May Minutes | WCCOG

Western Cumberland Council of Governments

Regular Monthly Meeting

Minutes of May 9, 2011

West Pennsboro Township Building

President Steve Oldt called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. with a moment of silent meditation and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Candidate for the office of Cumberland County Commissioner Michael Fedor was present to introduce himself to the membership. He was unable to attend the April meeting due to being out of state on business. He is a democratic candidate from Duncannon who works as a union organizer for AFL-CIO, aiding political organizations as well as the United Way campaigns. He encourages collaboration and cooperation among municipalities. He is a one-year resident of Cumberland County who supports the local rail Corridor One project and wants to explore the feasibility of modern public transportation.

The minutes of the April 11, 2011 meeting were approved on a Martin/Sangialosi motion which carried.

The April 30, 2011 bank balances were as follows: Checking $4,603.24, Savings $3,090.53 and Regional Code MMA $51,128.61. The April UCC building permit fee commission totaled $2,159.00. West Pennsboro Township earned $1,727.20 for building permit administration and the WCCOG earned $431.80. The April Treasurer’s Report and the May Bill List of $7,646.00 were submitted and approved on a Parshall/Sangialosi motion which carried.

Participation in the Capital Region COG’s road salt bid is still pending as the CRCOG did not have a quorum at their April meeting. Administrator Perry Albert doesn’t think there will be any objection to our participation in the bid which is put out in July. WCCOG members would be billed for their share of the advertising costs as usual.

Solicitor Marcus McKnight explained that the traffic line painting bid was incorrect due to two municipalities requesting non-reflective paint when they meant to request a bid for reflective paint. At the April meeting, the traffic line painting bid was awarded to Interstate Road Management. West Pennsboro Township and Shippensburg Borough have had poor performance experience with Interstate Road Management and Alpha Space Control agreed to meet Interstate Road Management’s prices for reflective paint. Interstate Road Management agreed to supply reflective paint for the quantities requested as non-reflective.

Walter Heine reported on HB 1228 (a reintroduction of last year’s HB 1500) police services bill. PSATS provided figures of what this bill would cost our members if it was passed. HB 278 reintroduces legislation to adjust thresholds for the bidding process.

Mike Reynolds presented memorandums on two bills that Rep. Stephen Bloom has introduced.

He also provided a list of bills Rep. Bloom is co-sponsoring along with the status of each.

Jeff Kelly said the planning department is sponsoring public meetings to receive comments on updates to the county comprehensive plan. The meetings will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 10th at the county’s Allen Road administrative center and May 19th at Southampton Township.

Commissioner Rovegno said interviews will begin soon for the first of the I-81 Project staff. It has been suggested that the project expand to include I-59 to New Orleans. Financial commitments from VA, WV and PA now allow for salaries of staff.

Red Rose Transit and CAT express buses are carrying a lot of commuters. Buses are running at ½ to ¾ of capacity. Commissioner Rovegno said the question to ask concerning rail in Cumberland County is, “Is public transit rail an effective use of public funds?” Commissioner Rovegno said studies have revealed the answer is no. For a regional rail system to be effective a population density of 65 residents per acre is needed. Cumberland County has a density of 2/3 person per acre. He expounded on the difficulty and barriers of commuter rail working in Cumberland County. So much money has already been spent on studies that a new a state of the art maintenance facility for the bus system could have been built. The cost of implementation would exceed the debt rating of the county.

Local elections are to be held next Tuesday, May 17^th. Solicitor McKnight distributed newspaper articles about the candidates for county commissioner. He spoke to the changes Act 1 of 2011 made to the Uniform Construction Code. He also shared a Patriot News article on the state’s plans to abandon the 800 MHz radio system. The state’s decision will affect the ability of the county to tie into and communicate with the state agencies.

Penn Township – The township is still working with DEP to get permits for cleaning culverts. Work continues on stormwater washout areas. They are preparing to widen Beetem Hollow Road.

Big Spring School District – Tonight the School Board meets to discuss the closing of Plainfield Elementary. The budget should be adopted at next week’s meeting.

North Newton Township – A successful spring clean up day was held on Saturday. Much of the scrap metal and electronics will be recycled. A storage shed was added to the park’s ball field. An arbor and plantings were added around the propane tank. A Cushman mini-truck was purchased through Federal Surplus for use at the park. Work continues on an intergovernmental agreement with Newburg Borough for sign maintenance as well as an agreement with Newville Borough for police service at the Newville Lions Club fairgrounds.

Newville Borough – A Mitsubishi mini-truck has been purchased for the Public Works Department from Federal Surplus at a cost of $1,250. West Pennsboro Township, the Big Spring School District, Newville Borough and Newville Water & Sewer Authority have been awarded a $22,500 Shared Municipal Services Grant from the PA DEP for the Big Spring Master Plan. The group has collectively pledged $12,500 for the project and has also received a $10,000 grant from Cumberland County for a total of $45,000. The next step is to select a consultant.

Shippensburg Borough – North Newton will be added to a long list of municipalities which may take advantage of the borough’s compost facility. The Roxbury Road project should finish up next month.

Lower Frankford Township – The road crew is tending to general road maintenance and cleaning culverts. The new truck is in service.

South Newton Township – Spring clean up was done in April and bulk clean up is scheduled for July. South Newton has been successful in partnering with neighboring municipalities on projects to widen roads that run through both townships. This year they are widening a road that connects with Penn Township and last year they also teamed with Southampton and Penn to widen roads.

Southampton Township – Bulk clean up days yielded twelve 40-yard dumpsters of waste from residents. Funds received from the sale of the steel collected covered the cost to dispose of the waste.

West Pennsboro Township – The funding of the sewer system installed several years ago may take a financial blow with the loss of Plainfield Elementary School. The new Sheetz store under construction at the intersection of SR 233 and SR 11 should be open in 18 weeks. Cornerstone Federal Credit Union is in the process of a land development plan. The township’s first annual community yard sale at the park netted $1,000 for the park and recreation department. These funds will go toward construction of the veterans’ memorial. The township has been exploring creative ways to fund their projects such as the yard sale.

Mt. Holly Springs Borough – A traffic light at the Sheetz intersection has been hit repeatedly by tractor trailers.

Shippensburg Township – The township hopes to buy a mower from Southampton. A power line on Richard Avenue near High Street has 15 pairs of sneakers hanging over it. The township is taking steps to get them removed. The automotive lube business on King Street has applied for a zoning variance in Shippensburg Township so they can relocate and make way for the Sheetz expansion in Shippensburg Borough. There appears to be renewed interest in development near Exit 29 of I-81.

Two LTAP classes have been scheduled for later in the year. The dates are as follows:

Dave Durff said South Newton is scheduling a Laserfiche document software demonstration and invites interested members to sit in on the demonstration. Laserfiche allows scanning and storage of documents in order to reduce use and storage of paper files. The demo date will be forwarded to all members by email.

The issue of equity distributions from the Capital Tax Collection Bureau will be discussed following the close of the meeting for those members interested.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 p.m. on a Martin/Sangialosi motion, which carried.

May Meeting Minutes

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Copyright © 2008 Western Cumberland Council of Government
Last modified: 04/26/11

May Meeting Minutes

Send mail to admin@wccog.us with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2008 Western Cumberland Council of Government Last modified: 04/26/11

Send mail to admin@wccog.us with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Western Cumberland Council of Government
Last modified: 04/26/11