MINUTES - Whitehall Township

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MINUTES

April 11, 2016

Regular Public Meeting

Board of Commissioners

Township of Whitehall

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A.

CALL TO ORDER

1) The regular Public Meeting of the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners was called to

order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday April 14, 2016, in the Public Meeting Room of the Whitehall

Township Municipal Building, 3219 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, PA, with the following in

attendance:

COMMISSIONERS

Phillips M. Armstrong, President

Dennis C. Hower, Vice President

Thomas Slonaker, Secretary

Jeffrey L. Dutt

Philip J. Ginder

Linda K. Snyder

TOWNSHIP PERSONNEL

Edward D. Hozza, Jr., Mayor

John D. Meyers, Deputy Mayor

Charles Fonzone, Attorney

Frank Clark, Keystone Engineering

Diane Hunsicker, Treasurer

Patricia Sweeney, Executive Secretary

The meeting was formally opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a moment of

silence for our veterans and for Robert Benner who served our community for over 30 years as

our Fire Chief.

2) APPROVAL OF MINUTES

a)

Commissioner DUTT moved, seconded by Commissioner HOWER to approve the minutes

of the following meeting:

Regular Public Meeting �C March 14, 2016

Six Commissioners were present with five voting ��yes�� and Commissioner

ARMSTRONG abstained. Motion carried

B.

PRESENTATION

President ARMSTRONG stated since water quality has been in the news, had the opportunity

to tour both the Whitehall and NBMA facilities, learned a lot about how our water is made

pure and noted there are two bills in Harrisburg already on this matter

Joseph MCMAHON, Whitehall Township Authority Manager, gave a PowerPoint

presentation on the WTA, showed the service area and boundaries, have 2,400 residential and

450 commercial customers, population served is between 13,000 and 14,000, residential

consumption for the year was 128 million gallons and 177 million gallons for commercial,

with apartment complexes the largest customers, cost is $5 for every thousand gallons

Meeting Minutes �C April 11, 2016

Page 2

consumed with a monthly minimum based on meter size, are one of the lower rates in the

State, have 80 miles of pipe, 2 interconnections with the City of Allentown for emergency

purposes, is all ground water, use chloramines in the distribution system which hold residuals

for a longer period of time and prevent any regrowth on the inside of the pipes, have 2

reservoirs, a 1 million gallon and a ? million gallon, 5 active well based stations, 370

hydrants, 970 main valves and 2,679 service valves that connect the properties. He stated

lead gets into drinking water mostly by erosion or corrosion of lead pipes, a little comes from

faucets and fixtures and do not have lead service lines like the City of Allentown. He noted

acid or soft water is more likely to leach lead out than with hard or alkaline water because

hard water has calcium carbonate which helps to prevent the leaching of lead from the pipe.

In 1986 the Drinking Water Act put voluntary standards in place to reduce the lead in pipes

and fixtures to a certain level. In 1991 the EPA came out with the rule to test the water in

homes, in 2014 they reduced the lead free limits from 8% lead in pipes to .25%. WTA has

never exceeded these levels, have no lead pipes in the system, are required to do 30 sample

tests for lead and copper in homes every 3 years and will be doing it this summer. President

ARMSTRONG asked how the 30 homes are selected. Mr. MCMAHON stated the EPA has

a criteria to look at homes before 1986, the limit for lead is 1.5 parts per billion gallons of

water and WTA water is safe.

Commissioner DUTT asked what someone should do if they want their water tested. Mr.

MCMAHON stated there are labs to send it too and if there is a big concern, they will send

people out. Mr. DRABICK asked about plastic pipe. MCMAHON stated they do not use

plastic pipe, may be used inside of homes, and would depend on the Townships code. Mr.

DRABICK asked if plastic can contaminate the water. Mr. MCMAHON stated if it has been

approved by some other body feels it can be used, is also a lot cheaper and easier to install.

Mr. WILFINGER noted plumbers recommend using the plastic because of the lead and

copper issue.

Steve KERBACHER, Manager at NBMA, stated Northampton Borough Council created the

Authority and purchased the rights of the Clear Springs Water System in 1940, currently

serve 3 municipalities in Lehigh County, including Whitehall, the Borough of Coplay and

North Whitehall Township, and the Borough of North Catasauqua, Borough of Northampton

and Allen Township in Northampton County. Their distribution system consists of ~175

miles of pipe, have no lead service lines, maintain the water mains, fire hydrants and service

connections up to the curb valve, also take 30 distribution samples, have ~15,300 metered

accounts with ~6,600 of those in Whitehall. In 2006 launched a new water treatment plant

just north of the Township line, was the first LEED certified water treatment plant in the

United States. LEED stands for leadership in environmental and engineering design, is a

green building, are a surface water supplier, draw water from the Lehigh River and Spring

Creek which flows into the Spring Mill reservoir, blend the water, then bring it into the water

treatment plant which is manned by certified DEP operators 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,

have 7.3 million gallons of storage in their distribution system with 6.2 of it in Whitehall

Township at Eagle Point and suggested to view their video at their website,

which gives an overview of where the water comes from and how it is treated.

Bob MONTGOMERY, lab supervisor of NBMA, noted the sampling of the lead and copper

program is on the homeowners to take the sample for them, has to be a first draw sample

Meeting Minutes �C April 11, 2016

Page 3

which means it has to sit in the pipes overnight and taken the first thing in the morning to get

the best reading.

Bruce MILLER, Amon Way, Whitehall, stated there seems to be a change in the taste of the

water and an odor when the seasons change. Mr. MONTGOMERY stated they have a

seasonal taste and odor caused by 2 compounds of blue-green algae blooms in the Lehigh

River, have a pretty good system to remove these compounds but sometimes these blooms

happen so quickly that you get some of that taste and odor in the system, are no health

hazards associated with these compounds.

Joni TEDESCO, 424 4th Street, Whitehall, asked if they consider their water hard or soft.

Mr. MONTGOMERY stated moderately soft as the Lehigh River bed is basically slate and

shale, is up to the customer if they want a water softener, doesn��t recommend it.

Mario SPAGNOLETTI, 351 Sumner Avenue, Whitehall, stated with the acid rain, the

limestone actually takes the acid out of the water. Mr. MONTGOMERY stated it acts as a

buffer.

Mr. KERBACHER stated NBMA and WTA belong to the Lehigh Valley Water Suppliers

who do educational programs for school children, the first week in May is National Drinking

Water week and get together with a group from Cedar Crest College to do a day of

educational demonstrations for 3rd and 4th grade school children from all over the Valley. He

noted NBMA will be sending out invitations to all their municipal officials to take a tour of

their Water Treatment Plant on Saturday, May 7th between 9 am and 12 noon.

Mr. MCMAHON stated if anyone��s home is older than 1986 and has any concerns about

lead, to flush their toilets first thing in the morning and to let your faucet run for 15-30

seconds to flush the water that sat in the pipes overnight.

Mr. KERBACHER stated Suburban Labs in Quakertown does water testing for $20.

Commissioner ARMSTRONG thanked them for coming and noted the new NBMA plant is

state of the art.

C.

COURTESY OF THE FLOOR

Jennifer GRIFFIN, 1817 Elmhurst Drive, Whitehall, stated behind her home is a Township

property having an old historic barn which was covered by trees, in recent years got

conflicting information it would be torn down, then not because it was too expensive because

it had asbestos, then all the trees were cut down so the $10,000 they invested in their deck

and backyard can��t be enjoyed because they have an eyesore of a barn 25 feet away from her

property line and would like to have some greenery put around it. Mayor HOZZA stated

when Village Green was approved the barn was taken in lieu of recreation fees, a tot lot was

constructed in Village Green, with Schadt Avenue as the designated park for that zone. He

noted the barn does have asbestos siding, received an estimate from a licensed DEP

contractor to remove the asbestos, an issue is what is underneath and what type of siding to

put on or to paint it. He noted another option is to dismantle the barn, have estimates for that,

Meeting Minutes �C April 11, 2016

Page 4

but they charge you and then make a profit on the beams but do not have an estimate for

relocation. He noted the overgrowth was removed because of a complaint from her

neighbors and was a hazard because of kids possibly climbing the trees to get into the barn.

Mayor HOZZA stated the Township owns other barns throughout the Township, would like

to save the barn and the greenery will come back. Ms. GRIFFIN stated they invested a lot of

money in their house, is not the way it looked when they bought the house, have had realtors

come regarding a sale who said the barn really looks bad. Mayor HOZZA stated it was

several neighbors who complained about the overgrowth and the next step is to get the

estimate on relocation.

Commissioner SNYDER asked the cost for some greenery which would serve the purpose

for a while. Mayor HOZZA stated the need to get an estimate and would be something for

the short term.

D.

PULBIC HEARING AND VOTING ON ORDINANCES

1.

BILL NO. 12-2016

TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A PROPOSAL FOR

THE PURCHASE OF (2) 2016 FORD FOCUS SEDAN VEHICLES FOR THE

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 3.20 IN

THE HOME RULE CHARTER WHICH REQUIRES AUTHORIZATION OF

ACQUISITIONS IN EXCESS OF $25,000 BY ORDINANCE. (POLICE)

President ARMSTRONG read Bill No. 12-2016 to the Board.

Commissioner SNYDER moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner GINDER. There

were no questions or comments.

Six Commissioners were present and voted ��yes��. Bill No. 12-2016 was approved.

2.

BILL NO. 13-2016

TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A PROPOSAL FOR

A THREE YEAR LEASE OF A SERVER VIRTUALIZATION PROJECT FOR

THE WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP POLICE BUILDING, IN ACCORDANCE WITH

SECTION 3.20 IN THE HOME RULE CHARTER WHICH REQUIRES

AUTHORIZATION OF ACQUISITIONS IN EXCESS OF $25,000 BY

ORDINANCE. (ADMIN)

President ARMSTRONG read Bill No.13-2016 to the Board.

Commissioner SLONAKER moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner DUTT. There

were no questions or comments.

Six Commissioners were present and voted ��yes��. Bill No. 13-2016 was approved.

Meeting Minutes �C April 11, 2016

3.

Page 5

BILL NO. 14-2016

TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A PROPOSAL FOR

THE PURCHASE OF (1) 2017 MACK GU 812 STRAIGHT DUMP TRUCK FOR

THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION

3.20 IN THE HOME RULE CHARTER WHICH REQUIRES AUTHORIZATION

OF ACQUISITIONS IN EXCESS OF $25,000 BY ORDINANCE. (PUBLIC

WORKS)

President ARMSTRONG read Bill No. 14-2016 to the Board.

Commissioner GINDER moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner SLONAKER. There

were no questions or comments.

Six Commissioners were present and voted ��yes��. Bill No. 14-2016 was approved.

4.

BILL NO. 15-2016

TITLE: AN ORDINANCE CLOSING TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC THAT CERTAIN

UNIMPROVED PORTION OF BRIDGE STREET (AKA T-918) BETWEEN

RUCHSVILLE RD/SR 4003 AND RELIANCE STREET IN THE EGYPT AREA

OF WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP AND DIRECTING ITS REMOVAL FROM THE

TOWNSHIP ROAD MAP AT THIS TIME IN THE INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC

HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE; UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE BOARD OF

COMMISSIONERS DEEMS IT APPROPRIATE TO REOPEN IT TO

VEHICULAR TRAFFIC (ADMIN/PUBLIC WORKS)

President ARMSTRONG read Bill No. 15-2016 to the Board.

Commissioner SNYDER moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner HOWER.

Commissioner SLONAKER stated this is one of the only north/south ways to get into the

Village of Egypt, cannot see closing down a thoroughfare no matter how bad a shape it is in,

if we are worried about electronics, at Staples they have a clothing collection bin where there

are about 8 TV��s sitting on the ground and is something we will have to try and remedy.

Six Commissioners were present with three Commissioners voting ��yes�� and Commissioners

GINDER, SLONAKER and DUTT voted ��no��. Bill No. 15-2016 was not approved.

5.

BILL NO. 16-2016

TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A PROPOSAL FOR

THE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE CONTRACT FOR

COMPUTERS FOR THE WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP POLICE BUILDING, IN

ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 3.20 IN THE HOME RULE CHARTER WHICH

REQUIRES AUTHORIZATION OF ACQUISITIONS IN EXCESS OF $25,000 BY

ORDINANCE. (ADMIN)

President ARMSTRONG read Bill No. 16-2016 to the Board.

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