CLEARFIELD – The Lawrence Township Supervisors held the second public hearing in the 2014 Community Development Block Grant application process Tuesday before its regular meeting.
The purpose of the public hearing is to review and select the projects for their funding application. The proposed activities are for street improvements for Kerr area. The 2014 allocation for the multi-year project is $111,086, which will fund $91,091 for street improvements and $19,995 for program administration.
A draft copy of the CDBG application will be available for review after Nov. 4, at the township office. The supervisors will consider the application for final approval at their meeting on Nov. 18. The application is due to the state Department of Community and Economic Development by Jan. 3, 2015.
Barb Shaffner, township secretary, is the contact person for the CDBG program. She may be contacted at 814-765-0176.
At the regular meeting, Vice Chairman Dan Mitchell reintroduced the purchase of a new medium duty truck from Hunter Peterbilt, at a total cost of $175,533.
Supervisor Ed Brown said he feels the township needs a dependable mid-size truck, adding while he thought it was worthwhile to rebuild the current mid-sized truck that’s been out of service, he agreed the township should purchase a new truck now while there was availability of Act 13 funds, which may not continue from the state.
Chairman Bill Lawhead wasn’t able to attend the meeting but sent a statement regarding his opposition to the purchase of a new truck. Lawhead wrote, “$175,000 is too much to take out of [the township’s] reserve funds. We may lose our Act 13 Impact Fees next year and if we do we’ll need our reserve funds to do the projects needed in Lawrence Township.”
Lawhead suggested the purchase of a smaller truck and an update to the plow on one of the other trucks, and reported he’d talked with road crew members and they felt replacing the 2002 Ford F-550 was better.
Eric Walsh of Walsh Equipment advised, “…You can fix a broken [vehicle] but not one that is worn out.” He said the cost of maintenance and repairs on an older vehicle can be expensive, and there’s no recapture of value with repairs to older vehicles.
Walsh said the new Peterbilt is a 25-year truck that can handle snow better than the smaller trucks.
Shaffner noted there’s $133,800 left in the current budget for equipment purchases, and the balance of the cost can be financed with 2015 funds.
Brown and Mitchell said they respected Lawhead’s opinion, but approved to purchase the new Peterbilt through Walsh Equipment.
The supervisors heard from Jerri Young of Linn Realty Group, which is handling the sale of the Lingle property located along Interstate 80. Young said the property is being offered at $1.1 million, noting there are parties interested in purchasing the site.
When Young asked if there were any types of business the township would be averse to, Solicitor James Naddeo said as long as it’s lawful activity and meets township ordinances and resolutions, there should be no problems.
Young noted most of the property is zoned Commercial. Code Enforcement Officer Debra Finkbeiner said a portion of the property fell in Rural & Agricultural Zoning.
Naddeo advised that the supervisors needed to pass a resolution amending the township’s Junkyard Ordinance. He said Paragraph D of the ordinance provides for certain setbacks on property designated as junkyards, but the ordinance doesn’t address setback guidelines for distances of 100 to 150 feet.
The supervisors agreed to pass a resolution to amend the ordinance setting the maximum height of scrap within the first 100 feet at 8 feet tall, and between 100 to 150 feet at 20 feet tall.
Naddeo also suggested the need for an ordinance to address parking in a cul-de-sac. Brown and Mitchell agreed to table this discussion until another meeting when Lawhead was present.
Mitchell reported the radio communication system for the township needs to be upgraded to digital by next year. The system includes a base radio, two portable and two mobile units, Mitchell said, and will cost more than $18,000.
The supervisors instructed Shaffner to investigate what grant options are available to help fund the expense of the radio upgrade.
After a brief executive session, the supervisors passed a resolution approving the amendments to the road crew contract.