Board of Supervisors Business Meeting Minutes

PARADISE TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 3, 2018

Call to Order
Chair Konrath called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.   

Roll Call
Officials Present:
Gary Konrath – Chair                 John C. Prevoznik – Solicitor
Peter Gonze – Vice Chair                Charles Unangst – Engineer
Reda Briglia – Supervisor Absent)            Debra Brady – Zoning Officer   
Tina Transue - Secretary

Pledge of Allegiance
Konrath led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.   
                             
Public Comment Statement
Konrath read the public comment statement “Ladies and gentlemen, before the Board of Supervisors votes on any matter, the Board will allow for public comment on that particular item.  If you wish to be heard at that time, please raise your hand, and you will be recognized.  A public comment period will be held at the end of the regular agenda for any other business.”
Konrath stated that the meeting is being recorded for the limited purpose of preparing the official minutes.

Approval of Minutes
Motion: Gonze moved and seconded by Konrath to approve the September 17, 2018 Board of Supervisors regular meeting minutes as presented.
Motion carried 2-0.

Unfinished Business
Timber Hill Community Association
Konrath stated that Timber Hill Community Association sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors requesting a copy of an engineer’s report regarding 306 Sugarbush Rd, a burned out house in the Timber Hill Community. Charles Unangst, Hanover Engineering stated that there is no such report.
Motion: Gonze moved seconded by Konrath to have Solicitor Prevoznik draft a letter to the Timber Hill Community Association stating that the Township does not have an engineering report for 306 Sugarbush Rd and that the Township is renewing their request to meet with the Timber Hill Community Association and their attorney if they wish to pursue this further. 
Motion carried 2-0.

New Business
Greg Moyer Fund – AED Purchase Program
Konrath stated the Township received an opportunity to purchase AEDs at a considerable discount. The Township would purchase two AEDs, one to replace the AED at The Roof Park and one to donate to the Little League to be kept at Seven Pines Park if they could be purchased at the discounted rate. The Board discussed concerns that the AED device would be stored in such a way that it would be available during an emergency but also out of the reach of anyone, such as a child, who may misuse the device. Discussion was held on purchasing a wall mounted case like the one purchased for the Roof Park to store the unit.
Motion: Gonze moved seconded by Konrath to purchase two AEDs through the Greg Moyer AED Purchase Program, one to replace the AED at The Roof Park and one to be donated to the Little League along with wall mounted case to store it in.
Motion carried 2-0.
FCC Small Cell Ruling
Konrath asked Solicitor Prevoznik to give an overview of the FCC Small Cell ruling. Solicitor Prevoznik stated that local rules and regulations cannot preempt FCC rules and federal guidelines that it is unconstitutional and it would be very hard to regulate. This is a Federal Government rule as opposed to a PUC or state ruling. The ruling comes from the Federal Government stating that they are no longer upholding the rights of municipalities or states generally given to them by the courts. Konrath asked Solicitor Prevoznik how we should proceed with the Township’s ordinance and Solicitor Prevoznik stated that other municipalities are contacting The Cohen Law Group for help with this matter.
Motion:  Gonze moved seconded by Konrath to have Solicitor Prevoznik contact the Cohen Law Group to get more information about the impact of the FCC Small Cell ruling. 
Motion carried 2-0.

Planning Commission Items
Short Term Rentals – Chapter 114
Brady stated the proposed Chapter 114 is what was recommended by the Township Building Inspector Mike Tripus. Brady also stated that Solicitor Prevoznik recommended removing line (13.) “Any other occupancy requirements which may be added by Ordinance revision by the Board of Supervisors” from paragraph (J.) “All Short-Term Rentals shall be equipped with the following which are in compliance with Chapter 44 (Building Code) of the Paradise Township Code of Ordinances”. Brady will make the deletion prior to sending the Ordinance to the County for review.
Motion: Gonze moved seconded by Konrath to authorize the Zoning Officer Brady to send the Ordinance on Short Term Rental standards to Monroe County for review.
Motion carried 2-0.
Nuisance Vehicles – Chapter 146
Brady stated that Solicitor Prevoznik had some changes on this ordinance. The Board discussed changes recommended by Solicitor Prevoznik. Brady stated she would make the changes discussed by the Board, present the Ordinance to the Board with said changes and then she would send it back to the Planning Commission for their input.
No action taken.
Explosives – Chapter 160
The Board discussed the Blasting Ordinance. Solicitor Prevoznik stated that DEP’s requirements would preempt the Township’s Ordinance therefore the Ordinance should be changed to state that anyone who would want to blast in the Township would have to demonstrate that they have a DEP permit as the DEP would already require the conditions set forth in the Ordinance. Brady stated that she would recommend removing sections (2), (3) and (4) under paragraph (H) and adding that a copy of the DEP permit be provided with proof of insurance prior to blasting. Brady stated that the Ordinance would be sent back to the Planning Commission to make the necessary changes.
No action taken.
Short Term Rental Appeal Fee
Brady stated that there is currently not a Short Term Rental Appeal fee listed on the Township’s fee schedule for appeals made from an applicant being denied a license or a license being revoked for a Short Term Rental license. Brady stated that she added the fee to the fee schedule and it would be in the same amount as the Zoning Hearing Board appeal which is $500.00 plus one half (1/2) the cost of a stenographer. Brady stated that she had to submit the addition of the Short Term Rental fee to the fee schedule to the Planning Commission.
Motion: Gonze moved seconded by Konrath to authorize Brady to send the Ordinance to Monroe County as long as no changes were made by the Planning Commission.
Motion carried 2-0.

Reports
Solicitor – Solicitor Prevoznik stated that the Township received the real estate tax exemption on the Murray Property. Solicitor Prevoznik also stated that one or more of the Board of Supervisors may want to attend the next hearing which would include the Blue Stone Property. Solicitor Prevoznik stated he would make the Board aware of the hearing date. Solicitor Prevoznik stated he had an executive session item.

Roadmaster – Mader summarized the Roadmaster’s report. Mader stated work has been started at the natural playground on the Murray Property. Konrath stated that they were doing samples of what type of play stations that could be put in the park. Discussion ensued about the planning of the natural playground.
Mader stated that there were nearly one hundred senior pickups for the fall cleanup this year and that possibly extending senior pickup to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for next year.
Mader summarized his meeting with Jeff Lazar, Hanover Engineering about a possible building being erected on Township property as an addition to the salt shed. There was a discussion on the logistics of a new building. Charles Unangst, Hanover Engineering stated he would meet with Brady about any zoning issues.
Mader asked about ordering salt. Mader stated that COG did not receive any bids to purchase salt for 2019. There was discussion about buying salt before the end of the year under the current COG bid.
Motion: Gonze moved seconded by Konrath to approve the purchase of salt up to the amount of Forty Thousand dollars ($40,000.00) on or before December 31, 2018 under the existing COG bid.
Motion carried 2-0.
There was discussion on the purchase of ClearLane, an enhanced deicer, as part of the winter weather maintenance. Gonze asked the secretary to investigate what options the Township has to fund the purchase of ClearLane.
Konrath asked Mader if hay bales would again be placed at Skywood Park this year. Mader stated he had not heard from PARC yet as to whether they would have hay bales there this year.

Zoning – Brady stated that she would be sending the Fire Escrow Ordinance back to Solicitor Prevoznik before presenting it to the Planning Commission. Brady stated she would be sending the Fireworks Ordinance to the Planning Commission.
Gonze asked if there was another date set for a joint meeting between the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission. Brady stated that she was not aware of one but that she would check with David Brown. Gonze asked if the yard sale permits were being posted to the Township’s website and Brady stated that Briglia was posting the yard sale permits to the website.
    
Engineer – Mr. Unangst asked if the Board was in contact with Jason Smith, Hanover Engineering regarding the matrix for the Greenway monitoring. Gonze and Konrath both stated they had not been in contact with Smith. Mr. Unangst said he would contact Smith to follow up for an update on the matrix. 

Correspondence/Miscellaneous
PennDOT Emails - Gonze stated that the Township received several requests from PennDOT. The first request came from Sara Robacher, PennDOT, requesting an agreement with the Township regarding a Side Road Warning sign for the intersection of SR191 and Rogues Path so that a permit can be issued. Gonze asked the secretary to obtain the agreement.
The second request was from Samantha Wascavage, PennDOT, inquiring if the Township would be willing to replace the STOP AHEAD markings on the pavement at the intersection of SR191 and Browns Hill Rd. Mader stated this was already in progress. Konrath asked the secretary to respond to the email that the process was already in progress to replace the markings, otherwise no further action needed.
Monroe Animal League – The Township received a survey from the Monroe Animal League. Brady was asked to look further into the Monroe Animal League and perhaps contact them for more information.

Other Business/Public Comment
Kettle Creek – Konrath stated he went to the Kettle Creek dinner in which he received a tag with the year 2018 on it to affix to the plaque at the Township building that states we donate to Kettle Creek. Konrath also stated he met with Karen Boyle about their natural playground and how they developed it. Konrath stated he was going to propose a name for the property to be Paradise Nature Discovery Park. Konrath passed out a drawing of a possible layout of the park. There was discussion on the future development of the park. Solicitor Prevoznik recommended doing research into the insurance implications of a nature park. Mr. Unangst stated he would research if a PennDOT driveway permit would be needed if the Township in fact developed a nature park.
Upper Brodhead Feasibility Study – Konrath stated the Upper Brodhead Feasibility Study group met and there would not be much impact on Paradise Township land that they would be using Pocono Heritage Trust Land or Paradise Township’s open space land. Konrath stated that Price Township has not shown up for the meetings and they would need to be on board as Price Township is a large part of connecting Cresco to Stroud Township by trails.

Executive Session
Motion:  Gonze moved and seconded by Konrath to recess the regular meeting and go into an executive session.
Motion carried 2-0.
Motion:  Gonze moved and seconded by Konrath to reconvene the regular meeting at 7:33 p.m. Konrath stated that litigation issues were discussed in executive session and that no decisions were made.
Motion carried 2-0.

Adjournment
Motion:  Gonze moved and seconded by Konrath to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
Motion carried 2-0.

Respectfully submitted,

Tina Transue
Secretary