Newtown Township
Board of Supervisors Minutes
January 6, 2003
MINUTES WERE APPROVED at the regular meeting January 22, 2003. MINUTES OF ORGANIZATION MEETING OF 1/6/03: Mr. Jirele moved to approve the minutes of the 1/6/03 organization meeting; the motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors met on Monday, January 6, 2003, in the Township meeting room at 8:00 PM for their Organization Meeting. In attendance were Supervisors: Chairman Scott Harp, Vice Chairman Tom Jirele, Treasurer Richard Weaver, Secretary/Assistant Treasurer Anne Goren and Member Raymond Goodnoe. Also present were: Township Solicitor David Sander and Township Manager Bob Pellegrino.
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Harp
called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM with a moment of silence.
INVOCATION: Given by Rabbi
Shemtov of the Labavitch Center. This
was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
COMMUNITY COMMENTS
Mr. Harp announced
that there will be only one 30 minute session of Community Comments tonight,
and speakers are asked to limit themselves to five minutes each. He also said the Board will meet in
executive session following adjournment of tonight’s public meeting.
Nancy Crescenzo, a
Township resident, said she is concerned about the democratic process in
Township government, and about diversity in Township appointments. She asked for discussion this year about
Township goals, the use of volunteers and relationships with neighboring
municipalities.
ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS
CHAIRMAN: Mrs. Goren moved to elect Scott Harp as
Chairman; the motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed 3-2, with Mr.
Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
OTHER OFFICERS
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Mr. Weaver moved to elect Anne Goren as
Vice-Chairman; the motion was seconded by Mr. Harp and passed 3-2, with Mr.
Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
TREASURER: Mr. Harp moved to elect Richard Weaver as
Treasurer; the motion was seconded by Mr. Goodnoe and passed unanimously.
SECRETARY/ASSISTANT
TREASURER: Mr. Harp said Mr. Goodnoe is not interested
in serving as Secretary/Assistant Treasurer.
Mr. Harp asked Mr. Jirele if he will serve; Mr. Jirele said he will
not. Mr. Harp asked Mrs. Goren to serve
as Assistant Treasurer in addition to Vice Chairman; Mrs. Goren said she will.
Mr.
Harp moved to elect Anne Goren as Assistant Treasurer; the motion was seconded
by Mr. Weaver and passed 3-2, with Mr. Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
Mr. Harp asked Mr.
Weaver if he will serve as Secretary in addition to Treasurer; Mr. Weaver said
he will.
Mr.
Harp moved to elect Mr. Weaver as Secretary; the motion was seconded by Mrs.
Goren and passed 3-2, with Mr. Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
REMARKS,
2003 CHAIRMAN: Mr. Harp thanked his fellow Supervisors, Mr.
Pellegrino and the Township staff, and all the residents who serve the Township
as volunteers.
BOARD OF
AUDITORS: Mr.
Harp moved to appoint Jeffrey McGeary to the Board of Auditors, to fill the
unexpired term of Shawn Ward. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver.
Discussion of
motion: Mr. Jirele asked that this appointment be
postponed, as he has just received Mr. McGeary’s resume tonight and would like
to study it. He said that the Board
should exercise due diligence when filling an elected position. Mr. Harp said he is familiar with Mr.
McGeary’s qualifications and feels ready to make the decision tonight.
Nancy Crescenzo asked to comment on the motion. Mr. Harp said public comment was limited to
the beginning of the meeting.
Mr. Sander advised that public comment can be limited to the
beginning of the meeting at the discretion of the Board. Mr. Jirele asked if this can be done at the
discretion of the Board or of the Chairman; Mr. Sander said it is the Board’s
decision.
Mr. Jirele
moved to allow public comment after each motion; the motion was seconded by Mr.
Goodnoe and failed 2-3, with Mr. Harp, Mrs. Goren and Mr. Weaver voting “nay”.
Mr. Harp’s
earlier motion regarding the appointment of Mr. McGeary passed 3-1, with Mr.
Goodnoe voting “nay” and Mr. Jirele abstaining.
BONDS: Mr. Weaver moved to adopt Res-2003-1 to set
the following Township bond amounts:
Treasurer's
Bond $3,000,000.00
Assistant
Treasurer’s Bond $1,500,000.00
Manager’s
Bond $1,000,000.00
Finance
Director’s Bond $1,000,000.00
The
motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
REAL
ESTATE TAX MILLAGE: Mr.
Weaver moved to adopt Res-2003-2 to establish the following Real Estate Tax
Millage for 2003:
Debt Service Fund 4.50 mils
Fire
Protection Fund 3.50 mils
Rescue
Squad Fund 0.50 mils
Park
and Recreation Fund 2.00 mils
Total
10.50 mills
The motion was
seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed 4-1, with Mr. Goodnoe voting “nay”.
TAX MILLAGE
EXEMPTION: Mr.
Weaver moved to adopt Res-2003-3 Tax Millage Exemption – Act 153. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and
passed unanimously.
CONDITIONAL
USE PROCEDURE: Mr.
Goodnoe moved to adopt Res-2003-4 Conditional Use Procedure, re-affirming Res
94-R-43. The motion was seconded by
Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
PENSION PLAN
INVESTMENT POLICY: Mrs.
Goren moved to adopt Res-2003-5, re-establishing the Township’s Pension Plan
Investment Policy. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
DELINQUENT TAX
COLLECTOR: Mrs.
Goren moved to adopt Ordinance 2003-O-1, appointing the Township’s Elected Tax
Collector as the Delinquent Tax Collector.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
MEETING DATES: Mrs. Goren moved to set meeting dates of the
Board of Supervisors for 2003 per Appendix A.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
PROCLAMATIONS: Mr. Weaver moved to authorize the Chairman
to direct the preparation of proclamations after first surveying the Board; the
Township Manager to prepare, the Chairman to sign and the Manager to attest, to
proclamations honoring citizens and others for worthy deeds and
activities. The motion was seconded by
Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
TAX ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Mr.
Weaver moved to continue all 2002 Tax Ordinances and Resolutions in force
pursuant to Section 4 of the Local Tax Enabling Act for 2003. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and
passed unanimously.
APPOINTMENTS
A.
REPORTING DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, TO SERVE THE TOWNSHIP WITH
COMPENSATION FOR 2003
TOWNSHIP
MANAGER: Mr.
Weaver moved to recognize Township Manager Robert Pellegrino's employment
agreement. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Goodnoe and passed unanimously.
TOWNSHIP
SOLICITORS AND PLANNING COMMISSION SOLICITORS: Mrs. Goren moved to appoint the firm of
Harris and Harris; Stephen B. Harris, Esq., David J. Sander, Esq. and Gregory
Stern, Esq. Township Solicitors and Planning Commission Solicitors. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and
passed unanimously.
BOARD
RECORDING SECRETARY: Mrs.
Goren moved to appoint Margaretta Stone Board Recording Secretary. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and
passed unanimously.
AUDITORS: Mr. Weaver moved to appoint the firm of
Stanley N. Booz & Company, CPA, to audit the books and accounts of Newtown
Township and its officers for fiscal 2003.
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
B. STANDING, NON-STATUTORY COMMITTEES
AUTHORIZED BY THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
LABOR
RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint Tom Jirele, Ellis
Katz, and Robert Pellegrino to the Labor Relations Committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodnoe and
passed unanimously.
PUBLIC
SAFETY COMMITTEE: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint Tom Jirele, Anne
Goren, Stephen B. Harris, Martin C.
Duffy and Robert Pellegrino to the Public Safety Committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harp and
passed unanimously.
BANKING
COMMITTEE: Mrs. Goren
moved to appoint Chairman Scott Harp, Treasurer Richard Weaver, Elaine Gibbs
and Robert Pellegrino to the Banking Committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
PENSION
PLAN COMMITTEE: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint Chairman Scott Harp, Treasurer Richard Weaver, Elaine
Gibbs (Committee Chairman), Robert Pellegrino,
Joe Martindell (CWA representative) and Frank Ambrose (PBA
representative) to the Pension Plan Committee, with the responsibility of re-evaluating the Township’s pension
investment strategy. The motion was
seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY COMMITTEE: Mrs.
Goren moved to appoint Elaine Gibbs, Norman Moorhead and Donald Harris
(Chairman) to the Occupational Safety Committee; and to affirm the PBA
appointment of Paul Deppi and the CWA appointments of Tim Shaw and Joe Martindell
for 2003. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL: Mrs.
Goren moved to appoint Supervisor Richard Weaver as Chair of the Business
Development Council. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Harp and passed unanimously.
C.
REPORTING TO THE TOWNSHIP MANAGER, TO SERVE WITH COMPENSATION FOR 2003
EXEMPT EMPLOYEES: Mr.
Weaver moved to affirm the employment of exempt employees, per Appendix B,
including seasonal employees as needed.
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
COMMUNICATION
WORKERS OF AMERICA: Mrs.
Goren moved to affirm the employment of employees who are part of the
Communication Workers of America bargaining unit, per Appendix C. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and
passed unanimously.
POLICE
BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION: Mr.
Weaver moved to affirm the employment of employees who are part of the Police
Benevolent Association bargaining
unit, per Appendix D. The motion was
seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
TOWNSHIP
CIVIL AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERS: Mrs.
Goren moved to appoint Pennoni Associates Inc. as Township Civil and Traffic
Engineers with appropriate authority to attend Board, Commission and Committee
meetings. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Weaver and passed 4-1, with Mr. Goodnoe voting “nay”.
TOWNSHIP
LABOR SOLICITORS: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint the firm of Sweet, Stevens, Tucker & Katz, Ellis
Katz, Esq. as Township Labor Solicitors.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodnoe and passed unanimously.
TOWNSHIP
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT: Mr. Harp moved
to appoint the firm of Rothman Gordon Foreman and Groudine, P.C., Frederick A.
Polner, Esq. as Township Communications Consultant. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
TOWNSHIP
BUILDING INSPECTORS: Mrs.
Goren moved to appoint Keystone Municipal Services as Township Building
Inspectors. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
TOWNSHIP
PENSION ACTUARY: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint Mockenhaupt Associates as the Township Pension
Actuary. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Goodnoe and passed unanimously.
TOWNSHIP
COMMUNITY PLANNER AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT: Mr. Weaver moved to appoint Judy Stern
Goldstein (Boucher & James) as Township Community Planner and Environmental
Consultant. The motion was seconded by
Mrs. Goren.
Discussion
of motion: Mr. Jirele said he had just received Ms
Goldstein’s resume and would like to postpone this appointment until he had an
opportunity to study it. Mr. Harp said
he had just received it as well, and was agreeable to postponing the
appointment until the regular Board meeting on 1/8/03.
Mr.
Weaver and Mrs. Goren withdrew their motion.
TOWNSHIP
PENSION INVESTMENT MANAGERS: Mrs.
Goren moved to affirm the appointment of Merrill Lynch, Gulf Investment
Management Inc., Lord, Abbet & Company, Neuberger & Berman Pension
Management, Thompson, Siegal & Walmsley, Inc., Lighthouse Growth Advisors
and Laurel Capital Advisors as the Township Pension Investment Managers. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harp and
passed unanimously.
VENDORS/CARRIERS
OF TOWNSHIP INSURANCE: Mr.
Weaver moved to affirm PIRMA, H.A. Thomson and Fleet Insurance Services as
vendors or carriers of Township Insurance.
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
OFFICIAL
DEPOSITORIES OF TOWNSHIP FUNDS: Mr.
Harp moved to designate as official depositories of Township funds Fleet Bank,
First National Bank of Newtown, Commerce Bank, First Union, Suburban Community
Bank and Merrill Lynch. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
COLLECTOR
OF TOWNSHIP’S EARNED INCOME TAX AND OCCUPATIONAL PRIVILEGE TAX, AND TAX HEARING
OFFICER: Mrs.
Goren moved to appoint Berkheimer Associates as collector of the Township's
Earned Income Tax and Occupational Privilege Tax, to appoint Berkheimer
Associates as Tax Hearing Officer in accordance with Act 50, and to recognize
the existing contract for these services with this vendor. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and
passed unanimously.
VIDEO
CONSULTANT: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint Video Gold Productions as Video Consultant for a one
year period, up to and including the Organization Meeting of 1/5/04. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodnoe and
passed unanimously.
D.
SERVING FIXED TERMS SET BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, WITH COMPENSATION
ZONING
HEARING BOARD: Mrs.
Goren moved to affirm the membership of Thomas Ragan (2003), John Lenihan
(2004), Mario M. Lionetti (2005),
Franklin Carver (2006) and to appoint Gail Laughlin (2007) to the Zoning Hearing
Board. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Harp and passed 3-2, with Mr. Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
E.
SERVING AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, WITHOUT COMPENSATION (or
without additional compensation) FOR VARIOUS TERMS
PSATS: Mr. Harp moved to appoint Anne Goren as the
Official Township Voting Delegate to the 2003 PSATS meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and
passed 3-2, with Mr. Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
LOWER
AND UPPER NESHAMINY RIVERS CONSERVATION PLAN MUNICIPAL SUBCOMMITTEE AND
DELAWARE RIVER (SOUTH) WATERSHED PLANNING COMMITTEE: Mrs. Goren moved to appoint Thomas J.
Harwood, Jr. as the Representative to Lower and Upper Neshaminy Rivers
Conservation Plan Municipal Subcommittee and to the Delaware River (South)
Watershed Planning Committee. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously.
VACANCY BOARD: Mr. Harp moved to appoint Shawn Ward
(Chairman) to the Vacancy Board for a term ending January 5, 2004. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Goren and
passed 3-2, with Mr. Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting “nay”.
PLANNING
COMMISSION: Mrs.
Goren moved to affirm the appointments of Jim Ott (2003), Karen Doorley (2003),
Vincent Lombardi (2004), Susan Beasley (2004), Bob Dieterle (2004), Paul Kester
(2005); and to appoint Allen Fidler (2005), Jay Sensibaugh (2006) and Shawn
Ward (2006) to the Planning Commission.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed 4-1, with Mr. Goodnoe
voting “nay”.
PARK
AND RECREATION BOARD: Mr.
Weaver moved to affirm the appointment of
Andy Levine (2003), Kathy Kelly (2003), Buck O’Neill (2003), John Davis (2004), Joel Grosso (2004) and
Bernard P. Bires (2004); and to appoint Anne Marie Zambriczki (2005), Susan
Sutton (2005), and Michael Clancy (2005) to the Park & Recreation
Board. The motion was seconded by Mrs.
Goren and passed unanimously.
NEWTOWN
JOINT HISTORIC COMMISSION: Mr.
Weaver moved to affirm the membership of Jeanette Rogers (2003) and Roberta
Taylor (2004); and to appoint Paul Cohen (2005) and Alan Harvison (2006) to the
Newtown Joint Historic Commission. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Harp.
Discussion
of motion: Mrs. Goren said that at an earlier meeting
the Board had agreed to add Dolly Gish and Helen Randle to the Commission as
honorary members, in accordance with the Commission’s request.
Mr.
Weaver and Mr. Harp agreed to amend their motion to include the appointment of
Dolly Gish and Helen Randle as honorary members. The motion passed unanimously.
NEWTOWN
AREA CABLE TV ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Mr.
Harp moved to affirm the Newtown Area Cable TV Advisory Committee membership of
James Manahan (2003), and to appoint James Bowe (2004) and Walt Iwaskiw
(2005). The motion was seconded by Mrs.
Goren and passed unanimously.
HISTORIC
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD: Mr.
Jirele moved to affirm the membership of Elizabeth A. Crisafi (Building
Inspector), as statutory member; Terry McLean (Architect) (2003); Charles Sibre
(2004); Doug Terry (RE
Broker)(2005); Harriet Beckert (2006);
and to appoint Elinor Campbell (2006) to the Historic Architectural Review
Board. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Goodnoe and passed unanimously.
TRAFFIC
IMPACT FEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Mrs.
Goren moved to affirm the Traffic Impact Fee Advisory Committee membership
of Vince DeLuca, Karen Doorley, Doug
Terry, Vince Lombardi, Tom Salvadore, Michael Vesey, Joe Barbagallo, Paul
Kester and Bob Dieterle. Thomas J.
Harwood, Jr. and David Sander, Esq. to serve as consultants. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harp and
passed unanimously.
NEWTOWN JOINT
MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY BOARD: Mr.
Harp moved to affirm the Newtown Joint Municipal Authority Board membership of
Martin Sutton (Jan. 2005) and Raymond W. Goodnoe (Jan. 2007); and to appoint
Anne Goren (Jan. 2008). The motion was
seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed 3-2, with Mr. Goodnoe and Mr. Jirele voting
“nay”.
SYCAMORE
STREET COMMITTEE: Mr.
Harp moved to affirm Sycamore Street Committee membership of Vincent Lombardi,
Chairman; Supervisor Tom Jirele; David Burns, Jr., Joseph Merjeski, Frank Tyrol, Shannon Wilson, Jerry DeYoung and
John Nejman as the at large members of the community appointed by the Chairman
of the Board of Supervisors; three members of Planning Commission (James Ott,
Karen Doorley and one more to be named); one member of HARB (Terry McLean); and
one member appointed by the Mayor of the Borough of Newtown. The Township Engineer serves as an
ex-officio member. The motion was
seconded by Mrs. Goren and passed 4-1, with Mr. Goodnoe voting “nay”.
CODES
COMMITTEE: Mr.
Weaver moved to appoint Board of Supervisors' representative Anne Goren to the
Codes Committee. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Harp and passed unanimously.
FINANCIAL
PLANNING COMMITTEE: Mr.
Weaver moved to affirm the Financial Planning Committee membership of Richard Weaver, Allen R. Fidler, III, Elaine Gibbs, Phil Vance,
Bob Dieterle, Philip Newmuis, Jr.; and to appoint Sarita Tirpak and Ryan
O’Keefe. The motion was seconded by
Mrs. Goren and passed unanimously.
JOINT
DOWNTOWN NEWTOWN CORPORATION: Mr. Goodnoe
moved to affirm the appointments of John Parry (2003), Lorraine Sikora (2003)
and Joseph Merjesky (2003); and the
four-year terms of Vincent Lombardi
(2005), Lisa Kruse (2005) and Raymond Goodnoe (2005) to the Joint
Downtown Newtown Corporation, to implement the Main Street Program. The motion was seconded by Mr. Weaver and
passed unanimously.
LIAISON & COORDINATION
ASSIGNMENTS MADE BY CHAIRMAN
a. Bucks County Association of Township
Officials Anne Goren
b. Bucks County Community College Raymond
Goodnoe
c. Bucks County Consortium (Delegate) Robert
M. Pellegrino
d. Newtown Area CATV Advisory Committee Scott Harp
e. Community Service Organizations Richard
Weaver
f. Council Rock School Board Tom Jirele
g. Council Rock Senior Center Richard Weaver
h. Home Owners Associations Tom Jirele
i. HARB Tom Jirele
j. Joint Zoning Council ALL
Supervisors
k. Newtown American Legion Ambulance
Squad Scott
Harp
l. Newtown Borough Council Scott Harp
m. Newtown Fire Association Anne Goren
n. Newtown Joint Historic Commission Tom
Jirele
o. Parks & Recreation Richard
Weaver,
Scott Harp
p. Traffic Impact Fee Advisory Committee Anne Goren
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: None.
EXECUTIVE
SESSION: Mr. Harp announced the Board will meet in
executive session for matters of personnel following adjournment of the
meeting.
ADJOURNMENT: Mrs. Goren moved to adjourn; the motion was
seconded by Mr. Weaver and passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 9:35 PM.
Respectfully Submitted: ___________________________________
Margaretta Stone, Recording Secretary
Attest: _________________________ ______________________________
Robert M
Pellegrino, Manager Scott Harp, Chairman
______________________________
Anne
Goren, Vice Chair/Assist. Treasurer
______________________________
Richard
Weaver, Treasurer/Secretary
______________________________
Raymond
Goodnoe, Member
______________________________
Thomas
Jirele, Member