FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

PUBLIC MEETING

NORTHERN YORK REGION COMPREHENSIVE RECREATION, PARK

AND OPEN SPACE PLAN

FRANKLINTOWN FIRE HALL

JUNE 13, 2006

OPENING OF MEETING

Supervisor Brown opened the meeting at 7:08 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer. Supervisor Brown stated that Chairman Lambert was not present and Supervisor Shambaugh will be late and then introduced Supervisor Decker and Vice Chairman Lerew. Also present was Secretary Nancy Zentmeyer, Mr. Greg Gove, Chief, Grants Projects Management Division of DCNR and Mr. Joe Frassetta, Moderator of DCNR, Forestry Division.

Mr. Frassetta at this time informed the audience of the ground rules for conducting this meeting. It was noted that this is an informational meeting only and the meeting is scheduled to end at 9:30 p.m.

1. Be respectful

2. No one may criticize another

3. Discussions are about positions, not personalities

4. Listen actively

5. Respect others when they are talking

6. Goal is not to agree without hearing perspectives

It was asked if anyone disagrees with the ground rules. It was noted everyone agreed.

Lisa Ammons stated she would like to add one and asked if around 9:00 p.m. there could be a vote taken on whether the residents agree or disagree with the plan so the Board of Supervisors would understand where the residents stand on this issue so they can move on a vote of this plan. Supervisor Brown indicated that he has a survey that residents can fill out and sign by the end of the meeting. It was noted that not all property owners are present and that the survey should be done by a consultant. It was noted that there are over 1700 property owners in the Township and they also need to read the plan.

In the survey there are 7 items on what action Franklin Township take with this plan, read by Supervisor Brown as follows:

1. Adopt plan as is, but participate to make sure the implementation is reasonable and provides value to our residents.

2. Delete the reference to eminent domain that says “...to AVOID USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN”, and adopt the plan.

3. Revise the plan to remove greenways and trails except for in new developments and within parks and adopt the plan.

4. Remove, for now, the goals objectives, policies, and strategies associated with greenways and trails until they can be better defined and adopt the plan.

5. Make other changes and adopt the plan. Please write recommended changes below as an additional message.

6. Create our own Franklin Township plan, but participate and support the regional effort to implement the plan so we might join at a later date.

7. Create our own Franklin Township plan, adopt it, and let the rest of the region do what they want.

There was discussion on both the voting at the end of the meeting and the survey.

Supervisor Decker indicated that she has a problem with the survey since it was not developed by all of the Supervisors and she has not seen the survey. It was noted that in the 7 statements there was nothing to offer to scrap the plan. It was noted that question #7 indicates that. At the last Board of Supervisors meeting it was suggested to have official voting machines to get a specific idea of how the residents feel. It was noted that a voting list may eliminate some property owners but they could bring in their voting card or a deed to verify their ownership.

Mr. Ron Stevens suggested that a survey be done by someone recommended by DCNR, but there should be no voting or survey taken at tonight’s meeting.

It was noted that one of the main issues is the trail system. There should be important information in one document showing what is to be voted on and what is decided on by all property owners.

Again as one of the ground rules requested, clarify by a hand vote, not an official or final vote, to have eyewitness of the general feeling of the plan.

The majority of the people in the audience here tonight are against the plan and it was stated that it has been poorly handled up to this point. An important point is that questions being asked should come from Township residents only.

Ms. Ammons clarified her request for a ground rule as stating “by hand vote which is not a final vote but for the Board of Supervisors to know how the residents feel, it is not an official vote”.

Vice Chairman Lerew stated that a straw vote would be good to get the feelings of the residents. Supervisor Decker indicated that she is opposed to the survey by Supervisor Brown but has no problem with a vote of a raise of hands. It was questioned why some Supervisors were missing from this meeting.

Another ground rule is that there is to be no condescending remarks made by anyone.

It was noted that there will be a vote at the end of the meeting by Township residents only.

Mr. Greg Gove gave some background at this time. It is noted that a swimming pool is included in this plan and not just walkways. He indicated that the situation here is cooperating together. Mr. Gove noted that since 1974 he has been managing grants and within the last 10 years approximately 100 plans have been done with 18 involved in intergovernmental participation, which he feels is a betterment of all involved. The plan itself – what do you want for your children/grandchildren and for future generations. The plan can be whatever you want with summer recreation programs, maintain parks yourself, but what do you want. It was noted that plans can take several years to develop.

PRESENTATION OF THE PLAN

At this time Supervisor Brown proceeded with a presentation of the plan. It was noted that there are typographic errors and some pieces missing from the plan. Supervisor Brown gave his background as follows: attend Northern York Schools, 20 years with the Navy, Masters in Weapons System Engineering, Senior Engineering Analyst, Teach Win-Win Thinking, Elder at his Church, President of NYCSF (write mission statements), former Carroll Township Supervisor, and PSATS growing greener, recreation, greenways and trails courses.

Supervisor Brown noted in Appendix F the organizational chart with a Director, Assistant Director, and an Administrative Assistant. The Director and Administrative Assistant should be full-time positions and the Assistant Director could be an intern position.

The terminology of open space and greenways was discussed along with the greenway infrastructure.

Of the previous survey (March 2002) taken 324 Franklin Township residents responded out of the 4,515 total population. The key person interviews were 18 and with the focus groups 52 people were from Franklin Township. In the proposed plan there are the contents and 7 sections. It was noted the reason park and recreation is so important is that 75% of the U.S. population use recreation

Section 5 – Strategies and Implementation Plan was discussed regarding new residential developments.

Supervisor Brown indicated that with the issue of eminent domain he is against it until it would be absolutely necessary but it can be taken out of the document. A community roundtable has been established for a community center and they are currently working with the YMCA, Dillsburg Library, New Hope Ministries, the School District and Senior Center trying to get facilities built debt free and they are currently in discussion with 4 developers. The YMCA has plans to build both an indoor and outdoor pool. He stated they would probably need recreation funds from each municipality for matching monies for the grant.

Goal 4 in the handout is based on the trails system and the trails in Franklin Township are mostly along the roads but for off-road trails the Township would acquire an easement which would be purchased from the property owner. Bike lanes need to be 3-4’ wide for safety reasons. The benefits of trails are health issues and a safer mode of transportation. Questioned was crime associated with the trails and it was noted that there would be no increase against the users or property owners. Statistics show there were 44 crimes in 4 years. That is almost one per month. A Park & Recreation Director would help in getting grants, plan programs and would attend all the municipalities’ park and recreation meetings. The cost of a director would be approximately $2.00/$3.00 per person per year from the municipal budget and $1.00 per person from the school district. There was also discussion on a regional recreation commission.

Supervisor Brown asked if any of the other Supervisors would like to address the audience.

Supervisor Decker thanked everyone for coming out to this meeting this evening and stated that she appreciates the people of Franklin Township. As a township we take pride in our parks and take the best care of them. The parks are ours and we have passion for the parks for our people and the residents do deserve respect and to be heard. Supervisor Decker introduced the members of the Park & Recreation Board. Vice Chairman Lerew stated that the park and recreation meetings are always open to the public and are held on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month. The Park & Recreation Board has plans for the Ponderosa Park including paths in the wooded area and also benches along the paths and making it handicap accessible. The Board is also currently working on getting a master plan. Supervisor Decker noted that the plan they are talking about tonight “has taken the wind out of my sails”. She questioned whether they were going to taking over our parks. It was noted that Franklin Township’s equipment is Franklin Township’s. The Township’s road crew is wonderful and they respect the work they do at the parks. The survey that was suppose to be taken is a misrepresentation. Monaghan Township never opted in and Franklin Township opted out in 2002. The plan does not have the dollars and cents cost. The greenways along the streams belong to somebody and having “safe ways” to schools is not safe. The way the trails in Franklin Township got onto the map was by Wayne Kober who was allowed to do this but was not authorized by the Board to do this. Franklin Township was not represented. Supervisor Decker thanked Mr. Gove and Mr. Frassetta.

ANSWER AND QUESTION PERIOD

Mr. Gove noted that he would answer questions that the residents submitted during this meeting. Mr. Gove indicated that Franklin Township did opt out of the grant application but not the plan itself. Supervisor Decker responded Carroll Township knew perfectly well that Franklin Township was not part of the plan.

1. Q. – How do you propose to acquire all the land along private property which have creeks for riparian buffers? A. - Township cannot buy land because you cannot develop up to the stream edge. The Township would have to acquire easements.

Supervisor Decker questioned why the letter from DCNR was send to Chairman Lambert house. Mr. Gove indicated that was the address he had and did not know if it was his home address or the Township’s.

2. Q. – Has there ever been a survey done on the crime increase on the new parks? A. – there have been surveys done on crime increase and most of it was vandalism. Approximately 100 trails were surveyed.

3. Q. – In a recent telephone conservation, Mr. Gove told me that the present pending grant application, filed on behalf of the 5 municipalities, is confidential. Why is this document seeking tax payer funds not available for public inspection and comment? What section of the PA Code makes the grant application confidential? Has DCNR general counsel ruled it to be confidential? A. - A pending grant application that is still being considered but not awarded is not public information as deemed by the State Supreme Court.

4. Q. – How much will each resident pay in taxes, no percentages, for the trails. A. – it is based on you and what you want to do.

5. Q. – Will taxpayers be responsible for maintenance? Will we be liable if someone steps off the trails and is injured on our property? Will our taxes be raised to sustain a staff to maintain this project? Can you promise that eminent domain will not be used for this project? A. – Trail maintenance can be done by municipalities, counties or by non-profit groups. There was discussion that residents have contacted their insurance agents and they were informed that they would be responsible for anyone getting injured on their property.

6. Q. – How much money has been requested in the grant application now pending w/DCNR under Mr. Gove’s supervision? Is this a “matching grant”? If so, how will the matching funds be raised? For what purposes will the grant money be applied? What period of time will grant money be disbursed? Who will be in charge of disbursing the grant money? A. - The grant application is a matching grant with $32,000.00 from the State and $32,000.00 matched from the other municipalities.

7. Q. – Why has DCNR turned a blind eye to the misrepresentation of this plan by Carroll Township and Mr. Brown? by including Monaghan Township who never opted in, who conducted Key Person Interviews fraudulently. A. - A letter was sent to all 5 municipalities. There is a concern of no representation. If a municipality wants out of the plan all together it should let DCNR know what they want and have Franklin Township removed from the document.

COMMENT PERIOD

Mr. Frassetta noted that the comment period will begin and that each individual will be given 3 minutes to speak.

1. Geraldine Novesal, 180 Century Lane – she questioned about relocating the telephone poles along the various roads which she had counted 56 plus one tower. She indicated that the park is not being used to its potential and the trail will not maintained as proposed. The other plans Supervisor Brown had indicated in his presentation are around college towns where the population is greater than Franklin Township.

2. Christine Juba, 291 Franklintown Road – she indicated cooperation and the lack of community involvement. There is a small handful of people making the decisions and bringing suburbia into the rural areas. She stated the reason her family moved here from Harrisburg is because of the rural area. With bike path and the possible vandalism plus the bike path to school, which is considered a safety issue and that bikes are not allowed at the schools. The existing parks need developed and some of the park equipment is outdated.

3. Lisa Ammons, 62 Bethel Church Road – she indicated that she has a slightly different view of this plan but is not for this plan. There was information left out of this plan. It needs to be done properly and the Township did opt out of this plan and there is documentation. This was done incorrectly, fraudulently and with school involvement there will be a cost the school taxes will go up. She suggested to do one plan at a time. Cannot work with someone that lies, there needs to be proof of documentation. The Township cannot go through with this plan. Residents do have the right to protect their property.

4. Sara Toll, 418 Little John Drive – she noted that she cannot understand about going into this partnership why each municipality had not signed an agreement and the tax dollars will be increased.

5. Steve Heaps, 79 Bethel Church Road – noted that he enjoys the environment with walking, hiking, and biking but the bigger issue is who was elected to represent the residents and they are not doing this.

6. Kathleen Gingrich, 1150 S. Mountain Road - she noted that she lives across the street from Ponderosa Park and this is an great area of recreation. She said what she is hearing here tonight is a significant amount of frustration. We are hearing about a plan we thought our community had opted out of. There was lack of candor in the way it was presented. The general overall theme is that the people are talking and the Supervisors are not listening

7. Doug Wardrope, 126 Water Street - he noted that he has a 4 and 5 year old and does feels he would need to protect them from people using his land for walking. He said when he hears Gary Brown talk and Mr. Lambert speak to us in condescending ways he feels we are being railroaded into something we do not want to be a part of. A suggestion of having the residents set up a meeting to tell why we don’t want this plan. The way the residents have been talked to at the previous meetings is not right. He thanked Supervisor Decker and Vice Chairman Lerew for their commitment and that the residents may want to get an attorney to fight this plan.

8. Christine Collins, 185 Central View Road – her concern was of the parks the Township already have and does not want any bike trails through her property. People can bike on the road and it seems better to develop the parks the Township has. The residents need to trust who is on the Board of Supervisors.

9. Mike Myers, 103 Bethel Church Road – he noted that he does not have spare time to use these proposed trails. His family bought 4 acres, built a home and because they appreciate nature and privacy at his own expense put trails on his property for his family to use and enjoy. It is time to say no.

Mr. Frassetta stated that the comments have been heard and as promised a straw vote would be taken, he indicated he was not sure how to word the vote. The wording is as follows: “Now that you understand the plan 3 choices will be given” (audience indicated it is to be a yes or no vote). The vote was stated as follows: “All in favor, raise your hands – All not in favor, raise your hands”. It is noted that no one raised their hand in favor of the plan

One closing comment by an unidentified speaker, and note for the record “since no one was for it to ask the Board of Supervisors to get together do what the next official step to supply a letter to DCNR and say that you may have misinterpreted the first time but do not misinterpret this, we do not want to participate in this plan”

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Frassetta stated that the beginning of the meeting this meeting was going to close at 9:30 p.m. the meeting closed at 9:35 p.m. He thanked everyone and for following the ground rules.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy E. Zentmeyer

Township Secretary