News

Minutes of the Meeting of the Rush Township Board of Supervisors – May 19, 2009

RushTownship Municipal Building
Hometown, PA  18252

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Rush Township Board of Supervisors

The monthly meeting of the Rush Township Board of Supervisors was called to order at 6:00 o’clock p.m. by Chairman William J. Sanchez, Jr.  Those in attendance were Vice-Chairman Shawn Gilbert; Supervisor Stephen Simchak.; Secretary/Treasurer Terri Conville; Attorney Robert Yurchak; and Officer Duane Frederick.  Approximately twelve residents and one reporter were also in attendance.  The pledge of allegiance was then recited.
Ms. Conville read the following statement:  These proceedings are being recorded for the sole purpose of constituting the accuracy of written minutes.  Tapes are reused, eliminating recorded records of these proceedings. For the record, please state your name if you have comments to make.

American Water Services Report
John Tiejaro read the American Water Services report as of May 19, 2009.  A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to accept the American Water Services report.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion. Under the question, Vice-Chairman Gilbert wanted to know if there were any problems with the auto-dialers up to this point.  Mr. Tiejaro noted there will be a problem at Tide Park because there are no existing lines or poles for Verizon to hook-up to.  The engineer for Verizon will be in touch with Mr. Tiejaro. All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Police Report
O.I.C. Duane Frederick read the police report for the month of April, 2009.  A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to accept the police department report.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.  Under the question, Chairman Sanchez, Jr. wanted the police department to be aware of the fact that construction did start on Monday at the intersection of Routes 54 and 309.   Sanchez also asked Officer Frederick to please take down the   seatbelt check sign when it is not in use.   All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Minutes of Previous Meetings
A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to approve the minutes of the previous meeting May 1, 2009.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.   All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Treasurer’s Report
A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to accept the treasurer’s report as submitted.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.  Under the question, Chairman Sanchez, Jr. asked Ms. Conville to read off the balances for each fund.   All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Approval of Current Township and Sewer Bills for May, 2009
A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to approve all current township and sewer bills for May, 2009.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.   All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Municipal Reports
A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to accept and place on file all municipal reports. Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Correspondence
Key areas noted by Ms. Conville in the correspondence file for the month were as follows:
1.  Shenkan Law Center
2.  Letter from Lisa Price
3.  Arro Engineering
4.  Pa. Dept. of Transportation
5.  Susan Whildin
6. E-Mail from Michelle Kintzel
7. Senator Dave Argall
8. Department of Community & Economic Development
9.  Saint Luke’s Emergency & Transport Services
A motion was made by Vice-Chairman Gilbert to accept all correspondence.  Supervisor Simchak seconded the motion.   All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Attorney’s Business – Attorney Yurchak stated the police contract has been negotiated and approved by the FOP. The four year contract goes from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012.  A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to accept that contract. Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.  Under the question, Mr. Starry wanted to know if there are any rates in the contract that the people need to know about.  Our Solicitor did tell Mr. Starry he can have a copy of the contract once it is signed.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

Old Business

New Business
A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to approve the request to amend the budget meeting minutes of November 20th, 2008. The motion was seconded by Vice-Chairman Gilbert.  Under the question, Chairman Sanchez, Jr. noted the motion to include that he was not in attendance at that meeting.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.
A motion was made by Vice-Chairman Gilbert for the Rush Township Fire Police to assist with traffic control at the Tamaqua Memorial Parade on May 25, 2009 at 8:30 A.M.  The motion was seconded by Supervisor Simchak.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.
A motion was made by Supervisor Simchak to prepare an advertisement for fuel oil heating bids for the municipal building and the sewer building.  The motion was seconded by Vice-Chairman Gilbert.  Under the question, Chairman Sanchez, Jr. asked our Solicitor how the township can avoid being locked into a contracted price for fuel if the price of heating oil escalates.   Yurchak noted the specs of the contract need to be written in such a way you can get out of the contract.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.
A motion was made by Vice-Chairman Gilbert to accept the resignation letter of Dave Kerstetter.  Supervisor Simchak seconded the motion.  Under the question, Jeaninne Motroni wanted to know who would be directing the road crew.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert stated that Dennis Rupert is with the township for eighteen years and knows his job. Chairman Sanchez, Jr. noted that an advertisement was put in the paper for the open position of road foreman. Supervisor Simchak stated that the road department crew fills out daily time-sheets as to what work is being done.  Ms. Motroni asked the Board who verifies what is listed on the timesheets.  Chairman Sanchez, Jr. requested the record to show David Kerstetter’s date of resignation was May 15, 2009.     All voted in favor of the motion, carried.

General Purpose Public Participation
1.  John Starry – wanted to know why the traffic lights at the Wal-Mart shopping center are not LED lights as specified.  Mr. Starry noted the township could save money by using the LED lights.  He also asked the Board if the traffic lights at the intersection of Routes 309 and 54 would be LED.  Mr. Starry also stated he heard Zamias cut out a lot of the projects that were supposed to be completed at the intersection by Penn-Dot.  Supervisor Simchak did explain to Mr. Starry that the road work has to be done properly because of the bond in place by Zamias.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert told Mr. Starry there is a set of plans for review in the office.
2.  Dave Wilson, Account Manager from Aflac – asked the Board’s permission to meet with township employees and make a presentation about insurance.
3.  Marion Lazur – wanted to know if the township could save money by doing payroll in-house.  Chairman Sanchez, Jr. told Ms. Lazur he has researched the payroll issue and noted it would cost more and expose the township to liability for any errors.   Chairman Sanchez, Jr.  said he would meet with Ms. Lazur and present his findings to her.
4.  Joe Shamonsky –19 Swenson Street– wanted to know if there is a problem in the road department.  He also stated his daughter might be building a house near him and is still concerned about the storm sewage problems that have not been fixed in his area.   He did tell the Board he will bring a lawsuit against the township if there is damage done to his daughter’s home because of the water over-flow.   Mr. Shamonksy questioned the Board as to why the seat-belt safety sign has to be taken down when not in use
5.  Steve Behun- questioned the Board about the trash dumping on Kahler Hill near the cemetery. He noted that appliance parts, pallets, tires, drywall and other junk are being left there. Chairman Sanchez, Jr. stated he has talked to the property owner. The owner can do what he wants with it because it is his property.  Attorney Yurchak noted that if the owner is using the property as a junkyard, it could fall under the township’s zoning ordinances.   The zoning officer for the township will be contacted to inspect the property again.  Supervisor Simchak asked the police department to make extra patrols in the area.  Mr. Behun also asked the Board about doing a study to see if there should be an additional fire hydrant installed in the Kahler Hill section.  He also wanted to know how often the fire hydrants are flushed and about the caps on them. The Board asked Ms. Conville to contact the Tamaqua Water Authority and Fire Company for this information.
6.  Joe Shamonsky – wanted to know who checks the pressure on the fire hydrants.
7.  Charles Haldeman – stated that some years ago there was a petition about an additional fire hydrant being installed in the Kahler Hill Section but nothing ever came of it.  He was also concerned about the traffic situation on Lincoln Drive and Route 309.  He asked the Board if the proper permits were obtained for the logging operation that started this past week by East Main Street going into Quakake.  Supervisor Simchak stated permits for logging are not issued by the township.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert said a letter would be written to Penn-Dot expressing our concerns about the traffic situation on Lincoln and 309.
8.  John Starry- asked the Board to appoint Officer Frederick to Corporal if the contract is approved.  A motion was made by Chairman Sanchez, Jr. to make Duane Corporal subject to a job description within thirty days effective June 1st.  Vice-Chairman Gilbert seconded the motion.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.  Mr. Starry will provide the Board with a job description for the position of Corporal.
9.  Joe Shamonsky- wanted an update on the status of Robert Romanick.

Supervisor’s Response Period
Chairman Sanchez, Jr. presented a bill from Attorney Cori in the amount of $1,500.00 for legal fees to the Board of Supervisors.  Chairman Sanchez, Jr. noted that in 2008 the auditors determined that Marion Lazur and he were in the wrong with the purchase of an assault rifle and ammunition.  Chairman Sanchez, Jr.  stated he will ask his attorney to take the matter to court for closure.

Adjournment
A motion was made by Vice-Chairman Gilbert to adjourn the meeting.  Supervisor Simchak seconded the motion.  All voted in favor of the motion, carried.  The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 o’clock p.m.

Transcribed and Attested

Terri Conville, Secretary/Treasurer

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