Hatfield manager: storm, salt costs already over 2014 budget
HATFIELD — This winter’s weather has had a big impact on local budget across the region, and the news is not good for Hatfield Township’s bottom line.
Township Manager Aaron Bibro reported Wednesday that due to the nonstop winter weather, the township will have to revisit its budget later this year to make up for extra costs from storm related expenses.
“Overtime costs: we budgeted $25,000 for the entire year. We’re there. It’s February. And there are other projects that come out of that line item,” Bibro said.
Over the course of a typical year, Public Works staff can put in overtime working at Parks department summer events, and possible future storms could also cause additional overtime costs, the manager said, and staff will need to look for other areas to cut costs in order to free up funds for that overtime.
For salt purchases the costs over budget are even higher, Bibro told the township commissioners: $30,000 was included in the 2014 budget for salt, up from $20,000 last year, and as of Feb. 25 the township has bought $65,000 and used a total of 1,200 tons of salt to keep local roads clear.
“We’re doing the best we can to clear the road, but this is not something we have any control over. Maybe the commissioners thought I brought this weather with me from western Pennsylvania. I assure you, I didn’t. I would like to give it back if I could,” he said.
The shortfall of salt seen throughout the region has led Public Works crews to prioritize plowing and salting main roads, so side streets in neighborhood developments may be staying snow-covered for longer than in previous years - “The analogy one person on staff made was that we’re playing baseball without a bat.”
“We don’t have all of the supplies we need to properly provide the service to the residents, so we’re doing the best we can with the limited resources we have,” he said. Salt supplies on hand should be enough for Hatfield to handle one more large winter storm, and one is predicted for this coming weekend, Bibro told the board - “beyond that, we’re living these situations storm to storm.”
He and commissioners President Tom Zipfel both thanked Public Works crews for their dedication to keeping the roads as clean as possible, even as the long days and short nights have continued to pile up.
“35, 45 straight hours of plowing is not something I could do. There’s no possible way I could make it through without a nap, and I’ve seen how they’ve done it with nothing but a great attitude,” Bibro said.
Zipfel added thanks for the township’s police and firefighters too who have also worked long hours to keep resident safe during storms and, in his words, done “a phenomenal job under extreme conditions.”
“If not for them, we don’t get out to work, we don’t get out to the store, the kids don’t get out to go to school. They are doing the heavy lifting, the hard work, and they deserve a lot of credit,” Zipfel said.
Relating to that winter weather, two residents of Stewart Drive spoke out during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting, and asked the board and staff to enforce township regulations requiring that residents clear their sidewalks of snow within 24 hours of the end of snowfall. Bibro said staff have issued numerous citations this winter for unplowed sidewalks, and one resident has appealed their case in district court, but staff are working hard to ensure residents keep sidewalks clear for those who walk.
The resident who is challenging his citation in court contacted The Reporter and asked not to be identified, saying that he is a PECO employee who has worked nearly 200 hours of overtime in February alone, and has tried to clear his sidewalks of snow but seen it plowed there afterwards by others.
“PennDOT plows Forty Foot Road and covers the sidewalk after I clear it. Then the township comes along and piles up the snow on the corner, and there’s no way to clear an eight foot pile of snow,” he said.
“It’s ridiculous after working 16 hor days to get these warnings and a fine when I’m trying to get people’s power back on,” the resident said.
In action items approved by the board Wednesday, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve a 2014 budget for the Hatfield Township Municipal Authority that contains no rate increases; full details are included in the board’s meeting materials packet for Feb. 26.
A proposal from township traffic engineers McMahon and Associates to perform engineering work on the replacement Walnut Street bridge was also approved by the board, and Bibro reiterated that planning is expected to take the rest of 2014 with construction starting in 2015, and in March the board will discuss financing options to borrow the roughly $1.5 million needed to replace the bridge.
The boar also approved an option agreement with P3 Towers LLC which is seeking sites to install cellphone signal towers on township property; Zipfel asked for minor language revisions in the version presented to the board, and solicitor Christen Pionzio said those changes will be incorporated and a final lease agreement will still need to be negotiated before any tower is constructed.
Two other approvals were given to traffic signal modifications, one on Orvilla Road at Bethlehem Pike due to construction nearby and another moving a signal on Fairgrounds Road due to the planned renovation of Hatfield Elementary School - and Bibro told the board they could expect to see similar resolutions for traffic signal changes from now on to comply with auditor requirements.