Wayne Township Minutes August 17, 2020
The Wayne Township Board of Supervisors held a meeting on August 17, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. at the Wayne Township Municipal Building, with James Maguire, David Calhoun and Brad Rote present.
Public attending remotely: Carl Bathurst, Linda Calhoun, Russ Johnson, Jerry Powers, Peggy Fanning, John Segursky, P.E., and Paul D. Welch, Jr., Esquire
Public Participation
There was no participation by the public.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
Chairman Maguire asked if there were any questions or comments on the minutes of the July 20, 2020 monthly meeting, there being none, Supervisor Calhoun made a motion to approve the minutes as presented; seconded by Supervisor Rote, MCU.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report
Supervisor Calhoun made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report as submitted; seconded by Supervisor Rote, MCU.
Police Report
Chief Winkleman was not present for the meeting.
Zoning/Code Officer’s Report
Zoning Officer and Code Enforcement Officer Terry Crawford made the following reports:
Permits:
Harry & Rebecca Rishel permit for a 12 x 16 shed – 500 Shoemaker Road
Donald Wynn, Jr. & Tracy Roberts permit for 30 x 16 pool deck – 354 Pine Mt. Road
Lee Burnell permits for an 8 x 20 deck and new roof 8 x 10 rear deck
at 180 Campground Rd.
Duane Bechdel driveway permit – 71 Hiawatha Trail
Duane Bechdel – Variance Application & $450 Zoning Hearing fee; setback requirements at 71 Hiawatha Tr.
Russell Johnson – Conditional Use Application & $450 Zoning Hearing fee; Truck Terminal/Storage Yard at 255 Pine Mountain Road
Zoning/Code Enforcement:
Zoning Officer Terry Crawford spoke with Mrs. Shemory about the business located at 29 Sisters Lane in the R2 Zoning District and after reviewing Section 425 and Section 303 of the Zoning Ordinance and speaking to the Solicitor for the Zoning Hearing Board, it was confirmed that the Shemorys are not required to have a Zoning Hearing to operate the business at this address as long as the business stays status quo.
Zoning Officer Terry Crawford reported that on July 24, 2020 he checked and confirmed the setback requirements were met for replacing/increasing the size of a front deck and adding a roof over the front deck at 180 Campground Road.
On August 6th Zoning Officer Crawford checked and confirmed the setback requirements for a 4 x 8 shed at 9 Morning Glory Lane and stated that the shed does not require a permit because the shed is under the minimum square footage which is 100 square feet (10 x 10).
Zoning Officer Crawford also reported that he received a complaint on July 20th from the Pine Creek Township Police Department about a camper parked at 332 Stabley Road involving issues with sewage and garbage. Terry spoke to the owner of the RV and told him that the garbage must be cleaned up and that he had to put lime down to control the smell of sewage. The individual stated that the sewer line broke to the tank on the RV but it has been repaired and he also stated that they plan to leave the area soon. Zoning Officer Crawford will re-check the property in a couple of weeks.
Supervisor Calhoun reported that Wayne Bowmaster’s son is now hauling junk onto the Bowmaster property.
Zoning Officer Crawford explained that it has been about a year since he issued a ordinance violation notice to the recently deceased Wayne Bowmaster and asked the Board of Supervisors for direction as to how he should proceed with this ongoing issue.
A discussion was held regarding Wayne Bowmaster, Jr. using Winding Lane to access the Bowmaster property as it is a private lane and whether the Bowmasters have an easement for the road and whether the Condos can deny use of the road to access the property if there is not an easement.
Chairman Maguire said the Supervisors had made arrangements to haul garbage from the Bowmaster property and take it to the landfill last year but the Township was denied use of Winding Lane to access the property.
It was the consensus of the Board to follow up with Zoning Officer Crawford on how to proceed in the matter.
Monthly Engineer’s Report
John Segursky, P.E. reported on the following projects:
Truck Lite Expansion – Uni-Tec received a resubmission from Truck Lite and they have resolved all outstanding issues.
Pine Loganton Road Bonding – The mutual road inspection of the Pine Loganton Road by the Township, PennDot and AM Logging has been scheduled for August 20, 2020 at 2:00 pm.
It was noted that Paragraph 4, Section III, Subparagraph 1, of the Road Maintenance Agreement provides that AM Logging must pay the initial inspection fee of $400 to the Township within 10 days of receipt of an invoice.
It was the consensus of the Board to invoice AM Logging for the inspection fee.
Recreation Committee Report
Jerry Powers of the Recreation Committee spoke about the number of members on the Recreation Committee and stated the Township benefits from events held by the Committee, adding that last weekend the ball field was used for Travel Ball which started around 8:00 am and ended at 6:00 pm each day. According to Jerry, it was a tremendous event and required a lot of preparation and work by volunteers.
Doris Fritz of the Recreation Committee said that some of the money from the Travel Ball event went to the Lock Haven Youth Scholarship Fund.
Doris requested a meeting be scheduled to determine if there should be more ball games scheduled or whether to end usage of the field and make repairs to the field. There were six teams in the Travel Ball event and those teams would like to continue to use the field and would like sod and artificial turf placed on the field. According to Doris, there is some money set aside for the ball field and First Quality has agreed to help with those expenditures.
Doris also reported that the freezer at the concession stand is not working and needs repaired.
Jerry Powers questioned renting portable toilets for the event and asked why the Township’s portable toilet was not used. He also asked if the portable toilets should continue to be used or whether the restroom facility could be opened.
Supervisor Calhoun explained that the portable toilet company would pump the Township’s portable toilet but would not clean it, adding that the restrooms cannot be opened because of COVID-19 as the CDC requirements state that the restrooms would have to be cleaned three times a day. He stated the Recreation Committee should continue renting the portable toilets for the ball field.
Old Business:
Linnippi Village Road Repairs
Chairman Maguire reported that the proposed repairs to the roads in Linnippi Village are on hold due to the fact that some of the roads may be dug up due to the water project being done by the City of Lock Haven.
The stormwater issues in Linnippi Village were also discussed and, Pete Smeltz, President of the Association, agreed to forward information to members of the Linnippi Village Association with regard to maintenance requirements of the stormwater drainage systems.
Chairman Maguire asked Solicitor Welch why townships are required by the Municipal Planning Code to require covenants for developments but the townships do not enforce the covenants.
Solicitor Welch explained that covenants are requirements that the developer includes as part of the subdivision land development plan and those covenants are recorded at the courthouse. Every property sold in the development is then subject to those covenants. That means if someone violates the covenants of the development, other residents in the development have the ability to do a private enforcement action via a lawsuit. The township’s enforcement is through its ordinances which are enacted via powers vested through the Municipal Planning Code. Adding that it is his perspective that unless the Township has been conveyed the rights to those covenants the Township has no business enforcing those covenants but if there is a violation of an ordinance, that is a different story.
An additional discussion was held regarding maintenance of the stormwater drainage systems on properties in Linnippi Village. According to Solicitor Welch’s research, it is the responsibility of the property owners to maintain the storm water ditches and drainage easements.
Shoemaker Road Repairs
Supervisor Rote made a motion to pay Gary Myers $1,850 for material and labor in regard to the Shoemaker Road Project; seconded by Supervisor Calhoun. The motion passed 2-1 with Supervisors Rote and Calhoun voting in favor of the motion and Supervisor Maguire voting against the motion.
New Business:
Multipurpose Facility
Supervisor Calhoun made a motion to approve advertising for bids for the multipurpose facility; seconded by Supervisor Rote, MCU.
Reschedule September Meeting
Supervisor Rote made a motion to reschedule the September meeting to September 14, 2020; seconded by Supervisor Calhoun, MCU.
H2O Conditional Use Hearing
Supervisor Rote made a motion to schedule the Conditional Use Hearing for H2O for September 14, 2020 at 6:00 pm; seconded by Supervisor Calhoun, MCU.
Planning Commission Secretary Vacancy
The Board tabled discussion of the Planning Commission Secretary vacancy until receipt of a resignation letter from Planning Commission Secretary Roxanne Embick.
Executive Session
Chairman Maguire made a motion for to hold an executive session at 7:36 pm to discuss easements, zoning and the upcoming Zoning Hearing; seconded by Supervisor Calhoun, MCU.
The regular meeting was called back to order at 7:47 pm, Chairman Maguire explained that Solicitor Welch will be representing the Township during the Bechdel Variance Zoning Hearing.
Zoning Officer Terry Crawford asked if he was correct in his understanding from the discussion in the
Executive Session that homeowner’s in Linnippi Village are responsible for the drainage ditches and storm water easements.
Solicitor Welch explained that any complaints from residents in Linnippi Village involving storm water runoff should be brought to the Board of Supervisors who should decide how to proceed, noting that if the Township gets involved in one issue then they have to get involved with all of them.
Solicitor Welch asked the Board if he should also attend the site view scheduled for the Bechdel Zoning Hearing scheduled for 5:30 pm the night of the hearing.
It was the consensus of the Board that Solicitor Welch attend the site view of the Bechdel property prior to the Zoning Hearing.
Invoices
Chairman Maguire asked if there were any questions on the invoices to be paid, there being none, Supervisor Rote made a motion to approve the invoices as presented; seconded by Supervisor Calhoun, MCU.
Adjournment
Supervisor Calhoun made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Supervisor Rote, MCU.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Darlene S. Macklem
Secretary/Treasurer