It was a special meeting, called to anoint a new Supervisor to fill the chair vacated last year by the resignation of Conrad Owens.  But the remaining Supervisors added a bit of business to the agenda that stretched it out just short of a half hour.  Most of the rest of that business had to do with sewage.

Before getting around to the applications for Supervisor, Roadmaster Jim Phelps asked if it would be possible to arrange direct deposit for the employees’ paychecks.  Secretary Carolyn Jennings said she had contacted Peoples Bank, the township’s depository, for information.  They said such a service might cost $10-$15 per month for the few people Harford employs.  The matter will be considered for future action.

The Supervisors reviewed some paperwork relating to the work that David Klepadlo is doing on the sewer plant renovation project.  Ms. Jennings said that Mr. Klepadlo still has a license, and that the paperwork simply satisfies a requirement of the primary funding agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Mr. Klepadlo, the designer and builder of Harford’s central sewer system, is under Federal indictment for fraud related to his company’s work in some nearby townships (but not Harford).  He will be expected to complete the engineering work for the renovation of the Harford sewage plant.  The project will then be turned over to JHA, the township’s provider of engineering and consulting services.

Taking a break from sewage, Doug Phelps and Sue Furney turned their attention to three applications for the open Supervisor seat.  Of the three applicants, only Zack Weida attended in person.  The Supervisors, however, chose Dustin J. Walker.

Many in the room applauded young Mr. Weida’s interest and encouraged him to pursue it further, perhaps by filing a petition to run in the primary election this Spring.   Mr. Walker will occupy his new seat by appointment only temporarily.  He will have to run for election to keep it for another 2 years.  (Doug Phelps is also up for election to another 6-year term this year.)  Several people offered Mr. Weida information about how to file a petition; the primary petition process will run from February 14 to March 8 this year.  Of course the winner in the primary will also face the voters in the general election next November.

With politics out of the way, the Supervisors returned to sewage by formally adopting a revision to a township ordinance to cover on-lot sewage systems (retaining tanks) for commercial operations.  The revision was occasioned by requests from a new saw shop on Fair Hill Road and a new compressor station on Tingley Lake Road.  The Supervisors also accepted a sewage planning module for a subdivision.

Laying politics and sewage aside, the meeting closed with the annual plea from the Harford-Lennox Baseball Association for help.  Craig Stout said that the ballfields are expected to be especially busy this year, hosting both Little League and Cal Ripken players, not to mention softball.  He said the ball club would like a triaxle load of 2B stone to improve the batting cage so that practice could begin earlier in the season.  Roadmaster Phelps said that the township had an abundant supply of anti-skid material – essentially the same as 2B – and, as the motion approving the move said, “arrangements will be made for delivery.”

The Harford Township Supervisors – all three of them? – will meet again for their regular February session on Tuesday the 21st.  Meetings tend to begin on time at 7:00pm at the township office on Route 547.

Thompson Township Supervisor’s meeting held on February 1, 2017 was inundated with many concerns from residents seeking assistance from the Supervisors regarding the PennDOT shed located in the Township.

Residents informed the Supervisors that over the past few years the road maintenance provided by PennDOT has been increasingly worse during and after snow and ice storms. They stated they have repeatedly phoned the main supervisor at the Montrose PennDOT location with several complaints over the past two snow seasons, but nothing has changed.  The residents state they are very upset and don’t know where else to go to file a complaint.

One of the residents said on January 24th, during a storm they called the Montrose location because Route 171, from Route 1001 to Route 370 wasn’t touched for a good ten hours or better during the storm.

Another resident phoned on January 31st to report they saw two PennDOT trucks, with the Supervisor’s vehicle parked up near Susquehanna with their lights off; Road conditions on Route 171 were terrible, and they saw a vehicle off the road and down a bank, a few miles after sighting the trucks.

Residents who use Wrighter Lake Road every day to get to and from work stated the road is rarely in good shape.  It was reported during the recent six plus inch snowstorm there was only a single plow sweep right down the middle of the two-lane road.  As they were driving towards Thompson Borough they were hoping no one was going to come the other way, since there was no way possible for them to move over, or two cars to pass. This was at seven o’clock in the morning, after it was snowing from the day before.

Residents reported they have seen PennDOT trucks parked around the area, not plowing or cindering, and trucks not moving out of the shed for hours at a time during a snow event.  Many additional events were relayed to the supervisors, and they are primarily concerned about their safety and others on roads not maintained properly.

The residents expressed their concern is the Montrose PennDOT supervisor does not take them seriously, as the situation has not been rectified.  They stated it’s definitely an issue with this particular shed, noting once you drive past their service corridor, the roads are noticeably better maintained.

Supervisors said they have no jurisdiction over PennDOT, but they all agreed they could try and help the residents of their Township.  They will pen a letter from the Township Supervisors to State Representative Jonathan Fritz, and notify him of their concerns.  The residents thanked the Supervisors for giving them an alternate option on how this issue can be resolved. 

Adam Mallard, from True View Security attended the meeting to offer the Township a deal on a camera system, since he currently has an overstock of cameras.  He will extend to them no charge for installation with the purchase of four cameras and a recorder.   Mr. Mallard stated the cameras are commercial and government grade quality, there are no monthly fees, and they could put the system on the Internet to check the premises remotely.  He stated it comes with a two-year warranty, along with a two-year service plan with a guaranteed response within twenty-four hours.  The Supervisors stated they would discuss this after the meeting and be in touch.

Supervisor Komar stated the road crew has been plowing and cindering the roads, and they put down some 2B stone on Gellat Road.  He said the Alamo Boom Mower has been giving them some problems lately with the hydraulic stopping.  After several minutes of discussion between the Supervisors it was decided that for a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars for a new hydraulic pump, it would make sense to try and fix it rather then sell it and purchase a new one.  If the new pump isn’t the problem, they will look at other options.

The Screen-All machine costs manpower and diesel fuel at a cost of approximately two hundred and sixty dollars reported Supervisor Komar.  He said to purchase twenty-two tons of 2RC modified, the cost would be two hundred and thirty-six dollars.  Supervisor Komar said it doesn’t make sense anymore to put all that time, labor, and money into a process when purchasing material would be less expensive.  Supervisor Wademan and Supervisor Jenkins asked what he would do with the machine if they stopped the process.  Supervisor Komar said they could sell it for approximately twenty-five thousand dollars.  He said it’s a good starting machine, and there is nothing wrong with it.  It has a John Deere three cylinder motor, and they have an extra set of screens.  Supervisors will decide at a later time on what would be the best method to do the work.

The Thompson Township Audit was completed on January 31st and the minutes from the Auditors were read.  The Auditors approved two hundred and twenty-five dollars per month to be paid to the two full time road crew personnel towards their own individual healthcare insurance.  Auditors set the salary for the Road Master at eighteen dollars per hour, and commended the Secretary/Bookkeeper Kim Wallace for her organizational skills of maintaining the books and records. 

Before the meeting adjourned Supervisor Komar reported stop signs and road name signs were stolen from both Bear Swamp and Layton Road.  To replace these signs the cost is sixty-three dollars for a stop sign, twenty-eight dollars for a name sign, the brackets are eighteen dollars each, the pole is twenty-two dollars each, and the stub is fifteen dollars each.

The next meeting will be on March 1st, at 7:00 p.m. and all residents are encouraged to attend.

To Blue Ridge School Board members, a new budget now in preparation had to be the primary order of business at a workshop on January 30th.  After all, each member was presented with a large binder on the subject when they arrived at the table.  But it was boosters of the district’s wrestling program who got in the first word, making a passionate appeal for funds for coaching staff.

Kathy Roe, Joe Pipitone and Tim Esposito appeared before the board to ask for more resources for their struggling program.  Ms. Roe, representing the wrestlers’ booster club, listed all of her group’s achievements and the hard work it took to get this far.  Mr. Pipitone, Junior High coach and long-time supporter of Blue Ridge nearly came to tears when he recalled what the wrestling program had done for him, and the many difficult times the program has overcome.  Mr. Esposito, a more recent graduate and also a coach, put a determined face to the appeals of his colleagues.

What the booster club – and the coaches – want is more coaching staff, if possible, and a closer parity with other nearby wrestling programs that could help recruit the needed coaches.  Blue Ridge coaches are near the bottom in salary among neighboring districts.  Mr. Pipitone said that he gets barely half what his counterpart at Mountain View is paid.  All the same, Mr. Pipitone donates his coaching salary to the booster club anyway.

The Blue Ridge Board got nicked last year when it donated $100 to the wrestling booster club, and then was asked for a similar donation for a basketball program.  This time, Christina Whitney said that there would be no more donations to athletic booster clubs.  While several board members spoke with appreciation of what Blue Ridge wrestlers and their coaches have accomplished through the efforts of their booster club, none could guarantee much of a boost in resources in a new budget.  Board president Chris Lewis remarked that the board last year reconfigured the salary schedule for coaches, but acknowledged that the new approach didn’t work to attract and keep coaching staff as they hoped.  So he pledged that his board would be reviewing everything anew this year.

The evening was scheduled as a workshop, partly in preparation for next week’s business meeting.  Naturally there was a superb chicken-vegetable soup to fortify members as they took up the work at hand.

Mr. Lewis started off listing some of the items that will be on the upcoming business agenda.  The Board will be offering its annual retirement incentive.  And a calendar for next year is being proposed – always a focus of some attention.  Superintendent Matthew Button said that the calendar offers 3 options for the start of school, including, of course, the most recent practice of beginning after Labor Day.

Mr. Button also commended staff and contractors for the long hours and hard work to get the district’s water wells back on line after a pump died.  Work proceeded through a weekend to get it fixed; the schools were closed for only a single day. 

There was some discussion of alleged bullying on buses, and the consensus seemed to be that parents who have concerns about their children need to bring the issues to the schools directly.  Neither the board nor the administration is inclined to respond to second-hand reports, rumors, or social-media chatter.  Mr. Lewis and Edward Arnold said administrators are more than willing to investigate credible claims.  They said that it is unrealistic to expect drivers to monitor the behavior of up to 72 children and still drive safely.  Business Manager Brian Dolan said that drivers receive more training in some of these issues now that the district can depend on a 5-year contract for service.

Principal for Instruction Matthew Nebzydoski thanked Southwestern Energy for a program that introduces 7th graders to their industry.  He also noted that a forthcoming book with national circulation on leadership in reading education is expected to feature some of the achievements at Blue Ridge.

In Harold Empett’s absence, Mr. Button reported that, while the Instructional Unit’s general budget for next year is not expected to rise, the Blue Ridge assessment for the consortium’s budget will rise by 3% (about $600) due to a recalculation of the shares of member school districts.

Mr. Lewis announced that, at Dr. MacConnell’s recommendation, the board’s Wellness Committee is being eliminated, while the board’s policies related to wellness are still in effect.

Mr. Lewis also remarked on a recent incident at the school that involved the intervention of the state police.  Said he, “at no time was there a threat to our students.”  He said that all appropriate procedures and protocols were followed.  He was a bit annoyed at the nattering about the incident on social media.

He also offered some remarks on the effort in the state legislature to eliminate the property tax statewide.  He said he had talked with state senator Lisa Baker, who supports the legislation, trying to impress upon her the risks of such a move to public schools, in particular small rural schools like Blue Ridge.  He said that the proposed legislation would still require property taxes to fund debt service, and only a tiny fraction of districts across Pennsylvania have no current debt.  In any case, state support for public schools would still be funded one way or another by taxes on state residents.  He said that he feared that allocations from the center would handicap districts like Blue Ridge with little influence in Harrisburg compared to the larger, more urban districts.  The legislation would severely weaken local control and hamper the effort to fashion a district’s programs to local needs.

Mr. Dolan’s first budget presentation of the season offered an outline of the process ahead, with some general objectives and challenges facing the board as more detailed analysis and examination proceeds through the month of May, by which time a budget must be available for public review in advance of formal approval before the end of the fiscal year in June.

The board has already voted to stay within the state-defined “index” that sets a limit on how much the budget may increase without a vote of the taxpayers.  This year the index was set at 3.5%.  The board thus has 3 options.  It can increase tax rates (within the index), which would provide more revenue to fund the demands of a constantly rising expense budget.  It can refuse to increase millage at all, which he said would probably require “deep cuts” in programs and services.  It could take a middle approach by increasing the millage somewhat, and funding any additional requirements from accumulated fund balance.  The “fund balance” is essentially the surplus from budgets of prior years.  He noted that applying the fund balance to any budget shortfalls could simply transfer the pain to future years.

The challenges are daunting.  For one thing, no one yet knows what the state will do about its annual subsidy.  For the past 2 years increases in state funding have averaged about 1.5%.  He said that consumer prices have risen an average of about 1.3% over the same years.

On the expense side, the district is locked into contractual obligations for salaries and benefits, which, together with related social security contributions and contributions to the state’s teacher retirement fund, account for well more than half of the district’s costs.  Add in the constantly increasing cost of health care coverage for the staff, and there is very little left for the board to work with.

The Blue Ridge budget for the current year balanced at something under $18 million.  Board members won’t have much more than that to allocate from the pages to be added to their fat budget binders over the next few months.  The wrestlers will have one, maybe two, slim lines among all those spreadsheets.  Wish them luck.