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WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP Township Supervisors: Township Officials: |
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A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of West Goshen Township was called to order by Chairman Patricia B. McIlvaine at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at the West Goshen Township Administration Building. All members were present. Ms. McIlvaine opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Ms. McIlvaine opened the floor for public comment. Mr. Hank Whalen, 688 Normandy Court, referred to an article in the Daily Local News on March 20, 2008 that mentioned a sound study being conducted for the Louis H. Close firing range on Concord Road. He asked if a study will be done and Mr. Casey LaLonde, Township Manager replied that once a design is chosen for the walls of the range, a study will be done before and after the construction. Mr. Whalen asked if the range will be enclosed and Mr. LaLonde responded that it will not be enclosed. In reply to a question from Mr. Whalen, Mr. LaLonde said that the walls are not prefabricated but designed specifically for the range. Mr. Whalen asked that any sound studies be conducted when the West Chester Emergency Response Team is using the range. Mr. Jon McCormack, 840 Spruce Avenue, asked about the status of the changes approved at the March 26, 2008 Board of Supervisors meeting to be made on Jones Lane, Rosary Lane and Spruce Avenue and Mr. Richard Craig, Township Engineer, replied that Township personnel are in the process of finalizing the placement of the pavement markings, the No Through Truck signs have been posted and four locations for speed humps have been identified. Two will be located on Jones Lane, one on the south side of Rosary Lane and one on Spruce Avenue between High Street and Parkside Avenue. Mr. McCormack said that he was not satisfied with the changes approved by the Board and that a community group is forming to protest the approved changes and to work on other possible solutions for the traffic problems. Mr. Richard Pratt, 905 Green Countrie Drive, asked about the status of the dog park on Pottstown Pike and Ms. McIlvaine replied that the park reopened on April 1, 2008 and will remain open as long as it is kept clean by the users of the park. She said that Township personnel will no longer clean the park and the park will have a self policing policy for the users. Mr. Pratt responded that he did not believe that Township personnel had picked up after the dogs in the past. He added that it did not seem any improvements were made at the park in the three months that it was closed and Ms. McIlvaine replied that a drainage problem was corrected and that a water fountain that was vandalize was removed. Mr. LaLonde said that mulch may be put down in the future if there seems to be a need to do it. He said that he visits the dog park twice a day and is getting feed back from others about the park. He said that more trash barrels are being added to the area. He added that an informal users group is being formed and will meet in early May to help with the policing of the park. Ms. McIlvaine reported that Township personnel had visited other dog parks to observe their practices. She said that the Township had received e-mails from users of the park who are willing to help police the area. She stated that 80% of the users of the dog park are not West Goshen Township residents. Mr. Michael Brown, 831 Rosary Lane, stated that he is concerned that the placement of one speed hump on the south side of Rosary is going to push the traffic to his area of Rosary which is on the north side. Mr. LaLonde noted that Mr. Brown's comment highlighted the unintended consequences that sometimes occur when traffic regulations are changed. He said that Mr. Craig is using PennDOT regulations in determining where the speed humps will be located. Mr. Brown asked about coming back before the Board after the speed humps are installed and said that two speed humps are needed on Rosary. Mrs. Evelyn Baker, 900 Sheridan Drive, said that the speed humps and lines will not reduce the volume problem in the Roslyn Development and said that Jones Lane should be made one way or closed for the safety of the residents in Roslyn. She asked why something was not done to reduce the volume of traffic in the area. Mr. Meakim noted that there was no agreement among the residents as to what direction to make Jones Lane one-way. Mrs. Baker indicated that the residents of Pomona Hills should not have participated in the discussion about Jones Lane and Mr. Meakim said that they are residents of West Goshen Township also. Ms. McIlvaine stated that the Board received dozens of e-mails and calls and that the majority of residents did not favor making Jones Lane a one-way street including the residents of the Roslyn Development. Ms. Shirley Colvin, 830 Spruce Avenue, asked about the motion made by Dr. White at the March 26, 2008 Board of Supervisors meeting to make Jones Lane one-way and Dr. White said that he had made a motion to make Jones Lane one-way but the motion failed because there was no second to the motion. Mr. McCormack said that the most dangerous area was a curve on Spruce Avenue located near the Roslyn Swim Club and that no speed hump is planned for that area. He stated that there are numerous children walking in the area and the speeding vehicles present a hazardous situation. He indicated that the West Goshen Police do not have radar equipment for checking the speed of motorists and Mr. LaLonde replied that municipal police are not allowed to use radar to check the speed of vehicles. Chief Michael Carroll, stated that the West Goshen Police use electronic stop watches to monitor the speed of vehicles and that citations can be issued. Ms. Colvin expressed her displeasure with the Board for not making Jones Lane one-way or closing it to traffic. She said that the proposed changes are not sufficient and Mr. Meakim replied that if the changes prove to be insufficient further studies will be done. On motion by Dr. White, seconded by Mr. Meakim, the Board unanimously approved appointing Ms. Monica C. Drewniany as Alternate Member to the Planning Commission. Mr. LaLonde repeated that the Dog Park has reopened and that further changes may be made to the scheduled hours for the park. On motion by Dr. White, seconded by Mr. Meakim, the Board unanimously approved the Board of Supervisors minutes from March 12 and March 26, 2008. On motion by Mr. Meakim, seconded by Ms. McIlvaine, the Board unanimously approved the Treasurer's Report dated March 31, 2008 for the General Fund, the Sewer Revenue Fund, the Waste and Recycling Fund, and the Capital Reserve Fund, as well as the bills to be paid from the General Fund, the Sewer Fund, the Capital Reserve Fund, and the Waste and Recycling Fund. Chief Michael Carroll gave the Police Report for the month of March 2008. Mrs. Baker asked how many of the 70 alarms in the Police Report were valid and Chief Carroll replied that 6 were valid. Mrs. Baker said that the City of Philadelphia had a better percentage of valid alarm calls than West Goshen Township and questioned how long it takes to answer each alarm call. Chief Carroll responded that it takes approximately six to eight minutes for each call response. Mrs. Baker suggested not responding to locations with repeated false alarms and Ms. McIlvaine said that the police would continue to respond to all calls for safety reasons. She added that repeat offenders of false alarms are fined for the invalid alarms. Ms. Andrea Testa, Fire Marshal, gave the Fire Marshal Report for the month of March 2008. Ms. Testa also gave the report for Good Fellowship Ambulance Company. The report for Goshen Fire Company was not available. Mrs. Baker asked Ms. Testa what she should do about teenagers smoking behind her garage where there are dry leaves and Ms. Testa replied that Mrs. Baker should call the police. Mr. John Beswick, Building Official, gave the Building Inspection Activity Report for March 2008. Mrs. Baker asked how many single family resident permits were issued in March and Mr. Beswick responded that one single family resident permit was issue in March. On motion by Dr. White, seconded by Mr. Meakim, the Board unanimously approved the signing of the Decision and Order for the conditional use application of Cricket Communications to install three cellular communications antennae on an existing water tank along with related ground equipment on property located at 1201 Boot Road. The hearing for this application was held on March 12, 2008. On motion by Dr. White, seconded by Mr. Meakim, the Board unanimously approved the signing of the Decision and Order for the conditional use application of Cricket Communication to increase the height of an existing cellular communication tower an additional 20 feet from 120 feet to 140 feet on property owned by Crown Atlantic Company LLC at 590 Snyder Avenue. The hearing for this application was held on March 12, 2008. Ms. McIlvaine opened the floor for further public comment. No comments were made. There being no further business, on motion by Ms. McIlvaine, seconded by Mr. Meakim, the meeting was adjourned at 4:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sandra K. Turley |
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