MINUTES OF THE REGULAR
MEETING OF THE
MANHEIM TOWNSHIP
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
MONDAY, DECEMBER
13, 2004 – 7:30 P.M.
Roll Call: The
regular meeting of the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners was held at 7:30
p.m., Monday, December 13, 2004, in the
Approval of
Minutes: Commissioner Simpson moved, and Mr. Bledsoe
seconded approving the Minutes of the September 27, 2004 Public Hearing. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Payment of
Bills: Vice President Bledsoe moved to approve the
December 13th disbursements and to fund the appropriate accounts for
the disbursements. He presented bills
for the period ending December 13, 2004 from the General Fund in the amount of
$66,470.09, from the Sewer Fund in the amount of $0.00, from the Capital
Reserve Fund in the amount of $420,850.43, from the Parks Capital Reserve Fund
in the amount of $0.00, and from the Golf Course Fund in the amount of
$304,628.59, for a total of $791,949.11, and from the State Highway Aid Fund in
the amount of $9,072.54, for a grand total of $801,021.65. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any questions
or comments from the Board or the audience.
There were none. Motion carried
unanimously.
Consolidated
Financial Reports: Vice President Bledsoe presented the
Consolidated Financial Reports for the month of November, 2004. The beginning balance for the total funds
which include the General Fund, the Golf Course Fund, the Sewer Fund, the
Highway Aid Fund, the General Capital, the Parks Capital, Impact Fees and Fire
Fees was $14,304,769.75, with revenues of $1,345,001.07, expenditures of $1,720,782.60,
transfers or adjustments of $9,197.87, leaving an ending balance of
$13,938,186.09. Vice President Bledsoe
moved that the monthly consolidated financial reports be accepted and filed for
audit. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Old Business:
Emergency and Municipal
Services Tax: President Ritter
announced that the Commissioners will adopt an Emergency and Municipal Services
Tax for the year 2005. He explained that
the tax of $52.00 will be levied upon each person engaged in an occupation with
the
Solid Waste: President Ritter said in the past the Township had a Township Hauler with the intent to keep solid waste collection fees down. After reviewing the collection costs of the ten haulers in the Township they found that there were very little cost savings in having a Township Hauler. Therefore, effective in 2005, the Township will no longer support a Township Hauler for the Township.
LASA and Library Boards: President Ritter announced that
Commissioner Bledsoe will be joining the LASA Board at the first of the year
and Commissioner Downing will be joining the Library Board at the first of the
year.
Informational Meeting: President Ritter announced that the
Commissioners held an informational meeting on 12-13-04.
New Business:
Resolution 2004 – 67: Renaming the BOCA and Fire Prevention Board of Appeals to the Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals
Commissioner Smith moved to adopt Resolution 2004 –
67 renaming the BOCA and Fire Prevention Board of Appeals to the Uniform
Construction Code Board of Appeals.
Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe.
President Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the
Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
President Ritter announced that the next item on the
agenda would be the appointment of various individuals to various Boards. He said each Resolution will be read and
voted on and then the individuals would be asked to come forward for Justice
Miller to swear them in.
Resolution 2004 – 54: Appointing Aaron Stephon Smith, Sr. as a member
of the Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals
Commissioner Bledsoe moved to adopt Resolution 2004 –
54 appointing Aaron Stephon Smith, Sr. as a member of the Uniform Construction
Code Board of Appeals, until the first Monday in January, 2010. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience.
A member of the audience asked if these were paid
positions. The Commissioners answered
no.
President Ritter asked if there were any other
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 55: Appointing Jessica Tice Warner as a member of
the
Commissioner
Simpson moved to adopt Resolution 2004 – 55 appointing Jessica Tice Warner as a
member of the Boettcher House Museum Board, until the first Monday in January,
2009. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President
Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the Board or the
audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 56: Appointing Anthony J. Zigment as a member of
the
Commissioner
Smith moved to adopt Resolution 2004 – 56 appointing Anthony J. Zigment as a
member of the Boettcher House Museum Board, until the first Monday in January,
2009. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President
Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the Board or the
audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 57: Appointing
Christine T. Sable as a member of the
Commissioner Bledsoe moved to adopt Resolution 2004 –
57 appointing Christine T. Sable as a member of the Manheim Township Overlook
Community Foundation, until the first Monday in January, 2008. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 58: Appointing
Marguerite S. V. Adams as a member of the
Commissioner Simpson moved to adopt Resolution 2004 –
58 appointing Marguerite S. V. Adams as a member of the Manheim Township
Overlook Community Foundation, until the first Monday in January, 2008. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 59: Appointing
Michel Gibeault as a member of the Planning Commission
Commissioner Smith moved to
adopt Resolution 2004 – 59 appointing Michel Gibeault as a member of the
Planning Commission, until the first Monday in January, 2009. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 60: Appointing
Jeffrey T. Sturla as a member of the Planning Commission
Commissioner Bledsoe moved
to adopt Resolution 2004 – 60 appointing Jeffrey T. Sturla as a member of the Planning
Commission, until the first Monday of January, 2009. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 61: Appointing
Lynn A. Fitzsimons as a member of the Zoning Hearing Board
Commissioner Simpson moved
to adopt Resolution 2004 – 61 appointing Lynn A. Fitzsimons as a member of the
Zoning Hearing Board, to fill the unexpired term of Scott A. Orndorff, until
the first Monday in January, 2007.
Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe.
President Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the
Board or the audience. There were
none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 62: Appointing
Anne L. Haller as the alternate member of the Zoning Hearing Board
Commissioner Smith moved to
adopt Resolution 2004 – 62 appointing Anne L. Haller as the alternate member of
the Zoning Hearing Board, until the first Monday in January, 2010. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 63: Appointing
Commissioner Bledsoe moved
to adopt Resolution 2004 – 63 appointing Lawrence A. Downing as a member of the
Boettcher House Museum Board, until the first Monday in January, 2009. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 64: Appointing
Todd A. Heckman as a member of the Parks and Recreation Board
Commissioner Simpson moved
to adopt Resolution 2004 – 64 appointing Todd A. Heckman as a member of the
Parks and Recreation Board, until the first Monday in January, 2010. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 65: Appointing
Commissioner Smith moved to
adopt Resolution 2004 – 65 appointing Dixon H. Miller as a member of the Parks
and Recreation Board, until the first Monday in January, 2010. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 66: Appointing
David E. Wood as a member of the Zoning Hearing Board
Commissioner Bledsoe moved
to adopt Resolution 2004 – 66 appointing David E. Wood as a member of the
Zoning Hearing Board, until the first Monday in January, 2010. Seconded by Mrs. Simpson. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 68: Appointing
H. Clair Garman as a member of the
Commissioner Simpson moved
to adopt Resolution 2004 – 68 appointing H. Clair Garman as a member of the
Boettcher House Museum Board, until the first Monday in January, 2009. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
President Ritter asked all
of the new appointees to come forward to be sworn in by District Justice David
Miller. He reminded them that they also
had documents to sign. District Justice
Miller commented and thanked these volunteers for their service to this
community. The new appointees were sworn
in and there was applause.
Amos King and Arie King – Farm-Related Business, Conditional Use in the
Agricultural Zoning District, Re-schedule Public Hearing
President Ritter announced
that the public hearing originally scheduled for December 13, 2004 for the
conditional use request for Amos King and Arie King for property located at
Wetherburn Commons PRD – Final Plan,
Commissioner Bledsoe move
to approve the Wetherburn Commons PRD project and grant the requested
modifications in accordance with Section 203 of the Subdivision and Land
Development Ordinance of 1998. The
approval is contingent upon the owner/applicant’s written acceptance of the
conditions outlined in the Township Review Letter, dated November 8, 2004 and
subject to the submission of information meeting those conditions. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President
Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the Board or the
audience. President Ritter asked if
there was anyone in attendance representing Wetherburn Commons and if he had any
questions. He said no. Vin Kneizys asked what the conditions were,
since the copies of the conditions were unavailable. President Ritter asked Mr. Molchany, Director
of Planning and Zoning, to go and get a copy.
He said they would hold off on the vote until he came back.
Proclamation Honoring the
Commissioner Simpson read
the Proclamation honoring the Lancaster Northeast Rotary Club on their fiftieth
anniversary:
HONORING THE
ON THEIR FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Whereas, the
Lancaster Northeast Rotary Club was chartered on April 29, 1954 and is
commemorating fifty years of service to Manheim Township and the Lancaster
County communities; and
Whereas, the Lancaster
Northeast Rotary Club planned and developed the Community Park of Neffsville,
established the Manheim Township Ambulance Association, helped establish the
Manheim Township Baseball Association, is an active member of the Manheim
Township Adopt-A-Highway volunteer organization, and has been a major
contributor to the Rotary PolioPlus project to eradicate polio from the face of
the earth; and
Whereas, the
Lancaster Northeast Rotary Club established the Rotary Interact Club at Manheim
Township High School, and provides an annual scholarship program for students
at Manheim Township High School and Lancaster Catholic High School; and
Whereas, the
Now, Therefore, by
virtue of the authority vested in us as Commissioners of the
In Witness Whereof,
we have hereunto set our hand and caused the Seal of Manheim Township to be
affixed this thirteenth day of December of the Year of our Lord two thousand
and four.
Larry Gagnon spoke as a
past president of the Lancaster Northeast Rotary Club and thanked the
Commissioners for this honor. There was
applause.
Roadway Abandonment of
President Ritter
acknowledged the request to abandon
Parkfield Crossing – HHH Properties, LLC, Conditional Use, Cluster
Development in the R-3 Zoning District, Lititz Pike and West Oregon Road,
Schedule Public Hearing
President Ritter
acknowledged receipt of the conditional use request for HHH Properties, LLC to
permit a cluster development in the R-2 Residential Zoning District with a
Cluster Overlay Area for property located at the intersection of Lititz Pike
and West Oregon Road, authorized the sending of the request to the Manheim
Township Planning Commission for their review and comments and scheduled a
public hearing for January 31, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. here at the Township office,
1840 Municipal Drive.
Celebrate Life, Kissel Hill Commons PRD – Preliminary/Final Subdivision
and Land Development Plan,
Commissioner Simpson explained that this has to do
with a Church that currently meets in the old Indian River Hatchery on the
Oregon Pike, at the corner of
At this point the Board of Commissioners went back to
Wetherburn Commons. President
Ritter stated there was a motion on the floor and it’s been seconded to approve
the Wetherburn Commons PRD. He asked if
there were any other questions or comments.
There were none. Motion carried
unanimously.
Commissioner Smith moved to approve the Eden Road
Preliminary/Final Subdivision Plan and grant the requested modifications in
accordance with Section 203 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
of 1998. The approval is contingent upon
the owner/applicant’s written acceptance of the conditions outlined in the
Township Review Letter, dated December 13, 2004 and subject to the submission
of information meeting those conditions.
Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President
Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the Board or the
audience.
A member of the audience asked where this is located
on
President Ritter asked if there were any other
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Dombach Property –
Preliminary/Final
Commissioner Bledsoe explained that this is nine
acres of land being added to the Overlook Community Campus; it takes it up to
about 140 acres total. He said it is
located behind the Overlook swimming pool.
Commissioner Bledsoe moved to approve the Dombach Preliminary/Final Lot
Add-On Plan and grant the requested modifications in accordance with Section 203
of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 1998. The approval is contingent upon the
owner/applicant’s written acceptance of the conditions outlined in the Township
Review Letter, dated December 13, 2004 and subject to the submission of information
meeting those conditions. Seconded by
Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if
there were any questions or comments from the Board or the audience.
A member of the audience asked if that was a
purchase. The Commissioners answered
yes. Vin Kneizys asked who the applicant
was. President Ritter answered that it
was the Township that was applying for a Lot Add-On Plan. Mr. Kneizys asked what the price was. Mr. Martin said it was 23 an acre; it was
around $200,000.00. Mr. Kneizys asked
what the land will be used for. Mr.
Martin said it’s an addition to the Foundation property to be used for parks
and open space. President Ritter said it
attaches to the north-east side and goes out to the road. Mr. Kneizys asked if the property has a home
on it. The Commissioners answered
no. Mr. Kneizys said it’s empty
land? The Commissioners answered
yes. Mr. Kneizys thanked the Board.
Bernard Breuers of
Commissioner Simpson said to clarify – this is land
that the Township already owns. This
Resolution is not to purchase it; it has to do with physically attaching that
property to property the Township already owns.
A member of the audience said it just gives them a
better understanding of the mechanisms of what the Township is doing. Commissioner Simpson said she understood, she
just wanted to clarify because Mr. Breuers said something about the land the
Township was going to buy.
Mr. Breuers said there is some tax money that the
City is getting, which in the future it will not get, which means the taxpayers
will have to pay extra taxes to make up for it.
President Ritter said there would have been at one time some tax money
derived from that property. He said it
might be difficult to tell because it was part of a farm at one time.
A member of the audience said President Ritter had
stated that the property went all the way to the road and asked which road that
would be, 501? President Ritter said no,
it goes to
A member of the audience asked why the Township has
purchased this property. Mr. Martin said
the Township has been negotiating with these two property owners for several
years to purchase the property to expand the Foundation property, when the
Schwartz property was purchased and the Foundation Community Complex was
started. He said this was the final
acquisition. The member of the audience
said she still wanted to know why; the Foundation property is so huge now that
the Township is trying to find things to do with it, and now more land is being
added and she didn’t understand why.
President Ritter said this also gives the Township another access to the
Township property from another road. The
residents said and get more neighbors upset.
There was laughter. She continued
because of increase traffic, speeding, etc.
Ed McClune asked if this would be an access into the
Overlook Foundation now; would it be part of the Foundation? President Ritter and Mr. Martin said yes,
part of that whole property. Mr. McClune
asked if the Overlook Foundation property was connected to this land. Mr. Martin answered yes.
George Duncan of
President Ritter asked if there were any other
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Farm on
Commissioner Simpson moved to approve the 90-day time
extension request for the Farm on
Commissioner Smith moved to
grant the following modification in accordance with Section 701 of the
Stormwater Management Ordinance of 1998:
·
Section
301.4.D., 301.5.A.(7), and 301.5.A.(8).
Basin Outlet Pipe Size, Rubber Gaskets and Material – provided the pipe
size is no smaller than 6” and is either Class V reinforced concrete pipe or
ductile iron.
Additionally, he moved to grant specific permission
to allow a parking compound within a floodplain boundary provided the paving
material is pervious as currently shown on the plan. Seconded by Mrs. Simpson. President Ritter asked if there was anyone in
attendance to represent this plan. He
asked her if she had any problems with any of this. She said she did not. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 52:
Establishing the Police Officers’ Contributions to the Police Pension
Fund
Commissioner Bledsoe moved to adopt Resolution 2004 –
52 establishing the Police Officers' contribution to the Police Pension
Fund. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience.
Mr. Gagnon asked for some background review. President Ritter referred to Ms. Calhoun,
Director of Finance, who said it’s an actuarial computation based on the Union
contract and an actuarial study; an annual study that’s done each year. A member of the audience asked how much it
was. Ms. Calhoun answered five percent
of their W-2 wages. A member of the
audience asked what that was up to. Ms.
Calhoun answered about $180,000.00.
President Ritter asked if there were any other questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution 2004 – 53: Budget Transfer
Commissioner Simpson explained that this is a
“housekeeping” transfer of funds within the operating budget. Funds get transferred to those items in the
budget where the expenditures exceeded the estimated budget amount; it just
evens out the budget. She then moved to
adopt Resolution 2004 – 53 transferring and appropriating funds from the
unappropriated balance in the Manheim Township General Fund for the year 2004 to
the items in the budget where expenditures exceeded the estimated budget
amount. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. A member of the audience asked what
maintenance they were letting go in order to do this. President Ritter said there was none. Commissioner Simpson agreed. The member of the audience said all of the
maintenance would still be taken care of?
President Ritter explained that if one budget item were one dollar over
and one budget item were one dollar under, they transfer the funds to make
those two come out properly. It’s a
bookkeeping thing that is required in the First Class Township Code. Commissioner Simpson explained that this is
for the budget that they are completing.
A member of the audience asked what the percentage was that was required
to balance this, that they had to transfer?
Ms. Calhoun said it’s just a transfer between items. President Ritter explained that nothing was
added or taken away; it’s a movement of individual items within a budget to
make them all zero amounts.
Gail Hines of
A member of the audience said they transfer the line
items to balance them out so they all come out even as it there were perfect
planning? President Ritter and
Commissioner Simpson said it is required by the First Class Township Code. A member of the audience asked why that
wouldn’t be a bottom-line issue. That
way people could see where the planning was good and bad. President Ritter said that’s the way the First
Class Township Code says they must do it.
The member of the audience asked if that could change. The Commissioners answered if would have to
change by the State; the Commissioners could not change it themselves. Commissioner Simpson said that is not saying
the budgeting is poor. The member of the
audience said people are accountable for budgets. President Ritter again explained that if they
were one dollar under or one dollar over, they have to be zeroed out. Commissioner Simpson explained that the
Department Heads are well-aware during the course of the year how they are performing
compared to budget. The member of the
audience said if somebody wants to look at the budget at the end of the year,
they can look and see which items were on target and which items were over or
under? Mr. Martin answered yes. Commissioner Bledsoe said they see this every
month. Commissioner Simpson said this is
not an attempt to hide any performance issues.
Laura Flick asked what the total amount of the
transfer was. President Ritter said
there were approximately 80 transfers from one account to another. Ms. Flick asked if they could get a copy of
the budget. President Ritter said it was
a total of $243,000.00 and it was moved internally between 80-some different
line items. Mr. Martin said the budget
has been on display for 30 days. If
anyone wants a copy of the budget, it can be made available to them; he asked
them to let the Township know. Don Reed
asked Ms. Calhoun for clarification; when she shows actual for the end of the
year, was that what was actually spent for each of those line items? Ms. Calhoun agreed. Mr. Reed said he thought the whole issue of
zeroing has confused everyone. He said
they were actually showing every year how much has been spent on that line
item. Ms. Calhoun said if they looked at
the 2004 budget, they were actually spending $500,000.00 less than what was
budgeted, but in some line items they were spending more. And in those line items themselves it was
$243,000.00 more, but overall, they were spending less.
Florence Freedman asked if there was a certain
slippage that was built into the budget?
Ms. Calhoun said no! Mrs.
Freedman said each department was allowed so much, was there a percentage that
was built into that budget in case they do go over? She asked if they were talking ten dollars
from 79 different lines and $239,990 from the other? President Ritter said it could be. He asked for a range. Ms. Calhoun said it ranges from $20.00 to
$75,000.00. A member of the audience
said that’s a big range. Ms. Freedman
said the one that’s over by $75,000.00, what percentage is that? Commissioner Simpson said it might be
under. Ms. Calhoun said that department
estimate may be under; each one is different.
Ms. Freedman said she understood that and asked if that was lack of
budget planning to be over budget? She
asked if they were talking about 2% or 5%?
Commissioner Simpson cautioned her that it may be under budget,
too. Ms. Calhoun said each line item is
a totally separate story in itself. She
said this was an example where the contracted services, that was a decision
that was made by the Commissioners after the budget was adopted; plans change
during the year, and this is to accommodate those changes. President Ritter said for example: they could have “X” number of dollars in for
snow removal and if we don’t get any snow, there is money, and if we get a lot
of snow, they’re over the budget. He
said things like that have to be internally compensated for. Ms. Freedman said OK, but she still didn’t
think her question was being answered.
She said it seemed to her if they budget for snow, they budget for
worst-case scenarios. Several people in
the audience and on the Board disagreed.
Commissioner Simpson said they budget for average. Ms. Calhoun agreed. If they have a huge snowfall, they have to
cut back in some other areas to accommodate those expenditures. A member of the audience asked if they said
these expenditures were operational only, no capital projects would be involved
in it. President Ritter and Ms. Calhoun
said that was right. Ms. Freedman asked
for her name to be put on the list of people requesting a copy of the
budget. She gave her address at
Ordinance 2004 – 17: Adopting
General Fund, Golf Course Fund,
Commissioner Smith moved to adopt Ordinance 2004 – 17
adopting the General Fund, Golf Course Fund, State Highway Aid Fund and Parks
Capital Reserve Fund Budgets for the year 2005.
Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe.
President Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the
Board or the audience. Commissioner
Smith announced that this was the 15th year in a row that taxes have
not been raised in
Patti McClune asked how much they were using for the
Golf Course Fund, the State Highway Aid Fund and the Parks Capital Reserve
Fund? She also said they had a meeting
on Monday the 22nd of November to discuss this budget and she was
unable to attend it; she asked if there were minutes from that, and could she
get a copy? President Ritter said it was
not an official meeting, it was an opportunity for anybody that had questions
on the budget to come at that time and there would be people available to answer
those questions. She said she thought
they had to take minutes if they had a quorum.
President Ritter said no; it was not an official meeting. She asked what would make it official? President Ritter said it would have to have
been scheduled, posted, and advertised.
Mrs. McClune said she thought it was advertised. Mr. Martin said it was advertised as a
meeting to meet and discuss the budget.
It was a chance for the residents to discuss in detail, and there was a
lot of discussion and detail on the budget.
A lot of the meeting centered around the capital budget, not necessarily
the operating budget. Mrs. McClune said
she thought there was going to be another meeting for that; she couldn’t attend
that meeting and would have liked to have been there to ask questions. Mr. Martin said there wasn’t another meeting
scheduled, but the budget has been on display for the last thirty days, and all
questions were answered by staff.
Commissioner Bledsoe said this was something new they did this year, a
meeting after the official presentation of the budget. It was an open forum for people to come in
and ask more detailed questions about the budget. They had only planned to do one meeting; they
never intended to do more than one meeting.
Mrs. McClune said she wanted to understand – they had a quorum, but
because it was not a scheduled meeting they didn’t have to take minutes? Mr. Martin said it was a scheduled meeting in
the sense that it was advertised as an open meeting to talk and discuss the
issues. He said he did not take minutes,
there was nothing adopted, it was just an open discussion to review the
budget. Mrs. McClune suggested that if
they do that again they keep minutes so that those who could not attend would
be informed. President Ritter said they
would take that into consideration.
Nelson Rohrer reminded Commissioner Smith that he
announced that the Board was looking at enacting a new tax next year of
$52.00. President Ritter said a dollar a
week, yes. Mr. Rohrer said Commissioner
Smith just announced that this was the 15th year in a row that taxes
have not been raised, and he just wanted to remind him and the people in the
room that indeed that is a raised tax; it is a new tax. President Ritter explained that not everyone
in the Township will pay that tax to the Township. There was laughter. Commissioner Smith added that this has been
enacted by the State. President Ritter
explained that it is a tax that is taxed on people working in the Township. They could live elsewhere, but they will have
to pay the tax to the Township. Mr.
Rohrer said if someone lived in the Township and worked in the Township they
would not pay the tax? President Ritter
said no, anyone who works in the Township will pay the tax. He said if they work in the City and live in
the Township, they won’t pay it to the Township. Mr. Martin explained that it is a new tax,
but it’s not a property tax.
Ed McClune said they didn’t have to take minutes at
the budget meeting in November, when they had a quorum with three Commissioners
in attendance? He said they might be in
violation of the Sunshine Law if they did not take minutes, something which
they just got charged with not too long ago.
He asked Commissioner Bledsoe about a statement he made at that meeting,
that there would be several more meetings before this budget is approved, where
the public would be invited, where they would see the itemized budget, because
the flyer they sent out did not have a lot of the stuff where they transferred
money from the sewer fund, the sale of the sewer fund, floating a seven million
dollar bond, none of that was in the flyer.
He said most of the people in attendance tonight have not seen the
itemized budget. He asked when they were
going to have these other promised meetings.
Commissioner Bledsoe said that was the first meeting they had for people
to look at detail and ask specific questions about the 2005 budget. Tonight is another meeting to discuss the
budget and ask questions. He said he
thought what Mr. McClune was referring to specifically was the capital budget
where he’d had questions about the sewer fund, the planned transfer of monies
for capital projects relating to the Overlook Campus, i.e., Community Center
and other things on that site. He said
there will be additional opportunities for discussion on those capital
items. He said the basic operating
budget is the operating budget; there will not be any additional discussions on
the operating budget. There will be some
additional discussions on the capital budget.
Mr. McClune said they won’t transfer this money into the operating
system at this time? They will discuss
that at another meeting and then decide whether they will put it in the budget
and asked if that was correct?
Commissioner Bledsoe said no, he would explain this. That was a different Ordinance they would
adopt tonight, this is just the operating budget. It doesn’t include the capital fund budget
that he was questioning; that will come in a later Ordinance tonight that they
will have a chance to discuss. This is
just the general operating fund and they will not be discussing this one any
more. He said again they will have a
chance to react to the capital budget a number of times later this
evening. Mr. McClune asked if they had
some print-outs of the itemized budget that can be passed out to the audience,
so they can see these line items. He
said most of the people in attendance have not seen that yet. President Ritter said the operating budget
has been on display for at least a month; it is free and anybody was welcome to
come and see it.
Mr. Kneizys asked if the operating budget was the
same as what they presented at their previous two meetings? If it is not, then they have to put it on
display. Mr. Martin said the operating
budget is the one that was presented at the previous meetings. Mr. Kneizys asked if it was the capital
budget that was not the same. Mr. Martin
said the capital budget is still the same.
Mr. Kneizys asked if it was the same as at the presentation? Mr. Martin said yes. He said tonight the Commissioners had two
separate Ordinances to look at, the operating budget and the capital
budget. He said the majority of the
conversation at the meeting on November 22nd centered around the
development of the Community Complex.
There were hardly any questions in regard to the general fund
budget. He said there was another
Ordinance on the agenda tonight to adopt the capital fund budget which includes
some of the questions that Mr. McClune was talking about, the funds to develop
the rest of the Community Campus complex, which includes the Community
Center. Mr. Kneizys said there was an
informational meeting and there was a meeting prior to that in which the budget
was presented. Mr. Martin agreed. Mr. Kneizys asked again if anything that was
presented at the first presentation changed that they were looking at tonight;
were they looking at the same items tonight that they had at that meeting. President Ritter and Mr. Martin said
yes. He thanked the Board.
Rick Casselbury said he had some questions on the
2005 budget; it showed revenues of almost $13,000,000 and expenses of a little
over $13,700,000. That budget is showing
an operational loss of $758,607. He said
that number did not include repaying the golf course fund for shortage, a
minimum of $226,882. So they were
looking at an operational loss of $985,489.
He said it was explained to him that this would be covered by a 1.2
million dollar carry-over from previous budgets that we didn’t spend the money
on. He said if they hit the budget on
the nose in 2005, and they go into 2006 with everything staying the same, they
will only have a $237,000 carry-over, they will be looking at a budget
shortfall in 2006 of roughly $750,000.
He said he knew they didn’t have a tax increase this year because of
this carry-over, but will there be an increase in taxes in 2006? President Ritter said he had no idea and
wished he had that much foresight.
Commissioner Bledsoe explained the increase in what used to be the
Occupational Privilege tax went from $10 to $52; the
President Ritter asked if there were any other
questions about the operating budget. A
member of the audience asked if they would have additional revenues coming in
from new housing. President Ritter
agreed and said those figures were estimated; they don’t know exactly how much
that would be.
A member of the audience criticized the Township and
said they haven’t done very well in their projections with regard to the income
from the golf courses and the fitness center and then compete with even more
private industry. She said their
projections of income were pretty sorry.
She asked about Mrs. McClune’s question; what were the actual numbers
for the general fund, the golf course, the state highway aid fund and the parks
capital reserve fund? President Ritter
said it was about $16 million. He
reminded the audience that in the future, if they have something to say to
please come up to the microphone.
Rick Casselbury said he went back to the line-item
budget and looked at the Golf Course fund and for the 2005 budget he saw a
short-fall of $615,000, and on top of that he saw a capital reserve and half
the debt service of $532,000. He said
that comes over 1.1 million dollars in short-fall for the Golf Course in 2005
and asked if he was off-base. Ms.
Calhoun said the $615,000 that he was referring to was a cumulative number; for
2005 it will be roughly between $200,000 and $300,000. Mr. Casselbury restated that and said then
they add the $535,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund to find out how much tax
dollars will be used on that course in 2005?
Commissioner Bledsoe said since they acquired the Golf Course it has
never paid for the debt service. The
primary reason they purchased it was to keep it in open space, because the
alternative was that it was going to be developed into a very large housing
development with lots of homes, which would have meant expansion of the
schools, a lot of things that would have repercussions in terms of trying to
support that large mass of additional homes.
At that time the Commissioners in power opted to purchase the land to
try to keep it in open space. President
Ritter used the gavel to ask the audience to be quiet while Commissioner
Bledsoe was talking. Commissioner
Bledsoe continued by saying ever since they acquired this they knew they would
have deficits to pay for the golf course.
By 2010 the last payment for the golf course debt will be made and it
will be paid off. It was never purchased
with the intent that it would pay for all the operating costs and the
debt. Mr. Casselbury said he didn’t
question that; he was always told that the golf course pays for itself. Commissioner Bledsoe said it pays for its
operating costs. When they get through
with the bond costs, it will generate about $250,000 in excess revenues over
expenses.
President Ritter asked if there were any other
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance 2004 – 18: Tax Rate
Commissioner Bledsoe explained that they were
adjusting the tax millage rate, which is currently 2.2, and based upon the
average percent of increase of 19%, they have adjusted their millage back so
that anyone who had a 19% increase will be paying the same amount of
taxes. He said if their average rate
went up 30%, they will be paying more.
He said he had a much greater increase so he will be paying much more
than he did in the past. If their
average increase came in less than 19%, their tax rate will go down. But they calculated this based on the average
of 19% and it will go from 2.2 mills to 1.9.
The average stays the same; they can’t increase their overall tax intake
from the millage tax rate.
Commissioner Bledsoe moved to adopt Ordinance 2004 – 18 fixing the tax
rate for the year 2005 and fixing the discount and penalties thereon. Seconded by Mr. Smith. President Ritter asked if there were any questions
or comments from the Board or the audience.
Steve Geisenberger said they were saying they did not opt for the 10%
additional revenue from the real estate tax that was available, had they wanted
to? Commissioner Simpson and President
Ritter said they tried to make it identical.
President Ritter asked if there were any other questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance 2004 – 19: Establishing
Compensation of the Manager-Secretary of
Commissioner Simpson explained that by law they must
pass a separate Ordinance establishing the salary/compensation for the
Manager-Secretary of the Township. The
compensation for this person reflects a 3.5% increase, which is exactly what
every other employee got. Commissioner
Simpson moved to adopt Ordinance 2004 – 19 establishing compensation of the
Manager-Secretary of
Steve Villella of 761 Rosemont Drive said it was an
increase of 3.5%, asked if that was from last year’s salary, and asked if that
was a standard increase year after year?
Commissioner Simpson said no, this was just for next year. Mr. Villella asked what this figure will
be. Commissioner Simpson said it will be
$102,115. President Ritter asked if
there were any other questions. There
were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance 2004 – 20: Traffic Ordinance
Commissioner Smith moved to adopt Ordinance 2004 – 20
providing for an addition to Appendix II-A (street where parking is prohibited
at all times), which is contained in the Township Code of Ordinances and is
referred to in Part 7, Chapter 1, Article C, Section 7-1052. Seconded by Mr. Bledsoe. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience.
George Duncan of 2260 Basset Drive asked what this
means. President Ritter said it was the
installation of parking prohibited on both sides of
Sandy Duncan of
President Ritter said first Mr. Martin is not
vindictive. There was applause. President Ritter said Mr. Martin was not out
to get anybody. He said this went
through the traffic calming process.
Commissioner Simpson said she was not part of the original committee,
she got involved later in the process.
They gave several different scenarios to correct. Mr. Duncan said it just so happens that every
single proposal they had was to take away their parking. President Ritter said regarding the speed
humps that were incorrectly installed, he didn’t know that the third one wasn’t
corrected. Mr. Martin said the third one
was a speed table. Mrs. Duncan asked
why; it was voted that three speed humps be put in; why was it changed? Mr. Martin said a speed table is used to
allow traffic and pedestrian traffic to get across the road. He said two baseball fields are being
developed there and there is parking on either side of them. The speed table will be used for the walking
traffic to go between the fields. The
original humps were also put in as tables.
Mrs. Duncan said isn’t it most important to have people slow down at the
entrance, especially if they will have people crossing there? Mr. Martin said they were trying to slow the
traffic down before they even get in there; that’s what the humps are for. Mrs. Duncan said the last traffic hump is in
the middle of
A member of the audience suggested creating another
entrance at the nine acres that the Township just acquired, rather than coming
in through a residential section.
President Ritter said eventually they’ll be able to use the Fruitville
Pike entrance, once the infrastructure is complete. She asked if visitors to the
Larry Gagnon asked if the Commissioners have
considered that in passing this motion to deny parking in front of their home,
that this would reduce the property value of that house? President Ritter said not that he knew
of. Mr. Duncan said they don’t
care. Mr. Gagnon addressed Commissioner
Bledsoe and said that he said that we are going to take this action, and asked
if this had already been determined; if he was speaking for everyone and not
just himself. Commissioner Bledsoe said
they have studied this and reacted in a very expedient fashion to put in the
speed humps. They had meetings with the
neighborhood. Those were the things that
they did to solve this problem. They
were advised by people who know about traffic issues that it was safer to have
no parking at the entrance to the park.
Commissioner Bledsoe said if they looked at the
Larry Gagnon said when the
President Ritter asked if there were any more
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Duncan spoke out but President Ritter
asked for no comments.
Ordinance 2004 – 21: Traffic Ordinance
Mr. Duncan asked to say just one thing. President
Ritter said OK. Mr. Duncan said
they are not going to like where he parks his trailer from now on.
Commissioner Bledsoe explained that this Ordinance
does not include
Donald Reed asked the Commissioners to repeat the
motion and use the microphones because they could not hear it in the back. President Ritter re-read the motion more
loudly. He said it deals with Long Farm
Lane to change the speed to 25 mph, 35 mph on East Airport Road, stop signs on
Keens Road at Kissel Hill Road and John Landis Road and 4-hour parking on the
east side of the 900 block of North Queen Street. Mr. Reed thanked the Board.
President Ritter asked if there were any other
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance 2004 – 22: Adopting Capital Reserve Fund Budget for 2005
Commissioner Simpson commented about the
President Ritter said additionally, in order to make
that entrance a 15 mph speed zone, it would have to be declared a “park
entrance.” In order to do that they
would have to put an island down the center, which would create one lane on
each side which would make it an official park entrance, and then they could
make the speed limit 15 mph.
Commissioner Simpson added and enforce it. President Ritter agreed and said because now
they can’t enforce 15 mph. And that proposal
was rejected by the residents.
Commissioner Simpson added by all of those neighbors. President Ritter said the original request
was to get it down to 15 mph, and legally they can’t do that unless it’s
classified as a park entrance.
Commissioner Simpson said they wanted to make an attractive street with
attractive lighting, a median strip down the middle and 15 mph and the
neighbors rejected that. She said she
just wanted to caution those in attendance who do not come to every meeting,
that this is a very complicated issue.
Commissioner Simpson moved to adopt the General
Capital Reserve Fund Budget for the year 2005.
Seconded by Mr. Smith. President
Ritter asked if there were any questions or comments from the Board or the
audience.
President Ritter said if they look in the budget, it
says for the capital reserve fund budget for the year 2005, it’s $500,000. He said future years will be $19 million
dollars. Those items in the future years
are strictly estimates. The $500,000
will be spent on architectural work determining different scenarios of what
could be built at the Overlook Community Campus. He stressed they have no idea of what the
costs will be, all the numbers that have been used were based on
estimates. The spending of the budgeted
$500,000 will be for further work so they can get better ideas of which way to
go in the future.
Carol Edwards of
Florence Freedman of 461 Surrey Drive said she
remembered a meeting some time ago at the High School and a person from
Ed McClune of
Marguerite Adams of 1960 Melody Lane said she was on
the Community Center Task Force for three years until it was disbanded. She said that Rick Casselbury and some of his
friends from Universal were also on it.
She also mentioned Larry Gagnon and several senior citizens. She cited reports she had from 2001 and 2003
and quoted: “...it is the recommendation
from the Foundation to construct the entire Community Center and Library
facility as a combined facility. It is
the position of the Foundation that this facility will be the hub of and the
cultural center of the Community. This
would promote family well-being, offer a safe and attractive environment,
recognize the special needs and abilities of children and seniors, and offer an
opportunity for a better quality of life for all the residents of the
community...” She said she’s been an
active resident of Manheim Township for a number of years and kids have come to
her and said they have no place to go except the McDonald’s parking lot or
Landis Woods Park. She said the Township
needs a place with some supervision (even though the kids may not want that –
there was laughter). She said there are
a lot of senior citizens that do not take advantage of what is available, but
that doesn’t mean that the Township should not be building for those that do,
and for the generations to come. She
also said that the Township’s Parks and Recreation Department programs came
first; Universal and Gold’s Gym have duplicated what the Parks and Recreation
Department has already done. There was
applause.
Mark Stanavage of
Don Reed of
Vin Kneizys of Leona Avenue asked if he understood
the paper correctly this morning, that the Township was considering a $7
million dollar bond. Commissioner
Bledsoe agreed that was part of the equation.
Mr. Kneizys said $9 million will come from the sewer fund and $2 million
from private contributions and asked if that meant the fund raising that they
heard about. President Ritter said those
numbers were all estimates; they didn’t even know at this point what will be
desired to be built – that was what the $500,000 was for. Mr. Kneizys said he wanted to discuss the $7
million dollar bond and the $9 million transfer. He commended the Lancaster Newspapers on
doing an excellent job of presenting information relative to the Township
Commissioners’ meetings. He reviewed
information he had beginning with the July 22, 2003 article regarding the sewer
sale. In that article he said Ed McClune
was quoted as asking about the proceeds from the sale of the sewer system and
suggesting that they be put into an escrow account to keep the tax rate
down. He was concerned that these funds
would be used to build a community center on the former Schwartz Nurseries. On August 12th Commissioner Gordon,
at a meeting where they talked about the mini golf course, reminded the
audience that a Township survey conducted a few years ago helped the
Commissioners conclude that Township residents don’t want tax money used to
develop the property. He said that meant
they don’t want a bond fund. On
September 7, 2003 critics of the plan said it needed to move quickly so that
the Community Center could get underway before Simpson and Downing take their
seats. He said Commissioner Gordon
called that gossip. He said at that time
$11.6 million was going to be used to pay off existing sewer debt and the rest
would be banked with earnings earmarked for the capital fund and that nothing
would be done with the principle without citizen input. On November 10th at the presentation
of the budget, Commissioner Smith had said that the Commissioners still
intended to put $15 million from the sale into a separate account; interest
earned on the account, expected to be about one million, but turned out to be
about $800,000, would go to the capital fund.
He said the Commissioners this past summer said that $15 million should
not be touched without a public debate on what to do with it. He said what this said and what he reiterated
at the Commissioners’ meeting in November, was that the Commissioners here,
except for Carol Simpson, made a distinct commitment to the Township residents
that under no circumstances would the money from the sewer proceeds go forward
in any way until there was public input on what exactly the Township
Commissioners had in mind. He said they
had no plan that the residents could look at today. He suggested they take the $500,000, make
their study and then present it as Commissioner Simpson has recommended in
group sessions; they break out the Township and they go forward with them and
inform them. He said that was the only
way to do it, they couldn’t do it by the paper or by the newsletter; he said
they had to do it face-to-face. And they
have to be ready to listen to the residents’ concerns, like they’ve heard
tonight. He said the Commissioners said
they didn’t have anything in writing and asked when the Commissioners ever
needed something in writing with the residents; that was unprecedented. President Ritter explained that the purpose
of the $500,000 was to do just as Mr. Kneizys had just said. Mr. Kneizys agreed, but said they were
putting the money in the budget, they were committing in that budget the entire
amount. He referred to Nelson Rohrer and
said once they do that they can spend it.
And if they came to the end of the year in 2005 and were ready to go,
they could vote on spending it. He
suggested they withdraw that part and take it out of the budget, but leave the
$500,000 in for the study; then come to the residents and put it in the 2006
budget. He thanked the Board and there
was applause.
Rick Armellino of
Phil Rule of
Dick Green of 2824 Fiddlers Green said this was a
perfect example of the squeaky wheel gets the oil and he wanted to go on record
as saying he was one of the 50% that wants to compliment this body for the
vision that they’ve had in purchasing the Schwartz property and the vision that
they’ve had for making it a better community.
He said they elected the Commissioners to do a job and they must have
confidence in them to do it. He said
he’s joined some of the committees to help develop this because he wants to
have a say in it. He suggested that if
the community wants to have a say in this, then they should get on a committee,
too. He said again he had confidence in
the Commissioners that they will be prudent in the moneys that they spend. He said to remember that the people that are
really supporting this don’t say anything.
That’s why he came tonight, to tell them that he is 100% behind the
project that they are developing and he has confidence that the money they will
spend will be spent prudently. There was
applause.
Steve Geisenberger of 238 Heatherstone Way said there
was a lot of good discussion tonight. He
said he didn’t support a referendum, there is a referendum every two years,
it’s called an election and he thought there was one coming up this year. He said they’ve elected this Board of
Commissioners and it’s their responsibility to make this decision one way or
the other. He said he thought there were
some good points made tonight, one of which he’s tried to make for awhile. He
thought Mark Stanavage brought it up. He
thought by putting these numbers out there, they would try to raise two and
then spend $16 or $18 million dollars of taxpayers’ money; he thought that would
become the number. He said the goal for
fundraising should be higher. If the
Township wants the project, they will come to the floor and make the kind of
contributions needed. He said there are
enough businesses and residents in the Township that if they think this project
is worthwhile, they should be challenged to come up with more than $2 million
dollars. He said he’s supported
public/private partnerships and cited Stoner Park, the miniature golf course, the
school, recreation and in a general way he supports this concept. His wife asked him to think tonight about
more than just dollars and cents. He
agreed that there are more things to think about than just dollars and cents on
this. He said he thought it was safe to
say that even without specific knowledge, he knows what he pays at Universal
for a family membership, and he said yes, it was expensive. He said he knows what it costs at the Y for a
family membership and what they get for that membership. He said the Township number is going to be
closer to the Y than it is to Universal.
He said he hoped that Rick was not pocketing that whole thousand dollar
difference in profits for each member!
He said he doubted that he was and he didn’t think it was reasonable to
predict that the Township would be able to run this community center on purely
membership revenue. It will take a
community effort; it will be more like a Y than it will be like a
Universal. He said they needed to be
realistic about that. He said he wasn’t
100% sure that by starting with this low goal of only 10% private participation
that they will start off on the right track on that particular item. He said he had other comments but he would
just put them in his letter. He thanked
the Board and President Ritter thanked him.
Steve Bussanmas of 374 North Farm Drive thanked Mr.
Molchany for turning up the air conditioning as it was getting rather
warm! He said he’s been on the
Foundation Board since January of this year so he’s gotten a chance to get to
know what’s going into what they hope to build at the Overlook park. He said when he first started he asked what
the mission was because really to get a community going, they need everybody
pulling in the same direction. The goal
that they understood was this was primarily to be an activity and cultural
center for Manheim Township. He said
that was a noble cause. Manheim Township
does not have a downtown or a center; it would be good to have a place for
young and old to go to and congregate.
Secondly it was to try to enhance the quality of life with what they put
in this park. He said there was nothing
wrong with that. If they have soccer
fields and baseball fields, and the kids are out there playing, that adds to
the quality of life. He said they can
debate the different components, but it is a quality of life issue. He said the third thing he was told and he
thought it was important for everyone in attendance to know it, they were
charged to do things without raising taxes; no matter what they did, they
couldn’t be a burden to the point where they would raise taxes. He said as they look at this they need to
look at Overlook park in totality; it isn’t just a community center. There’s the golf course, the driving range,
the ball fields, both soccer and baseball, the Stoner House (a great place for
the Historical Society), miniature golf, but there are also things on the
drawing board like a dog park that he thinks will be a positive thing. It will be a place for people to come that
have like interests; they love their dogs.
They can take them off their leashes and this will be a positive
thing. It will serve the mission of
trying to have a place that adds value to the community. Many of the park components do not generate
enough money to cover their costs. He
said they can’t expect everything in that park to pay its way. They’ve had nice partnerships with the soccer
club and with the baseball fields and they’re trying to do that with the dog
park. There are many things that they
are trying do. With regard to the community
center, it will be the centerpiece of Overlook park. He said this is all up to debate; nothing has
been etched in stone as to what will make that up. There are components that have been
discussed; things like the fitness center, the senior center, the teen center,
the recreational pool, and the library (which he supports very strongly). These are all things that can make it up; no
decisions have been made. He said where
did these components come from? He said
they did have a consultant, Ballard*King that came in and based these
components on what they’ve seen in other community centers based on usage and
what will get them very close to covering operating expenses. He said that’s what has driven the components
they’ve heard about; they are not tied to them, but these components appear to
be what will be used the most and will come closest to covering their operating
expenses. He said they’ve been to the
Ephrata and Lititz facilities and they are being used and are fine
facilities. He said he couldn’t speak
for all of the members of the Foundation Board, but they do strongly support a
community center. He said they can
debate what goes in it, but he strongly suggested a library should go in it. He said they do recommend the components
they’ve heard about and he stressed the word recommend. He said he believed those components do add
to the quality of life. Not all of the
residents play golf, not all have kids that will be out using the fields, but
most of the people in attendance own property here and if we raise the quality
of life in the Township, everyone will benefit by property values going
up. He thanked the Board. President Ritter thanked him. There was applause.
Nancy Keebler of 125 Roosevelt Blvd. said she is for
a library, but she is also for fiscal conservative spending. She said she read the article in the
newspaper and saw the numbers for the miniature golf course; she thought
whoever was running that miniature golf course should be ashamed of
themselves. She said if the Township is
going to take on a project such as the community center, it needs to have a
proven track record of how to manage something.
She said the golf course and the projections are a disgrace. She said Manheim Township is the laughing
stock of the County. She said she went
to the golf course and was discouraged; then saw the numbers and where they
came in on budget and was again discouraged.
She said she uses the Township facilities; she has small children and
goes to the pool. She then complained
about the childrens’ pool at Skyline that was not working and in July the
playground at Overlook was only half completed.
She said if the Township cannot manage what it has now, how can it take
on this project? She said the Township
needs to prove to the taxpayers that they can effectively manage the existing
projects before they take on any more.
She thanked the Board. There was
applause.
Wayne Murphy of 304 Ashford Drive said he spent 7-1/2
years on the Board of the Lancaster County Library, the last 1-1/2 years at its
President. During that period of time
nearly everyone of the outlying communities built a new library or
significantly improved their existing library.
Manheim Township went from a trailer to a storefront. He said there is not enough room in that
library in Granite Run to do the things that Manheim Township people want; they
are going to Lititz and other areas. He
urged them to build a decent building that includes a good library. He thanked the Board. There was applause.
Dean Morrell of 70 Waverly Avenue said he was a new
face at this meeting and said he planned to come back more often. He moved here ten years ago and lived in two
other communities and both of them had community centers. They were nice places for the kids to go play
basketball, racquetball, handball, swim and they miss that here. He said they currently go to Ephrata and
Lititz for these kinds of things. He
said this is needed here; it’s something that will improve our quality of life
and our property values. President
Ritter thanked him. There was
applause.
Larry Gagnon said there were a lot of questions
raised tonight and a lot of pros and cons.
He said it seemed that an underlying significant issue that the
Commissioners were facing before they take their vote tonight was how do we
best plan with the community to develop a sense of community and to be able to
develop a partnership with them to identify what the needs are and try and get
a consensus that this is the direction that we want to go? He said he would be the first to say that the
Commissioners through the years have made some excellent decisions, one of the
most significant ones was buying the Schwartz property, and he said he’s said
this many times. On a lower scale he
thought the little program called “Stride Right,” Commissioner Simpson
corrected him and told him it is called “Smart Strides,” he thought that was a
very good program and hoped that the Commissioners were wearing their
pedometers. He said it’s not easy being
a Commissioner; it’s not easy being a resident.
He said what they need to do is try to bring the residents and the
Commissioners together. He said that was
what their vote tonight was really about.
He asked if the Commissioners really thought they had provided enough
information about the funds and how they will be used? He asked if they really needed to put all of
those funds in the budget or not? He
asked if there were some ways that they needed to step back and get more people
involved in working with them so that they can form the consensus and make a
major stride in developing a sense of community? He thanked the Board. There was applause.
Steve Villella of 761 Rosemont said when he looked at
the line item budget a couple of weeks ago he did not see anything in there regarding
an indoor or outdoor tennis facility. He
asked if there were any plans for an indoor/outdoor tennis facility to be built
with capital funds that they’ve been talking about tonight, with the $9 or $7
million dollars? Commissioner Bledsoe
said there is a tennis committee that has been formed as a part of the Overlook
subcommittees. He said there is a
subcommittee working on the potential for doing indoor tennis courts. On December the 21st all of these
subcommittees will be reporting on their proposals for the park. At that time they will present cost
estimates, revenue estimates, and all of the things needed to make each of
those facilities work. He said they have
not put any monies in the budget for these facilities. Mr. Villella said but theoretically if it was
a plan that the Commissioners felt was worth pursuing, there would be money
available? As they had indicated, they
could vote and that money could be available and facilities could be built within
the 2005 fiscal budget. Commissioner
Bledsoe said there might be some available; they didn’t know at this point,
they would have to see what the subcommittees present. He gave an example that the tennis committee
could tell him they have a plan for a $2 million dollar tennis facility, they could
say they could raise $1 million dollars or they could float a bond to pay for
that cost. He said he would have to see
the financials before he would vote on anything as a Commissioner. He would want to see what the group could do
in terms of raising revenues, covering the costs of operation, and if they
would need Township help. He said he
really couldn’t answer that until he saw what each group presented. Mr. Villella said but it could be built, if a
favorable plan came in and they backed it, it could be built. Commissioner Bledsoe said yes. President Ritter asked when that presentation
would be made. Commissioner Bledsoe said
December 21, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Manheim Township Overlook Community
Foundation meeting, which is open to the public. A member of the audience asked if that would
be held in this same room. The
Commissioners answered yes, and they encouraged everyone to attend. She asked if there would be agendas
available; if people couldn’t make the meeting they could find out about it in
advance. Mr. Martin said there would be
an agenda, but discussions would take place at the meeting; the subcommittees
would make their presentations at that meeting; they won’t know until that
night what will be presented.
Rick Casselbury said his biggest concern about the
capital reserve budget was putting that $16 or $18 million in there now before
they really know what will happen. He
said there were a lot of unanswered questions, such as how they will pay for
it, how they will operate it if it doesn’t meet operational expenses; these
clearly need to be addressed. He said as
he mentioned earlier about the general budget, he had a very strong concern
that they will have to raise taxes just in order to support the general budget,
if not next year then the following year.
He said if they put in this community center and borrow $7 million
dollars and try to operate it, he was looking at the budget projected out to
2011, it showed a $26 million dollar shortfall in the capital budget, and $22
million of that would be from the community center. He said there would be a tremendous shortfall
amount that the Township would have to make up not only in the general budget
but in the capital reserve as they go forward with this project. He said there are alternatives. He said he has nothing against a community
center and agreed that it is needed.
There are certainly unmet needs that he can’t provide, the basketball,
the swimming, all the recreational needs that he can’t do. He said he’s sat down personally with three
of the Commissioners and put together a proposal using existing facilities that
would greatly reduce the overall cost.
He said he was not completely prepared to make that proposal tonight,
but he did bring along 30 copies of providing a library, providing
indoor/outdoor swimming, providing indoor/outdoor tennis, providing a community
center for under $5 million dollars utilizing existing facilities that we
already have, explaining where that $5 million dollars would come from and
explaining the operational losses on those.
He said they all know that libraries do not cover operational
expenses. They know that community
centers in their best-case scenarios, if they made 100% of projections, will
still lose $100,000. He cited the
Township’s track record with the mini-golf and the driving range and called it
very, very poor. He said if they don’t
meet that 100%, they are looking at substantial losses. He said if anyone was interested, he had 30
copies to look at. They could do just
one of these things at a time. They
could put just the library in by itself, they could put indoor/outdoor swimming
in by itself, they could put a community center in by itself, they could put
indoor/outdoor tennis courts, they could do all of these things for a lot less
money and a lot less risk to the community.
He said if these things prove to be successful and prove to be
warranted, there is no question they could take that further step to enlarge
these things and grow these things without risking this huge money up
front. He said the downfall of
committing $20 million dollars and actually in the budget it shows $23 or $24
million dollars for this community center, if it doesn’t meet expectations, how
will the Township survive? If it only
reaches 75% of its potential, they would be looking at a $600,000 operational
loss, according to what was proposed by Ballard*King. He said they really need to do a lot more
homework before they earmark $16 or $18 million dollars into the budget and
hope that it works out. President Ritter
said Mr. Casselbury gave him on Thursday afternoon a copy of his proposal. He was out of town on Friday. This morning he told the Commissioners about
it and Mr. Martin was making copies for everyone to look at it. That will be considered when they use this
$500,000 to determine different phases, what they may or may not do.
Mr. Kneizys made a recommendation in light of the
fact that Commissioner Downing was not in attendance, to postpone the vote on
this Ordinance. Mr. McClune seconded
that. There was laughter.
Nelson Rohrer asked if the Commissioners wanted to
respond to that. President Ritter said
no, they have a motion on the table. Mr.
Rohrer said he would just like some clarification, he understood that the money
after the last budget meeting on the 22nd, all those monies were
in. He said he understood since
then that the $7 million and the $9
million were no longer in. He said he’s
heard conversations both ways and wanted this clarified before they took the
vote. A member of the audience said they
were still in. He said that means in
2005, if they go through a process with this community to determine what this
community center should look like, that they could theoretically spend those
millions of dollars. He asked if it was
feasibly possible and was their plan to do exactly that, since the money was in
the budget? He asked if they were going
to compress the effort to decide what facility it is this Township is going to
need on such a timetable that they indeed would dedicate those funds before the
end of this coming year of 2005? Mr.
Martin said if they started tomorrow to build a community center, it would take
a year to get the plans and specifications ready to do that, simply because of
the process they have to go through because they are a governmental
agency. The $500,000 dollars is in the
budget and it will probably take seven months to even come up with some kind of
a proposal or a design to prepare to discuss what will go in there. By that time, they will be into the budget
for 2006. He said he didn’t think there
was any way that Manheim Township (or other communities) could spend $16
million dollars if they started now.
They would have to have all of the plans together and the bidding and
everything else done. For them to do
that they would literally have to have everything done in thirty days and it
would cost more than $500,000 to do that.
Mr. Rohrer said he completely understood and he said the question being
asked from the audience would be, if that was the case, and there was no way
they could spend it this year, then why is it in the budget? Mr. Martin said it is a projection on what to
look for or what to look at; they do that on all capital items. He said he’s used the Police Department as an
example. He said they projected $1.5
million dollars. They put the plans
together, but it took them about seven months and found out it would be more
expensive than that. He said they could
have put $5 million in there. Mr. Rohrer
said he understood then asked Mr. Martin if he was saying that if the right
scenario unfolds in 2005 that the money will be available. If it takes until 2006, that money will be
carried in that capital fund and will be available, and if they need more they
will add more to it in order to accomplish the job. Mr. Martin said or subtract from it as
needed. President Ritter said it would
have to be approved. Mr. Rohrer said in
light of that then he thought it was proper for the Commissioners to assure the
citizens that there will be a very thorough and proper dialogue with the
residents as to how this will unfold. He
asked if there would be meetings and/or a further survey; what would the
process be to decide what that final building will look like and what the
timetable would be? Commissioner Bledsoe
said they’ve had a lot of studies done to determine cost per square foot,
revenues based upon the activities and cost estimates. He said as a Commissioner he wants to see a
plan that can be modular in terms of what can be added or taken away. He said he’s very sensitive to debt in this
Township. They reduced debt when they
sold the sewer system. He said they need
to have very specific figures for building costs. He said he would encourage the architect to
plan in a modular way where things can be taken away or added to get to a
reasonable cost figure. He said yes,
they will have community meetings when they have something specific to
present. Once they get all of those
things in place, then they can make good decisions. He said there will be a fund drive taking
place in 2005. They’ve estimated $2
million dollars in 2005 and $2 million dollars in 2006 for a total of $4
million dollars raised. This is a
“guesstimated” number. He said there is
also potentially money available from the State; this amount is in the
millions, they don’t know a specific amount yet. He said they have to analyze all of these
things. He said just because they see $7
million dollars in the budget, it doesn’t mean they have to spend $7 million
dollars; it depends on how this whole equation comes together. Mr. Rohrer said he thought it was the proper
way to go to have some seed money in there to do some research. But preceding that, he didn’t think they
would need to spend a lot of money to wander down a path to decide what this
thing will look like until they hear from the citizens and let them say exactly
what they need. He said then they should
go out and generate some cost numbers, and then proceed if the community
endorses that. Mr. Rohrer criticized the
Commissioners in going out and coming in with all those grandiose numbers and
then lay that in front of the public and tell the public that is what the
Commissioners think they need. He said
that was not the way the scenario should work.
Commissioner Bledsoe said he took issue with that statement. He said they have done two studies so far,
the Ballard*King study based on a representative sample of 300 people. There was a lot of information in the study
in terms of what people would want in a community center. It was a very extensive and detailed
study. He said they’ve worked with them
over the last three plus years and they know what works in terms of a community
center. He said they’ve asked the
citizens of Manheim Township and he helped design the survey in terms of
looking at the interest with taxing implications. He said they looked at what that meant in
terms of projections and total membership, and got a lot of good information in
terms of what they’d like to see and what the actual membership would be in
terms of percentages. He said they had
42% interested, 37% said they would actually buy a membership at a community
center; this would be 12,000 plus people, but they must be very conservative with
numbers like that. He said he does research
for New Holland or CNH Global and they always try to reduce a number like that
by a third to be conservative. People
tend to overstate their intentions.
Ballard*King said based upon all of the information they put together,
the size of the community, the population that would be served, the existing
health club facilities, they felt that this Township can justify a community
center. He said the Commissioners’ job
is to determine how they can do that best, how can they pay for it. He said they do need to continue getting
citizens’ input, but they’ve gotten lots of citizen input through the last four
years. He said there were committees
formed in the beginning when people were asked to give their opinions about the
community center and they’ve done two major studies. He said they’ve already put a lot of time
into trying to understand what should go into the community center. He said he has two big binders full of information
of studies, Ballard*King information, costing information, revenue projections,
things that were done before he even became a Commissioner. He said this thing has been studied to death
in terms of facilities, potential for revenues, costs, expenditures, the whole
nine yards, so for someone to imply that they haven’t done their homework he
thought was totally erroneous. There’s
been a lot of work take place on this project; it’s just not something that was
a pipe dream they pulled out of the sky.
There’s a lot of information to support what they are considering
doing. He said they need more
information; they are not done yet. Mr.
Rohrer said he completely understood that, but the information that’s three
years old is not up-to-date; a lot has changed in the economy and other places
in the last three years. Commissioner
Bledsoe said late 2003 was when they did it, and at that time the economy was
in worse shape than it is now, and the economy has recovered, so if anything,
if he did a study today it would probably be more positive than when it was
done in 2003. Mr. Rohrer asked the
Commissioners not to hurry the process; take input from the citizens, take all
the input they physically need to bring this together. He said this particular Board has gone way
out on the fringes and done a lot of things that government is not responsible
for. He said they have increased the
operation budget in this Township substantially not only by spending money on
the capital side, but also operating those entities they put in place. He said this was another example of that type
of situation. He said they bring these
things on-line, then they have to subsidize them yearly to make them
operate. That only increases the
Township’s cost of operation and will continue to do so in the future. He said that will be a compounding effect as
the income from this Township decreases when the building slows down. He said he thought they had to keep that in
mind. A lot of these things they were
talking about he absolutely believed that the Township should not do on the
government side; they should be done on the private side. He said they are being done on the private
side and he believed the Township was competing with it. There was applause.
President Ritter said he thought they had enough
discussion on this and said there was a motion on the table and it has been
seconded. He called for a roll call
vote.
Commissioner Smith said he’s been a Commissioner for
almost seven years and back in early 1998 Roy Baldwin (who was sitting back in
the back of the room) and he and three other Commissioners for about $2.4
million and after Roy’s hard work for about two or three years, put together a
deal to buy from the Schwartz family almost 140 acres. He said he reviewed the newspapers and
referenced an article from Larry Alexander in 1998 that said five Commissioners,
to a person at that time, said one of the things they wanted to do was they
wanted a center of Manheim Township.
They didn’t want five major highways to run through that nobody knows
where Main Street is or where the officials live, they wanted something that
was identified with Manheim Township for the first time since 1729. So, their best challenge at that time was to
purchase this piece of property, which they did. He said they wanted to put certain things on
that piece of property and in that same article everyone that was interviewed
said they would like a Township center, and they would like things in that
center like recreational facilities, senior center, a swimming center and all
of these very same things they’ve been talking about tonight. He said that was their goal at that time and
he really hasn’t changed his mind since that time. Right after that period of time they
instituted a group, which Roy chaired for approximately two years, which was
the Overlook Foundation. They knew that
they had to get community involvement in this to decide exactly what they
wanted to do because the Commissioners weren’t going to determine this by
themselves. They said what they thought
they ought to do in the paper, but they felt they needed community
support. So they formed the Foundation
Board and Roy ran it for a couple of years; it’s been around for six years
now. They’ve been working hard and have
never really varied as a Board in their objective because they thought the
Community Center was the best thing for this community. He said there are things like real estate
values which they thought would increase if they built a community center. He mentioned the health and welfare of this
community and said there are certain things in the county that need to be
addressed right now and that is everyone’s physical well-being; costs are
skyrocketing for people’s health. He
said in this County we have so many senior facilities right now just to take
care of people; with these type of athletic facilities, fitness centers and
swimming facilities they could cut into that number and the cost number for the
health care for the some of the people in this County. He said that was their objective. He said the Overlook Community Foundation will be meeting on the 21st
to try to determine again what it is specifically they will recommend to the
Commissioners, and that’s what the Commissioners are waiting for. He said about a year and a half ago they gave
the Commissioners a PowerPoint projection and they told them at that time what
they thought should be done. Then in
January of this year, all five Commissioners agreed that that was what should
be done. So now they were here in December
and they were still addressing this subject, so to say that they were not talking
to people in Manheim Township he thought was not true; they’ve been at this for
six years and he thought it was time to put some seed money in there and spend
that $500,000 to see exactly what the Foundation and the community want the
Commissioners to do, to make a determination of where they want to go. He said it may not be the multi-million
dollar figure that’s been quoted time and time again; that’s just a
projection. He said they were trying to
really see what it is they want to spend right now. He said they might come to the point where
they don’t want to do that. He said
they’ve been wasting a lot of very good people’s time for six years if that’s
the case, if they decide they don’t want to do anything at this point. He said he still believes what he believed in
1998 and he firmly believed that this budget was the first step so he voted
yes.
Commissioner Bledsoe said he would echo some of
Commissioner Smith’s comments. He said
he thought the health and the well-being of the community are their
responsibility as government officials.
He said he read the national and state information on health and they
said communities must take a more active role in trying to promote those
facilities that help to promote the health of their citizens. He said he believed very strongly in that and
he thought it was important to have a multi-use facility in Manheim Township
that appeals to everyone in Manheim Township; there will be something for
everyone. He said he believes so
strongly in doing those types of things, in promoting the quality of life in
this community, promoting a healthy community in terms of not only the personal
health, but also the health of the economy, the quality of life, the
improvement of real estate values; there are a lot of positive things that can
come from all of this. He said he also
believes in what Mr. Rohrer said that they have to look at this very
cautiously, they can’t overspend. They
put monies in there in terms of what a community center could potentially cost,
but they have to look at that under a microscope and really make sure that they
can justify those kinds of things; it may mean pulling back some. Just because the money is there, it doesn’t
mean they will spend it. He said he was
going to take a very cautious look at this and make sure they will do the most
right and prudent things. He said he
wouldn’t hold back because he thought this was the time to move forward. He said he was tired of talking, it was time
to start walking. He said they talked
about this forever now, and suggested they do something concrete. He said he has over 150 people working on
subcommittees through the Foundation Board; they are energized and
excited. He referred to the Tennis
Committee and said they were so excited about the potential for this site. He said he wanted to see that potential come
true and will push as hard as he could to make those things happen, so he voted
yes.
Commissioner Simpson said she could not vote for the
capital budget tonight as it stands in its present form. She said her understanding was that the only
cost related to the planned community center in this year’s budget was $500,000
to be used to analyze the real costs of building this facility in the Township. She thought $500,000 as someone said was a lot
of money to spend to decide if they were going to spend more, but she said she
was assured that this is a reasonable cost to engage engineers, architects and
so on and so forth. However, if by
passing this budget tonight they were giving de facto approval to the further
expenditure of $16 million dollars or more, then she must vote no. There was some applause. She continued that her concerns about a
community center were four-fold. One,
she did not believe that anyone really understands the magnitude or impact of
the capital expenditure, the potential revenues and the operating costs of this
project. The revenue losses from
depleting the investment assets, meaning the sewer fund money, and the cost
burden of borrowing money, floating a bond, will be considerable. She said she had genuine concerns about
competing with the private sector businesses that are operating and paying
taxes in Manheim Township and who are employing people in Manheim Township. She said she personally questioned whether
the market exists to make the community center a viable business model. The assumption seems faulty to her that there
is a large group of residents in Manheim Township and nearby communities who
want to exercise, who are willing to pay to exercise, and who do not already
belong to another facility. By
constructing a full-blown community center, she said they will lose the ability
to fund other recreation, social and fitness facilities at the Overlook
Community Campus, of which she is a huge proponent. For example, she said there are residents
interested in a dog park, volleyball courts, basketball courts, an
amphitheatre, a football field for Manheim Township youth players and many
other facilities including tennis. She
said they need to ration their assets to accommodate the greatest number of
their residents. If they should proceed
with building this kind of facility, then their residents deserve to understand
the total costs, risks and impact of building the facility. In her opinion, and not everyone on this
Board shares this opinion, they cannot build and operate a community center
without triggering a large tax increase for the residents. She said they need to understand these
details thoroughly themselves and communicate their findings to the residents. With her comments tonight she was making a
pledge to the residents of Manheim Township:
one, they will do a thorough analysis of all options, a full-blown
community center, Rick’s proposal, a library alone, a modular incremental
approach, etc., etc. This analysis will
include all capital costs as well as realistic projections of revenues and
operating costs. Lastly, she said she
will personally guarantee that this information will be communicated to the
residents through a series of public meetings.
Even if she were to be the only Commissioner present, they will have
those meetings. There was applause.
President Ritter said he thought they needed to
further define this process of what they desire to do and the only way to do
that is to get further information and therefore he recommended adoption of the
capital reserve fund budget.
Mr. Martin said the motion carried 3 to 1. The audience began to make noise. President Ritter said they would give them a
couple of minutes. Commissioner Simpson
reminded the audience that the meeting is not over. President Ritter used his gavel and called
the meeting back to order.
Ordinance 2004 – 24: Amending Ordinance 1990-9 Defining Yard Waste
Commissioner Smith asked for silence in the room
because the Board still has business, and then moved to adopt Ordinance 2004 –
24 amending Ordinance 1990-9, as previously amended by Ordinance 1998-18 and
Ordinance 2002-11, to amend the definition of “yard waste” as set forth in
Section A-1003. Seconded by Mr.
Bledsoe. President Ritter explained that
this was a state regulation that changed the definition of the size of yard
waste, therefore the Township must change theirs in order to be in line with
the state’s requirements. It was
previously a maximum of four inches in diameter and now it goes to six
inches. President Ritter asked if there
were any questions or comments from the Board or the audience.
Ed McClune asked what the four to six inches
was. President Ritter said it was the
size, the diameter of yard waste, limbs.
It went from four to six inches; no more than six inches. President Ritter asked if there were any more
questions. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Massage Business License
Commissioner Bledsoe moved to approve the Massage
Business License for Ellen M. Liberto of 1398 Oregon Road, Leola. Seconded by Mrs. Simpson. President Ritter asked if there were any
questions or comments from the Board or the audience. There were none. Motion carried unanimously.
Department Reports: There
were no Department Reports this evening.
Correspondence &
Petitions: There were no Correspondence and Petitions
this evening.
Adjournment: There being no further business
before the Commissioners, Commissioner Smith moved, and Mrs. Simpson seconded
that the meeting adjourn at 10:55 p.m.
At this point Don Reed of
The motion to adjourn was carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
James M. Martin
Manager-Secretary