| Forks Action Committee |
| Homepage - Last Day of the Month |
| February 28, 2005 |
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The February 17, 2005 Board of Supervisors meeting was very well attended. Extra
chairs were needed and some folks were still left standing in the rear. It is heartening to
see so many residents venturing out on a Thursday night. Thank you. And, a special
THANK YOU is extended to our friends from the College Hill Neighborhood Association for
coming and for participating. It was eye-opening to hear that what happens in Forks
Township impacts College Hill and even further. Megan McBride, President of CHNA, spoke
during the Comments session and asked that the BoS and the planners, consider the far
reaching aspects of each new project before approval. She asked that Forks accept
responsibility and assist them to solve the problems. BoS Chairman Ackerman offered that there
had been several meetings with Easton officials and that Forks was making east/west roadways
to help alleviate the traffic problems on Cattell Street. He also said that Forks is not responsible
for ALL of the 16,000 vehicles (a number from a recent Lafayette College student survey), that
new homes are being built in communities north of Forks. Another of the night's Commentors
From The Floor spoke of his concerns about the recent developer-proposed overlay zoning
issue. He likened acceptance of it to opening the "floodgates to a tsunami" of development. He
said it was a direct affront to the Township's Comprehensive Plan, that the sewer system would
be overtaxed, and that we would need more police and firemen. There was no response from
the Board. They did listen though. Both speakers finished to applause.
chairs were needed and some folks were still left standing in the rear. It is heartening to
see so many residents venturing out on a Thursday night. Thank you. And, a special
THANK YOU is extended to our friends from the College Hill Neighborhood Association for
coming and for participating. It was eye-opening to hear that what happens in Forks
Township impacts College Hill and even further. Megan McBride, President of CHNA, spoke
during the Comments session and asked that the BoS and the planners, consider the far
reaching aspects of each new project before approval. She asked that Forks accept
responsibility and assist them to solve the problems. BoS Chairman Ackerman offered that there
had been several meetings with Easton officials and that Forks was making east/west roadways
to help alleviate the traffic problems on Cattell Street. He also said that Forks is not responsible
for ALL of the 16,000 vehicles (a number from a recent Lafayette College student survey), that
new homes are being built in communities north of Forks. Another of the night's Commentors
From The Floor spoke of his concerns about the recent developer-proposed overlay zoning
issue. He likened acceptance of it to opening the "floodgates to a tsunami" of development. He
said it was a direct affront to the Township's Comprehensive Plan, that the sewer system would
be overtaxed, and that we would need more police and firemen. There was no response from
the Board. They did listen though. Both speakers finished to applause.
In other meeting news, the appointment of Berkheimer Associates to collect and administer our E.I.T.
was tabled. Two of the Supervisors did not receive copies of the proposed contract in time for the
meeting. Solicitor Kline mailed the documents and the results of his negotiations with Berkheimer to
their homes. As we all know, these days the mail is not as fast as we would like. The Municipal office
will soon have a part time receptionist so that the regular staff can continue to master the new software
package without interruptions. And, a new Planning Commission recording secretary will be hired too.
The Tioga Pipe/Fort James Subdivision Final Plan was approved. The Penn's Ridge Development's
sketch plan was presented and discussed.
See our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the
Comments too. Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
was tabled. Two of the Supervisors did not receive copies of the proposed contract in time for the
meeting. Solicitor Kline mailed the documents and the results of his negotiations with Berkheimer to
their homes. As we all know, these days the mail is not as fast as we would like. The Municipal office
will soon have a part time receptionist so that the regular staff can continue to master the new software
package without interruptions. And, a new Planning Commission recording secretary will be hired too.
The Tioga Pipe/Fort James Subdivision Final Plan was approved. The Penn's Ridge Development's
sketch plan was presented and discussed.
See our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the
Comments too. Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
The Board of Supervisors met on 2/3/05. The meeting room was filled with more residents than developers. This was a
welcome change. The Morning Call and the Express Times reported on the meeting's deliverables. Quixote Ventures was
granted Conditional Approval. Forks Village Phase I was approved. Final plan approval was granted to Towne Center II. The
EASD Middle School expansion was granted preliminary approval. The Tax Collector's salary was raised to a flat $15K for the
next Tax Collector's term.
In addition, a new position (Facilities Manager & Geographic Information Systems) was created and given to Pete Gheller.
Permission was granted to advertise for a new Director of Public Works. Pete Gheller will retain that position until a
replacement is hired. Both the Express Times' Edward Sieger (2/6/05) and the Morning Call's Joe Nixon (2/4/05) covered this in
additional articles. They mentioned the proposal to sign a contract with Berkheimer Associates to collect Forks EIT. Sieger
went further and described the ensuing EIT discussion as a "free-for-all."
Resolution 050203-1 was added to the Agenda after the Tuesday 2:30 PM deadline. It is a bit confusing and seems to be
something that absolves the BoS from things in the past. It was approved 3:2 with Supervisors Nicholas and Ackerman both
stating that they could not vote for something that they were not a party to. A resident made the Township aware of errors of 2nd
Class Township rules. This Resolution says that the past errors were not intentional and therefore need not be addressed.
Interesting take on the rules... See the blog for more details.
This was a long meeting with much input by residents. See our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the
other posts there... and the Comments too. Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
welcome change. The Morning Call and the Express Times reported on the meeting's deliverables. Quixote Ventures was
granted Conditional Approval. Forks Village Phase I was approved. Final plan approval was granted to Towne Center II. The
EASD Middle School expansion was granted preliminary approval. The Tax Collector's salary was raised to a flat $15K for the
next Tax Collector's term.
In addition, a new position (Facilities Manager & Geographic Information Systems) was created and given to Pete Gheller.
Permission was granted to advertise for a new Director of Public Works. Pete Gheller will retain that position until a
replacement is hired. Both the Express Times' Edward Sieger (2/6/05) and the Morning Call's Joe Nixon (2/4/05) covered this in
additional articles. They mentioned the proposal to sign a contract with Berkheimer Associates to collect Forks EIT. Sieger
went further and described the ensuing EIT discussion as a "free-for-all."
Resolution 050203-1 was added to the Agenda after the Tuesday 2:30 PM deadline. It is a bit confusing and seems to be
something that absolves the BoS from things in the past. It was approved 3:2 with Supervisors Nicholas and Ackerman both
stating that they could not vote for something that they were not a party to. A resident made the Township aware of errors of 2nd
Class Township rules. This Resolution says that the past errors were not intentional and therefore need not be addressed.
Interesting take on the rules... See the blog for more details.
This was a long meeting with much input by residents. See our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the
other posts there... and the Comments too. Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
In case any of you wonder how our website and blog are doing lately, here are some graphs to view. Double click on the
images below for larger views. We are excited at the traffic we are getting. Thank you all! Tell your friends!
images below for larger views. We are excited at the traffic we are getting. Thank you all! Tell your friends!
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| Forks Action Committee |
