At a regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 9 – truncated because of icy roads – the Pocopson Township supervisors disagreed on whether to study the township’s administration of duties.
Supervisor Ricki Stumpo objected to a proposed administrative study because it included exploring the possibility of whether a township manager is warranted. Stumpo said she doesn’t favor that option.
But Supervisors’ Chair Barney Leonard and Supervisor Georgia Brutscher voted to authorize the study, which passed 2-1. They said the goal would be to determine whether the township could operate more efficiently.
Leonard said the study by David Woglom would cost $2,000. Woglom, whose government career includes 20 years as borough manager in Quakertown, heads the Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College.
In response to a resident’s question, Leonard said Pocopson Township’s growth in the past decade has put a strain on the staff, with “a larger resident base making more demands” for services. “It’s a shift in the types of tasks required for our staffs,” he said.
Recruitment of a manager was estimated to cost $6,000, but Brutscher suggested that expense, as well as a manager’s salary, were “way down the line.” First, she said, the supervisors want to know if the township is operating at peak efficiency.
In other business, the supervisors unanimously praised the township’s road crew and voted 2-0 to authorize changing the three full-time workers’ overtime compensation so that it kicks in after an eight-hour shift rather than after 40 hours. Stumpo had to recuse herself because she works for the township, but she expressed support for the measure.
Leonard said the minimal difference in the township’s cost – about $1,100 per year per worker – would be offset by the boost to the crew’s morale. Brutscher said that most townships already calculate overtime after eight hours. “We’re the holdout,” she said, adding that the road employees had been “working their butts off.”
The supervisors approved a declaration of covenants and restrictions for the Hallelynn subdivision, a 10-lot development on South Wawaset Road, but they tabled a vote on a timber harvest plan for a tract on Marlborough Road.
Leonard said the applicant had received approval from the Chester County Conservation District and is permitted by law to do timbering. However, he was troubled by the fact that the plan did not include any information on the long-term goals and management of the property. In addition, it did not address the impact of removing 178 trees on neighboring properties.
After listening to concerns from some of the adjacent property owners, the supervisors said they wanted to hear from the plan’s developer as well as the property owner and would suggest that they attend the next township meeting.
A road traffic study for Denton Hollow Road, posted on the township web site at http://www.pocopson.org/roads/Denton%20Hollow%20Road%20Traffic%20Safety%20Study.pdf, elicited feedback from several residents. Sarah Mims began by thanking the supervisors for doing the report, adding that she didn’t think anyone was surprised by the results, which raise some concerns.
Her husband, Randy Mims, pointed out that 15 percent of the motorists are traveling in excess of 38 mph in the 25 mph zone. He and other neighbors acknowledged that the problem has improved since the opening of the roundabout, but they feared that the narrow, winding road would become a detour again when work begins on the Pocopson bridge reconstruction.
Several residents suggested that the state police should step up enforcement to deter speeders. Leonard said that Lt. Richard D’Ambrosio, who heads the Avondale barracks, would be speaking at the next meeting, and he urged residents to attend. He said he believed steps, such as removing vegetation and adding signage, could be taken to minimize the impact on Denton Hollow during the bridge closure, which is expected to last 18 months.
Leonard agreed with residents that PennDOT’s placement of “road closing” signs during the roundabout work encouraged drivers to use Denton Hollow as a “cut-through.” He said that the supervisors had a productive meeting with PennDOT recently and that more meetings are planned. He said he believed PennDOT would be amenable to input on sign placement. He also noted that delays might push back the start of the project until the end of the year.
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