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Mr. Abrams called the regular February 18, 2008 meeting of the COG Executive Committee to order at 12:15 PM in the COG forum room. Members present: Mses. Goreham and Perkins; Messrs. Abrams, Fryer, Killian, and Lee Others present: Messrs. Crum, Planning Director; Mussi, Code Director; and, Steff, COG Executive Director and alternate Recording Secretary; MINUTES Motion was made by Mr. Lee and seconded by Mr. Killian that the minutes of the January 22, 2008 Executive Committee meeting be accepted as presented. Vote in favor was unanimous. Mr. Perkins expressed her appreciation to the Committee for changing the meeting date from Tuesdays to Mondays for the first six months of 2008. CITIZEN COMMENTSThere were no citizen comments offered. BID AWARD FOR TRAFFIC PREEMPTION InSTALLATION Mr. Steff reported that during its February 13, 2008 meeting, the Public Services Committee reviewed the following three bids to install traffic pre-emption equipment and Houserville Road and East College Avenue and Whitehall Road and West College Avenue:
He said because there are insufficient funds to do both intersections, the Fire Director and the Fire Company proposed the install the equipment at Houserville Road and East College Avenue. Mr. Steff said to proceed, the Public Services Committee asks the Executive Committee to refer the following motion to the General Forum for consideration: “That the Public Services Committee recommends that Wyoming Electrical Signals be awarded the contract to install traffic preemption equipment at the intersection of Houserville Road and East College Avenue at a cost not to exceed $22,078.00.” The Committee unanimously agreed to refer the recommended motion to the General Forum. BID AWARD FOR REnOvATIONS TO OFFIcE SPAcE AT THE MAIN FIRE STATION Mr. Steff reported that during its February 13, 2008 meeting, the Public Services Committee reviewed the general contruction bids and the bids for mechanical, plumbing and electrical services. He noted the over 19 contractors attended the pre-bid meeting at the fire station. He said to proceed, the Public Services Committee asks the Executive Committee to refer the following two motions to the General Forum for consideration: “That the Public Services Committee recommends that Landserv, Inc. be awarded the contract for general construction services for renovations at the main fire station at a cost not to exceed $43,250.” “That the Public Services Committee recommends that H.W. Raymond Co., Inc. be awarded the contract for mechanical, plumbing, and electrical services for renovations at the main fire station at a cost not to exceed $39,663.” The Committee unanimously agreed to refer the recommended motion to the General Forum. FINANCIAL PLAN FOR POOL RENEWALS Mr. Steff reported that during its January 28, 2008 meeting, the General Forum agreed to jointly fund the renewals of the Park Forest and Welch Pool at a municipal cost of $7.9 million. He said that to proceed the following documents must be executed: · The individual municipalities must adopt a resolution to extend the corporate life of the Centre Regional Recreation Authority. · The individual municipalities must adopt an ordinance approving the Guaranty Agreement with the Recreation Authority for a $7.9 million debt, as well as approving the Participation Agreement. · The General Forum must adopt a Resolution that approves a Participation Agreement. Mr. Abrams suggested that the Bond Counsel and Financial Consultant should be invited to the meeting to respond to questions. Recognizing the complicated deliberative process involved in approving the documents, Mr. Lee offered the idea that the Executive Director introduce the topic by providing a brief overview of the documents and the steps the elected officials must take to approve them. Mr. Killian agreed and recommended that the presentation flow from the goal that the General Forum is trying to achieve. The Executive Committee discussed the process to be followed and agreed to the following. Ø The COG Chair will ask for public comments on funding proposal Ø The COG Chair will recess the General Forum meeting Ø Individual municipal meetings will be convened, a recording secretary will be assigned to each group Ø The municipalities will vote on the ordinance and resolution Ø The municipal meetings will be adjourned Ø The COG Chair will re-convene the General Forum meeting and announce the municipal vote results To proceed with the adoption of the COG Resolution, Mr. Steff said the Finance Committee asks the Executive Committee to refer the following motion to the General Forum for consideration: “That the General Forum approve COG Resolution 2008-1 which adopts a Participation Agreement that sets the funding term and cost allocation formula for the pools renewal project; confirms the appointment of a special committee to study the COG formula; and, authorizes the Finance Committee to approve the final source and terms of the debt.” The Committee unanimously agreed to refer the recommended motion to the General Forum. MODIFIED COG FUNDING FORMULA Mr. Steff reported that during its January 28, 2008 meeting, the General Forum agreed to fund the renewal of the Park Forest and Welch Pools. He said a condition of this agreement is that “a committee be commissioned to study and prepare a specific recommendation by June 30, 2009 on the fairness of the current COG formula.” Mr. Abrams said the Executive Committee should discuss and identify the entity that will conduct this study. He noted that the options are: · Assign charge to Finance Committee · Assign charge to the Finance Committee and the municipal mangers · Assign charge an Ad Hoc COG Formula Committee Mr. Steff added that the Finance Committee offered to participate in the study if requested. Ms. Goreham suggested a combination of the Finance Committee and the municipal managers. Mr. Abrams agreed and said Committee should be authorized to consider other dimensions of the funding formula beyond its “fairness.” Mr. Lee asked about the role of the Executive Committee in the study. Mr. Fryer recommended that the joint Committee’s recommendation be forwarded to the Executive Committee for comment prior to its referral to the General Forum. To proceed the Executive Committee unanimously agreed to refer the following motion to the General Forum for consideration: “That the General Forum authorize the Finance Committee and the municipal managers to present any recommendations for changes in the COG funding formula by June 30, 2009 to the Executive Committee for submittal to the General Forum.” The Committee unanimously agreed to refer the recommended motion to the General Forum. CENTRE REGION CODE BOARD OF APPEALS Mr. Mussi reported that during its February 13, 2008 meeting, the Code Administration Committee asked the Executive Committee to refer the following motions to the General Forum for consideration: “The Code Administration Committee recommends that Michael Norris, Kenneth Sagen, Laura Chuba, and Robert Kistler be re-appointed and Nicole Woodring be appointed to the Centre Region Building and Housing Code Board of Appeals for a three year term commencing February 25, 2008.” The Committee unanimously agreed to refer the recommended motion to the General Forum. AGREEMENT OF SALE FOR WHITEHALL ROAD PARKLAND Mr. Steff reported that during its August 28, 2006 meeting, the General Forum endorsed Articles of Agreement for the joint COG/Ferguson Township ownership of the Whitehall Road parkland. He said the land is to be developed as a regional park targeted primarily at active recreation activities. Mr. Steff noted that he transfer of the property from the University to COG/Ferguson Township was more complicated than originally planned and consumed more time; some of issues that needed to be resolved included zoning for the proposed use, rights of way, and road access. Mr. Steff said that Ferguson Township has approved the Sales Agreement and the Penn State University’s Board of Trustees is expected to approve the Agreement during its meeting on March 20 and 21. He said to proceed that the Executive Committee should consider referring the following motion to the General Forum for consideration: “That the General Forum approve the Agreement of Sale and the Declaration of Easement for the Penn State/Whitehall Road property acquisition subject to approval of the same by the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees.” The Committee unanimously agreed to refer the recommended motion to the General Forum. BUILDING PERMIT FEE ADJUSTMENT Mr. Mussi explained the proposed change to the method for calculating building permit fees for commercial renovation projects. He said the Code Administration Committee asks the General Forum to approve the following motion: “That the General Forum receive the proposed method for determining permit fees for all renovation projects with the exception of one and two family dwellings as revised by the Code Administration Committee; refer it to the participating municipalities for adoption; and, that the signed municipal resolutions be forwarded to the COG Executive Director by April 1, 2008. Mr. Lee said that the new method should be revenue neutral in terms of the CRCA recovering its costs. He recommended that during the 2009 COG budget preparation process, the methodology should be reviewed by the Code Administration Committee to confirm its success. Mr. Fryer moved to recommend that the motion for the Building Permit Fee Adjustment be amended as follows and furthermore, that the Code Committee review the new fee schedule before the end of the 2009 budget preparation process. Mr. Killian seconded this motion. Vote in favor was unanimous. QUESTIONS FOR THE UNIVERSITY Mr. Steff said the given the length and complexity of the agenda for the General Forum that a University report for February would not be provided. He noted a future topic suggested by the Committee is the University’s efforts to promote “green” architecture. The Executive Committee agreed. Mr. Abrams suggested contacting Mr. Sieminski to ask him to consider a presentation on green architecture for the March COG meeting and to determine whether there are any topics he would like to discuss. COG COMMITTEE STRUCTURE REPORT Mr. Abrams asked Mr. Steff to plan for a Committee discussion regarding the COG’s Committee structure for the March or April Executive Committee meeting. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Steff provided updates on the following issues:$12,500 DCED Grant – The COG received a $12,500 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development to partially fund the purchase cost for a replacement plotter for the Planning Agency, in addition to handheld devices and related software for the Code Agency’s sewage management program Halfmoon Township – Halfmoon Township has notified the COG that the Board of Supervisors is interested in appointing a representative to the Schlow Library Board. The Township is currently in the process of recruiting a resident. Rental Housing Program – Messrs. Mussi, Knisely and Steff have been meeting weekly with Messrs. Kurtz and Henry (State College Borough staff) to discuss issues relating to the rental housing program. A preliminary report to Borough Council is expected in the next several weeks. Affordable Housing Report – As recommended by the Executive Committee, a representative from the private section will be invited to the General Forum to present information on the affordable housing issue from a developer’s point of view. After this presentation is made, a report summarizing all the municipal presentations on affordable housing will be distributed to the General Forum. ADJOURNMENTThere being no further business, the February 18, 2008 meeting of the COG Executive Committee was adjourned at 1:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Steff |
