The Tunkhannock Township Board of Supervisors held their regular monthly meeting on July 7, 2004. Those in attendance were Supervisors Francis Altemose, II, Jim Sterrett and William Bourke, Solicitor Edmund Scacchitti, Secretary Donna Verdes, and area residents. Chairperson Altemose, II called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

Chairman Altemose, II announced that before the July meeting begins there is a Public Hearing for Zoning Ordinance Amendments.

Motion by Chairperson Altemose to adopt Ordinance 2004-106 amending the Tunkhannock Township Zoning Ordinance 2002-108 Amending: - 3.59 Coverage, Lot

• 3.122 Lot and adding
• Appendix 5.2 Coverage, Lot-Chart

Motion seconded by Supervisor Bourke. Maureen Sterner commented that there was a conflict between the chart and Zoning Ordinance 3.181 setbacks in that there is no reference to lots between 1 and 2 acres. Terry Willard pointed out that the setback for such lots has not changed and is the same as for 2 acres. Ms. Sterner responded by saying that the chart only makes reference to 2 and above acres. Following further discussion it was agreed that an amendment to 3.181 setbacks would be presented at the next meeting to cover this issue. Following further comments the motion was passed unanimously.

Motion by Chairperson Altemose, II to adopt Ordinance 2004-107 amending the Tunkhannock Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance 48 Amending - 202 Definitions 37 Lot C Width 1 & 2

• 501 Application
• 502.5 Size 505.202

Motion seconded by Supervisor Sterrett. There were no comments, motion was passed unanimously. This ended the Public Hearing.

Supervisor Bourke announced that the presentation to award the Tunk Fest Emblem Winner will be done at Tunk Fest.

Supervisor Bourke announced the new meeting procedures for those who weren't at the June meeting.

Motion by Supervisor Bourke to approve the Agenda, Seconded by Chairman Altemose, II. Supervisor Bourke asked the public if there were any comments or questions regarding the items on the agenda. An exchange of views took place between Patricia Moore and Board of Supervisors regarding the ability for residents to ask questions without knowing the subject matter of the agenda item. It was explained that as previously advised the place for an open discussion was at the work sessions where the subject matter is discussed in full and the monthly meeting is to formally make a decision based upon those discussions. Following questions from public the agenda was approved unanimously.

The following meeting minutes were presented: June 2, 2004 regular monthly meeting and July 1, 2004 work session. The June 16, 2004 work session was cancelled. Supervisor Bourke announced that an Executive Session was held prior to the July 1 work session for legal and personnel reasons. Motion by Supervisor Bourke to dispense with the reading of the minutes and approve as written. Motion seconded by Supervisor Sterrett. After comments, the motion carried unanimously.

Matters Arising: Supervisor Bourke stated earlier that at the July 2 work session this matter was discussed and that the Supervisors would make a formal decision at a later date when they had find out what Parker Oil's delivery schedule would be.

Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Donna Verdes presented the Treasurer’s report

General - Receipts $169,449.17

Disbursements $ 78,686.73

General Balance $747,435.03

Liquid Fuels - Liquid Fuels Balance $540,877.94

Motion by Supervisor Bourke to accept the treasurer’s report, motion seconded by Chairperson Altemose, II. After comments, motion carried unanimously.

Bill List: Bills in the amount of $220,575.82 were presented and corrected to $215,625.82. The Gradall rental was on the bill list twice. Supervisor Bourke made motion to pay the bills, motion seconded by Supervisor Sterrett. After comments and questions motion carried unanimously.

Announcements: Alternate Engineer position still available. Tunk Fest is Saturday, June 10, the new hours are 12-4 and we would still welcome volunteers. Those who have already volunteered we thank you. The rain date is July 11. There is a petition in the lobby requesting that Monroe County Transit Authority provide service further along Rt. 115. The Township is currently seeking volunteers to pull weeds around the municipal building. Betty Terrell-Cruz volunteered as long as there was another volunteer. At which time Supervisor Sterrett volunteered.

The meeting schedule for July was read with corrections with the addition of 911 Re-Addressing Meeting on August 2^nd at 7p.m.

Old Business:

Chairperson Altemose, II made a motion to appoint the following as members of the Tunkhannock Township Advisory Council:

3 Year Term                                                                                      

Francis A. Altemose, II, Chairman,  James Davenport, Planning Com. Nominee, Ivan Moyer, Member

2 Year Term  

 Betty Terrell-Cruz, Member,   Janet Shelton, Member, James Shelton, Member

1 Year Term                         

Member Robert Schroko, Member, Michelle deCastongrene, Associate Member

Seconded by Supervisor Bourke, No comments. Motion passed unanimously.

Chairperson Altemose, II formally acknowledged the receipt of letter regarding Mt. Terrace Estates bond reduction request. Chairperson Altemose, II made a motion to table this decision until next Supervisors regular meeting due to subsequent approaches by applicant. Motion Seconded by Supervisor Bourke. There were no comments. Motion passed unanimously.

New Business:

Motion by Chairperson Altemose, II to refer the Stoltzfus zoning change request to the Planning Commission for their review and recommendations. Seconded by Supervisor Sterrett. No comments. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion by Supervisor Bourke to Adopt Resolution 2004-103 seeking the adjustment of State Funding Formulas for population and enrollment growth and supporting the immediate adoption of the 2000 Census date and subsequent population updates as well as supporting the immediate adoption of an annual enrollment/client adjustment, on an annual or quarterly basis. Seconded by Supervisor Sterrett. No comments. Motion passed unanimously.

Chairperson Altemose, II stated that the following reports were posted. They are Township Open Space, Joint Open Space and COG Minutes. The EMA meeting was not held.

Supervisor Sterrett stated that he missed the Clymer Library meeting because of a special meeting regarding EIT and the School Board but the minutes were posted. The Township Planning Commission and EMS reports were posted on door.

Supervisor Bourke stated that the next meeting on the Regional Comprehensive Land Use Plan is to be advised. There will be changes on the actual plan based on comments from Tobyhanna and are waiting for their confirmation that they have everything. Building Code Enforcement meeting is to be advised. He did not attend the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Board meeting because he was away.

Terry Willard announced that the Tobyhanna/Tunkhannock Creek Watershed report is posted.

Chairperson Altemose, II announced that the Monroe County Road Task Force minutes were posted.

Public Comments: Mike Guillen announced that at the last Police Board meeting the new dog Kane, which is a German Shepherd was introduced and they had a nice demonstration for drugs and patrol. Recommendation for getting more mulch for the municipal building landscaped areas. Other comments were regarding the police contract and when the contract period expired. Supervisor Bourke said we would have to give them a year's notice, a year ahead of time which means a two year commitment to them. At the beginning of 2005 we would need to give them a years commitment for the following year which would be 2007. Other comments included equipment purchased to repair the roads; a request for the Supervisors to attend the School Board meetings. Patricia Moore comments were regarding milling at Mountain Road and using the millings for Tunkhannock Trails; a traffic sign that was down on Long Pond Road. Dave Witt from Penn Dot responded that it was on order. Patricia Moore further commented about the appointment of John Heller as a Perc Technician. She made an appeal to the supervisors and said that there were sanctions placed against Mr. Heller and that he really should not be working for any township particularly this one. In regard to the EIT School Board meeting, she felt that the school board didn't make it too public that they would be discussing taking half of the municipalities EIT tax and they also put it last on the agenda. It was close to 10:00 to 10:15 before the item was discussed. In her opinion, she felt their minds were already made up. At the special meeting on June 28 they passed the resolution and only one board member voted not to take half of the Earned Income Tax. Ms. Moore implored the supervisors to send a letter to the school board asking that they amend or rescind the resolution and to ask the other 7 municipalities to do the same. She also felt that the supervisors needed to attend future school board meetings and felt it was extremely important.

Dick VanNoy stated that Long Pond Road is a disgrace and 903 is a disaster. He’s going to send Penn Dot a letter. Thought the Supervisors made a great presentation at the school board meeting and represented the public well. He agreed that at that time he didn’t think they should take the ½ % of the earned income tax. But as he read the Daily Observer newspaper, the taking was a requirement of the funding bill. He thinks its all over with now. He stated that at this moment he is representing Brier Crest Woods Association of which he is the President. He stated that he has supported the Pocono Mt. Regional Police and felt they had always done good by his Development. But then he stated that on June 19 a resident had a brand new ATV stolen. The homeowner called their security firm who in turn called Regional. Regional said, "It’s not important we’ll take the information over the phone". July 1, three different residents called and said there were 14 teenagers down at the lake. Security who was not on duty at that time but called Pocono Mt. Regional and so did he. Regional did not respond and 10 of those kids were from a different development drinking and throwing beer bottles in the lake as well as using resident’s boats and was appalled that they did not respond. He is a proponent of Pocono Mt. Regional and does not want to get rid of them but they should be made to be responsible for responding. He met with the Chief a couple of months ago and had a nice meeting with him. The Chief told him what a jewel Brier Crest Woods was and had hardly any calls from there. Supervisor Bourke requested that he put the incidents in writing and he will investigate it. George Ewald said he read something in the Monroe County Legal Reporter regarding Vincent Alfano Vs Tunkhannock Township and wanted to know what it was about? Supervisor Bourke responded that it’s suit filed by Tunkhannock Trails against the Township because the Township failed to secure a letter of credit at the time the development was being built. It was suppose to insure that the roads would be done. The development is now suing the Township for the amount of money that was supposed to be in the escrow account. The solicitor, Ed Scacchitti stated that Mr. Quigley finally turned over the files on June 17. The hearing has been rescheduled for September 7^th so that his firm could get up to speed. He also stated that it was one of the things discussed at the Executive Session. There was also action discussed regarding the Burns property on Route 115. It was being used as an all terrain vehicle site for a couple of years. They went to court and Judge O’Brien will conducted a hearing on Monday to permit the Township to post the property stating that all persons who enter the property for recreational purposes will be arrested. Marie Rivera stated that when she has called Regional regarding drunks on her property and Regional had responded. Maureen Sterner stated that the vacancy officer needs to be an elector of the township and the present Vacancy Officer has moved out of the Township. Supervisor Sterrett informed her that she has resigned and it will be discussed at the next work session. Someone asked what the position was and Supervisor Bourke responded that it was one of the most important positions in the Township if you look at from the standpoint of what the powers are, if one of the Supervisors resigned or died and there was an opening on the Board. The two remaining Supervisors have 30 days to choose a third supervisor if they could not agree, then the Vacancy Officer calls the Vacancy Board together and the Vacancy Officer becomes the third board member and then they have 15 additional days. If a decision is still not made then it goes to the Court of Common Pleas. Ms. Sterner stated that she noticed in the newsletter that Jim Sterrett was out doing road work on Mountain Road with the road crew and wanted to know if he was doing it in an employee capacity. Supervisor Sterrett stated it was as a volunteer. She wanted to know if they had checked with the Solicitor and the Insurance company regarding liability and if it was stressed to the insurance company Supervisor Sterrett’s health problems. She also suggested that the Supervisor’s might want to consider the discussions at work sessions be included in the work session minutes since the board has changed the way the regular meetings are being run. If the public were able to read what the discussions actually were then maybe it would help them when it came to commenting on the agenda items. She also wanted to know what the Monroe County Task Force was? It was stated that it was actually the Road Task Force. She suggested that we get rid of the chocolate mulch because the ants loved it and by adding more mulch it would cut down on the weeds. Betty Terrell-Cruz referred to the fact that in some parts of the state that the recently enacted UCC had been criticized. With the result, that now the legislature is discussing a bill that will remove items such as non-structural repairs from the code. She went on to request that whatever the state decides, the Township should exercise it's right to restore via ordinances any areas removed with the new bill. Supervisor Bourke stated that PSATS was driving this change forward and he agreed with them. Regarding the EIT tax she wanted to know if we had an idea of how it would affect the tax payers. Supervisor Bourke stated that each of the municipalities in the Pocono Mountain School District joined together and paid for a CPA to look at the particular question. What it means for Tunkhannock Township is approximately $250,000.00 in loss revenue. They estimated that would be approximately 4.08 mils that it would cost to make up that money. Basically it means we need to double the millage rate in order to gain that back. Although the current mil rate is 5 ¾ you need to keep in mind that ¾ goes to the library and 1mil goes to the firehouse. Therefore the Township receives 4 mil. This will begin in January 2006. In the year 2005 budget period, it will be the Supervisors’ charge to figure out how to make up the approx. $250,000 loss. The easiest way would be to raise the millage rate. He doesn’t like to say that but, we know that Mattioli has applied for the slots license. We don’t know how many machines they will be allowed or how many days they will be open, or how much it money it would generate in order to offset the EIT loss. If we knew that it would generate $250,000, then the millage could stay the same. Betty also mentioned that she heard the exit ramp for the racetrack would only be open 2 days a year but it’s paid for with her tax money and she would not be allowed to use it. Supervisor Bourke stated, she would need to write a letter to Congressman Kanjorski because the money being provided for the ramp is coming from the federal government through money that he has appropriated but has not been funded yet. She wanted to know if it was stipulated only 2 days a year and if so what was the rationale. It was stipulated that it would only be 2 days and the reason for the limited access ramp is that it is cheaper to build than a regular ramp (cloverleaf). It would also be used for emergencies.

Mr. Midgette wanted to know what the Township was doing about the paving of the road leading up to the cell tower and where the negotiations stood with the Cell Tower company and Mr. Eggert. The response was that the Township did not make paving the road a condition of use. IN response to a question from Maureen Sterner regarding the Zoning Hearing Board Decision Appeal, Solicitor Scacchitti said that the Board of Supervisors had withdrawn the Appeal after entering into an agreement with the cell tower company that addressed the Board's concerns. The agreement is a matter of public record and is available for public viewing.

Supervisor Altemose, II addressed Ms. Moore's earlier topic regarding Tunkhannock Trails I & II and the debris that will be scraped off Hellers Lane. The reason we are dumping that on John Heller’s property is the proximity due to almost no trucking distance. What he wanted for Tunkhannock Trails was fine millings from Penn Dot. What is being dug up on that road is chunks of black top, clay and rocks. Bruce Walder also commented that it’s not suitable and that she wouldn’t want that material for Tunkhannock Trails roads.

There being no further comments, Supervisor Altemose, II motioned to adjourn. Supervisor Bourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 9:20 p.m.

Donna Verdes

Secretary