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Upper Gwynedd Commissioners

July 23

Resident sounds off about fireworks: Upper Gwynedd officials are vowing to look into a new rule for fireworks, after complaints from a resident who heard them go off for the better part of a week earlier this month. “The Fourth of July was on a Wednesday. In my neighborhood, we had fireworks that went off that Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and we had fireworks set off again last Saturday night,” said Daren Gross of Hancock Place. Gross told the commissioners Monday night that she and other neighbors called police after hearing fireworks set off past 10 p.m. on several of those nights, and police responded as soon as possible but said the township had no local prohibition against setting them off. “I think we really need to do something about this. Personally, I think it would be great not to have any fireworks at all, but could we compromise, and have them only on the 4th, until 10 p.m.?” she said. Police Chief David Duffy said his department has fielded a total of eleven fireworks calls during the month of July, and said the department can, and does, enforce a noise ordinance prohibiting anything loud after 9 p.m. “If we do find the person, we try to start with a warning, and get their information, and if we have contact again we’ll cite,” he said. Gross said she solved her immediate problem by buying a set of earmuff headphones for her dog, which help keep the animal calm when fireworks are set off nearby. “But I still don’t want six nights of fireworks,” she said. “I don’t blame you. We will look at it,” board president Ken Kroberger replied.

••• Board opposes tax collection bill: The commissioners voted unanimously to voice their opposition to Senate Bill 653, which would consolidate collection of taxes throughout the state instead of by county. “Going this route would probably delay the timely receipt of the tax monies that we have. We also now have, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, access to the underlying tax collection data, which we use periodically,” Kroberger said. Tax collection is currently done by township tax collector Jane Murray, and county taxes are handled by Berkheimer Inc., both of which would be impacted by the proposed bill. Kroberger said the commissioners’ opposition was based on a recommendation by the Pennsylvania State Association of Townships, and as to the motivation of the bill “Why they’re doing it, I have no idea,” he said.

••• GIS proposal OK’d: The board also unanimously approved a proposal from engineering firm T & M Associates to begin developing a GIS and Geospatial database, using map-based Geographic Information Systems to begin developing a series of layered maps of all public utilities. “It’s basically a database of everything that goes in a township from a physical standpoint: traffic lights, sewers, roads, everything we’re doing every year,” said commissioner Tom Duffy. “We don’t have a program, but we collect a lot of data,” he said. Engineering consultant Russ Benner of T & M said the system would compile data already gathered by township staff and summer interns into one map-based database, which staff will be trained on how to access. “It’s very similar to building a house. The first thing you put in is a foundation, in order to build the house, and that’s what we’re doing now,” he said. “We’re organizing the data, through this particular proposal, and putting it into a format that will facilitate the data collection” in the future, Benner said. $30,000 was included in the township’s 2018 budget for developing the GIS system, and the T & M proposal comes with a price tag of $17,000, according to Township Manager Mike Lapinski. Duffy said he hopes all township departments, and the Upper Gwynedd Volunteer Fire Department, can ultimately access the GIS data from handheld devices or mobile apps once the system is fully built. “You can have an app, with all of our features, that will work right in your (fire) trucks. That’s jus tone of the things that will be available to you, once we get this all started,” Duffy said. Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.

••• Roadwork coming: Township staff also announced a series of road paving and repair projects scheduled to start on July 30 and continue over the coming weeks. Week of July 30: Flintlock Drive, General Nash Drive, Powderhorn Drive, Musket Drive, Tricorn Way, Twinlyn Drive, Patriot Drive, Supplee Road, and Garfield Park. Week of Aug. 6: Conway Place, Hartley Place, Lafayette Drive, Muhlenberg Drive, Pulaski Drive, Stirling Drive, Scott Way, McIntosh Way. Week of Aug. 13: Gwynedale Way, Supplee Road (Gwynedale portion). Week of Aug. 20: Jay’s Lane, Patty’s Circle. Week of Aug. 27: Sandy’s Lane. All schedules are subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen issues, according to township staff. Residents should be notified with door hangars roughly five days ahead of the start of work on their street, and anyone with questions is asked to call contractor Harris Blacktopping at (215) 493-4527 or Superintendent of Public Works Willard Troxel at (215) 699-7777.