Meeting Minutes
Mercer County Regional Planning
Commission
TUESDAY, February 28, 2006
7:30pm, MCRPC Office, Hermitage
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MUNICIPALITY
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PRESENT
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ABSENT
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FARRELL CITY
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Jerry Miller
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William Morocco |
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HERMITAGE CITY
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Rita
Ferringer
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Charles E. Rodgers
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SHARON CITY
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Stephen Theiss
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Darin Flower
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Jennifer Barborak
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CLARK BOROUGH
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James Carucci, Sr.
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Richard Dunlap
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FREDONIA BOROUGH
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Patricia McAdams
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GREENVILLE BOROUGH
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Lisa Holm-Schrader
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Pete Longiotti
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GROVE CITY BOROUGH
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Clifford McCandless
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Jeffery P. Black
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JACKSON CENTER BOROUGH
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Donald H. Baker
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Robert Egger
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JAMESTOWN BOROUGH
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Doug
McElhaney
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MERCER BOROUGH
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Jerry Johnson
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NEW LEBANON BOROUGH
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Janice Good
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SANDY LAKE BOROUGH
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Robert W. Kaltenbaugh
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Brad
Martin
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SHARPSVILLE BOROUGH
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Thomas Lally
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Guy Moderelli
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STONEBORO BOROUGH
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Samuel A. Scott
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WEST MIDDLESEX BOROUGH
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Tracy Thompson
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Ray Lucich
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WHEATLAND BOROUGH
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Thomas R. Stanton
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Bob
Davis |
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COOLSPRING TOWNSHIP
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Robert L. McGhee |
Robert M. Addison
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DELAWARE TOWNSHIP
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Melissa Osborne
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Donald Kremm
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EAST LACKAWANNOCK TOWNSHIP
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Nancy Givens
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FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP
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Jane Clark
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Mont Clark
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FINDLEY TOWNSHIP
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John B. Courtney
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Elliott Lengel
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HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP
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Pamela Brown
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JACKSON TOWNSHIP
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Oretha Rodgers
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Mary Gealy
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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
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Bert Weston
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Richard H. McCullough
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LIBERTY TOWNSHIP
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Dave Beatty
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Ron Faull
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NEW VERNON TOWNSHIP
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Kenneth Dodson
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Charles Henderson
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OTTER CREEK TOWNSHIP
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Paulette Young
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Richard Straub
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PERRY TOWNSHIP
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Richard Marshall
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PINE TOWNSHIP
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H. Thomas Paxton
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Fred
Brenner
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PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP
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Merle Mason
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Richard Witten
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SHENANGO TOWNSHIP
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Charles Gilliland
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James
Eakin
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S. PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP
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Joseph Christoff
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Dennis Sump
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SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
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Judy
L. Hassler
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Larry T. Gruntz
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WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP
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Charles Garrett
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Tim Coulter
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WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP
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Mark Smith
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Mike DiNardo |
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MERCER COUNTY
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James Hughes |
Julie Widel |
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Patty McClusky
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James L. Hogan
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Larry McAdams
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Jeff Fiedler
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Jean Hodge
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BOROUGHS ASSOCIATION
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Lorraine Jones
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SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION
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Robert Birtciel
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COUNTY COMMISSIONER
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Michele Brooks
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STAFF
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OTHERS PRESENT
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Dan Gracenin, Executive Director
Carmen
Reichard, Assistant Director, Admin.
Jeremy
Coxe, Assistant Director, Planning
Brian Barnheizer, Senior Planner
Andrew Dash, Planner
Matt
Stewart, Planner
Margaret
Heldorfer, Associate Planner |
Shawn
Cunninghan, Western Pa Conservancy
Barb Brown, Springfield Twp.
Phil
& Mary Yasnowsky
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CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Mark Smith, Chairman,
called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Ms. Patty McAdams,
Vice-Chairman, led the Commission in the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance.
ATTENDANCE SIGN-IN
An attendance sign-in sheet
was passed around and representatives present were asked to mark their
attendance. A quorum was present.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ANY AGENDA
ITEM
There were no public comments.
MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 24,
2006 MEETING
A motion was made by Mr.
Stanton and seconded by Ms. McCluskey to approve the Minutes of the January
24, 2006 meeting with no additions, corrections, or deletions. The motion
passed.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
A motion was made by Mr.
Paxton and seconded by Mr. Lengel to approve the January 2006 Financial
Statement as presented. The motion passed.
STAFF REPORTS
Mr. Stewart, Planner explained
that the County Commissioners held a public hearing on February 23, 2006 to
accept public comments on the Mercer County 2006 CDBG application. Following
the public hearing, the County Commissioners held their regular meeting, at
which time they decided on what projects to be funded and amounts. Mr.
Gracenin explained that starting next year the whole CDBG process will be
different. The Program Review Committee will be reactivated in order to review
the projects in more depth. The MCRPC staff will be given more time to review
each CDBG application and make a recommendation based on some set criteria,
which will be established at future meetings of the Commission.
Mr. Dash, Planner explained
that the County Commissioners, at their regular meeting on February 23, 2006,
approved the rewrite for the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance and will go into effect on April 1, 2006. He noted that we are in
the process of having the ordinance printed and copies will be available
either online or at cost for a paper copy.
Mr. Coxe, Assistant
Director-Planning explained that PennDOT is sponsoring a training session in
Mercer County on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Planning and Design
Workshop. The workshop will be held on March 15, 2006 from 8:30 am to 12:00
pm. If anyone is interested in this training session, they need to register by
March 10th, since the session is limited to 30 people. He also
noted that a Public Hearing for the Mercer County Comprehensive Plan update
will be held on Monday, March 13th, 7:00 p.m. at the Mercer County
Cooperative Extension Office to receive comments and suggestions from citizens
of Mercer County. A presentation on the Plan, the adoption process and
implementation will be made at the hearing. The Plan details future plans for
economic development, land use, transportation, community facilities, and
recreation. Copies of the draft comprehensive plan can be viewed online at
www.mcrpc.com. If adopted by the County, the Plan would become the official
comprehensive plan for Mercer County. Mr. Coxe also mentioned other
multi-municipal plans in Mercer County. Three plans were adopted: the Mercer
region, which involves five municipalities; the Wolf Creek/Slippery Rock COG,
which involves five municipalities in the Grove City region; and the
Greenville Borough/Hempfield Township region. He also noted that we are still
working on the multi-municipal plans for the Sharpsville region, which
involves 3 municipalities; the Shenango Valley region, which involves six
municipalities; and the Lakeview region, which involves 11 municipalities. He
also noted that we will be looking at the Lakeview Comprehensive Plan which
was prepared in 1999, updated in 2002, but was never adopted.
Mr. Gracenin, Executive
Director explained that we have started a GIS County Pilot Program.
GeoDecisions will assist Mercer County by preparing the pilot area digital
property database for tax parcel data conversion. The tax parcel data
conversion has been completed and they are working on the planimetric
development. A GIS group meeting will be held within a few weeks to look at
the pilot program and hopefully by this summer put out an RFP for tax parcel
data conversion. Next, he explained that Sandy Lake Township requested, in
writing, seeking membership in the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission.
He stated that a majority of the existing municipal members must approve their
membership. MCRPC sent a letter on February 13th to all member
municipalities requesting that they consider approving or disapproving this
request.
ZONING AND SUBDIVISION REVIEW
COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. Scott, Committee Chairman,
explained that the Committee met on Tuesday, February 21st and the
28th. A quorum was present at both meetings and took action on the
following items:
1. Request for a modification
to the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
Mr. Gerald Fry of Country Estates in Hempfield Township is requesting a
modification to Section 404.8.f, spacing between intersecting streets. The
modification was requested to allow two streets to be spaced 136 apart,
instead of the 350 required by the Ordinance. The Committee approved the
modification by unanimous vote, due to the low dead-end nature of the two
streets. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Ms. McCluskey to
approve the modification request for Gerald Fry. The motion passed.
2. Request for a modification
to the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
Mr. Gerald Fry of Country Estates in Hempfield Township is requesting a
modification to Section 404.8.g, spacing between residential driveways. The
modification was requested to allow driveways on a cul-de-sac to be spaced
less than the 40 required by the Ordinance. The Committee approved the
modification by unanimous vote. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by
Ms. McCluskey to approve the modification request for Gerald Fry. The motion
passed.
3. Request for a modification
to the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
Mr. Gerald Fry of Country Estates in Hempfield Township is requesting a
modification to Section 404.5.c, cul-de-sac standards. The modification was
requested to allow for a "T" dead-end at the end of Southpoint Lane,
instead of the cul-de-sac with a 40 radius required by the Ordinance. The
Committee approved the modification with a vote of 7 yeses and 1 no. A motion
was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Ms. McCluskey to approve the
modification request for Gerald Fry. The motion passed.
4. Preliminary Plan
Country Estates Lots 173-177 Hempfield Township
Mr. Scott noted that the Committee reviewed this preliminary plan which is
located on the north side of State Route 358. This plan calls for 17
residential dwelling units on 3.5 acres. This site will be serviced by public
sewer and water systems, and will be accessed from the existing Country
Estates development. Two streets, Southpoint Lane and an extension of Hayfield
Road, will be created to serve the development. A motion was made by Mr. Scott
to approve the Preliminary Plan for Country Estates, Lots 173-177, contingent
on the following: Documentation of approval of sanitary sewer facilities from
DEP and the Greenville Municipal Authority, and a completed review of the
storm water management and erosion and sediment control plans from the Mercer
County Conservation District. Mr. Faull seconded. The motion passed.
FINANCE-PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
REPORT
Mr. Brenner, Committee
Chairman, explained that the Committee met prior to tonights meeting, a
quorum was present and took action on the following item:
1. Final Mercer County Rodent
Control Budget for 2006 Mr.
Brenner stated that the Committee reviewed and recommended approval of the
final budget for the Mercer County Rodent Control Program for 2006. (A copy is
attached to and made a part of the permanent record of Minutes.) Mr. Gracenin
stated that this program is administered by the Commission (Carmen Reichard)
and is based on voluntary participation by municipalities at a per capita rate
based on population. A motion was made by Mr. Brenner and seconded by Mr.
Stanton to approve the final budget for the Mercer County Rodent Control
Program for 2006. The motion passed.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Gracenin introduced Mr.
Shawn Cunningham from the Western PA Conservancy. He briefly discussed the
Ohio River Basin project, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).
The Western PA Conservancy received a grant in April 2005 to provide outreach
and technical assistance for CREP implementation throughout the Ohio River
Watershed Basin, which covers 16 counties in western PA. They have put
together fact sheets and brochures which have been distributed throughout
Mercer County to make people aware of the program. Benefits of the program
would be to improve water quality, erosion control, flood control and wildlife
habitat.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business or
discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
Submitted and Certified By:
Charles Garrett, Secretary -
MCRPC
Mercer
County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com www.mcrpc.com
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