Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Josh Lorenz, Loren Kase, Tony Spadaro, Joan Kearns, Jeffery Kepler, and Jamie Lee. Councilman David Perry was not in attendance. Also present were Chief Administrator James Morrison, Solicitor George Kotjarapoglus, and Municipal Planner Allen Cohen. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA UNISTED AMENDMENTS: 1. Under Workshop Items – Community Development – REMOVE Item No. 11A – Presentation by the Planning Commission. Mr. Kepler 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. FEBRUARY 17, 2016 MEETING MINUTES TO BE APPROVED D. MARCH 2, 2016 MEETING MINUTES TO BE APPROVED Ms. Lee moved to approve the Consent Calendar items. Mr. Spadaro seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. COMMUNITY INPUT: Cindy Gesuale of 3051 Hoy Farm Court thanked Council and Municipal staff for bringing in the DEP representatives for the recent information session and said that, after learning of the comprehensive regulations developed by the DEP to monitor shale drilling, Ms. Gesuale said she didn’t see a need for adding additional Municipal regulations. She added that Murrysville doesn’t have the professional staff with experience to monitor and enforce the proposed regulations and asked who was pushing the agenda in the Municipality. Mrs. Kearns replied that it is Council’s job to ensure the safety of whatever activity Council approves, which is what pushes them. Also, the Municipality cannot tamper or be involved with anything that the DEP handles. The Municipality’s legislation (involving location) is outside of DEP’s realm. Mr. Kepler clarified that the presentation made by the DEP included the proposed regulations, which have not yet been enacted. Mr. Morrison further explained that the proposed regulations are before the Environmental Quality Board and that process will be vetted. He reminded that Murrysville’s pending ordinance was developed prior to the DEP’s regulations being proposed and staff is currently in the process of reviewing the pending ordinance in relation to the Chapter 78A regulations. Norman Franke, 4816 Sardis Road, also thanked Council for hosting the recent session with the DEP. He said the 500 foot setback requirement is more than adequate to address any public health or safety when it comes to car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 drilling. He noted that there were concerns about contamination of the water supply in Beaver Run and said it is constantly being monitored for public safety and there have been no problems. He said the Municipality should not be adopting a natural gas policy at the Municipal level based on “what ifs.” Dolores Wingard of 2550 Kohosek Court again voiced her objection to the requested rezoning of property along Kohosek Court and mentioned the traffic, school bus entry and turn-around. She asked how Council will control what is built on the property if it is rezoned and noted that there is other property a bit further out Route 22 that is zoned for multiple units and can be accessed at the traffic light. Kim Wingard of 2525 Kohosek Court said she enjoys her property – it is secluded yet close to the Murrysville downtown area, Delmont and Export. To have the units put in will take away her privacy and increase problems on her property. Jim Kohosek, 2581 Haymaker Farm Road opposes the project because of the compatibility issue. The surrounding area is very rural and going from R-R to R-3 is a huge step. He mentioned that there is a nearby property that was mistakenly zoned R-3 that has one home on it and the rest is a wooded area. He said two wrongs don’t make a right. WORKSHOP ITEMS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 10A. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED TRASH AND RECYCLING RFP. Cherie Weber, the Municipality’s trash and recycling coordinator, congratulated Council on approving the automated recycling program in 2012 and advised that recycling tonnage is up and trash tonnage is lower. She told Council that it’s time for a new contract and needs guidance from them as to what they would like to see in the next 5 years. She was advised that Export Borough wants to remain with manual trash and manual recycling and will also opt out of the leaf recycling program; however, Export would like to proceed with the curbside household hazardous waste and e-waste collection. Export has also asked for smaller trucks within the Borough because the trucks are ruining the infrastructure. Ms. Weber then asked Council to consider the following: a. Remain with manual trash or proceed with automated trash utilizing wheeled carts (Council asked to have it bid both ways – manual and automated; Council was told the automated collection is cheaper than manual); b. Continue with automated recycling (Council wants to continue with this program); c. Continue with bi-weekly recycling or switch to weekly collection (ask for bids on both options); d. Curbside leaf recycling (stay with 2 collections in spring and 3 in fall-tonnage is going up); e. Include e-waste and household hazardous waste curbside collection as part of the base service (discussion resulted in asking to have this included in the bid proposal); car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 f. Fuel surcharge (the RFP will remove the fuel surcharge and replace it with an “equitable adjustment” clause); g. Issues related to Republic Services’ corporate downsizing and the need for access to local management and a route supervisor to address immediate issues. Ms. Weber will present the RFP to Council for approval at the April 6 meeting. Mr. Morrison noted the increase in grant money received by the Municipality from the recycling program, which enabled the purchase of the cardboard compactor. COUNCIL - ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE 2016 COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) FOR THE ELIGIBLE RETIRED POLICE OFFICERS. Mr. Kepler moved to approve the adjustment. Ms. Lee seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. 13B. CONSIDER A REQUEST TO EXONERATE MUNICIPAL REAL ESTATE PROPERTY TAXES FOR PARCEL NO. 49- 13-00-0-057, WHICH WAS RECENTLY ACQUIRED BY THE TURTLE CREEK INDUSTRIAL RAILROAD TO BE USED AS THE PART OF THE RAILS TO TRAILS CORRIDOR FROM TRAFFORD ROAD TO THE MONROEVILLE LINE. Mr. Kase moved to approve. Mr. Lorenz seconded. Mr. Morrison explained that this is the stretch of railroad right-of-way that is to be used for the Rails to Trails from Trafford Road to the Monroeville Line. The property had appeared on the Municipal tax records; since it will now be owned by a non-profit organization, they are no longer responsible for real estate taxes and, as a result, the Municipality is exonerating the property. The amount of taxes that had been collected was $1,858 at face. There were no questions from Council. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. 13C. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MRM TRUST FOR THE 2016-17 PROPERTY, LIABILITY AND AUTO INSURANCES. Ms. Lee moved to approve Municipal Risk Management as the carrier for all commercial insurances for the Municipality from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. Mr. Spadaro seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 14A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF S-2-16, MURRY CREST SUBDIVISION, HAY LANE, 3 LOTS. Mr. Kepler moved to approve the subdivision on Hay Lane and Treesdale, 3 residential lots with a remaining parcel, with a fee-in-lieu in the amount of $1,250 for Murrysville Community Park as a condition. Ms. Lee seconded. Mr. Morrison asked the representative if he accepted the conditions; he replied in the affirmative. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. 14B. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE NO. 945-16, Z-1-16, APB HOLDINGS, LLC, A REZONING NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF KOHOSEK ROAD AND HAYMAKER ROAD, TAX PARCEL 49-15-00-0-248, R-R AND B TO R-3 FOR THAT PARCEL. Mr. Lorenz moved to approve. Mr. Kepler seconded. Tony Bucciero of 4974 Cline Hollow Road, the applicant, received permission to address Council. He gave a history of the property and noted that when he purchased the property in 2006, the zoning went down the middle of the property, with R-R on one end and B on the other. He was told that was not a problem and to come back when he had a plan. He said that Murrysville’s Comprehensive Plan calls for more multi-family residences and the type of people who will be living in those facilities will be baby-boomers who are downsizing or young professional married couples who can afford to rent a higher-priced townhouse. His company developed Marquis Place, which is oversubscribed and has a waiting list for people to get into that community. He said there is a demand for multi-family housing in Murrysville and he gets more calls for townhouses than apartments. Mr. Bucciero further explained that his property is a reclaimed strip mine. He countered the comments made by the Wingard family members, stating that his property is at least 100’ higher and 500 yards away from their property and the development will not impact the Wingards’ property. In response to Mr. Kohosek’s comments, Mr. Bucciero said it was the Planning Commission’s suggestion that there should be no exit onto Haymaker Farm Road. Mr. Bucciero referenced the property along Route 22, which was formerly a junk yard which the Wingards had to drive through to get to their property. He said the split zoning, which cuts the property in half, means that he really can’t do anything with the property because the front parcel (zoned B) is too small to justify the cost of bringing all the utilities in and the infrastructure needed to meet the Municipality, State and other requirements. He needs the entire property, with a sizeable development, to justify the expense just to bring utilities in, regardless of what he puts on the property. He spoke about the improvements that will be made to the driveway and the traffic study conducted for the proposed development. Mr. Bucciero does not believe there will be a traffic impact with vehicles entering onto car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Route 22 from the development. He commented that a lot of the concerns people have raised may be more emotional than real. He is asking for no public funds, no grants, or no low interest loans; the school district should not be impacted versus the amount of tax revenue it will get, since this type of development is more conducive to empty-nesters or young families. He said he is trying to convert an un-reclaimed strip mine into upscale housing and asked for Council’s consideration. Mr. Spadaro had some questions about rental fees, comparison to Marquis Place, clubhouse amenities, and HOA. Mrs. Kearns reminded Council that they can’t make a decision on a proposed plan; their decision must be based strictly on the merits of rezoning or not rezoning the property. Once the property is rezoned, the applicant can do anything that is permitted under that zoning classification. Mr. Spadaro asked about the number of homes in the area that might be affected; Mr. Bucciero responded to that question. Ms. Lee said that Council has spoken about looking at the Municipality’s zoning in the near future and she thinks if this application is approved, she can foresee others making similar requests and she would rather wait until Council has the opportunity to look at the “bigger picture” and does not believe the timing is right. Dave Regalla, 2551 Haymaker Farm Road, is the owner of the property abutting Mr. Bucciero’s property. He is concerned about his privacy and the impact 140+ families living in his back yard will have, as well as the fact that he and his family will no longer be able to hunt on his property. He said the proposed rezoning and development will adversely affect him and his family. Mr. Lorenz echoed Ms. Lee’s comments and said he is not necessarily opposed to putting R-3 in that area but had concerns about: (1) how that fits into the general over-all zoning of the community, specifically in that area; and (2) how the proposed development will impact neighbors who bought their properties based on the zoning at the time of purchase. He suggested working with the neighbors to get them on board with the plan; if the vision is something that is not going to negatively impact those around, perhaps having discussions with neighbors and getting them comfortable with the plan and then coming back to Council might be a better avenue. Zoning is intended to put like uses with like uses and, looking at the surrounding properties from a zoning standpoint, that’s his biggest concern. Mr. Kase agreed with Mr. Lorenz, but reminded everyone that the comprehensive plan included the need for more high density housing. He also said that there is approximately 18 acres zoned Business and if the current owners purchased their property knowing the adjacent property was zoned B, quite a few things could be built there. Mr. Kepler said, generally, he is against spot zoning, which makes for a difficult land management approach. He is not against R-3 and supports the comprehensive plan; however, as part of the comprehensive plan, there is a need to revisit the zoning map and update it to align with that vision. He would not expand R-3 unless Council looks at the overall zoning map and updates it accordingly. Mrs. Kearns said she again reviewed the comprehensive plan, which indicated a need for multi-family housing, but what was stressed in almost all areas was the availability of “conveniences” – being able to walk places and car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 shop nearby. Such is not the case with this site and there is no easy access to the site. She said the request being made is to such an extreme that she doesn’t believe it fits to go from R-R to R-3 and is out of place with the surrounding developments. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – no, Mr. Kase – no, Mr. Spadaro – no, Mrs. Kearns – no, Mr. Kepler – no, Ms. Lee – no. Motion failed. ENGINEERING: 15A. CONSIDER AWARD OF A CONTRACT FOR DPW-1-16, 2016 OVERLAY CONTRACT. Mr. Kepler moved to award a contract for the 2016 overlay project to Tresco Paving Corporation in an amount not to exceed $1,428,157.50. Ms. Lee seconded. Mr. Morrison said staff would ask Council to consider awarding the contract in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000 because of the pricing received in this particular bid. Mr. Kepler agreed with that change; Ms. Lee seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: 16A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF PORT-A-JOHN CONTRACT. Mr. Kase moved to approve a one-year contract with three-year pricing, renewed annually, to Port-A-John Rental Company for 16 portable restrooms at various Murrysville parks. Mr. Spadaro seconded. Public Works & Parks Director Bob Bell advised that RFPs were sent out and bids were received from three vendors. He recommends contracting with the same company the Municipality has used for the past three years, with pricing increasing $5.00/month for standard units and $2.00/month for handicapped units. He also noted that prior service from this company has been great. He explained that if the Municipality is satisfied with the service after the first year, the contract will be extended for years 2 & 3. Mr. Kase added to his motion that the amount of the contract is not to exceed $13,100. Mr. Spadaro seconded that amendment. Mr. Kase then asked why the award is being capped at $13,100 when the third year of the contract lists an amount of $11,318. Mr. Bell said the budget line item is $13,100, but the actual amount will be well below that. There were no additional questions. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 16B. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE GRASS CUTTING. Mr. Lorenz moved to authorize staff to advertise for prices for mowing and trimming at various Municipal properties. Mr. Kase seconded. Mr. Bell explained that, in the past, the bid has been awarded on a yearly basis but would like to use the same contract theory as the portable restrooms bid – one-year with three-year pricing. He said the properties to be maintained are Marlee Acres, the Summervale green space and the Administration Building. The Staymates property was dropped since there is now a tenant. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. 16C. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE MATERIAL BIDS. Ms. Lee moved to authorize staff to advertise for bids for various road materials and line painting. Mr. Spadaro seconded. Mr. Bell explained that this is an annual maintenance contract for commodities and will run from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017. The line painting this year will include all the crosswalks on Route 22. Other than that, the bids will include street signs, pipe, stone and asphalt. Mrs. Kearns asked if Export takes part in the contract. Mr. Bell said there is a three-year Cooperative Agreement with Export, which will end this year and have to be updated. Mr. Kase noted that the agenda briefing mentioned the fuel contract with Sheetz that is to end in 2017. Since Sheetz will be shut down, he asked if the Municipality get an extension on the contract. Mr. Bell said he has spoken with a representative from Sheetz and was told the pumps will be shut down from February to July, 2017 so the Municipality will have to go with another Sheetz for fuel (Monroeville, Holiday Park). He is also going to contact Export Fuel to see if something can be arranged with that company. Mr. Morrison said Sheetz will be responsible for any difference in costs associated with the Municipality acquiring fuel. Mr. Bell explained that Sheetz does all the taxing for the Municipality; if employees go to Export Fuel, Ms. Heming will have to do it. Following discussion on the fuel issue, on the motion to advertise for bids for road materials and line painting, upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Ms. Lee – yes. Motion approved. OLD BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Morrison and Mayor Brooks will be meeting with PennDOT next week regarding several issues: (1) traffic control at entrance to Blue Spruce due to the increase in accidents; (2) way to cross Route 22 from Branthoover to the Roberts property; (3) a few islands on Route 22 that the Municipality might like to mow because PennDOT doesn’t get to them often enough; (4) placement of some type of electronic signage at Tarr Hollow. car 3/21/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 2016 EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. ACTION ITEMS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Kepler moved to adjourn. Mr. Kase seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. The Council Meeting concluded at 8:20 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 3/21/2016