Meeting Minutes
Mercer County Regional Planning
Commission
TUESDAY, November 22, 2005
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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James Pat White |
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James A. Rollinson |
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SHARON CITY
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Stephen Theiss
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Vic Heutsche
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Darin Flower
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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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Ron Boyd
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GREENVILLE BOROUGH
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Lisa Holm-Schrader
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Robin Douglas
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GROVE CITY BOROUGH
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Clifford McCandless
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JACKSON CENTER BOROUGH
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Debbi
Stevenson
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Marvin
R. McAfoose
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JAMESTOWN BOROUGH
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Darryl Pinney
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Doug
McElhaney
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MERCER BOROUGH
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Jerry Johnson
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Jim
Carnes
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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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Bob Piccirilli
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Alex Kovach
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STONEBORO BOROUGH
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Samuel A. Scott
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WEST MIDDLESEX BOROUGH
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Mark David
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Tracy Thompson |
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Tracy Thompson |
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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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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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Russell L. Dawes
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JACKSON TOWNSHIP
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Linda L. Baun
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Mary Gealy
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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
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Richard H. McCullough
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Bert Weston
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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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John Martin
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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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Richard Witten
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Walter L. Weir, Jr.
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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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David
Lapikas
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Mike Nashtock
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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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Jeff Hoy
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WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP
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Mark Smith
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Ray Penland
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MERCER COUNTY
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Jeff Fiedler
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Julie Widel |
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James Hughes |
James L. Hogan
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Patty McClusky
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Jean Hodge
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Larry McAdams
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BOROUGHS ASSOCIATION
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David George
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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
Don Blakesley, Senior Program Administrator
Jill Boozer, Program Administrator
Margaret
Heldorfer, Associate Planner |
Robert
Kochems, Solicitor
Barb Brown, Springfield Twp.
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CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Tom Stanton, Chairman,
called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Mr. Mark Smith, 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 not present.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ANY AGENDA
ITEM
There were no public comments.
RATIFICATION OF ACTIONS TAKEN
WITHOUT A QUORUM AT AND MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 25, 2005 MEETING
A motion was made by Mr.
Beatty and seconded by Mr. McAdams to ratify the actions taken without a
quorum at and Minutes of the October 25, 2005 meeting with no additions,
corrections, or deletions. The motion passed.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
A motion was made by Mr.
Johnson and seconded by Mr. Garrett to approve the October 2005 Financial
Statement as presented. The motion passed.
STAFF REPORTS
Mr. Barnhizer, Senior Planner
explained that the Mercer County Affordable Housing Fund Board met last week
and recommended two (2) projects to the Mercer County Commissioners for
approval at a future date. The first project was for the Community Counseling
Center of Mercer County in the amount of $80,000 and the second project was
for the Good Shepherd Center in Greenville in the amount of $11,100.
ZONING & SUBDIVISION
REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. Dash, Planner, reported
that the Committee met last week, a quorum was present, and took action on the
following item:
1. Rezoning Request by Sandy
Lake Borough Landowners – Mr. Dash
explained that we received a request to rezone approximately 45 acres with
frontage along Broad, Lake (SR 358), School, Walnut, and Market Streets west
of the downtown of Sandy Lake Borough from Residential (R-1) and Industrial
(I) to Residential (R-2). This rezoning is being requested to allow for some
residential development to occur in the area, which is not allowed in the
Industrial zone, and not at the density that the applicants are seeking in the
Residential (R-1) zone. A motion was made by Mr. Hogan and seconded by Mr.
Paxton to approve the rezoning request by Sandy Lake Borough. The motion
passed.
FINANCE-PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
REPORT
Mr. Hoy, Committee
Vice-Chairman, reported that the Committee met last week, a quorum was
present, and took action on the following items:
1. Healthcare coverage for
2006 - Mr. Hoy explained that the
Committee reviewed various healthcare plans for MCRPC employees for 2006 and
it was recommended that the Highmark PPO Option I plan for MCRPC employees be
accepted. Mr. Gracenin noted that we received the healthcare information for
2006 and the rates had dropped significantly due to some buyout options that
the MCRPC implemented earlier in the year. A motion was made by Mr. Hoy and
seconded by Ms. McAdams to approve the recommendation made by the Committee.
The motion passed.
2. Mercer County Solid Waste
Authority staffing issues – Mr. Hoy
explained that the Committee recommended approval, as a result of the
termination of a service contract between the MCSWA and MCRPC, that Don
Blakesley and Jill Boozer’s employment is terminated. Their final day of
employment with the MCRPC would be December 31, 2005 and all accumulated
vacation should be utilized by that date. A motion was made by Mr. Hoy and
seconded by Ms. Young to approve the recommendation made by the Committee. The
motion passed.
In discussion, there was a
question of what was going on. Mr. Gracenin explained that there are a couple
of court cases in Pennsylvania which has affected the administration fee,
which the MCSWA collects. He explained that the Authority does not have any
money because some of the administration fees that were being paid by the
landfills had requested that their money be held in an escrow account until
the court cases are resolved. He explained that the contract between the MCSWA
and MCRPC was terminated by the MCSWA at their Board Meeting on November 21st.
Dr. Brenner, Chairman of the
MCSWA explained that the court order that came down in the eastern part of the
State indicated that there was nothing in Act 101 that would authorize a
County or a County’s agent to allow for administration fees. He stated that
the MCSWA expenditures have been over 5 million dollars in past years for
running the program, the depot sites and the consolidation center. He stated
that Tri-County Industries and Seneca Landfill have the Valley contract and is
family owned by the same person, and is not public. Last contract, Waste
Management was the low bidder, but did not complete the paperwork properly,
therefore, Tri-County got contract. Mr. Gracenin suggested that we write
letters to our legislatures in Harrisburg to support recycling. Mr. Blakesley
stated that Crawford County has taken the position to escrow their fees and
they are planning to lay off 2 employees by the first of the year. He stated
that Waste Management, BFI, and other big public companies will not take the
lead; they will let the private independent waste hauler lead the way. Dr.
Brenner stated that if we had to remove a depot site it would cost
$2,500-$3,000/site to pick up depots and then $2,500-$3,000/site to put them
back. He encourages municipalities to write letters of support to legislatures
in Harrisburg indicating their support of the program and recommend that they
find a solution to this problem as soon as possible. Mr. Courtney questioned
if recycling is mandated. Mr. Blakesley stated that recycling is not mandated,
except for the 6 mandated communities in the County. The goal of 25%,
increased to 35% was made by Governor Ridge, but Mercer County has not met
that yet. Mr. Coxe stated that recycling will continue in mandated communities
because that is part of their garbage contract. A motion was made by Ms.
Holm-Schrader that Mr. Gracenin write a letter of support to our legislatures
to support the recycling program. Ms. Brown also asked that we send a carbon
copy of the letter to the Environmental Resource Council and to each
municipality asking them to support the program. Mr. Hoy seconded. The motion
passed.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT
– 2006 OFFICERS
Mr. McAdams stated that the
Nominating Committee met and presented the following list of officers for
2006: Chairman – Mark Smith; Vice-Chairman – Patty McAdams; Secretary –
Chuck Garrett; and Treasurer – Paulette Young. Mr. Gracenin stated that we
had two open positions for officers for 2006. Mr. Gilliland had stated that he
has some personal matters to deal with and he will not be able to serve as an
officer for the coming years and will resign at the end of the year. Mr.
Gracenin thanked Mr. Gilliland for all of his time and participation over the
years and stated that he will be missed. Mr. Gracenin also thanked Mr. Hoy for
all of his time and participation over the years, since he will not be with
the Commission next year, due to elections. Mr. McAdams asked if there were
any nominations from the floor. There were none. He noted that elections will
be held at the December meeting, which at that time additional nominations can
be made from the floor if so desired. Mr. Gracenin also wanted to remind
Commission members of our upcoming dinner on December 20th, 6:00
p.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Mercer Borough. The speaker for
the evening will be Gary Gulla and he will discuss the Linden Pointe
Development.
UPDATE ON EMINENT DOMAIN
LEGISLATION
Mr. Gracenin explained that
since our last meeting, House Bill #2019 and #2054 and Senate Bill #881 and
#897 had passed. He noted that there are still issues on how eminent domain is
being used and blight being defined differently. He also noted that on the
Federal side, a Bill has gone through the House which has a penalty that if
you use eminent domain you will be penalized for 2 years of not receiving
Federal funds. Mr. Coxe stated that he will post these bills on our website.
AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO
AGREEMENT WITH GEO-DECISIONS FOR GIS PILOT PROJECT
Mr. Gracenin explained that he
needs authorization to enter into a $10,000 contract with Geo-Decisions for a
GIS pilot project to create parcels, etc. in Hermitage to define what our
needs are a little more thoroughly. A motion was made by Mr. Hughes and
seconded by Ms. Ferringer to enter into a $10,000 agreement with Geo-Decisions
for a GIS Pilot Project. In discussion, Mr. Johnson questioned if Mickey
DeForest from the Mercer County Courthouse would be involved in this. Mr.
Gracenin stated that yes, he is involved.
PRESENTATION OF THE MERCER
COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE DRAFT PLAN
Mr. Coxe explained that back
in 1995-96 the County prepared the Mercer County Comprehensive Plan, Planning
for Livable Communities. Over the past 2 years, the County has been updating
their Comprehensive Plan with new statistical data, a revised growth and
development policy, and some new ideas to continue the county’s transition
into the new economy. Also the County’s Long Range Transportation Plan was
updated and a new Greenways, Open Space, and Recreation Plan were developed.
The updated plan will renew the vision of Mercer County. He noted that a draft
plan is available on line and all municipalities, schools, etc. will receive a
draft plan on a CD. In discussion, Mr. Hughes suggested that we send a CD to
the public libraries in Mercer County. Mr. Courtney suggested that we go to
the Ag statistics site for more up to date information and he also has
information to share with MCRPC after the meeting.
Mr. Coxe next asked where we
want to be by the year 2025. The future land use map shows where growth should
occur in Mercer County, and we must have consistency between municipal plans
and the County plan. There was then discussion of the draft plan’s vision,
goals and objectives which leads to the strategies and recommendations of the
plan. Four priority initiatives have been identified for Mercer County’s
future. They include: Planning and Ordinance Leadership and Development
Assistance, Infrastructure Maintenance and Expansion, Economic and
Neighborhood Revitalization and Natural Resource Protection. Mr. Coxe then
outlined the plan to implements the strategies and recommendations of the
draft plan. The next steps are to submit the plan to the County Commissioners,
have a 45-day review period for municipalities, school districts and
contiguous counties, have a public hearing and then the County Commissioners
may consider adoption of the draft plan. A motion was made by Mr. Eakin that
MCRPC recommend approval of the Draft County Comprehensive Plan to the County
Commissioners. Mr. Johnson seconded. The motion passed.
OTHER BUSINESS
A motion was made by Ms.
Ferringer that we recommend sending a letter to the municipalities regarding
the attendance of their representatives on the Mercer County Regional Planning
Commission. The municipalities should replace them if the representative has
not attended many meetings. Mr. Theiss seconded. Members expressed
disappointment that representatives from municipalities do not attend and
stated the importance of these meetings and that they should attend when
appointed.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business or
discussion, the meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Submitted and Certified By:
Patricia McAdams, Secretary -
MCRPC
Mercer
County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com www.mcrpc.com
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