TOWNSHIP OF NORTH HUNTINGDON, BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION MEETING, THURSDAYJUNE 13, 2024, 7:00 P.M. 11279 Center Highway, North Huntingdon, PA 15642 Presiding Officer-Jason Atwood, President, Board of Commissioners  CALLTO ORDER  Commissioner Atwood called the meeting to order at 7:00P.M.  ROLL CALL  Commissioner Hempel - Present Commissioner Haigis - Present Commissioner Gray Present Commissioner Zona - Present Commissioner Bevan - Present Commissioner Gass Present Commissioner Atwood - Present PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE  Also Present: Manager Faulk Solicitor Dice Ryan Fonzi  Commissioner Atwood asks for a moment ofs silence for Chris Ritenour.  CITIZENS INPUT  Sharon Bone- - 121 Summit Drive - apologizes to the Planning Commission for not attending their meeting. She states she is here to speak about the proposed medical building at the corner of Summit Drive and Route 30. She states there was a landslide at this location and now a large boulder is on the ground that is not stable. She states she also found out that a traffic study was done during non-peak hours which doesn'tmake sense to her. Int the study, it states the traffic was going faster eastbound than westbound, in which she disagrees. Shei is concerned that some ofthe information being considered: is not accurate and is concerned with increased accidents ini this area ifthis facility is built. She knows that social media is a very powerful tool and will campaign to encourage people not to go there and that thej physician is more concerned with making money by Jim Zeto - 1988 Haflinger Drive - states he was best friends with Chris Ritenour and Chris would always stand on the bridge in Shafton to watch the trains go by. He states he would love to see the Bob Kettren -11661 Frog Road - states he would like to invite any of the Board members to meet withl him privately during ai rain storm so they can witness first-hand what! he deals with every time Brad Clark - 680 Crestwood Drive - states he understands there is a draft ordinance on the table for backyard chicken keeping. He: states hei is personally interested in] keeping chickens on a small  renting the facility than preservation ofl life.  bridge be dedicated to Chris to memorialize him forever.  it rains over the past eighteen years.    June 13, 2024  parcel ofl land. He states in the memo from Manager Faulk for the April meeting stated "we are not chicken experts and have no formal agricultural training to effectively! hande these situations". Mr. Clark hopes that as the ordinance is drafted that an expert would bei involved to help make this decision. He understands that Commissioner Gray is opposed to chickens but tol his knowledge there were no formal complaint letters filed from him. Mr. Clark also invites the Board to come to his home to see first-hand the concerns that are on the table with the right owner in place are mitigated if not eliminated altogether. There are a few neighboring communities that have approved chickens such as Sewickley Township and even Pittsburgh. Mr. Clark states he is not claiming to be an expert, but would offer his assistance to the Township to help come up with something better that would be fair for more than thirteen percent of the Township. One ofhis ideas is unfounded complaints should be equally penalized to those that are true and real. He closes with asking the Board to consider whether it is the caretaker or the animal that's the Robert Watt - 7505 Diane Avenue - states hei is here regarding the facility on Summit Drive and states he too was not at the Planning Commission meeting. He feels Summit Drive is too narrow  nuisance.  at thel bottom andj just asks to keep it safe for the residents on Summit Drive.  RESPONSE TO CITIZENS INPUT  Lincoln Corner Plaza - Commissioner Atwood states this topic is on the agenda and will be Chris Ritenour Dedication - Commissioner Atwood states this is alse on the agenda and will be Frog Road - Commissioner Gass states hel has been tot this address several times and fully supports what] Mr. Kettren is saying. He feels something needs to be done here to stop the flooding and water damage. Commissioner Gray verifies the address as 11661 Frog Road and asks ifthe water emanates from Township property. Mr. Kettren states the water comes from Scotch Hill #1. Manager Faulk adds that where Mr. Kettren would like the ditch dug, there is no easement and the Board authorized KU Resources to develop plans to remove the collapsed pipe Backyard Chicken Keeping - Commissioner Atwood states this topic is on the agenda and will be  discussed at that time. discussed at that time.  and stop the runoff from Scotch Hill. discussed at that time. Work Sessions Discussion Topics 1) Non-Surface Gas Lease  Manager Faulk states Zane Kessler, a consultant representing Apex Energy, is here to put a presentation on leasing four acres for mineral rights. Zane Kessler states Apex would like to offer an oil and gas lease to the Township on aj parcel owned by the Township. He states he would have been here al long time ago, however Apex made a deal with another gas company who has a lease    June 13,2023  on seventeen acres of Township parcel. He states regrettably time is an issue and is hoping the Board will give consideration to this lease by June 30th. He states the lease is based on fifteen hundred dollars per acre, totaling al little overs six thousand dollars to sign thel lease, and also receive royalties from the Marcellus Shale gas well for potentially eight to ten years, Mr. Kessler states this is ai non-surface lease and will drill down eight thousand feet then drill horizontally on seven wells. Commissioner Gass asks ifany oft the horizontal lines go under private property and would the citizens benefit from this. Mr. Kessler states residents inside the boundary will benefit if they sign the gas lease, and. receive royalties based on the size of their acreage. Commissioner Gass asks what the environmental impact would be. Mr. Kessler states everything is done within a contained area eight thousand feet below the surface. Commissioner Bevan asks what happens to the water that is pumped into the well. Mr. Kessler states it is shipped for treatment.  2) Fee Schedule Ordinance consideration at next week's meeting.  Manager Faulk states this ordinance was advertised with no changes made and willl be for  3) Backyard Chicken Keeping in Residential Area Ordinance  Manager Faulk states there were changes made in the penalty sections, was properly advertised  and will be for consideration ati next week's meeting.  A  4) North Huntingdon EMS/Rescue Roof Replacement  Manager Faulk states he was just recently advised that the Township owns the building and the roofneeds replaced which will come out oft the Capital Fund. The project will go out for bid.  5) Part Time Telecommunications Officer will be for approving two ati next week's meeting.  Manager Faulk states over fifty applicants applied and was narrowed down to ten applicants. This  6) Dedicating Bridge on Bridge Street in honor of Chris Ritenour  Manager Faulk states the Township owns a portion of this bridge and the other belongs to the railroad. He will verify with the solicitor that the bridge can be renamed via resolution.  7) Pine Hollow Road Update  Manager Faulk states a one hundred eighty thousand dollar grant was received from Senator Kim Ward'soffice for this project. The engineer and KU Resources are working for thej proper permits and next week will be on the agenda for advertising bids. He states this project will take quite  some time because oft the permits required.    June 13,2023  PLANNINGI /1 ENGINEERING TOPICS:  1) SP-01-2024, Lincoln Corner Plaza II, SR: 30, C-1 Zoning  *Proposed two-story medical office building that is an extension ofe existing Lincoln Corner Director Fonzi states this is east oft the existing Lincoln Corner Plaza and the owner demolished a single family home in order to make room for the new building which is ai fourteen thousand one hundred fifty square foot proposed office building, zoned C-1. He states this was tabled in April because the Township requested that a traffic study be performed, and the applicant's traffic consultant Trans Associates submitted that in early May missing the May meeting. The applicant isa also asking for five modifications. The: first is proposing one island with the width of 8.11 feet and the other island nine feet instead of ten feet. The second is proposing 29 % foot entrance instead oftwenty five feet wide, The thirdi is proposing seven foot parking area from the building instead of ten feet. The fourth is proposing four curbs to be less than five feet radius. The last is proposing twenty two feet wide parking aislei instead oftwenty four feet. Director Fonzi states the traffic consultant is present for any questions, but from his understanding is their traffic study thought it would only add about a car and a halfworth ofstack on Summit Drive and also felt the intersection with N. Thompson could handle extra traffic, but ultimately the Planning Commission felt that having the ingress and egress onto Summit Drive would be beneficial. There was also a sight distance study done and found adequate sight distance. The Planning Commission recommended approval as submitted with all the waivers and modifications. Commissioner Bevan asks with all the studies done, was anything considered about school buses in this area. Zack Staley, staff engineer at Trans Associates, assisted in this traffic study. He states school buses are not called out as a separate tabulation and arei included with heavy vehicles. To clarify, the turning movement counts were between 7-9AM and 4-6PM during a school day. Commissioner Gass feels school buses carrying children should be separated in the study. Commissioner Zona states he was at the Planning Commission: meeting and states Trans Assoc. did a very goodj job explaining with more details. He states he does not understand the connection between this development and school buses. Mr. Staley states traditionally school buses would not be entering Summit Drive during thej peak hours of4-6PM. Commissioner Zona does not seel how minimal amounts oftraffic using the facility would affect school buses. He respectively disagrees with Ms. Bone regarding the speed in this area and agrees with the traffic study. Mr. Staley states a crash evaluation was also performed. Commissioner Gass states he does not agree with the study andi is creating a: fatal funnel and the safety of the residents. Commissioner Bevan feels sight distance is a feeling of perception. Mr. Staley states in their sight distance calculations do account for perception time. Commissioner Zona thanks Mr. Staley for all the work he has done and professional explanations and descriptions. Solicitor Dice states two traffic studies were done and he has worked with both firms who are both very competent. He suggests that if the Board wants to challenge the studies would need to hire an expert to challenge the opinion if they attempt to deny it. He states it is important to note that when an expert gets up and testifies and sets forth a position that it works, then you are at wits end to say it doesn't. He states the Board has every right to vote no oryeson anything they want, but ift this end up outside of this tribunal and downtown because ift there is an appeal taken you can rest assured with those two engineering firms saying this works, then he is not going anywhere to spend more money to litigate. Solicitor Dice states if this is denied, somebody spent al lot of money sO far and this will go before a Court of Common Pleas judge.  medical complex.    June 13,2023  Dr. Almalouf, owner ofLincoln Corner Plaza, states hei is looking to add: services to the community and improve civilization. He understands the concerns of the resident and the worry of the unknown. He states, by law, they were not required to do thet traffic studies, but agreed to do them to satisfy the residents. Commissioner Atwood verifies the turning radius allows for delivery  trucks. Director Fonzi states there is a loading zone.  OLDI BUSINESS  FURTHER BOARD COMMENTS  Commissioner Zona states it seems lately that people from the crowd are shouting out and carrying on conversation from sitting in the crowd. He feels this is a disservice and shouldn't be allowed to occur and if someone wants to speak should come to the microphone SO everyone can hear,  especially on the live stream, ADJOURNMENT Motion: Commissioner Gray Second: Commissioner Hempel  Motion to go into Executive Session with no further business and adjourn after. Motion carried 7-0-0  Special Meeting minutes of June 13, 2024, were approved by the Board of  Commissioners on July 17, 2024.  ALA  Jason Atwood, President  REOL Harry R. Faulk, Township Secretary