Lesson learned (again)

My bad.  I never listen to my gut. I must have a body language that says, “Sure, I’m a sucker!” because every time I get ripped off.

In this case, I was shopping for a beta biothane harness for Bee. Sturdy, to hold up to distance driving, so I could do driving CTRs with her in 2023.  Many people had harness available and prices were very steep.

This woman reached out that she had two harnesses, a no-name for $650 and a Yonnies for $800.

https://www.facebook.com/fortorafarms?mibextid=ZbWKwL

or maybe this one … https://www.facebook.com/julie.capone.549

or could be this one … https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058598470788

Not sure, sent messages to all three Julie Forsyth that live in Morriston, FL.  Ugh

I have been notified by several local people that this is her information and this is tyupical of her to be untruthful:

Julie Forsyth    perfectponyandpup@gmail.com

2251 SE 136th Avenue ,    Morriston, FL 32668, 570. 236 8656

I asked her to send me photos. I looked at both the Yonnies and the No-name. I liked the look of the no-name, it looked very sturdy and the price was remarkable.

She said this was a 13.5 hand pony.  I should have stopped right there and said she has no clue.  We all know there is no such thing as a .5 in a horse measurement.

 

 

 

But, I ignored my gut as I was taken by the harness.  I looked her up on Facebook, she looked legit so I gave her the benefit of the doubt and asked for some close up photos because I was very interested but wanted to make sure it was quick release shaft hoops.  It was difficult to tell from the pony picture. (Note here, she had sent me two sets of pictures – an all black harness and a black and brown harness.  The Black and brown was the Yonnies.  The all black was the no-name)

Oh, I am totally sold on this harness so I asked Julie if she takes PayPal so I can send her money right away.  Oh no, she only does check or cash.  No Paypal.

MY GOD DODIE, walk away … just walk away and keep shopping.  But no, I asked her where she lived and she’s deep in the middle of Florida Endurance Rider territory. I figure I can have someone I know go see the harness and pay for it.  Then I know it’s not a scam.  I did find a wonderful person to do just that.  I sent them the money, they met up with Julie and got the harness and shipped it to me.  I am soooo excited to get it.

And when it arrived, this is what I got.

A bridle that looks like it is cobbled together from three different bridles. And no over check strap or reins. I specifically asked if the reins were included. The saddle and breeching is obviously not the same as in the pictures sent to me.  So I reached out to Julie and was like, “Uhm, this isn’t right.”

 

 

 

And this is the last message I had back from Julie.  She is now ghosting me.  I have reached out to her on Facebook, through Messenger, on her cell phone and no response at all.  In fact, if you see here, the messages are being delivered but not being read.

Sadly, once again I have been the victim of a total scam artist.  I am sharing this blog so that other people to do fall into her traps because apparently she still has other harnesses for sale … including the one I though I bought.

COVID-19 not what they thought …

… but no-one comes forward in the MEDIA to recognize that.  Please take the time to read the below and visit the weblinks.  This information is dated May 21, 2020.

I must take a somber moment here to state that from DAY 1 of this, I have been on the front line fighting for “responsibility of ones self” and I have been afraid.  I have lost friends because I refused to be afraid and contain myself in a bubble.  I have lost my freedom when “tattletales” turned me in for not being afraid and not locking myself in my house.  I lost my business because more “tattletales” called the government and turned us in so we were not allowed to work (how does one man, our governor, have the power to determine what businesses are life-essential and which ones are not?).  And there is nothing I can do alone correct any of this.  Not a damn thing.

CDC quietly releases the numbers on SARS-COV2.

Where’s the coverage, media??

Press releases appear to only matter when they can cause a frenzy.

Just to update:

*Ro = 2.5

* NOTHING to indicate it lives or spreads from surfaces (testing now completed via lab on May 20, 2020)

* NOTHING to indicate any transfer opportunities from an Asymptomatic Carrier (testing now complete via CDC May 19, 2020)

* NOTHING to indicate that you can be re-infected (testing now completed on the prior suspected reinfections showed the tests hit positive on dead virus because the tests couldn’t distinguish live from dead at that time May 20, 2020)

* The new death rate is .26% (0.0026). This includes people who died in hospices from existing disease, traumas and other causes of deaths who cultured positive post mortem or didn’t culture at all but lives with someone who did.

As reference, the flu is 0.1-0.3%

Ro and SCFR by age and new links in this CDC page. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavir…/…/hcp/planning-scenarios.html

Explains what you’re looking at on the CDC page
https://www.conservativereview.com/…/horowitz-cdc-confirms…/

Further corroborates.
https://swprs.org/a-swiss-doctor-on-covid-19/

Surfaces
https://www.foxnews.com/…/cdc-now-says-coronavirus-does-not…

Asymptomatic carriers
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32405162/…
“…there has been no documented asymptomatic transmission.”
https://www.who.int/…/situa…/20200402-sitrep-73-covid-19.pdf

Reinfections
https://www.sciencenews.org/…/coronavirus-covid19-reinfecti…

AND lastly, how these mistakes have cost our country billions of dollars.

https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/611935/

Are you angry yet? We destroyed the economy over this. We tore apart friends and families over this. We attacked our fellow AMERICANS over this. THEY MANIPULATED OUR EMOTIONS over this.

For what? To make money. For a “treatment” with a cost of $1000 per dose that showed a measly 3.6% drop in fatality rate, and a reduction in ICU from 15 to a “whopping” 11 days as a standard of care (remdesivir)? Despite ample data that another cheaper treatment at 60¢ per dose that works when given early and paired with zinc. Have you seen one hydroxychloroquine study that was done where they gave it at the onset of symptoms and paired it with zinc? No. You saw one where they gave it as a last ditch Hail Mary when it was already too late for antivirals to work, and no mention of zinc.

https://aapsonline.org/a-tale-of-two-drugs-money-vs-medica…/

Why? Nothing could interfere with the $750 BILLION they stand to gain from the vaccine for the entire planet.

Profits over science. Profits over LIVES and livelihoods!!

And to chip away at our freedoms.

Time to get angry at the SOURCE. And not each other. STAND TOGETHER and FIGHT for our constitutional LIBERTIES before it’s TOO LATE.

Let me be clear. The media (most of them) are the problem. But the SOURCE is the pharmaceutical interests that fund them, and threaten them, control them. The puppet masters need to be stopped.

Small Business dies from COVID-19

Imagine my surprise to wake up on the morning of March 16, 2020 and have our state governor, Tom Wolf, order people to stay home and stay safe.  From a virus. An invisible flu-like disease.

WHAT?

People must be allowed to take responsibility for their own choices.

WE ARE NOT IN THE SAME BOAT … I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it’s not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.

For some, quarantine is optimal. A moment of reflection, of re-connection, easy in flip flops, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate financial & family crisis.

For some that live alone they’re facing endless loneliness. While for others it is peace, rest & time with their mother, father, sons & daughters.

With the $600 weekly increase in unemployment some are bringing in more money to their households than they were working.

Others are working more hours for less money due to pay cuts or loss in sales.

And even others receive nothing from their state or federal governments yet they are not allowed to go out and make money to support their family’s needs.

Some families of 4 just received $3400 from the stimulus while other families of 4 saw $0.

Some were concerned about getting a certain candy for Easter while others were concerned if there would be enough bread, milk and eggs for the weekend.

Some want to go back to work because they don’t qualify for unemployment and are running out of money.

Others want to murder and maim those who break the quarantine.

Some are home spending 2-3 hours/day helping their child with online schooling while others are spending 2-3 hours/day to educate their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday.

Some have experienced the near death of the virus, some have already lost someone from it and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it.

Others don’t believe this is a big deal.

Some have faith in God and expect miracles during this 2020. Others say the worst is yet to come.

So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different.

Each of us will emerge, in our own way, from this storm. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, actually seeing.

We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey. Keep this in mind as your scroll through Facebook, Twitter and other social media and be kind. Remember, your boat may be safe but others may be sinking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, of course, I (like many other people) ignored him and went about our business.  The world is in a panic.  People are dying from Coronavirus (yes, and people die from the flu during flu season, and people die from pneumonia during pneumonia season) … but we are told to stay home, be safe and don’t come in contact with people who could be carrying the virus.

WHY?  Shouldn’t we all get exposed, get sick, develop immunity and go about our business?  Just like during flu season?

March 27, Governor Wolf shuts down all nonessential businesses until April 30. 2020.

Uhm, my husband and I own and operate a small business.  It is our only source of income.  And how are we supposed to pay business vendors, pay the mortgage, pay the auto loans, pay insurance???

Excuse me?

And, like many other small businesses that were considered nonessential, we ignored Governor Wolf and continued to operate.

But people are scared.  They are not calling for appointments, and the appointments that are already on the schedule are being cancelled.  In the first four weeks (March 16 to April 11, our second busiest season of the year, we only had about $3,000 in appointments.  A time period in which we would have generated about $10,000 in appointments.

How do we pay our bills?

We reached out to the three auto loans (loans for vehicles to run in our business).  I will say this.  If you ever get an auto loan, do it with Chase Auto.  They responded to us immediately, took three months of loan payments (April, May and June) and put them on the back of our loan.  Thanked us for our patronage, and hoped we are being safe and healthy.

The other two loan companies?  As of today’s writing (April 20, 2020) we have sent three requests for assistance and have had zero response back.  Valley National Bank and PNC Bank. Well guess what?  We have no money, we will not be paying our auto loan this month.

We reached out to our mortgage company, Rushmore Loan Management Services, for help. We applied through their COVID Resources link on their website.  Their response to us came in a week.  They said, “Sorry you have no money, pay your mortgage.”

Hey, thanks for that.  We have no money so obviously we cannot make the mortgage payment for April.

In the meantime, we are barely making a minimum payment on the business lines of credit. January and February are typically the two slowest months of the year for our business.  We skips some payments knowing we can catch up, and usually get ahead in March and April.  We’ve been doing that since 1993, when we established our business.

We had no idea that we would not be able to catch up is 2020.

We are not a public store.  We are not a public shop. We are an essential service for the health and hygiene of pets.  We travel to their home and we never see more than four or five customers in a day.

We decided we had to get to work or we were going to go bankrupt. We started taking calls again on April 9. We understand the seriousness of this virus and we have taken safety measures to keep us, and our customers, safe. We are working in garages, away from the customer. We are sterilizing everything in between customer visits.  We are wearing masks, a new mask at each customer.  We are washing our masks in the evening in soap and bleach.

We receive a call from the Pennsylvania State Police on April 14th.  Five days after we decided to start working again because we were out of money. There has been a complaint that we are conducting business.  Is this true?  I am honest.  Yes.

The State Police officer reviews our situation, understands how we are working, and says as far as he is concerned, we are not causing a health concern and we should be allowed to work, but .. .BUT …  the governor has already determined that some of our services are nonessential.  Some of them are essential and we can perform those services, but not the other services.  And if there is a second complaint, we can be fined, put in jail and lose our business license.

So. We. Shutdown. Again.

Do we get PA unemployment?  No

Did we apply for EIDL? Yes, we have not heard a peep from SBA on this application.

Did we apply for PPE? Yes, we were denied.

Did we apply for PAU unemployment? Yes, on April 19th. And guess what? We were told that the site isn’t ready to accept claim input yet.

And so, we are on week six with no money coming in.

There was a major protest in harrisburg today, begging the Governor to reopen the state on May 1st.  his response to that?  He is ordering us to “stay at home” until May 8th.

Governor Wolf?  I have no money for food.  I have to work. The government has not helped me, a small business owner.  I am going back to work now and if you choose to arrest me, fine me, throw me in jail and take away my business license, then so be it.

This is not how I expected my life to go.  We had just hired two new employees last fall.  They are now on unemployment making money while I have no money.

This is not how I expected my life to go. I am ordered to stay home and be safe, but I truly believe that we are all going to be exposed at some point to this virus so just go out, get exposed and get it over with so we can get on with our lives.

This is not how I expected my life to go. I see the writing on the wall.  I can lose everything … house, cars, business … and all I can do is roll with the punches as they land.

This is not how I expected my life to go.  An average of 7,500 people die every day in America.  During flu season, that number is in the hundreds … no-one ever says a word about that.  During the summer, hundreds of people die every day in auto and boating accidents.  During pneumonia season, hundreds of people die … no-one ever says a word about that.

April 20, 2020

 

 

 

 

Censorship in Greenwich Twp?

Good morning Readers … we had a ton of fun at the recent Board of Supervisors meeting this past Monday, October 7th.  If you were unable to attend, let me give you some highlights.  The actual meeting notes are posted on the Greenwich Township Community Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/170215060197261/ so please go there to review facts.

This blog, while being factual, will also contain opinions and emotional responses … this is where the adventure begins.  Should you care to spend an hour and a half of your day listening to the meeting, I will give you the link to the audio file here https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_-0WdWcxJFBC-UQlbp2G9gijdeL5SHD3

I would like to say (before I get started) I am really tired of the Board of Supervisors always busting on the residents that they only show up to the meetings when there is something the resident is concerned about and don’t come to the meetings all the time.  Well, if all 3,000 plus residents came to every meeting, where would they sit???  Or park???  It is a fact of life that a resident will come to a meeting when there is something being discussed that affects them.  SO STOP SAYING THAT ALL THE TIME. Since this warehouse project was publicly announced, Marc and I have been to nearly every Board of Supervisors meeting and nearly every Planning Commission meeting and every Zoning Board Hearing whether they were about the warehouse or something else. (we have missed three due to personal illness and a family funeral)

And to Mr. Victor Berger … I have answered  your question (Where should we put a warehouse), several times over the past three years.  I have also presented documentation from the State Of Pennsylvania regarding township zoning (that it should be reviewed every five to seven years and possibly changed!!!) You and your board members and your solicitor have totally ignored that information…which came directly from the State of Pennsylvania.  My Response: The industrial zone should be south of I-78.

Public Opinion from Krumsville Community Coalition: “And just because an area is zoned industrial and warehouses are allowed (we’ve never argued that they could not build a warehouse there, just not that particular approx 500,000 sq ft monstrosity), it doesn’t mean that a warehouse that creates a public safety issue and will negatively affect property values should be allowed. In fact, there are two zoning ordinances that specifically address this…so why are they not being enforced or the plans being denied based on those?”

Let’s get this one out of the way quickly.  The township sent a letter to PennDOT asking them (one last time) if they – PennDOT – has done a thorough review on the intersection and the safety of that intersection.  In true PennDOT fashion, they did not answer that question at all … so we sent our own letter back to PennDOT and copied most the people that attended the meeting in November 2017.  Read the three letters here. PennDOTletter101519plus I am wondering if the township solicitors will take notice that the PennDOT responding letter did not answer their question and send their OWN response back to PennDOT.  Hmmmm

Also notice that at no time does PENNDOT claim the intersection will be safe – they say the developer had met all requirement and regulations, they say the intersection meets service level requirements…but in 2017 the District 5 head, Dennis Toomey, admitted in a public meeting that the intersection was a “known issue and they had no plans to do anything about”.

ENGINE RETARDER ORDINANCE AND SIGNS.  Mr. Berger, I looked back over the meeting notes for the past six months.  Yes, we did discuss it last month (September).  And the month before (August), and the month before (July) and the month before (June) and the month before (May).  I brought this up originally in April 2019.  I brought you the paperwork that PennDOT requires.  It’s very simple. And I asked about it every month since then. The Board of Supervisors and the Solicitor have not always had a response every month, but I have brought it up every single month.  THIS IS A RESIDENT ISSUE.  The jake-braking along Old Route 22 past the Highland Estates and in the Krumsville intersection is disturbing life for these residents.  The dump trucks and tractor trailers are using their engine retarders unnecessarily all day and all night. I invite you to move into one of the mobile homes along Old Route 22 or in a house in the Krumsville Village for just one week. ONE WEEK of interrupted sleep and the inability to leave windows open for fresh air and you will stop putting this off and pointing fingers and get this ordinance and in place and signs posted. NOTE: If the townships along Route 100 can get signage for NO ENGINE RETARDER, then we should certainly be able to get the same signage.

Now let’s discuss a post I put out on Facebook … I will admit that I engaged in censorship because I removed the original post, an angry, vulgar post by a resident which contained cursing, accusations and direct finger pointing.  I replaced that post with my own post

which was asking a question. The Board of Supervisors held and Executive Session at the Township building the evening of October 2, 2019.  My post was taken totally out of context, it was construed that I was insinuating the Board of Supervisors was doing something wrong, the solicitor and board were totally defensive about this.  HEY!  We do know that the Board of Supervisors will (and do) have executive meetings.  Usually they are held just before, or just after, the normal meeting.  This was (apparently) unusual to have the meeting on a different day. Eleven residents reached out to me (one of those residents had seen the first (ugly) post and asked me to remove it.)

Alex (the solicitor) asked me to refrain was putting inflammatory posts on Facebook. (Censorship?) Little did he know about the post I removed … in retrospect, I kinda wish I had left that post there so they could see how the residents REALLY feel about their township leaders.  (sigh) Problem is there is very little trust between residents and township leaders due to the township leaders tendency to withhold information, redirect conversations without answering questions and previous blatant untruths about the pending warehouse project. ( I will refer you back to the posted timeline in which although Sketch Plans for the original warehouse project had been submitted to the township, Mr. Berger went on record, after that submission, at a public meeting stating, “There is nothing to rumors that a warehouse is going to be built at the intersection of Route 737 and Long Lane.”

 Alex (the solicitor) admitted that HE was stoked by this post.  I asked the room (57 people in attendance tonight) if anyone else was “stoked” by this post. On a small level (six people, all the Planning Commission members in attendance and two residents) admitted they were “stoked” by this post. The rest of room was shaking their head negatively that they were not stoked.

We use the Facebook Group to keep residents updated on information … I, and all the members of the Facebook Group, have the right to post whatever they wish if it is related to township (and adjacent township) things that affect them.  I do monitor the posts and there are rules on the Facebook Groups that there is not allowed cursing or snarkiness.

NOW!  I ask Alex (solicitor) … what about censoring your Township Officials.  In case they decide to go out and delete their posts off the Facebook Groups, I have screen shots of their snarky posts.  Posts that bust on me, bust on Fred, bust on Kay (specifically) and they have busted on other residents who chose to post negatively about the Board of Supervisor members or the Planning Commission members.  WHY WERE THEY NOT PUBLICLY WHIPPED ABOUT THEIR POSTS??? Personally, if that post affronted Alex, and whomever sent Alex the email, so much – they could have simply picked up the phone and called me and asked me to remove it or reword it and I would have! It was not meant to enrage anyone.  It was simply asking the question that the residents were asking. Instead, Alex (solicitor) chose to publicly beat me up about that post.  Gee, thanks for that.  And we wonder why you feel there is a rift between the residents and the township officials.

One of the residents asked at the meeting tonight why Victor is always calling out Dodie, or The Deitrichs, or Fred … My unspoken response to that is because we are the vocal ones at the meetings, asking questions, demanding answers and not letting sleeping dogs lie … we keep prodding those sleeping dogs over and over and so we are the ones that get bit on a regular basis.

I do not attend the meetings just for the warehouse project battle.  I have become thirsty for truth in our township.  I share that truth to the residents that care to read about it. I refuse to censor my posts or my blog so that the feelings of the members of the board or planning commission or the solicitor are not “hurt” or their emotions are not “stoked”. It is my right and I will exercise my right.

August 2019 BoS meeting

Well now.  If you attended the PC meeting in July 2019, you know that after reviewing a multitude of outstanding items on the current plans, the JVI developer’s attorney asked for a deicision, and no they did not want an extension because it was time to make a decision as they were not going to keep making repairations to the plans until they knew that the township was going to accept the plans.

WHAT?

So, the Planning Commission stated clearly that as they did not want an extension, but wanted a decision … and there were too many outstanding items to be able to approve the plans at this time … the decision was to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to deny the plans as they are.

Okay.  Skip forward a week and the JVI Developer’s attorney sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors requesting a 30 day extension so they could fix one item on the plans.

Really?  I though you didn’t WANT or NEED an extension.

Now we are at the August Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting went a little long as they covered many items not even on the agenda.  And they were items that the Krumsville Community Coalition had presented so I’m really glad I was at the meeting!!!

Harmike Investments requested an extension to November to have time to obtain the rest of their permits so their plan could be moved from Preliminary to Final. (The is the gas station project) The extension was granted.

Crossroads X#2 requested an extension to September to have time to fix one item on their plan.  The township solicitor, Alex, stated that if they granted the extension, since it was just one item on the plans, it would have take the plans back to the PC for review, but would just need to be voted on by the Board of Supervisors.  (I don’t understand.  If they make a change to the plan, doesn’t our township engineer have to review that change, and doesn’t that change have to be reviewed by our Planning Commission?) The BoS granted the extension.

H&K Group had several things to discuss with the BoS.

  1. Using property across from the school for concrete making for the highway project.  They guarantee they will use flaggers during school hours to keep traffic safe and they expect this land to be used for the next four years.
  2. They are closing Stump Road for two weeks 08-12 to 08-25 so they can safely move dirt from one side of the highway project to the other side.  Signs will be posted and the detour route will be laid out on their website for review.
  3. They encourage the community to visit their headquarters to learn where the project is in it’s construction and to ask any questions or give comment or complaint.  They said they clearly want an open door policy with the community.

Friend INC Community Services is holding their annual “Brake for Cycle of Poverty” bike run on Saturday August 10th and they were requesting persmission to be on the Greenwich Twp roads during this event.  Our township solicitor (Alex) was hesitant to grant them anything (since they’ve been doing it already for several years without any kind of permission) as it may open the twp to a liability.

New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co is asking for a temporary Trailer and electric hookup on Twp property for their Old Route 22 repair project which is to begin August 12th and run through October 15th. (This cracks me up.  While the highway project is going on, and dump trucks are running up and down Old Rt 22 loading and unloading dirt, PennDOT hired these people to repair Old Route 22.  Now how is that going to work?  And why repair it now when the heavy truck traffic over the next three years is just going to tear it up again.  Our tax dollars hard at work) The BoS granted a them a lease of $1000/month for that time frame.  BEWARE, this is probably going to cause delays from Krumsville to Lenhartsville over the next several months.  I can’t wait until I-78 has a detour while their doing this repair work.

Zettlemoyer Bridge project is FINALLY getting underway.  Contractor starting August 28 and finishing November 10, 2019.

NOT ON THE AGENDA was some old business.  We (Krumsville Community Coalition) have been requesting some things we wanted the BoS to look into since February 2019.  Apparently, they finally looked into them and had answers.

Actually, we only had one item we were still pursuing as Dan Becker pretty clearly told us at the July meeting that the Board of Supervisors was not going to get involved in any of our concerns.  (See meeting notes. – anyone wishing to hear the July 2019 meeting recording, we have it shared to a Google drive for your review) So imaging our susrprise when Victor said they would review all five items with  us.

  1. JAKE BRAKE ORDINANCE.  The BoS will be asking PennDOT to come and do a study on the grade of the roads and complete the forms necessary, if PennDOT approves, to put signage in the Krumsville intersection.  The BoS says they cannot authorize signs along Old Route 22 on the hill up and down at the Mobile Home Park because if they do, then other people will be asking for signage. So, if you are one of the 27 people that asked me to make thie request on your behalf, please reach out to the BoS in a petition format and provide them a listing of the times of day this is occurring (specifically the late night, early morning times) I am sorry they denied you some peace and quiet along Old Route 22.
  2. FALSE ALARM ORDINANCE. (Brought up by the fire consultant on two different reviews) Dean had pretty much shut us down on this last month stating that it would cause a lot of costs to residences … and that was backed up by Dan Becker. Imagine our surprise that this was brought up.  They did list out that there were not that many false alarms right now, and there was really just one company, Dietrich Meats, that generated most the false alarm calls. So they tabled this ordinance for now.
  3. FIRE CODE ORDINANCE.  We’ve been asking the township to adopt the Appendix D of the 2015 International Fire Code into the ordinances? Pete explained that this is really covered by our SALDO, section 515. Also, if they adopt the code as verbatium, it will open the township up to lawsuits as people will says that they (the twp) are precluding them from building anything on their commercial or industrial property.  Uhm, no .. a long and narrow property like JVI purchased will pass the Appendix D Code, if the building is under 200,000 square feet.  So no, the BoS will not be adding this to the ordinances.
  4. SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS for warehousing. We had presented, in November, January and again in April, why we felt our township Special Exceptions was kinda weak (only has two items on it) We sent four examples from four different townships on their warehouse construction special exceptions.  Apparently, Pete only had one of the four examples and he used that to lay out that pretty much everything in that example was somewhere in our ordinance so they are not going to double up the work and add it to the Special Exceptions.
  5. HOP PETITION TO APPEAL … oh boy, here is a real can of worms. We presented in June and asked the BoS to help us.  We gave them them the website, forms, and other onfo and filing an appeal against the HOP should PennDOT approve it for the JVI warehouse project.  The BoS said they’d look into it.  Then in July, I asked if they had the opportunity to look at it.  The board members all said no and this was when Dan Becker jumped all over our request stating that the board had no interest in being involved in appealing the HOP and if we wanted to file an appeal, then they could look at it, but they weren’t going to do it.  (Again, you are welcome to listen to the meeting recording, I have it out on Google docs, email me and I’ll send you the link) Our attorney was at this meeting, and he told me after the meeting that he was shocked by the response from both the board and Dan regarding this matter.  NOW, at today’s meeting, Alex brought it up stating that my blog last month caused some trust issues because the blog busted on Dan Becker for his responses to our requests.  (LISTEN TO THE MEETING RECORDING!)  Also, Alex did some research into it the HOP appeal and there has to be a legal reason for the township to get involved.  As it is right now, there is no legal reason.  Marc argued that there was legal reasons (ordinance 802, safety in the intersection for the community – health/wealth for the community surrounding the warehouse as property values would go down.) Fred argued that the storm drainage system was going to cause community health issues. AND WHAT ABOUT the illegal deed transfer of the parcel of land that gives the warehouse the necessary right of way for LOS and expanding RT 737 for a turning lane?  At this time, the BoS has no intention of filing a petition for appeal against the HOP.

 

I-78 Woes

01-07-2019 .. In the interest of community information, I-78 has had three major accidents on the 16 mile “death zone” between Hamburg and New Smithville. December 27th, January 2nd and now January 7th.  We noted that although traffic was detoured off I-78 through the Krumsville intersection, we did not have the Kempton Bad Boys out there directing traffic.  Due to that fact, we once again monitored the intersection for informational purposes.

(I have multiple videos of detours dating back to 2017 … showing the dangers of this intersection during traffic detours)

We did wonder why traffic control was not brought to Krumsville, when I-78 was closed west bound (click here to read the article on our latest I-78 misadventure)  and at the same time east bound was detouring onto the shoulder due to both lanes being blocked by the second accident.  Historically, when a major I-78 detour occurred, we had traffic control help in the intersection provided by Kempton, Virginville or Kutztown fire departments. We did catch on the intersection monitoring cameras, three separate fender benders in the intersection during this 6 hour long detour. One of those was a hit and run.

Then this article was posted. (click here to read it)

Date set for talks with state The issue is likely to be discussed at a meeting Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. in the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency building at the former Hamburg Center on Old Route 22, officials said.

WELL THEN!  I cannot blame the local fire departments for refusing to spend precious dollars on traffic control when the state will not help them with the costs.

It is time for us, the residents, and them, the township governing body, to demand that PennDOT deny the developer, JVI, the HOP (highway occupancy permit) to build their warehouse half a mile north of this intersection.  I-78 resides 400 feet south of this intersection and with I-78 detours becoming the norm, warehouse generated traffic through this intersection is going to be deadly to local residents and area travelers.

Our township can, and should be, involved in the HOP process.  Here is a link to the HOP process.  According to page 3 under the section titled “Municipalities”, Greenwich Twp does have a say in the process and we have asked, repeatedly at public meetings that they get involved.  The answer we receive each time is shrug, hands thrown up in the air and the comment, “We have tried to talk to PennDOT and they will not work with us.”  I totally understand that response as we have had the exact same experience.

We have reached out to Leslie Richards directly with phone calls, emails and letters, and have reached out to her through her office staff with phone calls, emails and letters.  At this time we have received two “form letters” from her … and she believes she is “for the people” and stated on a public newscast that she is “for the people”.  Well then Miss Richards, get your ass out here and review the reams of paperwork, documentation, videos and photos we have on this intersection and then instruct your PennDOT to deny the HOP to the developer, JVI of Crossroads X2.

And Leslie, should you happen to take the time to read this blogs, and the multiple other blogs on this website, and you would like to listen to the four hour long PennDOT meeting we had, I have that meeting on tape.  You can hear every single issue and concern the Greenwich Township and Krumsville residents presented at that meeting … with documentation, photos, video, etc.

We have had multiple meetings with PennDOT, our Senator Argall, and State Representative Jerry Knowles regarding this intersection.  Every single one of these meetings had no resolution, finger pointing and responsibility directed to another government agency.  Well boys, we have done the three ring circus, spoken with every state government agency and yet nothing has been accomplished.

When did government STOP being “By the people, For the people”. When did our local governing body stop trying to protect their residents?  Why, after hundreds of photos, dozens of videos and 200 residents standing up to shout, does PennDOT ignore the fact that this Krumsville intersection is not able to handle any amount of warehouse traffic?

Now, let’s stop to ponder – what is going to happen to this intersection over the next four years while PennDOT is widening the road, shoving traffic through cattle chutes and causing major traffic backups, which will detour off the highway onto Old Route 22 and through the Lenhartsville and Krumsville teeny tiny intersections.  Where is the safety concerns for residents of those towns?

And how on earth, knowing this construction project is to begin shortly, can PennDOT approve an HOP for a warehouse just north of the Krumsville intersection?

 

 

Crossroads X Plan #2, rev 2

Planning Commission meeting 10-15-2018 was very interesting.  This was the final meeting for our township to make a decision on the Crossroads X Plan #2, Revision #2. A plan that our township only received on September 25th, 2018.  A mere three weeks before the deadline.

LTL Engineering rocks!  In three weeks they managed to get through the new plan revision and had a 16 page review letter ready to go. LTL_review_101218  Not only that, but our township rocks as they had the new Fire Code Consultant ready to go and he also had a 14 page review ready to go. Fire_Review_101518

Due to some issues in the past, regarding Crossroads X and a couple other plans submitted to the township, in which the public (residents of Greenwich Township) felt that the plans were not being reviewed openly, nor honestly, our township has changed how the reviews are being handled.  We saw this with the gas station/convenience store plans and again tonight with the warehouse plans.  Basically, the developer engineer and our township engineer, cannot discuss the plans or the plan reviews except at a public meeting. While this can be cumbersome, it has eliminated a lot of the negative comments from residents on social media.

With that said, our Planning Commission and our township engineer had 24 pages of reviews to discuss.  The meeting started at 7:30 pm and ended at 10:00 pm. At the end of the meeting, JVI granted a 90 extension for our township and their engineers to make the plans compliant with the two reviews.  That extension will expired at the January 24th, 2019 Planning Commission meeting.

As soon as I get copied of the two reviews, I will post them here for everyone to read.  I am going to just give you the gist of the reviews here.

One item I need to comment on here, is the illegal subdivision and consequent sale of a piece of land easement from Ken Thompson to JVI prior to Mr. Thompson selling the entire property.  This was brought up and LTL has recommended that JVI present the subdivision to the Zoning Board for review because there could be issues with property boundries and location of the house or the well or the septic.  Here is a case of the developer preferring to ask for forgiveness instead of asking for permission. I believe, that after they go through their subdivision (after the fact) hearing, that they be charged with a hefty fine for violating our township SALDO.

The meeting was video taped by the new attorney for the developer, stating that since there is not an email trail between engineers, there needs to be documentation of the verbal discussion.  The township requested copies of the video tape for their own records and the new attorney agreed to provide that to them.

ENGINEERING REVIEW:

Still a lot of items that are not in compliance.  Most of them are simply technical data issues that needs to be rewritten as apples to apples instead of apples to oranges.  Easily fixed.

(1) The road easement noted above and widening the road will add more water runoff onto a neighboring property. This was discussed a few moments and determined it was a matter for PennDOT.

(2) Our ordinances require new developments to add curbing and sidewalks.  JVI wants a waiver. This was discussed and again, PennDOT was brought up.

It was then determined that they probably needed to get a meeting setup with PennDOT, JVI Engineer and our Township engineer.  I made a request that we (the Greenwich Two residents) be notified of that meeting and be allowed to attend the meeting … especially since JVI attended OUR resident PennDOT meeting last November, and without an invitation.

(3) There was a LOT of discussion about the sewage treatment as they completely revamped their plants to have a small treatment plant with discharge onsite.  Great.

(4) Most their permits are not obtained at this time.  Their attorney said that was because they wanted to be sure their plans would be acceptable before they went to the expense of getting the permits (mostly regarding the installation of a small sewage treatment plant)

(5) Our ordinances require 10% of paved parking areas to be landscaped.  Their attorney said that was not possible given the small area for the truck parking area and if the township wouldn’t give them a waiver on that, then the township would be  inhibiting their ability to build the warehouse.  (No, you can build the warehouse, shrink it down so that the parking area can be larger to you can have 10% of it landscaped.)  It is our ordinance, make your plans fit our laws, do not ask us to waive our laws to fit your warehouse.

(6) LTL has in their review letter Ordinance 802.  This is directly related to the health, wealth and welfare of the residents.  At this time, the developer has not presented to the township how they intend to make the Krumsville 5 point intersection safe for truck traffic, they have not presented how they will prevent the surrounding properties from losing property value, and they have not presented how they will adhere to the HUD Noise and Pollution laws instated in Pennsylvania in 2009.  In fact, when this section of the engineering review letter was read aloud, no-one had any comment at all.

And there are many small minor items that will be easily remedied.

FIRE CONSULTANT REVIEW

The recommendations from the Fire Code Consultant were remarkable.  As soon as I get a copy I will put it here for you to read.  He pretty much advised the township many of the “needs” that we had already put before the Board of Supervisors and added in several more items that we didn’t know about, but surely made sense.

(1) For a warehouse this size, they need not one, but two emergency access roads.

(2) All entrances need to be separated by a calculation of one half the diagonal of the property (we had brought this before the township and was one of the reasons they rejected the first set of plans)

(3) The grade of the emergency access roads is not to exceed 6% … based on their current plans, the emergency access road will have a grade greater than this.  reason for this is the length and rear hang of most larger fire trucks.

(4) This one really caught my attention.  A building this size, with the distance away from large water sources such as ponds and streams, would require as many as 12 firetrucks running in a convoy to provide enough water to effectively fight a fire.  Recommendation for an increase in the size of the water holding tank the developer had proposed.  AND, based on the 5 to 10 gallons per minute pump to refill the tank, should it need to be used – or after an inspection when it is emptied – the building should be evacuated and closed until the water tank is refilled.

(5) Roadways on the property should be built to withstand the weight of a large fire truck, 82,000 pounds.  This is twice the normal weight of a tractor trailer.

(6) Turns should be made to accommodate a large fire truck.  Current plans do not have enough turning radius for emergency vehicles to access all sides of the building.

And then there’s the recommendations for onsite, trained personnel for emergencies – not just fire, but accidents, etc based on the run-times for outside emergency personnel to arrive on site.  It was a very in depth look at what can go wrong and how the township can help to keep residents safe during an emergency at this location.

All in all, a very good meeting.  Very informative and it gave us a ton of information to research before the next meeting in November 2018.

Reading Eagle article

Ron Devlin | Reporter/columnist
610-371-5030
Ron Devlin covers Kutztown and Brandywine Heights School Districts for the Reading Eagle.

Greenwich supervisor says township spent tens of thousands on warehouse proposal

The board also voted to pay a fire suppression consultant $3,100 to review the Crossroads X plans.

Greenwich Township, PA —

In the general scheme of things, spending a few thousand dollars isn’t that big a deal these days for local governments.

But on Monday, the Greenwich Township supervisors agonized over the prospect of paying a fire suppression consultant $3,100 to review plans for the proposed Crossroads X warehouse in Krumsville.

Victor M. Berger, chairman, threw his hands up in the air at the prospect of spending still more money as a result of the proposed warehouse.

“This is a snowball effect,” he said. “With two litigations ahead of us, we keep spending money, money, money.”

Berger’s statement reflected a growing concern over the amount of money the township is spending in the ongoing legal battle over the proposed 505,000-square-foot warehouse distribution facility on Route 737, north of the Krumsville interchange on Interstate 78.

Without being specific, Berger suggested the township has spent “tens of thousands” on legal and other expenses surrounding the warehouse proposed by PSIP JVI Krumsville Road LLC of Wind Gap, Northampton County.

In December, citing safety concerns, the supervisors rejected the developer’s initial plan. That decision and another by the township zoning hearing board are under appeal by the developer in Berks County Court.

Meanwhile, JVI Krumsville submitted a revised plan in March.

In June, the township planning commission approved the developer’s request for a 90-day extension to address concerns raised by the township engineer, LTL Consultants of Oley. The extension expires on Sept. 30.

The plan is expected to come before the commission when it meets Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the township building.

The commission’s role is to make a recommendation on the plan to the supervisors, who meet on Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the township building.

At Monday’s meeting, Solicitor Dan Becker cautioned the supervisors that it would be their last chance to hire a fire safety consultant before the extension expires.

A frustrated Berger asked the audience for a show of hands on whether the township should spend the money on a consultant. Most of the people at the meeting were opponents of the warehouse. All raised their hands in approval.

The proposed warehouse, which could generate traffic of 800 trucks a day on Route 737, has drawn intense opposition from Krumsville residents.

Marc and Dodie Sable, outspoken opponents of the warehouse, live directly on the route the trucks would take to the warehouse.

The Sables said that their attorney advised them that the township hire a fire safety consultant to review the developer’s plan.

“This is a half-million-square-foot facility. Let’s make sure it doesn’t burn and take half the township with it,” Marc Sable said. “Hiring a consultant is money well spent.”

Supervisors Victor Berger, Alice Flyte and Dean Spohn relented and hired a consultant to review the developer’s plan.

(NOTE!  What Ron didn’t put in his article is that the approved salt shed plans – over $140k – did not include rain gutters, spouts and ice guards … which when Bobby brought it up at this meeting that we needed them, Victor immediately approved the $3000 costs without any hesitation.  Our thoughts were, why didn’t the plans include that important option???)

Thank You! Senator Argall

Allow me to start this post backwards. I am just a person, like those of you reading this blog.  I am (in)famous in my own network but I am certainly not a public celebrity. Meeting with Senator Argall and State Representative Knowles on July 11, 2018, I learned they are both “real” people. The conversations were easy and fluid.  Not once during the 75 minute long meeting did I feel like we were being talked down to, nor patronized, nor were our concerns brushed off.  They both listened, they both asked very good questions and they both took the time to listen to the responses.  A bonus to the meeting was that they joked with each other and joked with us like we were long time acquaintances.

Yes, the skill of being a good politician, I get it.  However, I am still very happy about the meeting.

Oh, you want to know about the meeting.  Sorry, let me get rolling on that.

We all received a phone call six weeks ago from Senator Argall to join in a phone conference call for the community.  However, most of us work during the day so we didn’t know about this until we got home and heard the message on our answering machines.  He did leave a phone number to call if we had comment or concerns.  Several of us called that number and said, “Hey!  We couldn’t join in the conversation but we really do want to talk to you about some community concerns, please let us have a meeting with you.”

Remarkably, Senator Argall agreed to a meeting.  We met with him, State Representative Jerry Knowles and Senator Argall’s aide, Craig Lutz.

We had three concerns we wanted to address: Although the conversation went around and wove through the three concerns continuously, I will blog the three concerns here and summarize the responses so that it isn’t confusing.

CONCERN #1:  The newly released Berks County Comprehensive Plan.  This plan is about the “planned growth” within Berks County.  Our BoS stated at a meeting in March 2018 that Berks County was targeting Greenwich and Parry Townships for warehouse expansion as we are along the I-78 corridor. Horribly, their growth plan is right on top two of the four Berks County designated historic districts  within Greenwich Township.  Yes, that is 50% of our township’s historic districts “planned to be destroyed” by growth.

Uhm, no!

I passed along the information regarding our historic districts complete with photos and documentation on the businesses and residents within those districts for their review. My comment was, “If growth means destroying our history to make new history, what is the point of having history.”  They had no response.

To continue, for the entirety of Berks County, their planned growth encompasses residential areas.  A full 37% of their targeted growth areas will put residents out of their homes.  I asked Senator Argall and State Rep Knowles if they had the opportunity to read this Berks County Comprehensive Plan.  They both replied they had not.

Well, I have!  And I have notes, charts, photo overlays, and miscellaneous other information regarding this plan and I passed that information along to them for their review.

Much of the growth in Berks County is along the I-78 corridor.  About 25% of their planned growth is along the most dangerous section of I-78 in the state.  A section of highway that PennDOT has deemed unsafe and needing to be improved, hence the project that will be starting in 2019 to widen the highway.  According to the PennDOT website, this project is to be completed by 2023.

Senator Argall said he would reach out and speak to Alan Piper, Transportation Planner III of the Berks County Planning Commission.

This conversation brought up …

CONCERN #2: There safe places for building warehouses and Krumsville is not one of those places.

I had precipitated our conversation with the statement we were not at this meeting to discuss the Crossroads X Warehouse Project.  Our intent was to address community concerns.

With that said, we agreed that industrial zoning allows for warehousing in our township, if the warehouse developer can meet the “Special Exceptions” as listed in the State MPC Code for Municipalities.  However, just because something is allowed to be done does not  mean it should be done.

We discussed location and safety for everyone.  The Krumsville Intersection is not able to handle that kind of traffic, nor is the structure of Rt 737 able to handle that kind of traffic and would quickly deteriorate under the stress of warehouse traffic. (State Representative Knowles asked for a definition of the traffic volumes.  I directed him to the HighCube-Warehouse Oct 2016 Study ITE, particularly referencing warehousing. I did define that there is a newer version, v10, but it is not available to the public for download and we have bits and pieces of the new one from an engineering firm we are using to backup our data.)

Continuing along this line of conversation, we brought up the meeting with PennDOT last fall.  I gave a brief summary of the 3.5 hr long meeting and clearly stated that although PennDOT officials at that meeting promised us a review within 30 days, we have not heard back from them at this time.  I brought the meeting minutes with me and shared those with Senator Argall and State Rep Knowles.  Along with that was the three letters I have sent to PennDOT asking for a followup conclusion to that meeting.  Three letters to which PennDOT has not responded.  Although I have shared these in another blog, let me lay them out here again, in case the reader wants to review that meeting.

PennDOT_meeting_110317

PennDOT_meeting_110317a

We brought out the PennDOT manual for reviewing and approving an HOP (Highway Occupancy Permit) for the State of Pennsylvania and pointed out three sections in that manual in which the current Crossroads X Warehouse plans do not meet their requirements, unless PennDOT offers the developer a waiver, or exception.  We expressed our concerns that if rules are able to be broken with a waiver, what is the point of the rules and WE DO NOT WANT WAIVERS OR EXCEPTIONS ALLOWED because those waivers create an unsafe situation for the local  residents, travelers in our area and the warehouse traffic. We asked that PennDOT be held to a safer standard for issuing HOP’s (meaning they follow their own rules without waivers and exceptions) and we felt that until the I-78 widening project was complete in 2023, that all HOPs for that section of the I-78 corridor should be held in suspension so as not to add to the already unsafe traffic levels.

Believe it or not, Senator Argall had much to comment on this conversation about PennDOT.  He was visibly upset that PennDOT had not responded to us after our meeting, especially as we had written three letters requesting an update.  He also said that he was going to reach out to Leslie Richards and find out why this has not been addressed, and he mentioned again that he would reach out to Alan Piper Transportation Planner for Berks County.

State Rep Knowles also had comment.  He stated that he had many constituents who would die to have a warehouse in their community.  We stated that they were welcome to it because putting a warehouse in the location proposed was just plainly against any kind of common sense.  We also stated that growth is inevitable, however there is a difference between smart growth and dumb growth.  Smart growth allows a community to grow and prosper, dumb growth destroys the surrounding community and sets back prosperity.  He did not have a response to our comment about growth.

Continuing on, I personally added the comments from Dennis Toomey from the April 12th PennDOT meeting in which he stated that should the warehouse traffic pose a dangerous threat to the intersection, then PennDOT would certainly take steps to make the intersection safe.  (AFTER THE FACT!!!) Our only conclusion to making the intersection safe would be for PennDOT to use their authority to eminent domain the homes on the corners, destroy them in order to widen the intersection to provide a proper set back of stop lines and a red/yellow/green traffic light.  My comment was, “And they will use my tax dollars to put me out of my home.”  Neither Senator Argall nor State Rep Knowles had a comment to that statement.

To conclude this portion of the discussion, we provided website and YouTube information so they could view daily traffic, without I-78 detours and traffic during an I-78 detour, so they could come to their own conclusion about the safety of the intersection in which PennDOT states does not require upgrading to allow a warehouse HOP.

Lastly, the concern is the build up of traffic in Berks County.  Not just along I-78, but also along Old Route 22, Route 222, Route 737, Route 143, Route 61, etc etc etc.

When the I-78 project is started, there will be a massive influx of traffic on the alternate routes as travelers attempt to avoid the construction slowdowns on the highway.  This puts the residents along these routes in danger as well as preventing businesses along those routes to safely invite customers.  We used Krumsville and Lenhartsville as examples of what happens during I-78 detours.  The traffic backs up as much as two miles (yes, this is documented with photographic evidence) and residents/business customers cannot safely enter nor exit driveways along the detour route.  In both intersections, firefighter volunteers are required to direct traffic, stopping traffic way back from the current stop lines to allow for the large tractor trailers to make turns without squishing cars, and the noise generated by the traffic is deafening to those living along the detour routes.

We all agreed that the detour route is necessary.  However, we disagree on the safety issues presented during a detour.  We spoke about what would happen in the event that fire personnel are not available to assist traffic through either intersection, which recently occurred when I-78 was having weekend and nightly road repairs.  In the month of May, there were four fender benders (that we know about) in the Krumsville Intersection due to highway traffic offloading in an attempt to avoid the backup on the highway during these road repairs.  Also in the month of May, I-78 had eleven (11) !!!! accidents which resulted in a detour through Lenhartsville or Krumsville.  During those detours, local residents were subjected to the 40k daily traffic counts that are recorded for this section of I-78.

We had previously requested cameras in these intersections to assist with policing.  Leslie Richards office had agreed that was a good idea, but once again we have not had a response from her offices in regards to our request. And that brought up the fact we have repeatedly reached out to Leslie Richards for a sit down meeting with us and have not been given that privilege.  Most of our correspondence to her is largely ignored or we receive a “form letter response”.  This from the woman who stated on public television that she was a person of the people and our concerns were her concerns.

Hmmm

CONCERN #3: Community wildlife and eco preservation vs. Berks County Growth and Warehousing.  We had representation from Hawk Mountain at the meeting and he spoke at length about the impact a warehouse in Krumsville would have on the wildlife and ecology.  He also spoke about the impact that warehouse would have on the local businesses that depend on the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Kittney Ridge Preserve.  He painted a despairing portrait of what would happen to the local economy, what would happen to the local and regional ecology and what would happen to the local wildlife, particularly the raptors and their migratory routes (two routes which are directly across Krumsville).

I personally had never thought about the warehouse project in terms of loss of revenues and loss of life to our local ecological system.  In fact, his speech regarding these matters left the room in a state of reflection.  For a full minute we all sat there quietly digesting his numbers.  I am hoping that his information had a real impact on our Senator and State Representative.

We also briefly touched on the reality of economic growth to the community if a warehouse is built.  First, the warehouse would cause at least one, if not two of the local businesses to actually go OUT of business as the location of their entry/exit driveway would be directly affected by traffic backup when adding 1900 trips per day to Rt 737.  Second, other businesses that may have wanted to take advantage of the commercial district in Krumsville will be turned-off by that same traffic and will not move into the area.  This is a bleak picture as the tax dollars for our township  generated by a warehouse would not cover the additional costs our township would have because of that same warehouse nor cover the loss of taxes for the businesses that will be forced out.

All in all, I felt like the meeting was very productive.  I also felt that much of the information we brought to the table was already before Senator Argall and State Rep Knowles.  What we did was provide them our local community concerns, additional documentation and offer some possible resolutions.  As to the information that they did NOT have prior to the meeting, we asked for some action items.

  1. Cameras for policing installed in the Krumsville and Lenhartsville intersections.
  2. Conversation with PennDOT about suspending HOPs during the construction expansion of I-78
  3. Conversation with PennDOT about following their own manual in issuing an HOP for the warehouse in Krumsville and reviewing the location of the warehouse for safety to the residents.
  4. Review the Berks County Comprehensive plan which will destroy Berks County Historical districts and will put residents out of their homes.
  5. Review the location of the proposed Krumsville Warehouse for smart growth vs dumb growth and address the safety concerns we brought forward in the meeting.

Zoning Board Meeting 03/28/18

Oh my goodness, I had no idea.  We attended the Zoning Board Hearing that the warehouse developer requested and I was well educated about how those are handled.To be able to be heard at the meeting, they had to determine whether or not we (the Sable’s) were directly impacted by the zoning of that property.  Our attorney deftly proved that any zoning changes (ie: a variance) would directly affect our property so we were able to provide testimony and evidence. He also proved that Leroy would be affected, so he was allowed to provide evidence and testimony. And Sean Grace from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary was proved to be directly affected by zoning changes to the property so he was allowod to give testimony and present evidence.

Alex (our township solicitor) was present, representing the township’s interests.

zoning_hearing_032818

The developer was asking for three things. An interpretation of Ordinance 805, an appeal of the BoS decision based on Ordinance 805 and a variance for Ordinance 805.

ordinance805

First, the developer attempted to prove that building a bridge with retaining walls did not constitute a structure.  This was quickly shot down by their own witness (Chris Noll – HA!) who stated that yes, a retaining wall is a structure under the ordinances of our township.

Second, the developer attempted to prove that there is not a stream located on the property at the point of where they wish to build a bridge.  SORRY, evidence presented was cross examined (and yes, it was like a court proceeding with the attorney’s doing all the talking).  And during the cross examination, the evidence they provided was over shadowed by the evidence and testimony the aggrieved parties presented and the line of questioning done by Alex on the township’s behalf.

(NOTE:  The land owner was never called to testify whether or not there was a stream on his property, neither did they provide current photographs of the property showing there was no stream on the property. – WHY?  Because right now, as of yesterday 03-28-18, there was flowing water from the underground spring, which is bubbling and easily seen from the road! So they could not provide said photographic evidence of “no stream”)

On many occassions, the representing solicitors (our attorney, the township attorney) asked for further clarification of information the developer was providing and they could not produce the necessary documents.  I was reminded of their inefficiency at the 12-04-18 meeting in which they quoted PennDOT but could not provide letters or reports from PennDOT proving their case regarding the HOP permit.

Third, the developer provided no information that they needed a variance to build a retaining wall.  WHY?  Because they already have submitted new plans to the township in which the driveway is in a different location and does not require the crossing of the waterway stream.

Oh, yes … we did hear testimony that they submitted new “warehouse plans” on March 15, 2018.  I wonder if those new plans address the other concerns the township had regarding the safety issues of traffic at the five point intersection (Rhoades Rd, Old 22 and Rt 737).  This is the biggest concern our township has with their proposed use of the land.

So, the meeting went very long … until 10:30 pm.  Because the Zoning Board needs time to review all the evidence, they closed the evidentiary portion of the meeting (meaning no more evidence or testimony can be presented) and will reconvene on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 7:00 pm to hear closing argument and make their final determination.

We ask all residents to attend this public meeting and show support for your community.