Meeting Minutes
Mercer County Regional Planning
Commission
TUESDAY, September 26, 2006
7:30pm, MCRPC Office, Hermitage
|
MUNICIPALITY
|
PRESENT
|
ABSENT
|
|
FARRELL CITY
|
William Morocco
|
Jerry Miller
|
|
HERMITAGE CITY
|
Rita
Ferringer
|
|
|
|
Charles E. Rodgers
|
|
|
|
Glenn E. Davis
|
|
|
SHARON CITY
|
Stephen Theiss
|
Darin Flower
|
|
|
|
Jennifer Barborak
|
|
CLARK BOROUGH
|
Richard Dunlap
|
James Carucci, Sr.
|
|
FREDONIA BOROUGH
|
Patricia McAdams
|
|
|
GREENVILLE BOROUGH
|
Lisa Holm-Schrader
|
Pete Longiotti
|
|
GROVE CITY BOROUGH
|
Clifford McCandless
|
Jeffery P. Black
|
|
JACKSON CENTER BOROUGH
|
|
Donald H. Baker
|
|
|
|
Robert Egger
|
|
JAMESTOWN BOROUGH
|
|
Doug
McElhaney
|
|
MERCER BOROUGH
|
Jerry Johnson
|
|
|
|
Cynthia Hewitt
|
|
|
NEW LEBANON BOROUGH
|
|
Janice Good
|
|
SANDY LAKE BOROUGH
|
|
Robert W. Kaltenbaugh
|
|
|
|
Brad
Martin
|
|
SHARPSVILLE BOROUGH
|
Guy Moderelli
|
|
|
|
Thomas Lally
|
|
|
STONEBORO BOROUGH
|
|
Samuel A. Scott
|
|
WEST MIDDLESEX BOROUGH
|
|
Ray Lucich
|
|
|
|
Tracy Thompson |
|
WHEATLAND BOROUGH
|
Bob
Davis
|
Terry Thompson |
|
COOLSPRING TOWNSHIP
|
Robert L. McGhee |
Robert M. Addison
|
|
DELAWARE TOWNSHIP
|
|
Melissa Osborne
|
|
|
|
Donald Kremm
|
|
EAST LACKAWANNOCK TOWNSHIP
|
Nancy Givens
|
|
|
FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP
|
|
Jane Clark
|
|
|
|
Mont Clark
|
|
FINDLEY TOWNSHIP
|
John B. Courtney
|
Elliott Lengel
|
|
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP
|
|
Kent Williams
|
|
|
|
Pamela Brown
|
|
JACKSON TOWNSHIP
|
|
Oretha Rodgers
|
|
|
|
Mary Gealy
|
|
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
|
|
Bert Weston
|
|
|
|
Richard H. McCullough
|
|
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP
|
Dave Beatty
|
|
|
|
Ron Faull
|
|
|
NEW VERNON TOWNSHIP
|
Charles Henderson
|
Kenneth Dodson
|
|
OTTER CREEK TOWNSHIP
|
Paulette Young
|
Richard Straub
|
|
PERRY TOWNSHIP
|
|
Richard Marshall
|
|
PINE TOWNSHIP
|
H. Thomas Paxton
|
Fred
Brenner
|
|
PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP
|
Richard Witten
|
Walter
L. Weir, Jr.
|
|
SANDY LAKE TOWNSHIP
|
|
Sharyn Kawecki
|
|
|
|
Edwin C. Olson
|
|
SHENANGO TOWNSHIP
|
James
Eakin
|
Charles Gilliland
|
|
S. PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP
|
|
Joseph Christoff
|
|
|
|
Dennis Sump
|
|
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
|
|
Larry T. Gruntz
|
|
|
|
Judy
L. Hassler
|
|
WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP
|
Charles Garrett
|
|
|
|
Tim Coulter
|
|
|
WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP
|
Mark Smith
|
Mike DiNardo
|
|
MERCER COUNTY
|
James Hughes |
Jeff Fiedler
|
|
|
Jean Hodge
|
|
|
|
Larry McAdams
|
|
|
|
Patty McClusky
|
|
|
|
Frank Gargiulo
|
|
|
|
Jeff Hoy
|
|
|
|
Sheryl Kelley
|
|
|
|
James L. Hogan
|
|
|
BOROUGHS ASSOCIATION
|
Lorraine Jones
|
|
|
SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION
|
|
Robert Birtciel
|
|
COUNTY COMMISSIONER
|
|
Michele Brooks
|
|
STAFF
|
OTHERS PRESENT
|
|
Dan Gracenin, Executive Director
Jeremy Coxe, Assistant Director, Planning
Carmen
Reichard, Assistant Director, Admin.
Brian Barnheizer, Senior Planner
Matt
Stewart, Planner
Peggy Heldorfer, Associate Planner
|
Atty. Robert Kochems, Solicitor
Sarah Lawlor
Gregory Lain
Norm Straub
Barb Brown
Phil and Mary Yasnowsky
|
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Mark Smith, Chairman,
called the meeting to order at 7:40 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 MAY 23, 2006
MEETING
A motion was made by Mr.
Johnson and seconded by Ms. McCluskey to approve the Minutes of the May 23,
2006 meeting with no additions, corrections, or deletions. The motion passed.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
A motion was made by Mr.
Morocco and seconded by Mr. Faull to approve the August 2006 Financial
Statement as presented. The motion passed.
STAFF REPORTS
Mr. Gracenin welcomed the new
members of the Commission and students from Thiel College. Mr. Gracenin also
stated that back at the January 2006 Commission meeting, there was
discussion/interest in creating a committee to look at the 2007 proposed CDBG
projects. A public hearing and workshop, which is typically held in December,
will be scheduled for late October to take comments and discuss eligible
projects, income surveys, proposal requirements and project selection
criteria. The public hearing will be advertised in the paper and a mailing
will be forthcoming.
RATIFICATION OF COMMITTEE
ACTIONS DURING SUMMER
Mr. Gracenin explained that
the Zoning & Subdivision Review Committee met during the months of June
and July (a summary sheet of committee actions is attached to and made a part
of the permanent record of Minutes), and the Commission would need to approve
the actions taken by the Committee. A motion was made by Mr. Hughes and
seconded by Mr. Whitten to approve the Committee’s actions during the
summer. The motion passed.
REPORT OF 2005 MCRPC AUDIT
Mr. Gracenin presented the
audit report prepared for the Commission by Black, Bashor & Porsch. He
stated that the audit was in fine order and the Commission was not found to be
negligent on anything. The only significant finding that they had was
concerning the CDBG fees that had not been billed for various services
performed by the Commission for past administration billings as far back as
2003 on the Counties program. The auditor recommended to the Commission that
the amounts owed should be paid as soon as possible since this throws the
budget projections off. There being no discussion, a motion was made by Mr.
McGhee and seconded by Mr. Beatty to approve the 2005 MCRPC audit. The motion
passed.
ZONING AND SUBDIVISION REVIEW
COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. McAdams, Committee
Vice-Chairman, explained that the Committee met last week, a quorum was
present, and took action on the following items:
1. Subdivision Modification
Request – Pine Township – Janet
Smoker-Kedanis, Leonard V. Kedanis Estate, is requesting a modification to the
Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Section 403.3, #5
regarding the depth of a lot shall not exceed four times the width. After
adjoining Lot 1-A to Lot 2 the total lot width would exceed the 4:1 ratio by
about 70 feet. A motion was made by Mr. McAdams and seconded by Mr. Hughes to
approve the modification request. The motion passed.
2. Non-Building Waiver Plan
Note – It was determined that an
additional plan note is needed for a subdivision plan development involving
non-building lots. The note was written by the Committee and the non-building
waiver plan note was revised per discussion with Attorney Kochems, Solicitor
for MCRPC, and Cyndi Selby, who reviews sewage planning for DEP. A motion was
made by Mr. McAdams and seconded by Mr. Hughes to approve the non-building
waiver plan note. The motion passed.
PROGRESS REPORT
Mr. Gracenin explained that
the progress report was mailed with the monthly meeting packet which outlines
the progress on MCRPC projects. (A copy is attached to and made a part of the
permanent record of Minutes.) Staff members highlighted on some of their work.
Mr. Gracenin explained that as
the Director, he oversees all of the daily work. He stated that we continue to
use the transportation program to develop long term plans for improvements
such as the I-79/208 interchange. The Mercer County Comprehensive Plan update
was adopted by the County Commissioners on April 26, 2006. He noted that we
are trying to move forward with the GIS project in the implementation stage,
but some issues need to be resolved first. He stated that the solid waste
board is very limited since we are no longer involved with the Solid Waste
Authority as of last year. MCRPC assisted the MCSWA with the 904 Recycling
Performance Grant Application and the County Act 101 Recycling Report.
Ms. Reichard explained that
the 2006 CDBG contracts were recently approved for the County, Pine Township
and Greenville Borough. She stated that Mr. Barnhizer and Mr. Stewart have
been involved in all of the CDBG programs.
Mr. Coxe explained that he has
mainly been involved in the transportation program. The TIP was adopted at the
August MPO meeting and was forwarded to PennDOT and FHWA for final approval.
Next year, the City of Sharon will be replacing the State Street Bridge in
downtown Sharon. In the following three years, they will be replacing the
three bridges on the Shenango Valley Freeway heading into Ohio. He noted that
the Pine Hollow Bridge was completed this year. He stated that the traffic
counting is approximately 75% complete for the year with the counts to be
completed by November 15th. He noted that 75 counts are done each
year and he had Mr. Barnhizer and Mr. Stewart assisting with the counts. He
stated that a consultant was hired for the Sharon Truck Route Plan and MCRPC
will be conducting turn movement counts and classification counts at various
locations in downtown Sharon. Next, he stated he has been working on various
multi-municipal comprehensive plans for the Grove City region, the
Greenville-Hempfield region, the Sharpsville region and the Mercer area
region. He noted that the Shenango Valley multi-municipal comprehensive plan
is currently underway. He also stated that we will be working with Lakeview
since they had a multi-municipal plan that was completed 6 years ago, was
updated 4 years ago and then it was inactive.
Mr. Barnhizer explained that
he has been the lead planner for the Shenango Valley multi-municipal
comprehensive plan which consists of two plans (Shenango Township/West
Middlesex Borough) and (Hermitage, Sharon, Farrell and Wheatland). He stated
that a $75,000 grant was secured from the State and is being matched with
$25,000 of in-kind work through MCRPC. To date, he has been working with the
consultant, Spotts, Stevens and McCoy. He also stated that the land use field
review work has been completed and was given to the consultant. He noted that
the draft plans are expected to be completed by early 2007. Mr. Barnhizer has
been working on a STAG (State and Tribal Assistance Grant) for sewer
improvement projects for the City of Sharon and Hermitage and the Borough of
Sharpsville. Next, he stated that three applications were approved by the
Mercer County Affordable Housing Fund Board. The applications were: The Arc of
Mercer County, $147,750 for construction of a group home in Fairview Township,
which will not be completed until 2007; Mercer County Habitat for Humanity,
$21,168 for completion of a single family residence on South Irvine Avenue in
the City of Sharon; and The Good Shepherd Center of Greenville, $11,100 for
emergency shelter improvements. Next, he stated that the Core Communities
Housing Program replaces the Brownfields for Housing Program. This is a
competitive program designed to improve affordable housing options in older
developed area. He is encouraging municipalities and non-profits to apply for
funding before the October 31st deadline.
Mr. Stewart explained that he
has been involved in all of the CDBG programs. In addition, he has been
working on the Jefferson Township and Wheatland Borough HOME Projects for
housing rehabilitation for low to moderate income homeowners. He noted that he
has been working with Findley, Coolspring and East Lackawannock Townships and
Mercer Borough on a new HOME program, which is currently underway. He
explained that he has assisted Mercer Borough and Greenville Borough on their
Elm Street Grants. The Greenville grant is currently pending and the Mercer
grant will be submitted in October.
Mr. Gracenin explained that
this past June, we hired Lisa Holm Schrader, who worked for MCRPC a few years
ago. Ms. Schrader explained that she has been working on amending local zoning
ordinances and providing help with zoning and subdivision questions. She also
noted that since the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
was updated and adopted in April 2006, she has been receiving calls about
updating certain items within the Ordinance and has also been working with
other communities in regards to adopting the County Ordinance as their own for
their use.
AMENDMENT TO THE MCRPC MEMBER
MUNICIPALITY FUNDING FORMULA
Mr. Gracenin explained that
with the addition of a new member to the MCRPC, the funding formula would need
to be amended to account for additional funding received by the MCRPC. He
stated that a resolution of the MCRPC would be required to alter the member
fee formula contained in the articles of agreement. Currently, the MCRPC
articles of agreement contains a member fee formula specifying that
municipalities shall pay 33.3% of the net revenue budget and Mercer County
shall pay 66.7% of the net revenue budget. Also, the MCRPC articles of
agreement contained a provision allowing an alteration of the 33.3%/66.7%
member fee formula by resolution when there would be additions or withdrawals
of member municipalities. In this case, Sandy Lake Township became a new
member to the MCRPC earlier this spring. Because of this additional member
municipality, the MCRPC would need to alter the member fee formula to specify
that municipalities shall pay 33.58% of the net revenue budget and Mercer
County shall pay 66.42% of the net revenue budget by resolution. He stated
that this does not change the member municipality fee for 2006; MCRPC would
only receive additional revenue from the new member municipality. There being
no discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Johnson to adopt the resolution
altering the member fee formula contained in the MCRPC articles of agreement.
Ms. Ferringer seconded. The motion passed.
PMRS MINIMUM MUNICIPAL
OBLIGATION (MMO)
Mr. Gracenin explained that
under MCRPC’s pension plan, we are required to inform the "governing
body" of their expected obligation of the Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO).
The MMO is MCRPC’s 2007 bill for their pension plan and must be paid by the
end of 2007. This year, MCRPC paid $4,006 as their obligation because of the
surplus. For 2007, MCRPC is required to pay $7,304 as their obligation. After
brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Hoy and seconded by Ms. McCluskey
to approve the Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) for 2007. The motion passed.
AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO
CONTRACT WITH WHITMAN, REQUARDT & ASSOCIATES (WR&A) TO PERFORM SHARON
TRUCK ROUTE PLAN
Mr. Coxe explained that as
part of the Mercer County MPO 2006-2007 Unified Work Program, special study
money was available to perform a Sharon Truck Route Plan in downtown Sharon.
This is a $50,000 contract ($40,000 to contractor, $10,000 MCRPC in-kind
services). He noted that over the past couple of months, an RFP was sent out,
12 consultants responded and WR&A from Zelienople, PA was hired. He noted
that work would begin mid-September 2006, and would be a 6 month study. MCRPC
will be conducting traffic counts at various locations in downtown Sharon and
coordinating with consultant on data collection, meetings, etc. He stated that
authorization is needed to enter into a contract with WR&A to complete the
Sharon Truck Route Plan. A motion was made by Ms. Ferringer and seconded by
Mr. Theiss to approve entering into a contract with WR&A. The motion
passed.
FINANCE & PERSONNEL
COMMITTEE REPORT
Ms. McAdams reviewed the
preliminary 2007 MCRPC budget. She stated that under the revenue side the
beginning balance for 2007 would be $157,783 with the total revenue being
$723,356. Next, she stated that under the expense side the expenses would
total $647,362 with an estimated ending balance of $75,594 for 2007. A motion
was made by Ms. McAdams to approve the preliminary 2007 MCRPC budget. Mr. Hoy
seconded. In discussion, Mr. Dunlap questioned the consultant fees for this
year. Mr. Gracenin explained that this amount could stay low because it is
based on the GIS project and not sure if it would move forward. He also stated
that this money is a wash. There being no further discussion, the motion
passed.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Courtney stated that he
was pleased to see sidewalks going in out front along Highland Road. Mr.
Gracenin stated that sidewalks will be on both sides of Highland Road, but
will not happen until next year. Also, Mr. Theiss questioned when the December
Dinner meeting will be held. Mr. Gracenin stated Tuesday, December 19th,
it will be somewhere in the Shenango Valley and we are looking for a speaker
for that evening.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business or
discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:32 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
home
about mcrpc planning projects
community
development transportation
zoning
subdivision
