April 10, 2008
The meeting was called to order by
President Actman 7:07 p.m.
Attendees:
Diane Actman Ken
Naylor
Zachaery Weiss Pamela
Berman, Picnic Chair
Lisa Getson Amy
Shuler, Guest
Lou Kozloff Brandon
Shuler, Guest
Marc S. Jacobs Bruce
D. Reed, President of Township Commissioners
Ralph Grasso Mimi Shapiro, Guest
Alane Beam
Ken Naylor
Minutes – Approved without
change
Insurance update – premium for upcoming year $745.00 including coverage for our picnic and a new assessment of $15.00 for terrorism;
On May
13, 2008, the Township Historic Presentation Awards will be given by the
Historical Commission and Architectural Review Board. This will take place at the Merion Tribute
House for a 6 p.m. reception. The awards
to be given are in recognition for contribution and outstanding work and
service in historic preservation within the township;
The township did a good job on the
tennis court and it was reported the park has been very clean.
There was a suggestion that more
work be done to eliminate or reduce the amount of mud which are near the picnic
table such as more grass seed;
There should be some review of
whether a drainage problem exists near the children’s play area;
The Association should have a
clean-up day the day before the picnic;
Ken reported that the Rebar Anchor has started to come up from underground. He intends to use a hammer and
mallet to knock it down which he has done before.
Recycle bins (properly colored for identification) are needed for the park in order to have the proper separation of trash.
Also the trash is not being picked up enough and Commissioner Reed has notified the park about that already.
Playground equipment – General Wayne Park:
Ken reported that some plywood
has been blocking the access to some equipment.
The carousel – Directors passed
a resolution indicating there is nothing wrong with the carousel, the kids love
it as is and it doesn’t need to be replaced.
Also the Directors volunteered to paint the carousel if the park’s
department provides the proper paint.
New Equipment – The township is considering the purchase of new playground
equipment. Lou Kozloff
reviewed a magazine on park equipment and suggested a number of pieces be
considered. Diane will forward this
information to the park’s department requesting they review the equipment.
New Trees – New trees are being
planted by the township in the park and throughout the township. The Directors agreed with the suggestion of
Commissioner Reed the township replace trees in right-of-way areas without
first seeking permission from the owners since this is township property and it
is important to maintain this program.
This business has once again requested it be allowed to
have a completely fenced off area instead of the present situation which leaves
one part of the area in question open. Buzzy’s would like to use this as a confined dog park. It had previously been explained this could
not be done since the area in question is zoned for residential use even though
it used for commercial services. The
idea was not favorably received by the Board.
Report of Commissioner Bruce
Reed
The Commissioner gave a brief
background as to the history and development of the township to our guests who
were attending the meeting;
Bryn Mawr Master Plan
The
township is at the advertising stage and the plan is progressing nicely. Plans are being made for parking changes and
the township is waiting for some plans from
This
plan is not progressing as smooth as the Bryn Mawr
Plan. There’s been
problems with development. The
township is trying to develop new plans.
It recently appointed the Carl Dranoff Group
as the new developer. It will be a year
to a year and a half before some feasible plans can be instituted.
The township does intend to utilize the 5.8 million federal
grant it received to develop the train station.
The Commissioner indicated there
has been some discussion regarding possible integration of the Narberth and
Lower Merion Police Force. This in no
way would compromise the individual identities of each township.
Discussions
continue with the developers for final plans.
The negotiations center on the township wanting a certain amount of
space utilized for retail development; the developers are focusing more on
residential property development. A
compromise has been suggested whereby residential space would be developed
first but space would be left for retail parking.
The gas station at
Transfer Tax – Down 25% due to
housing sales slow down.
Township looking for primarily residential development in
this area;
Two developers are McCloskey Associates & McNeil
Associates;
Development in this area is
anticipated to be a year to a year and a half away. Part of the plan is to integrate the trails
and have ingress and egress to the area.
Cynwyd Trial
The Cynwyd Station for the R-6
Line seems to be doing well. Rider ship
is up 50%. SEPTA has
indicated service will continue. There
has been both county and township grants to completely restore Cynwyd
Station.
Talks with SEPTA have been very
accommodating regarding the need for a bridge which would go across Manayunk eventually.
On April 25 and 26, 2008 the township will have a clean-up of
this area and volunteers are being sought.
Miscellaneous
No
issues at the present time with the budget;
It looks as though the township
will/has acquired a part of
Steve wasn’t
at the meeting but he submitted his report indicating a checking balance of
$7,332.72;
A savings
account balance of $742.82;
Certificates
of Deposit – Total $7,177.72.
DATA BASE UPDATE AND PARK REPORT – Ken Naylor
Database Program:
Ken explained that the database
program has to be updated. It basically
was used originally only for labels.
More features are needed because oftentimes 2 or more people live in 1
household and they have 2 or more phone numbers or e-mails. Ken is updating the program in order to have
an unlimited number of e-mails and names/addresses for any one household.
Membership:
There are 155 people that have presently paid their dues
plus 50 lifetime members giving us a total membership of 205. In addition, another membership dues letter
will be going out.
Miscellaneous:
Be sure to include a reminder in
the e-mail about attending every monthly meeting;
If we need an entertainer/composer a little brochure on Willie Potts
was circulated – works pro bono and does things for kids.
FEDERATION REPORT – Ralph said there was no meeting so he
has nothing to report.
New Nominations of offices - Zach indicated the nominating committee had put up the
following nominations to be considered:
Co-President - Lisa Getson and Ralph Grasso
Vice
President - Lou Kozloff
Treasurer - Steve Gross
Secretary - Zach Weiss
Next Meeting:
We will have the President of the
School Board at our next meeting to discuss various issues including
redistricting. It was suggested the
meeting be catered. The meeting will
start at 7:00 to briefly confirm the nomination of officers.
Yard Sale – Mimi Shapiro
A flyer that went out in the township indicated that most
members favored an “at your house” yard sale as opposed to a central location. It was agreed the multi-house yard sale would
be held Saturday, May 31 and Sunday June 1.
Picnic – Pam
Berman, has again volunteered to head the picnic. She led the discussion on the following
issues:
We should have
more pretzels than last year;
The races have taken too long. There was discussion to have them better
organized, condensed – perhaps running girls and boys races at the same time;
the need for more volunteers;
The balloon jump equipment for the
kids has already been retained;
We need a vendor for the moon
bounce;
There will be no spin art painting
this year but we will continue face painting;
Request will be made to have K-9
dogs from the police department;
Marc will call Lindsay Taylor to get
permit for the park;
Marc will call Rabbi Shrarga Sherman to get the hot dogs;
Marc will get lemon and lemon sticks
along with ice;
Diane is to contact Steve Gross to
confirm we have trophies.
Respectfully submitted,
MARC
S. JACOBS