PALMYRA TOWNSHIP – WAYNE COUNTY February 7 , 2023

Chairman Steffen called the board of supervisors meeting to order at 6 :30 PM. Roll call showed Supervisor Hanf was excused from the meeting . One correction is to be made to the minutes for January 2023. White Mills Police should be White Mills Fire Company. This change has been made . Supervisor Kmetz made a motion to accept the previous month’s minutes with one correction and a second by Chairman Steffen and all supervisors voting yes.

First order of business was to officially appoint all 2023 positions . These were read, discussed, and approved in January but, became void because the meeting was held on a federal holiday. The positions were reviewed and accepted as follows: Vice Chairman-Mike Hanf Secretary/Treasurer/Records Officer- Lois Powderly Roadmaster-Joe Kmetz Asst. Road Masters- Pete Steffen and Mike Hanf Office Helper-Shayla Gouger Solicitor-Jeff Treat Vacancy Board Chairman-Gary Van Orden Engineer- Kiley Associates Alt Engineer-Keystone Consulting Zoning Officer-Paul Natale Building Code Officer-Northeast Inspection Consultants SEO-Chris Martin Alt CEO-Leroy Finlon Equipment Maintenance-Hawley Garage, Kuzmiac’s Garage, Gary’s, Bill Carson Excavating Depositories-Dime Bank, PLIGIT Newspaper of Record-Tri County Independent Emergency Management Coordinator-Mike Hanf Planning Commission-Joe Kmetz, Andrea White, Paul Natale, John Morgan, Shayla Gouger Zoning Hearing Board-Robert Hochreiter, Cindy Keilar, James Gibbons Appeals Board-Casey Warnott, Rich Hillreigle, Dan Shariest, Joe Nocero, Mat George Sewer Authority Representative-Joe Kmetz Independent Contractor of Record-Carson Excavating Supervisor Kmetz made a motion to give raises to Lois Powderly from $18.00 to $19.00 an hour, Shayla Gouger from $12.00 to $13.00 an hour, and John Flanagan from $15.00 to $16.00 an hour. Chairman Steffen made a motion to accept all proposed positions and raises for 2023 Reorganization with a second from Supervisor Kmetz and all supervisors voting yes.

Treasurer’s Report was given by Lois Powderly and is on file as well as posted on the back wall. Chairman Steffen made a motion to accept the treasurers report with a second by Supervisor Kmetz and all supervisors voting yes.

Bill List number 2 was presented . Chairman Steffen made a motion to pay bill list with a second by Supervisor Kmetz and all supervisors voting yes.

First resolution of 2023 was presented. Resolution 23-01 Adopting Amended Sewage Schedule of Fees . Sewage fees have not been updated for the township since 2004 . Chairman Steffen made a motion to accept Resolution 23-01 Amended Sewage Schedule of Fees with a second from Supervisor Kmetz and all supervisors voting yes.

Police Report was given by Chief Drake and is on file. Chief Drake thanked the township for standing behind the police and supporting them . He also stated that the Hawley Police would be receiving a new 2023 Tahoe and that there are 11 officers currently on staff with almost everyday coverage.

Fire Report was given by Scott Mead and is on file .

Ambulance Report was given by Mr. Stankiewicz and is on file.

Road Report was given by Road Master Kmetz and is on file.

Correspondence - The Township received its normal newsletters, pamphlets, brochures, and magazines . We also received a thank you Letter from Hawley Fire Company in thanks for the donation.

Zoning Report was given by Paul Natale.

Conditional Use Hearing - none currently.

Planning Commission has nothing to report.

Both public hearings for the Zoning Map and Short-Term Rental are ready for the March meeting. Notices have been sent to the quarry, have been posted outside the quarry and ads are created and will be placed in reference to the Zoning Map Hearing.

Report of Digitizing Records was given by Paul Natale.

Emergency Management has nothing to report .

Crime Watch has nothing to report.

Solicitor’s Report nothing to report .

Public Comment - Lou Gruber came in to discuss last month ’ s meeting with reference to his comments and concerns for Short-Term Rentals and if they were recorded in the minutes as last month ’ s meeting was void. Mr. Gruber was assured that the minutes will still be approved and recorded, and his comments and concerns were still considered in reference to the ordinance . He also suggested that the Wayne County Planning Commission to look at our Short-Term Rental ordinance for their comments. Chairman Steffen feels that we have a strong ordinance from comments and concerns that have been heard in previous meetings and that there is no need to send it to Wayne County. Mr. Gruber had concerns about some of the ordinance, for example no tents being permitted. He feels that the section could be written better to accommodate larger properties and special situations. Chairman Steffen stated that there could be some possible rewording, but we are happy with the current direction the ordinance is headed. Mr. Gruber also inquired about the meeting minutes being posted to the website from November 2022 to the present. He was assured that the minutes will be forthcoming and posted soon.

Chairman Steffen made a motion to adjourn at 7:00 PM with a second by Supervisor Kmetz and all Supervisors voting yes.

Next scheduled meeting is Monday March 6 , 202 3 , at 5 :30 PM with the zoning Map Hearing followed at 5:45 with the Short-Term Rental Hearing. Regular business meeting will take place after.