[0:02] Welcome everybody to the workshop meeting for the Hatfield Township Board

[0:06] of Commissioners. Today is September 9th, 2026 and we are starting at 7:05

[0:12] p.m. Call to order and roll call please. >> President Lstraco

[0:16] » here. >> Vice President Partha here.

[0:18] » Commissioner Andress >> here.

[0:20] » Commissioner Delesio >> here.

[0:21] » Commissioner Zipfell >> here

[0:24] » is here. >> I heard it.

[0:26] » In case you didn't hear just Okay. Um, for the pledge of allegiance, would

[0:31] Chief be interested in starting us off? >> Yes. Okay.

[0:38] » To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it

[0:43] stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for

[0:48] all.

[0:54] » Okay. Before we approve the agenda, I just want to announce we had an

[0:58] executive session before this meeting and we discussed contract negotiations

[1:02] and also real estate. Do I have um for approval of an agenda?

[1:08] Do I have a motion to approve the agenda?

[1:11] » So move. >> Moved by Vice President Partha.

[1:13] » Second. >> Second by Commissioner Delesio. All in

[1:16] favor, please say I. >> I.

[1:17] » I. I. >> Okay. Thank you. Any opposed? Okay.

[1:23] First, we next have citizens comments on agenda items only. If you'd like to have

[1:28] a cit give a comment on an agenda item, please come to the mic and give your

[1:32] name and address. All right, seeing none, we will move to

[1:37] the consent items. And I will need a motion to enter into

[1:41] the record the following. the North Pen Water Authority meeting minutes from

[1:46] July 20 uh July 28th and also the VMSC monthly report and that's from August.

[1:53] Do I have a motion to enter these into the record?

[1:55] » So moved. >> Motion by Commissioner Delesio.

[1:58] » Second. >> Seconded by Vice President Partha. All

[2:00] in favor, please say I. >> I.

[2:02] » I. Okay, it has passed. Thank you.

[2:10] We're going to move into committee reports for planning and zoning

[2:14] committee. I welcome Commissioner Glesio.

[2:17] » Thank you, President Lstaka. I'm actually then going to pitch to to

[2:21] Scott, our assistant manager. He chairs uh the planning commission and you'll do

[2:27] the tea up for our presentation from Sheets today. So, thank you all for

[2:30] coming in to talk to us. And Scott, over to you.

[2:34] » Thank you, Commissioner Delesio. Just as a quick background on the timeline,

[2:38] sheets came in under a professional services agreement in 2024 for this

[2:44] official land development submitted in 2025. And at our last August meeting for

[2:50] the planning commission, they were had a recommendation for approval. This

[2:55] proposal includes a construction of a new 6,139

[3:00] square foot convenience store including fueling stations and 49 parking spaces.

[3:06] It is located in the commercial zoning district. It's worth noting this

[3:11] proposal reduces impervious coverage and with the current site conditions while

[3:18] increasing storm water facilities management. I'll turn it over to the

[3:22] Sheets team with their traffic engineer, civil engineer, and sheets reps.

[3:29] » Good evening. Should I go? >> Yes, please. Y

[3:31] » nice job, Scott. >> Good evening. My name is uh Sean Duffy,

[3:36] attorney with Obermyer here on behalf of the applicant. Um,

[3:40] and we have the whole development team here. Steve McBrery who's with Lancor

[3:44] the project engineer, Eric Mounts with TB TPD the traffic engineer, Ryan

[3:49] Anthony with Sheets, and then Brett who's with uh Quattro who's the

[3:53] applicant who's going to be the developer of the property. Um I don't

[3:56] know if we have the plan that we can put up.

[4:00] Perfect. So just to orient everybody, this is located at 1100 Bethlehem Pike.

[4:05] Um it's roughly a 4.2 acre property. Everybody's likely familiar with the

[4:10] property. It's the Zodo's restaurant. Um, the diner will be uh demoed uh in in

[4:16] its place. We're redeveloping the property with a six 6139 square ft uh

[4:21] convenience store. Uh we'll have gasoline pumps, 49 parking spaces.

[4:27] There's going to be two points of access. One point of access from um the

[4:31] signal signalized intersection at Hill Hilltown Pike and Bethlehem Pike and

[4:37] then Old Bethlehem Pike right off of here. Uh and to come out of here, this

[4:43] will be a no left turn. So, you'll have to make a right coming out onto Old

[4:47] Bethlehem Pike. Um in addition, there's going to be some right-of-way

[4:51] improvements. We were able to work with adjacent property owners to obtain

[4:55] additional right of way for the properties at 1150 Bethlehem Pike and

[5:00] 1202 Bethlehem Pike. And we're installing a right turn lane um right in

[5:07] there that will go onto the property's location. As already stated, there'll be

[5:10] storm water management infrastructure. It's going to be a reduction in

[5:14] impervious coverage. Also a part of the plan um which uh I think we submitted

[5:20] recently about a month and a half ago is a uh lot line adjustment. So in

[5:27] consideration of the additional right ofway taking from the neighboring

[5:31] property owner um we're giving approximately I think it's about 6,000

[5:35] square ft of land over to him over in the back corner area. Uh we're in

[5:41] receipt of all township review letters. We're happy to answer any questions that

[5:46] you might have as it relates to waiverss or anything else as it relates to

[5:50] traffic of that nature. >> How about you said gas pumps? Is there

[5:56] EVs charging stations there too? >> Um

[6:00] » yeah, just curious. >> There's not. Okay.

[6:06] » Could you come to the mic? >> Please go to the mic. We do record these

[6:08] and residents do watch them, believe it or not.

[6:12] So there there is not currently uh Steve Mcroy with Lancor civil engineer. There

[6:16] is not currently any EV charging stations. What Sheets likes to do is go

[6:20] build out their sites and kind of see what the uh the demand is for EV

[6:24] stations on on site. There is adequate parking if they do decide that there's

[6:28] enough demand for EV parking spaces that they could retrofit and provide EV

[6:32] parking spaces in the future. >> You going to lay the power down and not

[6:36] connect with them or have the >> So all of that's aftermarket. So, as of

[6:40] right now, there's nothing anticipated for the site. Um, so there hasn't been a

[6:44] lot of thought of what would go on site in the event that the demand is there.

[6:48] » Okay. Thank you. And um, how do you how are you uh decreasing impervious cover?

[6:53] Are you doing that by acquiring more space?

[6:56] » No, we're removing a lot of asphalt from the site. So, if you're familiar with

[6:59] the site and you go around back, there's a sea of parking back there.

[7:02] » Okay. >> Um, if you go back to our rendering real

[7:05] quick. >> Yep.

[7:09] So, I'm going to call it plan left. So, you see that darker green area there?

[7:13] Yeah. >> Yeah. You can see kind of in the

[7:15] background there's cars that are in that area. So, there's a significant amount

[7:18] of impervious coverage that's being removed from that area. So, rough

[7:22] numbers is probably about 40,000 square feet, close to an acre of impervious

[7:25] coverage that we're removing from the site through the redevelopment of the

[7:29] property. >> Thank you.

[7:33] » I have a question. I I want to make sure I understand. So, there's a light up

[7:37] where Zodto's is right now at Hilltown Pike. People can make left and rights in

[7:41] and out from that light. Correct. You had mentioned another access point where

[7:46] if you didn't want to come to that light, people could leave the facility

[7:50] and make a right-hand turn onto 309 South. That's correct.

[7:53] » So, there's two access points. One's the exist They're both existing access

[7:57] points. One's the main access, which you can see,

[8:01] » Steve, that microphone comes out if you want to grab it. Thank you. Yeah.

[8:06] So the two access points are existing access points. The one is the main

[8:10] access point where you can see all the the proposed striping that comes out to

[8:13] the signalized intersection. The other access point actually goes to

[8:18] » sorry >> old Bethlehem Pike which is

[8:23] right there. So the two existing accessways are staying as part of the

[8:27] development. They're just being improved for the new use.

[8:31] » So you'd be coming up 309 north. You would get to the light with County Line

[8:36] Road and Line Lexington and you could come a back way in and out of your

[8:42] facility. Is that correct? I see Brian shaking his head. Okay. So, I do

[8:47] understand any improvements on 309 North at that light with County Line Road

[8:54] um to handle maybe additional access or or traffic of of folks who

[9:01] would like to use that alternative way to get in.

[9:04] » Yeah. Good evening. Eric Mounts with TPD uh traffic consultant for the project.

[9:08] So, yes, to your to answer your question, we are proposing improvements

[9:12] through coordination with uh the township's traffic engineer. Um, so

[9:16] right now as you are traveling north on Route 309, if you're looking to make a

[9:20] lefthand turn movement to um, Line Lexington Road, there's no

[9:26] » Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.

[9:30] » Yes. So, right now there's no turning arrow to make that left. So, what we are

[9:36] proposing >> Sorry the video keeps going out for you.

[9:41] » All good. So, as you are traveling northbound and get to Line Lexington

[9:47] Road, this left turn lane, we are adding an arrow um for left-hand turn movement.

[9:52] So, you'll get an arrow to be able to turn left onto Line Lexington. You will

[9:57] make a right-hand turn onto Old Bethlehem Pike and you can enter the

[10:01] site at this location. And then alternatively, if you choose not to to

[10:04] come into the site that way, you do have the ability to continue north on Old

[10:08] Bethlehem Pike to the signalized access opposite Hilltown. And we're adding a

[10:13] turn lane arrow there as well. So, you have two options for entering left-hand

[10:17] turns off of Route 309. >> Does is that a pendot uh contingent on

[10:22] pendot approved in the the turn arrows or you've already secured that?

[10:27] » So, it is contingent on Pendot's approval. We most recently made our

[10:31] third submission to PennDOT for our PENDOT HOP permit for the roadway

[10:36] improvements and traffic signal improvements. Um based on that the prior

[10:40] submission, Pendot did not have any comments remaining on the actual

[10:44] functionality of the traffic signals and the improvements. It was um improved in

[10:49] conjunction with the traffic study that was done for the site. So at this point,

[10:52] what I described are the improvements that will ultimately be implemented.

[10:56] » Okay. Thank you. Yep. Any other questions?

[11:03] Do you have any other information for us?

[11:09] » No, I think that's it. Unless there's any additional questions.

[11:15] » Just just to confirm, all the township review letters are will comply.

[11:19] » Correct. Okay. >> Well, thank you very much for coming and

[11:24] for bringing your team. >> Waivers. Waivers. Thank you very much.

[11:28] Have a good evening. >> Wait,

[11:30] were there waver? >> I just want to confirm there are waivers

[11:33] requested, right? So, it's will comply but for the waivers.

[11:36] » Correct. >> Okay. Do we have any waivers that need

[11:40] discussion or are they all typical waivers, Brian?

[11:45] » They're they're they are relatively typical. And I I say it that way because

[11:50] there is an existing detention basin from way back when that's on the site.

[11:55] Um there's an existing basin and the discharge pipe for the basin already

[12:01] connects via an easement into the township storm sewer system in the

[12:05] neighborhood behind. So that's that's a a benefit to everyone that that's there.

[12:11] There's no waiver for that. But because it's an existing basin, um there's a

[12:17] waiver regarding freeboard um that they need and they let me just double check.

[12:24] freeboard. Oh, and and the other thing is they're

[12:28] going to be expanding the basin, but because of kind of limited elevation

[12:34] change, the the township ordinance requires a pipe coming into the basin to

[12:39] be 6 in above the basin floor. They're kind of limited vertically to be able to

[12:45] do that. That's another one of the waiverss, but that I think is tied

[12:48] mostly to the fact that they're trying to maintain the existing outlet

[12:53] structure condition um because that pipe system is already there and there's no

[12:57] real need to change it. Um the flows that leave the site will be reduced as

[13:02] well. So um there the two waiverss for the 6 in

[13:07] above the basin floor and for the freeboard are primarily because the

[13:12] existing outlet structure is staying as is or in place uh and the basin burm is

[13:19] staying as is uh as well as the the spillway location. Correct.

[13:23] » Correct. So th those are we do often get those kind of waiverss but this is

[13:28] different because of the fact that there's an existing basin there that

[13:31] they're going to modify and enlarge but they're modifying at the UPS slope end

[13:36] so we're getting a lot more volume in the basin uh by virtue of that um you

[13:41] know another one grading within 5 ft of the property again that's condition not

[13:46] condition it's circumstantial because of the work that they're doing to the north

[13:50] where they're going to need to make some cuts of existing paving and it's going

[13:55] to be up, you know, pretty darn close to the property line itself. Normally, we'd

[13:59] want somebody to stay 5t away so that if it was just earthwork, we're not

[14:04] adversely impacting the adjacent property. In this case, they're not

[14:07] going to in large part because there's paving right next door, so you don't

[14:11] have to worry about the ground slope. Um,

[14:15] there are waiverss for cartway widening. Uh, and that is specifically for Old

[14:20] Bethlehem Pike. Currently, Old Bethlehem Pike is 32 feet wide. The ordinance

[14:25] requires 34. Uh, I had extensive conversations with Anton, the T township

[14:31] traffic engineer, and requiring 1 ft of widening on a dead-end street is really

[14:36] just not very practical. There's no benefit to it. Uh, so we don't have an

[14:42] issue with that particular waiver. There's two waivers uh for two different

[14:47] section of the ordinance for curb radi. Um we're okay with that as well. Um

[14:52] there's another waiver we often get is um requiring 15 feet uh separation

[14:58] between a building and any parking area. Um we get that all the time. The fire

[15:04] marshall generally has no problem with it. Um

[15:08] and curbing. Oh, they're requesting a a waiver for curbing. Um, but the curbing

[15:17] that they're requesting a waiver from is the curbing that's around the building.

[15:21] And like most convenience stores, they want to pave, you know, and have things

[15:25] right up to the sidewalk, the walkway around the building. So there's no

[15:29] there's no curb around the building as you would normally have with like a a

[15:34] commercial apartment building or or or or store of some sort. Um, there's that.

[15:40] They will have ballards uh to protect vehicles from rolling into the building.

[15:45] Um and that's it. So >> no landscape waivers right

[15:48] » there. There are none. >> There are no landscaping waivers. It's

[15:51] kind of rare, but no no landscaping waiverss in this one.

[15:54] » Brian, can I ask you where you said there come in within 5 ft of another

[15:59] property owner? Is that another commercial property or a residential

[16:03] property? >> Uh commercial property.

[16:05] » Can you explain on that? >> Sure. It would be the property to the

[16:10] north. So where the main access comes in, there's paving that goes right up to

[16:15] the property line. So we're cutting back that pavement. It's on our property and

[16:19] we're replacing that with vegetation. So that's one of the other areas on site

[16:22] where we are removing some of the imperous coverage so we can

[16:28] more make the site more compact is ultimately what it is and reduce the

[16:31] impervious coverage. >> Okay.

[16:35] » Thank you. So, thanks for asking the question.

[16:38] » Um, item F here it talks about the uh road width and perhaps township might

[16:44] consider having overlay the existing cartway.

[16:46] » Yeah, sorry. >> Is that so town is that that's township?

[16:50] No, it's old Bethl Pike. Is that a a state local or what?

[16:54] » Township. >> That's Township Road.

[16:56] » Old Bethlehem Pike is Township. >> So, is there consideration? we asking,

[17:00] requesting, are you doing? >> If you wish, we would typically ask the

[17:04] board, but also see if public works feels like an overlay is necessary.

[17:08] Sometimes if a project needs a lot of utility work and you're really going to

[17:11] be busting up the road, then it's much more needed. Um, most of the utility

[17:17] work is happening within the site. You're not running anything down old

[17:21] Bethlehem Pike. >> We are not. No. So, there's there's no

[17:24] real impact to the section of Bethlehem Pike once you get past our entrance.

[17:28] Correct. >> So,

[17:29] » so it's not under consideration. >> Can we can take a look at it,

[17:34] » David? Take a look at it. >> We can take a look at it.

[17:35] » Okay. Please. >> Sure.

[17:37] » Thank you. >> So, between now and the next meeting, I

[17:40] would draft a resolution, send it to the applicant, send it to the board for your

[17:44] consideration if that's okay.

[17:47] » Yep. >> Yep. Sure.

[17:48] » Yep. Okay. >> Okay.

[17:52] » Thank you so much. Thank you.

[18:00] Okay. So, we will move on to public works committee with Commissioner

[18:05] Zipfell and I think maybe our township manager will be reading the report just

[18:09] so it's >> Sure. I'll be uh happy to give the

[18:12] report. Yep. Thanks, President Lraco. Um >> just a few updates from the public works

[18:17] departments. Uh you you may have seen if you drove down Unionville Pike, the the

[18:20] the pull barn has been installed that the uh we discussed here publicly a few

[18:24] months ago. So, a nice nice addition to the public works garage providing

[18:28] additional space to maintain township equipment. Wanted to thanks thank the

[18:33] public works department for the installation of the plaque at Clemens

[18:38] Park where we were able to recognize the Nolan family, the homestead that once

[18:43] existed at that location and we had a really nice event a few Saturdays ago

[18:47] with the commissioners and the Nolan family and guests um to celebrate uh the

[18:52] unveiling of that. So, our public works team did a great job and we appreciate

[18:55] the work they did there. Road paving program for 26 has been completed. We've

[19:01] we've talked about this often. Um, and and we're finally at the point where as

[19:05] of I think yesterday, even most of the striping has been completed as well. So,

[19:09] uh, hearing a lot of good feedback from our our residents in those areas. Um,

[19:14] two new township um public works employees recently joined the team in

[19:19] the last few months. They're both working on their CDLs um so they can

[19:22] operate all of our vehicles in what we hope is a non snow winter, but prepare

[19:28] for the worst. Um public works crews been out. Uh I think that if you drive

[19:33] around the town, I I think our public spaces are looking great and we

[19:37] appreciate the work they put into our parks and all the other open space that

[19:40] we own and maintain. Uh and just lastly, just want to thank them as well with

[19:45] their assistance for all of our parks and wreck events that we had throughout

[19:49] the summer. Some very large uh the real diamond band. I know the commissioner

[19:54] was there. President Lraco introduced the band. We had

[19:58] thousands people. I think that's fair. That's fair to to say.

[20:02] » It was very well attended. >> Cars parked everywhere in the in the

[20:06] park. um and our public works uh team was there to to help with traffic

[20:11] cleanup and everything else. So, we're grateful for the work they do. That is

[20:14] the report for tonight. >> Thank you for doing that.

[20:19] » Here we go. >> You're very welcome. May I add just

[20:21] something? Um, Steuart Road um, that I live on was one of the roads that was

[20:26] paved this year. And we I just wanted to thank Aaron personally and the public

[20:32] works folks being responsive to some of the residents who asked to have some of

[20:37] our d Stewart Drive means a drive is a wavy

[20:42] road. And there were two sections where um we added striping to the road, a

[20:47] middle double double yellow that wasn't there before to try to encourage people

[20:52] to not ride the middle um to be more responsive and be safe. Um and I thank

[20:58] you for um recognizing some of the residents concerns there and being um

[21:03] amanable to to making the change. and it's done and it looks wonderful and

[21:08] I've already noticed people staying on their side of the road um you know

[21:14] coming in. So I hopefully it makes it for a safer situation. There are

[21:18] families with young kids at at some of those places. So thank you.

[21:22] » I'm sure they're grateful. >> Thank you for facilitating and and

[21:24] making that happen. Thank you. >> That's it.

[21:28] » Okay. Thanks so much. Um so I'm going to go over the parks and wreck committee

[21:33] report. Um, first I'm going to go over pickle ball lessons are starting and um,

[21:39] pickle ball lessons will start uh will be Tuesday, September 15th if you would

[21:44] like to register. Also, Tuesday, September 22nd and Sunday, October 4th.

[21:49] And you can check our website for details. Winter pickle ball, we're

[21:53] already talking about winter. Oh my gosh. New session begins soon, November

[21:58] 2nd till March 26, 2027. And that's Mondays through Fridays, 8 am to 2 pm at

[22:06] um Chestnut Street um pick Pickle Ball Courts. We also have our fitness um

[22:13] sessions. The fall yoga has sold out, but we still have fall Zumba Sundays at

[22:17] 9:00 a.m. Fall Remix Mondays at 7:00 p.m. And again, check our website to um

[22:23] look for registration online for our seminars coming up. We have a Medicare

[22:28] seminar coming up next Thursday, September 17th. That's 6:30 p.m. here at

[22:33] the township building and you can register for that and see more details

[22:37] online. For events coming up, we want to thank

[22:41] our parks and recck committee and our parks and recck staff for the parks and

[22:45] rec celebration and concerts all summer and a movie in the park. Um so we that

[22:51] was it was just a great summer and really great turnout. So, thank you

[22:54] everybody who came and thanks again to Ashley um for everything she does for

[23:00] our parks and wreck um department. We have our Rocktober Fest coming up and so

[23:06] please save the date for Saturday, October 3rd. That's 11:00 a.m. to 3:00

[23:10] p.m. at School Road Park. Um please please know we will have live music and

[23:15] that is um a very popular band AM radio food trucks vend vendors crafters family

[23:22] games inflatables face painting balloon animals yard games a photo booth petting

[23:28] zoo the foam party it's very popular fire trucks and more um so please look

[23:34] um look for those um details on our Facebook page and at our

[23:38] websitetoberfest als Also, we have a 5K that same day and

[23:44] that will be they're calling it the 2026 Donut Dash. Um, and that will be in the

[23:50] morning um at the um School Road Park trails. The the race begins at the

[23:57] Township Administration building here at our township and ends at School Road

[24:02] Park and our October Fest um festival will start after that and again that's

[24:07] October 3rd. So runtheday.com is where you can register. And I will say the

[24:12] last 5K was excellent. Uh my son ran his first 5K so he'll be signing up for this

[24:18] again. So I want to thank Run the Day for that. Um our other event coming up

[24:23] in October, we have the mini monster and that's Friday, October 16th, 6:00 p.m.

[24:29] to 8:00 p.m. School Road Park again. And we'll have snacks, refreshments, games,

[24:34] music, a pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, balloons, face painting, a

[24:39] haunted maze, mini monster truck racing, trick-or-treating, of course, and local

[24:44] business and organizations will be on hand. Um, so wear your favorite

[24:48] Halloween costume. And that concludes my report.

[24:53] Okay, we're going to move on to the public

[24:57] safety committee with sorry, public safety committee with Vice President

[25:02] Partha. >> Thank you, President Lstgo.

[25:06] » Mhm. >> Uh in August 2026, the Hatfield Police

[25:10] Department responded uh to a total of 2600 calls for service. The department

[25:17] handled a total of 29 part one crimes and total of 20 part two crimes. Theft

[25:24] reports increased over the last year uh including theft from motor vehicle

[25:27] pattern that resulted in an arrest and thank you chief

[25:32] and uh one of our neighbors also impacted on this and uh thank you chief

[25:37] for that. Um traffic safety efforts remain a priority. Uh the department uh

[25:42] investigated a total of 48 vehicle crashes. One of these incidents 16 were

[25:48] reportable crash and officer conducted 252 traffic stops and 146 enforcement

[25:54] details resulting in 169 warnings and 118 summons issued. In addition to

[26:01] routine traffic enforcement activities, the department conducted Pandora

[26:05] aggressive driver details on August 3rd, 13 and 15 and the DUI enforcement on

[26:11] August 7. Reinforce roadway safety initiatives and encouraging compliance

[26:16] with traffic laws. Uh community engage remain a key focus

[26:21] throughout the August. Officer conducted 727

[26:25] community engagement patrol activities in addition to routine engagement

[26:28] effort. Hatfield Police Department participated in several community

[26:32] community events including Hatfield Jam Morid family festival. Uh black reserve

[26:37] booktore back to school event parks and wreck monthly celebration dash and

[26:42] splash 5K and Calvary Chapel car shows uh friendship house early day and coffee

[26:49] uh coffee with a cop at lows. This effort reflect the Hatfield Police

[26:54] Department ongoing commitment to reducing crime, enhancing traffic

[26:57] safety, fostering positive community relationship and maintain a visible and

[27:02] proactive presence throughout the community. At our the board of

[27:05] commissioner meetings, uh seven Hatfield Township Police Officer will be

[27:09] recognized by the board and police department leadership for their heroic

[27:13] action during an extremely serious incident last year.

[27:17] uh discourage the professionalism and commitment to protecting others under

[27:21] externally difficult circumstance amplifying the very best of public

[27:25] service. We we invite the community to join us as we recognize these officers

[27:30] and thank them for their exceptional service to Hatfield Township. And thank

[27:35] you J. And we have a uh motion for stop sign installation at the fairgrounds and

[27:40] eloy uh and fiskar audience 715 and motion for approval.

[27:47] » So moved. >> I'll second. I know we talked about that

[27:51] last last meeting. >> Okay. Yeah. And it is

[27:54] » discussion. >> Would you would you like a quick

[27:56] refresher? Yeah, sure. Commissioners, just to get us all back on the same

[28:00] page. U Thank you, Vice President Bartha. Uh we talked about this last

[28:04] meeting. Uh we we've heard from uh parents throughout the years uh concerns

[28:09] students walking from these neighborhoods to Penfield Middle School

[28:13] uh over here. Uh thanks to our traffic engineer and our police department, they

[28:18] re-evaluated the intersection and recommended that stop signs be installed

[28:22] at the intersection of Fairgrounds and Elroy/Fisher.

[28:28] So, these stop signs you see here. I believe the posts are in and there may

[28:33] even be the sign and it won't be in effect until tomorrow. I'm not sure if

[28:37] they bagged it, but tomorrow uh chief will have a police presence there in the

[28:41] morning just to alert motorists of the new stop sign uh to make sure that

[28:46] everyone's safe. But we genuinely hope that this provides a much safer crossing

[28:52] for the kids walking to school and creates a solution to what we've seen as

[28:57] a problem for a little bit of time. So, if the board would consider uh approving

[29:02] this ordinance and then we can uh tomorrow morning go live with the stop

[29:06] signs and and hopefully a better outcome in this area. So, thank you

[29:10] commissioners for supporting this project. Chief, do you put a a light on

[29:14] top of these whenever you install, you know, because we know fairgrounds is a

[29:18] bit um >> busy road. I'm

[29:21] » saying it politely. Yeah, it's a busy road. And do you know, we don't want

[29:25] somebody to just expect them to stop and and cross. Do you are there little

[29:29] lights for a little while that >> flashers out temporarily and then they

[29:32] they remove them because after a while the flashers become innocuous, so they

[29:36] put them out for a brief period of time. >> Okay.

[29:38] » Yeah. I I believe in addition there's approach signs especially for up the

[29:43] hill because the sighteline's not great. So there'll be signs if not out

[29:46] tomorrow. I know we're having some issues with the vendor providing the

[29:49] signs. There'll be approach signs warning the motorist stop sign ahead. So

[29:53] hopefully that's out tomorrow but if not very shortly after.

[29:58] » Okay. Thank you. So we we had a >> motion to approve and we had a seconder.

[30:03] » Yes. >> Um

[30:04] » so all in favor please say I. >> I.

[30:08] » Okay. It has passed. Thank you. >> And and uh Tom and myself will be

[30:13] personally be most of the benefit from this because we leave that neighborhood.

[30:18] Thank you. >> Chief, could you keep an eye on Vice

[30:21] President Bartha and that stop sign? We make sure.

[30:23] » Two red cars. >> He was actually deputized for tomorrow.

[30:25] So,

[30:29] » yes. Thank you, Chief. Thanks, everybody.

[30:33] » And this one, we're good. >> Yeah, we good. We did that.

[30:37] » Okay. All right, we're going to move on to the finance committee report.

[30:43] Through the end of August, the general fund revenues totaled approximately 9.2

[30:48] million compared with a total two 2026 budget of 14.5 million. Overall revenues

[30:55] are at approximately 63% of budget through the first eight months of the

[31:00] year. Tax revenues continue to represent the largest source of general fund

[31:05] revenue with approximately 7.6 6 million collected through August. The current

[31:10] year real estate tax collections are particularly strong with approximately

[31:14] 3.79 million collected against a budget of just under $4 million.

[31:21] Earned income tax and real estate transfer tax revenues will continue to

[31:25] be received throughout the remainder of the year. General fund expenditures

[31:30] through August totaled approximately 10.1 million or about 70% of the 14.3

[31:36] million annual budget. Public safety expenditures total approximately 3.9

[31:42] million. Public works expenditures are approximately 1 million and general

[31:47] government expend expenditures are approximately 1.7 million through

[31:52] August. The general fund is currently showing year-to-ate deficit a

[31:57] year-to-ate deficit of approximately $860,000.

[32:02] This is largely a reflection of the timing of revenues and expenditures

[32:06] during the year as several significant expenditures have already been recorded

[32:11] while additional budgeted revenues will continue to be received during the

[32:16] remaining four months of 2026. The township's adopted budget

[32:21] anticipates finishing the year with general fund surplus of approximately

[32:26] $25,000.

[32:29] Overall, staff continues to closely monitor the general fund revenues and

[32:33] expenditures as we enter the final four months of the year and we continue to

[32:38] have preparation for the 2027 budget. And that is the end of my report.

[32:45] Um, so we will move on to township staff reports and the manager.

[32:50] » Thank you, President Lraco. I just have three items to go over with the

[32:54] commissioners tonight. The first one, it's September, so every year uh in

[32:59] September, the board has to approve the township's pension obligations for the

[33:03] following year. Um the the again this this is a what they call an MMO, a

[33:09] minimum municipal obligation. So, uh, a town, um, we we have an actuary that

[33:14] does an analysis that provides what is necessary to fund the pension plans.

[33:19] Just as a, uh, big picture, um, uh, a framework so everyone understands that

[33:26] the township has, uh, police employees that are on a a defined benefit plan as

[33:31] required by state law. Uh, we have employees also in other departments on a

[33:36] defined benefit plan. All employees hired after January 1, 2013 are on a

[33:42] defined contribution plan, which is more like a 401k. Uh it's a 401A in

[33:47] government world, 403b in teacher world. So the obligation for the township um

[33:53] and in our top three expense lines that we're going to review closer in the next

[33:59] few months when we look at our budget is personnel, salary, healthcare, and our

[34:03] pension obligations. So this number really uh has a lot of impact on what

[34:08] the other things we can do throughout the township. So in 2027 our uh actuary

[34:14] uh is saying that our minimum obligation is one just shy of $1.1 million. So it's

[34:19] this one number over here to the right which is higher than the past several

[34:25] years but you see historically we are used to numbers like this that we've

[34:29] seen in 21 20 and 19. The reason for this decrease in 22, 23, 24 is our

[34:38] pension obligations essentially um we go as the market goes. When the market does

[34:44] well, our obligation decreases. When the market does not perform well, our

[34:48] obligation increases. So, it's really just an an inverse of this graphic,

[34:54] which shows our returns of our pension funds over the years. You see, in 2022,

[35:00] it was a really bad year. So as those losses uh are realized, our

[35:07] contributions then increase. So in front of the board will be a resolution in two

[35:13] weeks just memorializing these contributions. It's our first formal

[35:17] step of our budget that we do every year. You'll see that number then in our

[35:21] budget when we sit together uh at some point later this month or early October.

[35:25] Um, and it's it's something that is uh that we have to do uh to support our

[35:30] employees. And worth noting that as of last year, the police pension was funded

[35:36] just shy of 90% as well as the non-uniform 90%. So considered a very

[35:41] healthy uh pension plan. Uh thanks to our advisers at at Unvest who who have

[35:46] done a great job um realizing some of those returns. So that's that's one

[35:51] item. We'll see that in resolution form in two

[35:54] weeks. The other two items wanted to remind everyone and promote our upcoming

[35:59] town hall meetings in this room for our open space referendum that will appear

[36:03] on the ballot in November or if you're uh sending in through um mail-ins will

[36:08] be much sooner than that. September 16th at 7:00 p.m. in this room, September

[36:14] 30th at 2 p.m. and 700 p.m. both options. will continue to promote these

[36:19] events on our social media platforms and please come out if you have any

[36:23] questions about what the referendum is. Uh we'll be happy to answer questions

[36:27] and discuss it further during those uh town hall meetings. And lastly, uh the

[36:33] continuation of the PY conditional use hearing will not be during one of our

[36:37] meetings like they have been recently. Um instead, there is a separate night

[36:42] for that this month. It is the 29th of September. I know a few in this room

[36:46] will be there, so keep that on your calendar. The 29th at 700 p.m. will be a

[36:51] continuation, our sixth continuation, 7th, we lost count of the conditional

[36:56] use hearing in this room. Um, that is all I have. Commissioners, thank you for

[37:02] your time tonight. >> Aaron, I think we've got the 15th, too.

[37:08] » Oh, okay. Thank you. Yes. And there is one other town hall, our W four town

[37:12] hall meeting for Commissioner Zipfell on the 15th at 7 o'clock in this room as

[37:17] well, which is next week. >> Okay, thank you very much. We're going

[37:22] to move on to solicitor's report. >> All is well.

[37:26] » Okay, thank you very much. And next we will have citizens comments. If you have

[37:31] a citizen's comment, you would like to come to the podium up here and state

[37:35] your name and address for us.

[37:39] Um, I did. Oh, go ahead. You

[37:46] » Sandra Levine, 750 Herford Drive, Ward 4. Um, I live very close to the end of

[37:54] Herford Drive that intersects at Elroy where the school crossing is and there

[38:00] are several things. Um, I know that Elroy Road, I've been told, is a state

[38:05] road. I did call PennDOT. There is a pothole where the children just to the

[38:11] side of where the children have the curb cut to cross from the school over to the

[38:18] other side of Elroy and the potholes getting a little deeper and wider. It's

[38:23] been there all summer. I turn from my home left and I got to be careful. I

[38:30] don't I don't want to hit the pothole. Um I I don't know if the township can do

[38:35] anything to ask Pendot to take a look at this. It's been there all summer and the

[38:41] um the yellow I call them posts, rods, whatever that are at the crosswalk for

[38:47] the children at at least. Could you take down the one that's broken and sticking

[38:52] out? Um it it's been that way again all summer and I think it's a township

[38:59] responsibility. I'm not sure, but it's there for the children's protection and

[39:03] the one just sticks out and a car could hit it if it goes a little bit close to

[39:09] the island. Um, so there there are two concerns that I have for that particular

[39:14] intersection. I do have a question. Is there anything in the township code or

[39:22] whatever for an intersection that my dead end again? Um, when I want to pull

[39:30] out onto Elroy from Herford, the property on the right, I I'm not

[39:38] upset at my neighbor, but a fence went up many years ago and it made it harder

[39:45] to see when you had to go out into the intersection. Then, um, some kind of

[39:50] trees or bushes or whatever were added. It's harder all the time to see oncoming

[39:58] traffic from the right. I got to make sure there's nothing

[40:02] coming here and then go a little bit further into the road to make to see

[40:06] what's coming here to know whether I can proceed or not. And I just didn't know

[40:10] if there was any kind of a a regulation about how much visibility you need at an

[40:16] intersection. So, I'm just concerned about safety.

[40:20] » Okay. Thank you. Sure. Thank you very much.

[40:23] » We we will look into all three of those items. Thank you for your feedback.

[40:26] » Thank you very much.

[40:30] » Okay. Any other citizens comments? I just have one. Um a couple weekends ago

[40:38] there was an event at the mosque um on Cowpath Road um where Vice President

[40:43] Partha is I guess you're one of the brothers there. Is that correct? Is that

[40:47] what you call? You're one of the leaders of the mosque. and he's of course a

[40:51] member of the mosque as well. Um, and so they had a beautiful event. It was

[40:55] during the day on a Saturday and we did post some pictures from that event on

[40:59] our Facebook page here, the township fa Facebook page. And there were some

[41:03] comments that were, you know, kind of ugly and I'm not saying it was anybody

[41:07] in here or anybody watching. Some people of course might not even live here and

[41:12] they made some really ugly comments. Um, and with that, I just want to thank Vice

[41:17] President Partha because he does respond to some of that engagement. And the way

[41:22] he responds is he models goodwill, gratitude, and positivity.

[41:28] um anytime he's engaging with the community and I just want to thank you

[41:31] for that because hopefully that goes a long way because instead of fighting

[41:35] back and forth um you if you read what he writes it's it just kind of makes you

[41:41] feel like okay I don't have to be ugly and write nasty things. I can think

[41:47] about being positive and engaging in in a positive um and friendly manner. So I

[41:54] just wanted to bring that up and so thank you.

[41:56] » Thank you. think your president has check on

[41:59] » um and I know um Commissioner Zipfell also wanted to make comments about the

[42:03] event and how wonderful it was and some of the ugliness as well. So I think he's

[42:07] going to do that at our next um meeting. So because he's in the car right now.

[42:12] » Is that correct? I am commissioners fell. I am going to share those thoughts

[42:16] in our next meeting and I appreciate you know Vice President Partha's uh

[42:23] graciousness and everyone at the M mosque's graciousness at our event and

[42:29] so yeah I would definitely look forward to uh sharing my uh thanks to him and

[42:36] then also addressing some of the awful comments that were made on Facebook.

[42:40] I'll do that in person at the next meeting. Thank you.

[42:42] » Okay. Thank you. Uh thank you. Thank you. Thank you Tom. I just know um I'll

[42:47] also make a comment maybe next meeting but I just want to share with you. So we

[42:51] have very misconception about the each community. So I think the all the

[42:56] community event uh that is one of the opportunity to learn from each other and

[43:01] uh Tom was the very first time he visited the mosque and uh I'm very happy

[43:05] uh uh to he was there and of course our chief was there Aron was there. Um so

[43:12] yeah um we will hope to invite everyone for the community as well and not only

[43:16] that we will I will request everyone to the community people like you know just

[43:21] to uh go just go all the event the community have not only the different

[43:26] like temple have like diwali that is very good to learn the culture and also

[43:32] Egyptian festival is coming and um same with like other gigory fist right so um

[43:38] one of this event is coming So um I would request everyone to regardless of

[43:45] faith, regardless of anyone to go the event, learn from each other, then we

[43:48] will know and respect each other. Thank you.

[43:51] » Thank you so much. Okay, with that I will ask any other citizens comments.

[43:56] We're good. Okay. Um a motion to adjurnn.

[44:00] » So moved. >> All right. Motion by Commissioner

[44:02] Delesio. >> Second.

[44:04] » Second by Vice President Partha. All in favor, please say I. I.

[44:08] » I. >> Okay. Thank you.

[44:10] Thanks for coming out everybody.

September 9, 2026 Hatfield Township Board of Commissioners Meeting

Transcript