#12 - 2008

The regular meeting of the Whitpain Township Board of Supervisors was held on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at the Whitpain Township Building, 960 Wentz Road, Blue Bell, PA. Supervisors Joseph J. Palmer, Brian W. Young, Anthony F. Greco, and Adam Zucker were present. Township Engineer/Assistant Township Manager, Roman Pronczak, Township Solicitor, James J. Garrity, Director of Public Works, Ronald J. Cione, Code Enforcement Officer, Michael E. McAndrew, Park and Recreation Director, Kurt W. Baker, Fire Marshal, David M. Camarda, Police Lieutenant Jeff Franck, and Recording Secretary, Michele Alifano were also present. Township Manager, Phyllis C. Lieberman, Director of Finance, M. Elizabeth McBride, and Police Chief Mark A. Smith were absent. The members of the Whitpain Township Planning Commission were present, as well as approximately 40 members of the public.

Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Chairman Palmer called the meeting to order.

A motion was made by Mr. Greco, duly seconded by Mr. Zucker, and unanimously passed to declare Monday, June 23, 2008 as Military and Armed Forces Appreciation Day in Whitpain Township. In appreciation for the services provided by these fine men and women, Meadowlands Country Club will be inviting local service people to be their guests to use their facilities for the day.

At this time, Chief Fred Trasatti of the Second Alarmers Rescue Squad presented awards to police, firefighters, paramedics, and civilians who responded to a cardiac emergency that took place on June 3, 2008 at the Citrus Salon, 1201 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell. The owners of the business, Anthony & Lawrence Troilo, as well as bystander, Patricia Langan, had begun to perform CPR on the victim, Mr. John Hanlon, prior to the EMS unit arriving on the scene. EMS was able to restore a heartbeat to the patient following a defibrillation shock and continued CPR. The response time of the Second Alarmers to the scene was 3 minutes and 34 seconds from the time of dispatch. The following individuals were recognized with awards:

Mr. Anthony Troilo, Citrus Salon owner 
Mr. Lawrence Troilo, Citrus Salon owner 
Ms. Patricia Langan, civilian bystander 
Joseph Staniszewski, Paramedic - Second Alarmers Rescue Squad Brian Geiger, Emergency Medical Technician - Second Alarmers Rescue Squad 
Robert Gannon, Firefighter, Whitpain Township Fire Department William Andrew Delaney, III, Firefighter, Whitpain Township Fire Department 
Sergeant Kenneth Lawson, Whitpain Police Department

Mr. Palmer congratulated all involved, and thanked them for their efforts. He noted that since the Second Alarmers have been with the Township, response time to incidents has gone from under eight minutes to under six minutes.

Following the awards presentation, an announcement was made by Mr. Palmer that in the months of July and August there will be only one Board of Supervisors' meeting. The dates are as follows: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 8pm and Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 8pm.

A motion was made by Mr. Young, duly seconded by Mr. Greco, and unanimously passed to approve the minutes of the June 3, 2008 Supervisors' Meeting.

A motion was made by Mr. Greco, duly seconded by Mr. Young, and unanimously passed to approve the Treasurer's Report for the month of May, 2008.

A motion was made by Mr. Greco, duly seconded by Mr. Young, and unanimously passed to release $154,978.20 (Release #3) from the escrow fund for Canterbury Estates (former Donahue property at 1860 Skippack Pike).

A motion was made by Mr. Young, duly seconded by Mr. Greco, and unanimously passed to approve a request from Fineman Realty Partners regarding traffic impact fee calculation methodology for the addition at 40 Skippack Pike.

A motion was made by Mr. Greco duly seconded by Mr. Zucker, and unanimously passed to approve Policy and Procedures for Consultant Selection for Third Party Federal Aid Agreements.

A motion was made by Mr. Zucker, duly seconded by Mr. Greco, and unanimously passed to adopt Resolution Number 858 by Whitpain Township Board of Supervisors approving submission of an application to Montgomery County for trails funding through the Green Fields/Green Towns Program.

A motion was made by Mr. Zucker, duly seconded by Mr. Young, and unanimously passed to adopt Resolution Number 859 by Whitpain Township Board of Supervisors approving submission of an application to Montgomery County for trails funding through the Green Fields/Green Towns Program to preserve open space at the Walbridge Property (230 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike).

A motion was made by Mr. Young, duly seconded by Mr. Greco, and unanimously approved to amend the Master Trails Plan Study agreement with Land Concepts in the amount of $2200.00 for additional work on preparing a preliminary opinion on the location of a trail easement on the Walbridge Property and for preparing an application to the Montgomery County Open Space Board for grant money from the Green Fields /Green Towns Program to preserve open space at the Walbridge Property (230 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell).

The Board of Supervisors took no action regarding the following applications to the Zoning Hearing Board:

NO. 1792-08: Application filed by Joseph Carchedi as a tenant of the property located at 1200 DeKalb Pike also known as 1386 Cherry Lane, Blue Bell, Penna., 19422 for the following relief at the subject property:

1. A request for a special exception from the terms of Article XXIV, Section 160-184 to permit shared parking between 1200 DeKalb Pike and 1188 DeKalb Pike, owned by the Sherman & Rosen Partnership who joined in the application.

2. A variance from the terms of Article XXIII, Section 160-182.2.C to allow (10) 1.5 square foot off premises parking space identification signs at 1188 DeKalb Pike, the property of the Sherman & Rosen Partnership.

The zoning classification of the subject property is "C" Commercial District.

The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend denial of the subject application.

NO. 1793-08: : Application filed by Parec Phipps Station Associates as owner of the property located at 855 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, Penna., 19422 to request a variance from the terms of Article XVIII, Section 160-112 and to amend Zoning Hearing Board Decision No. 1449-02, dated January 16, 2003, to allow construction of a pool and pool house on any lot in lieu of a home. The zoning classification of the subject property is "C" Commercial District.

The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the subject application.

At this time, an introductory presentation was given by Teva Pharmaceuticals, for the benefit of the residents and Township staff, to provide information on a potential land development proposal at the former Unisys site. Mr. Pronczak supplied members of the audience with a diagram that explained the formal review process of land development and subdivision applications. Chairman Palmer emphasized that the Township follows a very thorough process in its evaluation of land development applications, with residents being notified and provided the opportunity to participate. There have been no applications filed by TEVA at this point in time. Chairman Palmer provided a brief history of the Unisys site stating that the most likely scenario would be to have approximately 1.6 million sq. ft. of office space which could house between 9,000 and 11, 000 people. In order for that type of proposal to work, there would be several goals to focus on including the need for traffic studies & traffic flow improvement, the consideration of uses with a smaller number of employees, the encouragement of the use of flex-time to ease traffic congestion in the area, the preference for a single owner and the submission of a complete land development plan, and finally, the need for increased buffering and open space preservation in order to maintain the quality of life for the surrounding residents.

Mr. Bruce Murray, Vice President of Distribution for Teva Pharmaceuticals, explained that his company is currently seeking a suitable site of approximately 150 acres within the metropolitan Philadelphia area to house office space and a distribution center, with the assistance of Binswanger Realty. Teva, whose business consists primarily of affordable generic drugs, has distribution centers located in Montgomeryville, Chalfont, New Britain, and Kutztown. Mr. Murray stated Teva would like to consolidate, because it makes good business sense to have a centralized management function. While there are numerous locations being considered at this time, the Unisys site would be ideal from a distribution stand point because of its proximity to the highway. Mr. Murray explained the need to get to Philadelphia International Airport in order to get their product out to retailers. Also, Unisys has a vacant building that would accommodate office space following some quick renovations, and it would allow for the construction of a distribution center while management and staff got up and running. Mr. Murray stated that Teva is not actively involved in negotiations with the owner of the Unisys site, but that are simply trying to exchange information to see if it would make sense to proceed.

At this time, Mr. Ed Klimek, of KSS Architects LLP, reiterated that the Unisys site would be ideal for the concept of their project, which would be structured as a campus. He stated all the buildings meet setback requirements, and there was some discussion regarding minimizing the impact on surrounding residents by providing buffering to control sound and the visual of the loading activity.

Chairman then called for any questions from the Board. Mr. Greco inquired as to their plans to preserve some open space on the site. Mr. Young asked about a timeline for Teva to make a decision as to which site they would ultimately choose. Mr. Murray stated that Teva would like to make a decision and turn the first soil in early 2009. Mr. Greco requested information regarding the hours of operation of the distribution facility. Mr. Murray stated the normal working hours are six days a week, 24 hours, but given their current growth it may go to seven days a week. He further clarified by stating that the office activity runs from 8am to 5pm, where the truck activity goes from about 5am to 10pm, with the majority of the activity occurring on weekdays. Mr. Young asked about the number of employees expected to be at the site, to which Mr. Murray responded that there are 180 presently, but he could foresee approximately 500 employees due to their growth potential. Chairman Palmer inquired as to what exactly will go on at the facility. Mr. Murray explained that there will be no manufacturing at the site, simply a high tech distribution facility that will fill customer orders on demand.

At this time, Chairman Palmer called for any questions or comments from the audience. Mr. David Miller had questions regarding setbacks, noise levels of the operation, and the types of carriers used to transport the medication. Mr. Greco explained that he, Mr. Pronczak, and Chairman Palmer had taken a tour of the current Teva distribution center, and they were surprised by how little noise was generated by the facility.

Ms. Sheila Curristin raised some concern over the traffic a distribution facility may generate, and she also had questions regarding the possibility of a slip ramp for access to the turnpike. Mr. Klimek responded that they are in the process of conducting traffic studies to address these concerns, but as of this point in time they had not received an answer from the state as to the possibility of a slip ramp. Mr. Murray added that it is not unusual for there to be approximately 70 trips in and out of the distribution center daily, about half of which would be tractor trailers. He stated that by the year 2013 he would expect that figure to double.

Ms. Susan Mudambi thanked the Board and the representatives from Teva for giving the presentation, and she stressed that the community is very much in favor of the preservation of open space whenever possible.

Mr. Rick Shorin of the Planning Commission raised some concerns about road improvements. Chairman Palmer stated that regardless of whether or not Teva chooses to follow through on their proposed project at the Unisys site, it is imperative that traffic improvements be done in that area of the Township, regardless of the challenges that have arisen due to PennDOT's budget. The Board has spoken to Senator Rafferty and Representative Mike Gerber about this high priority issue.

Chairman Palmer thanked all parties involved for coming for the informational session, and he asked that if any residents should have any further questions if they would please forward them to Mr. Pronczak.

With no further business to come before the Board, Vice-Chairman Young adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, 

Anthony F. Greco, Secretary