Commissioner Agenda 9/20

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The Lower Mac Board of Commissioners meet the first and 3rd Thursday of each month at 7pm in the township building.

Here is a link to the agenda with detail.

During announcements and presentations, we start things off with an update tonight from the Library Board. We will also have a construction update.  I had a chance to briefly tour the facility the other day. Both the new gym and the library expansion have taken form. The project is on budget and on time.

Hearings and Approvals.
Sewer Planning Module
We have one sewer planning module approval for the new Body Elite gym coming to Hamilton Blvd. What’s a sewer planning module you ask? The Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537) requires Municipalities to develop and implement official plans in order to address sewage disposal with the intention of correcting existing problems and preventing future problems. Each time a new development is proposed the Municipality is required by state law to revise this official plan through a process referred to as a “Sewage Facilities Planning Module”.

Lot line adjustment
We have a minor lot line adjustment for a residential property on Fish Hatchery Rd.

Final Plan Approval for Stone Hill Meadows.
This item is final approval for phase 2 of this conservation cluster design development. Phase 1 is currently being built on Gehman Rd. The project is resulting in 70% of the entire parcel being permanently preserved including a large area to be reforested. The mantra I always speak to that reflects the mindset of our board is that as a township our goal is to preserve what we can, where we can – and where we can’t demand highest quality. In this case, preservation wasn’t an option so we worked with the developer to allow residential development but at the same time preserve a substantial chunk of the property via permanent preservation easements. In addition to the large reforested section, the public open space will be managed natural areas and public walking paths. Another big win with this development was that none of the new roads will be township liabilities. They will be maintained privately. This project has been in the pipeline for over 3 years and this is the final approval for the final phase. This is an example of when we can’t preserve, we work towards having projects we can be proud of.

Non-agenda items
Speaking of the above mantra of preserve where and when we can….I wanted to note:

Farmland preservation update
On September 28th, we finalize the acquisition of 185 acres of farmland located at Brookside Rd. and Sauerkraut Ln. Next, we’ll apply the property for permanent protection through the County. Once complete, the land can never be developed. 300 homes could have been built, but after the 28th it will remain farmland forever. A full build-out had we not preserved would have significantly strained the School district, caused severe traffic issues and hurt efforts to keep taxes low.

I want to thank the County Farmland Preservation Board and the Wildlands Conservancy for their help with this important preservation win.

 

2019 Lower Mac Budget Adoption Schedule

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What goes into adopting the yearly township budget? Here is an outline.

The formal process (although preparations are year-round) began in August. As you can see each year the proposed budget is put on the Twp. website for public review and comment well before we vote on final adoption. We also hold numerous public hearings in October giving residents the chance to offer feedback on multiple occasions. All public hearings will be recorded and placed online for residents to review at your convenience.

Here is the schedule:

Lower Macungie Township Schedule for 2019 Budget Preparation

August 3, 2018 – Letter to Professional Service Providers went out Requesting Rates. Emails were sent to Community Organizations and Committees soliciting budget requests. This includes the Library and Fire Dept.

August 20th, 2018 – Distributed Budget Packets to Township Departments – Public Works (Includes Parks, Facilities, Roads and Sewers), Community Center, Planning (includes Zoning, Code Enforcement and Permits), Finance & Accounting.

September 7th, 2018 – Obtained Department Budgets with explanations

September 10th, 2018 – Obtained Budget Requests from Community Organizations & Committees. (Includes the Fire Dept., and Library) Obtained 2019 rates from professional services. (Includes solicitor and Engineer)

September 14th, 2018 – Began First Budget Draft (Internal Review)

September 28th, 2018 – Draft Budget will be Submitted to the Board of Commissioners for Review. This is Commissioners first chance to review the entire draft document.

October 15th, 2018 – Board of Commissioners’ Public Workshop #1 @ 7 p.m. Opportunity for Public Comment

October 22, 2018 – Board of Commissioners’ Public Workshop #2 @ 7 p.m. Opportunity for Public Comment

October 29, 2018 – Board of Commissioners’ Public Workshop #3 @ 7 p.m. Opportunity for Public Comment

September 5th – Finalize Budget (internal review)

September 9th – Budget Distributed to BOC (internal deadline)

September 15th – First Public Reading of Budget, Public Advertising for Inspection and Ordinance

Nov. 16 – Dec. 20, 2018 – Public Inspection

December 20, 2018 – First opportunity for adoption of 2019 Budget BOC Meeting 7 p.m.

 

 

Independents help pay for primaries, but can’t participate

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I have a slightly different opinion on a recent (though not new) proposal to open up primaries to 740,000 independent and “unaffiliated” Pennsylvania voters to select a Democrat or Republican ballot on election day. Under the proposal, nothing would change for voters who are registered as either Republicans or Democrats. They would continue to be required to vote only on their respective ballots. Here is a recent article on the proposal:

Open primary voting in Pennsylvania? The state Senate’s top leader is floating a bill to allow it.

Most takes on this subject have to do with inducing higher turnout during primaries. Though concerning, my main problem is that all taxpayers including those locked out of the process entirely are funding what is essentially a private party process. This is because in PA county and state tax dollars pay the costs associated with holding elections. Obviously, it’s important for political parties to have the right to elect their own nominees. I’m not arguing against that. I just think that if large segments of voters are “locked out” of a public process it’s unfair to ask all taxpayers to fund it. This is the case today. In Lower Mac, for instance, over 3,500 registered independent voters are forced to help fund primaries through public tax dollars but are prevented from taking part in closed primaries.

How much does our closed primary cost you ask? Like with most items, the state of Pennsylvania has one of the most expensive systems in the nation with Presidential primaries costing over 20 million dollars. This pays for administration, use of buildings, contracts, and portions of salaries for publicly paid for employees, purchasing and maintaining publicly owned machines etc.

As long as the two parties rely on public taxpayer dollars to fund what is essentially a private function then yes, primaries should be opened up to independents. Now, if leaders from the two parties have an issue with that (in many ways understandable) then the two major parties ought to fund their own private internal nomination processes with private monies.

As long as we use public dollars to finance elections, everyone should be allowed to vote.

Seeking soldiers from East Penn area to enroll in troop support program

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13th Annual Troop Support Program
Each year Lower Mac collects donated items at the Community Center and ships boxes to individual soldiers from the community to share with their Troop. The boxes are shipped out in early December for troops who cannot be home with their families for the Holidays. The Township supports the event by paying for shipping and related charges for the packages sent to soldiers.
 
So, we are seeking soldiers names who are serving from the East Penn School District. We need name and address (with APO or FPO).
 

To enroll: Call the Community Center Monday-Friday,  8am–4:30pm at 610-966-6924 to register your loved one for the program.

To donate: We welcome the donations of the following NEW items:

Beef Jerky/Turkey Jerky (no pork)
Cheese Crackers & Cookies (no chocolate)
Gum & Candy (no chocolate)
Hard Container – Pretzels/Nuts/Chips
Energy Bars (no chocolate)
Dry Milk
Juice Boxes
Instant Coffee/Cocoa/Tea Bags
Cereal
Dried Fruit
Beverage Mixes – Ice Tea/Lemonade/Fruit Flavors
Pre-packaged individual fruit cup, pudding, applesauce, & raisins

Donations accepted from September 4 through November 25 at the LMT Community Center Monday during hours of operation.

More detailed info here

Other News:
Lower Mac Preserves 185 acres of farmland. 

John McCain & American virtue.

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I’ve always greatly admired John McCain. There have been (many) times I’ve not agreed with him. As an example, his repeated support of spending vast amounts of American blood and treasure on foreign entanglements. One thing he always preached however was that our shared values go beyond policy disagreements. Disagreements over foreign policy are very much a serious thing. So, we argue our positions with passion. But end of the day we are all still Americans. One nation under one flag. That’s what John McCain was always about. It’s an ideal he personally suffered the unimaginable for.

John Sydney McCain was not a perfect man. He was the first to admit. More emphatically as he grew older and wiser. He possessed the sort of self-awareness that used to be an American hallmark.

I carved out time today to watch the memorial. I’m utterly moved. My wife and I don’t have cable so I tuned into Facebook to watch a stream. I turned off the comments on the feed. As I read so many completely ignorant and small comments from folks who seemingly turned completely to identity politics to fill some void I feel nothing but sadness.

Our nation has always honored self-sacrifice. Service. Integrity. honesty. Humbleness. American virtues are being showcased today in our capital. These are things John McCain exemplified but unfortunately, have fallen to the wayside as values. There was a time, when something like this brought us together. For many, we have that today.

It doesn’t always seem like that’s the case now. America remains wounded in that way. Patriotism and nationalism are not one in the same. Patriotism is grounded in the principles of our American democracy brilliantly laid out by our founders. Nationalism is entirely different. Something mired in tribalism. Factional elements are to blame for this as they always have been. In fact, the founders themselves were the first to warn us. Those who promote divisions are two sides of the same coin. I do have faith we will turn this around. 

The American Greatness that has existed since our inception in our shared values will again prevail.

Balance the books. Throw the playbook in the trash can.

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Over time if a community takes on more liabilities associated with growth decisions than new revenue generated by build out, they eventually are left with a cash shortfall. Simple accounting 101.

 

When this happens there is a generic playbook that typically presents elected officials with three bad choices. 1.) Raise taxes 2.) Take on (more?) debt or 3.) Go hat in hand to the State/Feds for pass-through money or a bailout. None of these are options are attractive. But more important none are long-term sustainable. 

There is a 4th option. That’s taking control of our own destiny by proactively planning ahead before we’re forced into a no-win scenario. 

This is at the center of a conversation we’re having tonight at a joint BOC & Planning Commission meeting related to choices we have about taking on long-term liabilities when certain types of new development plans are put before us. There are levers we can push and pull and in doing that we need to be obsessive about accounting for revenues, expenses, assets, and long-term liabilities (do the math). Do we continue to subsidize negative transactions or do we simply stop?

The More We Grow, the Poorer We Become

We can buck trends and become fiscally resilient with sustainably low taxes and high quality of life for the long run. We just have to think differently. In PA 40% of local communities are distressed in some fashion. Shocking percentage. This means the playbook needs to be throw in the garbage can. That’s the position I’m arguing tonight.

The joint BOC & Planning Commission meeting is tonight 7pm in meeting Rm. A.

I oppose 5 dollar registration fee hike.

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Another Morning Call article today covering a proposed registration fee increase by Lehigh County driven by the County Executive. Without more information, I DO NOT support this.

First, this is presented as one of those disappointing binary choices – For example, raise the gas tax or watch roads “insert alarming hyperbole here”. Or raise registration fees or risk “insert alarming hyperbole here”. (Note: PA legislature recently raised our gas tax, we have the highest in the nation – yet our road situation continues to get worse, not better.)

Rarely are choices this simple. For example, to push back on binary thinking – In my opinion, before raising another cent of new revenue as a band-aid (not a solution), we have to address underlying problems. The system is broken. In PA it’s due to the disproportionate amount of money spent on road expansion vs. road repair. Until we re-balance priorities, feeding the pig won’t solve anything.

Today, Pennsylvania spends record dollars on roads yet things don’t improve. When I wrote this blog post in 2014 after the state legislature increased our gas tax (I opposed) I said to folks, “if you think this is the end of the increases, I got a bridge to sell you…” And here we are just 4 years later another increase. Yes, this is a County proposal but without question, the state is driving it.

We keep getting duped. And here we go again. If this passes and we continue to ignore the actual problems just prepare yourself now for another increase and then another and another. What’s that old definition of insanity?

-Ron

How to keep taxes low in the long run? Preserve Farmland.

Commissioners will announce Vertek Warehouse decision Thursday

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Here is Thursdays Board of Commissioners meeting agenda with detail.
Vertek Conditional use application

We will tackle the final discussion and deliberation on a warehouse conditional use application for Vertek Construction Management. As a matter of background: Lower Mac hires special counsel ahead of warehouse conditional use hearing. 

The facility was originally proposed as a 180,000 square-foot warehouse with 20-30 dock doors located on a roughly 12-acre parcel at 3262 Schoeneck Road.

Over the last few weeks, we held a number of extensive public hearings on the application. All told taking in approximately 12+ hours of testimony from the applicant, special counsel, experts and neighbors including townships resident and residents of neighboring communities who wished to speak. Many from Alburtis Borough including the Mayor offered testimony.

Note: Because these hearings are judicial in nature, the official record for the hearing closed at the conclusion of the final hearing. So, commissioners cannot entertain additional public questions or comments Thursday. By law, we can only take into account the official hearing record when rendering a decision. We can only consider what was presented to us during the hearing. In this case over 12 hours of testimony.

Also we must make a decision only based on criteria laid out in the MPC and zoning ordinance. These items include our local zoning code’s general criteria which are listed below:

Does the application/Is the application:
1. In accordance with the Lower Macungie Township Comprehensive Plan and consistent with the spirit, purposes and intent of the ordinance.
2. In the best interests of the Township, the convenience of the community, and the public
welfare.
3. Suitable for the property in question, and designed, constructed, operated and maintained so as to be in harmony with and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity.
4. In conformance with all applicable requirements of the Zoning Ordinance.
5. Suitable in terms of permitting the logical, safe, efficient and economical extension of public services and facilities such as public water, sewers, police and fire protection.
6. Suitable in terms of effects on street traffic and safety with adequate sidewalks and vehicular access arrangements to protect major streets from undue congestion and hazard.

The board has the following options:
Do nothing. However if we fail to render a decision within 45 days of the last hearing, the
application is be deemed approved.

Approve with or without reasonable conditions. Reasonable conditions
are those that advance a valid zoning interest and are supported by evidence of record.

Deny the application. If we do so, we must cite in detail sections of the zoning ordinance, MPC, or any other ordinance or regulation relied upon and the reasons why the application does not meet them.

A final note:

  • Lower Macungie removed warehouses from the zoning code in the Spring of 2017. However, this application was grandfathered in before new rules took effect. (as often happens since developers become aware of changes when the township advertises ordinance updates which we are required to do by law . . ) So, the fact warehouses are no longer allowed in this zone cannot be taken into account with this decision. Once an application is grandfathered they retain all their vested legal rights.

Also at Thursdays meeting:
We will accept with regret the resignation of Melissa Burchett from the Zoning Hearing Board. She served for just about 2 years. Unfortunately, her husband got a job out of state and they are moving. She was a valued member. Best of luck to Melissa and Brad. We always need volunteers to serve on various boards and commissions but the zoning hearing board is of particular importance since they make decisions on zoning relief independent of the BOC.

The 6:45 executive session will cover personnel and real estate issues. Both permitted discussions per the sunshine laws. More information coming on the 2nd part as soon as we can relay

Finally, there will be a discussion on whether or not the township should take ownership/dedication of additional public roads associated with a small development proposal off Elbow Ln. This issue warrants it’s own post which I will try to draft before Thursday.

LCA Letter of concern + BOC opposes filling in floodplain

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Since this article was written on June 12 the Board of Commissioners took a position strongly opposing filling in or relocating the floodplain associated with this proposed land development. We authorized (unanimously) sending staff to attend the ZHB hearing which was scheduled for Tue June 26th representing the board to testify in opposition. The applicant has since pulled the application from tomorrow’s agenda and offered a continuance.

Next, a few points about the land development. First, this isn’t a proposal for a “truck stop”. It’s a decking operation associated with Mack Trucks. This is the company that already moves trucks made at the Mack plant. Again, something that already happens currently in the area over at the Tyler Pipe property. This new land development could move associated operations closer to the Mack Plant. It’s essentially product storage. Not a warehouse, not a truck stop and not a truck terminal.

Now, while this move makes sense for Mack and could take truck traffic off Rt. 100 going into Macungie Borough – the applicant proposing filling in and relocating floodplain is a serious concern. Our Board takes a hard stance on protecting township rivers and streams from floodplain incursions.

Given the Boards unanimous opposition along with the LVPC, LCA and Planning Commission this project is not moving forward at this time. It proposes too much on too small a parcel with far too much impact on the creek. We will continue to work with Mack and their partners to find an alternative solution.