The West Finley Township Board of Supervisors held their monthly meeting on Monday, October 14, 2024, at 6:00 pm at the Township Office Building. All Supervisors were in attendance, with Vice Chairman Pritt conferencing via speakerphone. Township residents present at the meeting were Craig Yoho, Steve and Cathy Emery, Faith Welling, Adalynne Pritt, Mark Smith, Tim Collins, Lourae Rayl, Emily Chambers, Cathy Chambers, Melinda Duncan, and Ian Martin. Larry Pollock, from Ambulance and Chair, was also present at the meeting.
CALL TO ORDER
The call to order was made by Chairman Martin at 6:00 pm.
READING OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES
The Secretary read the minutes from the September monthly meeting. The motion to approve the minutes was made by Chairman Martin and seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Larry Pollock, from Ambulance and Chair, inquired about entering into a long standing agreement with the nonprofit organization, as they are working on budgeting for ambulances and new technology. The confirmed support from the Township would help Ambulance and Chair to better plan for future expenses. The agreement would not be for financial aid, but for the services provided by the company. The Board will take this request into consideration.
Mrs. Rayl asked if the Township had any information regarding the LSA grant for the waterline. We received notification that no grants were awarded this year. The state suggested that applicants reapply for the LSA for the upcoming year. The deadline for reapplication is November 30, 2024.
Emily Chambers mentioned the possibility of having a representative from Tunnel Ridge Coal Mine attend a Board meeting. This would hopefully allow for updated maps and timelines, giving residents a better understanding of the coal mine’s progress. Evan Midler will be contacted and when a meeting can be coordinated with a representative, it will be posted on the website for residents to view.
OLD BUSINESS
K2 Engineering emailed the Township with an update regarding the LSA application from 2023. The Commonwealth Financing Authority did not announce or award any of the applications at their meeting on September 17, 2024. They advised all applicants to reapply for the next round of funding. To do this, West Finley Township would need to have K2 update the cost estimate and prepare a new resolution for the November Board meeting. Chairman Martin made the motion for K2 to complete the necessary documents needed to reapply for the LSA grant. The motion was seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
The agreement between the Township and the West Finley Volunteer Fire Company has been tabled until next month, as final details still need to be addressed.
NEW BUSINESS
Chairman Martin received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection concerning open burning. They are encouraging municipalities to actively prohibit open burning while developing safer and more environmentally friendly methods of waste material. They also included a sample ordinance for our convenience.
A well was dug at the Township building. The well water will be pumped into the existing cistern so that no changes will be needed inside of the building. We will still need to purchase some pipe, wire, and a timer to complete the setup. The bill from Turner’s Drilling has not been received yet but is expected to be $5,800.00. Chairman Martin made the motion to approve the bill for payment when it arrives. Supervisor Collins seconded the motion. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
Dave Martin will be retiring as Building Code Inspector at the end of 2024. The Township will need to find a replacement to appoint at the Organization Meeting. Since K2 Engineering does our commercial permitting, the Township will contact them to see if they are interested in taking the position.
PennDOT has an e-permitting portal that we are currently unable to access. To obtain relevant information, an application must be completed and submitted along with a verification of a passed Resolution giving access to an administrator. The Secretary has all the necessary forms prepared, including Resolution No. 9-2024. This Resolution gives the Secretary permission to access the site. The motion to pass the Resolution for PennDOT was made by Chairman Martin and seconded by Vice Chairman Pritt. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
The employee’s healthcare renewal through UPMC will be effective December 1, 2024. Our agent, Dawnne Pettit, has sent the renewal information along with different plan options. Our current HSA plan is covered at 100% after deductible but is changing for 2025. Employees will now have to pay 10% out of pocket after the deductible is met. Instead of paying back half of the deductible amount through payroll deductions, employees request no payroll deductions for 2025. Since employees do not have a dental, vision, or pension plan, the increased cost incurred would be minimal to the Township. The motion to approve the renewal for the HSA with no payroll deductions was made by Chairman Martin and seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 2 (Martin/Collins), Nays: 1 (Pritt). Motion carried.
Currently, there is a camper parked along Burnsville Ridge Road inside the road right of way. There is no sewage or septic installed and extension cords are running along the ground. The Board has given verbal notice that the camper needs to be moved as soon as possible. If not, the Board will have to act and send notice to the occupant.
FIRE CHIEF’S REPORT
Craig Yoho and Mark Sibert are new members of the VFC. Faith Welling and Adalynne Pritt are also representing the company at tonight’s meeting. After many years of service, Chief Emery is delegating more responsibilities to the newer members. He will also finish the year as EMC, but requests that the Township appoint someone new for this position for 2025.
Craig Yoho gave the Board an updated report from the VFC. Some of the highlights were details regarding call outs and current and upcoming events. There are also several volunteers who are completing continuing education classes, which will result in 2 (two) more interior fire fighters for the company. Mr. Yoho also provided the Township with November and December calendars listing company events.
ROAD FOREMAN’S REPORT
Materials were purchased for the Blockhouse Run Road slip, and it has been filled with stone. Unfortunately, we still haven’t received the authorization to enter form from Bill Tompkins. We have heard that he is not going to sign the form, but that information has not been verified.
Building improvements have also been made. A single water and airline was installed to the far end of the garages so that the crew can clean vehicles at the end of the lot while keeping grease and other debris clear of the main entrance. The downspout drain behind the building was also repaired. Improvements to the Whiteman Bridge were also made. The wingwall was fixed using R5 rip rap and pictures will be sent to SAI engineers by the first week in November.
Powerhouse, the company working for Windstream, is close to finishing the installation of the fiber cable for the high speed internet project. The only section that will need to be completed is West Finley Road, where they must redo the line per PennDOT’s request.
The Township received notification from the Washington County Conservation District regarding funding for Spotted Tail Road. The Quality Assurance Board decided that the project did not meet funding requirements at this time, but suggested that we reapply next year. This would most likely mean that we would need to have a geo-tech engineer’s input on the project. In the meantime, there are still some improvements we can make as we do have authorization forms from the property owners.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
SWN and Chesapeake Energy have merged companies. They are now Expand Energy.
The Township was notified of our estimated 2025 Liquid Fuels allocation. We should receive $184,423.18 and $5,560.00 for Turnback mileage. These funds should be direct deposited on March 1, 2025.
CNX has applied to the Pennsylvania DEP for their new well, WFN13.
The September State police report from Lt. Dowlin was prepared for the Board prior to the meeting.
The Secretary also reminded the Board of the upcoming Budget Meeting on Monday, October 28, 2024 at 6:00 pm.
ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS
The financial reports for all Township accounts were presented. The bank statements from September were reviewed along with their QuickBooks reconciliation reports.
The Board examined an itemized list of current expenditures. The motion to approve the financial statements and payment of the expenditures was made by Chairman Martin and seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 3, motion carried.
Citizen’s Library sent a request for a donation. The Township has been sending an annual appropriation for several years. Chairman Martin made the motion to make a $380 donation to the library for 2024. The motion was seconded by Supervisor Collins. All in favor, Ayes: 2 (Martin, Collins), Nays: 1 (Pritt). Motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING
Chairman Martin adjourned the meeting at 7:20 pm.