1 1 ASTON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 2 JUNE 15, 2021 3 4 5 6 Transcript of the ASTON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF 7 COMMISSIONERS MEETING, taken before Lorraine Evans, 8 Court Reporter-Notary Public, held at the Township 9 Building, 5021 Pennell Road, Aston, PA 19014, on 10 Tuesday, June 15, 2021, commencing approximately at 11 7:00 p.m. 12 13 BOARD MEMBERS 14 JAMES M. STIGALE, PRESIDENT MICHAEL J. HIGGINS, VICE-PRESIDENT 15 JOHN DOUGHERTY FREDERICK PRENDERGAST 16 LESTER F. BERRY, JR. NANCY E. BOWDEN 17 JOSEPH McGINN, JR. 18 19 ELIZABETH NAUGHTON-BECK, ESQUIRE, Solicitor JOSEPH VISCUSO, Engineer 20 21 22 LORRAINE EVANS COURT REPORTER-NOTARY PUBLIC 23 530 Paxon Hollow Road Broomall, Pennsylvania 19008 24 (610)203-7715 lorraine7evans@gmail.com 2 1 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Good evening everyone. 2 I would like to call this Aston Township Board 3 of Commissioners meeting for Tuesday, June 15, 4 2021 to order. Please rise for the Pledge of 5 Allegiance. 6 (Pledge of Allegiance) 7 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Before we get started, 8 I want to note in the minutes that the Board of 9 Commissioners had a meeting prior to this 10 meeting on a personnel issue. So at this time 11 I need a motion to approve the minutes of the 12 regular meeting of May 19, 2021 13 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Make a motion. 14 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: Second. 15 PRESIDENT STIGALE: All in favor? 16 Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 17 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 18 present vote "aye.") 19 PRESIDENT STIGALE: At this time we have 20 some acknowledgments. We are going to do a 21 Proclamation. Call on Commissioner Berry, 22 please. 23 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Thank you, President 24 Stigale. Township of Aston, Delaware County, LORRAINE EVANS 3 1 Pennsylvania Proclamation. 2 Whereas, the Board of Commissioners, 3 Township of Aston, Delaware County, 4 Pennsylvania desires to honor Peter Anthony 5 Regotti on his promotion to Eagle Scout; and 6 Whereas, Peter is the son of Stephen and 7 Alicia Regotti and the brother of Emma Regotti. 8 Peter is currently a freshman honor student at 9 Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware, 10 where he will be part of the 2024 graduating 11 class. Peter has earned numerous scholarships 12 and academic awards for being a gifted student. 13 Peter played freshman football and runs spring 14 track. He is also involved in the guitar, 15 aviation, and Japanese clubs; and 16 Whereas, Peter's journey in scouts began 17 as a Tiger Cub in 2012 with Pack 225. Peter 18 then progressed through the Cub Scout ranks of 19 Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelow I and II. As a 20 Webelos II Peter earned the Arrow of Light 21 award, which is the highest award that a Cub 22 Scout can attain. In March of 2017, Peter 23 completed his tenure in Cub Scouts and crossed 24 over to Boy Scouts Troop 225; and LORRAINE EVANS 4 1 Whereas, Peter completed his Scout 2 Requirements in his first month and 3 subsequently earned the ranks of Tenderfoot, 4 First and Second Class all by December of 2017. 5 Peter had then set a goal to achieve the rank 6 of Eagle Scout by the age of 14. Peter earned 7 the Star rank in September of 2018 and the rank 8 of Life in March of 2019 at the age of 13. 9 Peter began to work on his Eagle Scout project 10 in November of 2019 and presented his proposal 11 to the Troop Committee in January of 2020; and 12 Whereas, Peter's Eagle Scout Project was 13 the clearing and restoration of an abandoned 14 trail on the property of the Sisters of St. 15 Francis's Red Hill Farm in Aston, PA. The 16 trail had been neglected for years and was 17 largely non-existent. With the help of the 18 Sisters, farm personnel, Troop leaders and 19 fellow scouts, the Blue Trail was brought back 20 to life; and 21 Whereas, in August of 2020 with the cases 22 of Covid-19 on the decline, Peter seized the 23 opportunity to finally implement his Eagle 24 Scout project. While he did not achieve his LORRAINE EVANS 5 1 goal before his 15th birthday, he did complete 2 all of his requirements prior to and earned the 3 rank of Eagle at his Board of Review on January 4 26, 2021; and 5 Whereas, Peter truly does enjoy everything 6 else that is part of the Scout experience. He 7 has attended summer camp every year that he has 8 been a Scout. Peter always attends the Troop 9 camping trips and earned the national Outdoor 10 Camping Gold Award in July of 2019 for his 11 cumulative nights spent camping. He was 12 elected to the Order of the Arrow Honor Society 13 in the spring of 2018, completing his order in 14 April and his Brotherhood in 2019. 15 Peter has held numerous leadership 16 positions in the troop including Den Chief, 17 Troop Guide, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and 18 Senior Patrol Leader. Peter has also 19 volunteered as a guide for the Cub Scout Day 20 Camps held each summer. He also completed the 21 National Youth Leadership Training in October 22 of 2020. 23 Peter has earned 25 merit badges to date, 24 as well as earning the Parvuli Dei, Ad Altari LORRAINE EVANS 6 1 Dei and the Pope Pius XII awards for Catholic 2 Scouts. As a senior member of the Troop, Peter 3 plans to remain active as an Eagle Scout and 4 serve as a mentor and roll model for the other 5 members of the Troop. 6 Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the 7 Board of Commissioners recognizes Peter Anthony 8 Regotti. 9 Duly proclaimed this 15th day of June, 10 2021. Congratulations. 11 (Applause) 12 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Parents, want to come 13 up? 14 (Applause) 15 PRESIDENT STIGALE: What are you guys here 16 for? You just did quite an achievement and 17 I'll turn it over to Commissioner McGinn to 18 talk about it. 19 COMMISSIONER McGINN: Thanks, and to my 20 knowledge there's not a whiffle ball game out 21 back later, but whatever you guys do it's up to 22 you. In all seriousness, we're proud to have 23 with us some representatives from Aston Valley 24 Baseball League. And not just any LORRAINE EVANS 7 1 representatives, our 2020-2021 Major League 2 champs, the Philadelphia Phillies, Hometown 3 Team. Let's hear it for the Phillies. 4 (Applause) 5 COMMISSIONER McGINN: Real quick, before 6 you come up and want to do a picture, 7 obviously, this is something that I hope turns 8 into a tradition, not just for Aston Valley 9 Baseball, but for other recreation and sports 10 teams in Aston. There's a great history in 11 terms of sports involvement from all the folks 12 that get back and coach and help, to all the 13 kids that come up through Little League, Aston 14 Valley, Aston AA, all the other sports clubs. 15 When you look at the partnership with 16 Aston, Weir Park is a township park, Aston 17 Valley Baseball does a great job keeping that 18 park in great shape, taking care of the fields, 19 making it an asset, not just for the league, 20 but for everybody else. 21 The season is wrapped up and some of these 22 boys probably play on district teams and other 23 leagues, but we had 31 overall teams this year 24 just in Aston Valley. You think of all that LORRAINE EVANS 8 1 for kids, probably anywhere from eight to 12 2 kids per team. That's a lot of residents and 3 kids, and after a long year of Covid, they're 4 outside playing baseball, having fun in the 5 township park and I think that's great. 6 So I want to recognize Aston resident Dan 7 Campbell, who's their coach, and I also talked 8 about taking care of the fields. Dan is on the 9 board and a leader in terms of -- I think you 10 got the field, maintenance. He's the guy that 11 gets on you and says get out here and help us 12 pull weeds and get the fields together. A lot 13 of that he takes on his own. 14 Of course we have to recognize the team, 15 which -- I believe you guys beat the Yankees, 16 for the championship. That's appropriate. 17 Phillies taking out the Yankees, just like the 18 major league Phillies did this weekend. 19 Real quick I'm going to announce 20 everybody, stand up and then we'll come up and 21 do a picture. Why don't we hold our applause 22 until we get the whole team. Frankie Bruner, 23 Jimmy Campbell, Coach Dan Campbell, Tyler 24 Clack, Evan Laveccio, Eric Malstrom, Joey LORRAINE EVANS 9 1 Mantonelli, Quinton McPherson, Andrew Pinchack, 2 Stevie Stretch -- that's everybody, right? 3 Let's hear it for the Phillies. 4 (Applause) 5 COMMISSIONER McGINN: Parents, come up and 6 take a picture. Congratulations. They have 7 got a lot of homework to do. They might have 8 to excuse themselves. 9 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Congratulations. I 10 would like to move onto Committee Reports. 11 Call on Commissioner Dougherty, please. 12 COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY: I have two 13 reports tonight. The first is the police 14 report for incidents which occurred in May of 15 2021. Incidents handled 589, accident 16 investigations 29, criminal investigations 36, 17 criminal cases cleared 11, citations issued 62. 18 I also have the treasurer's report for 19 May. Total cash in the general fund as of May 20 31st, 2021, $5,786,210.71. Other funds include 21 the TD Bank Bond Checking with a balance of 22 $5,974,332.85. TD Bank Capital Checking 23 account with a balance of $724,082.08 and the 24 TD Bank liquid fuels checking account with a LORRAINE EVANS 10 1 balance of $559,682.51. Total cash balance for 2 the Township as of May 31st, 2021, 3 $13,756,262.13. And that concludes my report. 4 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you, 5 Commissioner Dougherty. Commissioner 6 Prendergast, please. 7 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Thank you, sir. 8 This is the Public Works Director Activity 9 Report for May, 2021. Following report 10 highlights the main activity of Public Works 11 Department which consists of Director of Public 12 Works, Russ Palmore and the Highway Department. 13 All metal was picked up throughout the 14 township. The metal was taken to International 15 Scrap in Chester, PA. This is always picked up 16 the first full week of the month on the 17 resident's normal trash day. 18 All vehicles were maintained and serviced. 19 Ninety-five percent of the maintenance and 20 repairs on vehicles are completed in-house by 21 our Highway mechanics. 22 Tim Wiest reported all street light issues 23 to Lenni Electric for replacement or repair. 24 All street lights throughout the Township have LORRAINE EVANS 11 1 been converted to LED. 2 All township parks had branches and trash 3 picked up by the Highway Department. Vincent 4 Serluco serviced all grass cutting equipment 5 for the upcoming season. All small engine 6 repairs are completed in-house, saving our 7 township money. 8 Bill Sarosy and Tim Wiest reviewed and 9 recorded all 811 call sheets. Approximately 10 200 call sheets were sent to our Director of 11 Public Works this month. These call sheets 12 show where people and businesses plan to dig in 13 the Community to prevent machines and people 14 from damaging our electric, gas and storm water 15 systems. Each system is marked by that service 16 provider at least three days prior to date 17 allowed to dig. 18 The Township is responsible for all storm 19 water systems. These systems are marked with 20 green paint. Each service has its own color 21 representing the location and typs of service 22 underground. 23 The Highway Department completed crack 24 sealing of our streets. There were 47 potholes LORRAINE EVANS 12 1 filled using 1 ton of cold patch asphalt. 2 The Highway Department mulched playground 3 areas at Savage Park, Bridgewater Park, Concord 4 Square Park, Valleybrook Chase, North Lamppost 5 Park and Indian Rock playground. 6 Installed two new ballards in front of new 7 Township Building generator. Repaired inlet in 8 backyard at 106 Pancoast. Replaced missing 9 hardware on playground equipment at Valley View 10 Park. 11 The Department started plantings and 12 mulching of flower beds throughout the town. 13 Consolidated swing sets at Gordonville Park 14 from four bays to two bays and revamped border 15 using existing supplies. 16 Bill Sarosy replaced cracked or broken 17 swings at our parks. Branch pick-up started 18 the first full week of the month along with 19 metal pick-up. 20 Our Sanitation Department picked up 86.62 21 tons of recycling in the month of May. 553.79 22 tons of residential waste was also picked up 23 this month by our Sanitation Department. 24 Remember that the first full week is Metal LORRAINE EVANS 13 1 and Appliance Week and Branch pickup. Bulk 2 trash week does not exist anymore. Anything 3 that can burn can be put out on your curb for 4 trash at any time. Please have your trash at 5 the curb by 6:00 a.m. on your designated trash 6 day. Any questions or complaints, please 7 contact Russ Palmore, Director of Public Works 8 at 610-494-8005. Thank you. 9 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you, 10 Commissioner Prendergast. Commissioner Berry. 11 COMMISSIONER BERRY: I have nothing. 12 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Higgins. 13 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Thank you. I have 14 the Building and Codes Department report. The 15 following is a report for the permits and 16 licenses issued for the month of May, 2021. 17 Beginning balance, $551,603.00. Total income 18 from building permits and general contractor 19 licenses, $13,207.00. Total electrical permits 20 and licenses, $1,240.00. Total plumbing and 21 heating permits issued, $1,845.00. Income from 22 Board of Health licenses $400.00, income from 23 peddlers and vendors permits $1,500. There was 24 no commercial maintenance inspection income. LORRAINE EVANS 14 1 Income from Certificates of Occupancy, 2 $3,300.00 and income from rental licenses, 3 $150.00. 4 Total revenue collected for the month, 5 $21,642.00 and the total for 2021, year to 6 date, $573,245.00 compared to $292,944.00 last 7 year. That's all I have. 8 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you, 9 Commissioner Higgins. Commissioner Bowden. 10 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: I have the Aston 11 Township Fire Department report for the month 12 of May, 2021. Fire calls 75, EMS calls 167, 13 total calls 242, monthly drills three, year to 14 date 303 fire calls, 740 EMS calls, 1,043 total 15 calls, and year to date monthly drills 15. 16 And I have one announcement I would like 17 to read which is really a happy time for all of 18 us. I am pleased to announce Aston Township 19 Community Center and Library will be opening 20 after a very long year, year and a half of 21 being closed due to the Covid 19. 22 During the Community Center's closure we 23 were fortunate enough to allow Delaware County 24 to use our facilities to administrate the Covid LORRAINE EVANS 15 1 19 Vaccine. Upon their completion, 2 approximately 69,000 vaccines have been 3 administered. We would like to thank Jay Dog 4 Carpet Cleaning and Floor Care of Aston for 5 doing a deep clean upon the exit of the 6 Delaware County vaccination program. We look 7 forward to Camp Rainbow beginning next week and 8 having the library re-open for everybody to 9 enjoy. That's the good news for the night. 10 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you. 11 Commissioner McGinn. 12 COMMISSIONER McGINN: Very good news. One 13 thing to report, on behalf of the Sewer 14 Authority, I am liaison with the Southwest 15 Municipal Sewer Authority here and they wanted 16 to highlight on their website swdelcoMA dot 17 org. There are grant programs, assistance 18 programs for folks struggling to pay their 19 utility bills and sewer bills. Whether you 20 rent or own, that assistance is available and 21 they wanted to flag that, so I'm doing that and 22 encourage folks that are out there listening, 23 if you're looking for more information, go to 24 their website SWdelcoMA dot org. That's all. LORRAINE EVANS 16 1 PRESIDENT STIGALE: I need a motion to 2 approve the treasurer's report. 3 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Make a motion. 4 5 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Second. 6 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 7 All in faovr? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 8 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 9 present vote "aye.") 10 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Need a motion to 11 approve the bills and payroll. 12 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Make a motion. 13 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Second. 14 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Any questions or 15 comments? All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" 16 have it. 17 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 18 present vote "aye.") 19 PRESIDENT STIGALE: At this time I would 20 like to open up the floor to the public for 21 agenda items only. If anybody has questions 22 about what we are doing tonight on the agenda, 23 come to the podium. 24 Seeing none, we are going to move onto Old LORRAINE EVANS 17 1 Business. Line item A, we need to place the 2 meeting in sine die, Commissioner Higgins, 3 please. 4 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Thank you. I make 5 a motion to place the meeting in sine die. 6 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Second. 7 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 8 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 9 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 10 present vote "aye.") 11 PRESIDENT STIGALE: We'll turn it over to 12 our solicitor. 13 MS. NAUGHTON-BECK: Thank you, 14 Commissioner Stigale. On your agenda tonight 15 is consideration of an ordinance to re-zone the 16 parcel of land known as the Baldwin Run Estate 17 Townhouse Development from Commercial, R-2 and 18 Institutional to Townhouse. 19 The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning 20 Code requires that prior to an amendment to the 21 zoning code that the proposed ordinance go 22 before both the township and County Planning 23 Commissions and that you hold a public hearing 24 during which time the public has an opportunity LORRAINE EVANS 18 1 to speak. 2 Public notice of tonight's hearing was 3 advertised in the June 2nd and June 8th 4 editions of the Delaware County Daily Times. 5 Property was posted. The application and 6 proposed ordinance was reviewed by the Aston 7 Township Planning Commission held on May 20 8 which recommended approval, and the Delaware 9 County Planning Commission, which also 10 recommend approval, and that was reviewed on 11 May 26. 12 By way of history, the developer 13 previously obtained zoning use permission back 14 when the Baldwin Run Estate was developed and 15 built as townhouses. Instead of re-zoning the 16 property they went a different route and went 17 to the Zoning Hearing Board in order to get 18 permitted use for this development to be used 19 as townhouse. That was an appropriate way of 20 doing it. What's happened over time is that 21 some of the townhouses are being sold that are 22 in the Commercial and Institutional districts. 23 When Certificate of Occupancy are issued, real 24 estate agents are questioning whether or not LORRAINE EVANS 19 1 the townhouse use is permitted. 2 So, the Commissioners are seeking to 3 basically do a bit of housekeeping by amending 4 this parcel of land to clean up this entire 5 development which is currently being used as 6 townhouse to make it zoned as a townhouse. 7 The normal questions and answers that we 8 would do with respect to a zoning amendment as 9 to whether or not this proposed use is 10 consistent with the neighborhood, whether it's 11 appropriate, that's already been vetted by the 12 Zoning Hearing Board, it was approved and 13 already being used that way. This is really 14 more of an administrative vote that you're 15 taking tonight, more so than a substantive. 16 I do believe that the Homeowners 17 Association has been doing a really good job at 18 communicating the reason for this change that 19 you're going to be considering tonight. Again, 20 if the Commissioners have any questions, now 21 would be a good time to raise them, and any 22 members of the public, now would be the time as 23 well. 24 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner LORRAINE EVANS 20 1 Dougherty. 2 COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY: No questions. 3 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner 4 Prendergast. 5 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: No questions. 6 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Berry. 7 COMMISSIONER BERRY: No questions. 8 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Higgins. 9 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: No questions. 10 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Bowden. 11 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: No questions. 12 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner McGinn. 13 COMMISSIONER McGINN: No questions. 14 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Anyone in the public 15 have a question? Basic housekeeping to help 16 the homeowners out. 17 MS. NAUGHTON-BECK: That concludes the 18 hearing. 19 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Back to Commissioner 20 Higgins. 21 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Thank you. To 22 consider a motion to take the meeting out of 23 sine die. 24 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Make a motion. LORRAINE EVANS 21 1 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Second. 2 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 3 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 4 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 5 present vote "aye.") 6 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item C, consider 7 an ordinance to amend the Township Zoning 8 Ordinance to rezone the parcel of land known as 9 Baldwin Run Estates. Commissioner Berry. 10 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Thank you, President 11 Stigale. Consider an ordinance to amend the 12 township zoning ordinance to re-zone the parcel 13 of land known as Baldwin Run Estates Townshouse 14 Development from Commercial R-2 and 15 institutional to townhouse. 16 Township of Aston, Delaware County, 17 Pennsylvania Ordinance 1014. Ordinance of the 18 Township of Aston, Delaware County, 19 Pennsylvania to amend the township zoning 20 ordinance Number 896, enacted December 21st, 21 2011 to rezone the parcel of land known as the 22 Baldwin Run Estate Townhouse Development from 23 Commercial, R-2 and Institutional to townhouse. 24 It is therefore ordained and enacted this LORRAINE EVANS 22 1 15th day of June, 2021 by the Aston Township 2 Board of Commissioners, Delaware County, 3 Pennsylvania that the property known as Baldwin 4 Run Estate Townhouse Development is hereby 5 rezoned as follows: 6 Section One, The zoning map of the 7 Township of Aston is hereby amended by changing 8 the zoning classification of the parcel known 9 as the Baldwin Run Estate Townhouse 10 Development, more specifically described in the 11 attached legal description from Commercial, R-2 12 and Institutional to Townhouse. 13 Section Two, the Township engineer is 14 hereby directed to change the Aston Township 15 Zoning Map to carry out the intent and purpose 16 of this amendment. 17 Section Three, effective date. This 18 Ordinance shall be effective immediately. 19 Section Four is the repealer. Any prior 20 ordinance or parts thereof inconsistent with 21 this ordinance are hereby repealed. 22 Section Five, severability. The 23 provisions of this ordinance and code sections 24 adopted hereby are severable, and if any LORRAINE EVANS 23 1 clause, sentence or section thereof shall be 2 adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such 3 decision or judgment shall not affect the 4 validity of the remaining provisions, in the 5 form of a motion. 6 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Second. 7 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 8 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 9 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 10 present vote "aye.") 11 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Move onto New 12 Business. Line item A, announce the Fourth of 13 July fireworks. Commissioner Bowden. 14 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: More good news. 15 Aston Township Parks and Recreation Committee 16 and the Board of Commissioners is happy to 17 announce that they will be hosting the 2021 18 Independence Day celebration and fireworks 19 display on Sunday, July 4th, behind Sun Valley 20 High School. The fireworks display is 21 scheduled to be at dusk. 22 We look forward to having all of our 23 wonderful residents come out and join the Aston 24 Township Community in celebrating the 4th of LORRAINE EVANS 24 1 July and the beautiful fireworks that come with 2 it. 3 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you. Line item 4 B, call on Commissioner Higgins for the 5 resignation of the township manager. 6 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Thank you. I make 7 a motion to accept the resignation of Joseph E. 8 DeVuono as township manager, form of a motion. 9 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: Second. 10 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 11 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 12 (Whereupon, all Commisioners 13 present vote "aye.") 14 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item C, consider 15 the separation agreement and release. 16 Commissioner Higgins. 17 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Thank you. I make 18 a motion to accept the separation agreement and 19 general release with Joseph E. DeVuono, form of 20 a motion. 21 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Second. 22 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 23 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 24 (Whereupon, all Commissioners LORRAINE EVANS 25 1 present vote "aye.") 2 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item D, announce 3 vacancy of Aston Township manager. 4 Commissioner Higgins. 5 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: Thank you. I am 6 announcing the vacancy position for the Aston 7 Township Manager. The position will be placed 8 as an ad in the Daily Times and on Monster dot 9 com on a date in the very near future. Most 10 likely tomorrow. The job posting will also be 11 found on the Aston Township website with more 12 detailed information on the job requirements. 13 That's all. Thank you. 14 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item E, consider 15 a motion to appoint township solicitor. 16 Commissioner McGinn, please. 17 COMMISSIONER McGINN: I make a motion to 18 appoint Elizabeth Naughton-Beck as the Aston 19 Township solicitor. 20 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Second. 21 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 22 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 23 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 24 present vote "aye.") LORRAINE EVANS 26 1 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item F, consider 2 a motion to appoint a library board member. 3 Commissioner McGinn. 4 COMMISSIONER McGINN: I make a motion to 5 appoint Madelyn Bush to a three year term on 6 the Aston Township Library Board. This term 7 will end on June 15, 2024. 8 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: Second. 9 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 10 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 11 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 12 present vote "aye.") 13 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item G, announce 14 notice of intent to repeal. Commissioner 15 Berry. 16 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Announce notice of 17 intent to repeal Paragraph 1282.05B5A5 for 18 signs on mobile stands. 19 I would like to announce Notice of Intent 20 to repeal Paragraph 1282.05B5A5 for signs on 21 mobile stands. 22 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you. Line item 23 H, we need to have an engagement letter. Call 24 on Commissioner Dougherty. LORRAINE EVANS 27 1 COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY: I make a motion 2 to approve the amendment to the Leitzell and 3 Economidis engagement letter of October 20, 4 2021, which states their fee will be $3,000 5 monthly for their services. The amendment to 6 the original engagement letter states 7 additional services will be charged at an 8 hourly rate as follows: Partner $200 per hour, 9 Manager, $150 per hour, Staff, $80 per hour, 10 form of a motion. 11 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: Second. 12 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 13 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 14 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 15 present vote "aye.") 16 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item I, consider 17 a motion to approve another engagement letter. 18 Commissioner Dougherty. 19 COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY: I make a motion 20 to approve the engagement letter from Barsz 21 Gowie Amion and Fultz. This will be used to 22 complete the Aston Township 2020 financial 23 audit, including the year end financial 24 statements. Their fee is not to exceed LORRAINE EVANS 28 1 $25,750.00, form of a motion. 2 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: Second. 3 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 4 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 5 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 6 present vote "aye.") 7 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Next motion we have to 8 do so we can have the 4th of July. 9 Commissioner Bowden, please. 10 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: I would like to make 11 a motion to approve the final payment of 12 $8,500.00 paid to Starfire Corporation for the 13 July 4th fireworks display, form of a motion. 14 COMMISSIONER BERRY: Second. 15 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or 16 comments? All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" 17 have it. 18 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 19 present vote "aye.") 20 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item K, consider 21 a motion for a refund. Commissioner Berry. 22 COMMISSIONER BERRY: I make a motion to 23 approve the refund of $110.00 to ET 24 Landscaping, 515 Lindsay Street, Ridley Park PA LORRAINE EVANS 29 1 19078 for a permit that has been cancelled by 2 the contractor, form of a motion. 3 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Second. 4 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 5 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 6 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 7 present vote "aye.") 8 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item L, consider 9 a motion for a refund. Commissioner Higgins. 10 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: I make a motion to 11 approve the refund of $110.00 to Coale Roofing, 12 108 Bethel Road, Glen Mills, PA 19342 for a 13 permit cancelled by the contractor, form of a 14 motion. 15 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Second. 16 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 17 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 18 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 19 present vote "aye.") 20 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Line item M, consider 21 a motion to approve another refund. 22 Commissioner Dougherty. 23 COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY: Make a motion to 24 approve the refund of $698.18 to Mr. Robert LORRAINE EVANS 30 1 Gray, 244 Moria Place, Aston, PA 19014 for 2 taxes paid twice in error, form of a motion. 3 COMMISSIONER McGINN: Second. 4 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 5 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 6 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 7 present vote "aye.") 8 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Move on to escrow 9 releases. Commissioner Higgins. 10 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: I have one escrow 11 release tonight. Following amount is for 12 engineering fees to be paid to Pennoni 13 Associates for the month of June, summary total 14 of $9,228.50, form of a motion. 15 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Second. 16 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Questions or comments? 17 All in favor? Opposed? The "ayes" have it. 18 (Whereupon, all Commissioners 19 present vote "aye.") 20 PRESIDENT STIGALE: At this time I would 21 like to open up the floor if anyone would like 22 to make a comment, come to the podium, state 23 your name and address. 24 THE WITNESS: Hello. It's been a long LORRAINE EVANS 31 1 time since I have been here, Carol Cannon, 90 2 Second Avenue. I live in Aston, but my address 3 is Media. As you know, I am a member of the 4 Historical Society for many years and we have 5 been planning signage for our history 6 locations. And it was approved we could put it 7 in front of the Community Center in the corner. 8 And I have drawings and specs and things. I 9 don't know who to go to at the township 10 building because Mr. Jankos Gray, who is our 11 fabricator and installer is going to have to 12 speak to someone thre for final approvals to 13 know what he is doing. May I hand this over to 14 -- 15 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Yes, we'll take that 16 from you. Is that the same one you sent 17 earlier, a couple months ago? 18 MS. CANNON: This is more detailed. 19 PRESIDENT STIGALE: We were waiting on 20 that. Unfortunately we are dealing with some 21 personnel issues. That will get looked at by 22 the board. 23 MS. CANNON: Thank you so much. I really 24 appreciate that. Second part of this is LORRAINE EVANS 32 1 because this year -- in 1971, September, we had 2 a flood, fifty years ago. So, the Historical 3 Society is putting together a presentation that 4 will be September the 9th at the Community 5 Center, and it has lots of pictures and 6 articles from the paper, so anyone interested, 7 we invite to come and see that, as well as in 8 November we have our presentation, on November 9 11 for all of our Veterans of the Second World 10 War. Thank you. 11 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Wonderful. 12 A VOICE: Good evening. My name is Joseph 13 Frank. My address is 42 Woodbrooke Way, Aston. 14 I'm here before the board tonight because I 15 live on -- and received a notice at my home 16 from Conwego. Conwego is presently 17 constructing at what used to be the gun range, 18 as you all know. They left a notice that said 19 that work will take place over the course of 10 20 nights for concrete placement. That the work 21 will begin at approximately 2:00 a.m. during 22 the months of June and July and there will be 23 10 total nights of work within that time range. 24 During that time they are anticipating I LORRAINE EVANS 33 1 don't know how many trucks. I contacted our 2 Board Commissioner, I have spoken with the code 3 enforcement officer. It's apparently 4 anticipated that there's going to be a 5 substantial number of trucks which will be 6 taking part in this. It will continue from 7 2:00 a.m. until it's done which, as I 8 understand, it is expected to be throughout the 9 entire night and will take place on 10 separate 10 nights as they have indicated. 11 The concrete trucks, by OSHA regulation, 12 will all be equipped with those warning sounds. 13 There is difficulty in seeing out the back. If 14 there's an obstructed view they have to have 15 it. Those warning beepers, according to the 16 literature I was able to find, indicate that 17 they have a typical volume of 97 to 112 18 decibels. That's the warning. 19 That does not include the noise which 20 would be made by the concrete truck itself as 21 it moves around with its load of concrete and 22 mixes the concrete. That also does not include 23 the noise which will be made by the other 24 machinery which will be present in order to LORRAINE EVANS 34 1 smooth the concrete and move the concrete 2 around. It doesn't include the noise which 3 will be made by the trucks and other 4 individuals and the people who will be working 5 at the site. 6 There will also be lighting, I am sure. 7 As a matter of fact, they indicate that there 8 will be what they call light plants. I don't 9 know what a light plant is. I anticipate if 10 you're going to pour concrete, you're going to 11 have to have a well lighted area to make sure 12 no one is hurt, and that you can see the 13 concrete is going to the right place. 14 Therefore, we can expect, I presume, a 15 substantial amount of light to be shining as 16 well, in order for that to take place. 17 The township's ordinances, specifically 18 1280.03E regarding noise provide where the 19 receiving land use category is residential 20 public space or open space, that from 7:00 a.m. 21 to 10:00 p.m, the maximum sound level is 60 22 decibels. That's capable of two 23 interpretations. One interpretation would be 24 that after 10:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. you can LORRAINE EVANS 35 1 do whatever you want and make as much noise as 2 you want, which I suggest would be 3 unreasonable. And the other is there's not to 4 be noise after 10:00 until 7:00, which is 5 consistent with the fact that folks are 6 sleeping then, so they can go to work the next 7 day. 8 Also the ordinance in addition provides 9 that if there's a source of sound which emits 10 an impusive sound with short duration, that 11 shall not exceed 20 decibels over the ambient 12 sound level. The ambient sound level at 2:00 13 o'clock in the morning is almost nill. All 14 traffic is practically stopped. There's no one 15 moving around doing anything. Therefore, 20 16 decibels would then violate the ordinance. 17 Your ordinance also provides in Subsection 18 G no vibration shall be produced which is 19 transmitted through the ground and is 20 discernable without the aid of instruments at 21 or any point beyond the lot line. 22 Finally, your ordinance provides in 23 Subsection I under Public Health and Safety 24 that no use shall create any other LORRAINE EVANS 36 1 objectionable condition in an adjoining area 2 which will engage in public health and safety 3 or be detrimental to the public use of the 4 surrounding area. 5 I can tell you from experience, because 6 the construction's been going on for awhile, 7 that if you sit in our home with all of the 8 windows closed and even if you run the air 9 conditioner, you can still hear the sound of 10 the beeping as it's going off from the back 11 ups. You can hear the sound of the vehicles 12 moving around. That's difficult to deal with 13 at 2:00 or 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. It 14 will be impossible to deal with at two o'clock 15 in the morning. It will mean that we won't 16 sleep. We'll be up throughout the night. 17 I suggest to you that the township can 18 take action and should take action in one of 19 two forms. Either by having the township code 20 officer advise that there will be a stop work 21 order issued because the noise regulations have 22 to be violated because that 97 to 112 decibels 23 alone from the warning will easily violate your 24 ordinance without any of the other noise that LORRAINE EVANS 37 1 will be created. 2 Also, between the light, the sound going 3 on, and the general congestion, you'll 4 certainly have something which interferes with 5 the use of all of the rest of us in our homes 6 from sleeping between 2:00 a.m. 6:00 a.m when 7 they intend to stop. 8 Therefore, I am asking that you either 9 request the code enforcement officer to advise 10 that should that be done, because it's in 11 violation or the ordinances, that there will be 12 a stop work order issued that will stop it, or 13 that the township authorize its solicitor to 14 proceed forward with an injunction action. 15 This is something which is scheduled to take 16 place not once, but on 10 separate nights. 17 There will be a continuing course of conduct 18 which will make it impossible for all of us to 19 sleep during that time. 20 Since it is in violation of the township 21 ordinance and will be continuing over that 22 period, you do have the basis to move forward 23 to request an injunction. 24 Therefore, I am asking that the township LORRAINE EVANS 38 1 would authorize its solicitor to move forward 2 with an injuinction action to prevent this from 3 taking place, because it will be a continuing 4 violation of the township ordinances over a 5 period of at least 10 nights. We have no 6 guarantee that it will last only 10 nights. 7 They said approximately 10. If it's more than 8 10 nights, no one seems to know. 9 I have spoken with our Commissioner. I 10 have spoken with the code enforcement officer. 11 My neighbor, Mr. Nokowski has spoken directly 12 with the individuals who are running the job. 13 No one is able to tell us how many different 14 nights in total it might be. 15 I have been told that on Fridays a 16 schedule comes out for the following week. 17 Until that time, we won't know. We do know 18 that over the course of the next two months we 19 expect this to happen at least 10 times. 20 I would ask you to take into account that 21 this is not something which anyone considered 22 that there would be work being done between 23 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. from having lived in 24 this township most of my life. LORRAINE EVANS 39 1 Contractors, landowners and individuals 2 who do maintenance on lawns are aware that they 3 shouldn't start before 7:00 a.m. and they're 4 usually done well before 10:00 because of 5 darkness. That's without even having read the 6 ordinance. It's just something generally 7 accepted and known. 8 However, you have Conwego having announced 9 to the township that it will violate the 10 ordinance and continue to violate the ordinance 11 and do so at least 10 times. No guarantee they 12 won't continue to do it more times than that. 13 I suggest that under the sections I have 14 cited in our ordinance, you have the grounds to 15 stop the work and to seek an injunction to 16 prevent them from going forward because there 17 is no adequate remedy simply by issuing a 18 violation and charging a fine. A fine is a 19 drop in the bucket to a project which is in the 20 tens of millions of dollars. It will simply be 21 the cost of doing business, which they will 22 pay, becaue it will be in the hundreds of 23 dollars, unless you take action as a township 24 to prevent this from happening. LORRAINE EVANS 40 1 We were at one point advised that you 2 should contact the police. My neighbor spoke 3 with the township police department. They're 4 not trained in detecting sound and in the use 5 of sound meters, nor do they have sound meters. 6 They indicated that if a police officer is 7 called they'll of course come, take a report 8 and refer that report to the code enforcement 9 officer. However, as far as I have been able 10 to determine, there will be no one from the 11 township present during the hours that this 12 will be done since it's between 2:00 a.m. and 13 6:00 a.m. Therefore, there will be no the 14 township official who could record on properly 15 calibrated equipment that there was, in fact, 16 a violation of the ordinance. Thus, the 17 township would be in a difficult position to be 18 even able to seek a fine for violation of the 19 ordinance because you have to prove the 20 violation first. 21 What we are asking is that you enforce 22 your ordinance. That in the name of 23 reasonableness, that you take action to stop 24 them from pouring concrete between two and six LORRAINE EVANS 41 1 in the morning. Perhaps there could be a 2 negotiation with the individuals to try to 3 arrive at some compromise that everyone could 4 accept. Two a.m. to six a.m. is not 5 reasonable. 6 My understanding is that the contractor's 7 position is essentially they are going to do it 8 when they say they're going to do it. That's 9 it. They're not going to be told they won't do 10 it. 11 No individual such as myself has the 12 ability to stop them. However, if the township 13 Board of Commissioners as a board contacts 14 them, explains the violations and requests to 15 talk with them, I would think they would 16 respond. You could attempt to negotiate a 17 compromise that might not involve two to six. 18 Or if the matter is brought before the court 19 and the court issues an injunction, that will 20 stop them. 21 It's also been my experience that when 22 that happens, a judge will normally attempt to 23 proffer a compromise and find a way everyone 24 can live with it. I would suggest that those LORRAINE EVANS 42 1 are the ways you should pursue. And what I 2 would ask, if we can get some sense of the 3 Board as to whether, in fact, the board intends 4 to take any action. 5 In talking with our Commissioner, I first 6 learned of this in the week immediately after 7 Memorial Day, between 5/31 and 6/4 when it was 8 dropped off at my door. I spoke that day to my 9 Commissioner. He advised me that he had been 10 dealing with the problem for several weeks. I 11 therefore understand that the Board was 12 apparently aware of the matter sometime since 13 mid May. I am not aware of the Board having 14 taken any action during that period of time and 15 it has now been approximately a month that has 16 gone by. 17 If you'll be seeking injunctive relief, I 18 think your solicitor will tell you, time is of 19 the essence and that you need to move quickly 20 in order to do that. 21 I am not sure why the Board has not done 22 anything for the last 30 days. I am asking the 23 Board to take immediate action tonight in order 24 to authorize the solicitor to move forward to LORRAINE EVANS 43 1 seek to stop this and authorize the code 2 enforcement officer, I think in fairness, to 3 advise the contractor ahead of time that the 4 code enforcement officer will be stopping work 5 if they're in violation of the township 6 ordinances so they can have the opportunity to 7 attempt to find a time when they can do that. 8 They presently work at that site from 7:00 9 a.m. and there have been days when they have 10 begun before 7:00 a.m. and work at least until 11 six or seven o'clock. I have heard them out 12 there as late as nine o'clock still working. 13 As long as they work not past ten I believe 14 they qualify within the noise ordinance. 15 However, once they're there after 10 they're 16 violating the township noise ordinance. 17 Therefore, what we're asking is that the 18 township enforce its ordinance and take action 19 to stop this. 20 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Fred, do you have 21 anything? 22 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Joe knows how I 23 feel about it. We have talked. Being in my 24 Ward, I understand where they are coming from. LORRAINE EVANS 44 1 I talked to the board. I think I would be 2 better off handing this over to Beth. She 3 knows more of the legal than I do. 4 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you for your 5 comments. We'll take it under advisement and 6 discuss the matter. 7 MR. FRANK: Given the shortness of time 8 which is available, since they've indicated 9 they wil do this during July -- they indicated 10 this will be done during July and August, 11 and therefore -- I am sorry, actually in the 12 months of June and July, we should expect it to 13 be immenent that it may begin, can I ask when 14 the board will be deciding what action to take 15 in order to move forward? We're now already at 16 mid June, and I would think we should expect 17 this to begin almost any day. 18 PRESIDENT STIGALE: We have been 19 discussing this matter and at this point we 20 were assured that the residents' interest would 21 be taken into consideration. What you're 22 bringing up -- what you're bringing up tonight 23 is something that we just heard and it's a 24 matter that we need to discuss. We are not LORRAINE EVANS 45 1 going to do that publicly. 2 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Can we ask Beth 3 to address what he said about the legal end of 4 it though? That's where we have been with 5 this. If she wants to. It's up to you. 6 MS. NAUGHTON-BECK: Yes. This is an issue 7 that's been discussed. It's an ongoing 8 conversation. We've been working with code 9 enforcement officer as to the best ways to 10 handle it. There are obviously more issues 11 than just the ones you have raised here 12 tonight. 13 There are mechanisms in place for when the 14 work begins. A decision was made not to file a 15 preliminary injunction because there's 16 insufficient evidence at this point. The 17 township does not have sufficient evidence to 18 prove what you're saying would happen. There 19 needs to be proof. We can't go into court and 20 shut down a multi-million dollar project based 21 upon something, an anticipated violation, that 22 may or may not occur. So unless and until 23 something happens, the township really isn't in 24 the right position to be taking that sort of LORRAINE EVANS 46 1 thing. 2 We have got the township's money to take 3 into consideration and what's in the best 4 interest of the entire community. So, we are 5 watching. There are processes in place with 6 code enforcement, how they are going to do 7 handle it once this work begins. 8 The township has been aware of it from the 9 very beginning. They're the ones that -- 10 Commissioner Prendergast is the one that when 11 we first found out this was going to happen, he 12 said to them you need to be good neighbors. 13 Out of the gate he was saying you need to be 14 good neighbors with these residents and you 15 need to communicate and work with them. 16 That's why you got the notice. We are 17 going to continue to be watching it. It's not 18 something that's being ignored. Commissioner 19 Prendergast was really upset about this, 20 understandably. He's being your advocate. We 21 are going to, from a legal point of view, until 22 we have -- I have got evidence that I can put a 23 witness on the stand and I've got documentation 24 as to those violations, what those levels are LORRAINE EVANS 47 1 going to be, there's nothing we can do at this 2 point. 3 MR. FRANK: Respectfully, Conwego has 4 already told us what they intend to do and they 5 have placed it in writing. I would be happy to 6 provide the solicitor with a copy of this, in 7 which they indicated what they'll be doing. 8 Certainly that will involve multiple concrete 9 trucks being used, I have been told it has been 10 described as a massive pour in the explanations 11 to the township. Then with use of the beepers 12 alone which, according to the internet 13 literature, provide 97 to 112 decibels, would 14 exceed the number of decibels which are 15 permitted. 16 MS. NAUGHTON-BECK: Mr. Frank, you know 17 darn well I can't go into court and say my 18 internet research tells me that it's going to 19 violate our township ordinances. 20 MR. FRANK: I understand, but I do 21 understand that you have access to an engineer 22 who has experience in this area. I would 23 imagine that your engineer would be able to 24 give testimony, given his experience in LORRAINE EVANS 48 1 construction, as to the use of these warning 2 devices as to the level of the warning devices. 3 If necessary, a sound engineer could be 4 contracted by the township in order to testify 5 as to what the level is that is given by one of 6 the warning devices. 7 I understand you would need those things 8 in order to bring the action. What I am 9 suggesting, the township should at this point 10 attempt to do that. If the township waits, and 11 this is to take place in June or July, as we 12 both know, it will reach a point where from a 13 time standpoint it will simply be impossible in 14 order to prepare a complaint and file a 15 complaint to provide for there to be a hearing 16 on the temporary injunction which would be 17 requested in time to stop it. It will all be 18 finished before that process could be completed 19 reasonably. 20 That's why I am suggesting that the 21 township authorize their solicitor to retain 22 the necessary experts. I would think you 23 probably need a sound engineer in addition to 24 the township engineer. Perhaps in addition to LORRAINE EVANS 49 1 that, you'll need some other experts who would 2 be needed. That process would have to begin 3 immediately because it's not something which 4 would be done immediately. You can't retain 5 those experts in a day. 6 That's why I am asking that the township 7 move forward at this time as opposed to simply 8 waiting for the first violation to occur. And 9 then at that point you place your solicitor in 10 the position where, from a timeline, I don't 11 know how she's going to possibly prepare a 12 complaint and have it heard before the other 13 nights take place since it's predicted to be in 14 June and July. 15 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Again, you brought 16 up -- we have to talk about this further. 17 That's all I can say right now. What you're 18 telling us is new to us. We have been hearing 19 other things from the contractor, so we'll take 20 this under advisement. 21 MR. FRANK: Thank you. 22 A VOICE: Frank Szulkowski, residing at 23 558 Lamppost Lane. And I do a ditto on 24 everything that Mr. Frank just indicated. Plus LORRAINE EVANS 50 1 when I talked to the contractor, had it not 2 been for the weather, this would have all begun 3 two weeks ago on Monday. As a consequence, I 4 can only stress the timing is truly of the 5 essence. And sitting and waiting and not doing 6 anything is very detrimental and harmful to the 7 community residents that reside around the 8 site. 9 Not only that, as Mr. Frank indicated, I 10 had conversations with our Commissioner, as 11 well as with the code enforcement officer. 12 Initially what I was told was that the police 13 would basically do the sound measurements, but 14 when I called the police department they said 15 no, the officers are not trained to do that. 16 We have to get someone who is trained to do the 17 sound testing. 18 So when I talked to the code enforcement 19 officer today, it only just demonstrates that 20 we really do have a problem here. That is that 21 he had indicated he would not be up all evening 22 hanging around waiting to do the sound test. 23 You would have to be called upon. That's not 24 very workable if nothing is set up. LORRAINE EVANS 51 1 So, I too looked at the Code 1280-03, 2 performance standards, and I only read these 3 because it's our code. In Section 2080-03C, 4 having to do with glare and heat, may I read? 5 I know you know this. No direct or sky 6 reflecting glare whether from floodlights or 7 high temperature processes such as combustion 8 or welding or otherwise so as to be visible at 9 the lot line shall be permitted. 10 These regulations shall not apply to signs 11 or floodlighting of parking areas as otherwise 12 permitted by the zoning -- such and such.. 13 There shall be no emission or transmission of 14 heat or heated as to be discernable, again, at 15 the lot line. 16 Noise, and I am going to just jump to the 17 essence of it, and when it comes to the 18 frequency of the sound, back up signals, they 19 are talking about 15 second intervals as being 20 repetitive and annoying. 21 But again, when we get to it, it has to do 22 with at the lot line of the receiving lot 23 owner. The receiving lot owner are the 24 residents. They got to receive it at the LORRAINE EVANS 52 1 allowed decibels which, between 10:00 p.m. and 2 seven a.m, I would like to believe is zero 3 permitted. 4 Lastly, same thing goes with vibration. 5 Vibration can't exceed the lot line. And 6 basically pierce, my words, peirce the 7 adjoining land owners. That's pretty much what 8 I have to contribute, and I appreciate your 9 attention and patience and truly do hope for 10 the residents that some good can come of this 11 and we can perhaps -- just one logical 12 perspective. I have lived in this township a 13 devil of a long time and there has been the 14 devil of a lot of development that has taken 15 place. And I suspect truly you gentlemen and 16 lady never anticipated that when you approved 17 the project for the use, that we would be 18 looking at this kind of a perspective. I don't 19 think you ever imagined after all of these 20 years that a contractor would come in and 21 pretty much tell you how to run this township 22 and tell us how we need to just roll over and 23 accept. So you got my message. Thank you. 24 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Anything, Fred? LORRAINE EVANS 53 1 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: No. 2 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Anyone else? Seeing 3 none, Commissioner Dougherty. 4 COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY: Nothing. 5 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner 6 Prendergast. 7 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Nothing. 8 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Berry. 9 COMMISSIONER BERRY: I want to 10 congratulate the Championship Phillies and 11 Peter Regotti for attaining the rank of Eagle 12 Scout. 13 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Higgins. 14 COMMISSIONER HIGGINS: I also want to 15 congratulate the Eagle Scout and the Aston 16 Valley Baseball League Phillies Champions. 17 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Commissioner Bowden. 18 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: I have a lot of 19 stuff. First thing, I wanted to tell you all, 20 our Board of Health is back up and running. 21 And she's pretty much completed all the 22 inspections here in the township. So even with 23 the Covid and being shut down, she's back on 24 line and our restaurants and our kitchens are LORRAINE EVANS 54 1 fully inspected at this time. 2 The second thing I wanted to remind you 3 all of is our Hometown Heroes Banner program. 4 The banners are being printed as we speak. The 5 first round, they are due in probably the week 6 before the fourth of July. With a little bit 7 of luck we'll be able to get them up at that 8 point in time. I am not going to make a 9 promise. They are going to start with the 10 banners going down Pennell Road and going down 11 Concord Road and going across Duttons Mill 12 Road, the triangle here, which is the heart of 13 our community. I look forward to seeing our 14 beautiful banners. They don't look like 15 anything else that you have seen out in other 16 towns. These were designed by one of our own 17 individuals here in our township. Mrs. Berry 18 designed the banners. They are absolutely 19 beautiful. 20 Couple more things, Sun Valley has a new 21 head majorette and I would like to congratulate 22 her. She happens to live in my Ward, and her 23 name is Katie Kelso. She's absolutely a 24 darling young lady. She's the new Sun Valley LORRAINE EVANS 55 1 drum majorette for the year 2021. 2 One more thing, I am also in another 3 capacity. I work with the crossing guards at 4 PennDelco, and I really really need 5 substitutes. We need some of you to come out 6 and get our children across the streets in 7 Aston Township. 8 As you all know, traffic is ungodly in our 9 town. Getting the kids across the street is a 10 chore. It's a two, three quarter hour a day 11 job, pays $15 an hour. For those of you that 12 are retired, it's a nice little income. You 13 got your morning and -- I'm looking at some of 14 the people in the room. Their wives are 15 pointing at them. I am hoping maybe they would 16 be some of the people coming out. We really 17 really need crossing guards to keep our 18 children safe for the upcoming school year. 19 Last thing I have, remember the kids are 20 going to be out of school on Friday of this 21 week. So please drive safely and come out and 22 enjoy the fireworks on the fourth of July. 23 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Thank you. 24 Commissioner McGinn. LORRAINE EVANS 56 1 COMMISSIONER McGINN: Just a thank you to 2 all of the volunteers and boards that run our 3 youth leagues, Aston Valley, Aston Middletown, 4 Aston AA softball. Don't forget folks, in 5 terms of signing up your kids and grandkids for 6 the fall sports, Aston Youth Soccer, Aston AA 7 football and field hockey is the other one. A 8 lot of great opportunities. I'd like to 9 mention St. Joe's CYO. 10 And also I echo your comments, Nancy, we 11 have a very good health board that handles 12 things appropriately in Aston Township. Glad 13 to hear they're back at it. Hard to believe 14 we're only a couple weeks away from the fourth 15 of July. Looking forward to the Aston Fourth 16 of July fireworks. That's it. 17 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Ms. Naughton-Beck. 18 MS. NAUGHTON-BECK: I would like to thank 19 you for renewing your appointment and picking 20 me. 21 PRESIDENT STIGALE: Mr. Viscuso. 22 MR. VISCUSO: Tentative start date on the 23 road program of June 27 to July 7. I don't 24 have it Ward by Ward. As soon as I get LORRAINE EVANS 57 1 that I'll pass it on to the Board. 2 PRESIDENT STIGALE: I would like to thank 3 the residents who came up to address their 4 concerns about the situation that's developing 5 over there. Again, this is something we have 6 been discussing and we will take these matters 7 into consideration. I want to thank you for 8 bringing it to our attention, your concerns. 9 I also want to mention that the second 10 trash pick up, check your schedule on the 11 calendar, will start soon. With that I need a 12 motion to adjourn. 13 COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST: Motion. 14 COMMISSIONER BOWDEN: Second. 15 (Whereupon, the hearing is 16 concluded at 8:00 p.m.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 LORRAINE EVANS 58 1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATION 2 I HEREBY CERTIFY that I was present upon the 3 hearing of the above-entitled matter and there 4 reported stenographically the proceedings had and the 5 testimony produced; and I further certify that the 6 foregoing is a true and correct transcript of my said 7 stenographic notes. 8 9 _______________________ Lorraine Evans 10 Reporter-Notary Public My Commission Expires 11 October 25, 2022 12 13 14 15 16 (The foregoing certification of this transcript does 17 not apply to any reproduction of the same by any 18 means, unless under the direct control and/or 19 supervision of the certifying reporter.) 20 21 22 23 24 LORRAINE EVANS