Meeting Minutes

NEW HOPE BOROUGH
Regular Meeting of Borough Council

May 11, 2004
MINUTES

PRESENT: Richard Hirschfield, Sharyn Keiser, Jake Fell, Ed Duffy, Geraldine Delevich, Randy Flager, Janell Hammond, Mayor Larry Keller and Colin Jenei, Borough Solicitor.

ABSENT:

CALL TO ORDER:

Richard Hirschfield announced that there was an executive session on April 20, 2004 for the purpose of discussing personnel.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR APRIL 13, 2004: The April 12, 2004 minutes were approved. Sharyn Keiser made the motion and Randy Flager seconded. The motion was passed with all in favor.

MAYOR’S REPORT:

Mayor Keller announced that New Hope Borough received a $5,000 grant from the State Department of Community and Economic Development. We will now get a defibrillator and oxygen units for one of our permanently rotating police cars. We also received an amount of money from an anonymous donor that allowed us to buy a defibrillator for the Visitors Center.

Mayor Keller announced that at the last meeting there was a concern about the trash trucks. All of the trash companies were called that were coming onto South Main Street before 7:00 AM. The Mayor himself went out on two week-end mornings at 6:30 AM and observed the trash trucks arriving no sooner than 7:00 AM. The Mayor asked the public to please keep the Borough informed if they come too early again.

Mayor Keller announced that he tried to get in touch with the Bridge Commission concerning the completion of the bridge renovation and has not received a return call.

Richard Hirschfield announced that Item 6 A on the agenda will be tabled until the next the June meeting.

Richard Hirschfield introduced John Burke as the new Borough Manager.

Richard Hirschfield asked for a motion to approve Resolution #2004-7 for the appointment of John Burke as Borough Manager starting June 2, 2004. Sharyn Keiser made the motion and Randy Flager seconded.

Richard Hirschfield announced that John Burke was Township Manager in Middletown for 20 years. Before that he was the Manager in Buckingham. Richard Hirschfield thanked Janell Hammond for her contributions as Acting Borough Manager for the last 9 months and she will remain as Assistant Manager and Treasurer.

Richard Hirschfield asked if there were any comments from Council.

Ed Duffy commented that he is looking forward to John Burke’s contribution to New Hope.

Randy Flager commented that he couldn’t believe that John Burke became available and is considered the best manager in all of Bucks County.

Sharyn Keiser commented that she agrees with all that was said and feels that we are fortunate to have John Burke. Sharyn Keiser thanked Janell Hammond for all her efforts as Borough Manager.

Geraldine Delevich commented that she looking forward to the future with John Burke as manager.

Jake Fell welcomed John Burke.

Sharyn Keiser recognized Ed Duffy for all his time and effort.

Richard Hirschfield commented that even though New Hope is a small town it is very complex.

The motion was passed with all in favor.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT:

Richard Hirschfield announced that the upgrade of the sewer report due to a request by one of the residents, Joe Balderston, to the sewer problem issues at Fisher’s Alley. There are four problems in general as follows; 1. It is very old consisting of clay pipes resulting in a lot of infiltration into the lines. This is particularly bad when it rains and there are heavy storms. 2 There a lot of illegal hook ups in those lines, sump pumps etc 3. There are clogs caused by businesses in particular that are dumped down into the sewer and grease which does not dissolve well. There are mismatched lines, there are 12 inch lines going into 8 inch lines coming out of Union Square. Obviously a big line going into a small line, when you put in a lot of volume it backs up. This is the main problem mainly that we’ve been having in Fisher’s Alley. The back up of high volume sewage during heavy storms, in particular, into low volume lines. 4. The pump capacity at the pumping station is inadequate and we can’t get the sewage out in heavy storms fast enough. Bucks County Water and Sewer is responding to this in several ways. They have begun flow testing the sewage system in February to determine where there are problems with infiltration and clogging and it will continue through this May. In mid to late summer the lines that have been determined to have excessive infiltration will be surveyed and they will be looking to root out the illegal hook ups and issue discharge violations. Lines that show the flow is not proper will be lined with a material something similar to a sock from one hole to the other. Basically, it creates a new pipe inside an old pipe. A New high capacity line will be put in Fisher’s Alley and on Main Street through to the new pumping station. The completion of the new pumping station and the entire sewer system upgrade will be done by the end of the year or early next year. The new pumping station will have 7 times the capacity of the existing pumping station. It is a three fold process; upgrading and replacing lines, going after infiltration problems and putting in a new pumping station, it will be 6 months before this is done.

Elaine McNealey: Will construction continue through the summer with all this upgrading?”

Richard Hirschfield: No.

Joe Balderston: Thank you.

Richard Hirschfield, in regard to the public water: It has taken longer than expected because the mapping of the utilities in town were terrible. They plan to complete the laterals in town by the end of the week. Within a few days, they will begin a repaving of the streets and by the end of the month that should be done. By Memorial Day they will be done downtown for a while.

Bob Gerenser:  What is the plan for Bridge Street?

Richard Hirschfield:  It is not on the list for the first phase.

Richard Hirschfield: There will be a letter coming out for procedures for hook-ups from Bucks County Water and Sewer in two weeks. The Borough encourages everyone especially businesses to hook up.

Carl Lindsay: When the ordinance was passed that concerned the public water, it stated that no one would be required to hook up.

Richard Hirschfield: The Borough’s position is that those who serve the public and give them water have a public health responsibility. At this point no one has to hook up.

Carolyn Dechert: Isn’t the Public Health taken care of by Public Health inspections?

Richard Hirschfield: The Health Department does not inspect people wells.

Carolyn Dechert: Is this the suggestion that the water is unsafe?

Richard Hirschfield:  We don’t know whether your well is inspected or not. We know that public water is safe because it is controlled and if you are serving people coming in from the outside, you have the responsibility to make sure it is safe.

Bob Gerenser:  For the record, the well for my businesses in town have to be tested and my well is safe.

Jake Fell:  Most leases that you sign for tenants, states you are supposed to supply potable water.

Richard Hirschfield, in response to Bob Gerenser’s earlier question for Bridge Street:  Sometime late in the summer they will begin work on the Sugan Road area and then when they get close into town, like Chestnut, that work will not be done until next January. That will be Bridge Street, Ferry Street and North Main and hopefully all that work will be done by this time next year. Public Water will be available in the downtown area from Parry Street South, all of Mechanic Street and all of New Street by next month which includes fire hydrants.

MANAGER’S REPORT:

Janell Hammond asked for a recommendation to approve Accounts Payable for May 11, 2004 in the amount of $66,229.00. Randy Flager made the motion and Jake Fell seconded. The motion was passed with all in favor.

Janell Hammond asked for a recommendation to approve Borough Payroll for April 14, 2004 in the amount of $37,959.63 and for Borough Payroll for April 28, 2004 in the amount of
$38,309.42. Sharyn Keiser made the motion and Randy Flager seconded. The motion was passed with all in favor.

PLANNING:

Ed Duffy announced a sketch plan review for George Michael, 36 West Mechanic Street. Ed Duffy asked Mr. Michael what he wanted to achieve tonight as part of the review process in what he is looking for.

George Michael:   To show the new revised plan with what was once known as the New Hope Inn and which now incorporates the Moonlight as well as the Canal House Property and the properties behind the Canal House. We are here to look for direction from Borough Council.

David Minnow introduced himself as the Architect for George Michael who is from Minnow & Waskow Architects and Planners in Lambertville New Jersey.

David Minnow: There was increase of the size of the site in the plans showing less density then what was originally presented. The previous plans had over 60 units on that potential site and has been reduced to 19 units which incorporates all the new properties. There are 10 units facing Mechanic Street retaining the historic building on the New Hope Inn property and also showing the canal house as a possible restaurant. The historic character of Mechanic Street has been maintained with a quiet residential feel to it. These homes along the West Mechanic frontage are 2 ½ stories high within the height ordinance and on the right side another 5 town home units. Garage spaces are hidden off the entry drive and enter underneath the buildings. There is a pocket park between B1 and B2 and this could tie into the canal path. The front of these units have an entrance off the park. There are two additional units adjacent to the Stockton Avenue Bridge. The parking for the 19 units has 38 garage spaces which means every dwelling unit has a two car internal garage and there are 16 spaces on the lot in front of the garage doors mainly along units on the West Mechanic Street side. There are surface spaces with a small lot which has 11 spaces and is a total of 65 parking spaces. There is substantial green area, and possibly more additional landscaping.

George Michael: We acquired the property Aquetong Creek and offered that to the Borough for the use of open space that my interests and the Borough’s interest’s are protected, but there has not been an agreement yet how we will handle that.

COUNCIL: wanted to know if the pocket park would be preserved and the two pieces across the creek on the other side would stay as open space. The bank along the creek on the condo side would be restored and what would the future plans be for the Canal House.

George Michael answered yes to all the questions presented. The Canal house right now is being analyzed by Rick Brown Associates out of Doylestown. He will provide Thursday, a review on his position to the Canal House. I want to clean it up and cut it back if it could be brought up to code compliance. He would turn it into it into a 75-100 seat restaurant internally and an external patio to seat 25-75. Mr. Michael had no other answers in regards to the Canal House and is waiting for his review.

COUNCIL: asked for a general concept of the façade, the size of the units, and appreciated that the project was pulled back allowing the R2 area to be preserved. There was also a question as to how the remaining small areas in the R 2 would be handled in the future.

David Minnow: The renderings that have been shown previously for Mechanic Street,for the most part, still hold in terms of style. Traditional materials; stone, stucco, horizontal siding, true divided lite windows, nice roofing materials, dimensional shingles and metal roofing, to look like it was built over time. The size of the units would be 2000 to 2500 square feet and that most of the project has been moved out of the R2 area.

COUNCIL SUMMARY: The concept was acceptable and a welcome change from the original presentation. Details are now needed to move forward. There should be concentrations for the next step to include concentration on historic preservation, height, and insisted that the safety of the Canal House must be code compliant.

Ed Duffy asked for a motion for the approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for 8 South Main Street based on the HARB recommendation for the awning. Geraldine Delevich seconded.

Ed Duffy announced that Spencer Saunders is present to share the reasons behind the Certificate of Appropriateness.

Colin Jenei: This is not a formal hearing. This is much more like Land Use approval and there is no party status required and no transcript required. The HARB Board is a board that recommends to Council who makes the decision. If this motion comes up as a denial there could be an appeal.
The agenda from tonight is Exhibit NH-1,
Exhibit NH-2 the packet that has been created with regard to the HARB application and is a 12 page packet:

• Page 1 a review of materials.
• Page 2 Certificate of Appropriateness.
• Page 3 & 4 Minutes from March, 2, 2004
• Page 5 letter from Mr. Balderston dated March 5, 2004
• Page 6 a letter from Carl Lindsay Esq. dated April 8, 2004
• Page 7 records request form.
• Page 8&10 first Presentation.
• Page 11&12 second presentation.

Exhibit NH-3 a letter from Carl Lindsay dated May 3, 2004 which attached a copy of a letter dated April 1, 2004 to be NH-3-A. It is not a formal record but can be reviewed by a higher authority to summarize the facts if need be.

Carl Lindsay, Esq. who is representing Joe Balderston noted for the record that he objected to this procedure.

Spencer Saunders presented Exhibits, NH-5, NH-6 which were photos and a handout calling it Exhibit A and reading what contained different definitions taken from the HARB Guidelines and the basis for the HARB decision.

Carl Lindsay for the record presented photos and labeled as Exhibits JB-1- JB-8. Mr. Lindsay also had a new presentation to show Council and claims that it does not go against HARB’S concerns.

Richard Hirschfield: Council is reviewing a past application tonight and if a new one is presented it must go back to HARB.

Carl Lindsay for the record disagreed on the procedure.

Richard Hirschfield: It is the intention of the Council to table this motion and not to proceed.

Joe Balderston presented Exhibit JB-9.

Richard Hirschfield asked for a motion to table this application. Randy Flager made the motion and Sharyn Keiser seconded. The motion was passed with all in favor.

HARB:

Ed Duffy made a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for Robert and Peggy Krist of 10 Old Mill Road for the over all project approval, minus the windows. Randy Flager seconded and the motion was passed with all in favor.

Ed Duffy made a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for Waterview of 500 Waterview Place renovations presented along with lighting and railings. Randy Flager seconded and the motion was passed with all in favor.

Ed Duffy made a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for Keith Mowen, 7 East Bridge Street to replace existing awning and color with conditions. Randy Flager seconded. The motion was passed with all in favor.

Ed Duffy made a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for The Mansion Inn of 9 South Main Street for the re-erection of the tent from last year. Randy Flager seconded and the motion was passed with the following conditions: that all the required building and zoning permits are obtained for the bar area and the Certificate of Appropriateness will be signed at that time to erect the tent.

Ed Duffy made a motion for a Certificate of Appropriateness for David Wind of 108 New Street for exterior painting and the installation of shingles. Randy Flager seconded and the motion was passed with all in favor.

Ed Duffy made a motion for a Certificate of Appropriateness for Robert Icelow of 25 Chestnut Street for the Installation of shingles. Randy Flager seconded and the motion was passed with all in favor.

Ed Duffy announced that detail of all Certificates of Appropriateness are available at Borough Hall for review upon request.

REVITALIZATION:

Sharyn Keiser announced that we are making progress on the Ferry Street & Randolph Street projects.

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS:

Geraldine Delevich made a motion to give permission to hang a banner for the Phillips Mill Exhibition attached to the railing on the second floor of the Starbucks Building facing east Bridge Street from 5/15/04 to 6/6/04. Randy Flager seconded and the motion was passed with all in favor with the condition that a Certificate of Insurance has been obtained by the Borough.

Geraldine Delevich announced the April summary for the visitors Center as follows;
-Visitors 392
-Donations $638.00
-Sales $ 52.75

Geraldine Delevich thanked the Winter Festival and Earl Bierman for a check for $1,800.00.

Sharyn Keiser commented that this donation will go to Parks and Recreation to help maintain the Ferry Street Landing and Randolph Street projects.

Ed Duffy announced Joel Roberts of 10 West Mechanic Street was published in This Old House Magazine illustrating before and after pictures including an article complimenting HARB.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:

Carolyn Dechert a representative of the Independent Merchants working with the Lambertville Chamber of Commerce and the Joint toll Bridge Commission sponsored an advertising campaign.

Carolyn Dechert announced that on June 17, 2004 the Independent merchants will be representing New Hope at the Bucks County Conference Visitors Bureau Gateway to Bucks County.

Elaine McNealy contacted Bernie O’Neal and reported that he does not support gay marriage.

ADJOURNMENT: