December 2022 e-Newsletter |
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Lower Gwynedd Township Upcoming Meetings & Events: |
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Lower Gwynedd Township's Veterans Day Ceremony was held on Friday, November 11th, 2022, at the Township Building. Veterans were honored at the ceremony and thanked for their service to our country. |
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Republic Services will operate under a NORMAL collection schedule the week of Christmas and New Year's. Also, please be aware that we are operating under the third year of the trash collection contract with Republic Services. Effective November 1st the rates increased to $90.60 per quarter as per the approved contract.
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Republic Services will provide curbside leaf and yard waste collection on Saturday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 17th, 2022. Please put your leaves and yard waste in biodegradable bags and place them curbside by 6am on the day of the collection. This will be the final collection of the year.
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Republic Services will provide two curbside Christmas tree recycling opportunities as per the contract. These pick-up dates are scheduled for Thursday, December 29th, 2022, and Thursday, January 5th, 2023. You can also bring your Christmas trees to Ingersoll Park following the holidays. The Township Public Works Department will chip these trees for use in the community parks.
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EAC Christmas Lights Recycling- December 1, 2022-January 31, 2023; Ingersoll Park
Holiday Lights
- Drop off your non-working holiday lights at Ingersoll Park
- Look for the green & red recycling bin & deposit your lights to be recycled at Ingersoll Park
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MONTCO Small Business Grant Program Now Open |
Montgomery County is now accepting applications for their Small Business Grant Program! Focusing on minority, women, and Veteran-owned businesses, this program aims to provide financial support to small, for-profit businesses impacted by the #COVID19 pandemic. Click here for more information.
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Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan 2050 |
Just a reminder from the LGT Historic Advisory Committee that public feedback is still open for MontCo 2050, the county's long-range plan. Historic preservation of buildings, landscapes, and open space are among the many topics the county wants your take on!
The County wants to know what issues are affecting you and your neighborhood? What are our county’s strengths? Our opportunities for growth?
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With the new year approaching, we're putting out a reminder to submit a volunteer application if you have an interest in serving on a Township committee. Vacancies often become available as we get close to the end of the year, so submit an application today!
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November 5 was a beautiful day to be outside—even if that meant you were clearing trash! A stalwart, fun group of Lower Gwynedd residents spent a few hours that morning cleaning the Rte 309 ramps at Norristown Rd, which are the EAC’s adopted “Keep PA Beautiful” clean-up areas. Although PennDOT had come through ten days earlier and removed a lot of surface trash, we still filled 6 large trash bags and a 5-gallon bin (found on the ramp!) with detritus, including a pizza box, an unopened beer bottle, a roll of deer netting, a panel of foil-wrapped insulation, and lots of bottles, cans, plastic sheeting, wrappers, cigarette butts, etc. If we had brought more bags, we would have filled them!
Many thanks to the Lower Gwynedd Police Department and the Public Works Department for helping keep the area safe for us to work in and other logistics, and, as always, to the Township administrative staff for all their help and support.
Photo above shows volunteers (from left) Irene Lewis, Harry Hellerman, Steve Eissler, Lisa Brown (EAC) and Frank Helpa.
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Boards & Committee Updates |
The BOS held their first regular meeting of the month on Monday, November 7th. At this meeting the BOS were presented with a ceremonial check from Senator Collett and Representative Hanbidge (pictured at the top of this newsletter). The Township was awarded $1.325M from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP), which is a grant program administered by the Office of the Budget, for a future Public Works Building. The BOS thanked Senator Collett and Representative Hanbidge for their advocacy on behalf of the Township. The BOS approved Resolution #2022-28 formally accepting the grant. The BOS also presented a Good Citizen Award (pictured above) to resident Noah Beck for his idea to change the name of Houston Road to Phillies Road during the World Series. They also recognized Stephen DiGiovanni and John DiGiovanni from Concours Auto for making the sign. In other business, the BOS approved Resolution #2022-26 granting conditional preliminary/final approval to the Gwynedd Estates Land Development, which is a plan to construct a two-story skilled nursing building and associated parking and site improvements. The BOS also approved Resolution #2022-27 extending the posting of financial security for a period of one-year for the 776 Johns Lane Subdivision. The Interim Township Manager, Mimi Gleason, presented the proposed 2023 Budget to the BOS. The budget is presented without a tax increase. Ms. Gleason reviewed the highlights of the budget for both revenue and expenditures. The BOS authorized advertisement of the proposed budget. The budget is available to the public for review and will be before the BOS at their December meeting for action.
The BOS met for a second time on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. A public hearing was conducted for the Wissahickon School District's (WSD) conditional use application regarding a wetland encroachment. The WSD representatives presented their case explaining that the proposed conversion of the baseball, softball, and multi-use fields from grass to turf requires that they encroach into the wetland to install the drainage facilities. The BOS took the information provided by the applicant under consideration. The WSD also presented their land development application for the project noted above. The WSD is proposing to remove and upgrade the existing baseball, softball, and multi-use fields to synthetic turf. Additional improvements include new asphalt walking paths, grading alterations, and concrete spectator areas. A subsurface detention basin is also proposed. The BOS authorized the Solicitor to prepare an approval resolution for the proposed project. In other business, the BOS approved a funding request from the Historic Committee to have an inspection performed on the Ingersoll House and approved a contract from Keystone Alliance Consulting to perform a review of the sewer tapping fee. In addition, the BOS awarded bids for the Dager Road pedestrian improvement project and I&I work (cleaning and televising sewer lines) within the Township. The BOS will hold one meeting in December. This meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13th. The BOS will reorganize on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023.
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The EAC held their regular meeting on November 9, 2022. They discussed possible activities/initiatives for 2023. Potential ideas such as additional recycling opportunities, composting, establishing a "green award" and installing pollinator gardens were discussed. They also discussed expanding the tree giveaway next year. This was the last formal meeting of the EAC for 2022.
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The Zoning Hearing Board met on November 10th, 2022. Their next hearing is scheduled for December 8th, 2022.
1325 Sumneytown Pike (GMU): A-Residential District; Applicant seeks a modification of conditions imposed by prior orders related to the use of sports facilities and participation in sports events on the campus property. (Approved w/conditions)
727 Norristown Road (SHIP): D-1 Special Use District; Applicant requests a variance to permit an encroachment into the rear yard setback for an electric utility substation; or an appeal of the zoning officer's determination that the rear yard setback requirements apply to the substation. (Approved)
1005 Davis Road: A-Residential District; Applicant seeks a variance granting relief from the front-yard and side-yard setback requirements of the Lower Gwynedd Township Zoning Ordinance to facilitate an addition to an existing single-family residential dwelling.
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The HAC met on November 17th, 2022. The HAC reviewed proposals they received regarding the inspection of the Ingersoll house. They voted to request authorization from the BOS to allocate funding for this inspection. The HAC continues to discuss ways to gather more information on the historic properties within the Township. They plan to reach out to staff to see if there is any information through the Township or County GIS system that could assist them. The HAC also agreed that they will request Township staff to push out information asking the public to provide feedback on the Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan 20/50. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 2022, at 6pm.
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The PC met on Wednesday, November 16th, 2022, at 7pm. They discussed the following applications. The PC will not meet in December.
(#22-05) 1500-1524 Cedar Hill Road Subdivision (Mayer): 7-lot residential subdivision of three consolidated properties totaling 11.8 acres. The existing dwellings and impervious will be removed on two of the three parcels and one dwelling will remain on what will be considered lot #4. Six new dwellings will be constructed along with individual rain gardens on each property, a paved trail along the frontage and an area of open space. Since the last meeting the applicant provided an arborist report with landscaping plans. The report offered a combination of larger plantings and additional shrubbery to offset a portion of tree removal. Stormwater management was discussed. The PC recommended conditional preliminary/final approval to the BOS subject to the open space table being revised, a number of items being added to the plans, ZHB variance for lot#4, and compliance with the engineering review letters. Status: Pending BOS Approval.
(#22-06) 521 Houston Road Wissahickon High School Turf Field Conditional Use Application: -The WSD is required to seek conditional use approval for the proposed encroachment into the wetland buffer for the stormwater facilities associated with the turf field project that received a recommendation of approval at a prior PC meeting. The Township Engineer explained that a recommendation on the conditional use application is required in order for a formal hearing to be scheduled with the BOS. Ms. Lisa Brown of the Lower Gwynedd EAC had questions pertaining to the environmental impacts of a turf field. Her concerns included the type of material used, the amount of heat that would be generated from the field, and material from the turf washing into the waterway. Ms. Brown was encouraged to bring her concerns up when the project is before the BOS. The PC recommended the BOS approve the conditional use application. Status: Pending BOS Approval.
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The PRB held their meeting on November 15, 2022. They discussed the strategic plans for Oxford, Ingersoll, and Pen-Ambler parks. A kick-off meeting was held with staff and consultants to go over the scope and schedule for developing the plans. The PRB discussed future events and programming as well. This was the last meeting of the year as the PRB does not meet in December.
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The proposed 2023 Budget and Fiscal Plan is available for public inspection between the hours of 8:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday, except holidays, at the Lower Gwynedd Township Municipal Building. You can also find the electronic version linked here. The budget will be scheduled for action by the Board of Supervisors at their December 13th, 2022, regular meeting.
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The B&Z Department would like to remind residents that permits are required for new and replacement fences! You will need to submit a zoning permit for review and approval prior to installing a fence. The Zoning Officer will review the proposed location of the fence and make sure it complies with the standards noted in the Township Codebook.
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Lower Gwynedd Township has an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated individual to serve as the next Finance Director. Please visit the employment page of the website, linked below, to access the job description.
Lower Gwynedd Township is seeking applicants for a Public Works Assistant Director/Road Master. The Public Works Assistant Director/Road Master performs a variety of skilled and supervisory duties related to Township infrastructure, facilities maintenance and repair. This position reports directly to the Public Works Director and will be responsible for supervising full time and seasonal employees within the Public Works Department. Please visit the employment page of the website, linked below, to access the job description.
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As the Holiday season approaches and with more of us shopping online, beware of the Package Thieves, aka Porch Pirates. Cell phone cameras take great pictures of thieves. If you see a suspicious person, get a description of the person and vehicle. Also, the license plate number or best description possible and CALL 911!
Check out the holiday safety tips on our website-click here.
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Things to look for in 2023:
Events:
- Scam Presentation
- Touch -A-Truck
- Kona with Cops
- Food Drives for the Mattie D Dixon Food Cupboard
- Coffee with Cops
A new website called Crimewatch. On this website, you will find forms to sign up for programs such as:
- Do not solicit
- Safe Cam Camera Registry
- Car Seat Checks
- Right to Know
- Vacation Home Checks
- Traffic Complaints
- Non-Criminal/Criminal Fingerprinting
The Community Response Unit is always interested in receiving new ideas from the public. Together we can improve existing programs and introduce new ways to benefit our community.
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Lower Gwynedd Township
1130 North Bethlehem Pike
Spring House, PA 19477
Phone: (215) 646-5302
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Keep an eye out for our January issue! |
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