NEWSPAPER: Correspondent for 'The Collegeville Way', circa 15,000, 2004

At Trappe’s July Borough Council Meeting, Borough Manager Bruce Fosselman resigned.  Although only with the Borough for six months, Fosselman’s contributions were many.  “Bruce has done an amazing job with the [borough’s] web site, the newsletter, finding out about grant money,” stated Council Vice-President Kelly Huller.  “It’s a big loss.”

Council Secretary Pat Katona added, “You don’t know how many things he has brought to closure.”

Fosselman will return to his previous position as Emmaus Borough Manager, a position he held for 12 years prior to working for Trappe. 

Albert Herrmanne was appointed as interim Borough Manager by Council with a pay of $60/hour and a maximum 20 hour work week for a period of 6 months or until a new manager is found, whichever comes first.  The interim position constitutes at-will employment with no attached benefits.  Council members Stuart Strauss and Nevin Scholl opposed the appointment but majority ruled.

Also accepted at the meeting were Peter Stormer to the Planning Commission and Paula Campbell as an alternate to the Zoning Hearing Board.  Stormer took Jeff Obrecht’s place on the commission and Campbell will fill one of two alternate spots made available upon the resignations of Patrick Bradley and Carl Walz.

Tony Lombardi was also sworn in as a Special Fire Police Officer by Mayor Richard Bateman, Sr. and agreed to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, the Borough’s Constitution, and the rules and regulations of the Trappe Fire Company.

In other business, the attorney for Gambone Brothers came before council to address punch list items that still had not been taken care of in the Silver Leaf Development and requested that Gambone be allowed to enter the maintenance bond period. 

Seventeen homeowners still have concerns over sidewalks, curbs, driveways, a dead tree, and the stormwater basin in the development.

Gambone’s attorney said, “It has to be a safety issue [to be taken care of right away].  Then if not, it will be taken care of during the maintenance period.”

Council Solicitor Lawrence Sager disagreed.  “That was not the agreement.  Public improvements need to be taken care of before the maintenance period.”

The council approved to release $153,679.64 in the form of a maintenance bond, with $5000 for the basin not included, with the understanding that the residents’ issues will be addressed.  Council member Stuart Strauss abstained from the vote.

Council Engineer John Sartor will work with Gambone to determine what problems need to be fixed.

Also, Council agreed to accept a fee of $6, 257.35 from Gambone in lieu of a trail requirement. Both parties agreed that the area for the required trail would be too steep to safely use.  The council talked about possibly snaking the trail through the woods at a future time.

Resident Drew Mantey of

Oak Road

asked Borough Council to amend an ordinance to restrict  commercial activity in a residential area between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.  The Mantey family lives by Sam Sweigert Apartments on

East 1^st Avenue

where waste management comes Wednesday mornings between 4:30 and 5 a.m. to pick up trash.  The only restriction on the books regarding noise was lawn mowing between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.  With approval from Council, Huller asked Sager to draft an amendment for this.

The Community Music School of Collegeville was given approval to go forward with its proposed extension and site improvements with the requirement that the school do a traffic study at the site based on the square footage and comply with all other zoning and development regulations. 

The changes at the school will include more studio and office space and ten more parking spots.  A member of the music school’s board present at the meeting explained, “The addition is not meant to double or triple the enrollment, but to offer more opportunities to our students.” 

The private, nonprofit school also agreed to add further parking spaces if it was deemed necessary in the future.

Signal Services was awarded the borough’s Traffic Signal Maintenance Contract starting mid-July for one year at a price of $1750.  The current maintenance company, Traffic and Pump Solutions, has not measured up to borough expectations.  Although Solutions cost only $1350, “the service is what we’re looking for,” explained Sartor.

The Police Report for June was 8 accidents, 2 assaults, 12 false alarms, 3 thefts, and 27 other incidents.  The Trappe Fire Company reported 15 incidents for the month and a total of 95 since the beginning of the year, 31 of which occurred in the borough.

Treasurer John D. Klink presented the Financial Status Report for the period January 1 to June 30, 2004.  The grand total of all funds for the period was $1,530,731.95.  A copy of the report in detail can be found in the lobby of the Borough Hall building.

In the Manager’s Report, Fosselman presented a revised and easier to read Permit Fee Structure available on the borough’s website at www.trappeboro.com.  The Use and Occupancy Fee was raised to $50 but was “still lower than other communities.” Plumbing permit fees increased $5, and a $2 UCC fee by state law was added on building construction.  The permit fees will be reviewed every January.

Fosselman also announced that the borough newsletter is being formed and will be out soon.

The council also agreed to create a Parks and Recreation Commission to be a standard committee of Council.  The request came by way of Planning Commission Chairman Fred Schuetz who 

asked the council to create an official Open Space and Parks Committee for maintaining and developing open space and parks in the borough.  Scheutz said, “We need a little broader cross section of people to address the council on these issues.”

There are two different grants coming up that the new committee would be in charge of applying for to develop

Main Street

and Rambo Park.

In the Property/Waste Disposal and Recycling Report, council member Jeff Obrecht reported that they are currently working on getting unmarked crosswalks painted or striped.  The council also agreed to put “No Parking” signs on both sides of

1^st Ave.

where it borders Waterworks Park.  Obrecht explained that street parking there inhibits emergency access and 2-way traffic.  There will also be some changes of current stop signs to 3- way stops, one such location being at

Meadowview Drive

and

Borough Line Road

.

Resident Matt Watson of

West 3^rd Avenue

, and a current Council member, was unable to secure a waiver from Council to subdivide his lot and create a flag lot.  Sager told the council, “You have a serious and significant problem,” warning that to encourage Watson to go before the Zoning Hearing Board to get a variance on the required frontage would encourage other property owners in similar circumstances to subdivide.  Huller asked Watson to research the possible implications of his subdividing to be presented and discussed at a future council meeting.

Trappe’s Fun Day will be September 18 with a rain date of September 25.  There will be many activities for children and adults, including a dog costume contest, entertainment, games, and food.  The Borough is currently looking for volunteers to help with the festivities.

There will be a public conditional use hearing for EMK Partnership of 15 W. 7^th on August 3 at 6:30 pm.  The council made a motion to have necessary information from involved parties to Sartor two weeks in advance of the hearing.