At the opening of the June 12 Honey Brook Township Supervisors meeting, Chairman Joe Fenstermacher announced that Supervisor Lew Wertley has resigned from his positions as Township Supervisor and Emergency Management Coordinator. Wertley, who had served as supervisor since 2008, was not present at the meeting, and there was no reason given for his resignation. A motion was approved to accept Wertley’s resignation, and Fenstermacher volunteered to serve as Emergency Management Coordinator.
Township resident Ed Reeder made mention of Wertley’s additional contributions as a member of the Planning Commission and as a co-creator of the Honey Brook Comprehensive Plan.
Fenstermacher asked that anyone interested in filling out Wertley’s unexpired term should contact Township Administrator Toni Antoninni at the Municipal Office. They have 30 days to appoint a new supervisor. Township resident Tracey Olson has shown interest in the Planning Commission and she was recommended by Wertley for to fill in his position.
The Honey Brook Township Parks and Recreation Committee will start a kick ball program on June 19 said Therese Mauchline, member of the Parks and Recreation committee. She thanked everyone who went to the Memorial Day Parade. The committee is thinking of having Family Night at the Harold Umble Community Park on Supplee Road.
She also said that the committee has been looking for residents who would be interested in maintaining the two 3 by 8 foot raised bed gardens located at the township building which the Parks and Rec committee had built with the assistance of the Chester County Food Bank and the Boy Scouts. Currently Mauchline and her family are the only ones who are caring for the raised bed gardens. Most of the produce harvested from the gardens is donated to the Chester County Food Bank, but volunteers would also receive a share of the harvest in exchange for their time. Parties interested in volunteering should contact the township office for more information.
The Little League is having a difficult time finding enough parking spaces at the Harold Umble Park on Supplee Road. Road Master Don Johnson said when the park was designed there were pits made to control storm water runoff. The quality of the soil is marginal for providing storm water control. Expansion of the parking area is not possible unless the township can come up with a better method of storm water control.
Johnson said the Road Crew will start repairs on Poplar Road on June 24. On June 26 work will be done to grind up the surface of Poplar Road about half the way to Route 10 starting from Route 322. Seal coating will be done within the next two weeks depending on the rainy weather.
Township Engineer Mike Reinert said plans for Phases 3 and 4 for the Tel Hai Master Plan will come in for review. There are plans for a manufacturing business along Todd Road that will be considered.
There are conditional plans for a kennel on Beaver Dam Road said Fenstermacher.
Attorney Sigmund Fleck said Lanchester Properties wishes to submit a conditional use application for renovations to change an old schoolhouse into a counseling center. John King said the Honey Brook Community Church wants to restore the old schoolhouse, which is located on eight acres they own, in the process. There are future plans to build a church nearby.
Fenstermacher said there had been a request from the township for a traffic study tied to the project. There are four issues which have not been addressed.
‘I have a problem with what we asked for has not been provided,’ he said.
Reinert said the letter was sent on May 28, and King stated that the letter was evidently sent to someone else and that he will look further into it.
‘At this time there will be a maximum of 12 people at the counseling center at a particular time,’ said King. ‘We plan to do our work in the School House until a master plan is completed.’
King was reminded that the township has an ordinance in place that stipulates requirements that have to be fulfilled in order to get a conditional use permit, and one of those is a traffic study.
Supervisor John McHugh said a 90 day extension could be granted to allow for a study to be completed. The hearing will continue at the July meeting.
A comprehensive ordinance was approved to amend certain parts of the wireless communications ordinance governing the construction of cellular transmission towers. The comprehensive ordinance will allow the township ordinance to be in compliance with state regulations.
McHugh said anyone with issues concerning natural gas pipelines should bring their concerns to the attention of State Legislator Pat Meehan. Meehan has a representative present at the township office on a regular basis.
Jonas and Lizzie Stoltzfus have applied for a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board to make some changes at Swampy Hollow Manufacturing, said Attorney Brian Nagle. The fabricating business is located at 231 Maple Street and consists of about 2 acres in the middle of a 128 acre farm. It is managed by the Stoltzfus’ two sons. The business is doing well and they wish to hire several more employees, expand by 6000 square feet, and build a paint shop and storage area. A decision was made to support the plans. The Zoning Officer will attend the hearing.
The Vision Partnership Grant with Chester County was approved. The Visions Partnership program offers advice on long range planning.
