popovich owns the right side and Mr. Johnson owns the left
side. There was a brief discussion about
the problems on Maple, what needs to be done to fix it, and how long ago the
problems started.
Ms.
Kelly Uhing also had complaints about the work done by the crew at her place
and the condition of the road.
ADJOURNMENT
The
next regular monthly meeting will be held on April 16, 2018 at 7:00 pm in the
Community Building, North Vandergrift.
There
being no further questions or comments, Mr. Filo moved to adjourn at 7:56 pm
and Mr. Artman seconded it.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mary
E. Ralston Secretary-Treasurer