Sycamore Street Committee Minutes 3/11/2003

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP SYCAMORE STREET COMMITTEE

A Reconstruction Project of Newtown Township

100 MUNICIPAL DRIVE

NEWTOWN, PA

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2003

8:00 PM

Approval of Minutes: Ms. Doorley moved to approve the minutes of March 11, 2003, with the following correction: the addition of John Nejman to the list of those who volunteered to review final plans. Mr. Merjeski seconded. The motion carried, with abstention by Mr. McLean.

Present: Chairman Vince Lombardi, Vice Chairman Frank Tyrol, Members Joe Merjeski, John Nejman, Shannon Wilson, Shawn Ward and David Burns; Planning Commission Chair Karen Doorley; Planning Commission representative James Ott.

Not Present: Gerald DeYoung; Guy Gindhart; Tom Jirele, Supervisor.

Also present: Nelson Shaffer representing Pennoni Associates Inc., George Stockburger V; John Paul Lautenschlager, Focus on Newtown - Courier Times; Del Purscell; Robert Bebon, Newtown Presbyterian Church; Jim Kurtz; Melva Vittoriano; Jay Kravitz.

Call to Order: Chairman Lombardi called the meeting to order at 8:09 PM.

Discussion of Sycamore Street Committee Role During Construction Phase

Chairman Lombardi reported that the outstanding issue regarding right of way has been settled. The township approved the taking of the property on Sycamore Street; the check has been delivered to the owners. Township Manager Robert M. Pellegrino will send the appropriate documents to PennDOT.

Chairman Lombardi said that the PS & E report has been sent to PennDOT stating that the design work had been completed. Mr. Shaffer said that the PS & E needed to be reviewed soon; the Community Relations and Traffic Safety committees have reviewed it already. Chairman Lombardi noted that elements to be checked include easements, driveways, and commitments to residents.

Chairman Lombardi said that there have been discussions at the Board of Supervisors level regarding cost overruns, and that he had informed the supervisors at a recent BOS meeting that he had been taken out of the loop financially in November 2001. Prior to then he had consulted with the township engineer to get figures and funding had been requested as part of the Engineer’s Report.

Chairman Lombardi said that the Sycamore Street Committee has been asked to take a new role, but he is unsure what that exactly involves. He asked for board input regarding what the committee needs to do during the construction phase to ensure that promises, commitments and design elements are realized. Discussion followed, with the following suggested list of important issues to be addressed by the Committee during construction developed:

Work at night important.
Work to be Sunday through Thursday nights only; no daytime or Friday and Saturday night work.
Two lanes of traffic to remain open.
Road closed after 11:00 pm, with access by emergency vehicles. Road open by 6:00 am for school buses.
Ongoing meetings with contractors.
Access to all properties, commercial and resident, needs to be maintained. Mr. Merjeski said he had worked with property owners, residents and contractors during the utility phase.
The intersection must remain open at all times, day and night.
Pre-construction meetings
Speak with residents and businesses, when work will impact them, to arrange parking, etc. - particularly during curb work. Mr. Shaffer noted that some stamped concrete work will take time and impact people.
Remedial procedures: it was suggested that the township engineer address safety issues.
Mud free roads, shoulder to shoulder. This would utilize water trucks and sweepers, which will help to keep dust down as well.
The Acme site would continue to serve as a staging area.
Set up schedules with the contractors for closing and opening streets, etc: example: work stopped at 5:00 am, area cleaned by 6:00 am. The possibility of a penalty clause was questioned; Mr. Shaffer said that it would be difficult to get, so any conditions should be clearly spelled out in the specifications. Mr. Merjeski noted that communication was key.
A running account of the project.
Review of change orders.

Chairman Lombardi said that if the committees are vigilant, they should be able to address whatever issues arise. He asked that Committee members contact him with any additions to the above list. He said he would be meeting with the Board of Supervisors at their work session on March 17, 2003. Mr. Ward said that the list indicated that the Committee is looking for oversight and some control of the project, and suggested use of the list to convince the Board of Supervisors of the Committee’s involvement.

Mr. Stockburger asked how residents and property owners would be notified of upcoming work and how much notice they would be given. Chairman Lombardi said that regular meetings with the contractors should provide the opportunity to discover where the work would be done and when, and who would be affected. Mr. Shaffer said that the time residents would be inconvenienced would depend on the width of their driveway(s) and the nature of the work, but that the inconvenience should probably last no more than about two days. Mr. Ward suggested a system to notify residents; Mr. Purscell felt that written notice was important. It was suggested that newsletters or flyers could be utilized. Mr. Merjeski said that the Public Relations Committee should be able to handle the issue. Chairman Lombardi said that it was important for everyone to know whom to go to to get problems addressed. Mr. Ott said that many times the specifications are not available on site, and not seen by whoever is in charge; Mr. Shaffer said there would be pre-construction meetings.

Mr. Burns said that parking on nearby properties had been arranged during prior street work, and should work again. Mr. Merjeski felt that residents and business owners should not be denied access to their properties at any time; Mr. Shaffer said that a contractor could not deny any person access to their property, but that sometimes access may be limited. Ms. Doorley suggested that work could be done when a business is closed; Ms. Vittoriano said one could work around construction if informed when the work would occur. It was clarified that Chairman Lombardi or Mr. Shaffer would probably be responsible for coordination with contractors.

Chairman Lombardi said that PennDOT requires that a firm be chosen for inspection, to be paid with PennDOT funds, and noted that if one firm was responsible for oversight and inspection that the Township would save money. Chairman Lombardi suggested that township engineers oversaw and inspected the project there could be better coordination. Mr. Purscell felt that Mr. Pellegrino should oversee the project as Township Manager; Chairman Lombardi said he spoke with Mr. Pellegrino and that he could verify the work had been done, but couldn’t speak to the appropriateness of the fees; the Township engineer would know this.

Chairman Lombardi said he would ask the BOS at their work session how the role of the Sycamore Street Committee was to change, and would present the list compiled at this meeting to them.

It was clarified that the Committee does not want to be involved with money issues. Mr. Shaffer said that they might wish to know about change orders. He said that on federally funded projects it is necessary to have things coded properly and to see that specifications are met; he will keep the Committee updated.

Mr. Shaffer stressed that the PS & E plans need to be reviewed soon, and suggested a committee be formed to take the final “look-see”; the sooner the plans are reviewed the sooner the work could begin. He said that he would like construction to start before late April. The following committee members volunteered to review plans: Shannon Wilson, Joe Merjeski, David Burns, James Ott, Frank Tyrol, Shawn Ward, Vince Lombardi, John Nejman and Nelson Shaffer. The first meeting will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2003 at Frank Tyrol’s at 223 North Sycamore Street. Mr. Wilson will review proposed plantings.

Guests present said they would like a copy of the plans relative to their properties. Mr. Stockburger said that an illustration of an owner’s property and information regarding whom to contact would be helpful. It was suggested that a mailing could be sent to those impacted asking who would like such documents. Chairman Lombardi suggested that residents postpone any work such as landscaping until the street work is completed, and noted that contractors are required to return property to its pre-construction condition. Ms. Vittoriano asked whom one could contact during construction; Mr. Burns said he would be available.

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Merjeski moved to approve the minutes of January 28, 2003. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burns and carried, with abstentions by Ms. Doorley, Mr. Ward and Mr. Wilson, who were not present at that meeting.

Reports of Committees

A. Traffic & Safety: No report.

B. Planning: No report.

C. Grants/Enhancements: No report.

D. Community Relations: No report.

Correspondence: None

Old Business

Ms. Doorley asked about the before/after photograph project suggested earlier. Mr. Merjeski said he called Blaine Greenfield at Bucks County Community College but had received no response. Mr. Tyrol reported that North High School approved of the project for its students, and just needed to know when it should be done; Mr. Tyrol will speak to Chairman Lombardi about project details. Mr. Ward suggested that use of a digital camera would allow technical flexibility in the use of photographs. Mr. Purscell suggested a documentary video containing some construction footage. Chairman Lombardi noted that some photographs could be given to Tony Petsis for his JDNC video. Mr. Shaffer said that photo documenting of the project would be useful to protect the committee and to compare the project before and after.

Mr. Tyrol suggested posting a tentative general construction schedule. Mr. Shaffer said that the township website could be utilized, and said they would need to determine how much information to share with property owners, as there are a number of different plans, relating to trees, streetlights, signs, sidewalks, etc.

New Business: None

Next Meeting: The next meeting is schedule for Tuesday, April 8, 2003.

Adjournment

On motion by Mr. Merjeski and without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 9:23 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________________

Leslie P. Dunleavy, Recording Secretary