Supervisors join opposition to state telecom bill

House Bill 1620 would remove local ability to regulate wireless facilities

TOWAMENCIN » Township supervisors have added their voice to the list of local municipalities speaking out against a proposed state law.

The supervisors voted unanimously last week to formally oppose House Bill 1620, proposed legislation that would set out new rules for where communication companies can place their infrastructure.

“The board authorized a resolution essentially saying they’re opposed to House Bill 1620, and I’ve sent that to our state representative,” said Township Manager Rob Ford.

House Bill 1620, introduced to the state Legislature last summer, would amend the state’s Wireless Broadband Collocation Act of 2012 in several ways the township says would be harmful. Five specific aspects of the bill could prove problematic for local municipalities, according to Ford: Municipalities would lose most of their ability to regulate wireless towers and antennae in public rights-of-way, the fees that could be collected for them would be limited, the public would be excluded from the approval process, municipalities would be prohibited from requiring standard legal guarantees, and contractors would be allowed to submit up to 50 applications in a single bundle, with limited time for review.

Several local municipalities have already formally declared their opposition to the bill, including North Wales Borough in October and Upper Gwynedd Township in December, and the bill is currently before the state House Consumer Affairs Committee. Ford said in addition to contacting state Rep. Kate Harper, the township has also contacted a consortium of Montgomery County communities that are also jointly voicing their opposition.

In addition to a resolution opposing House Bill 1620, several other items were also approved by the board during the Jan. 10 meeting, including an application for a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Applications can be submitted for the state’s “PA Small Water and Sewer program” through Feb. 28 for grants of between $30,000 and $500,000 that must be matched by 15 percent in local funds, according to Ford. Towamencin applied for $212,500 in funds, to be matched with $37,500 from the township’s sewer capital fund. The money will be used to continue work on the township’s “I & I” — infiltration and inflow — program to repair aging sewer lines, for which $200,000 has already been budgeted.

“If we’re successful in the grant, we would use those funds to supplement our ‘I & I’ efforts. We’ve been very serious and aggressive with trying to fight that,” Ford said. “We’re seeking $212,000, and with our match it would fund a $250,000 effort to continue to get the stormwater out of our sewer lines. We’re going to continue to work on it, and then if we get the grant we’ll keep on going.”

The board also approved an agreement for staff to acquire a dump truck for the township’s Public Works Department, at a price below that originally included in the township’s budget. Staff typically wait until late in the year to make major capital purchases, Ford said, but received a discount of $38,130 on the estimated price of $200,000 for the dump truck, since the truck was used as a demonstration model.

“Usually we’d wait ’til later in the year to get those, but I think it’s such a savings that we tacked it onto the financing for the equipment from the 2017 budget, that we just finally went out and got,” Ford said.

The board also voted unanimously to name Supervisor Dan Littley to act as the township’s delegate to the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, a statewide organization that monitors and advises on issues of concern to all municipalities. Supervisor Chuck Wilson had served in that role, but starting in February Wilson will take over a leadership role for the Montgomery County Association of Township Officials, according to Ford.

The board also named resident Peter Murphy to serve on the township’s Open Space and Parks Committee, according to the manager, and that group plans to oversee utility upgrades to the township’s Grist Mill, Butch Clemens and Green Lane parks over the course of 2018.

Towamencin supervisors next meet at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road.