The Warriors Mark supervisors held a special meeting last week for the purpose of final adoption of the 2005 budget and for other business including hearing from engineers about the a proposed municipal building.
The budget was adopted unanimously. It shows expenses of $314,334 and income of $305,349 with a deficit of $8,985. It was announced the township would balance its budget by using capital assets on hand.
Also, the supervisors heard from three engineers from Keller and Associates about a proposed municipal building. The engineers laid out a master plan for a proposed community park prepared by Stephen Parks & and Associates and a master plan for the building space and recreation improvements prepared by Keller. The township plans to put its municipal building on the land which will also include the community park.
The land is located where the old elementary school near the intersection of Route 350 and 453.
All three of the supervisors had a distinct opinion about where the building should be located on the land. Three different locations on the land were mentioned.
There was also discussion about whether the building should be one or two stories. Parking spaces were discussed, handicapped accessibility issues were addressed including a discussion about an elevator for the building. One of the engineers estimated an elevator would cost $80,000.
Possible future uses of the building were mentioned. It was noted the structure could be built and expanded later. With an eye on development and increased population for the township, the supervisors considered space for a future police department and other services.
After about 45 minutes of discussion, chairman L. Stewart Neff called for an executive session to discuss a real estate issue. After about 15 minutes, the regular meeting resumed. It was announced a decision on the location of the building would be tabled to allow for further consideration.
The supervisors then heard from engineer Brian Hayes to help them identify “specific needs” for the building.
“I think we will have to readdress that (the needs),” said Neff. “From the point of a two-story building or one-story building, the space (amount) would be the same but the design would be different”
Neff said it could be quite some time before the engineers actually created a “sketch” of the building. He said the engineers might come back with some recommendations about the space based on “needs” the supervisors presented to the engineers. Neff explained, the township didn’t want to “spend money uselessly” until it decides the actual location of the building on the designated site.
“We want to move ahead with it, but until we make a decision about where it is going to go and if its going to be two level or one level, (to do) an architectural sketch for it, (perhaps is) time and money wasted,” said Neff.
Supervisors also discussed the township’s ACT 537 sewage facilities plan and decided to hold a public involvement session prior to its regular meeting on February 1, 2005. The session would begin at 6:30 p.m., according to Neff. The regular meeting would be held after the session. The regular meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. He said the township would advertise the ACT 537 public involvement session.
Also, the Warriors Mark Township supervisors were scheduled to meet today at 10 a.m. The board normally meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. However, this month’s meeting was changed to today and there will be no meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
