Present: EAC – Earl Cram (Acting Chair), Steve Kunz (ViceChair), Ian Plant, Steve Frasch, Doug White and Jerry O’Dell.
Board of Supervisors (BOS): Jim Morrisson and Lee Ledbetter.
Meeting called to order at 7:35pm.
EAC Meeting Summary: The meeting summary of the previous July meeting was read and approved.
Announcements:
Mr. O’Dell advertised a Native Plant Identification class that will take place on September 8th and 15th at Pool Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus, PA. Further information is available at:
http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu/Horticulture/09NativePlantID.pdf
Mr. Morrisson advertised a Conservation by Design presentation that is scheduled to occur in the twp building on September 3 from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Public Participation: Nil
New Business:
Valley Park: Following earlier disclosure that the twp intends to purchase the two vacant lots on Valley Park Road in which Pasquale Pond is due to be restored, and which are also the site of the former Valley Park amusement park that closed in 1923, Mrs. Williams had suggested that the EAC discuss ‘How the EAC plans to support Valley Park going forward’. Mr. Plant had responded that in his opinion, because the EAC has not so far been involved in the acquisition of Valley Park, before we can determine how the EAC will support Valley Park, that we would need to understand the constraints we must work within and the resources that would be available. He had generated an initial list of associated questions:
Is it planned that the public will have general access to the park?
Are the owners of the adjacent property, who currently use the park as an ATV track, to be allowed to continue such use?
Are township resources available for clearance of invasive species and other ground maintenance tasks?
Is there a plan to restore the old ticket booth in any way?
What is the current schedule for work to restore Pasquale Pond?
Is the EAC to become responsible for the general policy in relation to the Park, in similar fashion to Pickering Preserve? and if so, are there any conditions which apply to the township's acquisition of the property that may influence the EAC's planning?
Is it envisaged that parking facilities will be created within the site?
Mr. Ledbetter indicated that all the questions were valid and agreed that the EAC needed to understand the answers to these and probably more. He suggested that a consolidated list of questions be sent from the EAC to the BOS. Action: Mrs. Gregory. Mr. Morrisson advised that it is hoped to restore the old ticket booth, and that to arrest further decay, the Twp Manager has asked the Roadmaster to cover the roof with a tarpaulin.
Township Website: Mr. White raised a concern that the present twp website is limited in capability because unlike many other similar sites, it is not interactive. He suggested that it would often be useful to garner public opinions on emergent issues, and that through some interactive capability on the website, twp residents could feel part of, rather than merely victims of, the decision making process. Mr. Ledbetter suggested that twp residents are all able to be part of the decision making process by attending the wide range of meetings that are almost all open to public attendance, but noted that few choose to do so. He went on to explain that the twp website currently operates by being maintained by a volunteer webmaster (John Davies) who posts the information via the School District server. He thought that an increase in capability such as being suggested may be beyond what the webmaster could achieve for us. After some discussion, Mr. White undertook to gather opinion from other twp bodies such as the Planning and Historical Commissions, investigate what could be done to meet any proposed improvements, and if appropriate, propose suitable budgetary input for the 2010 twp budget.
Open Space Commission Update: No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. Plant to participate in a OSC organized trail walk through the Thompson tract on a date to be arranged by the twp manager.
Clean Energy: Mr. Kunz reported that the twp had recently signed a revised version of the agreement, accepting the intended installation of the solar system on to the twp building. Once the other parties have signed the agreement, installation should follow soon after.
Grants: No activity reported.
Old Business:
Whitehorse Road Bridge: No activity reported.
Trails: No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. Plant agreed to discuss the East Pikeland and Phoenixville Borough French Creek trail developments with Mrs. Cohen and also look elsewhere to discover if any formal plans exist from which a course of action for Schuylkill Twp could be determined. Mr. Plant to seek to develop an overlay addition that can identify which lot parcels contain approved trail easements
Rails-to-Trails (RTT): Mr. Plant reported that the RTT group had met in August but with minimal attendance due to several members being on vacation. No new developments were reported.
Toonerville Trolley Trail (TTT): Mr. Cram reported that a meeting had recently been held by Mrs. Cohen and the Twp Engineer with officials from Chester County to determine a new way ahead for the portion of the trail between the twp building and the sewage pumping station on Valley Park Road. It is now intended that the soon to be acquired Valley Park, which was once served by the old Phoenixville, Valley Forge and Stafford Electric Railway trolley line, will now become a focal point of the trail, and that the trail should be constructed to be alongside Valley Park Road and pass through Valley Park, instead of passing through the Valley Park estate and along part of the southern edge of Pickering Reservoir. Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative (PCTI) funding is being sought to support installation of pedestrian facilities along Valley Park Road. Outstanding Actions: Mr. Plant to confirm exactly where the trail should be in the peripheral areas of the Fernleigh and VFW developments and then address action to remove overgrowth and blockages through the Twp Manager. Mr. Plant to investigate development of a common sign to be erected to indicate trail locations within the twp, with a design consistent with the twp ‘historical site’ sign.
Operation Safe Kids/Rte 29 Sidewalk: Mr. Ledbetter reported that installation of the new section of trail from the Pothouse Road/Route 29 intersection to the YMCA is underway and noted that this is the first successful Twp sponsored trail development to occur within the twp – hopefully the first of many..
American Ink & Coatings: No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. Plant to generate a feasibility study proposal by Feb 2010 to determine whether a trail link from VFP to the Schuylkill River Trail at Oaks could be constructed, possibly using funding from next year’s EGGS program, once he has determined whether the land owners (Valley Forge Park and Norfolk & Southern Rail) and other stakeholders would be supportive of the proposal. Mr Plant to share his observations regarding trail potential with the Open Space Commission and the Historical Commission.
Environmental Overlay: Mr. Kunz reported that the development of the overlay continues and that a new draft had recently been circulated to EAC members. It is planned that meetings to revise the draft will continue at 1630 on Thursday afternoons until the work is complete..
Pickering Preserve: Mr. Cram reported that he is still trying to enable Samuel Stearley’s Eagle Scout project to commence and is negotiating with the YMCA for approval to gain access to the lower part of the Preserve through their property.. Outstanding Actions: Mr. Cram agreed to seek YMCA approval for the Roads Crew to gain access to the lower Preserve from the YMCA property, in order for the existing pathway to be mown in support of Samuel Stearly’s Eagle Scout project.. Mrs. Williams to ask for the PP deed restriction issue to be included in the agenda for the next OSC meeting. Mr. O’Dell to liaise with the Roadmaster to schedule cutting back of invasive species that have overgrown the area of backfill soil beside the car park.
Deer Hunting on Pickering Preserve – It was noted that the deer hunting season is about to commence and that the missing sign needs to be replaced quickly. Mr. O’Dell is liaising with the Roadmaster to achieve this. Outstanding Actions: Mr. Cram to contact PGC to seek guidance on deer population control.
Northern Federation’s Development of a Regional Park and Recreation Strategic Plan (RPRSP): No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. Frasch to attend the next meeting of the Federation at which the RPRSP is discussed.
Lyme Disease: No activity reported. Outstanding Action: Mr. White to discuss with Mrs. Williams a proposal to publicize the Lyme Disease public health risk, via an information page on the local public service cable tv channel.
NPDES Permit: An e-mail had recently been circulated to EAC members that drew attention to new information from PADEP regarding an extension of Pennsylvania National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Discharges From Municipal Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) General Permit (PAG-13). It is believed that there is now an extension of one year to the existing permit, but the document needs to be checked in detail to confirm whether there are/are not any additional actions that need to be taken. Outstanding Action: Once NPDES Permit requirements become clear, Mrs. Gregory to quickly provide budget advice for the twp’s 2010 budget, as there are likely to be new costs involved.
SALDO Tree List – No activity reported.
Brake Ordinance – No activity reported.
Old Schuylkill Elementary School (Environmental Showcase Plan): No activity reported.
Treevitalize: No activity reported.
Township Web Site: No activity reported. Outstanding Action. Mr. Plant agreed to generate a set of suitable MWO reference links for addition to the twp website.
EAC Budget: No activity reported.
Developments:
Sue Ellen Masters Property (100 Ferry Lane) – No activity reported.
Reeves Property – Mr. Kunz reported that some information had been received from PADEP in relation to his request under RTK legislation, but that a substantial amount had been withheld. The information received did not provide anything that enables the twp to understand how a determination regarding the wetlands was made, and an appeal to seek release of the withheld information has now being filed and acknowledged.
Pasquale Pond – No activity reported. Outstanding Action. Mr. Ledbetter undertook to check on the status with the Twp Manager as he was aware that the bid documents need to be issued.
Ink and Coatings – No activity reported.
Phoenixville Middle School: Following on from the discussion at the previous July EAC meeting, Ms Sheri Lamphere of Renew Design Group explained that Mr Glenn Harris could not be present on this occasion because he was attending a simultaneous presentation to Phoenixville Borough Council. She also described some changes that were being made to the plans described by Mr. Harris at the previous meeting, which were all outside the Schuylkill Twp portion of the development site. Following his receipt of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the subsequent Twp Engineer’s report, Mr. Frasch had reviewed the documents and had a number of points upon which he sought clarification from Ms. Lamphere. From these, she explained that:
Some of the turfed area is regarded as being impervious due to it being underdrained.
Stormwater that is gathered in the Borough but drains to Schuylkill will meet the Schuylkill criteria for passage through the drainage basins.
There are no wetlands on the site but there is possibly a low-flow stream within one of the drainage basins. An on-site meeting with the Twp Engineer had determined that this was not a cause for concern.
In further discussion, Mr. O’Dell reminded Ms. Lamphere that a new Native Plant List was available from the twp for use in planning vegetation plantings. On completion of the discussion, it was agreed that the EIA should be accepted as complete.
Post Meeting Note: Report has been sighted that Phoenixville Borough Council did not approve of the plans as presented to them by Mr. Harris and that significant rework is required. This may require the EIA to be amended and represented.
Miller Property – No activity reported.
Announcements: Nil
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40pm.