[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.