Meeting Minutes

Mercer County Regional Planning Commission Meeting
Tuesday, November 27, 2001 - 7:30 PM
MCRPC Office, Hermitage

MUNICIPALITY	PRESENT	ABSENT
FARRELL CITY		Jerry Miller
		Mark A. Petrillo
HERMITAGE CITY	James Pat White	James A. Rollinson
	Rita Ferringer
SHARON CITY	George Gulla	Frank Smeraglia
		Lou Rotunno
CLARK BOROUGH		Russell Shaffer
		James Carucci, Jr.
FREDONIA BOROUGH	Larry McAdams
	Patricia McAdams
GREENVILLE BOROUGH	Burroughs Price
GROVE CITY BOROUGH	Clifford McCandless
JACKSON CENTER BOROUGH		Todd Sturgeon
JAMESTOWN BOROUGH	Darryl Pinney
	Doug McElhaney
MERCER BOROUGH	Jim Carnes	Jerry Johnson
NEW LEBANON BOROUGH		Janice Good
		Mary A. Ziegler
SANDY LAKE BOROUGH		Carol Paul
		Robert W. Kaltenbaugh
SHARPSVILLE BOROUGH		Alex Kovach
		Bob Piccirilli
STONEBORO BOROUGH	Samuel A. Scott
WEST MIDDLESEX BOROUGH		Linda Bollinger
		Raymond Lucich, Jr.
WHEATLAND BOROUGH	Ray Foster	Thomas R. Stanton
FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP		Jane Clark
		Mont Clark
FINDLEY TOWNSHIP	John B. Courtney	Elliott Lengel
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP		Pamela Brown
		Russell L. Dawes
JACKSON TOWNSHIP	Mary Gealy	Linda L. Baun
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP		Robert F. Angermeier
		Bert Weston
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP	Dave Beatty
	Ron Faull
NEW VERNON TOWNSHIP	Albert W. Law
	Frank Cochran
OTTER CREEK TOWNSHIP		Richard Straub
		Paulette Young
PERRY TOWNSHIP		Richard Marshall
PINE TOWNSHIP	H. Thomas Paxton
	Fred Brenner
PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP		Joseph A. Selnekovic
		James F. Rowe
SHENANGO TOWNSHIP		Mathew Frontino
		Kristen Robinson
S. PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP	Mike Nashtock	Mourice Waltz
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP	Judy L. Hassler	Larry T. Gruntz
WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP	Jeff Hoy
	Charles Garrett
WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP	Jim Morton
	Mark Smith
MERCER COUNTY	Richard A. Mackell	Ethel Friede
	Jean Hodge	Tom Jack
	James L. Hogan
BOROUGHS ASSOCIATION	David George
SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION
COUNTY COMMISSIONER

STAFF	OTHERS PRESENT
Dennis G. Puko, Executive Director Dan Gracenin, Assistant Director Don Blakesley, Recycling Coordinator Jeremy Coxe, Planner Fred Frank, Planner	Attorney Robert G. Kochems, Solicitor Brian Bedder, M.C. Building Trades Irv Greenlee Bill Heinl, Gray-Warnick Engineering Joe Pacchioni, Hickory Engineering Barb Conroy, Springfield Township

CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Ron Faull, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mr. Larry 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 OCTOBER 23, 2001 MEETING

A motion was made by Mr. George and seconded by Mr. Scott to approve the Minutes of the October 23, 2001 meeting with no additions, corrections, or deletions. The motion passed.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

A motion was made by Mr. Foster and seconded by Mr. Hoy to approve the October 2001 Financial Statement as presented. The motion passed.

STAFF REPORTS

Mr. Frank reported that the City of Farrell and a developer are starting work on the HOPE VI Project at the Steel City Terrace (public housing project) in the City of Farrell. The City and developer are working on building new houses and to redevelop the area, which would be undertaken in two phases. Phase one would be the demolition of the public housing project, known as Steel City Terrace. The developer would replace them with two and three family homes in a six-block area. Phase two would be the redevelopment of some single-family homes that would be in an existing neighborhood. Currently, Farrell City Council heard a proposal from the developer to create a Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay Zone, which is new to Pennsylvania. The Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay Zone would allow for minimum building setbacks, reduced lot sizes, pedestrian oriented development, on street parking and reduced off-street parking that mimic existing neighborhoods in the City. Mr. Frank stated that he would keep members updated on the progress of this redevelopment project.

Mr. Gracenin reported that Mercer County is in the process of updating the new Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is the four-year plan. The State held their State Transportation Commission Hearing back in mid-September, which a number of local people spoke at that hearing. The MPO Committee would be meeting in December, at which time they will discuss putting together a project list to present to PennDOT.

Mr. Puko commented on the Commission’s Annual Dinner, which is scheduled for Wednesday, December 19, 2001 at Hempfield Station One. The primary purpose of this dinner is the Kick-Off for MCPRC’s 50^th Anniversary celebration. He next commended that Deer Creek and Coolspring Township’s have shown possible interest in becoming members of the Commission. He also reported that David Hess, from DEP is interested in having an audience to speak to local governments in Mercer County. Mr. Puko felt that the Commission might be interested in having him speak at one of our upcoming meetings. He next reported that the Commission is finalizing the update of the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. A draft ordinance would be presented to the full Commission prior to going to the Mercer County Commissioners for their consideration. He noted that there are a couple of choices to consider: 1) since the December meeting is not an appropriate time to review this draft, the January meeting often is a busy meeting with CDBG funding, we could try to squeeze it in on the January agenda, or possibly the February agenda; or 2) have this discussion through the Zoning & Subdivision Review Committee on December 11^th and let the Committee’s recommendation stand and submit to the County Commissioners for their consideration, along with an invitation to all Commission members to attend this meeting on December 11^th. He also noted that the draft ordinance is on our web page, for those who would like to review it. He asked members what their choice would be. A motion was made by Mr. George and seconded by Mr. Hoy to give the Zoning & Subdivision Review Committee authorization to review and submit the draft ordinance to the Mercer County Commissioners. The motion passed.

ZONING & SUBDIVISION REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr. Scott, Chairman, reported that the Committee met last week, a quorum was present and took action on the following items:

1. Major Subdivision – Preliminary Plan – Milk Transport, Inc. – Pine Township – Mr. Scott noted that this subdivision is located on Cranberry Road, north of Grove City Borough, adjacent to an existing Milk Transport facility. The plan calls for 3 industrial lots on 47 acres, a new road providing access to the lots from Cranberry Road, and sanitary sewer service from an existing line running along Cranberry Road. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Mr. Paxton to approve the preliminary plan for Milk Transport. The motion passed with Dr. Brenner abstaining.

2. Major Subdivision – Preliminary Plan – The Homestead – Hempfield Township – Mr. Scott noted that this subdivision is located on the north side of the intersection of Methodist Road and Fredonia Road in Hempfield Township. The plan calls for 61 single-family residential units on 41.594 acres to occur in 6 phases with completion expected in 5-10 years. A new road would provide access to the site from both Methodist and Fredonia Roads and sanitary sewer would service the lots from an existing line running along Fredonia Road. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Ms. Hodge to approve the preliminary plan for The Homestead. The motion passed with Dr. Brenner abstaining.

FINAL MCRPC & RODENT CONTROL PROGRAM 2002 BUDGETS

Mr. Puko noted that the Rodent Control Program budget would be reviewed at a later time. The program is looking at some possible changes (other options) due to the dismissal of the Rodent Control Specialist earlier this year and the inability to hire somebody in his place.

Mr. Puko reviewed the proposed final budget for the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission. Copies were distributed to the members present. (A copy is attached to and made a part of the permanent record of Minutes). He stated that last month the preliminary budget was approved. Since then, two changes were made to the preliminary budget: 1) Christopher Conti, Senior Planner, was hired at $1,000 more than what was budgeted, which increases the amount of salaries & wages and the employee benefits; and 2) after the Mercer County Solid Waste Authority approved their budget, it sought additional services of the MCRPC staff, which in turn would provide some additional compensation for the staff services, and would increase the revenue of over $16,000. There being no discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Nashtock and seconded by Mr. Price to approve the 2002 proposed final budget, with the two changes noted above, for the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission. The motion passed.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr. Hoy, Committee Chairman presented the following list of officers for 2002: Chairman – Larry McAdams representing Fredonia Borough; Vice-Chairman – Cliff McCandless representing Grove City Borough; Secretary – Pat White representing Hermitage City; and Treasurer – Tom Stanton representing Wheatland Borough. Mr. Hoy asked if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none. Elections will be held at the December meeting, which at that time additional nominations can be made from the floor if so desired.

THE ROLE OF PLANNING & MCRPC IN RESPONSE TO THE THREAT OF TERRORISM

Mr. Puko distributed a handout on random questions and thoughts related to planning and terrorism. (A copy is attached to and made a part of the permanent record of Minutes). Since the terrible tragedy of September 11^th, should current practices of planning for land uses, water/sewer, roads, housing, etc., be altered to better safeguard communities from terrorism? Do communities find themselves vulnerable to terrorism in their present shape and form? In discussion, it was felt that municipal officials should have training in dealing with terrorism and communications systems should be in place to communicate quickly in the event of terrorism. It was also noted that all municipalities should have an emergency operations guidelines mandated by the County Department of Safety and should work with this department in order to make them current. Municipalities should work in conjunction with the Emergency Management Agency (EMA). It was noted that FEMA has put a lot of pressure on municipalities by saying that if your plan is not updated and you have a disaster in your municipality, you would not get any Federal or State money to help you out. Municipalities should have a traffic control and evacuation procedure plans in effect in the event of any type of disaster. Mr. Puko stated that Mr. Gracenin, Assistant Director, has sat on the local Emergency Planning Committee for a while. He noted that Mr. Gracenin would approach this topic at their next meeting and ask what role can MCRPC play in this area. He noted that as information is received, he would share this with the Commission.

ADJOURNMENT

With no further business or discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Submitted and Certified By:

Clifford McCandless, Secretary - MCRPC

 

 

Mercer County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com    www.mcrpc.com

 

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