Upper Nazareth Supervisor’s Meeting – April 5, 2017
All Government Meetings Should Be This Interesting!
Upcoming Events
April 14th – The Easter Egg hunt begins at 2:00 PM on the field behind the township meeting. This event is sponsored by the Fire Department
April 17th – Curbside waste collection begins
April 22nd – The Yard Waste site on Friedenstahl Ave opens up.
Community Concerns
A resident of Eagle’s Landing complained about snow plowing in her neighborhood—driveways being plowed in and school bus stops being blocked.
Recycling Presentation
Cindy Oatis did a presentation on moving the township to a Single Hauler Program. She reported that the Recycling Committee has unanimously recommended to move to a single hauler because:
- The cost per resident will be reduced
- There will be a reduction in noise and the roads won’t be subjected to so much wear and tear.
- It costs $1 million dollars to rebuild a mile of roadway.
- Residents will get more services such as the removal of bulk items and this will help prevent illegal dumping
- The township will be able to get more grants as they become more efficient at recycling. (Currently Upper Nazareth’s recycling numbers are low.)
- Safety—Garbage trucks are dangerous and, with fewer of them on the road, the overall risk will drop
E.J. Mentry, the township manager, wanted the board to vote to give him permission to put out bid specs for a single hauler but, despite support for this idea from the residents in attendance, the supervisors refused. The presentation and discussion on this topic lasted over an hour but, on advice from Mike Rinker, the issue was tabled until the April 19th meeting because Donna Hirst was not in attendance. (Editor’s Note: If all 5 supervisors are required to make a decision, why do the presentation when one of them was absent? It wasn’t like there wasn’t a lot on the agenda already.)
Scott Sylvanius says that, if the township elects to move to a single hauler, it probably won’t happen until 2019.
Two Lawyers Have a Snarling Contest
What looked like a simple procedural issue devolved into a 40 minute hissy fit between township attorney, Gary Asteak and Ted Lewis the lawyer from Morning Star.
A special meeting was held on March 15th concerning land Morning Star wants to develop for their retirement community. https://uppernazarethmeetings.com/2017/03/16/heritage-village-requests-approval-for-expanded-property/
Asteak presented a Conditional Use Decision with several contingencies, including that Morning Star would have to consolidate the deed for the property and couldn’t exceed the density requirements for the land. Lewis, launched an energetic push back on the consolidated deed requirement, claiming the company might face higher taxes.
Asteak apologized to the board, saying he had made a serious mistake by extending a professional courtesy to Lewis about the language in the decision prior to the meeting and that a company’s taxation issues are not the township’s concerns. The tax collector also weighed in saying, in her experience, taxes aren’t raised on land until it is developed. After more arguing by Lewis and Sue Dravic, Morning Star’s CEO, the township manager pointed out that the board had decided it wanted the deed consolidated and that the decision had to be made by April 28th.
After much hysteria on both sides, the supervisors agreed to approve the Conditional Use agreement 3 to 1 (Rinker voted against).
There was another agreement concerning Land Development Improvement concerning the Morning Star property which Lewis objected to because of a condition for a traffic study. The supervisors voted to approve it if Morning Star signed it.
Construction
The supervisors voted to deny a request from the developer of Redcliffe for a reduction in Letter of Credit, saying the escrow account is empty and the developer is refusing to replenish it.
Your Tax Dollars at Work
Approval to transfer $132,000 to the Road Improvement Fund
Becky Bartlett is a resident of Upper Nazareth and covers these meetings because citizens have a right to know what their government is doing.
Upper Nazareth Township Meetings 
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