Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 4, 2016 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, May 5, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members David Perry, Josh Lorenz, Tony Spadaro, Jamie Lee, Loren Kase, and Joan Kearns. Councilman Jeff Kepler arrived at 7:25 p.m. Also present were Mayor Robert Brooks, Chief Administrator James Morrison, Solicitor George Kotjarapoglus, Finance Director Diane Heming, Public Works and Parks Director Bob Bell, and Municipal Planner Allen Cohen. MAYOR BROOKS WELCOMES SPENCER LEE FRANKLIN REGIONAL WRESTLER Mayor Brooks introduced Spencer Lee, a member of the Franklin Regional wrestling team. Spencer told of his accomplishments in wrestling: 3-time undefeated high school state champion with a record of 109-0; two-time defending world champion at the 50kg weight class for the United States; 68 pins and only 9 matches that lasted the full 6 minutes. Although only a junior, Spencer has verbally committed to wrestle for the University of Iowa after graduation. Spencer’s mother said he is very dedicated, knows what he wants and gets it done. Greg Sill, assistant wrestling coach, said Spencer is a very hard-working kid and a good student athlete. Zach Kessler, Athletic Director, said Spencer has a great work ethic and has clear goals which his coaches expect him to attain. They believe he will be an Olympic gold medalist. Mayor Brooks presented Spencer with a certificate recognizing his many accomplishments. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA UNISTED AMENDMENTS: None. Ms. Lee moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Lorenz seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. APRIL 20, 2016 MEETING MINUTES TO BE APPROVED Mr. Spadaro moved to approve the Consent Calendar items. Ms. Lee seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. COMMUNITY INPUT: Bruce Livengood of 6202 Bollinger Road thanked Council for the three information sessions held on the Marcellus Shale issue. He referenced a point made by one of the presenters that there isn’t any real clear understanding of any health problems associated with natural gas drilling; there are correlations, but not necessarily causations. He also noted that a concern was raised about benzene and said it seemed to be related to truck traffic at the sites as opposed to actual drilling. Bob Whitesides, 5083 Ashbaugh Road again came before Council regarding the numerous gas leaks on Ashbaugh Road. Mr. Morrison said that a letter was sent to the PUC and, after an initial investigation with Peoples Gas, car 5/12/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 4, 2016 there was a finding of “no issue.” If a formal complaint is to be filed with the PUC, it must be filed by the property owners. Mr. Whitesides would appreciate anything Council can do with Peoples to repair the line. Mr. Morrison suggested the residents contact their local State Legislators for assistance. Mr. Morrison said there have been numerous leaks throughout the Municipality and there is an issue with Peoples’ capital maintenance program. Alyson Holt, 4830 Primrose Lane, believes the speakers at the last session made a compelling case for the strongest possible setbacks from occupied structures and for carefully evaluating each well pad application on such bases as air modeling studies, topography, evacuation routes, truck traffic routes, congestion, and population density. She referenced the recent natural gas line explosion and the damage caused to homes at distances between 900 ft. and ½ mile from the explosion. She said unconventional horizontal drilling and pipelines share similar risks with regard to accidents, and that accidents from one should inform people about potential accidents from the other. Tyler Herget, 5317 Greenridge Dr., Pittsburgh 15236, an employee with Huntley & Huntley, commented on the recent explosion and stressed that it is completely unrelated to oil and natural gas exploration production. He said the incident is in the early stages of investigation and one should not jump to conclusions about potential causes except to understand that it was not in any way associated with drilling and completing natural gas wells and that those types of incidents are extremely rare in number. Ted DeCesare, 2405 Francis Lane, said he, his family, and many others in the community have a lot to gain from natural gas extraction, but he also has a lot to lose if unsafe extraction and distribution take place. He suggested that increased inspections of lines should be pursued. He cited other possible causes of injury and unsafe practices and said he would like to see causes, probabilities and statistics regarding drilling to convince him it is unsafe and he believes the Municipality can and should move forward with both state and local regulations that are fairly consistent with those from a few years ago. COMMENTS BY MAYOR BROOKS: Mayor Brooks brought forward Sgt. Scott Kettren and read a proclamation designating May 15 as Police Officer Memorial Day and May 16-21 as National Police Week. Sgt. Kettren thanked the residents of Murrysville for their support and said there will be a Strengthening the Thin Blue Line service on May 22 at Murrysville Alliance Church to recognize and honor the 123 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Mayor Brooks introduced Darrick Gerano of Medic One and read a proclamation recognizing May 15-21 as Emergency Medical Services Week and May 4 as EMS Day. Mr. Gerano said that Medic One handles just under 19,000 calls annually. They have assisted with recovery efforts after hurricanes and tropical storms in other areas of the country. This work gives them additional training and knowledge to bring back to Murrysville when having to deal with crises in the community. Mayor Brooks recognized Public Works and Parks Director Bob Bell and read a proclamation commending the public works employees for their work throughout the community and designated May 15-21 as National Public car 5/12/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 4, 2016 Works Week in the Municipality and May 4 as Public Works Day. Mr. Bell thanked the Mayor, Mr. Morrison and Council for giving the department the best resources and materials to do their work. WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 9A. DISCUSSION ON ROUTE 22 ISLANDS MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT WITH PENNDOT. Mr. Morrison advised Council that PennDOT has the responsibility for maintaining the rights-of-way along the highway and some of the high-visibility locations don’t get the attention they should be getting from PennDOT. He said the proposed agreement is a further step to keep the highways presentable for people traveling through the community and the efforts the Municipality puts forth to maintain the highway would go a lot further if the Municipality assumes some of the responsibility. Mr. Morrison presented Council with an estimate of cost and number of hours to do the work and, if Council is favorable, staff will begin the process to contract for the work. Ms. Lee asked if an agreement would mean that PennDOT would not cut the islands once or twice a year. Mr. Morrison said the Municipality would assume that responsibility and he estimated that it would be 5 cuts, depending on the weather. Mr. Kepler asked if the Municipality would get any money from PennDOT to cover the cost and was told it would not. Mr. Kase asked if community groups might be approached to take over some of the islands to do plantings. Mr. Morrison said this program is currently in effect, but it has become more difficult over the years to find groups that want to continue with the maintenance program. He would like to approach the local landscape companies to see if they would do some of the work in exchange for putting their sign in the area identifying that they are responsible for the area. There were no additional questions from Council. 9B. A REVIEW OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN GOALS. Mr. Morrison explained that one of the requirements in the Comprehensive Plan was that staff report annually back to Council on the progress of the goals. He said he believes good progress has been made in slightly over a year, new initiatives have been started and there has been some success with the goals as they were identified. Mr. Lorenz said that one of the criticisms of prior drafts [of the Plan] was that it was purely aspirational and didn’t really give any road map as to how some of the ideas were to be implemented and thinks that the current draft is different in that it provides a pathway to get some of the ideas accomplished. He believes the goal and shift in this version as compared to past versions has been successful. Mr. Kase said the South Murrysville area still needs a draw – other than the Community Center, there is not a lot of activity to entice developers to bring a business to that area. He said that with the Trail coming through, a Welcome Center and parking would be a good addition and help draw attention to that area. Mr. Morrison said the Weyerhauser property has had a lot of interest and the realtor marketing the property has agreed to let the Municipality know of interested parties and their plans for development of the parcel and will respect the car 5/12/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 4, 2016 Municipality’s opinions. The County is also playing a role and, hopefully, development of that parcel will be the stimulus for that portion of the community. Mr. Kepler said an active trail will also help once people start using it. Mr. Perry said someone is looking at buying one of the properties along the trail to build a convenience store/coffee shop for use by those using the trail. Mrs. Kearns questioned the mention of a trail-head park & ride across from Meier’s Hardware and asked if Westmoreland Transit would be using the same space. Mr. Morrison said that the trail and Westmoreland Transit would be sharing the space, which is what made the project attractive to the funding agency; 15 spaces would be designated for the trail and 35 for park & ride. 9C. MARCELLUS SHALE: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Mr. Morrison said that since the three education sessions have been completed, staff asked Council if they felt any additional sessions were needed and also needs guidance from Council on how to proceed. He said staff would like to get the ordinance finished by July. He presented some bullet points which he believed will help Council zero in on any aspects of the ordinance that Council may feel need to be addressed. He said staff is ready to move forward with finalizing the ordinance. Mr. Kepler asked about the status of Chapter 78. Mr. Morrison said it was approved by the Environmental Quality Board and now goes to the Legislature. It appears that the Republican House and Senate are not satisfied with it, mainly with convention wells. Mr. Morrison feels fairly confident that 78A, as it exists and impacts Marcellus and unconventional drilling is pretty much what it is. Mr. Kepler said that, for him, finishing up Murrysville’s ordinance is directly related to the timing of Chapter 78 because the approach he would take in the ordinance would be very different if that was active. Mr. Lorenz said to keep in mind that there are issues and topics addressed in Chapter 78 that the Municipality can’t touch or regulate. They don’t go to the “where,” they go to the “how.” Mr. Kepler said the Municipality can put conditions in place regarding best management practices in a development plan, but if Chapter 78 is in place, the Municipality can simply say to do what DEP says. Mr. Perry suggested that once Chapter 78 is approved, then the Municipality can make adjustments. Mr. Morrison said the issue is with Chapter 78, not 78A, which governs with the unconventional side of it. He believes the real effort to ditch the regulation is going to deal with the conventional side; in his mind the unconventional side is pretty much set. Municipal Planner Allen Cohen said that 78A does tie in with best management practices, which is the only authority the Municipality has. The Municipality has the teeth for the applicants to demonstrate that their practices are consistent with the Municipality’s goals. Ms. Lee asked if something can be put in the ordinance regarding monitoring equipment on the site. Mr. Cohen said there is a fine line and the Municipality must make sure it doesn’t cross that line regarding what the car 5/12/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 4, 2016 Municipality does and the authority the DEP has. Any condition put on a conditional use application is reasonable until someone says it isn’t reasonable. Mr. Perry asked “What do we do now?” Mr. Morrison said a draft will be presented to Council and if there are no objections to the bullet points presented, this will come before Council in June. COUNCIL - ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13A. CONSIDER APPROVAL TO EXONERATE PARCEL 49-03-00-0-145 – THE SARDIS PARK PARCEL. Ms. Lee moved to approve the exoneration. Mr. Kepler seconded. Finance Director Diane Heming explained that the parcel has already gone through the exemption process and this request is to exonerate the Municipality’s portion of the real estate taxes on the parcel. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Perry – yes, Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Ms. Lee – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes. Motion approved. 13B. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF CONTRACT FOR THE COMMUNITY CENTER FLOORING. Mr. Kepler moved to award the contract to complete the flooring project in the main areas of the Community Center to Franklin Interiors in the amount of $13,118.18. Mr. Kase seconded. Ms. Heming explained that this is one of the final phases of the Community Center renovation project – carpeting and flooring. She said that two bids were received, with the difference in price being the labor cost. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Perry – yes, Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Ms. Lee – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes. Motion approved. 13C. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF CONTRACT FOR THE COMMUNITY CENTER CABINETRY. Ms. Lee moved to award a contract to Vangura to complete the cabinetry project in the serving area at the Community Center in the amount of $3,059.97. Mr. Lorenz seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Perry – yes, Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Ms. Lee – yes, Mr. Kase – recused himself as his company submitted the bid, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes. Motion approved. 13D. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES, PROJECT NO. DPW-10-16. Mr. Spadaro moved to authorize advertisement for bids for a 3-year traffic light maintenance agreement. Mr. Kepler seconded. Mr. Morrison explained that this is for routine maintenance on traffic signals which would car 5/12/2016 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, May 4, 2016 include the lights on Route 22 and the one at Route 286. The software and system currently in place is under a separate 5-year contract for maintenance. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Perry – yes, Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Ms. Lee – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes. Motion approved. 13E. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT WITH ROBERT BELL. Mr. Lorenz moved to approve an employment agreement with Robert Bell as previously circulated to Counsel. Ms. Lee seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Perry – yes, Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, Ms. Lee – yes, Mr. Kase – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes. Motion approved. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None. ENGINEERING: None. PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None. OLD BUSINESS: Mr. Perry asked if there has been any communication from Arshad Hafeez. Mr. Morrison said Mr. Hafeez is working on redoing the plans to conform to the original submittal for approval. He also said Council is not required to release a portion of the bond money. Mrs. Kearns commented on the recent flag retirement ceremony held by Boy Scout Troop 205 at Sardis Fire Hall and reminded residents that they can drop off unusable flags in the box in the Municipal Building lobby. NEW BUSINESS: None. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. ACTION ITEMS: Assist residents on Ashbaugh Rd. with gas leak problems. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Spadaro moved to adjourn. Mr. Kase seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. The Council Meeting concluded at 8:40 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 5/12/2016