© 2003 by Joel Buckley

The Conewago Township Board of Supervisors held a regular meeting on March 12, 2003. It was an overflow crowd. Some of those present were:

• The Supers:
  John Graybill (chair)
  John Rochat
  Jay Brandt
• Their trusted Assistants:
  Shirley Bretz (secretary)
  Dolores Kuntz (treasurer)
  Max Shradley (engineer)
  Frank Chlebnikow (zoning)
  Jon Yost (solicitor)
• The Reporters:
  Tom (Scoop) Rumpf, The Sun
  Joel (Flash) Buckley, ConewagoOnline (Supervisor candidate #1)
• Visiting VIPs:
  The Honorable John Payne
  Lt. Tom L. Bardoll, Troop H
• The Utility Men:
  Ralph Watters, Jeff Foreman? DTMA
• The Petitioners:
  Greg Hill of the Waterford Hills
  Gary Burk
  Ron Knott
  Batz?
• The Kreiser Campaign Committee:
  Todd Kreiser (Supervisor candidate #2)
  Cathy Scott
  Donna Fair
  Chantal Atnip
• Interested Citizens:
  Jay Book?
  Jay Ziegler
  Bill Davidson
  Gerald Boltz
  Rosalie Sarfert
  Some people I don't know
  Troop 65:
  Lynn Shope, Jane Lawrence, and scouts

Call Meeting to Order

The Hon. John D. Payne, Conewago's new State Rep 106th District introduced himself and talked about the new financial realities in Harrisburg. He didn't have a check for us (when he was county commisioner, he would bring us money or at least a recycling bin) but said he would get us a new flag or two.

Lt. Tom L. Bardoll, new head of the Criminal Investigation Unit for Troop H introduced himself and reviewed crime statistics for the past year (280 responses in Conewago township).

• Minutes of February 12, 2003
• Minutes of Special Meeting February 19, 2003
• Treasurer's Report - February 28, 2003
• Expenditure Report - March 12, 2003
• Subdivision/Engineering Fees Report
• Planning Commission Minutes - February 24, 2003

Public Comment Period:

There was a Conewago watershed report by Jay Book? This group had a recent clean-up at Aberdeen?

Jay Zeigler reported there had been a diesel spill on Galen Shelly (Supervisor candidate #3)'s property which ran on to his (and Hall Explosive's) property. While Galen was cleaning it up, Jay was not happy about the situation and thought that the location of a diesel pump close to a storm sewer wasn't a good idea and the township should do something about it.

Ron Knot said they had bought some property in Conewago in August 2000 and wanted to know when they might be able to do something with it. John Y is working on it.

• Property Maintenance Ordinance - this is on hold.

• Sewer News - DTMA representatives were here (was there an executive session before the meeting?). Proposals are going back and forth. Evidently the possibility of PennVest funding (State assisted financing that would be less expensive the the 4.92% bond) is once again under consideration. DTMA would like to award bids at their March 24 meeting. A meeting was tentatively scheduled for March 19 (Flash's birthday) to present and vote on an agreement, if one is reached by then. As usual, people keep asking about tapping fees and monthly fees. As usual, no answers. Further, John Y stated that even with an agreement, those fees might not be known for some time. (Especially if the issue of PennVest funding is unresolved.) That won't stop people from asking. Inquiring minds want to know.

• OLDS Management Program - 9 complaints have been filed against people who did not do their 2001 septic pumping or respond to multiple reminders! Max raised the question of whether the Laurel Woods people should have to do their 2003 pumping since they should be hooked up to the sewer in 18 months. It was decided they should because who knows when the sewer will really get here and it would be better to do it. A cynic might note that there are 9 months left in this cycle and if it takes the township 14 months after that to take enforcement action, you might be able to get away with it. But don't tell anybody you read it here.

• Selective Insurance Inc. - Recommendation for Gasoline Cans & Salt Storage Shed with Allen Chubb Insurance Agency - John R reported that the township insurance company did a "risk asessment" of the township facilities. They recommended more secure storage of gasoline in the garage. The salt shed is deteriorating and should be repaired or replaced. JR wanted a schedule to deal with these. JB said gas storage soon, shed before next winter.

  The rest of scheduled new business was consideration of four subdivision or development plans. These things are incredibly boring, take forever, and usually get tabled until next month, so Flash went home early. So did the scouts. For more information, check the "Planning Commision Minutes for Feb 24, 2003".

• Batz-Gornik - Preliminary/Final Subdivision Plan

• Gary Burk - Final Subdivision Plan Waiver

• Conewago Place - Final Land Development Plan (Jim Garling, URS Engineer

• Hills of Waterford - Final Land Development Plan

Remember- Next regular Board of Supervisors Meeting is Wednesday April 9 at 7:30 pm. A special meeting to present and approve an agreement with DTMA is tentatively scheduled for March 19. Conceivably, it could be held on some other date. Meetings known more than a week in advance are usually advertised in the (Hummelstown) Sun. Short notice meetings are advertised in the Lebanon Daily News. Naturally, ConewagoOnline will post notice of any special meeting on its website as soon as I hear about it. And just in case you are not yet in the habit of logging on to ConewagoOnline every day, you can contact the webmaster to ask to receive an e-mail alert when sewer news is posted on the site.

That's it - Flash