President of Borough Council Merle Stoltzfus said the $40,000 grant applied for last month that will pay 70 percent of the cost of updating the Comprehensive Plan has been approved.
‘We hope to do it in 12 months. It will be done by a committee of eight to ten people (and) someone from the Planning Commission should be on the committee,’ he explained.
He added that the committee should have members who enjoy ‘visionary thinking’, and asked attendees to the meeting to think about people they know who would be interested in participating.
‘They can be members of authorities or commissions. Having someone from the Elementary Center would be a benefit. I would like to see someone from the Whitford Corporation. Members of Council will be welcome to the committee. We will start in January.’
Stoltzfus then moved on to discuss Elverson’s need to redo its stormwater ordinance.
‘From communication (we received) on November 26, the state has informed us we have to redo our stormwater management ordinance. It is an unfunded mandate. There is a classification for municipalities with different populations. There are more stringent guidelines. We are subject to the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System rules. Adequate engineering has to be done to be certain that reconfiguring land into a parking lot or a building does not make the storm water situation worse than it was before.
‘To the east we are at the headwaters of the French Creek which is a stream of exceptional value. We are in the Conestoga River watershed in the west side of the Borough. Each watershed had a different ordinance and rules.’
He stated that he is very frustrated with what the mandate wants Elverson’s leadership to do.
The Elverson Farmers Market will be open for a pre-Christmas shopping event on Saturday, December 22, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Borough Engineer Mark Stabolopscy said a contractor has been hired to clean up and stabilize the former Granahan development known as Quakerside on Park Avenue. Another developer may be interested in the location since the original developer went into bankruptcy.
There is a question if the development may fall under new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System rules since it has set idle for six years, said Stoltzfus.
Stormwater management regulations were in effect when they started the development, said Stabolopscy.
‘We must be very careful that we are fully aware of any changes in permitting by the Chester County Conservation District or any other agencies since the original permit for storm water management was issued for Quakerside,’ Stoltzfus said. ‘The development was started in 2007. There may be some new regulations that would prohibit construction on some lots.’
The Neighborhood Watch network seems to be doing their job, said Mayor Arleigh Hegarty. A man was discovered sleeping in a car and was startled when woken up. It seems at first the people there thought the occupant of the car was dead. In another incident several young people were jumping around on porches, scaring the residents.
Council Member Tim McEwen said that council need establish the proper procedure of notifying authorities in case of an emergency.
The budget for 2013 was approved.
McEwen said repairs are needed at Borough Hall, and that he will look for someone to remove snow from borough property including areas around the cluster mailboxes and the train station.
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