Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Joshua Lorenz, David Perry, Joan Kearns, William Vance, and Loren Kase. Councilmen Jeffrey Kepler and Regis Synan were not in attendance. Mr. Synan was representing the Municipality at a meeting with MRM. Also present were Chief Administrator James R. Morrison, Solicitor George Kotjarapoglus and Municipal Planner Allen Cohen. PUBLIC HEARING Beginning at 7:00 p.m., Council held a Public Hearing on CU-2-15, Tender Care Learning Center, a conditional use application to allow property located at 4490 Old William Penn Highway, Murrysville, proposed to be used for the construction of a child care facility and reduction in the side and rear yards of the outdoor play area to 40 feet, with additional landscape buffer being planted within that yard area. Frank Reabe, the CEO of Tender Care Learning Centers, 406 Longridge Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15243, a former Murrysville resident, explained to Council that it is the intent to operate a nationally-accredited, state-licensed child care program for the children of the community. He said the company currently operates 18 centers in the Pittsburgh area and 5 in Connecticut, all of which have been nationally accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Steve Bodnar presented a depiction of the site plan and parking area for staff use and parent drop-off. The conditional use request is to take the site, which is two pieces of property (MU and R-2 zoning districts), and combine them in order to have a playground area in the back of the building. The Municipality’s engineer has reviewed the drawings and everything has been brought up to his requirements. He said a small sidewalk will be added and the play area will have a porous surface so there will be need for storm water detention systems. Municipal Planner Allen Cohen indicated that the engineer had sent a letter listing some comment and asking for responses. Those responses and revisions have been submitted, but Mr. Dietrick has not yet had a chance to review them. Mr. Perry asked if the setback decrease were granted, does that flow through for any future use, or is it specific only to the playground? Mr. Cohen responded that the setback request would only be permitted because of what is being proposed; whether it stays with the land itself would be subject to any condition Council would put on the approval. Mr. Perry clarified that if there is a change in use, the setback change would go away and whoever was planning on re-using the property would have to come before Council to get approval. Mr. Cohen said that would be a reasonable condition because it is being evaluated now only on the playground and not on any other type of use. Steve Vitale of 3170 Windgate Drive, asked if the property will be maintained by Ludovico or if the tenant will be responsible for maintenance. Mr. Reabe said Tender Care would be responsible for maintenance. Mr. Vitale had a concern about the house at 3167 Windgate Drive, also owned by Mr. Ludovico, which is vacant and has not been maintained. He is concerned that the house will be incorporated with the property under consideration and used with the child care center. Mr. Reabe addressed Mr. Vitale’s concern and assured him that it is important that the facilities are clean and will not be overgrown properties. His company has never had car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 complaints from any landlords about the condition of the properties and he said Tender Care has no interest in the adjacent house. Mrs. Kearns asked about the number of children anticipated to attend the school. Mr. Reabe said the space is designed to be utilized per licensing regulations and he believes the maximum attendance would be 86 at any one time. Mrs. Kearns said that number conflicts with the data supplied by the Municipal engineer as to the regulations with regard to the number of children that can be accommodated in the play area, which is 76. Mr. Reabe asked Stephanie Phillips, to speak on that issue. Ms. Phillips, 539 Ridge Ave., New Kensington, is the Director of the New Kensington Tender Care facility. She explained that the play space is not intended for every child to be on it at any one time. The outside play area is used as an extension of the classroom, so the teacher and class will go to the area to do activities. As currently drawn, the play area has three separate areas, which means that three separate groups of children will be there at one time. Typically, each group would have a maximum of one teacher with ten children, with the youngest age group being infants (one teacher to four children). If there is an infant group (4), a toddler group (6), and a pre-school group (10), at most there will be 20 children in the play area. Doug Fulton, 207 East White Oak, Delmont, spoke on behalf of Tender Care and wanted to show his support. His child attends the New Kensington school and he had very positive comments about the school, especially concerning the security. There were no further questions from Council and no comments from those in attendance. The Public Hearing was closed at 7:17 p.m. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA UNISTED AMENDMENTS: Under Council Action Items - Add Item 13D - Consider Authorization for Staff to Proceed with a Software and Hardware Upgrade to the Municipality’s Central Computer System. Mr. Lorenz moved to approve the agenda as amended. Mr. Kase seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE B. INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS C. APRIL 15, 2015 MEETING MINUTES TO BE APPROVED Mr. Vance moved to approve the Consent Calendar Items. Mr. Perry seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 COMMUNITY INPUT: Bob Whitesides of 5083 Ashbaugh Road, addressed Council with concerns about the number of patches in the road due to gas leaks, as well as the odor of natural gas which reaches to the homes along Ashbaugh Road. He mentioned that there had been a pipe extending approximately 12” out of the pavement, which could have caused an explosion if hit by a vehicle. He said he called the gas company and was told there is no standard for the depth at which the gas line is buried and that the line was installed so long ago that there are no records. He also asked about the lower end of Ashbaugh Road between Saltsburg Rd. and Mamont Rd. and wondered when it is to be paved. He said it is his understanding that the road won’t be paved until the gas line is fixed and he was told by the gas company that there is no priority as far as when or if that line will be repaired. He said both the line and the road present safety issues and need to be addressed. Mr. Morrison said that staff met with Peoples Gas a few weeks prior concerning a similar situation on Pleasant Valley Road, which is now being prepared. He said that the comments made to Mr. Whitesides by the gas company were also made to staff and that there is no priority, nor is the Ashbaugh Road line scheduled for repair. Mr. Morrison said staff has been dealing with the lower Ashbaugh issue for approximately six years. He said a letter could be sent to the company, but the only thing that would do is protect the Municipality in case of an accident. Mrs. Kearns suggested sending the letter, as well as sending a copy of the Public Utility Commission, outlining the prior issues with the gas company. Mr. Whitesides asked to let the residents know if there is anything they can do to try to resolve this issue. WORKSHOP ITEMS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 10A. DISCUSSION ON S-4-15, TENDER CARE LEARNING CENTER SUBDIVISION, 4490 OLD WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY, LOT CONSOLIDATION. Municipal Planner Allen Cohen said this is part of three applications associated with the Tender Care project and is on the agenda and being proposed because, as required by law, the applicant must provide an outdoor play area. The property that is being utilized for the facility is comprised of two lots and the outdoor play area, from a zoning perspective, is an accessory use to the principal building. Therefore, as an accessory use, it can’t be on its own lot, but must be one lot with a principal use and accessory use. Accordingly, a lot consolidation is being proposed; the zoning will remain the same – MU for the front portion and R-2 for the back portion, but it will be one building lot and one tax parcel lot. There were no questions or comments from Council on this application. car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 10B. DISCUSSION ON CU-2-15, TENDER CARE LEARNING CENTER, A CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION TO ALLOW PROPERTY LOCATED AT 4490 OLD WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY, MURRYSVILE, PROPOSED TO BE USED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CHILD CARE FACILITY AND REDUCTION IN THE SIDE AND REAR YARDS BY UP TO 50% TO THE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LINE OF THE OUTDOOR PLAY AREA TO 40 FEET, WITH ADDITIONAL LANDSCAPE BUFFER BEING PLANTED WITHIN THAT YARD AREA. Allen Cohen explained that the use being proposed is a conditional in both the MU and R-2 districts. Also, the proposed play area in a non-residential use requires an 80-foot setback for all yards adjacent to residential properties. That can be lowered by Council as a conditional use – not a variance. The pending application would only be for this use, which would be a reasonable condition to consider. The Planning Commission did not propose any conditions in its recommendation. Mr. Perry asked if the neighbors know what is going on with the property. Mr. Cohen said that notices were sent to residents of both the Planning Commission hearing and tonight’s hearing. Mr. Perry asked if the notice was specific as to the requests. Mr. Cohen said it was, and that the site drawing was enclosed. Mrs. Kearns asked if the reduction was an automatic 50% or if could be less than 50% because she had concerns about adjacent residential properties and the fact that the play yard intrudes into their back yards. She commented that the plan calls for 4’ spruce trees which won’t do much to control noise. She said the only way she can see the noise being controlled is either trees of 6’ or higher or wooden fencing. There was no further discussion on this request. Stephanie Phillips addressed the concerns about noise and noted that the current facility at which she works in New Kensington is adjacent to an apartment building and she has never received a complaint about noise; the teachers are in the play area with the children doing activities and the children are not left to run and yell at will. Mr. Reabe said that “playground” is really the wrong word for the outdoor area and that it is more of an outdoor classroom. He also said that the Tender Care facility in Shadyside is actually in an apartment building and the Foster Plaza site is adjacent to two office buildings. He invited Council to visit any of the sites to view the play area. Mr. Cohen asked what percentage of the day the outdoor area is actually utilized. Mr. Reabe said the schools are licensed to be open from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, but obviously children are not in the play area at 6:00 a.m. Ms. Phillips said that, typically, the earliest the children would be outside is 9 a.m. and the groups are staggered throughout the day. Mr. Perry asked what would be the latest that kids would be in the area; Ms. Phillips said 6:00 p.m. She said there is a rest time in the middle of the day, usually from 12:30-3:00, and there would be very few children in the play area during that time. On average, children would be outside from 9-12:30 and again from 3-6. Mr. Cohen asked what type of policy is in effect in terms of the season and utilization of the play area. Ms. Phillips said the area is used year-round; however, there are regulations concerning rain, wind chill, high temperatures, etc. Mrs. Kearns asked if children were dropped off after school hours. Mr. Reabe responded; however, he did not approach the microphone and most of his reply could not be heard. He then spoke into the microphone and car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 said that they would love to have after-school children, and if at all possible, that will be arranged. Mrs. Kearns said that raises another question as far as accommodating a bus on the property or relying on mini-busses to drop off children. She also noted that any vehicle dropping off children clogs up an already-clogged roadway. Mr. Reabe said that some school districts don’t permit busses on private property, so they have a teacher outside waiting to get the children off the bus and into the school. Sandy Chafin, 1251 Pinewood Drive, Pittsburgh 15243 told Council she spoke with the playground designer and they feel there is no reason that taller trees couldn’t be planted; they don’t have to be 4’, so that should not be an issue. Mrs. Kearns said if the plans are to be revised or there is a change to the materials to be used, Council will have to review that information. Ms. Chafin said they heard the complaint, it can be addressed, and they can make a new plan. Council said they would like to see a revised plan before placing this on the voting agenda. Hugh Laverty of 3183 Pinecrest Court asked if the trees were going to be on all three sides of the property. He said the drawing he received in the mail showed three sides, but he wasn’t sure if it was the same as what was being shown on the screen at the meeting. Mrs. Kearns confirmed that the trees will be on three sides. 10C. DISCUSSION ON SP-3-15, TENDER CARE LEARNING CENTER, SITE PLAN, 4490 OLD WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY. This item was discussed above in conjunction with the conditional use application. 10D. REPORT OF THE CONSULTING TRAFFIC ENGINEER ON PHASE 2 OF THE TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY: THE ROADWAY SUFFICIENCY ANALYSIS REPORT. Mike Mudry of Traffic Planning & Design explained that this is the second of a three-part report that TPD is putting together to revise the Municipal traffic impact fee program, which is the roadway analysis report – or, basically, a traffic study. Using the land use assumptions report previously provided to Council and approved, traffic volumes were projected out for twenty years; various intersections were studied to identify existing deficiencies and future deficiencies on Municipal roadways. He presented a chart for Council’s review and said that there are certain types of projects that can and can’t be used with impact fee funding. Existing deficiencies had to be identified because they are ineligible for impact fee funding; also, future traffic deficiencies that would be caused by normal traffic growth and not developments specifically projected over the next twenty years must be identified. Finally, it must be determined the needs that will have to be met by future planned projects. Those projects can be funded with impact fees. Mr. Mudry then discussed the 9 projects noted on the chart provided to Council, which included existing deficiencies not eligible for funding, as well as projects that become deficient because of traffic and land use growth projected over the next twenty years. The list has been approved by the impact fee committee and is now before Council for review. In order to move on to the third phase, where he will take the projects, do aerials and overlay photos and come up with costs, Council must approve a Resolution. car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Mr. Mudry said the proposed improvements are not large projects (i.e. they are not proposing to widen Old William Penn to 5 lanes), but they are surgical areas that are congested now and are going to be more congested in another 20 years. Mrs. Kearns said that adding turn lanes means the Municipality will have to buy more property in order to do that. Mr. Mudry said that the proposed improvements will cost between $6-$7 million; the purpose of the impact fee is to come up with a fee per trip and over the twenty year period it is estimated that there will be over 4,000 new trips to which a fee will be assessed. The size and scope of the projects can be adjusted in the next report. Mr. Cohen made an additional point regarding Mr. Mudry’s comment about projects that can’t use traffic impact fees because they are existing conditions and said that they can use traffic impact fees if the developer agrees to it. Mr. Mudry said that is correct. The Resolution will be on the next meeting agenda. COUNCIL - ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE NO. 924-15, AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING SARDIS PARK INTO THE MUNICIPALITY’S PARK SYSTEM. Mr. Lorenz moved to approve Ordinance 924-15, an Ordinance accepting three parcels of real estate from Sardis Community Park, Inc. for community park use subject to the conditions and provisions contained in the deed of gift to the Municipality of Murrysville. Mr. Perry seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. 13B. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION NO. 645-15, A RESOLUTION FOR THE GRANT APPLICATION SUBMISSION FOR THE PURCHASE OF PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT TO BE LOCATED AT THE MIRACLE LEAGUE FIELD AT THE MURRYSVILLE COMMUNITY PARK. Mr. Perry moved to approve the Resolution directing staff to prepare a grant application for submittal to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Community & Economic Development in the amount of $112,600 for the construction of a playground at the Rotary Miracle Field, which will have matching funds met by the Rotary. Mr. Kase seconded. Mr. Morrison said the matching funds will actually be met by the Miracle League of Western Pennsylvania, not the Rotary. He further explained that the project will take approximately five years to complete. The field was first developed through the efforts of the Murrysville-Export Rotary and Miracle League of Western Pennsylvania; the concession was completed last year; the third phase is to build two handicap-accessible playgrounds. When the funding opportunity became available, the Rotary and Miracle League groups were approached. Mr. Morrison has not yet received a commitment letter and said the grant application will not be submitted without that letter. The commitment on the part of the Municipality will be some work to prepare the site, but the installation of the play surface and equipment will be the responsibility of the grant. car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. 13C. CONSIDER APPROVAL TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH CONSTELLATION NewENERGY FOR ELECTRICITY. Mr. Perry moved to approve entering into a contract with Constellation NewEnergy to provide electricity for all Municipal accounts, including street lighting, for $.06527/kw hour. Mr. Lorenz seconded. Mr. Morrison explained that proposals for service are solicited approximately every two years. He reminded Council that the number changes daily; it could be very minimal, but he wanted to make them aware that it will change. Mr. Perry amended the motion to allow staff, at their discretion, to adjust the quoted rate price slightly. Mr. Kase seconded. Mr. Perry asked if the price is fixed for the duration of the contract and doesn’t fluctuate. Mr. Morrison said that it is fixed. Mr. Morrison also said this is a program through the Pennsylvania Municipal League, which provides bidding services to local governments. On the amended motion, upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Amended motion approved. On the original motion, as amended: upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion as amended approved. 13D. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO PROCEED WITH A SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE UPGRADE TO THE MUNICIPALITY’S CENTRAL COMPUTER SYSTEM. Mr. Kase moved to approve. Mr. Vance seconded. Mr. Morrison explained that there have been major disruptions in the e-mail system over the last several weeks. He said that the server was upgraded approximately two years ago. The software that runs the Microsoft Small Business server is no longer supported and is conflicting with some of the other software programs, particularly the SQL program that is run for the accounts payable and financial system program. KM Computer Consultants evaluated the system and recommended several changes, including the replacement of the main network switching equipment, which is approximately 10 years old, as well as other upgrades and installation of new software to improve the existing server. The final change would be to move the e-mail off of the existing server and contract with Microsoft Exchange and take it to the cloud and actually get it off the server. The cost for the first 3 items is estimated to be approximately $8,000 for labor and equipment, with the annual cost to move the e-mail off-site will be about $3,000. The e-mail move is expensed at approximately $4/user/month, and the Municipality has approximately 60 users. Mr. Perry asked the reasoning behind moving the e-mail off site. Mike Hiler explained that one reason is to close one more door that a hacker can use to get into the system; it’s adding security by closing off other opportunities to try to exploit to get into the system. Taking that load off the server will allow resources to go towards more everyday applications. Mr. Morrison said the other evaluation was for the upgrade needed to the car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 existing equipment and software will break even in three years. The up-front cost to manage the e-mail system on site will be approximately $8,000-$9,000. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 14A. CONSIDER A MOTION TO DIRECT STAFF TO FORWARD THE MARCELLUS TASK FORCE DOCUMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEVELOPING A DRAFT ORDINANCE. Mr. Kase moved to forward the report to the Planning Commission for the purpose of drafting any revisions to the existing Oil and Gas Ordinance. Mr. Vance seconded. Mr. Morrison advised Council that the report is a culmination of almost one year of work by the Marcellus Task Force and commended the group on the effort expended to complete the report. There was a lot of material presented and debated and a lot of good questions. In the document, the group tried to present the highlights of the process and represents a chronology of how the task force was walked through the debate and presentation of the material. Because of the format used with the task force, no recommendations were made but options were presented. It will be the Planning Commission’s responsibility to take the document, review it, and make recommendations over the next several months to be able to formulate a draft ordinance that will be put into pending status at that point. He said he does not anticipate the ordinance coming from the Planning Commission to be in the form of a final ordinance that Council will take action on, but as presented at the last meeting, this is typically the process used since it is an amendment to a zoning ordinance. The Municipal Planning Code gives the Council the opportunity to pass it to the Planning Commission for comments and development of the ordinance. Mr. Lorenz said the report is well done and reflects a lot of time and effort put into it and thanked everyone who was a part of the task force. Mrs. Kearns said the task force has not been disbanded, but is on hiatus because there is some thought that once Planning Commission makes comments, there may be some additional review and comment from the task force. There were no further comments or questions on this item. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. car 6/2/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 ENGINEERING: 15A. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE DPW-2-15, LOGAN FERRY ROAD PAVING PROJECT. Mr. Lorenz moved to approve. Mr. Kase seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. 15B. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE DPW-4-15, MUNICIPAL ROOF COATING PROJECT. Mr. Kase moved to approve. Mr. Lorenz seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. 15C. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF LANDSCAPE BOND RELEASE FOR GRANDEVUE ESTATES. Mr. Kase moved to release the bond being held to insure completion of the required landscaping improvements at the Grandevue Estates development. Mr. Vance seconded. The amount to be released is $8,085.00. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. OLD BUSINESS: Mr. Morrison said the Municipality has always had an issue at this time of the year with grass and he believes the existing ordinance is inadequate. Staff doesn’t have enforcement authority until the grass is 16” high and by the time a 30-day notice is sent, it’s fall. Rather than propose an ordinance, he would like to “workshop” some thoughts on the ordinance and settle on an appropriate height, which might not be the same for different districts. He asked the solicitor if residents have to be given a 30-day notice or if that time can be shortened. Mr. Kotjarapoglus said he believes the time can be trimmed down and might also be shortened for subsequent violations. Staff will make a recommendation in a Council briefing and possibly get an ordinance in place before the end of the growing season. NEW BUSINESS: None. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. ACTION ITEMS: Send a letter to Peoples Gas and the PUC. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Perry moved to adjourn. Mr. Lorenz seconded. All present voted aye. The Council Meeting concluded at 8:30 p.m. The Regular Voting Meeting was broadcast on local government Channel 19. A true copy of the Council meeting DVD is available for the public to purchase from the Municipality of Murrysville and is in the Murrysville Public Library for review. car 6/2/15