EAST
BRANDYWINE
TOWNSHIP
MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
Tuesday,
September 14, 2004
7:30
AM
Those
in Attendance:
Michael Corbin
, Chairman
Gerald
Kirkpatrick, Vice-Chairman
Joseph Anthony
, Secretary
David
Summers, Treasurers
Sandra Moser
, Member
John Spangler
, Municipal Authority Solicitor
Thomas
Brown, Municipal Authority Engineer
Joseph
Boldaz, Municipal Authority Engineer
Scott T. Piersol
, Township Manager
Matthew
T. VanLew, Roadmaster
Mary
Beth Smedley, Secretary/Treasurer
The
Municipal Authority met on
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
. Also
in attendance were
Scott T. Piersol
, Township Manager;
John Spangler
, Municipal Authority Solicitor, Thomas
Brown, Municipal Authority Engineer, Joseph Boldaz, Municipal Authority
Engineer, Matthew T. VanLew, Roadmaster and Mary Beth Smedley,
Secretary/Treasurer
Mr.
Corbin called the meeting to order at
7:30 A.M.
Minutes:
August
10, 2004
Mr.
Corbin asked if there were any additions or corrections to the above minutes.
There were none. Mr. Anthony
then made a motion to approve the above minutes as presented.
Mr. Summers seconded the motion, with all voting Aye.
Brandywine
Wallace
Elementary School
The
property owner and applicant is the
Downingtown
Area
School District
. The property is located on the
east side of
Dilworth Road
between
School Lane
and
Keller Way
and is within the R-2 Residential Zoning District. Access to the site is from
Dilworth Road
. The existing gross property area is 19.179 acres and the lot contains an
existing 52,719 s.f. school building, paved driveway, paved parking areas,
on-site sewer and water, lawn and woodland areas.
The plan proposes to construct a new 58,612 s.f. two story school
building, driveway and parking area. The
maximum student capacity will be 650. The
existing school, parking areas and accessory facilities are to be demolished.
Request
for Public Water
At
the last meeting, the Municipal Authority stated they would support the use of
public water for the school pending the signing of agreements in place with the
Environmental Hearing Board between Aqua Pennsylvania, Downingtown Municipal
Water Authority, and
East
Brandywine
Township
regarding the Cornog Quarry. Mr. Corbin stated that Aqua Pennsylvania has
relinquished their Cornog permits, and
East
Brandywine
Township
has dropped their appeal. Based on
the information, the Municipal Authority will support the
School District
proceeding with their plan to obtain public water for the site.
Mrs.
Moser stated she continues to be concerned about the quantity of water that is
available to serve
East
Brandywine
Township
. Mr. Corbin stated that from
information gathered by Mr. Boldaz, there is sufficient water for the school to
connect to public water, although “surplus” water is now limited.
The Municipal Authority will continue to track water commitments in the
Township.
Mr.
Guy Donatelli, attorney for the applicant, asked if the Municipal Authority
would provide a letter of support for the use of public water.
Mr. Piersol will write a letter stating
East
Brandywine
Township
and the East Brandywine Township Municipal Authority will support the use of
public water to service the
Brandywine
Wallace
School
, based on the justification provided by
Downingtown
Area
School District
. This support is contingent upon
Aqua Pennsylvania having sufficient water through currently available sources to
meet existing and already planned water demands. The Township and Municipal
Authority do not currently support public water connections for any other
properties in the vicinity of the school,
Mr.
Piersol was asked if the
School District
would need to pay a Fire Hydrant Tax if the Township passes one.
Mr. Piersol stated the
School District
would be responsible for paying that tax.
Public
Sewer
Mr.
Lappano, Director of Facilities, Planning and Management for the
School District
stated that they have applied to DEP
for a sewage facilities planning module for the school.
Perc tests have also been completed on the property, and the results of
the test were positive – indicating that construction of an on-site leaching
bed was feasible. Mr. Lappano
expects to meet with David Sheridan, the
School District
’s Consultant from Aqua Cura, to
complete the planning module and then begin design of the sewage collection
system.
Informational Meeting -
Guthriesville Sewer District
Mr.
Piersol, Mr. Brown and Mr. Michael Honan met to discuss the upcoming
informational meeting to be held
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
at
7:00 P.M.
in the East Brandywine Fire Company on
Bondsville Road
. Mr. Piersol is preparing a Power
Point presentation that will provide information on the 1999 Special Study that
demonstrated the need for a sewer system in and near the
Village
of
Guthriesville
, typical lateral installation costs, sewer rates, sewer specifications, and the
connection process. Mr. Piersol will
also try to provide each property owner with a site plan to show the approximate
location of the lateral. Mr. Summers
suggested having a rehearsal prior to the meeting to review that the information
to be provided to residents is complete. Mr.
Piersol will have the rehearsal either late next week or early the following
week.
Mrs.
Smedley and Mr. Piersol have sent plumbers registration applications and sewer
specification information to approximately 15 plumbers in the area.
Mr. Piersol will also provide each property owner with a registration
packet. Plumbers must be registered
with the Township to provide sewer connections within the sewer district.
Mr. Brown stated we are still waiting for revised plans for the
Wright Agency and the Fling/Neff property. The
revisions will mean some tree removal on both properties.
Mr. Piersol expects that to be done in November.
Although
neither the Township nor the Municipal Authority can provide reduced rates or
set up payment schedules for the tapping fees or other costs, Mr. Brown will
contact the Chester County Housing Partnership Development Corporation and the
Department of Aging, who might be sources of low interest loans for residents.
Mr. Piersol will also contact State Representative Curt Schroder and
State Senator John Rafferty to see if there are loans or grants available to
qualified homeowners.
Once
notice is provided to property owners, they are required to connect to the sewer
system within 60 days. It was
suggested that the Municipal Authority send notices in phases so that not all
residents are all connecting at once. The
first phase could be Route 322 and
Bondsville Road
, the second phase would be
Hopewell Road
and the third phase could be
Kristen Circle
. The first sewer bills will be
pro-rated so property owners are only paying for the service once they are
connected. Mr. Piersol will discuss
this with Mrs. Bednarchik.
Currently,
Severn Trent is inspecting the pump station every day.
Since it is running adequately, it was suggested that Severn Trent only
check less frequently, once a week or every two weeks, with a Township employee
stopping by daily to make sure there are no major problems.
Guthriesville
Sewer District
As-Built
Drawings
Mr.
Brown stated that the As-Built drawings for Phase I and II are acceptable.
He is still waiting for an updated electronic version to be sent to him,
since the electronic versions sent to him were not correct.
Rouse/Chamberlin is also to provide certification of the as-built
drawings. Mr. Brown will review
as-built plans for the run from the Township Complex to the Fire Company, the
Wright Agency and the Pumping Station when they are submitted by the applicant.
Sewer
Slopes
Mr.
Brown had been concerned that two sewer runs had slopes substantially less than
the required minimum slope. Rouse/Chamberlin
arranged to recheck the slopes on August 5th. A
representative of Yerkes observed the field check.
Both slopes exceed the minimum slope requirement and are satisfactory.
Sewer
from
Township
Building
to
Bondsville Road
Revised
drawings were received by Mr. Brown. His
only comment was that he recommended the minimum cover over the sewer between
manhole 3W and manhole 3Y be increased to 5.0 feet based on the proposed
finished grade for the
Township
Building
project.
He asked that Bursich Associates makes the appropriate revisions and
resubmit the drawings to the Authority to review and approval.
If sufficient cover thickness cannot be provided, iron pipe could be
used.
Phases
3 and 4 – Final Inspection
On
August 31st Mr. Brown conducted a final inspection of the Phase 3 and 4 sanitary
sewers. The inspection was conducted
to verify that road and right-of-way restoration were completed, and to check
visible features of the new sanitary sewer system.
Mr. Brown provided his comments to Rouse/Chamberlin so they can be
resolved. He also asked that field
measurements of the sewer connection sites be provided to the Township prior to
sewer dedication.
Overlook Road Farm Treatment
Plant Analysis Review
Mr.
Boldaz received a Preliminary Treatment Process Analysis for the Overlook Road
Farm Wastewater Treatment, dated
March 23, 2004
and revised
July 23, 2004
. The
report was prepared by R.F. Preston Engineering as an analysis of optional
treatment processes for the on-site wastewater treatment plant.
Mr. Boldaz provided his comments on August 27, 2004.
He then met with Mr. Fred Ebert, the applicant’s engineer for this
project on September 3, 2004, to clarify his comments and discuss what should be
included in the next submittal to provide a complete evaluation of the options
so that a selection can be recommended. It
is the opinion of the Municipal Authority and Mr. Boldaz that the analysis
provided on July 23rd was incomplete and inadequate to properly evaluate
alternatives and that many critical items needed for the evaluation were not
provided; hence the 60-day clock to choose a treatment process has not started.
Ms.
Theresa Lemley, attorney for the applicant, was concerned that no written
response was received by the applicant until August 27th, and she did not
understand that it was Mr. Boldaz and the Municipal Authority’s position that
the 60-day clock had not started until yesterday afternoon.
It is Ms. Lemley’s opinion that the 60-day time-frame is adequate for
Mr. Boldaz to make a recommendation to the Municipal Authority for the sewage
treatment system. She went on to say
that there is a mechanism in place to resolve disputes and the applicant would
be inclined to let a judge resolve this issue if a decision were not made within
the allotted period of time.
Mr.
Corbin suggested that we continue to move this issue forward, which included the
applicant providing Mr. Boldaz the necessary information to adequately evaluate
the analysis. He asked that the
revised and necessary information constituting a complete and reviewable package
be submitted to Mr. Boldaz as quickly as possible so he can make an appropriate
recommendation to the Municipal Authority. Ms.
Lemley asked that once Mr. Boldaz received the information that
he reviews it as quickly as possible. She
also asked that the submittal be reviewed for completeness right away so that
additional information, if needed, can be provided.
Public Water Connection
Criteria
Mr.
Boldaz will provide DRAFT narrative language with the bulleted items, and expand
on the area regarding cost to the Township prior to the next Municipal Authority
meeting for review and comments.
Township Water and Sewer
Specification and Details
Mr.
Boldaz provided Mr. Corbin and Mr. Piersol with copies of the Water and Sewer
Specification and Details. He will
provide copies for the rest of the Municipal Authority so they can provide
comments at the next meeting.
Collection of Delinquent
Accounts
Mrs.
Bednarchik provided Mr. Piersol with a policy to encourage timely sewer payments
and to impose penalties if payment is not received by a certain date.
She also suggested changing the time period where a municipal claim can
be filed from 6 months to 2 or 3 months and imposing a $20 fee for any bounced
checks. Mr. Piersol provided this
information to Mr. Spangler. Mr. Spangler will provide his comments and
suggestions to the Municipal Authority to review.
If the suggestions are acceptable, the Municipal Authority will likely
recommend that the Sewer Use Ordinance be amended.
Mr.
Spangler suggested inviting the Board of Supervisors to the next Municipal
Authority meeting to discuss authority and responsibilities of the Board of
Supervisors and Municipal Authority since the Municipal Authority has taken
dedication of the Keats Glen and
Hopewell
sewer systems.
Mrs. Smedley will invite the Supervisors to attend either the October or
November meeting.
Analysis of Water Availability
Mr.
Anthony pointed out that, according to the Water Allocation report prepared by
Mr. Boldaz, there is a large difference in the amount of water to be used by
Wawa and Sunoco, which are similar sized projects. This is also the case with
the Overlook Road Farm Development and Hide-A-Way Farms.
Mr. Boldaz will review these differences and will continue to refine the
anticipated water consumption.
Overlook Road Farm Subdivision
– Notification of General & Joint 105 Permit Application
Mrs.
Moser asked if the Municipal Authority could request a 30-day extension from the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to review the above
application. Mr. Boldaz will contact
PADEP and will review the application. A
copy will also be sent to Township Engineer, Al Giannantonio for his review and
comments.
Adjournment
There
being no further business, Mr. Summers moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 A.M.
Mr. Anthony seconded the motion, with all voting Aye.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mary
Beth Smedley
Secretary/Treasurer
East
Brandywine
Township