[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
THE, UM, MEETING TONIGHT ON MONDAY, JUNE 15TH.UM, PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALL ALLEGIANCE TO LIE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY, JUSTICE FOR ALL.
I AM TOLD THERE ARE MORE AGENDAS IN THE BACK FOR ANYONE WHO DIDN'T GET ONE AND WOULD LIKE ONE.
[SPECIAL PRESENTATION]
PRESENTATION TO START WITH.UM, JEFF WILL PRESENT THE TOWNSHIP BRANDING COLORS AND.GOV DOMAIN.
OKAY, LET ME PULL THAT UP REAL QUICK.
UM, WE, WELL, YOU CAN SOMEWHAT SEE IT HERE.
WE'LL START WITH THIS SLIDE ON OUR, UH, OUR, FROM OUR POWERPOINT PART OF OUR WEBSITE THROUGH CIVIC PLUS, THE CARRIER FOR OUR WEBSITE OFFERED A, UH, A REFRESH TO THE WEBSITE.
WE WERE, YOU KNOW, WOULD UPDATE IT, PUT IT ON SOME OF THEIR NEW SYSTEM, RUN A LITTLE BIT FASTER, AND AS PART OF THAT, IT BECAME A PROCESS TO PUT NEW COLORS IN.
UM, WE HAD OUR OLDER LOGO, WE WERE GONNA WORK WITH THAT, BUT IT WAS NEVER VERY POPULAR, SO WE ASKED THEM TO JUST PUT UP SOME WORD ART IN, IN THE CORNER OF THE PAGE, AND THEY CAME UP WITH THIS UPPER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP, MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
UM, WE DECIDED WE LIKED IT ENOUGH THAT WE WANTED TO CARRY IT THROUGH EVERYTHING.
IT WORKED WELL WITH, UM, SOME OTHER PRESENTATIONS THAT WE WERE, YOU KNOW, OTHER, UM, DEPARTMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, IT, IT'S CLEAN, IT'S SIMPLE.
IT'S FLEXIBLE WITH EVERYTHING.
UM, LET ME PULL UP THE REST OF THAT OTHER DOCUMENT REAL QUICK.
OTHER PRESENTATIONS ARE GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME, SO I WAS TRYING TO GET THOSE LOADED TOO.
CHERYL, WHERE IS THAT? LOGOS AND BRANDING.
UM, IF YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S A GAP IN THE WALL BEHIND YOU HERE.
WE'LL GET TO THAT IN A MINUTE.
BUT, UM, WE ARE CHANGING OUR DOMAIN NAME TO UPPER PROVIDENCE.
MCPA.GOV.GOV IS A MORE SECURE WEBSITE AND MORE SECURE, UM, FOR THE TOWNSHIP, UM, BECAUSE IT'S CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT.
BUT BY GOING WITH THAT, WE HAVE TO PUT IN, UM, PA THEY DON'T LIKE ABBREVIATIONS VERY MUCH, AND, BUT WE DIDN'T WANNA PUT IN UPPER PROVIDENCE MC FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY, SO WE WERE ABLE TO SHORTEN IT TO UPPER PROVIDENCE MCPA.GOV.
UM, IT GETS RID OF THE DASH, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE CLEARER THAN U PROV MONKO.ORG.
UM, IT WILL BE OUR WEBSITE DOMAIN NAME.
IT WILL BE OUR EMAILS, BUT FOR THE NEXT YEAR, OR AT LEAST THE NEXT YEAR, WE WILL BE CARRYING OUR OTHER ONE FORWARD.
SO IF YOU SEND AN EMAIL TO G GRACE@UPROVMON.ORG, IT WILL STILL COME TO ME.
IF YOU SEND IT TO G GRACE@UPROVMCPA.GOV, I WILL GET THAT AS WELL.
SAME THING WITH YOUR BROWSERS.
IF YOU JUST TYPE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HOPEFULLY GET GOOGLE TO RECOGNIZE THIS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
WHAT THIS, WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO IS SEPARATE US FROM UPPER PROVIDENCE, DELAWARE COUNTY.
WE DO GET A LOT OF THAT STILL, AND WITH THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY, THE MC IN THERE, WE THINK IT'LL, IT'LL HELP OUT.
UM, OUR WEBSITE, IF I CAN PULL THIS UP, THE REFRESH IS GONNA LOOK LIKE THIS.
NOT A TON DIFFERENT, BUT IT REFRESHES UP THE COLORS.
IT, IT ORGANIZES A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BETTER CALENDARS AND IT WILL RUN A LITTLE BIT FASTER.
THIS'LL BE HAPPENING AT THE END OF THE WEEK.
UM, WE, IT WILL, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S A LITTLE, OUR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW IS A LITTLE, LITTLE FLUKY JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T READ SOME OF THE MENUS, BUT THAT'S JUST SORT OF THE TRANSITION PROCESS.
ONCE IT HAPPENS ON THE, ON THE 19TH, IT WILL, IT WILL, UM,
[00:05:01]
IT WILL ALL GET CLEANED UP AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.WHAT WE'VE ALSO DONE IS WE'VE CREATED A LAND DEVELOPMENT PAGE.
SO INSTEAD OF HAVING A SPECIAL PAGE FOR JUST ONE LAND DEVELOPMENT LIKE WE DO RIGHT NOW FOR PARKHOUSE, WE WILL HAVE A, WE HAVE ALL OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ON ONE PAGE.
UM, YOU CAN, UH, YOU CAN LOOK AT IT BY THE MAP.
SO IF YOU KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S CLOSE TO YOU, WHETHER THAT'S LIKE THE LARGE AREA THAT'S PARK HOUSE OR SOME OTHER LAND DEVELOPMENTS, AND IT WILL GUIDE YOU.
IT WILL SHOW YOU ALL THE LAND DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE UNDER REVIEW APPROVED PLANS, BUT NOT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND THE ONES THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
SO WHAT YOU CAN DO IS YOU CAN GO TO LIKE DISTRICT OF BLACKROCK, EVERYBODY'S SEEN BLACKROCK IN 29, THAT IT'S CURRENTLY IN OPEN FIELD RIGHT NOW.
AND IT WILL PULL UP THE PLAN OF THE DEVELOPMENT, THE LOCATION, THE APPLICANT, THE APPLICATION DATE, THE APPROVAL DATE, A QUICK SUMMARY.
AND THE MOST CURRENT DOCUMENTS.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE MAINTAINING THAT FOR EVERY LAND DEVELOPMENT.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE PUTTING TOGETHER AN ARCHIVE.
RIGHT NOW WE JUST HAVE WHITE SPRINGS FARM ON THERE.
THAT'S, UM, THAT'LL GET FILLED OUT AND PROBABLY MOVED TO ITS OWN PAGE 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT LIST AT SOME POINT.
UM, THE WEBSITE WILL ALSO HAVE DEPARTMENT HEADER PAGES, WHICH WE'LL GO TO PLANNING.
AND WHAT THAT WILL DO IS IT, IT'LL BE MORE, IT SIMILAR PAGE FROM THE LAYOUT, BUT IT WILL HAVE, UM, MORE PLANNING FOCUSED ITEMS, MORE FIRE FOCUSED ITEMS, UM, PARKS AND REC, PUBLIC WORKS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, WHAT THE DEPARTMENT HEADER PAGES DO IS THEY ARE, UM, EACH DEPARTMENT IS GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS OWN CONTENT.
UM, I THINK IT'S GOING TO, IT'LL GIVE US MORE REDUNDANCY.
SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THINGS LIKE CARS AND GUITARS, IT'LL GO AGAINST, IT ALREADY DOES, BUT IT GOES AROUND EVERYBODY'S PAGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'LL, IT'LL CLEAN UP THE MESSAGE AND IT'LL FOCUS THE MESSAGE FOR THE WHOLE THING.
UM, WE'LL ALSO HAVE THE SEALS UNDER, WE HAVE, EACH DEPARTMENT WILL HAVE ITS OWN SEAL.
PART OF WHEN WE WENT THROUGH A BRANDING EXERCISE AND DISCUSSION BEFORE WAS THE POLICE WANTED TO KEEP THEIR BADGE, FIRE WANTED TO KEEP THEIR BADGE UPPER, YOU KNOW, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WANTED TO KEEP THEIR BADGE.
THIS ALLOWS THEM TO STILL KEEP THEIR DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC LOGO, BUT PUTS IT, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, WITH OUR, IN, IN WITH THE OVERALL BRAND.
UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH THE DETAILS OF, OF THESE THINGS, BUT LIKE WITH THE LETTERHEAD, YOU CAN SEE HERE HOW THE LETTERHEAD IS NICE AND CLEAN.
UM, FAIRLY, IT'S GONNA BE EASY TO READ.
A LOT OF THIS WAS DRIVEN BY A DA, THE, THE WEBSITE TOWNSHIPS HAVE TO MEET A CERTAIN, A DA REQUIREMENT FOR THEIR WEBSITE COMING UP IN 2026 AND END OF 26, EARLY 27, SOMEWHERE IN THERE.
AND THEY, YOU KNOW, SO THAT STARTED TO DRIVE THE PROCESS.
AND, AND THAT'S WHERE OUR LOGO CAME IN AND THE DESIGN OF THE, OF THE LETTERHEAD AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT ALLOWS FOR THREE LOGOS WITHOUT CLUTTERING THEM, WITHOUT HAVING 17 DIFFERENT TYPES OF LETTERHEAD.
THIS, IF POLICE WANTS ONE, THEIR ONE BADGE ON THERE.
IF FIRE WANTS THREE, IT IT, IT WORKS OUT VERY CLEANLY.
UM, SAME THING WITH BUSINESS CARDS.
WE'RE STILL SORT OF DECIDING ON THE, ON THE FINAL LAYOUT, BUT WE THINK THAT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING WITH, WITH THE NAME, ALL OF THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION.
AND THEN THE TWO LOGOS WHERE YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC WORKS LOGO AT THE BOTTOM AND THE TOWNSHIP LOGO UP TOP.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER ONES WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE'VE KIND OF GOTTEN RID OF THOSE EMAIL SIGNATURES WILL ALL BE THE SAME.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR JUST A NICE CLEAN, SIMPLE CONSISTENCY.
AND THIS IS TIM'S FAVORITE SLIDE,
THEY CERTAINLY HAVE ACCESS TO THE BUILDING, BUT THEY'LL HAVE THEIR BADGE.
AND WE'RE WORKING ON BADGE REQUIREMENTS AND, AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.
UM, LET ME JUMP TO, UH, YOU'LL SEE AS WE MOVE FORWARD, YOU'LL SEE THE, THE POWERPOINTS CHANGED AND WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST TRYING TO MAKE THINGS NICE AND CONSISTENT.
FINALLY, THE, THE MEETING HALL SIGN, UM, IF YOU NOTICE THE SIGNS MISSING FROM HERE, WE DECIDED, WE WEREN'T SURE WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO WITH THE EXISTING, UM, LARGE LOGO THAT WE HAD.
BUT THEN AS WE WERE LOOKING AT IT, ONE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS GUYS WAS LOOKING TO SEE IF, IF YOU COULD TAKE IT OUT OR WHAT YOU COULD DO, HE NOTICED IT WAS BEING HELD ON BY TWO SCREWS.
I MEAN, IT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT THING, BUT IT, SO IT WAS EXTREMELY HEAVY AND ON BY A MERE THREAD.
UM, YOU GOTTA GIVE HIM A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED PERCENT CREDIT TOO.
THAT WALL LOOKS LIKE IT WAS NEVER USED TOO.
I MEAN, UM, SO IT'S DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BASEMENT.
WE STILL HAVE IT, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD WITH.
SO WE'RE STILL DISCUSSING IDEAS ON HOW TO PUT UP SOME SIGNAGE ON THAT WALL AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
[00:10:01]
WE'RE LOOKING INTO THAT.AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS REALLY IS, UM, WAS A EXTREMELY COST EFFECTIVE PROCESS FOR US.
WE LOOKED AT BRANDING AND GOING THROUGH A REBRANDING PROCESS.
IT WAS GONNA BE SOMEWHERE AROUND $200,000 TO REDO CARS.
AND, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING CARS AND BADGES AND EVERYTHING AROUND HERE.
WE'VE MANAGED TO DO THIS FOR JUST SOME STAFF TIME FOR SUE, CHERYL AND MYSELF.
AND, UM, WHILE THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER EXPENSES LIKE THE SIGN REPRINTING BUSINESS CARDS, WE FIGURED THAT'S STILL GONNA COME IN WELL UNDER $10,000.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S INSIGNIFICANT REALLY COMPARED TO WHAT WE DID.
AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST TO PROVIDE A NICE, CLEAN, SIMPLE LOOK.
WE'VE SEEN SOME OTHER LOGOS COME OUT.
MONTGOMERY CAME OUT, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CAME OUT WITH ONE, AND IT WAS A LOT OF MONEY FOR A LOGO THAT NOBODY SEEMS TO LIKE, AND WE DIDN'T REALLY WANNA GO DOWN THAT DIRECTION.
SO, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL SEE THE CHANGES ON THE WEBSITE.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE SEAMLESS, BUT IT SHOULD BE FAIRLY SIMPLE IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU JEFF AND CHERYL AND SUE FOR HANDLING THIS.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE, UH, TESSA ROBINSON FROM THE VALLEY FORGE AND TOURISM AND CONVENTION BOARD TO GIVE A PRE A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THE AMERICA TWO 50 EFFORTS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US.
I'M HERE TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ORGANIZATION AS WELL AS SOME OF WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR TWO 50 COMING UP VERY SHORTLY.
UM, I KNOW YOU'VE A PACKED AGENDA, SO WE'LL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT.
SO, JUST AGAIN, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE, WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO.
WE ARE THE SALES AND MARKETING ORGANIZATION FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
WE PROMOTE THE COUNTY AS A DESTINATION FOR SPORTING EVENTS, MEETINGS, CONVENTIONS, AND LEISURE TRAVEL.
UM, WE'RE A PRIVATE NONPROFIT, 5 0 1 C.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE ARE NONPROFIT, BUT WE'RE NOT GOVERNMENT AFFILIATED.
WE'RE ACTUALLY FUNDED BY A 4% HOTEL TAX.
SO FOR EVERY HOTEL ROOM WE SELL OR WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BOOK, WE THEN GET 4% OF THAT BACK AND THEN WE POUR IT BACK INTO THE COUNTY.
SO IT'S VERY CYCLICAL IN NATURE, UM, TO PROMOTE TOURISM AND PROMOTE, PROMOTE OVERNIGHT STAYS IN THE COUNTY.
UM, OUR, THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION WE GET IS WHY WE CALL OURSELVES VALLEY FORGE TOURISM IF WE PROMOTE ALL OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
AND THE ANSWER TO THAT IS THERE'S ACTUALLY 18 MONTGOMERY COUNTIES THAT CROSS THE UNITED STATES.
SO WE DO HAVE A SALES TEAM THAT GOES BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY TO MARKET MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
AND WE FOUND THAT THE VALLEY FORGE NAME JUST HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE RECOGNITION 'CAUSE OF THE HISTORY AND THE NATIONAL PARK THAT'S THERE.
UM, SO PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO PLACE US OUTSIDE OF PHILADELPHIA VERSUS THAT MONTGOMERY COUNTY COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
UM, WE DO SAY WE DO OUR BEST TO PROMOTE THE ENTIRE COUNTY.
WE DON'T JUST PROMOTE VALLEY FORGE OR THE KING OF
SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING WITH ALL OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE UP THERE OUR VISION AND OUR MISSION, A MUST EXPERIENCE DESTINATION ROOTED IN THE PAST, IN LEADING THE FUTURE.
AND OUR MISSION IS TO INSPIRE THE WORLD TO FALL IN LOVE WITH MONTGOMERY COUNTY PA.
AND THEN THIS IS A STAT THAT I ALWAYS LIKE TO GO OVER JUST 'CAUSE IT SHOWS HOW IMPORTANT TOURISM IS TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR INDUSTRY.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A $2.5 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT EVERY YEAR FROM TOURISM.
AND THAT TOURISM GENERATES ABOUT 40,000 JOBS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
SO IT DOES AFFECT OUR COMMUNITY, OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE.
UM, IT WOULD EXIST WITHOUT US, BUT IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HELP BOLSTER THAT INDUSTRY AND HELP, UH, INCREASE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT EVEN MORE.
SO, UM, OUR TEAM IS SPLIT KIND OF INTO TWO SEPARATE, UH, TEAMS, MARKETING AND SALES.
FOR OUR MARKETING SIDE, WE HAVE A LOT OF IN-HOUSE CAPABILITIES THAT ALL OF OUR MEMBERS AND PARTNERS AND BUSINESSES HAVE ACCESS TO.
UM, WE WORK HEAVILY IN PR WITH, WITH LOCAL JOURNALISTS IN THE LOCAL NEWS STATIONS.
WE HAVE, UH, MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS ACROSS PLATFORMS, AN ENTIRE DIGITAL MARKETING TEAM, UM, A CO-OP PROGRAM THAT GIVES OUR MEMBERS, UM, SPECIAL DEALS AND RATES FOR ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES.
WE HAVE AN IN-HOUSE CREATIVE TEAM, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS, AND THEN MONTY, OUR MASCOT, WHO IS A BIG FURRY FOX.
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN HIM, YOU WOULD REMEMBER HIM.
HE HELPS US PROMOTE MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN A LOT OF OUR EVENTS MEMBERSHIP.
WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD TO BE A MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION.
WE HAVE OVER 550 MEMBERS, UM, THAT ARE, UM, ON A YEARLY BASIS, WORK WITH OUR TEAM.
THEY HAVE FULL ACCESS TO OUR, UM, OUR TEAM AND OUR CAPABILITIES AS WELL AS EACH OTHER.
UM, ONE OF OUR MOST VALUED PARTNERS IS THE EXCO CENTER.
UM, WE WORK WITH THEM VERY HEAVILY TO BRING IN A LOT OF SHOWS.
UM, WHETHER THAT BE THE, UH, LUCIA THAT JUST WRAPPED UP AT THE FAIRGROUNDS, THE NATIONAL DOG SHOW EVERY YEAR, THE DREAM ASIA FOOD FEST THAT WAS HERE LAST YEAR AND IS COMING BACK.
THOSE ARE GREAT FAMILY FRIENDLY OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.
THEY ALSO BRING IN A LOT OF NICHE SHOWS THAT, YOU KNOW, MIGHT SPEAK TO CERTAIN PEOPLE'S INTERESTS AND, UM, ARE USUALLY ALMOST ALWAYS FAMILY FRIENDLY.
THAT ALSO POURS OVER INTO THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE, UM, THE, THE TOWNSHIP.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY THAT ECONOMIC IMPACT
[00:15:01]
IS SEEN IN BUSINESSES AND HOTELS.WE HAVE THREE DIGITAL AND PRINT PUBLICATIONS THAT WE WORK ON EVERY YEAR.
UM, OUR VISITORS GUIDE, OUR CRAVE MONTCO GUIDE AND OUR ARTS GUIDE.
ALL OF OUR MEMBERS ARE AUTOMATICALLY LISTED IN THESE.
IT'S ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BEING A MEMBER.
AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT HIGH TRAFFIC LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTY.
THEY'RE ALSO AVAILABLE DIGITALLY ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND, UM, YOU CAN REQUEST PHYSICAL COPIES OF THOSE AS WELL.
AND THEN THERE'S ADDITIONAL ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES IN EACH PUBLICATION.
OUR WEBSITE, WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD OF OUR WEBSITE.
WE REBRANDED LAST YEAR, UM, AHEAD OF AMERICAN TWO 50.
WE KNEW WE WOULD SEE A LOT OF VISITORS TO OUR WEBSITE.
WE'VE SEEN ACTUALLY OVER 3 MILLION VIEWS, UM, OR VISITS TO OUR WEBSITE SO FAR THIS YEAR, WHICH IS SURPASSED LAST YEAR'S TOTAL.
JUST SPEAKS TO HOW MUCH INTEREST THERE IS IN THIS AREA AND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, UM, DURING THIS ICONIC YEAR.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT 17,000 SUBSCRIBERS, UM, FOR OUR E-NEWSLETTER THAT GOES OUT ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
AND THAT FEATURES MEMBERS, EVENTS AND GOINGS ON IN THE COUNTY AS WELL.
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS, UM, WE'RE PRIMARILY ON THREE.
FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND TIKTOK.
WE HAVE 300,000 FOLLOWERS ACROSS THOSE PLATFORMS. WE ACTUALLY HAVE SEEN ABOUT 40 MILLION VIDEO VIEWS YET SO FAR THIS YEAR, WHICH AGAIN, JUST SPEAKS TO THE INTEREST IN THIS AREA.
UM, THE VIDEO ON THE RIGHT FEATURES, UH, BIG LAKERS FARM, UH, IN MEETING.
THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE SOCIAL CONTENT THAT WE LIKE TO POST AND SHOW OFF.
UM, THE THINGS THAT ARE THERE ARE TO DO IN THE ACADEMY THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.
SO THIS IS ACTUALLY IN COLLABORATION WITH ONE, ONE OF OUR VIDEO PARTNERS, UM, THAT WE WORK WITH VERY CLOSELY FOR SOME QUICK SOCIAL CLIPS AND CONTENT.
AND THEN REAL QUICK, JUST AN OVERVIEW OF OUR ANNUAL EVENTS.
WE JUST WRAPPED UP OUR 20TH ANNUAL REVOLUTIONARY RUN.
WE GAVE BACK A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE NATIONAL PARK, WHICH WE'RE VERY PROUD OF.
THAT GOES TOWARDS VISITOR EXPERIENCE, TROLL LEAVES, WAY FINDING WATER STATIONS, THAT TYPE OF THING.
WE ALSO JUST WRAPPED UP OUR, UM, TRAVEL RALLY AND MONTCO GOLF CLASSIC.
THAT'S BASICALLY A BIG CELEBRATION OF TOURISM WE GO OVER, UM, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT AND SOME OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON THIS YEAR.
AND THEN WE GOLF ALL DAY AS WELL.
UM, OUR MOCK MEETUPS HAPPEN QUARTERLY ACROSS THE COUNTY.
WE TRY TO SWITCH UP THE LOCATIONS SO THAT MEMBERS AND PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS ALWAYS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO STOP IN.
WE, OUR TEAM, SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, WE HOST SOME EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS AND THEN MOST IMPORTANTLY, NETWORK WITH EACH OTHER.
UM, OUR ANNUAL LUNCHEON, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, SORRY, IS AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO WE WRAP UP THE YEAR AND THEN TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
MOCK JAZZ FEST, I HAVE TO PUT THIS IN HERE AS A PLUG.
WE'RE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING THIS CONCEPT.
UM, THIS YEAR WILL BE IN SEPTEMBER.
IT'S OUR FIFTH ANNUAL MON JAZZ FEST.
AND, UM, WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR PARTNERS AND VENUES THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HOSTING LIVE MUSIC OR JAZZ MUSICIANS.
SO, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY BUSINESSES OR VENUES THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE A PERFECT FIT, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
THIS IS JUST FOR A KICKOFF LAST YEAR.
IT'S A WAY OF CELEBRATING, UM, ARTS AND MOCO AND SOME OF OUR ARTS VENUES.
AND THEN BEFORE WE GET INTO AMERICAN TWO 50 UPDATES, WE HAVE TO DO A FREEDOM FROM HUNGER PLUG.
THIS IS OUR, UM, WE DO A FALL DRIVE.
WE START OFF BY TAKING OVER A SOUP KITCHEN.
UM, THIS IS A, WE JUST RAISE MONEY FOR MONTCO ANTI-HUNGER NETWORK, WHICH, UM, SERVICES ABOUT 70 PLUS SOUP KITCHENS AND FOOD PANTRIES ACROSS MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
SO THEY WORK TO FEED THE FOOD INSECURE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND EVERY YEAR WE RAISE, UM, MONEY TO GIVE BACK TO THAT ORGANIZATION.
LAST YEAR WE ACTUALLY REACHED OVER $75,000, AND THIS YEAR OUR GOAL IS 250,000 POUNDS OF FOOD, UM, TO GIVE BACK TO THOSE SOUP KITCHENS.
AND THEN TO GET INTO AMERICA TWO 50.
UM, I'LL JUST SHOW THIS COMMERCIAL THIS, UM, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
IT'S RUNNING THROUGH JULY 4TH ON A LOT OF MAJOR NETWORKS.
YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE, UM, BUT IT'S JUST, UH, TOUTING ALL OF OUR, HIS HISTORY AND HISTORIC LOCATIONS HERE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
AMERICA BEGAN THE SPARK, AND IN VALLEY FORGE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, A RETREAT REIGNITED A REVOLUTION.
THE HISTORY THAT WAS MADE HERE STILL SHAPES OUR LANDSCAPE WITH STORIES WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED, THESE SACRED HALLS AND HALLOWED GROUNDS ARE ALIVE WITH THE MEMORY OF WORLD CHANGING EVENTS.
ECHOING FORWARD FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO HEAR AN OPPORTUNITY TO TURN BACK THE CLOCK AND WITNESS HISTORY MARCH OFF THE PAGE AND INTO OUR IMAGINATIONS ON OUR COUNTRY'S MOMENTOUS 250TH ANNIVERSARY.
IT'S TIME TO RECONNECT, TO REMEMBER, AND TO REIGNITE OUR OWN SPARK ON A RETREAT UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN VALLEY FORGE AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY, WE HONOR OUR PAST.
WE CELEBRATE THE PRESENT AND BUILD THE FUTURE TOGETHER.
[00:20:02]
SO YOU CAN SEE OUR SLOGAN FOR THE YEAR, UH, RETREAT TO VALLEY FORGE THERE.THAT'S WHAT ALL OF OUR MARKETING IS KIND OF FOCUSED ON AS WE'RE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO RETREAT TO VALLEY FORGE, KIND OF LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON DID.
UM, AND IF THEY'RE HERE IN THE CITY FOR SOME OF THOSE MAJOR EVENTS, COME SEE THE, UM, KIND OF THE OPEN SPACE AND THE FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE OUT IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY AS WELL.
UM, THIS IS ANOTHER INITIATIVE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON FOR THE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND.
WE CALLED IT THE HOUSES OF DECLARATION.
UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS DURING, YOU KNOW, THAT A TWO 50 CELEBRATION AND THE PARKS 50TH CELEBRATION.
WE ALSO WILL BE DOING LIVE READINGS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ALL ACROSS MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
SO, SO FAR WE HAVE OVER 20 PARTICIPATING VENUES AND LOCATIONS.
UM, AND AGAIN, THAT'S EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTY.
UM, IT'LL BE EVERYTHING FROM THE HAT WITH THE SCROLL.
SOMEBODY WILL COME IN AND A LOT OF THEM ARE HAPPENING UP, HAPPENING AT EVENTS 4TH OF JULY PARADES THAT ARE ALREADY EXISTING, UM, WHERE THERE'LL JUST BE A BRIEF READING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
AND THAT WAS KIND OF INSPIRED BY HOW PEOPLE WOULD'VE HEARD THE DECLARATION BACK IN 1776.
YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE EMAIL OR SOCIAL, SO, SO SOMEBODY WOULD'VE COME IN ON HORSE AND READ IT, AND THAT'S HOW YOU WOULD'VE HEARD IT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE GOING FOR.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AND WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF TRACTION SO FAR.
AND THEN I KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS, OUR, UM, SLOGAN THIS YEAR IS RETREAT TO VALLEY FORGE.
WE ACTUALLY ARE WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL PARK ON THAT.
UM, A PLAYOFF OF WHAT GEORGE WASHINGTON DID WITH HIS TROOPS.
UM, THE PARK IS CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THEM BEING A NATIONAL PARK.
UM, THEY'RE THE ONLY NATIONAL PARK THAT SHARES A BIRTHDAY WITH OUR COUNTRY, WHICH IS PRETTY COOL.
SO ON THE 4TH OF JULY, THEY'LL BE, UM, DOING ALL KINDS OF PROGRAMMING AND CELEBRATIONS OVER AT THE PARK FOR BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, THAT'S THE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND.
THE THIRD THROUGH THE FIFTH, THEY'LL HAVE REENACTMENTS, PROGRAMMING, EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS, MUSKET FIRES, EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE.
THEY'RE EXPECTING A LOT OF PEOPLE.
AND THEN THEY'RE GEARING UP FOR 2027 AND 2028, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THEIR ANNIVERSARY.
UH, 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENCAMPMENT.
ANOTHER INITIATIVE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON FOR AMERICA TWO 50 IS CALLED THE PENNSYLVANIA HIGHWAY OF HEROES.
THIS IS SIX, UM, LANDMARKS ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA THAT, UM, THEY KIND OF GROUP TOGETHER.
THEY'RE ENCOURAGING TOURISTS TO GO AND VISIT ALL SIX LOCATIONS.
AND THEN IF YOU DO AND YOU CHECK IN, YOU GET THAT COMMEMORATIVE SET OF COINS ON THE LEFT THERE.
SO THE BOTTOM RIGHT COIN IS, UM, THE NATIONAL ARCH AD AT VALLEY FORGE NATIONAL PARK.
SO WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS.
UM, THIS IS RUNNING FROM MARCH TO MARCH OF NEXT YEAR.
AND AGAIN, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF INTEREST AND A LOT OF TRACTION.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ALREADY, UM, TRAVELING TO GET THEIR COMMEMORATIVE POINTS SET.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE READ.
UM, THIS IS OUR CALENDAR OF EVENTS THAT'S HAPPENING ALL THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR.
SO IT'S JUST TO SHOW HOW MUCH IS REALLY HAPPENING IN THE PHILADELPHIA REGION, UM, WHETHER THAT BE IN PHILLY, IN OUR OWN COUNTY OR SOME OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES.
AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS IS TO SAY THAT FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE EVENTS, WHETHER IT'S A NATIONAL MARCH MADNESS, UM, PGA AND WILL BE ALL STAR GAME, OR SOME OF THE SMALLER ONES, WE ARE WORKING TO BRING PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THIS REGION FOR SOME OF THESE EVENTS INTO OUR COUNTY TO VISIT OUR HOTELS, OUR TRAILS, OUR OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, UM, SOME OF OUR FAMILY FRIENDLY THINGS TO DO AND VISIT EVERY CORNER OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY WHILE THEY'RE HERE IN THE REGION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO PUT YOU IN CONTACT WITH MY TEAM OR AGAIN, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
YOU LINK THE SLIDES TO OUR WEBSITE JUST SO PEOPLE LOOK THEM.
[MOTION TO APPROVE BOARD AGENDA]
THANK YOU.SO NEXT ON THE AGENDA, UM, IS THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JUNE 15TH, 2026 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS REGULAR MEETING AGENDA.
[PUBLIC COMMENT]
UP, WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT.I FOR THE, UM, HEARING ZACH AND CORRECT IF ANYONE'S HERE FOR THE TWO HEARINGS, THAT THEY COULD SAVE THE COMMENT BEFORE THOSE HEARINGS.
THERE WILL BE PUBLIC COMMENT DURING EACH OF THE HEARINGS.
SO ANYONE HERE FOR COMMENT RELATED TO THE VERIZON CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL OR THE ZONING AMENDMENT FOR DATA CENTER? UM, YOU CAN SAVE YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THAT.
BUT ANYONE ELSE WHO'S WANTING TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE COME UP AND GIVE YOUR NAME.
WE HAVE PACKED AGENDA THAT, THANK YOU.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE, UH, HOPWOOD, UH, BETHEL FARM, HOA BOARD, JUST HERE TO REINSTATE THE OPPOSITION FOR THE ROAD THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS.
WE HAVE 50 SIGNATURES ON THE PETITION AND JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S TOP OF MIND.
AND, UH, JUST ANY QUESTIONS, ANY COMMENTS.
IF YOU GUYS HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
[00:25:13]
I, KEVIN WRIGHT, LIVING OLD STATE ROAD.UH, BEEN UP IN PROVINCE RESIDENCE FOR 67 YEARS, BUT I'M ONLY 39.
UM, I CAME HERE TONIGHT, CUR CURIOSITY.
THAT'S PROBABLY, I THINK IT'S A GOOD TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE ROAD.
UM, THERE IS AT LEAST AN ACCIDENT A QUARTER ON THAT BEND.
A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, A CAR WENT THROUGH THAT BEND, FLIPPED OVER ON ITS ROOF, TOOK ROOF, TOOK OUT A FENCE, A TREE.
AND MY NEIGHBORS, I CHECK THIS WITH HIM TODAY, IF YOU WANT TO SEE, MIGHT HAVE IT.
UM, HIS KIDS HAD JUST COME INSIDE LIKE FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THIS CAR CAME 40 FEET INTO THEIR LAWN.
UM, WE PUT UP BIG ARROWS, SLOW SIGNS, THE SPEED LIMIT, 25.
UM, THERE'S AN ACCIDENT A QUARTER THERE.
UH, THE OTHER OTHER THING THAT WE, WE NEED TO NOTE IS I WENT TO SPRING FOR, RIGHT, I GRADUATED 214 PEOPLE, THERE'S NOW 700 PEOPLE, ALMOST 700 PEOPLE IN A CLASS.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF NEW ROADS.
IT'S GONNA BE 700 TEENAGERS DRIVING AROUND EVERY YEAR, ADDING 700 TEENAGERS.
THAT ROAD HAS BEEN MAPPED OUT.
EVERYBODY'S BOUGHT A HOUSE IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, KNOWS THAT THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A ROAD THROUGH THERE.
UH, DAVE EVANS EVEN PLANTED TREES, THE, THE ROOT OF THE ROAD.
UM, SO IT'S, I GUESS IT COMES DOWN TO EQUATE CASE OF SAFETY AND THE GREATER GOOD VERSUS PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T READ THEIR DEED OR INFORMATION WHEN THEY MOVED INTO THE HOUSE.
WE DON'T HAVE AN HOA UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN THE HOUSE FOR THREE, FIVE YEARS, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY PETITIONS OR ANYTHING.
NO ONE'S HERE FOR ANY OF THE OTHER AGENDA TOPICS.
LOVE'S LANE OR TRAILS OR ANYTHING, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T COME UP NOW, THERE'S NO PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THAT.
ONLY, ONLY THE ZONING CHAIN AMENDMENT, ORDINANCE, VERIZON, DID YOU SAY TRAIL? ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S ON THE AGENDA? COME AND SPEAK NOW BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, MY NAME IS DOUG WATSON HEISER.
I'M THE, UH, UH, PRESIDENT OF THE HOA BOARD FOR REGENCY AT PROVIDENCE, WHICH IS A 55 AND OVER COMMUNITY LOCATED, UH, FOUR PHASES.
ONE'S LOCATED IN BLACKROCK ROAD BETWEEN HOLLOW ROAD AND LONGFORD ROAD.
AND, UM, THE OTHER THREE PHASES ARE DOWN BELOW ON EGYPT ROAD, BETWEEN HOLLOW AND LONGFORD.
UH, WE HAVE 335 HOMES THERE, OVER 600 RESIDENTS.
AND WE'RE VERY CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE, UH, TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE.
UH, THE EARLIER VERSIONS OF THE TRAIL PLANT SHOWED A PROPOSED CONNECTOR THAT'S GONNA RUN THROUGH BOTH ALL PHASES OF OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS A PRIVATE COMMUNITY.
OUR ROADS ARE PRIVATE, OUR SIDEWALKS ARE PRIVATE, AND OUR TRAILS ARE PRIVATE.
SO OBVIOUSLY THAT'S OF GRAVE CONCERN TO US.
AND, UH, UH, ESSENTIALLY WE, OUR MAIN CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS THAT THE, UH, CURRENT UPDATE, WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANY INDICATION OF THE CONNECTORS, BUT, UH, WE FEEL THAT THAT'S PROBABLY LOOMING OUT THERE SOMEWHERE AND WE'RE GONNA BE FOLLOWING IT CLOSELY.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S KIND OF THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
IF THE TOWNSHIP IS GOING TO PROPOSE A CONNECTOR TRAIL THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY, UH, COULD THEY DO THAT BY WAY OF EMINENT DOMAIN? IF WE OBJECT, UH, TO THAT PROPOSAL? IS THERE COULD EMINENT DOMAIN BE IN PLAY HERE FOR, UH, A TRAIL THROUGH A PRIVATE COMMUNITY? AND ZACH, IF YOU WANNA RESPOND REALLY FAST, UM, SURE.
I MEAN, I, I I THINK THAT THE TOWNSHIP HAS THE AUTHORITY OF HAVING ANY DOMAIN AT ALL TIMES RELATED TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.
UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT AT THIS POINT THERE'S BEEN ANY DISCUSSION OR
[00:30:01]
EVEN INDICATION THAT ENT DOMAIN IS SOMETHING THAT THE TOWNSHIP USE.SO YES, IT'S ALWAYS AN OPTION ON THE TABLE, UM, UNLESS IT'S KNOWN BY THE COMMONWEALTH OR IN SPECIFIC OTHER DISCREET SITUATIONS.
BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT'S ANY IS THAT TYPICAL TO USE EMINENT DOMAIN FOR SOMETHING LIKE A TRAIL? I, I THINK WE JUST WANT TO CUT IT OFF.
WE HAVE A REALLY PACKED AGENDA.
SO TIM IS GONNA GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE TRAIL WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR ANY TRAIL BUILDING AT THIS POINT.
AND IT'S ALL LIKE WAY UP HERE, LIKE THOUGHT.
BUT TIM WILL GIVE AN UPDATE ON IT AND HOPEFULLY, YEAH, THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO WORK FROM NOW ARE OLDER PLANS THAT SHOW.
AND THOSE ARE NOT WHAT WE'RE GOING OFF OF RIGHT NOW.
SO, TIM, SO THOSE ARE OFF THE TABLE.
I, YEAH, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR TIM SO HE CAN GIVE AN UPDATE, BUT WE WILL, WE HAVE IT LATER ON IN THE AGENDA.
BUT, BUT WE WILL BE FOLLOWING A CLOSELY AND I APPRECIATE IT.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, WE UNDERSTAND THERE'S A MEETING IN JULY, SO WE'LL BE THERE.
AND TIM, WE'LL GET OUT TO YOU LATER AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL ALSO HELP YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
DO I HAVE TO PRESS ANYTHING? NO, JUST YOUR NAME.
I LIVE IN THE PRO PROVIDENCE RIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, WE'RE INTERESTED, I THINK, I DON'T SPEAK FOR EVERYONE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT WE ARE INTERESTED TO HEAR ABOUT THE MAINLINE HOSPITAL.
WE DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS, UM, ESPECIALLY ABOUT A POTENTIAL ROAD COMING OUT ON MENNONITE THAT THE DRIVERS ARE ALREADY DRIVING LIKE WAY TOO FAST.
I THINK A BUNCH OF US HAVE HAD CLOSE CALLS WITH OUR CHILDREN.
UM, SO WE ARE VERY NERVOUS, UM, AND HOPING THAT THIS PROPOSAL ISN'T THAT FAR ALONG SO WE CAN AT LEAST LIKE LEARN AS WE GO.
IS IS THAT THE CASE? IT'S NOT FAR ALONG.
MY NAME IS, UH, PAUL, UH, BARTON.
I, UH, LIVE ON, UH, SPARES LANE.
UH, I ONLY MOVED TO, UH, UM, A APARTMENT OF TOWNSHIP A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, BUT ME AND MY WIFE KNEW THE PREVIOUS HOMEOWNER FOR LIKE 20 YEARS.
SO WE'RE CONCERNED WITH THE LOVER'S LANE.
UM, POSSIBLE BLASTING THAT'S GONNA GO ON.
UH, WE'RE CONCERNED, WELL, THE PA, THE PA DEPARTMENT OF, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, THEY SEEM TO BE PRETTY CONFIDENT THEIR REGULATIONS WILL PREVENT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
OUR HOUSE IS ABOUT 700 FEET AWAY FROM WHERE THE BLASTING WILL HAPPEN, BUT, UM, THERE'S ANOTHER CONCERN THAT THERE'S A, AN AQUIFER THERE.
I KNOW SOME OF THE OTHER RESIDENTS, UH, HAVE WELLS AND UH, UH, SEPTIC TANKS THAT COULD BE AFFECTED, LIKE THE ENTIRE GROUNDWATER SYSTEM COULD BE AFFECTED.
SO LIKE THE QUESTION IS, WHO'S DOING THE RESEARCH TO DETERMINE IF THE BLASTING WILL IMPACT THAT IN ANY WAY? IS THE CONTRACTOR DOING THE RESEARCH OR THEY JUST ON THEIR HONOR? NOW, UH, I KNOW IN SOME CASES, ACCORDING TO THIS LIKE FACT SHEET PUT OUT BY THE STATE, UM, THERE, I MEAN THERE ARE REGULATIONS FOR GROUND VIBRATION AND AIR BLAST AND THE SEISMOGRAPH MONITORING IS NECESSARY TO PROPERLY ASSESS AIR BLASTS AND GROUND VIBRATION.
UM, UH, WHEN BLASTING IS CONDUCTED IN THE VICINITY OF HOMES OR OTHER STRUCTURES, SEISMOGRAPH MONITORING IS REQUIRED.
AND I'VE EVEN HEARD THAT THEY WILL PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL, LIKE THE THIRD PARTY WILL PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL HOMES WITH SEISMOGRAPHS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, UH, REGULATED LEVELS ARE NOT BEING EXCEEDED.
BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING IF, UH, IF THERE, IF THE TOWNSHIP PLANS ON, UM, RESEARCHING OR IN ANY WAY DOING SOME KIND OF INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER THE AQUIFER COULD BE DAMAGED OR IF THAT'S COMPLETELY ON THE STATE, ON THE STATE DEP.
AND IF WE CAN GO TO THEM, IF THERE TURNS OUT TO BE A PROBLEM LATER, LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GET LIKE INSPECTIONS BEFORE THE BLASTING, AFTER THE BLASTING TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, BUT THE AQUIFER PROBLEM COULD RESULT IN LIKE, SORT OF LONG TERM SLOW, SLOWER MANIFESTING EFFECTS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THE, IF THERE'S ANY, UM, UH, IF THERE'S ANY, IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY PLANS OR OF DOING ANY KIND OF, UH, INVESTIGATION OR HOLDING THE, UH, HOLDING THE DEVELOPERS ACCOUNTABLE IN SOME WAY OR WHOEVER'S DOING THE BLASTING.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE STATE, UH, REGULATES ALL BLASTING AND, UH, YOU SAID THE DEPARTMENT DDP, IS THAT WHO IT IS? YEAH, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STATE.
WE ARE PRECLUDED FROM DOING ANYTHING IN THE TOWNSHIP FAR AS TO GO TO IS THE STATE REGULATION.
I WOULD RECOMMEND THOUGH THAT ANYBODY THAT LIVES IN THAT AREA, IF YOU ARE CONCERNED, I WOULD TAKE YOUR CELL PHONE AND DOCUMENT WITH A DATE ON THE PHOTOGRAPH, YOUR, UH, FOUNDATION WALLS JUST TO MAKE SURE.
AND, UH, SO YOU HAVE THAT EVIDENCE OF WHAT THE STATE OF YOUR, YOUR FOUNDATION WAS PRIOR TO THE BLASTING AND IF THERE'S A PROBLEM AFTERWARDS.
AS FAR AS IT AS LIKE THE, THE PROCESS GOES, IS IT LIKE
[00:35:01]
IF IT GETS APPROVED AT THE, UH, THE, UH, UPPER GOVERNANCE, UH, TOWNSHIP LEVEL, THEN DOES THE STATE STILL HAVE TO APPROVE IT? OR IF YOU GUYS APPROVE IT, DOES THAT MEAN IT JUST, IT'S GOING THROUGH? NO, THE STATE HAS, WILL CONTROL THE BLASTING.WE, WE, THAT ISN'T EVEN FACTOR IN FOR US.
IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THE LAST THREE HOMES THAT WERE BUILT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THE FOUNDATIONS WERE HAD TO BE PLASTIC TO BE PUT IN AND THERE WAS NO ISSUE.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I UNDERSTAND.
EVENING, UH, THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME.
MY PROPERTY LITERALLY BACKS UP TO WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO PUT THE CONSTRUCTION ON LOVER'S LANE.
I HAVE A LONG LIST OF CONCERNS STARTING WITH THE STORMWATER RUNOFF.
WE ALREADY HAVE PROBLEMS WITH FLOODING.
IF YOU PUT 11 5,000 SQUARE FOOT HOUSES AND A ROAD AND A RETENTION SYSTEM THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH THAT RETENTION POND.
I HAVE, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT WHERE THE OVERFLOW WILL GO.
I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF IT BEING THAT IT'S GOING TO HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF DIRT AND OTHER THINGS, AND THEN PLANTS.
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS ONCE SPLINTER HITS, THE GROUND'S NOT PERMEABLE ANYMORE.
ONCE ALL THE SALT IN THE OIL AND THE OTHER CHEMICALS COME IN, THAT OF COURSE WILL KILL ANY VEGETATION.
SO AGAIN, THAT'LL BE ANOTHER REASON WHERE IT WON'T WORK PROPERLY.
I HAVE CONCERNS THAT WITH THE RETENTION WALL THAT'S GOING TO BE TO FEET HIGH AND OTHER CATASTROPHIC THINGS THAT MAY GO ON WITH THE RETENTION POND NOT BEING, UH, NOT HOLDING UP.
IF THE HOA THAT EVENTUALLY THOSE HOMEOWNERS THAT BUY THAT HOUSE, IF THEY WILL BE IN A POSITION WHETHER HOA, UH, WILL BE SOLVENTS ENOUGH TO CARRY CATASTROPHIC, UH, FAILURE OF THAT.
I ALSO HAVE MAJOR, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT THE BLASTING, UH, WITH WELLS, WITH SEPTIC TANKS, WITH HOUSES THAT ARE A HUNDRED YEARS OLD OR BETTER, UH, WITH THE, UM, POWER LINES THAT RUN THROUGH, UH, THE POWER LINES.
THERE ARE TWO SETS OF POWER LINES THAT RUN THROUGH THE BACK OF THE, THE PROPERTY WHERE I LIVE, EVEN ABOUT 25 FEET OF WHERE THEY'D LIKE TO BLAST.
THEY ARE THE GIANT TOWERS THAT YOU SEE ACROSS FROM 29TH AND THEN A SMALLER SET THAT ARE NOT OURS.
THEY'RE ALSO FIVE TENSION LINES.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THE BLASTING WILL DO TO THEM.
UH, HAS ANYBODY CONTACTED PICO AS FAR AS THEIR REGULATIONS AND THEIR FEELINGS ON WHETHER THAT IS APPROPRIATE TO BE DYNAMITE IN THAT CLOSE TO THEIR TALL TOWERS ALSO? UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A REQUEST.
MY, UM, LANDLORD HAD GIVEN JEFF, UH, A COPY OF SOME THINGS THAT HE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE MINUTES.
AND IF THEY'RE NOT ADDED TO THE MINUTES, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE COPIES, I WOULD LIKE THAT TO BE READ.
SO THAT IS ACTUALLY IN THE MINUTES OF THIS MEETING, PLEASE, YOU HAVE A COPY OF THIS IN FRONT OF YOU.
WE CAN ADD SOME MINUTES, I GUESS, SIR, HOW DOES THAT WORK, ZACH? WHAT DO YOU THINK? I MEAN, JUST ADD IT AS PART OF THE MINUTES.
WE'LL JUST INCLUDE IT AS PART OF THE MINUTES.
YES, I WOULD VERY MUCH FOR THAT TO BE INCLUDED.
UNFORTUNATELY, HE'S OUT OF TOWN BUSINESS AND CANNOT BE HERE.
UM, MY PROPERTY IS DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE LOVER'S LANE PROJECT.
UM, I'M STANDING HERE TONIGHT TO, UH, URGE TO VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT.
I KNOW THAT, UM, AS PART OF GROWTH, RIGHT? BUT RESPONSIBLE GROWTH, UM, REQUIRES US TO LOOK
[00:40:01]
PAST THESE SHORT-TERM PROFITS AND HONESTLY EVALUATE LONG-TERM LIABILITIES.UM, THIS SPECIFIC TRACT OF LAND IS, UH, IS NOT A BLANK CANVAS.
IT IS A, IS A VERY DENSE, COMPLEX, FRAGILE ECOSYSTEM, UM, THAT WILL REQUIRE BLASTING, THAT WILL REQUIRE RAISING TREES THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR GENERATIONS.
UH, JUST RECENTLY THIS TOWNSHIP UPDATED ITS, UM, ITS STEEP SLOPES REGULATION, AND I BELIEVE IT WAS WITH SPECIFICS TO THIS PROJECT.
I DON'T THINK THAT WAS DONE ON A WHIM.
I, UH, I THINK IT WAS INTENTIONAL AND DEFENSIVE, AND IT WAS UPDATED TO ENACT BECAUSE WE FINALLY RECOGNIZE, UM, THERE'S A SEVERE IMPACT ENVIRONMENTALLY, STRUCTURALLY SAFETY FOR BUILDING ON THESE HIGH INC.
UM, IT FUNDAMENTALLY ALTERS THE PHYSICS OF THE LAND, AND THERE'S AN IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCE OF ALTERING IT.
UM, WHEN YOU REPLACE ABSORBING FORESTS, CANNABIS WITH, UH, ASPHALT AND ROOFTOPS, OF COURSE RAINFALL IS GONNA BE AFFECTED IN DIVERSION.
UM, WE ALL KNOW THAT MONTCLAIR ALREADY SHUTTERS EVERY TIME THERE'S A HURRICANE FORECAST.
AND I FEAR THAT THESE CHANGES WILL IMPACT THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR STORM RUNOFF.
UM, IN ADDITION, THIS BLASTING IS VERY CONCERNING.
UM, IT'S VIOLENT, IT'S UNPREDICTABLE.
UM, I, I REALLY WOULD URGE THE BOARD TO, UM, TO, TO TABLE THIS PROJECT UNTIL WE KNOW SPECIFICALLY, UM, WHAT WHAT IS THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS FOR LO NEARBY RESIDENTS? UM, THEY TRAVEL THESE, THESE BLAST WAVES TRAVEL THROUGH THE EARTH AND THEY'RE GONNA IMPACT FOUNDATIONS AND HOMES, WATER WELLS, SEPTIC TANKS.
UH, THERE'S AN ADJACENT CEMETERY WHERE THERE ARE VAULTS.
AND, UH, IT COULD AFFECT THE LASTING, UH, THE FINAL RESTING PLACE OF SOME ANCESTORS.
IT PERMANENTLY MAY DISRUPT OUR LOCAL WELL WATER AND UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS.
I, THE CORE QUESTION I HAVE IS, WHO BEARS THIS LONG-TERM LIABILITY? IS IT, UH, IS IT THE TAXPAYERS? IS IT THE FUTURE RESIDENTS OF THESE HOMES? UM, BECAUSE DOWN THE ROAD, THIS, UH, THE DEVELOPER WILL COME AND GO, UM, AND THEY'LL BE ON TO THE NEXT PROJECT.
I AM THE PRESIDENT OF HOLY GHOST CHURCH IN PHOENIX VILLAGE, WHICH OWNS HOLY GHOST CHURCH CEMETERY, WHICH IS ADJACENT TO THE LOVER'S LANE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
UM, I REPRESENT THE, UH, PARISH, OUR PARISH COUNCIL AND ALL OUR PARISHIONERS.
UM, AND OVER, ESPECIALLY THE LAST WEEK, I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF, UM, UH, RESPONSES FROM PEOPLE IN OUR PARISH CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROJECT.
WHEN THEY HEARD ABOUT, AGAIN, I KNOW IT'S REDUNDANT, BUT WITH THE BLASTING AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT A LOT OF THE STONES, WE'VE HUNDREDS OF, OF STONES UP THERE.
WE HAVE A WELL DIRECTLY ON THE CORNER OF THE PROPERTY RIGHT.
SIT NEXT TO WHERE, UM, THIS DEVELOPMENT IS GOING IN.
AND SO, UM, THE PARISH COUNCIL ASKED ME TO SPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF OF THE PARISH.
UH, WE REPRESENT HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES, PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY ACTIVE AND HAVE PLOTS UP THERE AND HAVE LOVED ONES UP THERE, AS WELL AS, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE NO LONGER, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE FAMILIES IN OUR PARISH.
BUT, UM, WE REPRESENT THEM AND WE ARE THE CARETAKERS OF THAT.
SO OUR CONCERN ABOUT THAT IS HOW IT WOULD AFFECT THESE STONES, HOW IT WOULD AFFECT OUR WELL.
UM, AND UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'D HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ABOUT DOCUMENTING THE HOUSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE'D HAVE TO THEN DOCUMENT HUNDREDS OF, OF TOMBSTONES AND AREAS UP THERE, UH, PRIOR TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN.
AND, UH, HONESTLY, WE'VE DONE ENOUGH RESEARCH YET TO SEE THE EXTENT OF IT.
'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE GLASS.
AND I KNOW YOU SAID IT'S ON THE STATE LEVEL AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BUT I GUESS THE MAIN QUESTION IS, WORST CASE SCENARIO, LET'S SAY IT HAPPENS, LET'S SAY THERE'S DAMAGE.
UM, ULTIMATELY HE'S LIABLE FOR THAT.
UM, WHERE DOES THAT GO? UM, JUST BECAUSE, AND THAT'S THE QUESTION I'M BEING, I'M BEING ASKED BY MY PARISHIONERS AND, UH, PEOPLE ON MY COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M HERE BRINGING THOSE TO YOUR ATTENTION TONIGHT.
[00:45:01]
IT.UM, WHERE ARE WE? WE HAVE AN EFFECTIVE SESSION
[EXECUTIVE SESSION REPORT]
TO REPORT.UM, EFFECTIVE SESSION WAS HELD JUST PRIOR TO TONIGHT'S MEETING.
TOPICS DISCUSSED WERE ITEMS RELATED TO POLICE PERSONNEL ISSUES, LABOR NEGOTIATIONS, AND PENDING LITIGATION.
[APPROVAL OF BILL LIST]
IS THE APPROVAL OF THE BILL LIST FOR MAY.I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE BILL LIST FOR THE PERIOD MAY ONE THROUGH MAY 31ST, 2026 IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,599,822 AND 79 CENTS.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
OF MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR BOARD SUPERVISOR MEETING IN MAY.AND THEN THE WORKSHOP MEETING ON MAY 27TH.
I HAVE A MOTION, I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING.
MAY 18TH, 2026 BOARD SUPERVISORS REGULAR MEETING MINUTES.
THE MAY 27, 26 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WORKSHOP MEETING WITNESS.
[PUBLIC HEARING]
THE PUBLIC HEARING OTHER PEOPLE ARE HERE FOR.IS THE, UH, PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL WITH VERIZON? UM, DO YOU WANT ME TO READ THIS BACK ORIGINALLY? UM, YES, PLEASE.
I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU READ THE SCRIPT THAT WAS PROVIDED BY THE END OF, I APOLOGIZE.
THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS REGARDING CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL FOR UPPER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP.
THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS HELD PURSUANT TO SECTION 6 2 6 OF THE FEDERAL CABLE ACT, WHICH SETS FORTH THE PROCESS FOR FRANCHISE RENEWAL.
THE TOWNSHIP'S CURRENT FRANCHISE WITH VERIZON IS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY NORM RENEWAL WINDOW, AND THE TOWNSHIP IS BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF RENEWING THE FRANCHISE.
THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS PART OF THE PRELIMINARY PORTION OF FRANCHISE RENEWAL IN WHICH THE TOWNSHIP REVIEWS THE CABLE OPERATOR'S PAST PERFORMANCE AND IDENTIFIES THE TOWNSHIP'S FUTURE CABLE RELATED COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AS SUCH, AS PART OF THIS PUBLIC HEARING, WE INVITE COMMENTS FROM ANY CITIZEN WHO WISH TO SPEAK REGARDING EITHER OR BOTH OF THE OR MENTIONED SUBJECTS.
FRANCHISE RENEWAL IS THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO ASSERT THEIR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO THE CABLE OPERATOR AND TO OBTAIN IMPORTANT BENEFITS IN RETURN FOR GRANTING THE CABLE OPERATOR THE RIGHT TO USE THE PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY.
THESE BENEFITS INCLUDE A STATE-OF-THE-ART CABLE SYSTEM NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.
STRONG CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS, FREE SERVICES TO COMMUNITY FACILITIES, BETTER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FROM THE CABLE OPERATORS, MAXIMIZE FRANCHISE FEES, PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL AND GOVERNMENTAL PEG CHANNELS IF DESIRED.
PEG A CAPITAL SUPPORT FUNDING IF DESIRED, LEGAL PROTECTIONS OF THE RIGHT OF WAY AND BETTER MECHANICS ENFORCE THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT DUE TO SOME OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS AVAILABLE THROUGH FRANCHISE RENEWAL.
CITIZENS MAY ADDRESS THESE ITEMS OR ANY OTHER CABLE RELATED ITEM THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO 'EM.
WE WILL NOT OPEN THE HEARING UP TO CITIZEN COMMENTS.
UM, WHAT DO I DO NEXT? UH, I SEEING NO MORE NO COMMENT.
I THINK THAT WE CAN CLOSE THE HEARING.
OH,
WE HAVE COMCAST AS OUR NAME
VERIZON, I WE HAVE THE SAME AGREEMENT WITH COMCAST THOUGH TOO.
AND DO THEY PROVIDE, UH, THE WIFI IN OUR, OKAY, GREAT.
SO THIS JUST RENEWS SOMETHING THAT WE ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE.
IT'S NOT, IS IT CHANGING ANYTHING? UM, I BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE NEGOTIATING A NEW CONTRACT AND IS PART OF THAT PROCESS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC MEETING THAT GIVES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO VOICE ANY CONCERNS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE, THE CABLE PROVIDER THAN THE TOWNSHIP.
UM, AND THEN ONCE THEY HAVE THAT AGREEMENT, WE FULLY NEGOTIATED WITH THE, UH, THE PROVIDER, THEN THE BOARD WILL BE ASKED TO APPROVE THAT AGREEMENT.
ARE THERE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE OR TO QUESTION? UM, NEGOTIATIONS.
SO TYPICALLY WHEN YOU HIRE A, A, A FIRM TO MANAGE THIS NEGOTIATION PROCESS, USUALLY THEY PERFORM AN AUDIT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TOWNSHIP'S RECEIVING ALL OF THE CABLE FEES BECAUSE THEY'RE ENTITLED TO.
UM, BUT OTHERWISE, USUALLY THE, THE AMOUNTS OF MONEY THAT YOU'RE, YOU AGREE TO ARE PRETTY
[00:50:01]
MUCH ACROSS THE BOARD.UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S REALLY ANY SIGNIFICANT, UM, DIFFERENCE IN, IN PAYMENT THAT ONE MUNICIPAL GETS OVER ANOTHER.
UM, THOSE ARE USUALLY, A LOT OF THEM ARE, ARE NEGOTIATED MORE AS PART OF COLLECTIVES AND THESE FIRMS KIND OF REPRESENT A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES AND HELPS, UM, NEGOTIATE WITH THE CABLE PROVIDERS THAT WAY.
I MAKE A, I CLOSE THE HEARING.
I LIKE, WHAT DO I SAY? I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS.
I'M LIKE TO CLOSE THE HEARING.
I'LL GIVE IT OVER TO YOU, UM, SOLICITOR TO OPEN THE HEARING.
UM, UH, WE'LL NOW PROCEED WITH THE HEARING ON THE PROPOSED ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE UPPER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP ZONING ORDINANCE.
THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDS SECTION 300 DASH 90 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE BY ADDING CERTAIN DEFINITIONS RELATED TO A DATA CENTER.
USE AMEND SECTION 300 DASH 4 33 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO SPECIFY THE TYPES OF ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS OR CENTERS ALLOWED THE I OH ONE INTERCHANGE OFFICE DISTRICT OF THE TOWNSHIP AND AMEND SECTION 305 60 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO PERMIT A DATA CENTER USE BY CONDITIONAL USE AND THE M TWO MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT FOR TOWNSHIP AND ESTABLISHES STANDARDS AND CRITERIA FOR SUCH USE.
UH, I'LL ENTER THE FOLLOWING EXHIBITS INTO THE RECORD.
EXHIBIT B ONE IS THE LEGAL NOTICE THE B TWO IS A DRAFT OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE.
EXHIBIT B THREE IS THE PROOF OF PUBLICATION INDICATING PUBLICATION OF LEGAL NOTICE FROM THIS HEARING IN THE TOWN IN, UH, IN THE NEWSPAPER GENERAL CIRCULATION OF THE TOWNSHIP.
UM, EXHIBIT B FOUR IS A REVIEW LETTER ISSUED BY THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION DATED JUNE 1ST, 2026.
THE ORDINANCE WAS REVIEWED BY THE TOWNSHIP'S PLANNING COMMISSION AT ITS MEETING ON JUNE 3RD, 2026, AT WHICH TIME THE PLANNING COMMISSION VOTED TO RECOMMEND ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE.
UM, SO I'LL NOW ASK IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT ANY OF THE SUPERVISORS WOULD LIKE TO MAKE REGARDING THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE.
ZACH, I WONDER IF YOU DON'T GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OF WHAT WE'RE EVEN DOING HERE BECAUSE WE'VE GONE OVER IT, BUT I DUNNO OF ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE OR THE PUBLIC FULLY UNDERSTANDS.
UM, SO I MEAN OBVIOUSLY DATA CENTERS ARE A VERY CONTROVERSIAL USE RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, CAME OUT WITH A MODEL ORDINANCE THAT THEY PROPOSED, UM, THAT THEY WERE RECOMMENDING TO MUNICIPALITIES TO ADOPT.
UM, THE PLANNING DIRECTOR, UH, MR. GRAY AND I WENT THROUGH THAT MODEL ORDINANCE AND, UH, ADOPTED IT OR ADAPTED IT FOR, UH, UPPER PROVIDENCE.
UM, WE WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE, THE PORTIONS THAT WE FELT WERE APPLICABLE, UM, WE FELT WERE ENFORCEABLE.
UM, AND WE CAME UP WITH THE, THE DRAFT THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU.
UM, ESSENTIALLY WHAT THE ORDINANCE DOES IS THAT, IS IT, IT'S DEFINED WHAT A DATA CENTER IS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WITHOUT THAT DEFINITION AND WITHOUT KIND OF THE RESTRICTIONS AND REGULATIONS IN PLACE, THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF SOMEBODY COMING IN ARGUING THAT THIS FALLS UNDER A BROADER USE CATEGORY IN TOWNSHIP TO SAY THAT IT COULD GO INTO MANY DIFFERENT ZONING DISTRICTS.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST CONSIDERED A GENERAL WAREHOUSE USE USE.
THERE MIGHT BE MULTIPLE DISTRICTS WHERE THIS CAN GO INTO.
SO BY DEFINING YOUR, BY DEFINING THE USE, SPECIFICALLY SAYING EXACTLY WHAT A DATA CENTER IS BY SPECIFYING EXACTLY WHERE IN THE TOWNSHIP THE DATA, A DATA CENTER CAN BE LOCATED AND IMPOSING CERTAIN, UM, STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS AND REQUIRING, UH, ANY DEVELOPER THAT COMES IN WITH THAT TYPE OF USE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION RELATED TO WATER USE, RELATED TO ENERGY USE, RELATED TO EMERGENCY SERVICES AND HOW THE FACILITY WOULD BE, WOULD BE SERVED BY EMERGENCY SERVICES, WHAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS AND THINGS THEY WOULD HAVE IN THE FACILITY THAT MIGHT BE CRITICAL TO KNOW FOR, UM, EMERGENCY SERVICES.
WE'RE PUTTING IN CERTAIN STANDARDS THAT ARE KIND OF SETTING THE BAR.
IF SOMEONE WANTS TO COME INTO THE TOWNSHIP, THIS IS WHERE WE THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE.
THESE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT YOU HAVE TO SATISFYING ORDER TO DO THAT.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO DIG TO KNOW THAT THE TOWNSHIP CANNOT SIMPLY SAY, WE DON'T WANT DATA CENTERS.
WE CAN'T JUST WRITE AN ORDINANCE AND SAY DATA CENTERS ARE PROHIBITED.
EXCLUSION MEANS THAT YOU, YOU'RE ON THE FACE OF YOUR ZONING ORDINANCE.
YOU CAN ONLY DO THAT IF IT'S A USE THAT IS, IT'S CALLED PER SE A NUISANCE.
IT'S, IT'S IMMEDIATELY KNOWN AND SEEN AS A NUISANCE IN THE COURTS.
IF IT'S A LEGITIMATE LAND USE, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE FOR IT SOMEWHERE IN THE TOWNSHIP.
SO BY ADOPTING THIS ORDINANCE, ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WE'RE PROACTIVELY SAYING THIS IS WHAT A DATA CENTER IS, THESE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT APPLY FOR IT, AND THIS IS WHERE IT CAN BE LOCATED.
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I KNOW THAT ESPECIALLY THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND SETBACKS AND, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THIS, THIS USE, UM, AS FAR AWAY FROM, UH, RESIDENCES AND MORE SENSITIVE RECEPTORS AS WE CALL THEM IN THE ORDINANCE, WHICH ARE SCHOOLS, DAYCARES, COMMUNITY CENTERS, PLAYGROUNDS, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT IF, IF YOU IMPOSE WHAT WAS PROPOSED AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION WAS A SETBACK OF 2,500 FEET, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY A HALF MILE.UM, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS YOU'RE EFFECTIVELY, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE ALLOWING USE, YOU WOULD BE SAYING THERE'S NOWHERE IN THE TOWNSHIP WITHIN THAT DISTRICT THAT YOU COULD CONCEIVABLY LOCATE THIS USE.
YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY PROHIBITING IT.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE A DEFACTO EXCLUSION.
SO YOU HAVE TO PUT IN REASONABLE SETBACKS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY ALLOW THE USE TO SOMEWHAT GO INTO YOUR TOWNSHIP.
IF YOU DON'T DO THAT, THEN THERE'S A CHANCE THAT A JUDGE MAKES THOSE DECISIONS FOR EITHER THE TOWNSHIP CAN MAKE THESE DECISIONS PROACTIVELY TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE THINK IS A REASONABLE SETBACK.
THIS IS A REASONABLE PLACE FOR THE TOWNSHIP FOR IT TO GO.
OR YOU CAN LET A DEVELOPER DICTATE WHERE IT GOES IN THE TOWNSHIP AND JUST HAVE A COURT SIGN OFF ON IT.
OR YOU CAN HAVE A COURT SAY, WELL, IF IN THE REST OF THE ZONING DISTRICT IT'S ONLY A 50 FOOT SETBACK, THAT'S A REASONABLE SETBACK AND YOU CAN BE 50 FEET FROM YOUR PROPERTY LINE.
SO THE ORDINANCE THAT WE'VE ADOPTED THAT JEFF MIGHT PUT TOGETHER THAT TOOK FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION IS TRYING TO BE SET REASONABLE STANDARDS THAT CAN ACTUALLY ALLOW THE USE IN SOME MANNER, THOUGH, SUBJECT TO MANY, MANY SAFEGUARDS.
WE HAVE A THOUSAND FOOT SETBACK FROM SENSITIVE RECEPTORS THAT CAN BE LOWER TO 500 FEET AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
IF A DEVELOPER WERE TO SHOW THAT THEY EXCEED THE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, THEY EXCEED THE NOISE STANDARDS, THEY EXCEED THE, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHER THINGS, THEY CAN GO DOWN TO 500 FEET.
BUT THAT'S COMPLETELY AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
NOW, THE ORDINANCE THAT YOU'RE ADOPTING, NONE OF THAT STUFF EXISTS IN THE ORDINANCE RIGHT NOW.
SO IF YOU WERE TO WAIT AND SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TWEAK THIS, WE NEED TO ADOPT SOMETHING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, ESSENTIALLY, UNTIL YOU CAN WORK THOSE THINGS OUT, THE TOWNSHIP IS EXPOSED TO LETTING SOMEONE COME IN WITH AN APPLICATION THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO MEET ANY OF THOSE STANDARDS.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE IS SOME TWEAKING THAT THE TOWNSHIP WANTS TO DO, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE HEAR SOME COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC THAT ARE INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS, WE'VE CHANGED THAT.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT ANY OF THOSE THINGS WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE A GOOD IDEA, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK THAT UNTIL WHILE YOU TRY AND WRITE A PERFECT ORDINANCE, YOU'RE EXPOSED TO HAVING SOMETHING COME IN THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO MEET ANY STANDARDS.
SO THAT'S JUST A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND I THINK SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT, THAT THE BOARD'S BEEN WRESTLING WITH SINCE THIS ORDINANCE HAS COME FORTH.
CAN, CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW WE WOULD BE PROHIBITING A DATA CENTER SINCE WE ALREADY HAVE ONE IN THE TOWNSHIP, RIGHT? WE HAVE RELEASED ONE, SO WE'RE NOT PROHIBITING THAT ONE FROM BEING HERE.
SO IF WE UPDATE OUR ORDINANCE, HOW WOULD WE PROHIBIT DATA SO THAT THAT USE WAS PUT IN J HOW, HOW, HOW LONG IS THAT USE BEEN THERE, JEFF? 2008, 2010, SOMEWHERE IN THERE.
SO THAT WAS PERMITTED AS AN ACCESSORY USE TO A, IT IS AN ACCESSORY USE TO AN OFFICE TO A, TO A IO, UM, INTERCHANGEABLE OFFICE USE.
AND AT THE TIME WE CALLED IT AN ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER.
SO THAT'S HOW IT EXISTS IN OUR ORDINANCE TODAY.
AND SO ACTUALLY ONE OF THE PROVISIONS IN THIS ORDINANCE KIND OF CUTS THAT OFF AND IT LIMITS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THESE FACILITIES CAN BE ASSOCIATED AS ACCESSORY USE.
UM, SO IN, IN TERMS OF THE ISSUE OF, WELL, WE ALREADY HAVE ONE IS ZONING ONLY ONE THAT STILL CAN'T PROHIBIT THE USE.
EVEN IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING, IF YOU PUT A, IF YOU SAY WE'RE NOT GONNA ALLOW ANY CONVENIENCE STORES OR
BUT PUTTING IN A, A SETBACK THAT'S LARGER AND YOU'RE SAYING WE WOULD BE PROHIBITING THE CENTER BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BUILD BECAUSE SETBACKS TOO LARGE.
CAN'T THEY JUST COME TO THE BOARD AND ASK FOR SOME KIND OF RELIEF THEN IF THAT'S THE CASE? SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY TELLING 'EM THEY CAN'T BUILD HERE, WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT.
SO IN ORDER FOR A USE TO BE PERMITTED, IT NEEDS TO BE PERMITTED EITHER A PERMITTED BY WAY, USE OF CONDITION USE, OR A SPECIAL EXCEPTION.
IF THEY HAVE TO GET A VARIANCE FOR IT, THEN IT'S STILL SUSCEPTIBLE TO DE FACTO CHALLENGE.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE, EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN SAY, WELL, YOU CAN, YOU CAN COME AND GET A VARIANCE, THAT'S NOT REALLY, REALLY WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE IS THE KIND OF SETUP THAT WE HAVE IN THERE WHERE IT SAYS THE SETBACK
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IS A THOUSAND FEET, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO GO DOWN TO 500, BUT THE BOARD CAN REDUCE IT TO 500.SO YOU'RE KIND OF BUILDING IN THAT ABILITY TO MAKE A MODIFICATION TO THE EXTENT IT'S NECESSARY.
I JUST, I THINK A THOUSAND FEET, 500 FEET SEEMS VERY ARBITRARY.
I FEEL LIKE THERE MUST BE TECHNICAL REASONS WHY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER PUSH TO HAVE FURTHER DISTANCE, AND IS THERE ANY INFORMATION WE HAVE ON THAT? I MEAN, I, THE, THE THOUSAND FEET DOWN TO 500 FEET WAS PULLED FROM THE COUNTY MODEL ORDINANCE.
UM, AND I THINK IT WAS LARGELY BASED ON MR. GRACE'S GENERAL FAMILIARITY WITH THE AREA, THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY AND, AND WHAT THE SETBACKS WOULD BE FEASIBLE.
THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT SOMEONE COULDN'T COME IN AND DEMONSTRATE AND SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS PART HAS STEEP SLOPES, THIS PART HAS WOODLANDS, AND YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DISTURB ANY OF THAT.
SO IT'S STILL INFEASIBLE, BUT IT AT LEAST GIVE SOME MEASURING STICK OF WHAT WOULD BE A REASONABLE SUSPECT.
THERE PROBABLY ISN'T A PARCEL IN THIS TOWNSHIP THAT HAS A A 2,500 THAT IF YOU WERE TO DRAW A CIRCLE FROM THE CENTER, THAT THAT IS MORE, THAT IS LESS, THAT IS MORE THAN 2,500 FEET.
I MEAN, MAYBE THE PFIZER DOW CAMPUS, WHERE AGAIN, I DON'T THINK WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT A, A DATA CENTER.
UM, SO RIGHT THEN WE, WE KNEW WE HAD TO CHANGE THAT SECTION OF THE ORDINANCE TO, TO MAKE IT FEASIBLE.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BIGGER PARCELS, GLAXOSMITHKLINE, UM, PFIZER, DOW, EVEN THE PARK HOUSE PARCEL, THEY'RE THE BIGGEST PARCELS IN THE TOWNSHIP, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE MORE THAN, OR THEY'RE NOT MORE THAN 5,000 SQUARE FEET OR 5,000 LINEAR FEET FROM EDGE TO EDGE.
SO YOU REALLY, BY PUTTING THAT IN THERE, YOU'RE SAYING YOU CAN'T PUT THIS HERE BY SAYING 25, BY SAYING 2,500, A THOUSAND FEET IN THE M TWO DISTRICT, THERE ARE PARTIALS THAT IT, THAT IT CAN WORK.
THAT'S WHY YOU SAY IF YOU SAID 2,500, WE WOULD GO TO COURT.
RIGHT? 'CAUSE REALLY, ESSENTIALLY THERE'S NOT NOTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT LIMITS THIS AND WHAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, WOULD MAKE AN EXTREMELY HARD THING TO DO, OR SOME OF THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS IN THERE.
THE SETBACK IS ONE, THERE'S OTHER REQUIREMENTS, WHETHER IT'S NOISE ABATEMENT OR BUFFERING, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT ALSO ALSO MAKE THIS DIFFICULT TO BUILD, DIFFICULT TO BUILD.
OUR, OUR GOAL HERE IS NOT TO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE OPEN OURSELVES UP, BUT WE DON'T MAKE IT EASY BY ANY STRETCH.
WHY DID THEY INCLUDE THE
SOME PEOPLE MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT THE COUNTY'S DOING, BUT THEY HAVE A LOT OF PLANNERS THAT THEY PUT ON THIS AND A LOT OF RESEARCH THEY PUT INTO IT.
I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK INTO REMOVING THAT.
IT'D BE POSSIBLE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD.
SO I, I THINK THAT MY ONLY, AND I GO BACK TO THE POINT THAT HAVING THE, THE ABILITY TO REDUCE THOUSAND TO 500 FEET REALLY DOES PROTECT YOU FROM THAT DEFACTO CHALLENGE.
IF SOMEBODY COMES IN AND THEY SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO PROPERTY IN THE TOWNSHIP WHERE YOU CAN DO THIS WITH, IF YOU HAVE A HARD THOUSAND FOOT SETBACK WITH NO ABILITY TO ADJUST IT, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET A VARIANCE SUSCEPT CHALLENGE.
IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADJUST IT DOWN TO 500 AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
IF SOMEONE COMES IN AND THEY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, A THOUSAND FEET IS ACHIEVABLE, BUT WE CAN DO 950 FEET OF WORK, AND THEN SAY, OKAY, WELL CAN YOU UP SOME OF THESE STANDARDS? YOU KNOW, WE'RE REQUIRING YOU TO DO X, Y, AND Z FOR THE SOUND STUDIES.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU GO TO A HIGH LEVEL? CAN YOU ENSURE THAT THERE ARE GREATER PROTECTIONS IN PLACE? GIVE THAT EXTRA 40 FEET NOT SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DE FACTO CHALLENGE.
SO THAT FLEXIBILITY IS AT THE DISCRETION OF BOARD.
IT GIVES US A
ALSO, THAT IT IS BEING LIMITED TO THE I DISTRICT.
IT'S BEING LIMITED TO THE M TWO, M TWO, M TWO, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE OAKS AREA WHERE TARGET AND TARGET, LOWE'S, THE EXPO CENTER EXPO CENTER HALL, THAT AREA.
I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THE DECOMMISSIONING REQUIREMENT.
I THINK WE SHOULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO PUT IT ON THE DEVELOPER IF THEY FOR SOME REASON NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS.
BUT I SHOULD NOT BE ON THE TOWNSHIP OR ANYTHING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DECOMMISSION.
I, I, I THINK THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT AND WE CAN LOOK INTO ADDING THAT.
I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT IF YOU WANT TO ADD THAT, THAT WE MAKE THAT A SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENT IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER RATHER THAN WAITING FOR THAT TIME AND KIND OF LEAVING THE TOWNSHIP EXPOSED TO SOMEONE SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION.
THE LOCATION THAT IS NOT IN THE M TWO, UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE REAL RISK THAT YOU RUN IF YOU WAIT AN ADDITIONAL 36 TO 90 DAYS TO DO THIS, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST MORE TIME FOR SOMEONE TO SAY, LET'S, LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN GET ON THIS PROPERTY.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON PLANNING AND, AND ENGINEER CURRENTLY
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WORKING ON SOME CLEANUP ITEMS FOR THE ORDINANCE, OTHER CLEANUP ITEMS, TECHNICAL STUFF, STUFF THAT WE'RE JUST SORT OF CATCHING UP TO WHERE OUR PLAN WAS TO ADD ALL OF THAT IN, IF THE BOARD SO CHOSE IT TO, INTO THAT, AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOING TO BE SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER.ARE THERE ANY PENDING APPLICATIONS TODAY? NO.
THERE, SO THE RISK IS IF WE DON'T CREATE A DEFINITION TONIGHT, YES.
SOMEBODY COULD COME IN TOMORROW MORNING AND PUT THIS EVERYWHERE IN THE TOWNSHIP.
TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK, ZACH AND I WERE AN EGGSHELL.
WE'LL TELL YOU THAT SOMEONE WAS GONNA COME IN TODAY AND WE CAN, AND WE CAN AMEND IT LATER.
JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ORDINANCE, LIKE KELLY WAS SAYING, THERE'S THINGS WE CAN DO.
WE JUST, IF WE CHOOSE TO TRY TO CHANGE IT NOW, YES.
WE RISK SOMEBODY COMING IN IN THE MORNING.
THIS THING POPPING UP IN MORNING YES.
I THINK WE SHOULD SHOOT FOR, UH, ADVERTISING THE CHANGES TO THIS PARTICULAR TEXT AMENDMENT TO, FOR US TO VOTE ON AT THE AUGUST MEETINGS.
I GUESS WE'D HAVE TO ADVERTISE THAT.
WE WOULD'VE TO, WE'D HAVE TO DRAFT AND DO ORDINANCE.
I DON'T WANNA WAIT ON THAT CLEANUP.
THE ONLY, THE ONLY ISSUE IS THE TIMING FOR ADOPTING AN ORDINANCE IS WE HAVE TO PUT THE APPLICATION IN.
THE COUNTY HAS 30 DAYS TO REVIEW IT.
WE HAVE TO ADVERTISE IT NOT MORE THAN A MONTH.
SO, SO WE'RE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THAT.
WE WILL CERTAINLY AIM FOR IT, BUT I I, DOES THAT INCLUDE THESE CHANGES LIKE ADDING THE DECOMMISSIONING BACK IN? WELL, THAT'S ANY ORDINANCE I WOULD HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO PROBABLY MAKE THE APPLICATION AND THEN LIKE THE NEXT WEEK, WHICH I CAN DO, BUT I DON'T WANT TO JUST RUSH SOMETHING.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I WILL CERTAINLY TRY, BUT I DO HAVE TO LOOK AT A CALENDAR BEFORE I CAN SAY YES TO AUGUST RUSH THIS STAY.
WE, WE HAVE AN A AND WE PASS, BUT WE NEED TO PASS 'CAUSE I WANT IT DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, OKAY, SO NOW I'LL OPEN IT UP TO ANY PUBLIC COMMENT RELATED TO PROPOSED ORDINANCE.
DO YOU ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENT FROM PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIVE IN THE TOWNSHIP? UM, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA LIMIT PUBLIC COMMENT TO RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS OF THE TOWNSHIP.
SO WHEN YOU COME UP, IF YOU COULD JUST PROVIDE YOUR NAME AND JUST INDICATE WHETHER YOU'RE A RESIDENT OR A TAXPAYER OF THE TOWNSHIP.
ZACH, WE'RE ALSO LIMITED TO OH, AND, UH, THERE'S A THREE MINUTE LIMIT ON PUBLIC.
I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF OUR PROVIDENCE FOR 14 YEARS.
I'M SORRY, CAN YOU SPELL YOUR LAST NAME? N-E-V-I-L-L-E.
UM, BEFORE I BEGIN, I REALLY WANT TO MAKE THIS A POINT THAT THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT ZONING OR ORDINANCE.
THIS DECISION AND THE PROTECTIONS THAT YOU GUYS ARE VOTING TO ESTABLISH ARE DICTATING WHAT KIND OF FUTURE WE'RE HELPING TO BUILD IN UPPER PROVIDENCE.
UM, I'VE SPENT THE LAST 20 YEARS WORKING IN IT, INCLUDING AUTOMATION AND AI GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I DEAL WITH PROFESSIONALLY EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THE USE OF THESE DATA CENTERS IS A PRIMARY TOOL FOR WHAT I DO.
UM, AN AI DATA CENTER IS SIMPLY NOT SIMPLY ANOTHER LAND USE.
IT'S PART OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE NOW EXPANDING INTO OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEMS, OUR LEGISLATIVE PROCESSES AND OUR DECISION MAKING FUNCTIONS, THEY DIRECTLY AFFECT PEOPLE'S RIGHTS.
THE RULES GOVERNING BOTH THIS TECHNICAL AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HAVE NOT FULLY KEPT BASE.
IT'S DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE IS BEING DEPLOYED FAR FASTER THAN WE ARE ABLE TO GOVERN IT.
THIS GAP MATTERS AND LOCAL DECISIONS ARE A PART OF HOW WE CLOSE THAT GAP.
UH, THERE ARE VERY REAL IMPACTS TO RESIDENTS WHERE DATA CENTERS HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE.
THERE IS CONTINUOUS NOISE FROM EQUIPMENT AND COOLING SYSTEMS TO LEVELS WHERE, UH, NOISE DAMPENING TECHNOLOGIES ARE NOT EFFECTIVE IN LOWERING THE IMPACT TO THE PEOPLE LIVING NEAR THESE CENTERS.
LIGHT POLLUTION FROM 24 7 OPERATION DRASTICALLY IMPACTS THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND THESE CENTERS.
WATER USAGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ARE SIGNIFICANT.
THE AMOUNT OF WATER REQUIRED BY A DATA CENTER TO MAINTAIN THE COOLING THAT'S USED BY THESE SYSTEMS WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE SCHOOL AND THE WATERSHEDS AROUND IT.
UH, THERE IS SIGNIFICANT DEMAND ON LOCAL ELECTRICAL GRID AND THAT DEMAND AND UTILIZATION IS OFTEN LEFT TO THE TAX PAPER PAYER AND RESIDENTS TO PICK UP THE SLACK WHEN THE USUALLY USAGE
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ON THE GRID BECOMES SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER.UH, IT AFFECTS NEARBY PROPERTY VALUES, BOTH DURING CONSTRUCTION AND AFTER.
THERE IS OFTEN TALK OF HOW DATA CENTERS ARE JOB PRODUCERS.
WHILE THAT'S TRUE DURING THE CONSTRUCTION MINUTES OF A DATA CENTER IS OFTEN DONE BY AI OR LEFT TO ONE OR TWO TECHNICIANS.
MY CONCERN IS NOT WITH INNOVATION.
IN FACT, THAT IS WHAT I WORK IN.
IT'S WHETHER WE GROW AT THE SAME RATE THAT THE FRAMEWORKS THAT GOVERNMENT ARE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH YOU.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A QUICK COMMENT.
I WASN'T TO, BUT I'LL, UH, JAMES MALICK, 1 52 PEN AND PACKER.
CAN YOU SPELL HIS NAME? M-E-L-I-C-K.
UH, NOWHERE NEAR THE M TWO ZONE YOU TALKED ABOUT.
UH, NEVERTHELESS, UH, I'VE BEEN READING ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND I KNOW SOME OTHER AREAS THAT, UH, ARE GRAPPLING WITH THE PROBLEM THEY CREATE.
UH, I HAVE READ THE ORDINANCE, UH, THE DRAFT ORDINANCE.
IT LOOKS REASONABLE TO ME, FRANKLY, MAYBE A COUPLE OF SOFT AREAS, BUT, UH, I AGREE WITH THE COMMENT.
UH, LET'S GET SOMETHING IN PLACE QUICKLY BEFORE SOMEBODY SUBMITS AN APPLICATION THAT WE CAN'T COMMENT.
ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT? ALL RIGHT.
SEEING NONE, UH, I WILL CLOSE THE HEARING.
WE'RE TAKING PUBLIC COMMENT ON OUR DATA CENTER ORDINANCE.
UH, I JUST SAW SOMEONE COME IN THE ROOM.
LOTS OF, WELL, THE STATE CENTER IS NOT A RESIDENT.
SHE DOES REPRESENT A LARGE PORTION OF TOWNSHIP.
THAT'S WHY SHE'S ABLE TO SPEAK.
I WAS AT ANOTHER TOWNSHIP MEETING ABOUT ANOTHER DATA CENTER.
SO, UM, I'VE ALREADY SENT MY COMMENTS TO THE CHAIR, TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UM, I HAD A MEETING WITH THE TOWNSHIP LAST WEEK, UM, TO DISCUSS SOME OF MY CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, THE ZONING ORDINANCE THEY'RE PROPOSING.
AND I JUST, CAN YOU SAY YOUR NAME FOR, OH, I'M SORRY.
I DON'T WANT TO SAY MY ADDRESS FOR SECURITY
UM, I JUST WANTED TO, UM, THANK THE BOARD FOR BEING RECEPTIVE TO MY FEEDBACK.
I'M CERTAINLY NOT AN EXPERT, UM, IN ALL OF THESE THINGS, BUT IN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF I'VE BECOME QUITE A, A LEARNING CURVE AND HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO REALLY DELVE INTO SOME OF THIS.
AND EVERY SINGLE DAY THERE'S A NEW DATA CENTER PROPOSAL BEING ANNOUNCED IN THIS COMMONWEALTH.
CURRENTLY, I BELIEVE THERE'S 74, THERE MIGHT BE 76, SO PLEASE DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT.
UM, AND THERE'S OVER 300 SOME DATA CENTERS CURRENTLY IN VIRGINIA.
7,000 DIESEL GENERATORS IN ONE COUNTY ALONE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, YOUR REAL ESTATE ENTAILS PARTS OF, UH, THIS COUNTY THAT HAS HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINES, WHICH MAKES YOU A SITTING DUCK FOR DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I DO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROPERTY THAT IS ZONED INDUSTRIAL, UM, AND WOULD HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TOWNSHIP WOULD TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO MEET WITH THAT LANDOWNER OR LANDOWNERS.
UM, THE COUNTY HAS NO PROBLEM SELLING LAND TO DATA CENTER DEVELOPERS AS THEY'RE DISCUSSING IN UPPER MARION TOWNSHIP CURRENTLY FOR THAT PROPOSAL.
SO, UM, YOU NEED TO BE AWARE THAT THIS LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS THE SAVING GRACE IS THE PROTECTIVE BODY AND THE WHOLE COMMONWEALTH PENNSYLVANIA, THE STATE GOVERNMENT IS NOT COMING TO SAVE THE DAY.
IN FACT, THEY'RE ROLLING OUT RED CARPETS FOR THIS INDUSTRY TO BUILD HERE, REGARDLESS OF HOW CLOSE IT IS TO YOUR HOME.
THIS ISN'T A DEBATE FOR ME AS TO WHETHER WE NEED AI OR WHETHER WE NEED THESE DATA CENTERS.
IT IS SIMPLY A DEBATE OF LAND USE AND THE PEOPLE'S PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELLBEING.
AND YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION JUST AS I DO, TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC.
AND THAT'S MY EXPECTATION OF ALL OF YOU.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE ALL VERY SMART, CARING INDIVIDUALS.
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BELIEVE THAT.UM, AND THESE ARE NEW LAND USES UNLIKE NO OTHER IN THE WHOLE COMMONWEALTH ELECTRICITY AND WATER USAGE OF A SMALL CITY.
SO PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THE ARGUMENTS YOU MAY HEAR THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE SUED FOR THIS.
NO ONE CAN SUE YOU AND TAKE YOUR ASSETS AS A TOWNSHIP.
SOMEONE CAN APPEAL YOUR DECISION.
THERE'S NO SUING IN CIVIL COURT.
UM, YOUR TAXPAYERS HERE PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO LIVE HERE AND THEY DESERVE TO LIVE IN A PLACE THAT'S NOT GOING TO MAKE THEM SICK OR THEIR FAMILY HAVE TO LISTEN TO HEALTH HARMING NOISE 24 7.
I MEAN, THAT'S MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS HOW CLOSE THIS IS TO WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY.
AND SO, UM, YOU ALREADY HAVE A DATA CENTER, ISN'T THAT SNAZZY? SEVEN MEGAWATT, SMALL, SMALL, NON-HYPER SCALE DATA CENTER.
SO YOU ALREADY ALLOW THAT LAND USE.
SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND AS THESE PROPOSALS COME FORWARD, IS THAT YOU'VE ALLOWED ALL THIS CONSTRUCTION, ALL THE, AND I'M NOT AGAINST IT PEOPLE.
THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE IF IT BECOMES AN INDUSTRIAL HIGHWAY FOR HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, AS THOSE HIGH VOLTAGE DRIVE LINES RUN, THAT'S THE RISK THAT, THAT WE ALL HAVE TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST.
AND I, I WILL BE ALONGSIDE YOU TO FIGHT THAT BATTLE IF THAT SHOULD BE THE CASE.
BUT, UM, I SHARED MY FEEDBACK.
INCREASE YOUR SETBACK, PUT DECOMMISSIONING IN THERE.
WELL, I THINK THE DP CELEBRATED THEIR 400TH.
WELL PLUG THEIR ABANDONED WELL GAS WELL IN THE COMMONWEALTH.
WE HAVE OVER 200,000, THAT'S OUR MONEY.
TAXPAYER MONEY PLUGGING THOSE ABANDONED WELLS FROM COMPANIES THAT MADE MONEY OFF OUR COMMONWEALTH AND GOT OUT OF DODGE.
SO WE DON'T NEED THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY TO PICK UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF.
UM, SO THAT'S PERFECTLY LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE AND WE SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU.
HAPPY TO DO WHATEVER I CAN TO BE HELPFUL MOVING FORWARD AND APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE TAKING THIS INITIATIVE UP TO PROTECT YOUR RESIDENTS.
ALRIGHT, ANY ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS? WRIGHT, GHDI DON'T KNOW IF I CAN TALK TWICE IN THE NIGHT, BUT I'M HERE.
UM, THE PUBLIC HEARING SPEAK ONCE I, I DID HEAR WITH INTEREST THAT, AND, AND I'VE SEEN THIS HAPPEN BEFORE.
WE REALLY CAN'T SAY NO DATA CENTERS.
AND IF YOU MAKE THE ROLL RULES TO ONEROUS, THEN THEY BYPASS THIS AND RUN THE COURT.
UM, I JUST, SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
I'M, I'M WAS AN ENGINEER BY TRADE POWER CONSUMPTION IS A BIG ISSUE.
I'VE HEARD THAT SOME WERE READ THAT SOME PLACES ARE REQUIRING THESE DATA CENTERS TO GENERATE THEIR OWN POWER.
THAT'S WHAT I, AND I'M GRANTED, YOU STILL GOTTA GET ENERGY.
IT'S GOTTA BE A GAS LINE OR OIL LINE OR SOMETHING.
BUT DO WE PUT IT IN JUST TO THINK ABOUT, DO WE PUT THE REQUIREMENT IN THAT THEY GENERATE THEIR OWN POWER, THE WATER THEY USE IS USED FOR COOLING? DO WE ALSO SAY NO, YOU HAVE TO USE COMPRESSIVE COOLING LIKE AIR CONDITIONING AND SAY, OH MY GOD, THAT IS SO ENERGY INEFFICIENT.
AND THEN BECAUSE THEY GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, UM, JUST TWO TECHNICAL THOUGHTS TO THINK ABOUT IN THE REQUIREMENTS.
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? HELLO, MY NAME IS MARY KIRKWOOD.
UM, CAN YOU SPELL THAT? K-I-R-K-W-O-O-D.
I HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT AND TAXPAYER IN UPPER PROVIDENCE FOR ALMOST 15 YEARS NOW.
I HAVE A 14-YEAR-OLD LITTLE BOY AND A 7-YEAR-OLD LITTLE GIRL.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS WE MOVED TO THIS AREA WAS BECAUSE OF HOW BEAUTIFUL IT'S, AND I KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU APPRECIATE THAT TOO, HOW WONDERFUL OUR WATERWAYS ARE, HOW MUCH TIME WE CAN SPEND OUTSIDE THE ABILITY TO FORAGE IN SOME OF OUR LOCAL FORESTS, TO BE CLOSE TO NATURE, TO ENJOY OUR ENVIRONMENT.
DATA CENTERS REALLY PUT THAT AT A RISK.
I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD EVERYTHING ABOUT LIGHT POLLUTION AND ENERGY COSTS.
I'M JUST HERE TO REMIND YOU, YOU ARE HERE TO BE OUR PROTECTORS.
YOU ARE STEWARDS OF OUR LAND, YOU'RE PROTECTORS OF THE PEOPLE.
I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT THERE IS NO WAY TO PUT A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS COMPLETELY.
I HAVE SOME DOUBTS ABOUT THAT.
[01:20:01]
THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO FIGHT THINGS.I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO PUT BOUNDARIES IN PLACE AND STAND FIRM ON THEM.
I FEEL LIKE IF YOU GIVE PEOPLE AN INCH, SOMETIMES THEY WILL TAKE A MILE.
PLEASE PROTECT US, PROTECT OUR HOMES AND OUR LANDS.
I UNDERSTAND BOUNDARIES HAVE TO BE PUT IN PLACE, BUT THOSE BOUNDARIES HAVE TO SERVE US AS WELL AS SERVING EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO COME INTO OUR WONDERFUL SPACE AND MAKE IT USE FOR THEM.
DATA CENTERS AREN'T GOING AWAY, BUT WE CAN WORK REALLY HARD TO RESTRICT THEM SO THAT THEY DON'T DAMAGE WHAT WE LOVE.
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? DO YOU MY NAME? YES.
UM, NOTHING REALLY BIG TO ADD HERE.
IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE ALL AGAINST IT, BUT WE JUST SPENT THE FIRST 20 MINUTES OF THIS MEETING LISTENING TO SOMEONE TALK ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL VALLEY FORAGE IS, HOW NICE AND GREEN IT IS, HOW OPEN SPACE IT IS.
THIS KIND OF THING CAN'T HAPPEN.
WE GOTTA KEEP DATA CENTERS OUT HERE.
WE CAN'T HAVE THE BIRTHPLACE OF DEMOCRACY, THE PLACE THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME TO, TO BE A DATA CENTER.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA WANT TO COME TO A DATA CENTER.
THEY WANT SEE VALLEY FORGE PARK.
THEY WANT TO SEE PEOPLE THAT ENJOY LIVING HERE THAT CAN'T BE, THAT'S COMPLETELY IN CONTRAST TO WHAT A DATA CENT, UH, CENTER IS.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO, AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE SOMEONE BACK HERE WHO KNOWS QUITE A BIT ABOUT THIS.
I WOULD ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND TAKING EVERY BIT OF ADVICE THAT SHE HAS TO HELP STOP THIS.
ANY ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT? ALRIGHT, I'M SEEING NONE.
I WILL, UH, CLOSE THE HEARING NOW.
UM, YES, I WOULD, UH, ASK WHO YOU'D LIKE A PROPOSED MOTION.
YEAH, I JUST WANT TO JUST TO SAY ONE, ONE THING.
UM, SO WE, WE HAVE THIS, UM, ORDINANCE THAT IS NOT THE BEST RIGHT NOW.
AND I, IF WE PASS THIS, I WANT THE NEW ONE WRITTEN AND AN AD HOC MEETING IF WE NEED TO, TO GET THE UPDATES PASSED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION THAT WE AMEND CHAPTER 300 OF THE, UH, UH, THE THREE OH CHAPTER 300, OUR ZONING REGARDING DATA CENTERS.
I'LL SECOND ALL THOSE IN PAPER.
ALL OPPOSED? UM, THE MOTION PASSES AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE HAVE THIS ON THE AGENDA IN AUGUST, IF POSSIBLE.
THE SECOND, THE FIRST ONE, UM, FRANCHISE.
DID I NOT VOTE FOR THAT ONE? DID WE MOVE, DID WE VOTE? I BELIEVE THAT WAS JUST THE PUBLIC HEARING.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WAS READY FOR ADOPTION.
IT'S JUST A PROCEDURAL STEP IN OH, OKAY.
AND THEN ON TO THE NEXT NEW BUSINESS.
[NEW BUSINESS (ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS)]
CONSIDER ADOPTING LIE RESOLUTION 2026 SLASH 26, GRANTING TENTATIVE PRELIMINARY FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL FOR LOVER'S LIEN PROJECT.ALLISON ZARO ON BEHALF OF GENERAL HANCOCK PARTNERSHIP ENTERPRISES LP, WE'RE HERE THIS EVENING REGARDING A PROPERTY THAT'S LOCATED AT 7 65 SOUTH CAL COLLEGEVILLE ROAD, ALTHOUGH IT'S COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE LOVE'S LANE PROJECT.
UM, THE TRACT OF LAND DOES HAVE FRONTAGE ON LOVE'S LANE, WHICH IS WHERE THAT, UH, REFERENCE COMES FROM.
I THINK THE BOARD IS ALL FAMILIAR WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY.
AND, UM, WHAT'S PROPOSED HERE.
UM, I'LL JUST GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY KNOWING WE HAVE A VERY LONG AGENDA TONIGHT.
UH, BUT THIS, THIS PROPERTY IS ZONED R TWO
[01:25:01]
DISTRICT.IT'S APPROXIMATELY, UH, 9.42 ACRES.
UH, AND IT IS PROPOSED TO BE SUBDIVIDED, UH, WITH 11 SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGS.
THERE IS ONE EXISTING DWELLING ON THE PROPERTY TODAY THAT WOULD BE DEMOLISHED.
UM, A NEW ROAD CONNECTION FROM COLLEGEVILLE ROAD, WHICH IS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PLAN ON THE SCREEN, UH, WOULD CONNECT THROUGH THE SITE TO LOVER'S LANE ON THE, ON THE TOP PART OF THE SCREEN THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
UH, WE DID APPEAR BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT THE BEGINNING OF JUNE TO PRESENT THIS PROJECT.
IT DID MAKE A RECOMMENDATION THAT IT BE APPROVED.
UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF THE THIRD PARTY PERMITS THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT THAT RELATE TO LAND DEVELOPMENT SPECIFICALLY.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN TALK ABOUT PLAING THAT'S SEPARATE.
UH, WE DO HAVE OUR NPDS PERMIT.
WE HIGHWAY OCCUPANCY PERMITS SINCE COLLEGE HILL ROAD IS A STATE ROAD, UM, THE SEWER PLANNING MODULE EXEMPTION.
UM, AND PREVIOUSLY WE HAD RECEIVED ZONING HEARING BOARD APPROVAL VIA SPECIAL EXCEPTION, UH, RELATED TO THIS SITE.
WE DO HAVE REVIEW LETTERS FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL GILMAR ASSOCIATES, AND, UH, BOTH FOR TRAFFIC AND FOR THE SITE IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL AS A TOWNSHIP ZONING OFFICER LETTER.
UM, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT THE PROJECT.
SOME OF WHAT WAS BROUGHT UP TONIGHT, HOW ARE PEOPLE NOTIFIED BEFORE THE BLASTING THAT AND THEN LONG TERM VIABILITY? AND YOU WERE SAYING IN THE AUDIENCE JUST THE AQUIFER, AND WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS FIVE MINUTES HAD TO DO WITH THE DEVELOPMENT? WHAT WOULD, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN THERE? WHO WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE? SURE.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A BODY OF STATE REGULATION THAT GOVERNS THIS, THAT IF THERE IS BLASTING ON THE SITE, UM, WHICH I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE LIKELY WILL BE HERE, UM, THE BLASTING CONTRACTOR HAS TO RECEIVE A SPECIFIC PERMIT FROM PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION BUREAU OF MINES.
UM, AND THEN PRIOR TO THE START OF BLASTING, UH, THERE ARE CERTAIN NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
I KNOW THERE WAS A REFERENCE TO HIGH POWER ATTENTION LINES, UM, UNDERGROUND UTILITIES, THEY HAVE TO, UM, PROVIDE CERTAIN NOTICES.
NOTICE IN THE THOSE INSTANCES.
UM, THERE'S ALSO DETAILED REQUIREMENTS SO THAT IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN DURING THE BLASTING OPERATION, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE, UH, PROVIDED BY THE BLASTING CONTRACTOR TO DEP WITHIN FOUR HOURS.
SO IF THERE WAS AN INCIDENT, THERE ACTUALLY IS SOMETHING IN THE STATE REGULATION THAT REFERENCES THAT BLASTING CONTRACTOR THAT HAS THE PERMIT, UM, SUPPLYING THAT INFORMATION TO DEP WITHIN FOUR HOURS.
SO I, I CAN GIVE YOU THAT INFORMATION BASED ON STATE REGULATION.
CAN YOU JUST COMMENT ON WHAT'S CHANGED WITH THE PLAN VERSUS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE? HAS ANYTHING CHANGED OR YOU JUST WENT THROUGH ALL OF THE, THE, THE PLAN IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME PLAN THAT WE'VE NOW GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WHEN WE WERE HERE PREVIOUSLY, THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.
COULD WE MEET THE TOWNSHIP ORDINANCE? COULD WE MEET DEP REQUIREMENTS? AND WE HAVE NOW GONE THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND DEMONSTRATED THAT WE CAN MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
WE ARE NOT REQUESTING ANY WAIVERS RELATED TO THIS PLAN.
I THOUGHT THERE WAS, WHAT'S THE FEE IN LIEU OF OPEN SPACE? SO, UM, FOR A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE, YOUR ORDINANCE HAS EITHER A REQUIREMENT FOR OPEN SPACE OR A FEE IN LIEU FOR A PROJECT OF THE SIZE THAT'S THIS SMALL, YOUR ORDINANCE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS THAT THE FEE AND LIE BE PAID.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING HERE.
AND YOU'RE PUTTING IN THE SIDEWALKS.
I KNOW THERE WAS SIDE DISCUSSION ABOUT SIDEWALKS.
THERE, THERE WILL BE SIDEWALKS, THUS NOT ASKING FOR WAIVER FROM, FROM SIDEWALKS.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF THE RETENTION WALLS, YOU KNOW, DON'T HOLD UP AND SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE ONCE THE DEVELOPER BUILDS THIS AND, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS AFTER IT'S BUILT SOME CATASTROPHIC HAPPENS? LIKE WHAT, WHAT, WHO DOES THE TOWNSHIP HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT OR WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS? SO THERE WILL BE AN HOA HERE, THE HOA WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETAINING WELLS OF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BASIN.
UM, ANY FACILITIES THAT ARE COMMON FACILITIES.
SO THERE ARE TWO PARKS TO THIS.
ONE IS, UM, I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE HAD RECEIVED SPECIAL EXCEPTION APPROVAL FROM THE ZONING HEARING BOARD AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROJECT.
THERE ARE SOME VERY DETAILED, UH, CONDITIONS OF THAT APPROVAL RELATED TO THE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT FACILITIES, MAKING SURE THE HOA IS SET UP WITH ADEQUATE BUDGETS, ADEQUATE RESERVES.
UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY REPORTING REQUIRED TO THE TOWNSHIP FOR ALL OF THAT THAT GOES BEYOND YOUR NORMAL STORMWATER O AND M REQUIREMENTS AND O AND M AGREEMENT, UM, PER THOSE CONDITIONS.
AND THE RETAINING WELL WOULD ALSO BE COVERED AND, UM, GO THROUGH THAT SAME PROCESS WITH THE HOA, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO SET ASIDE THE RESERVES FOR IT.
THE HOA WILL HAVE INSURANCE SO
[01:30:01]
THAT IF THERE IS AN EVENT THAT THERE WOULD BE INSURANCE THAT WOULD ALSO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE AS WELL.BUT IT WOULD BE HOA, DOES RETAINING WALL GET CHECKED EVERY FEW YEARS TO MAKE SURE IT'S STILL FUNCTIONING? LIKE LET'S SAY NOTHING CATASTROPHIC HAPPENS AND THEN THERE'S A BIG FLOOD AND IT REALLY LIKE A DAM, IT WAS NEVER CHECKED AND THEN THERE'S A BREACH.
IS THERE ANY WAY, IS THERE ANYTHING PROCESS IN PLACE? I MEAN, CERTAINLY WE COULD MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S COVERED IN CONNECTION.
THAT'S SORT OF FROM OUR MANAGEMENT RETAINING WALLS, WE CAN MAKE SURE THERE'S AN INSPECTION PROCESS IN PLACE.
YEAH, I MEAN IT SHOULD DEFINITELY BE HOW, HOW, WHO DECIDES HOW MUCH MONEY IS IN THE BACK ACCOUNT COVER ALL THIS THERE.
I MEAN, THERE ARE BEST PRACTICES BASED ON, SO FOR INSTANCE, FOR STORM WATER MANAGEMENT FACILITIES, THERE'S TYPICAL LIFE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FACILITIES BASED IN VERSUS PIPES, ET CETERA.
THERE'D BE A TYPICAL LIFE FOR THIS TYPE OF RETAINING WALL.
AND SO THE HOA WOULD THEN BUDGET AND SET ASIDE A CERTAIN AMOUNT EVERY YEAR.
OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE NOT GONNA START WITH A HUNDRED PERCENT ON DAY ONE BECAUSE IT'S BRAND NEW, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER FACILITY.
BUT OVER TIME YOU'RE BUDGETING AND THERE ARE BEST PRACTICES FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO THE HOA OWNS THE RETAINING WALL MAY OWN THE OCCUP OF IT.
AND IT APPEARS THAT I, I BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE, NONE OF THE STORM WATER CONTROLS OR THE, OR THE, UH, THE, THE RETAINING WALLS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE LOCATED ON ANY OF THESE OWNER OWNERS PROPERTIES.
THEY'RE ALL IN THE COMMON AREAS OF THE, THE HOA WILL MAINTAIN.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, THE, THE MAIN STORMWATER FACILITY, I, I MEAN THEY'RE INDIVIDUAL PIPE AND THINGS OBVIOUSLY THAT WILL BE ON THE PROPERTIES TO GET TO THAT MAIN BASIN, BUT THAT MAIN BASIN AND RETAINING WALL AREAS AND THAT THE, THE CON THE PIECE OF COMMON OPEN SPACE THAT YOU SEE AT THE TOP LEFT CORNER, IF THERE IS MAINTENANCE ON, THEN THERE'S MAINTENANCE ON IT.
HOW DO THE NEIGHBORS IN THAT DEVELOPMENT, AROUND THAT DEVELOPMENT GET THAT INFORMATION? WILL THAT BE PUBLIC FOR THEM TO SEE? BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT THEM.
UM, I MEAN, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER, I MEAN, AT LEAST IN TERMS OF THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITIES, THERE ARE CERTAIN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS UNDER YOUR STORMWATER OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS THAT STANDARD WITH THE TOWNSHIP.
SO AFTER CERTAIN TYPES OF STORM EVENTS, UM, THERE ARE, THERE IS INSPECTION THAT'S REQUIRED AND REPORTING THAT'S REQUIRED TO THE TOWNSHIP.
SO THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
THE REMAINDER WOULD BE LIKE ANY OTHER COMMUNITY THAT HAS FACILITIES THAT THEY HAVE TO MAINTAIN.
IT'S MORE OF AN INTERNAL PROCESS.
AND, AND I'LL JUST SAY THAT, SO THERE WILL BE AN OM AN OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT THAT'S ENTERED INTO AT THE TOWNSHIP THAT GIVES THE TOWNSHIP THE RIGHT, IF THE HOA OR IS NOT MAINTAINING THE FACILITIES AND THE WAY THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO, THEY CAN GO IN, LIKE IF THERE'S SEDIMENT BUILDING UP, THERE'S DEBRIS BUILDING UP THAT'S BLOCKING IT, THAT'S CAUSING FLOODING ONTO A NEIGHBOR PROPERTY TOWNSHIP CAN NOTIFY THE HOA AND SAY, HEY, YOU GUYS NEED TO GO IN AND MAINTAIN THIS AND CLEAN IT OUT AND GET IT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY.
AND IF THEY DON'T DO THAT AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD, THEN THE TOWNSHIP CAN GO IN, DO IT THEMSELVES AND ESSENTIALLY LEAN THE PROPERTY OR, OR BILL TO THE, TO THE H OA IF THEY DON'T.
SO THERE ARE MECHANISMS IN PLACE FOR ADDRESSING LIKE FAILURE TO MAINTAIN.
JUDGE YOU SO YOU UNDERSTAND I ASKED THE QUESTION BECAUSE I WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY UNDERSTOOD.
AND JIM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GONE BACK AND FORTH WITH THIS RETAINING WALLS AND AND ARE YOU COMFORTABLE, LIKE THERE WAS A COMMENT SAID THERE'S ALREADY FLOODING AND THERE'S RANGE ALREADY.
IS THIS GOING HELP IT OR IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU HAD CATASTROPHIC FLOODING? WHAT WOULD IT MEAN BETTER THAN TO HAVE THESE? THE FACILITIES ARE ALL DESIGNED FOR THE A HUNDRED YEAR STORM, AND THAT IS THE TYPICAL REQUIREMENT FOR BOTH THE UPPER PROVIDENCE, UH, DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS THE STATE REQUIREMENTS.
THE UPPER PROVIDENCE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE IS IN EXCESS OF THE STATE PERMITTING.
THE STATE PERMITTING MATCHES, PEAKS FROM POST-DEVELOPMENT, PRE-DEVELOPMENT.
AND YOUR ORDINANCE REQUIRES A 50 YEAR POST-DEVELOPMENT STORM, PEAK STORM PEAK TO BE REDUCED TO THE TWO YEAR PRE-DEVELOPMENT RUNOFF RATE.
SO IT'S A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THEIR CONTROLS THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND, UM, ALL OF THEIR DESIGN IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF BOTH THE TOWNSHIP AND THE STATE.
THESE HOMES HAVE BASEMENTS? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THE ARCHITECTURE HAS BEEN DESIGNED YET, BUT, UM, MY CLIENT WHO I WAS LOOKING FOR AN RC OF PEOPLE, UH, THEN BEN GOLD HERE AND THE YES, THEY DO.
[01:35:01]
YOU LOOK AT THE BLASTING IF YOU DON'T HAVE BASEMENTS.UM, DO YOU WANNA COME UP? SURE, MIKE, THEN, UH, THE, THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS, IS NO, FOR THE MOST PART, UH, THE FOUR LOTS THAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD ARE ACTUALLY BUILT IN A FILL CONDITION.
SO YES, WE HAVE TO HAVE A CUT IN THE FIRST, UH, LET'S SAY THREE LOTS ON THE RIGHT.
UH, THEN THE, THE FOUR KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE ARE MINIMAL CUT, AND THEN THE, THE FOUR ON THE LEFT SIDE ARE IN A FILL CONDITION EVEN WITH THE BASIN.
SO WHERE'S THE BLASTING? IT'S THE THREE ON THE RIGHT AND THE IN AND THE, IN THE BASIN.
IN THE BASIN IN STORMWATER BASIN.
THREE BLASTING BEFORE THE STORMWATER.
IT'S CREATED TO CREATE ENOUGH, UH, VOLUME OF AREA TO MANAGE THE AMOUNT OF STORM WATER THAT, UH, JIM WAS DISCUSSING.
I, I THINK I WAS ABSENT FOR THE LAST TIME THIS WAS REVIEWED.
WHAT WAS THE RESOLUTION WITH THE CEMETERY? LIKE WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE, I HEAR A LOT ABOUT FUTURE STORM WATER.
I HEAR A LOT ABOUT BLASTING CONCERN WITH WELLS, THE CEMETERY BEING DISTURBED.
HOW, HOW DO YOU TEST FOR THAT? HOW DO YOU TEST THAT? A UNDER YOUR TOMB ISN'T DISTURBED? UH, THE BLAST STATE CONTRACTOR WILL SET UP, UH, SEISMIC GRAFT TO, UH, MEASURE VIBRATIONS, UH, THAT THAT'S HAPPENING.
AND SO THAT'S A VERY CONTROLLED PROCESS AS THEY GO.
UM, THEY'RE ABLE TO, UH, ADJUST HOW MUCH, UH, DYNAMITE THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY PUTTING INTO THE GROUND AT DIFFERENT TIMES.
AND MONITORING THAT WITH THE, WITH THE SEISMOGRAPH, IS IT, ARE YOU GONNA FILL THE WELLS PRIOR TO BLASTING AND AFTER BLASTING, LIKE HOW DO YOU DETERMINE A WELL DOESN'T LOSE ITS INTEGRITY BECAUSE THOSE ARE PRETTY OLD WELLS TOO.
SO, SO PART OF THE PROCESS, UH, AS ALLISON MENTIONED, UM, IS FOLLOWING THE STATE REGULATIONS, WHICH, UH, REQUIRES US TO PROVIDE NOTICE WITHIN A THOUSAND FEET OF A BLASTING ACTIVITY.
SO THE CONTRACTOR THAT IS HIRED TO DO THE WORK WILL PROVIDE THAT NOTICE, UH, TO, TO THOSE RESIDENTS.
AND THEN THEY'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A PRE-BLAST SURVEY, WHICH THEN, UH, WOULD BE AN INSPECTION OF THE EXISTING FACILITIES AROUND WHICH WOULD BASEMENT OR WELLS OR ANYTHING THAT'S, UH, ANY STRUCTURE, UH, WITHIN THAT AREA.
THEY CAN INSPECT IT PRIOR? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND THEN THEY GET CHECKED AFTER.
IF THERE'S AN ISSUE, THEN THEY WOULD REPORT THAT ISSUE.
UH, BUT IN, IN TERMS OF IF, UH, THEY WOULD GO TO THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY OR, UH, BE ABLE TO GO REACH BACK OUT TO THE CONTRACTOR AND THE CONTRACTOR IN ADDITION WOULD HAVE INSURANCE TO PROTECT AGAINST SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAPPEN, IT'S ON THE RESIDENT TO CHECK IT? UH, THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT.
THE RESIDENT WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK INTO THEIR BASEMENT AND SEE, OKAY, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENED OR, YOU KNOW, THEY'D HAVE TO ESSENTIALLY REPORT A CLAIM, SO LIKE A RESOLUTION TO MAKE SURE IT'S FINE.
I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE, I DON'T THINK CEMETERY, IT DOESN'T, LIKE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST LIKE, OH, THE CONTRACTOR, LIKE, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON HOW THIS WILL BE, YOU KNOW, ENSURE THAT NOTHING'S GOING TO BE DISTURBED, DESTROYED, THE BOSSING AND YOU SAY IT'S CONTROLLED, BUT IT'S STILL EXPLOSIVE AND THAT CAN THEY SOMETHING THAT'S TOO LATE AND YEAH, EVERYTHING'S, I JUST, I JUST HAVE CONCERNS.
IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S A GOOD THING.
WHAT ABOUT A RESIDENT BROUGHT UP, UM, OVERFLOW? HOW DOES THE OVERFLOW WORK, UH, FROM A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE? RIGHT.
UM, DOES, DO YOU HAVE A POINTER? I, NOT ONE.
SO, SO AS, AS EVERYONE'S PROBABLY CURRENTLY AWARE THAT THE WATER'S HEADING, UH, THIS DIRECTION, SO THIS IS THE HIGH POINT AND, AND WATER'S GOING DOWN THIS DIRECTION CURRENTLY TODAY.
UM, SO, UH, THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE A PIPE SYSTEM THAT COLLECTS ANY WATER THAT'S COMING THIS DIRECTION, PIPE SYSTEM IN THE ROAD, AND THEN THERE'S A PIPE SYSTEM THAT, UH, DISCHARGES THE WATER INTO THIS BASIN AND THEN ANOTHER PIPE SYSTEM THAT TAKES IT INTO THIS BASIN HERE.
UM, AND SO, UH, THIS BERM IS ROUGHLY FOUR FEET HIGH.
UM, SO THAT MEANS THAT THEY'LL, AT A, AT ANY GIVEN POINT AT THE, THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE STORM, THERE'LL BE FOUR FEET OF WATER, UH, IN, IN THE BASIN.
UM, AND THEN WATER WOULD THEN INFILTRATE, UH, INTO THE BOTTOM OF THIS.
THIS IS CONSIDERED A, UH, A-N-M-R-C BASIN, THE MANAGED RELEASE CONCEPT, UH, THAT DEP ALLOWS, UM, AND THEN WATER FILTERS, UH, DOWN INTO AN UNDER DRAIN THAT THEN COMES INTO A LEVEL SPREADER, UH, WHICH IS THIS HERE, WHICH IS A PIPE SYSTEM, UH, BELOW GROUND FILLED WITH STONE, AND THEN WATER THEN, UH, WOULD BUBBLE UP OUT OF THAT, UH, LEVEL SPREADER, ALLOWING THE WATER TO FLOW OVER A LEVEL PERIOD OF, UH, OF AREA.
IF THERE IS MORE THAN FOUR FEET OF WATER, UH, THEN THE EMERGENCY SPILLWAY WOULD KICK IN, UH, AND WATER WOULD START TO FLOW OVER THAT SPILLWAY.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, KIND OF SHEET FLOW
[01:40:01]
OVER THAT AREA.WHERE DID, WHERE DOES THAT GO? ALL TO WHERE THE WATERHEAD STAY, WHICH IS OVER ON THE KIND OF THIS PROPERTY OVER HERE, MY HOUSE? YES.
TODAY THERE'S, THERE'S WATER ISSUES, THERE'S FLOODING ISSUES, THERE'S CHALLENGES.
LAST NIGHT WE HAD A STORM AND JUST SOUTH OF US IT WAS RAINING TWO INCHES AND 30 MINUTES.
CAN THAT HANDLE TWO INCHES AND 30 MINUTES OF RAIN? I, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, SO I MIGHT ASK JEN THAT QUESTION.
SHE MIGHT BE MORE EQUIPPED TO ANSWER THAT.
THE DESIGN STORMS THAT ARE REQUIRED ARE BASED ON A 24 HOUR PERIOD, SO IT'S AVERAGED OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
SO THAT TWO INCHES PER, WOULD YOU SAY AN HOUR? YEAH.
LAST NIGHT, THE STORMS THAT CAME THROUGH THE SIDE OF US IN CHESTER COUNTY WERE RAINING AT A RATE OF ABOUT TWO INCHES TO EVERY 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR FOR A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
YEAH, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED FOR THE A HUNDRED YEAR STORM.
IT'S 7.65 IS WHAT THEY'VE USED FOR THEIR DESIGN STORM AND HURRICANE IDA, WHEN IT CAME THROUGH, DID IT TAKE 24 HOURS? UH, AGAIN, I'M, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER.
MAYBE JEN MIGHT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT.
IT, IT DID, IT TOOK ABOUT TWO HOURS.
14 INCHES OF RAIN OVER 14 INCHES OF RAIN OVER 24 HOURS ON TO, ON WHAT WAS ALREADY SIDE AND GROUND.
WE HAD FIVE INCHES, SEVEN INCH RAIN STORMED IN TWO WEEKS PREVIOUSLY.
AND BY THE WAY, NONE OF THE FLOOD CONTROLS FROM THE TOWN THAT, THAT, THAT STORM CAME IN.
THAT STORM CAME IN, I COULDN'T EVEN GET HOME FROM WORK.
IT RAINED AND MONTCLAIR WAS DEVASTATED.
I JUST, IT, IT JUST, THERE'S AN ISSUE TODAY BECAUSE THERE'S WATER RUNOFF, IT'S A STEEP SLOPE, AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA CONCENTRATE A WALL OF WATER OVER THESE PEOPLE'S HOMES.
I'M NOT SURE YOU'RE SAYING WE'LL, OVERFLOW AND THIS, I MEAN, WE JUST HAD THESE STORMS LAST NIGHT.
I JUST, I I DON'T FEEL GOOD ABOUT AN OVERFLOW.
I I JUST, IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT TO ME.
YEAH, I'M, I'M NOT SURE IT'S, IT IS ACCURATE TO DESCRIBE IT.
THAT, THAT, THAT WAY YOU, THE WATER CURRENTLY GOES THERE TODAY, AND SO WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT, WITHOUT ANY CONTROLS IS PROBABLY GONNA BE WORSE THAN WHAT THIS, ONCE THIS GETS BILLED AND THE, YOU HAVE THEN, UH, A FACILITY TO, TO MANAGE IT.
I, I AGREE THAT IT WILL IMPROVE IT ON AVERAGE.
I'M JUST SAYING, UM, I SHOULDN'T SAY, BUT IT WILL AVERAGE PEOPLE USE AVERAGES AND GET AVERAGE RESULTS.
THE PROBLEM IS STORMS ARE HEAVY AND FAST, AND I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF AN OVERFLOW INTO THESE PEOPLE'S BACKYARDS.
YOU'RE GONNA FIX THE PROBLEM UNTIL THE STORM COMES THROUGH AND THE STORMS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE FREQUENT AND MORE AND MORE INTENSE, AND I DON'T FEEL GOOD THAT THEY OVERFLOW THERE IS GONNA PROTECT THE RESIDENTS UNDERNEATH THAT WALL.
SO TO GET BOTH THE STATE PERMIT AND APPROVAL FOR OUR PROVIDENCE, THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE AN EMERGENCY OVERFLOW FOR RELIEF.
THERE'S NOT CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE DETENTION BASIN IN FIRM.
AND DEP AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOTH REQUIRE AN OFFSITE EVALUATION OF THE RECEIVING CHANNEL FOR THAT.
AND THIS PROJECT HAS RECEIVED THEIR PERMANENT AND APPROVAL TO DO THAT.
I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT I WANT TO BE THE GUY THAT APPROVES IT, AND THEN THAT STONE COMES THROUGH IN A YEAR.
I MEAN, I, I'LL JUST ALSO GO BACK TO THE ORDINANCE HAS REQUIREMENTS IN IT FOR HOW MUCH STORM WATER THEY'RE REQUIRED TO BASICALLY MANAGE AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY WAIVERS AND THEY'VE GOTTEN THIRD PARTY OUTSIDE AGENCY APPROVAL.
THE TOWNSHIP, YOU KNOW, WE, THE, THE REGULATIONS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY AND THE NEIGHBORS ARE WHAT WE WRITE IN OUR SUBDIVISION LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE.
THOSE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT WE'VE ADOPTED AND WE'VE SET, THESE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT PROTECT RESIDENCIES TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE MIGHT BE STORMS THAT EXCEED THOSE STANDARDS WHEN THERE'S A HURRICANE THAT COMES THROUGH.
I MEAN, THAT'S AN EXCEPTIONAL, YOU KNOW, TORNADO COMES THROUGH.
THESE AREN'T NECESSARILY TORNADO PROOF.
THAT'S AN ACT OF GOD THAT'S A, SO FAR ABOVE, BEYOND WHAT WOULD NORMALLY BE EXPECTED IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT, THAT RIGHT NOW THEY'RE PRESENTING A WAIVER FREE PLAN.
YOU VERY RARELY EVER SEE A WAIVER FREE PLAN.
THIS MAY BE THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER SEEN A WAIVER FREE PLAN.
THEY ALREADY HAVE ALL THEIR OUTSIDE AGENCY OF GOOGLES.
THERE ISN'T ANY REASON FOR THE TOWNSHIP TO REALLY BE DENYING THIS APPLICATION.
SO IF WE ONLY FOLLOW THE ORDINANCES AND THERE'D BE NO POINT TO HAVE THE BOARD SUPERVISORS, RIGHT.
SO OUR, OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE BEST FOR OUR TOWNSHIP, THE CONSTITUENTS AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
[01:45:01]
WHILE THEY MEET OUR ORDINANCES, I, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF CONCERNS WITH THIS PLAN, RIGHT? THIS IS, THIS IS A HIGH RISK COMMUNITY, SO I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, I COORDINATORS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT THIS COMMUNITY JUST A FEW YEARS AGO WAS DEVASTATED BY FLOODING.WE KNOW THAT IT'S, THAT IT'S A HIGH RISK FLOODED AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE BUILDING AN 18 FOOT WALL OF WATER ON TOP OF THEIR END.
I JUST, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN SLEEP IF I GET THAT.
YEAH, I, I I ALSO THINK THAT THE ORDINANCES ARE PUT IN PLACE, SO THERE IS AN ARBITRARY APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.
SO THEY'RE, IF IF THEY'RE WRITTEN AND THEY'RE ESTABLISHED, THAT MEANS THAT THEY APPLY TO EVERYBODY EQUALLY.
SO TO THE EXTENT THE BOARD WANTS TO APPLY DIFFERENT REGULATIONS DEPENDING ON THE PERSON OR THE PROPERTY, THAT, I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF HAVING THESE ORDINANCES IN PLACE IS SO THAT THERE'S EQUAL APPLICATION.
AND IF YOU MEET THE STANDARDS, YOU MEET THE STANDARD.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IS HESITANT TO, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THIS SPECIFIC SITUATION, THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THIS IS ORDINANCE COMPLIANT.
SO IF THERE WERE LESS HOUSES, WOULD THE STORM WATER BE AS CONCERNING? I MEAN, CAN YOU MOVE THE BASIN LIKE OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE SO IT'S NOT ON TOP OF, YOU KNOW, NOT CLEAR, YOU KNOW, WATERFALL THAT COULD HAPPEN OR UNFORTUNATELY YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY IT'S THE, THE BASIN DOES NEED TO GO TO THE LOW POINT.
WHY, WHY ARE WE ASKING FOR ALL THREE APPROVALS TONIGHT? WHY ARE WE DOING PRELIMINARY ALL THE WAY THROUGH FINAL ONE STEP, BUT WE'VE NEVER, WE WOULD'VE, WE WERE IN FRONT OF YOU FOR TENTATIVE SKETCH AND YOU REFUSED TO TAKE ACTION BECAUSE YOU HAD CONCERNS.
SO WE MOVED FORWARD WITH, UH, THAT, THAT THE PROJECT TO, TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS BY GETTING ALL, ALL OUTSIDE AGENCY, UH, PERMITS AND THEN MEETING ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR CODE.
WE TOLD 'EM TO COME BACK WITH A FULLY ENGINEERED PLAN WITH ALL THEIR RULES BEFORE WE WOULD EVEN CONSIDER IT.
WE STILL HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE CEMETERY.
SO THEY HAVE MET ALL OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
LISTEN, ANY PIECE OF WAY'S DEVELOPED BECAUSE OF OUR ORDINANCES, THE RATE OF, OF WATER FLOW OFF OF THAT PIECE OF LAND WILL BE LESS THAN BEFORE IT WAS DEVELOPED.
THAT'S JUST ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE.
IT'S NOT GUESS WORK, IT'S NOT FEELINGS.
AND WE REQUIRE IT IN OUR ORDINANCE AND IT'S STRONGER THAN MOST OF THE TOWNSHIPS AROUND HERE BECAUSE WE ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BASE AND WE KNOW THAT.
I, I, UH, IT'S NOT THE AVERAGE THAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT.
WELL, HOW ALL, ALL OF OUR, ALL THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE, ALL OF OUR HOMES WERE BUILT HERE.
DO WE, DO WE WANT TO MOVE OUT AND LEAVE THE LAND AND, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? NOT ALL.
THEY'RE NOT ALL ON STEEP SLOPES.
I MEAN, THIS IS, THIS IS LIKE THIS, THIS ONE IS, I DIDN'T APPROVE BUILDING ON STEEP SLOPE.
YOU GUYS DO WHAT WE ASKED YOU CAME THROUGH AND YOU, YOU'RE CHECKING ALL THE BOXES.
2026 DASH 26, GRANNY 10, UH, TENTATIVE PRELIMINARY, FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL FOR LOVE'S LIEN PROJECT.
UM, BILL, DO YOU APPROVE OR SAY YES OR NO? YES.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS, UM, RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 27 APPROVAL FOR ARDEN RESERVE.
MY NAME'S MIKE CLAIMANT AND I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
I'M ALSO A, UH, PRINCIPAL OF THE APPLICANT.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, UM, WITH ME IS NICK FIOLA.
UM, AND UH, ALSO WITH ME IS, IS MY, UH, PARTNER IN THE
[01:50:01]
APPLICATION, DEL GRIPPO, WHO'S, UH, BUILDER.UM, WE'VE BEEN BUILDING TOGETHER FOR ABOUT 40 YEARS.
I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW THIS PROPERTY.
IT'S, UH, A LARGE, UH, WELL IT'S, IT'S A EIGHT ACRE PIECE OF LAND THAT'S BEEN FARMED.
THE, UM, THE, UH, BARN WAS ABANDONED, THE GARAGE WAS ABANDONED.
THERE'S TREES GROWING THROUGH ROOFS AND SO FORTH.
UM, IT'S REALLY UNIQUE IN THAT IT'S SURROUNDED BY MORE DENSE USE.
SO TO THE TOP OF THE PLAN, YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, THERE'S A SHOPPING CENTER TO THE REAR OF THE PLAN.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, THERE IS THE TOLL DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS R TWO DEVELOPMENT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PLAN.
UP TO THE LINE IS THE TOLL DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS AN R TWO DEVELOPMENT.
THIS IS REALLY A KEYHOLE, IT'S PROBABLY REVERSE SPOT ZONE, BUT WE ARE NOT HERE TO ASK FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, ZONING RELIEF OR ACTUALLY WHAT SHOULD BE R TWO ZONING.
WE ARE HERE SIMPLY TO BUILD SIX HOUSES ON A RELATIVELY GENTLE SLOPING PIECE OF LAND, UM, WITH AS MINIMAL IMPACT AS POSSIBLE.
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS THE ORIGINAL PLAN THAT WE BROUGHT BEFORE YOU AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND THEY, UH, THE FIRE MARSHAL HAD AN IDEA, AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAD AN IDEA THAT PERHAPS, UH, EXTENDING THE CUL-DE-SAC WOULD MAKE A BETTER PLAN, A BETTER PLAN.
CERTAINLY IT COSTS MORE TO DO THAT, BUT WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT MAY VERY WELL MAKE A BETTER PLAN, ALTHOUGH IT DOES CREATE MORE, UH, BLACKTOP, IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AND SO FORTH.
THIS IS NOT AN AREA THAT IS PRONE TO FLOODING, UH, IN ANY WAY.
UH, IT'S NOT AN AREA WHERE THERE WILL BE BLASTING.
UM, IT IS A, A REALLY NICE AREA FOR RESIDENCES.
SO WHAT YOU SEE IS A CONCEPT PLAN.
UM, IT LAYS OUT THE LOTS, UH, IN A, IN A CONFIGURATION.
THE ONLY REQUEST WE'RE BEING WE'RE ASKING IS THAT UNDER YOUR ORDINANCE, THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR YOU AS SUPERVISORS TO APPROVE REAR LOTS AS LONG AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, UH, UH, RECOMMENDS THAT PLANNING COMMISSION HAS RECOMMENDED IT.
UM, AS LONG AS THEY, UH, AS LONG AS WE IN INCREASE THE LENGTH OF THE CUL-DE-SAC, THE TWO REAR LOTS THAT ARE TO THE RIGHT FAR RIGHT OF THE PLAN HAVE NORMAL DRIVEWAYS.
UM, THE ONLY THING THEY DON'T HAVE IS, UH, STREET FRONTAGE THAT WOULD BE 150 FEET WIDE.
IT WOULD KIND OF BE RIDICULOUS, IN MY OPINION, TO MOVE THE CUL-DE-SAC DOWN TO DO THAT.
UH, THEN YOU'RE REALLY WASTING, UH, IMPERVIOUS AND YOU'RE WASTING BLACKTOP AND YOU'RE DOING ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TWO THAT ARE GONNA JOIN THAT AT THAT? YEAH, THE TWO ON THE FAR RIGHT.
ARE THEY, IS THERE A SEPARATION THERE? ARE THEY TRULY SHARED? NO, THERE'S A, THERE'S A 50 FOOT LEG THAT COMES OUT OF EACH OF THOSE LOTS TO THE CUL-DE-SAC.
SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE 50 FEET OF FRONTAGE ON THE CUL-DE-SAC.
AND WHAT WE WILL LIKELY DO IS REMOVE THE, UH, THE JOINT DRIVEWAY SO WE DON'T HAVE CROSS EASEMENTS.
THAT MAKES FOR DIFFICULT NEIGHBORS SOMETIMES.
SO WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE EACH ONE OF 'EM HAVE THEIR OWN DRIVEWAY.
UH, BUT OTHERWISE, UM, THE PLAN IS, IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR ORDINANCE.
OUR ENGINEER IS HERE TO ASK, UH, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, THERE IS A REQUIREMENT THAT WE WILL HAVE TO HAVE YOUR DECISION BEFORE WE GO TO PENDOT.
UH, THIS IS A PENDOT ROAD, UH, SOUTH TOWNSHIP LINE ROAD.
AND, UH, WE'RE VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PENDOT.
UH, THERE'S NO SIDEWALKS ALONG THIS ROAD.
THERE'S NO, THERE'S VERY LITTLE, UH, IMPROVEMENT WHATSOEVER UNTIL YOU GET CLOSE TO THE CORNER WHERE THE EDGE OF THE SHOPPING CENTER IS.
IS THIS, IS THIS R TWO? IS THIS R TWO? NO, IT'S R ONE AND IT'S BEING DEVELOPED IN ACCORDANCE WITH R ONE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S KIND OF SURROUNDED BY OTHER THINGS.
IT SURE IS, BUT WE, WE DON'T WANT TO BELABOR THAT.
WHERE'S THE SHOP? I'M TRYING TO PICTURE WHERE THIS, WHERE'S THE SHOPPING CENTER? IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU COME DOWN THE HILL, UM, MR. YEAGER, YOU CAN DOWN A HILL, UH, AND, AND YOU COME TO, UM, IT'S RIGHT BEFORE HE TURNING A TARGET THERE, THAT PROPERTY, RIGHT? THAT'S EXACTLY THE PLAN.
[01:55:01]
IT IS DIRECTLY NORTH, THE POWER LINE OF THOSE DOTTED LINES.DO YOU SEE? AND IT WOULD BE, IT'S REALLY JUST ALMOST RIGHT OFF THE PICTURE.
IT'S RIGHT OFF THE PICTURE ON THE, ON THE TOP PART OF THE BASE, RIGHT? THE TARGET SHOP.
MY CONCERN WAS ABOUT THE, UH, SHEER DRIVEWAY.
YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO, BUT BEAR IN MIND YOU, YOU'RE PUTTING IN SEPTIC SYSTEMS HERE WITH PUBLIC WATER, SO THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A GREAT MIX, BUT THERE'S NOT A, YOU KNOW, GEOGRAPHICALLY YOU'RE LOCKED, RIGHT? YEAH, WE, WE, UM, WE CERTAINLY WITHOUT HIGHER DENSITY, THERE'S A BELLY.
AND THAT'S WHY THIS CAN'T BE OUR TWO IS BECAUSE, WELL, IF THERE WERE ARE TWO, WE WE'D BUILD A PUMP STATION.
JOHN, DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WHEN WE RECORD? NOT AT THIS.
ANY COMMENTS? TRAFFIC COMING OUT, TRAFFIC STUDIES? YOU COMING OUT ON THE TOWNSHIP LOBBY? IS IT, THERE MUST BE A LOT OF TRAFFIC RIGHT THERE COMING OUT ON THE TOWNSHIP.
YEAH, THERE, THERE, THERE'S NO QUESTION.
THERE'S UH, UH, THERE'S A MORNING AND AFTERNOON TRAFFIC.
I'VE BEEN TO THIS PROPERTY DOZENS OF TIMES NOW AND, UH, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, BUT IT'S LIKE EVERY OTHER, YOU KNOW, EVERY OTHER SMALL DEVELOPMENT COMING OUT ONTO A, ONTO THE STREET.
AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, WE DID RECOMMEND THAT THEY GO TO PENNDOT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
THEY'RE COMING OUT RIGHT IN THE TAPER WHERE IT'S WIDENING TO GO INTO THE SHOPPING CENTER.
SO PENNDOT WILL DEFINITELY CONTROL AND DECIDE IF THAT'S A SAFE LOCATION OR NOT.
THEY MAY HAVE THEM MOVE THE DRIVEWAY, THEY MAY HAVE THEM WIDEN THEIR ENTIRE FRONTAGE AND MOVE THE TAPER BEYOND.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S PEN'S PURVIEW.
TOM, HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO, I ALWAYS THOUGHT WE END THAT PROPERTY ACROSS THE POWER LINES, SO THAT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE, BUT THERE, THIS WAS A LITTLE SPACE LEFT OVER AFTER.
UM, SO I HAVE A MOTION, I'LL MAKE A MOTION.
THE ADOPT RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 27 GRANTING 10 LAND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL FOR HARBOR RESERVE 1348 SOUTH PENSION.
NEXT UP WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM MAINLINE HEALTH REGARDING PENDING LAND DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION.
ALISON
UM, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT A PROPERTY THAT IS LOCATED AT COLLEGEVILLE ROAD IN ARCOLA ROAD.
UM, I HAVE A TEAM WITH ME THIS EVENING.
I HAVE ED EZ, WHO'S THE CEO OF MAINLINE HEALTH, DOUG WILLIAMS FROM MAINLINE HEALTH CO.
UH, WE HAVE LINDSAY ER, WHO'S OUR, UM, CIVIL ENGINEER FROM ER ENGINEERING AND DENISE THOMPSON FROM FCA, WHICH IS THE ARCHITECT AND PLANNER FOR THE, THE PROPERTY AND THE PROJECT.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE KNOW YOU HAVE A VERY LONG AGENDA.
WE'RE ALREADY AT NINE O'CLOCK, SO WE'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY, BUT WE WANTED TO COME TO YOU UP FRONT AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS PROPERTY.
MAINLINE HOUSE IS CURRENTLY EXPLORING THE VIABILITY OF A HOSPITAL ON THE SITE.
UM, AND WE SHOWED A PLAN AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION, WHICH WE DID SAY WOULD BE A POTENTIAL MAX BUILD OUT OF THE SITE.
SO I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE, AND WE WILL WALK THROUGH TONIGHT, THAT THIS WOULD BE AN A PHASE PROJECT OVER TIME.
UM, AND THE FIRST PHASE OF THE HOSPITAL WOULD BE A LOT SMALLER THAN WHAT HAS BEEN REPORTED IN THE MEDIA.
SO I DID WANT TO WALK THROUGH OUR VARIOUS PHASES TONIGHT.
UM, I'D LIKE TO HAVE ED GIVE YOU A FEW WORDS, BUT JUST VERY BRIEFLY, THE SITE TODAY IS ZONED I OH THREE AND UM, ALSO R ONE IN THE REAR.
UM, IT HAS FRONTAGE ON COLLEGEVILLE ROAD, ARCOLA ROAD AND THERE'S UM, SOME FRONTAGE ON MENNONITE ROAD, WHICH IS AT THE TOP OF THE PLAN.
COLLEGEVILLE ROAD IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND ARCOLA ROAD IS ON THE BOTTOM.
PROVIDENCE TOWN CENTER IS ACROSS FROM, UM, THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION AS WELL.
AND MAINLINE HEALTH HAS AN EXISTING, UH, MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING CATTYCORNER AT THE INTERSECTION OF COLLEGEVILLE ROAD AND ARCOLA ROAD.
UM, AND WE, WE'LL BRIEFLY WALK THROUGH THAT, BUT UH, WHAT WE HAVE FILED WITH YOU IS A TENTATIVE SKETCH PLAN THAT WOULD SHOW A POTENTIAL MAX BUILD OUT OF THE SITE.
WE WOULD NEED A, WE WOULD NEED SOME ZONING CHANGES.
UM, THERE ISN'T AN EXISTING INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT IN YOUR TOWNSHIP, WHICH I KNOW YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH, THAT CURRENTLY ALLOWS A HOSPITAL BY CONDITIONAL USE, WHICH IS WE WOULD PROPOSE TO DO, UTILIZE THE INSTITUTIONAL OVERLAY ON THE SITE, UM, UTILIZING THAT EXISTING FRAMEWORK.
[02:00:01]
ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE WOULD REQUEST BE CHANGED AS PART OF THE PENDING ZONING ORDINANCE, SUBMIT TEXT AMENDMENT THAT WE ALSO FILED PARTICULARLY TO ALLOW THE HOSPITAL AND THE SITE ITSELF TO BE SHIFTED TOWARDS ARCOLA ROAD.THE WAY YOUR ORDINANCE IS SET UP TODAY, IT WOULD PUSH EVERYTHING BACK INTO THE SITE, CLOSER TO THE RESIDENTIAL.
SO THE MAIN CHANGES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING UNDER THAT TEXT PULLS IT MORE APPROPRIATELY UP TO ARCOLA AND THE COMMERCIAL CARTER.
ONE THING I'LL NOTE JUST VERY BRIEFLY BEFORE, UM, I HAVE ED SAY A FEW WORDS, IS THAT THERE WAS A COMMENT OR QUESTION ABOUT ACCESS TO MENNONITE ROAD THAT IS EMERGENCY ACCESS ONLY.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING,
UM, SO IT'S NOT PROPOSED TO BE A FULL ACCESS.
IT WOULD ONLY BE USED IN THE EVENT THAT THE ACCESS TO ARCOLA ROAD IS BLOCKED.
RIGHT NOW OUR FRONTAGE AND OUR ACCESS IS ONLY PROPOSED FROM ARCOLA.
SO BECAUSE IT'S A HOSPITAL, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A WAY FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO GET IN AND OUT IN THE EVENT THAT ALL OF ARCOLA IS BLOCKED.
SO NEXT I'LL LET THAT GIVE UP.
MY NAME'S A JIMENEZ AND UH, I WANTED TO OFFER SOME COLOR COMMENTARY AS TO WHY WE'RE EVEN HERE.
UM, I THINK MOST OF YOU HAVE SOME FAMILIARITY THAT MAINLINE HEALTH IS SPRINKLED ACROSS THE 4 22 CORRIDOR.
SO WHETHER WE'RE IN KOP OR WE AT SHE AND AUDUBON, WE'RE IN COLLEGEVILLE WHERE THE OAKS, WE GO ALL THE WAY UP TO ROYERSFORD, WE'RE IN LIMERICK.
UM, MAINLINE HAS BEEN TAKING CARE OF RESIDENTS OF THE AREA FOR A WHILE.
AND UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE DATA AND GET INFORMATION, THE MAGNITUDE OF HOW MANY RESIDENTS OF THE AREA ACTUALLY COME TO MAINLINE HEALTH FACILITIES IS A LITTLE ELUSIVE.
AND SO WE LOOKED AT THE DATA AND OVER THE LAST FIVE AND A HALF YEARS, NEARLY HALF A MILLION PATIENT VISITS HAVE COME TO A MAINLINE HEALTH FACILITY.
SO PEOPLE ARE DRIVING DISTANCES TO COME FOR THAT CARE.
SO FOR US, THERE'S GREAT PRIDE.
THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT OUR DOCTORS AND NURSES FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF A COMMUNITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE HEAR OVER AND OVER, IT'S A DRIVE TO PAOLI.
AND WHEN I GET THERE, I HAVE TO WAIT, GIVE IT A TRY TO GO TO BRYN MAWR, BUT I HAVE TO WEAVE MY WAY AROUND AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I'M BEHIND THE SCHOOL BUS, RIGHT? SO WE HEAR ALL THOSE THINGS.
SO AS WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT MAKES SENSE, WE ASKED THE NEXT NATURAL QUESTION, WOULD ANYBODY WORK HERE? AND WE LEARN A NEW DATA POINT 1029 PEOPLE LIVE IN WHAT WE CALL A, A GREATER COLLEGEVILLE AREA THAT WORK FOR MAINLINE HEALTH 1029, 7% OF THE WORKFORCE OF ACROSS ALL OF MAINLINE HEALTH LIVES RIGHT AROUND HERE.
SO THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE WOULD WORK HERE, THEY ALREADY DO.
THE IDEA THAT WE'RE GONNA MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY BEGIN TO MAKE SENSE.
AND SO THIS PROJECT REALLY IS A FUNCTION OF THAT.
IT, IT'S NOT ABOUT TRYING TO SOLVE ANOTHER PROBLEM.
UM, IT'S ABOUT HOW DO WE PROVIDE CARE LOCALLY BECAUSE WE KNOW WE HAVE A FEW PRESSURE POINTS.
IF YOU'VE GONE TO PALEY, I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON THERE, AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO SOLVE A CAPACITY PROBLEM THERE, BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE NEARLY HALF A MILLION PATIENT ENCOUNTERS.
AND SO, UM, OUR GOAL IS TO BE CALCULATED AND, AND WHEN YOU'VE SEEN THE PLANS OR AT LEAST THE THOUGHTS, IT REALLY IS MEANT TO REPRESENT AN EVOLUTION OVER TIME.
WE HAVE NOT THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THAT TIME IS BECAUSE IT REALLY IS ABOUT WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THIS COMMUNITY NEED? UH, HEALTHCARE SERVICES ACROSS OUR STATE'S PRETTY FRAGILE.
UM, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATE'S REPORTS, OR AT LEAST THE COMMISSIONS REPORTS, YOU'VE SEEN STUFF ABOUT HOSPITALS ACROSS THE AREA THAT ARE AT JEOPARDY.
UM, WE, MAINLINE HEALTH HAVE LIVED THROUGH THE CROSIER IMPACT ON RIDDLE.
AND SO WE'RE QUITE SENSITIVE TO WHAT HAPPENS.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE MEETING, THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE RECOGNIZE IT.
IT'S A BIG UNDERTAKING FOR SURE.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
I THINK IT'S A VERY INTERESTING IDEA.
FIRST, I HEAR INSTITUTIONAL OVERLAY.
UM, BUT, BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT.
UM, THIS ISN'T GONNA GET ME MY FOUR LANES DOWN THE WHOLE WAY DOWN THE ROAD.
IS IT NOT ALL THE WAY DOWN? NO.
WE AHEAD AND GET THAT EVENTUALLY.
ACTUALLY, THIS, THIS IS AN INSTITUTION, ACTUALLY THIS IS THE POINT.
THIS IS WHAT THE FRONTAGE IS OUR GOAL.
SO WHAT, BUT WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT PINCH POINT LATER WITH YOU.
POINT IS, I CAN SAFELY SAY ENGINEERING'S NOT MY THING, BUT WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
THAT WILL BE BE A COUPLE THINGS JUST TO, JUST TO THROW AT YOU.
THAT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING
[02:05:01]
TO DISCUSS IS, UM, THE HEIGHT OF THE BUILDING.UH, WE WENT THROUGH THIS, UM, A LITTLE WHILE AGO, A COUPLE YEARS AGO, AND YOU GET TO A CERTAIN HEIGHT AND IT REQUIRES THIS GENTLEMAN HERE THAT WE LOVE AND TRUST AT A LADDER TRUCK, BUT HE HAS TO HAVE FOUR INDIVIDUALS AROUND THE CLOCK, THREE CREWS.
IT COULD GET 12 TO 16 PEOPLE MANNING A TRUCK THAT WE DON'T KNOW WE'LL USE FOR YEARS.
SO IT, SO THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT HAPPEN THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR HIM.
SO I'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT HE'S THINKING, UM, RELATIVE TO THIS.
BUT I THINK IT'S A PROBABLY HELPS US OUT A LOT.
AND THE OTHER THING TOO IS, UM, DOES IT COME WITH LIKE A SELF-FUNDED EMS, YOU KNOW, FUNDING EMS, GETTING EMS? THEY HAVE, THE WHOLE AMBULANCE SYSTEM HAS BEEN UNDER STRESS.
WE'RE HELPING FUND IT THE BEST WEEKEND.
UM, BUT IT'D BE VERY INTERESTING IF THE HOSPITAL WOULD HAVE A SELF-FUNDED EMS TO KIND OF HELP WITH THE, WITH THE AMBULANCE SERVICES IN THE AREA TOO.
WE HAVEN'T CONSIDERED THAT IN THAT REGARD.
WE'VE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED THE, THE OPPOSITE, WHICH IS RIGHT NOW MY SUSPICION IS THE RIGS ARE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GO TO PAOLI AND THEY'RE WAITING THERE A LONG TIME TO GET A BED.
AND SO FACILITY MORE LOCALLY SHOULD SAVE TRAVEL TIME.
AND SOMETHING THAT I THINK THE CREWS ARE FAMILIAR WITH, WHAT'S CALLED WALL TIME.
UM, SO WE'VE ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THE REVERSE DOESN'T HELP YOUR QUESTION.
YEAH, BUT NO, I LIKE, I LIKE THE WAY YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IT.
'CAUSE YOU KEEP, YOU KEEP ACCESS TO IT.
THE TRUCKS AREN'T HELD UP DOWN THE ROAD AND IT KEEPS IT IN THE AREA, BUT THERE IS A FUNDING ISSUE.
SO HAVING A HOSPITAL IN OUR, IN OUR, UH, OR A MEDICAL FACILITY IN OUR TOWNSHIP, COULD WE HELP SOLVE THAT FUNDING ISSUE? THE SERVICES MIGHT BE A QUESTION THAT I, I'D BE INTERESTED IN.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY POINTS THAT CAME UP.
WHAT'S YOUR INITIAL, WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHTS FOR INITIAL PHASE ONE? YOU THINKING 18 MONTHS? WHAT, WHAT'S YOUR TIMELINE IN A, IN A LOOSE WAY? WELL, IT, SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT WE THINK IS THE RIGHT FIRST SET OF BUILDINGS.
SO IF IT'S A MUCH SMALLER STRUCTURE, THEY GO UP QUICKER.
IF IT REALLY IS A SMALL HOSPITAL BUILDING, IT TAKES A LITTLE LONGER, RIGHT? YOU HAVE TO DO MORE.
UM, SO WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO FULL DESIGN YET.
FIRST WE'RE TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT DO THE APPROVALS LOOK LIKE.
WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO OUR BOARD WITH A LOT OF DETAILS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL EARLY IN.
THIS APPROACH IS REALLY MEANT TO GIVE US FLEXIBILITY OVER TIME SO THAT WE, WHAT WE KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
SO WHEN WE COME BACK, UH, WITH ACTUAL DESIGNS AND APPROVALS, WE'LL HAVE A LOT MORE CLARITY.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN, YOU'RE LIKE FROM A HOSPITAL WISE, LIKE HOW MANY BEDS OR WHAT SIZE LIKE WOULD IT BE? YEAH, IF WE JUMP INTO A HOSPITAL BUILDING, UM, THE, THE MATH WOULD SAY ABOUT A HUNDRED BEDS.
UH, AND I SAY ABOUT A HUNDRED BECAUSE IT ALL WILL COME DOWN TO FOOTPRINT.
AND THEN WITHIN FOOTPRINT, THE FLOORS.
WHAT MAKES SENSE STAFFING WISE, HOW YOU STAFF NURSES COME INTO RATIOS.
AND SO BEING ABLE TO DO THE MATH ON THAT WILL HELP GUIDE US.
BUT, BUT MY GUESS IS A A A INITIAL HOSPITAL WOULD BE ABOUT A HUNDRED BEDS.
AND WOULD YOU HAVE AUXILIARY OFFICES BEHIND THE HOSPITAL? DID YOU PULL OVER THE ONES THAT ARE ON A COLA ROAD? NOW THERE'S, SO THAT'S PART OF THE EXERCISE TO FIGURE OUT.
SO ARCOLA, THE, THE FACILITY THAT'S CATTYCORNER, HE'S EXTRAORDINARILY BUSY.
UM, AND, UM, AND SO WE NEED TO SOLVE FOR THAT BUSYNESS.
UH, WHAT WE HAVEN'T SOLVED YET, AND PART OF THIS WILL HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT IS DO WE HAVE A MIRROR IMAGE BUILDING? SO WE HAVE BOTH OR DO WE HAVE ONE LARGER AND, AND THEN WE DON'T FILL THE BUILDING THAT WE HAVE NOW.
SO WE STILL NEED TO WORK THROUGH THAT.
I JUST WAS THINKING LIKE, IT'S OKAY, IT'S NOT IN PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP, BUT THE TWO HOSPITALS THAT ARE CLOSE BY PHOENIXVILLE AND EINSTEIN.
I JUST WONDER WHAT EFFECT IT WOULD HAVE ON THEM.
NOT THAT IT'S, YEAH, YOU'D HAVE TO ASK THAT.
I I'M NOT, I'M NOT AT LIBERTY TO MAKE COMMENTS ON OTHERS.
AND MAYBE, MAYBE THE PEOPLE THAT GO TO MAINLINE DON'T EVEN USE THOSE.
NO, MY ONLY COMMENT IS I'M DELIGHTED YOU'RE COMING.
WHEN, WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS A FEW MONTHS AGO WHEN WE FIRST MET CO AND THEN ALLISON BROUGHT THEM TO US, UM, I ASKED 'EM TO RIP THE BANDAID OFF AND GIVE US THE ULTIMATE, I DIDN'T WANT TO PIECEMEAL THIS.
I WANT IT ALL OUT IN THE OPEN IN THE VERY BEGINNING.
BRING ME YOUR MOST INTENSE PLAN THAT YOU WANT TO DO SO THAT WE ARE NOT GOING, DRAGGING THEM BACK THROUGH THE PROCESS IN FIVE YEARS.
OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE FROM THE AUDIENCE SAY, WELL, YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN.
I WOULD RATHER SEE EVERYTHING THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NOW AND LET THEM STAGE IT AS AS THEY AS THEY NEED TO.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT THEIR PLAN IS GOING TO DO.
WELL, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HERE, THAT'S FOR SURE.
WE'VE GOT SOME REALLY GOOD PICTURES IF YOU WANT.
[02:10:01]
SAVE THOSE FOR LATER.AND UH, THAT'S REALLY GOOD FOR THE TOWNSHIP.
SAY BEFORE YOU RUN AWAY, UM, CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH WHAT, WHAT IN THIS PLAN THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT EACH BUILDING IS? SURE.
I'M ACTUALLY GONNA ASK MY COLLEAGUE, OH, THERE WE GO TO WALK THROUGH.
I'M LINDSAY, ER WITH BOWLER, THE CIVIL ENGINEER FOR THE PROJECT.
UM, SO JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND TOO, UM, I DID WANNA WALK THROUGH EXISTING CONDITIONS OF THE SITE AND ALL THREE PHASES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
SO I KNOW YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE LOCATION ACROSS, UH, ARCOLA FROM THE TOWN CENTER.
SO HERE'S AN AERIAL, UM, AN AERIAL VIEW.
UM, OF THE, OF THE PROPERTY ITSELF.
UM, RIGHT NOW ON SITE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING ON SITE.
THERE ARE TWO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BASINS.
ONE IS DOWN AT COLLEGEVILLE ROAD, THE OTHER IS AT THE NEW, UM, AR POLO ROUNDABOUT AREA.
THEY'RE BOTH INTENDED TO STAY THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT.
WE'RE NOT REMOVING THEM, WE'RE NOT TOUCHING THEM.
UM, WE'RE NOT DISTURBING ANYTHING AROUND 'EM.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THOSE TWO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BASINS, UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE AREAS TRIBUTARIES TO THE NORTH END OF THE SITE, UM, ALONG WITH SOME POCKETS OF WETLANDS AND SOME STEEP SLOPES ASSOCIATED WITH ALL OF THEM AS WELL.
WE ARE NOT TOUCHING THAT AREA EITHER, SO WE'RE REMAINING ALL OF THAT, UH, AREA BEING KEPT AS IS FOR THIS PROPOSAL.
UM, ALSO SOME FLOODPLAIN AREAS AS WELL.
SO AGAIN, KEEPING NOT TOUCHING THOSE AREAS, WE CAN GO TO THE PHASE ONE.
OKAY, SO HERE IS OUR PHASE ONE OF THE PROJECT.
UM, SO IN THE TAN I DID BRING A LASER POINTER THIS TIME
THIS IS THE INTENDED, UH, PHASE ONE HOSPITAL BUILDING.
IT'S APPROXIMATELY 270,000 SQUARE FEET, FIVE STORIES WITH A BASEMENT.
UM, AND WE ARE ABSOLUTELY REVIEWING, GOING TO BE REVIEWING HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE LADDER TRUCKS.
UM, ESPECIALLY ON THE REAR OF THE SITE.
WE DO HAVE A LOT OF GRADE CHANGE.
SO THERE'LL BE A, AT THE, THE BASEMENT WILL BE A WALKOUT LEVEL.
UM, SO FROM THAT ANGLE IT WILL BE ABOUT SIX STORIES HIGH.
SO WE WILL BE EVALUATED EVALUATING THAT AS WELL.
UM, SO THEN IN ADDITION TO THE HOSPITAL PHASE ONE, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE DIFFERENT ACCESS POINTS.
THERE IS OUR MAIN ACCESS WILL BE THE FOURTH LEG OF THAT SIGNALED INTERSECTION WITH THE TOWN CENTER.
SO THAT IS THE CENTER ACCESS POINT RIGHT HERE.
UM, SO THAT WILL BE A FULL MOVEMENT ACCESS.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT TWO OTHER ACCESS POINTS ON EITHER SIDE OF THAT MAIN ACCESS OFF OF ARCOLA.
THEY'RE BOTH DESIGNED TO BE RIGHT IN RIGHT OUTS.
UH, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH TRAFFIC COUNTS AND TRAFFIC STUDY.
SO YOU KNOW, AS THAT PROGRESSES WE'LL BE ABLE TO REALLY IDENTIFY WHAT MIGHT BE NEEDED IF THERE'S RIGHT TURN LANE AND SUCH NEEDED THERE.
UM, SO IF YOU COME INTO THE, SORRY, I KNOW ALLISON DID MENTION, BUT THE ACCESS POINT OFF OF MENNONITE, THAT IS INTENDED TO BE GATED FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY.
UM, IF YOU COME INTO THE SITE, THERE IS A DROP OFF AREA IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING HERE.
WE'VE ALSO LOOKED TO PARK REALLY ON, ON ALL SIDES OF THE BUILDING FOR, FOR ACCESS POINTS.
UM, WE DO HAVE AN AMBULANCE DROP OFF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TO THIS EASTERN CORNER OF THE SITE AND THEN A LOADING AREA THAT WOULD BE ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE SITE TO TRY TO HIDE THAT, UM, FROM ANY RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, ALLISON HAD MENTIONED THAT PART OF OUR TEXT AMENDMENT IS REGARDING THE S ACCIDENTS REALLY TO TAKE THE WHOLE SITE AND PUSH IT CLOSER TO OUR COLA.
AT THE CLOSEST POINT, WE'RE LOOKING AT A 75 FOOT CHANGE BETWEEN THE PROPERTY LINE AND THE CLOSEST CURB LINE.
SO THERE WOULD BE AT ALL TIMES 75 FOOT BUFFER, UM, THAT WE, YOU KNOW, REALLY ENHANCE, UH, PLANTINGS, EVERGREEN TREES.
WE LOOK TO REALLY BUFFER THAT AREA BETWEEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE PROPERTY.
UM, I DID HEAR A LOT ABOUT STORMWATER MANAGEMENT, SO WE HAVE NOT GONE THROUGH THE FULL DESIGN, BUT WE WILL 100% BE COMPLYING WITH DEP THE TOWNSHIP STANDARDS.
UM, AND I'VE HEARD MANY CONCERNS.
SO WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR DESIGN HERE, UM, INTENDING TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, BOTH UNDERGROUND AND ABOVEGROUND SYSTEMS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN GO TO PHASE TWO.
SO PHASE TWO, UM, WE ARE EXTENDING THE HOSPITAL.
SO THE HOSPITAL WILL NOW BE, UM, ABOUT 500,000 SQUARE FEET, WHICH IS STILL WITHIN THIS, THIS AREA.
SO WE'RE BASICALLY EXTENDING THIS TOWER
[02:15:01]
HERE AND IN THE BACK, BACK AREA RIGHT HERE.IN ADDITION TO, UM, EXTEND EXTENDING THE HOSPITAL, WE'RE ALSO ADDING A MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING TO THE, TO THE, UH, RIGHT SIDE HERE, WHICH IS ABOUT 80,000 SQUARE FEET, FOUR STORIES HIGH.
UM, SO THAT'S THE BIGGEST CHANGE TO THIS PHASE TWO.
WE ARE ADDING SOME SURFACE PARKING AS WELL JUST TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL, UM, AREA AS WELL AS THAT MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE, AS WE ARE EXTENDING THE PARKING SURFACE PARKING, UM, WE ARE STILL WITHIN THE IMPERVIOUS THRESHOLD.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE UNDER 40% WHEN THE ORDINANCE REQUIRE IT ALLOWS FOR MORE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY LIMIT THE IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE, UM, BELOW THAT REQUIREMENT.
AND THEN IF YOU CAN GO TO PHASE THREE.
SO THE, THE BIGGEST ADDITION HERE IS, UM, ONE MORE MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING ABOUT 60,000 SQUARE FEET.
WE, SINCE I, WE'VE KIND OF MAXED OUT THE SURFACE PARKING AREA AS I WAS JUST DISCUSSING, THERE WOULD BE LIKELY, UM, TWO PARKING GARAGES ON THE PROPERTY JUST TO SUPPLEMENT ADDITIONAL PARKING AS NEEDED FOR THE MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDINGS.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE, THE, UM, PROJECT OVERVIEW IN THE THREE PHASES.
THERE ARE SOME MUCH PRETTIER PICTURES AS WELL.
UM, BUT I'LL STOP AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY GENERAL QUESTIONS TO THE PARKING GARAGES.
HOW TALL, HOW MANY STORIES ABOUT, WE'RE LOOKING AT THREE STORIES RIGHT NOW.
WE STILL HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH AND DESIGNED THEM.
EACH THERE'S AN EMERGENCY ROOM INCLUDED IN THIS OR IS IT JUST A HEALTH FACILITY? EMERGENCY ROOM? YES.
IT'S, IT IS A FULL HOSPITAL THAT WE BUILD VERSUS A MEDICAL OFFICE.
THIS IS MY, WE'RE NOT PLANNING A TRAUMA CENTER.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? DO YOU THINK YOU COULD? YEAH, JUST TO SHOW YOU ALL THE PRETTIER PICTURES THAT WE HAVE HERE.
SO THIS IS THE, UM, A MORE RENDERED VIEW OF THE PHASE ONE, UM, THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE BUFFER THAT WE'RE PROPOSING, UM, AND ALL THE TREES THROUGHOUT THE PARKING LOT AS WELL.
UM, SO ALL ATTENDING, YOU KNOW, COMPLYING WITH YOUR ORDINANCE AND ENHANCING LANDSCAPING.
THEN THE PARKING AREA, THESE TWO, SO PHASE TWO, SO THIS IS THE ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING AND A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, THE MUCH LARGER SURFACE PARKING AREA AS WELL.
AND THEN PHASE THREE, PHASE THREE WE'RE ADDING THE MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING AND THEN THE PARKING STRUCTURE.
IT'S AN ESTIMATED TOTAL JOBS YOU SAID WAS A THOUSAND JOBS.
WELL, SO YOU MEAN IN THE FULLY FULLY BUILT UP? YEAH.
THIS, ONCE IT'S ALL BUILT OUT.
NO, SO, SO THIS SIZE, UH, IS GONNA BE SIMILAR TO OUR BRINMAR CAMPUS.
SO BRIMORE, WE HAVE NEARLY 3000 EMPLOYEES.
NO, MY THOUSAND COMMENT WAS TODAY 1000 PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE AREA CURRENTLY GO WORK SOMEWHERE AT MAINLINE HEALTH.
I JUST WANNA PLANT A LITTLE SEED HERE 'CAUSE YOU HAVE SO MUCH ROOFTOP AND SO MUCH PAVING AND TAKING UP THE GREEN SPACE, JUST A GREEN ROOF SOMEWHERE.
ALL THESE WHITE ROOFTOPS, IT'D BE NICE TO BALANCE THAT OUT IF, FOR CLARIFICATION, YOU'LL SEE EVERYTHING LOOKS WHITE RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVEN'T RENDERED THE ACTUAL BUILDING, SO I DO WANNA PUT THAT IN CONTEXT TOO.
YEAH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT, SO THANK YOU FOR THE NOTE, BUT THANK YOU.
WE, I THINK OUR TIMELINE AT THIS POINT IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS INTERNALLY, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE ZONING ORDINANCE CHANGES.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE HAVING AN INTERNAL MEETING PROBABLY IN ABOUT A MONTH TO SORT OF SEE WHERE WE ARE.
UM, WE HAVE TO GET SOME TRAFFIC INFORMATION FROM 'EM.
THAT'S THE ONE THING THEY REALLY HAVEN'T SUBMITTED AT THIS POINT THAT I THINK THEY'RE WORKING ON.
UM, ONCE WE HAVE THAT, WE WILL PROBABLY SCHEDULE THE ZONING TEXT AND MAP AMENDMENT AND HAVE THAT HEARING ON ONE NIGHT, AND THEN THE CONDITIONAL USE AND THE TENTATIVE SKETCH PROBABLY ON ANOTHER NIGHT, JUST BECAUSE ALL
[02:20:01]
FOUR OF THOSE AT THE SAME NIGHT WOULD BE A PRETTY HEAVY LIFT.UM, WE COULD TALK ABOUT WITH THEM AND WITH THE BOARD ABOUT HAVING A SPECIAL NIGHT FOR IT IF WE WANT TO.
THERE'S BOUND TO BE A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THAT POINT, SO MAYBE THAT'S THE APPROACH WE WANT TO TAKE.
BUT AGAIN, I DON'T THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT ANYTHING UNTIL MIDDLE FALL REALLY.
I, I THINK THAT'S GIVEN A TIMELINE MUCH, BUT, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY THE EARLIEST YOU'LL SEE SOMETHING AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS GONNA BE SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER.
AND THAT ALL DEPENDS ON SORT OF WHERE WE GET THROUGH THE SUMMER WITH LOOKING AT THIS.
SO, AND ALL OF THOSE MEETINGS WILL BE ON THE WEBSITE.
THEY WILL BE ON, UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE, THE AGENDA, IF YOU LOOK AT MY PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDAS, YOU CAN ALWAYS SEE IF, IF WE'RE STILL REVIEWING PLANS OR WHEN THERE'S TECHNICALLY SCHEDULED FOR WORK.
UM, SO ANYBODY THAT'S CURIOUS AND WANTS TO KNOW, THEY CAN CERTAINLY CALL ME AND I CAN, I CERTAINLY HELP PEOPLE OUT ON WHEN WE'RE GONNA GET TO THINGS.
UM, WE WANT TO KEEP IT AS, AS OPEN TO THE PROCESSES.
WE CAN, THE PLANS AND EVERYTHING ARE AVAILABLE AT THE TOWNSHIP IF SOMEONE WANTS TO COME LOOK AT THEM, HOWEVER THEY WANT TO DO THAT.
OR YOU CAN LOOK AT MY NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT PAGE.
I NEED TO DOWNLOAD EVERYTHING THERE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL, THE BOARD HAS, THE, THE RESIDENTS HAVE, THEY'RE WELCOME TO REACH OUT TO ME AND, AND I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO 'EM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS NEW HOSPITAL.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
UM, NUMBER 10, UH, CONSIDER NOT IONS 2026 OF 28 DOCUMENT THE FEDERAL GRANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL.
UM, LAST YEAR WE WERE THE RECIPIENT OF A MILLION DOLLAR GRANT TOWARDS, UM, REPLACING THE SECOND AVENUE SANITARY SWORD FORCE BANK.
UM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY RECOLLECTION THAT WE'VE DABBLED IN A FEDERAL GRANT AND IT COMES WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF STRINGS ATTACHED.
UM, NAMELY OUR COMPLIANCE WITH TWO CFR REPORT 200.
UH, THIS IS EXCITING STUFF THAT WILL MOSTLY FALL TO OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT INVOLVES, UH, COMPLIANCE WITH THE 65 PAGE MANUAL THAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO ADOPT TONIGHT AND INCLUDES MATTERS RELATED TO REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, GRANT ADMINISTRATION, FISCAL MANAGEMENT, PURCHASING, AWARD MONITORING, AND CASH MANAGEMENT.
ANY QUESTIONS? I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 28 ADOPTING THE FEDERAL GRANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL.
SECOND THAT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
NEXT IS CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 30 AMENDING THE TOWNSHIP SANITARY SEWER, TB, P AND B SCHEDULE TAPPING, TAPPING, GOD, I'M SORRY, THIS IS MORE, UH, ENTICING STUFF HERE.
UM, WHEN A NEW CONNECTION IS MADE TO THE TOWNSHIP SANITARY SEWER CONNECTION SYSTEM, WHETHER IT'S A HOUSE FOR ONE, UM, UH, ONE EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNIT OF SORE CAPACITY OR A HOSPITAL THAT MIGHT BUY 500 UNITS OF SORE CAPACITY, THEY HAVE TO PAY A FEE.
THE TOWNSHIP LAST UPDATED THE FEE THAT WE CURRENTLY CHARGE OF, UM, $1,266 FOR RESIDENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL USES AND $998 FOR COMMERCIAL USES.
THE FEE WAS LAST UPDATED IN 2013.
WITH THAT IN MIND, EARLY THIS YEAR, WE ASKED GILMORE ASSOCIATES TO CONDUCT A STUDY THAT HAS TO BE DONE PURSUANT TO ACT 57 OF 20, UH, 2003.
UH, WE DON'T JUST WILLY-NILLY PICK THESE NUMBERS OUT OF THE SKY.
GILMORE DID A WHOLE STUDY FOR US.
A COPY WAS PROVIDED TO THE BOARD PREVIOUSLY.
UH, AND THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE RESIDENTIAL FEE BE INCREASED TO $1,642 AND THAT THE COMMERCIAL EDU FEE BE INCREASED TO $1,442.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS DOESN'T AFFECT SEWER BILLING.
THIS WON'T AFFECT ANYBODY'S SEWER RATE THAT YOUR BILL FOR SOER RENT ON A BI BASIS.
YOU BUY SOER CAPACITY, THAT'S JUST A HOOK UP TO THE SYSTEM THAT'S IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE.
IT REPRESENTS THEIR CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE INVESTMENT THAT, THAT THE TOWNSHIP HAS MADE FOR HOWEVER MANY YEARS.
BUILDING ALL THE PIPES BETWEEN THEIR HOME AND THEIR COLLECTION PLAN OR THE TREATMENT PLAN.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 30 AMENDING TOWNSHIP SANITARY SEWER TAPPING FEE AND FEE SCHEDULE.
NEXT UP, RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 31 ADOPTING THE PLAN REVISION OF THE SPECIAL ACT 5 3 7 STUDY FOR EAST LAKE HILLS TRAP ROAD AND SPROUSE CIRCLE SAN PROJECT.
WE ASKED YOU TO ADOPT A SIMILAR RESOLUTION BACK IN DECEMBER.
UM, THIS IS A TOWNSHIP FUNDED SEWER PROJECT THAT WOULD SERVE 33 HOMES ON SPROUSE CIRCLE, INFIELD
[02:25:01]
TRAP ROAD AND KLEIN ROAD.WHEN WE SUBMITTED THE RESOLUTION THAT YOU ADOPTED LAST DECEMBER TO DEP, THEY TOLD US THAT THE RESOLUTION WE HAD USED HAD BEEN, UH, SUPERSEDED AND IT IS CHANGED FORM.
THAT IS THE RESOLUTION WE'RE ASKING TO DO ABOUT TONIGHT.
UM, NOTHING ELSE CHANGES ABOUT THE PROJECT.
IT'S STILL $1.6 MILLION, UH, $400,000 OF WHICH IS FUNDED BY A STATE GRANT.
I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 31, ADOPTING THE PLAN, REVISION FOR SPECIAL ACT 5 37 STUDY FOR EAST LITFIELD TRAP ROAD AND SPROUSE CIRCLE SANITARY SEWER PROJECT.
NEXT IS RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 32 ACCEPTING THE DEDICATION OF SANITARY SEWER FOR PROVIDENCE POINTS PLAN COMMUNITY 6 1 5 EGYPT ROAD.
FAIRLY SELF-EXPLANATORY, BUT WE'RE ACCEPTING DEDICATION THE SO REMAINS THAT WERE CONSTRUCTED, UM, FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT AT EGYPT ROAD AND HOLLOW ROAD.
AS MUCH AS WE DO FOR ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER DEVELOPMENT I'LL MAKE, OH, GO AHEAD.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT RESOLUTION 2026 DASH 32 EXCEPTING THE DEDICATION OF SANITARY SEWER FOR PROVIDENCE POINT PLAN COMMUNITY SIX 15 EGYPT ROAD.
AND THEN CONSIDER AWARDING THE BID FOR CIDER MILL ROAD STORM SEWER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO PASTOR AND SUNS.
UM, DOES ANYONE DO YOU TO EXPLAIN THAT OR ONLY TO THE EXTENT YOU WANT ME TO? UM, NO.
HILL TOWN PA IN THE AMOUNT OF SIX $60,023 AS LOWEST RESPONSIBLE BIDDER.
AND THEN, UH, THIS IS TO AUTHORIZE THE APPROVAL OF A CHANGE ORDER TO INCLUDE WRITTEN HOUSE ROAD FROM PES ROADS TO LEWIS ROAD FOR ROAD PAVING PROJECT B.
SO OUR ROAD PAVING PROJECT B UM, WAS AWARDED EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR THE AMOUNT OF $1,737,000.
IT DID NOT INCLUDE A SMALL PORTION OF WRITTEN HOUSE ROAD, UM, THAT DID NOT FARE SO WELL THROUGH THE WINTER.
AND WE'RE CONCERNED THAT IT MAY FALL APART LATER IN THE YEAR OR NEXT WINTER IF WE GET A BAD MATERIAL.
UP ON TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, WE HAVE WRITTEN HOUSE ROAD HIGHLIGHTED.
THE YELLOW PORTION IS THAT WHICH TOLL BROTHERS IS POLLING PAVING, EXCUSE ME, AS PART OF THE COMMITMENTS THEY MADE FOR THE FOLEY TRACK DEVELOPMENT, THE SMALL DOG LEG SECTION THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN.
UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO PAY THROUGH THIS CHANGE ORDER.
THE CHANGE ORDER TOTAL IS $182,609.
UH, IF THE BOARD DECLINED TO PROCEED, WE'LL ADVISE THE CONTRACTOR TO ADD THIS TO THE PROJECT AND YOU'D LIKELY SEE A BUDGET AMENDMENT RESOLUTION LATER IN THE YEAR BECAUSE IT WOULD LIKELY PUT US OVER BUDGET FOR THAT PROJECT.
BUT THE, CAN WE JUST OFFSET THAT FOR NEXT YEAR IN THE BUDGET? WHAT, WHERE THAT, THAT $180,000 LITTLE SCUR WAS THAT, WOULD THAT HAVE GONE NEXT YEAR, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M SAYING? WE'RE JUST PULLING IT UP INTO THIS YEAR.
SO NEXT YEAR IT COULD COME FROM UNALLOCATED CAPITAL RESERVE MONEY.
I'M JUST SAYING IT'S A PULL REALLY IS SAYING.
WE AUTHORIZE THE APPROVAL OF A CHANGE ORDER INCLUSION OF RITTENHOUSE ROAD FROM HESS ROAD TO LEWIS ROAD FOR ROAD PAVING PROJECT B OF THIS YEAR.
I SECOND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
[MANAGER AND DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS]
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS.WE HAVE TIM, UM, WHETHER YOU HAVE BRIEF UPDATE, A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE TRAIL MASTER PLAN WITH AN EMPHASIS ON BRIEF 'CAUSE IT'S BEEN A LONG MEETING.
I, I WANNA JUST GIVE A VERY HIGH LEVEL UPDATE ON THE TRAIL MASTER PLAN.
I KNOW, UM, THAT THERE WAS THE BOARD'S BEEN, HAS RECEIVED SOME, UM, COMMENTARY AND SOME EMAILS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOME, UH, TRAIL CONNECTIONS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR AMONG SOME RESIDENTS.
AND I THINK WHAT I'M HERE TO SAY TONIGHT IS WE'RE VERY, WE'RE VERY, VERY HIGH AND VERY, UH, IN VERY PRELIMINARY FINDING STAGES IN THE PROJECT.
SO I JUST WANT TO KIND OF TELL YOU WHERE WE STAND ON THAT.
AS FAR AS THE TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE, UH, I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES AND THE TARGET PLANNING.
[02:30:01]
WE'RE GONNA BE, JUST SO YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE, WE HAD OUR TARGET TIMING FOR THE PUBLIC WORKSHOP.UM, THAT WAS TOGETHER, PLAN AND GATHERED FEEDBACK WAS MAY 15TH IN 2026.
WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, STARTING WITH, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING A PUBLIC BIKE TOUR ON JULY 28TH.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SECOND PUBLIC WORKSHOP, UM, ON JULY 28TH.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, PUBLIC MEETING, ANOTHER PUBLIC MEETING TO REVIEW THE PRELIMINARY BIKE CONCEPTS ON SEPTEMBER, 2026.
THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME VERY, UH, DRAFT REPORT AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON NOVEMBER, 2026.
WE'LL HAVE, UH, ANOTHER PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT WINDOW, UM, BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 2026.
THEN WE'LL PROBABLY BE LOOKING AT A, A FINAL REPORT PROBABLY IN EARLY, UH, JANUARY, FEBRUARY OF 2027 WITH A FINAL PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD, PROBABLY IN MARCH 20, 27.
SO AS YOU CAN HAVE VERY, VERY EARLY IN THE PROCESS, I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND I THINK WHERE SOME OF THE INITIAL REACTIONS MAY HAVE COME ACROSS IS WHEN WE, WE DID WHAT WAS CALLED A WIKI MAP PROJECT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE AN IDEA, THEY CAN COME IN WITH THEIR OWN PIN.
HEY, I'D LIKE TO SEE A CONNECTION HERE, CONNECTION HERE.
AND I THINK MAYBE THAT WAS MISINTERPRETED THAT, HEY, THAT'S WHERE THE TRAIL CONNECTIONS ARE GONNA GO.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST DOING A VERY ELABORATE BRAINSTORMING PROJECT AND I THINK EVENTUALLY, UM, WE'LL BE TAKING THE POSITIVE ANCE FROM OTHER PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS.
UH, AND UM, THIS THING WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO, UH, WHERE IT'S A CONSENSUS DOCUMENT AND ON THE TRAILS, THIS IS JUST A PLAN, RIGHT? WE DON'T, WE'D HAVE TO THEN GET THE MONEY TO BUILD.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE TRAIL.
I THINK I HAVE A COUPLE MORE SLIDES.
I JUST, AND JUST KIND OF WHAT'S COMPLETE.
I JUST TELL YOU WHAT'S COMPLETE ONGOING AND SOME OF THE, UM, OTHER UPCOMING ACTIVITIES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY DONE.
THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION REVIEW, UM, ONGOING IS WHERE WE'RE STILL DOING THE PHYSICAL INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING MORE OF A NEEDS ANALYSIS THAT'LL BE FORTHCOMING.
AND THEN WE'LL BE DOING THE FUTURE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE, WHICH WILL BE, UM, LATER, UH, IN THE YEAR LATER NEXT, UH, EARLY 2027.
AND THEN, UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF SOME OF THE WORK ELEMENTS AND WHERE THE STATUS IS AND THE NEXT MILESTONES, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE CONTINUING THROUGH 2026.
UM, WE'LL BE DOING PUBLIC MEETINGS AND ELECTRONIC ENGAGEMENT.
UM, THAT'LL BE, UH, WE'LL BE REVIEWING THE NOVEMBER DRAFT PRESENTATION.
UM, THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION REVIEW IS PRETTY MUCH LARGE COMPLETE.
WE STILL NEED TO DO THE NEEDS ANALYSIS, UH, THE PHYSICAL INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT THAT'S ONGOING, THE NEEDS ANALYSIS, I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE STARTING THAT IN FALL 2026.
UH, THE TRAIL CONCEPT PLANS OF THIS, THAT'S WHERE THINGS WILL START COMING TOGETHER.
WE'RE LOOKING AT WINTER 20 26, 27 AND THEN THE, UH, OPERATING SHELL MAINTENANCE FISCAL FEASIBILITY STUDIES IN, UH, 20 26, 27.
SO, AND AS WE MOVE ALONG, WE'LL BE PUTTING MORE OF A IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX, KIND OF A CRITICAL PATH ANALYSIS SOMEWHERE THESE PROJECTS STAND.
SO THAT'S A VERY, VERY, UM, MESSAGE TO SEND ACROSS TO EVERYBODY AND THE PUBLIC IS THAT WE'RE VERY, VERY, UM, AND VERY, WE'RE STILL IN VERY PRELIMINARY STAGES AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD CONCERNS, UM, WITH WHAT'S BEEN, UM, UNVEILED SO FAR IS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEXT PUBLIC HEARINGS AND PUBLIC WORKSHOPS AND COME OUT AND LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD.
[CONSULTANT REPORTS]
ONTO CONSULTANT REPORTSPROJECT A IS COMPLETED EXCEPT FOR SOME PAPERWORK AND FINAL PAYMENT TO CONTRACTOR THIRD PROJECT B, THE STARFIELD DEVELOPMENT, UM, IS ANTICIPATED TO BE PAVED IN MIDDLE OF JUNE AROUND THE 16TH.
AND, UM, THE WOODS DEVELOPMENT, THAT PROJECT WILL BE STARTING WITH THE A DA RANFORD PLACEMENTS AND THE PAVING WON'T BE PLACED UNTIL LATE JUNE OR EARLY JULY.
NEXT STEP IS THE APPROVING THE MONTHLY DEVELOPER IMPROVEMENT GUARANTEE REDUCTION LIST.
ALRIGHT, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE MONTHLY DEVELOPER IMPROVE IMPROVEMENT GUARANTEE REDUCTION LIST AS FOLLOWS.
ITEM A EMORY MANNER RELEASE NUMBER TWO IN THE AMOUNT, $194,250 AND 51 CENTS.
[02:35:01]
CANTERBURY MEADOWS RELEASE NUMBER TWO IN THE AMOUNT OF 1,000,349.ALL THE OPPOSED MOTION PASSES.
ZACH, DO YOU HAVE ANY
[SUPERVISORS COMMENTS]
COMMENTS? UH, JUST WANTED SAY QUICK THANK YOU TO SUE HOFFMAN AND HER TEAM THAT, UH, ARE SOME REC FOR ANOTHER FANTASTIC, UH, EVENT.YESTERDAY HEARD WAS YESTERDAY, TWO DAYS AGO, WHEN WAS PARKS AND GUITARS? IT WAS FANTASTIC.
[UPCOMING EVENTS]
UPCOMING EVENTS.UM, NEXT UP JULY 20TH IS THE BOARD SUPERVISOR'S MEETING AT 7:00 PM AND THEN AUGUST 17TH, IS THE OTHER BOARD SUPERVISORS MEETING AT 7:00 PM ARE WE NOT? I DON'T HAVE ANY WORKSHOPS.
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULE JUNE 17TH AT 7:00 PM IS THE SUPREME COURT WALK JULY 1ST.
THE 7:00 PM IS THE RIDGE PIKE ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT.
AND THEN JULY 15TH, 7:00 PM IS THE BURY FARM MINOR SUBDIVISION IN THE MONT TOWN IS AT WHITAKER A.
WE HAVE THE EAC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JULY 15TH AT FIVE 30.
PARKS AND REC IS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 8TH AT 6:00 PM PERMISSIBLE GO MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 6TH AT 7:00 PM AND THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO ZONING HEARING BOARD MEETING SCHEDULED.