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HEADLINES: Commissioners Meet April 27 Commissioner Warren called the April 27 Commissioners meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Lower Conference room in the County Office Building. Commissioners Warren and Giangrieco were also present. There were few public citizens present. After the "Pledge of Allegiance," the commissioners approved the minutes of the April 13 meeting. They motioned to ratify or approve a total amount of $1,176,448 (to the nearest dollar) as follows: Some of the total they ratified is for the following Prechecks Register Expenses - $606,039 for General, $170,603 for Payroll, $2,631 for Election, $64,783 for CYS, and $1,179 for Jury; $79,229 is for EFTPS payments, which is ratified for the following - $14,128 for Employee Retirement, $7,490 for State Withholding taxes, and $57,611 for Federal Payroll taxes. They approved a total of $251,985 as follows: Prechecks Register $173,090 for Payroll Expenses, EFTPS payments of $14,161 for Employee Retirement, $7,422 for State Withholding, and $57,312 for Federal Payroll. They motioned to approve the following seminar requests and/or payment for seminar requests from May 17, 2011 to June 30, 2011. The following two at no cost to the County: John Lester, Probation, Wallenpaupack, Weapon Control/Weapon Retention and Disarming, total cost $78; and Eric Watkins, Soil Conservation, Annville, Erosion & Sedimentation Technical Training Level I. They motioned to adopt Proclamation 2011-05 proclaiming April 24 - May 1 Stewardship Week in Susquehanna County, whereas the environment is important to us as trees provide shade, wood products, fuel, and clean air we breathe. Fertile soil and clean water provide us with daily sustenance. Hence, each person shall help conserve these precious resources. They motioned to authorize to sign a Purchase of Service Agreement between Susquehanna County Services for Children and Youth and Children's Home of Easton, Easton to be in force July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011, inclusive for Shelter, Unit ID ES, Acopian Center only, Certificate of Compliance 239610 per diem $163.80. They motioned to authorize the proposal submitted by Wild Well Control, Houston, Texas, to develop an annex to the County's existing County Emergency Operations Plan for Marcellus Shale emergencies. The total cost for this project is $5,000, which will be paid for through the Hazmat Fund (Act 165 expenses). PEMA will reimburse the Hazmat Fund $4,000 through the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Planning Grant after project completion. This policy and procedures had three proposals, with the lowest bid being accepted. They motioned to accept the proposal from A New Era Security, Inc., Waymart, for 1 camera to be installed at the Courthouse for $1,200 and a maintenance plan for the CCTV for an annual fee of four hundred dollars ($400). In public comment, a concern was mentioned to the three Commissioners about fixing a broken sign in front of the courthouse which may be a liability. In addition, a concern mentioned was a 911 alternate site as a back up, should anything happen to the primary center. Last motioned, close of meeting at 9:10 a.m. Harford Has A New Web Site The Harford Supervisors are working with David Oakley to develop a new web site for the township. Still under construction, the site located at http://www.harfordtwp.org is expected to provide lots of information for township residents and others wanting to do business with the township. That was only one of the many topics covered at a workshop session on April 26 on an evening of violent Spring thunderstorms. In fact, the office received a call during the meeting that a tree was down and blocking School Street in Harford village. The new web site will offer contact information for all township officials, the text of important township ordinances, permit information, approved meeting minutes, sewer information, a little history, and maybe even an events calendar. Supervisor Garry Foltz would like it to become a Harford “community” web site. The new site advertises office hours as 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., but now that Supervisor and township Secretary Sue Furney is on part-time status, when the office is open is sometimes in question. Mr. Foltz would like to find a way to establish regular office “business hours.” Ms. Furney’s schedule was among several issues raised during discussion of the recent auditors’ report. The auditors recommended that Ms. Furney be paid bi-weekly like the other township employees. Ms. Furney said she discussed this with the chief auditor, Connie Breese, who she said agreed to allow her to continue to be paid monthly, as she has been for years. Ms. Furney corrected a report in this newspaper which implied that the township’s payroll is not yet computerized. She said the payroll is computerized, but the system is not yet printing payroll checks. Mr. Foltz asked if Ms. Furney would like a Quickbooks consultant to help implement this item from the auditors’ report. The Supervisors also discussed the auditors’ recommendation that employee pay increases be awarded as percentages, rather than “across the board.” Ms. Furney supports the percentage-increase saying she thinks that percentage increases are “more fair,” and would tend to encourage longevity with the township. Mr. Foltz seems to prefer the current system that tends to reward employees doing the same work more equitably. Referring to the issue as a “sore subject,” Mr. Foltz supports the auditors’ recommendation to use time clocks to record employee work hours. He said that, while no one is making accusations, there are potential problems with the current practice under which Supervisor and Roadmaster Terry VanGorden records hours for everyone, including himself. Neither Mr. VanGorden nor Ms. Furney were in favor of time clocks. “I don’t think we need one,” said Ms. Furney, based on “the way the township works.” The Supervisors spent a fair amount of time discussing the details of the project to replace a sluice on Richardson Road. The work is being subsidized through the county, which is providing a grant based on cost of materials at the time the grant was awarded. Mr. VanGorden is finding that prices have risen somewhat since then, and recommendations for changes to the project may tend to increase its ultimate cost. In any case, the Supervisors decided to ask the county for an extension on the grant until perhaps July, to allow the area to dry out. Several suppliers and local contractors will be involved in the project - which is estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $10,000, a figure that makes Mr. VanGorden a little nervous, since that is the threshold that requires a formal bidding process. Mr. VanGorden has become somewhat circumspect recently, having been criticized by his colleague, Mr. Foltz, for making purchases without consulting the full board of Supervisors. The township received an inquiry recently about the status of School Street, in Harford village. A grant had been received to help with the repaving, but the money had not yet been made available through the county. The sewer system’s maintenance employee was called once again to remove a blockage in the Tyler Lake Road area. An attempt will be made to try to determine why blockages recur at that spot in the line, and what type of material might be causing them. Ms. Furney also reported that greatly increased flows continue to arrive at the sewer plant during periods of heavy precipitation. Letters went out with recent sewer bills notifying subscribers that storm drains are not supposed to be connected to the system. The Supervisors have considered adding a “bubbler” to the sewer plant to improve its operation. Ms. Furney called the Harford system a “coarse bubbler,” adding that an upgrade to a “medium” system would be very expensive. Mr. Foltz didn’t understand how that could be. The township received a letter asking that the township “[not] touch Blanding Lake Road.” Mr. VanGorden said that there are still spots on that road that could use some work. Mr. Foltz recommended that sections of township roads that are smooth, solid, ditched and draining water properly be left alone. Mr. Foltz asked that a letter be sent to the owners of two barns whose collapsed condition may be dangerous. He said that recent legislation (Act 90 of 2010, the “Neighborhood Blight Reclamation and Revitalization Act”) allows municipalities to declare such situations unacceptable. Some discussion centered around whether township ordinance #6, on “nuisances” and which mentions “dangerous structures,” gives the Supervisors the power to deal with such things. Ms. Furney was reluctant to put her name to such a letter without the approval of the township’s solicitor. It seems the township’s law firm has been assigning a different attorney to township business. Mr. Foltz recommended adding the new lawyer’s name to those accredited for the township. The lawyer apparently billed the township for 3 hours of work on a “request for production of documents” in connection with the “dam litigation,” presumably regarding the sluice and dam at the outlet of Tingley Lake. Ms. Furney reported that the Tingley Lake dam was recently reclassified as a “#4” dam, the lowest category. It had been classified as a #3, but the classifications were recently changed. According to Ms. Furney, a class 4 dam does not require an emergency response plan, and is inspected once every 5 years by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). That dam was last inspected in 2008. Apparently nothing was found to be amiss with the dam. The Supervisors discussed the draft road service agreement presented by Southwestern Energy some months ago. The draft anticipates that the township will provide winter maintenance. However, there are at least 3 “roads” in Harford for which the township does not now, and has no plans to in future, provide winter maintenance. These are White Road, Houlihan Road and Still Hill Road. The Supervisors will add clauses to the agreement that will allow the gas companies to improve the roads, but that will not obligate the township to plow these wilderness tracks in the winter. Mr. Foltz has found a noise meter that he thinks is up to the job of helping the township to enforce its new “Industrial Noise Ordinance.” He wanted one that was certified and suitably equipped, and the kit he will recommend be purchased will cost about $409. Ms. Furney reported contact with a consultant who offered to evaluate the township’s radios, with particular attention to their antennas. The township is trying to ensure full-area coverage in this hilly terrain. Ms. Furney said the consultant seemed honest, and Mr. VanGorden agreed to give that a try before spending more money on new radios. Mr. Foltz is recommending that the township begin considering adding another new truck to supplement the aging Ford F550. He said that Ford no longer offers a truck in that class with a manual transmission; they are looking a Dodge. Mr. VanGorden estimated that a new truck of that type, with 4-wheel-drive and equipped for plowing would probably cost upwards of $60,000. Mr. Foltz thought that a $20,000 down payment - some of it perhaps from the gas lease payment - and a 3-year note would work. In addition, he recommends that the township’s F350 be replaced, perhaps with another used vehicle. Mr. VanGorden reported that the new engine has been installed in the vibratory roller, which can be returned to service on township roads this summer. Ms. Furney asked about scheduling the annual cleanup. Mr. Foltz said that he wasn’t sure it was worth doing at all, and that in any case early June would disrupt township road maintenance by taking employees off the roads for a week at the beginning of the summer season. And, Ms. Furney reported, “There is a street light in Harford now.” Yay?
Courthouse Report DEEDS Glyn Martin and Nancy Keene (AKA) Nancy Keene-Martin to Glyn Martin and Nancy J. Keene-Martin, in Lenox Township for one dollar. Richard D., Jr., Tracy L. and Stephen F. Holgash to Geoff Cook, in Silver Lake Township for $14,900.00. Robert L. and Dawn M. Gaffey to Fred H. Williams, in Thompson Township for one dollar. Fred H. Williams to Robert L. and Dawn M. Gaffey, in Thompson Township for one dollar. Cindy G. Reynolds to Cindy G. Reynolds, in Lenox Township for one dollar. Karl A., IV and Laura Kristine Kail to Distant Ventures Limited Partnership, in Bridgewater Township for one dollar. Susquehanna Community Development Association to George and Colleen Wilkes, in Susquehanna for $3,500.00. Geneva K. Hegedus (estate) to Edward G. and Rhonda E. Goldsmith, in Silver Lake Township for $46,000.00. Donna L. Williams to Mark H. and Jeffrey D. Williams, in Brooklyn Township for one dollar. Richard E. and Sandra M. Oakley to Brandon W. and Kara L. Pearson, in Liberty Township for $181,000.00. Charles and Jane A. Liebegott to Springville LP, in Springville Township for $918,300.00. Charles and Jane A. Liebegott to Springville LP, in Springville Township for $20,700.00. Charles and Jane A. Liebegott and Donald J. and Shirley A. Lockhart to Springville LP, in Springville Township for $171,000.00. Jack and Theresa Casterline to Robert P. (trust) and Eleanor E. (trust) Hastings, in Little Meadows Borough for one dollar. Robert Murphy to Joanne and James, Jr. Arey, Nancy and Wallace Espe, William and John Murphy, Mary and David Seitenbach, and Marilee Ensign, in Little Meadows Borough for $10,000.00. Carolina E. Bennett Wilbur (AKA) Carolina E. Wilbur (AKA) Carolina E. Bennett (estate) to Clifford Guy and Sharon Kay Bennett, in Lenox Township for one dollar. Orval D. and Rose C. Page to Joseph F. and Lisa L. Wahl, in Lenox Township for $195,000.00. Stephen E. and Linda Moak to Auburn Land LLC, in Auburn Township for $75,000.00. Eugene B. Hitchcock, Jr. (AKA) Eugene Bailey Hitchcock (estate) and Cynthia Helen Hitchcock (estate) to David A. Gorsline, in Forest Lake Township for $22,000.00. Dalton C. Conley and Natalie Jeremijenko to Natalie Jeremijenko, in Herrick Township for one dollar. Mill Pond Properties, Inc. to Stephanie M. Peltz, in Herrick Township for $135,000.00. Dora and Robert Cobb to Bonnie Lea Tyler, in Auburn Township for one dollar. Walter Harvey to Alana M. and Walter C. Harvey, in Susquehanna for one dollar. BENCH WARRANTS The Susquehanna County Domestic Relations Section has bench warrants for the following individuals as of 10:30 a.m. on April 29, 2011. Douglas Buckman, Bryan S. Burnett, Beverly A. Carvin, James J. Corridoni, Randall L. Cox, John C. Creps, Heather R. DeBoer, Charles S. Dunn, John F. Feeley, David J. Fischer, John S. Frisbie, Jr., Andy L. Groff, David Haines, Jr., William Neil Hendrickson, Shannon J. Hollister, Steven L. Jones, Christopher J. Kingsbury, Whade A. Koch, Eric C. Kohlhepp, Erik E. Krisovitch, Lee Labor, Robert C. Laughlin, Casey J. Lawton, Charlie J. Legere, Carlos L. Leiser, Derrick Lezinsky, Jason Lindquist, Michael Maryasz, Mark C. McCarey, Jennifer M. Miller, Matthew S. Miller, Daniel Thomas O'Brien, Donald Palmer, Jeremy Presson, Arthur D. Quick, David J. Shiner, Eric J. Snell, Justin Thompson, Robert J. Twilley, Robert J. Vanostrand, Steven G. Warner, Shaun R. Weidow, Steven G. Wormuth. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals.
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