Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the September 8th edition of the Dairy Town Board of Supervisors public meeting. I hope you all had a nice Labor Day weekend. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Jackson, can we have the roll, please? Sure.

Supervisor Bellucci.

Present.

Supervisor Corrado. Here. Supervisor Myers.

Here.

Supervisor Ballard. Here. And Supervisor Zmuda. I am here. We have five present.

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Before we start, I have some opening remarks to read. This board met in executive session prior to the start of this public meeting. During the confidential session, board members addressed and reviewed topics concerning legal matters, personnel issues, and land related concerns. These discussions were conducted to ensure the sensitive subjects were handled with the appropriate level of privacy and attention. I would like to remind all present that in accordance with the township policy, every public meeting is tape recorded. Notices of this procedure are displayed within the meeting room The purpose of this recording is to produce accurate minutes and to ensure that all comments made during the meeting are thoroughly documented. In addition to audio recordings, we have recently begun live streaming these proceedings, providing a broader access and transparency to the community. For the benefit of the record, please speak directly into the microphone, sharing your full name and address so that your remarks are captured clearly. Each participant has three minutes to provide comments. If additional time is needed, it may be granted at the discretion of the chairman. That being said, our first public comment session is now open. If someone would like to get up and have a few words, please feel free.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Paul Haken. I live at 2105 Sand Hill Road in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I'm here to advocate for the welcoming resolution. Our government has ramped up its third country deportation campaign. Under this umbrella, foreign nationals who have received U.S. court-ordered protections against being sent back to their home countries due to fears of torture or persecution are rounded up and sent to African countries where they have no family, no cultural awareness, and no understanding of the language, and all this without further due process. Of the 175,000 persons who have been deported last year, only 23 to 30% have documented criminal convictions. Last month in August, an ice air operations flight carried 70 foreign nationals to Bangui, Central African Republic. One of the detainees was a 24-year-old Afghan national whose family had actively assisted the US military. It was only after being airborne and wearing ankle and wrist chains were they informed of where they were being taken. The Central African Republic agreed to this arrangement following diplomatic meetings in May of 2026, after which the US government dramatically increased its foreign assistance funding, which leads me to believe that our government is spending millions of our tax dollars to incentivize poor African nations to accept individuals the USA is trying to dispose of. If due process is denied here on our soil, it is most certainly denied in Bondi, a place I have visited many times as I lived in West Africa for 25 years. Major governments maintain a level four do not travel advisory for the entire country. due to civil unrest and armed conflict, violent crime, poor infrastructure, and poor health care. According to recent US Census Bureau data, 13.1% of the population of Derry Township is foreign born, and as such, I believe there is reason that an ice sweep may certainly occur at some point. I strongly believe a formal welcoming resolution will lend credence to Derry Township's commitment to uphold the US Constitution in the fifth and 14th Amendments which state, quote, neither the federal nor state nor local governments can deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hagan.

I'm Deb Haken, his wife. I live at 2105 Sand Hill Road as well. And I'm also here to promote the adoption of the welcoming resolution that has been worked on as we speak. And to do that, I'm going to just give a little recent news story. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents clashed violently with community protesters in the Tasker's Chance neighborhood of Frederick, Maryland, on Friday night, September 4th. Tasker's Chance is a peaceful, mostly residential neighborhood located in West Frederick, Maryland, featuring scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and convenient access to downtown Frederick just two miles away. The median home value hovers around $400,000. The neighborhood is generally known for being very quiet and tranquil, with green spaces and walking paths. Residents report on Reddit that they are generally considered a decent and safe neighborhood, with residents reporting no issues with crime or feeling unsafe, even when living alone. Sounds like our beloved Hershey, doesn't it? According to WBAL Baltimore TV, ICE agents were beating people with batons, there's video coverage of this, kicking them, punching them, and throwing people on the ground. ICE agents had maintained a sustained presence in the residential area for roughly 30 to 40 hours, looking for a man who had reportedly fled from a traffic stop. Dozens of community members gathered to monitor and protest the federal presence, forming a human chain or standing on a porch to observe. Tensions boiled over Friday night when ICE agents moved toward the home and used vehicles to clear sidewalks and allegedly used physical force against demonstrators. The Frederick Police Department responded to deescalate the situation, and the scene eventually cleared up with no reported arrests by local police. City leaders and local representatives have since called for a full investigation into the encounter. I believe we need a welcoming resolution soon that will put into place guardrails to ward off this happening here and in case this happens here. So are we going to give in to the banality of evil and do nothing? Or will we take a stand and show our community that we care about them and take steps to not let federal agents disturb our peaceful community? As we have reported before, our legal immigrant citizens here in the township are already fearful. I think we are naive to think that any of us are exempt from activity by these illegal federal thugs. I believe Milton Hershey's legacy of doing good and living by the golden rule should be carried on by adopting this welcoming resolution. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ms. H. Good evening.

My name is Janice Regan, and I live at University Manor East Hershey, Pennsylvania. I want to respond to something that has come up often, that people speaking on this proposed welcoming resolution are mostly citizens, and that if immigrants themselves are not at this podium, then this must not be a real concern. I want to take that argument seriously because it points at something true. There is a real gap in who is in this room, and I'd like to offer an explanation for that. Speaking here requires you to say your name and your home address on camera into a record posted online permanently. As a woman, I do that uneasily. Not everyone can do it at all. When a supervisor's home address came up at a meeting here, the discomfort was immediate and it was reasonable. Everyone here understood why. Speaking here also asks for a free evening and comfort of English. Those requirements filter this room hardest against exactly the people whose absence is being cited. So asking someone to publicly identify themselves in order to explain why they fear extra legal immigration enforcement is asking them to accept the very risk this welcoming resolution exists to reduce their silence is not evidence that the concern is imagined it may be the clearest evidence we have that it is not if the board wants to hear from affected residents i would rather help the board do that than argue about why they are not here i'd also like to put this in budget terms because that is a key board responsibility Residents who will not walk into this room also may not call 911 or report a crime. Every unreported crime is still a crime in Derry Township, and the police department absorbs the cost of it without ever getting the call that would have helped them solve it. There is also a liability cost. With no written policy on how staff handle federal civil immigration enforcement requirements, employees can improvise and the township owns whatever they improvise. Clear written policy is ordinary risk management. It is cheaper than the first lawsuit. So here's my request. Ask the township manager to gather input through the community and faith organizations that already work with these residents. They have trust that this room does not. That costs several phone calls and emails. Also, request the solicitor to review the welcoming resolution documents already submitted to the township. Neither step commits the board. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Ms. Regan.

Good evening. My name is Michelle Godfrey. I live on Jill Drive in Hummelstown, and I'm a Derry Township resident. We are pleased and grateful to see that seeking party status regarding the local data center application is on tonight's agenda. Tonight, I want to focus my comments on the welcoming resolution that fellow residents have been speaking out for many months. I admittedly read the resolution in full for the first time today. I understand this is not a forum for back and forth discussion. So I'm not expecting answers to my questions tonight. But after listening to residents speak out about this issue and hearing little discussion from the board, I am left with questions. What is the obstacle to passing this resolution? As I understand it, the resolution simply delineates the responsibilities of local law enforcement from those of federal immigration authorities. Perhaps I'm missing something with the two overlapping only one supported by a judicial warrant. That is of course a very basic summary. Is there language in the resolution that the board believes needs to be changed or clarified? And if so, what is it? or is the hesitation simply because this is viewed as a politically sensitive issue? I believe residents deserve to understand where the Board stands and what, if anything, is preventing action. So I would also like to ask what can we as residents who strongly support this resolution do to encourage meaningful discussion and movement on it? Thank you for your time and your service to our community.

Thank you, Ms. Godfrey.

Good evening. First, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is George Henning. I am recently retired from the Department of Family Medicine here at the Hershey Medical Center. I live at 75 Brownstone Drive in Hershey. I've lived there for almost 30 years. I would like to speak in favor of the adoption of the resolution But I've come at it from a very different perspective from my experience in medicine and in teaching in the medical school. First, I'd like to emphasize that many of our faculty members in the medical school are either naturalized citizens or have come to this country as children or were born in this country from parents who immigrated here. This also applies to our residents and our student population. More than that, I work in admissions and have done so for almost my entire medical career. In doing this, I screen and read applications from young people who want to come to this medical school. It is very hard for me to quantify what high percentage of those students are naturalized citizens. We do interview people with green cards who are on the step to naturalization, but we do not actually interview any non-citizens. These people are all very concerned about their status here. And I want to tell you that the applications from these students, many of whom have come here as children or come here as young adults, they have come, they have attended either universities in their home countries, but they have come here and attended our own universities and excelled. They are applying to medical school. They have more than just grades. They have They have performed service, they do volunteer work, they've shown leadership in their own communities. That's the only way you get into medical school. These are young people who potentially could be targeted by ICE should they actually have action in this community. That's really the point what I wanted to make, but I just did hear something that I did want to share with the group very quickly coming in on the radio. And that was the University of Chicago or University of Illinois at Chicago did a study as to the cost to the city of Chicago last year in the one year, 2025, when ICE enforcement started. it was a loss of $1.2 billion to the non-immigrant community in Chicago.

Mr. Henning, your time is up.

Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.

Hello. Hello.

My name is James Selesky, and I'm a local physician in the area here, and I pay taxes at a few properties in Derry Township. And the last time I'd come here, I believe I spoke about the proposed.

Oh, sorry.

Last time I came here, I believe I spoke about the proposed data center and how the cone of drainage for groundwater withdrawal, you know, can be up to one to two miles wide in circumference and how a local person's well had dropped by a hundred feet with just the quarry over there pumping before. And my concern at that time was kind of talking about sinkholes and low stream flows with Sotero Creek having, you know, near, top five lowest flows this summer and much of it being unable to float or kayak at certain times or without dragging. My concern was the identity of the township recreationally and all the people that love to kayak float and fish that stream and what massive groundwater withdrawals would do to that. As an update, I did look at the PA geode map and I would encourage you guys to as well. The karst hazard feature or the sinkhole map shows that sinkholes and karst hazards are littered throughout downtown Hershey and in Hershey Park, some under the structural components of large roller coasters carrying children. I believe that brings up a, you know, liability issue, you know, and terrible things could happen, you know, would the actual data center, you know, have any responsibility if it dropped ground level, you know, water table levels and, you know, had a terrible structural catastrophe happen there. And then there's just people's homes, you know, in terms of sinkholes, those can create tens of thousands of dollars of structural foundational work. So, Given the underlying geology of the valley, the enormous limestone and dolomite presence and spongy nature of that rock that's hollowed out quite easily by acidic water flowing through it, and the massive underground caves some you can tour at Indian Echo Cavern, there's many more like that under our feet here. And I just wanted to reiterate the Pandora's box that allowing a massive withdrawal here would open up. The second thing that I wanted to talk about was these data centers, they come with defense and surveillance infrastructure. You can listen to shareholder calls where people, these hyperscale CEOs are talking about they expect community threats, whatever that means. And you've seen the Boston Dynamics spot canine drones that are predicted to be sentinels around these things. There's plenty of companies making roving aerial drone patrols using AI threat identification technology. So I just wanted to just kind of impress upon the board that the data center would bring surveillance infrastructure and likely with it into our community.

And- Mr. Holesky, your time's up. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anybody else?

Rich Campbell, 39 Hockettville Road, Hershey, Pennsylvania. In regards to this, every week we hear about the request to have a welcome resolution. Well, we already have one, and it's the biggest one in our country. It's called the Immigration Office of the Federal Government. Now, if you want to be welcome, go there, apply, like everybody else would have to do, and then we have your welcome. Now, in relation to the incident where somebody was evading the police, Why were they running? Did they do something wrong? What if that process of evasion ran over one of your children? Would you be standing up here howling about it then, saying ICE was wrong? Again, this board is running the township, not the federal government. If you want to change a law, which is a federal law with ICE, go to Washington, get before a hearing, and give your case. But this is, every week we're hearing the same thing. Okay, they're here, granted. They can be here under J visas, but they gotta follow the rules. If anyone in this room would walk across a Russian border, you think you'd be met by a welcoming committee? So let's think about what we're asking. Right now, we are following the law. In our community, if you broke the law, they'll be looking for you. If you didn't break the law or you did nothing wrong, don't worry. And again, I offer the opportunity. Bring somebody in here and say they were afraid of being assaulted. I asked the police, have we had any reported assaults or any unauthorized activity by our police on citizens? I don't see it. But if you look at other countries, other towns and communities, for example, the girl that was walking along Skyline View and was shot in the back. What about Lincoln Riley? Jogging through the park was raped and murdered. These are the people, it only takes one. So if we put up our guard, like anybody would expect, I think we're doing what we're supposed to do. Participation with all laws, and that's what it's about. So if you want a welcome, go to Immigrations and you'll get your very first welcome, I guarantee you, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Gamble. Anybody else? Seeing, oh. Spoke too soon.

Hi, my name is David Wortley.

I live at 807 Twin Oaks.

Can you speak into the microphone? My name is David Wortley. I live at 807 Twin Oaks Drive, Hummelstown. And I had two issues that I was, the one is definitely I wanted to ask for some advice. The one is you guys authorized New Road on Twin Oaks Drive. And the guys that put the job in did a phenomenal job. Because I lived there for 20 years and it really looks nice. But the one address I had a question about was at 860 Twin Oaks Drive. didn't include the back the black top all the way into the guy's property where it should have been and there's almost not enough of space for two cars to go through there at one time because about a couple weeks ago i went through and a guy came the other way and our mirrors hit that's how narrow the road is right there so that's was the one thing that I wanted to talk about. The other thing is, I know what you're going to do. This is a personal matter with insurance companies. At my house, I have a tree that's 100 feet tall. Well, I shouldn't say it's not my tree. It's two properties over. It's 100 feet tall, leaning towards my house. And I had a guy come look at the tree a couple of years ago. And he said, that tree's going to fall over in the next couple of years. and I wanted to know who to talk to. I came and talked to an officer, and he came and looked at my property a couple weeks ago. But I don't know where to go to, because my insurance company says they're not responsible if something happens, and I was wondering if I could get some advice on what to do for the situation. I also have a couple trees at the bottom end of my property that are over 100 feet tall, and they're starting to grow. I have an in-ground pool down there. And two years ago, when we had a lot of snow at that one point and there was ice, The trees dropped branches onto the pool. I ruined my fence and my pool liner and different things. And the main issue is I want to know who do I talk to about getting my neighbor's trees cut down. I've heard a couple of different things that I really can't do anything because each individual neighbor is up to maintaining their own property. But I was hoping like, because I have 11 grandchildren and you can't even trust going out on my house because the tree is going to fall right on my house.

Yeah. Mr. Worley, your time's up. Okay. As far as your issue goes, I would talk to Mr. Watts over there. He might be able to give you some advice, our public works guy.

Okay.

And he would take care of the road, too.

Okay, thank you.

He should be able to give you some advice on both issues.

Okay, thank you very much.

All right, you're welcome. Anybody else would like to get up? Seeing none, that closes our first public comment session. And that opens up our agenda. Our first item is the consent calendar. I would ask my colleagues here if they would like to take care of them one at a time or as a group. Do I hear a motion?

I move that we adopt the consent calendar in total as presented.

Thank you, Ms. Ballard. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Corrado. All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. Consent calendar is accepted as shown. Moving on, our first agenda item is requesting authorization for the township solicitor to represent and seek party status for Derry Township before the South Hanover Township Zoning Hearing Board concerning the special exception application and substantive challenge filed by HCIDP Land Acquisition LLC to establish a data center on the former Hummelstown quarry site. Mr. Jackson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As the board is aware, there was a public hearing scheduled for August 17th at the South Hanover Township Elementary School. That was canceled. due to the applicant requesting an indefinite continuance. We are just asking for board authorization this evening to have the township solicitor represent Derry Township and seek party status at any upcoming hearing in the future that would involve this matter.

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Are there any questions from my colleagues? Hearing none, would one like to make a motion?

I'll move that the Board of Supervisors authorize the Township Solicitor to represent and seek party status for Derry Township before the South Hanover Township Zoning Hearing Board concerning special exception application and substantive challenge filed by HCI DP Land Acquisition LLC to establish a data center on the former Hummelstown Quarry site.

Thank you, Mr. Belushi. Is there a second?

I'll second.

Thank you, Ms. Ballard. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. Mr. Jackson? Okay. Let's see, our next agenda item. Solid waste bid results, possible need to re-bid. Mr. Jackson, again.

Thank you. The current municipal solid waste and recycling contract is set to expire on March 31st, 2027. This will complete a contract with waste management that provided for a three-year term with two one-year renewals. Under the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code, the township is required to bid for this service for the community. A mandatory pre-bid conference was held on August 4th, and bids were due on August 18th at 10 a.m. The township received a total of three bids from Goods Disposal Service, Waste Management, and Republic Services. One other contractor, Penn Waste, submitted a no-bid proposal. After review by township staff and the solicitor, it was determined that there were some inconsistencies in email communication that led to one of the base bids being miscalculated. As a result, we are recommending rejecting all bids and rebidding the contract with revised instructions to further clarify the bidding requirements. If the bids are rejected here this evening, we will plan to advertise the new bid on September 17th.

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Are there any questions? Oh, I thought you were getting ready to say something. Zach, I do have a question. I just want to confirm. that we are going to ask for an extension of the bagged waste, the yard waste at each season.

I can also include that. So we made the revisions to clarify solicitors reviewing that. Now we can also make, make that, make that change as well.

We'll be extending that from March, the end of March to the end.

Currently it's in from April to October, I think.

uh up to the board i think i heard a mid-november uh would probably be be helpful okay we can we can certainly discuss all right those changes okay just wanted to confirm sure yep any other questions i just had a quick question just for the for the public's um information zach the current contract that we have the dairy township has is with waste management that's correct the solid waste contract which currently expires or runs through when

March 31st of 2027. So we do have time. We did bid this early. Obviously, we didn't want to be in this situation, but we do have plenty of time in order to re-bid.

Thank you. All right. Would someone like to make a motion?

I'll make a motion. I move that the Board of Supervisors reject all bids received on August 18th, 2026 for the collection and disposal of solid waste, yard waste, and collection, processing, and sale of recyclable materials.

Thank you, Mr. Corrado. Is there a second?

I'll second that motion.

Thank you, Mr. Myers. All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. Let's re-bid. Okay. Our next agenda item. Adoption of resolution numbers 2026-17, 18, and 19, accepting the dedication of Elway and Dunham Drive and a portion of Fiddler's Elbow Road as public roads, releasing the remaining balance of the performance security and entering the 18-month maintenance period for the preliminary final subdivision plan for the legacy landing, Plat 1110. Peter. Peter. I can call on Pat, but he's not here.

He's just down the road. This is, and Chuck's going to know the history much more than I do, but this is an approved subdivision that has been built out. They are seeking to move the matter or this project into the maintenance period. Part of that process is for the township to take dedication of the roads, the public roads that were built as part of this project. subdivision that's what this request here is i believe pat has been talking to the developer because uh because i believe these uh actual deeds of dedication preceded our representation of the township pat has some issue with the language um and so i believe they are being um THE LANGUAGE OR THE DEEDS BEING CHANGED SOMEWHAT. SO THE RESOLUTION WOULD BE TO APPROVE, ACCEPT DEDICATION, AUTHORIZE THE RECORDING OF THESE DEEDS WITH THE LANGUAGE TO THE SOLICITOR'S SATISFACTION.

Are there any questions?

It is a very, very old development. Give you an idea how old it is. HRG actually presented those plans to the township. So this is before HRG was our township engineer. So yes, it's a very old development. Now I'm looking at dedication in the roads. We don't take dedication till the last house is built and we're finally there.

Chuck, real quick question. Does this benefit the township at all, other than giving us more roads to plow and take care of?

More liquid fuels money.

More liquid, significantly more?

Same foot mile as any other road in the township.

Okay, just checking. That's all I got. Did anybody have any other questions? No, seeing none, would someone like to make a motion?

I CAN MOVE THAT THE BOARD ADOPT RESOLUTION NUMBERS 2026-17, 2026-18, AND 2026-19, ACCEPTING THE DEDICATION OF ELWAY AND DUNHAM DRIVE AND A PORTION OF FIDDLER'S ELBOW ROAD AS DEPICTED ON THE JULY 27, 2026 DEEDS OF DEDICATION SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS SET FORTH THEREIN, AUTHORIZES THE RELEASE OF THE REMAINING BALANCE OF THE PERFORMANCE SECURITY which is $98,728.70 provided under the Fulton Bank letter of credit number D004342 accepts the maintenance security in the amount of $101,186.10 provided under Eastern Atlantic Insurance Company bond number EASB6288326 and authorizes the execution of the maintenance agreement.

and also with the language of the deeds revised to the township solicitor's satisfaction.

Correct.

I know it's not there, so I added it.

Thank you, gentlemen, for your motion. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you, Mr. Corrado. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. Okay, our next order of business. Request by the East Shore YMCA to hold the Trogues Hop Dash on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026 at 9 a.m. Let's see, who do we have here? Lieutenant Demel.

Thank you. The East Shore YMCA is planning a 5K run that will be held on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026 at 9 a.m. The race will start and end at Troggs Brewing Company, 200 East Hershey Park Drive, Hershey. The East Shore YMCA is a nonprofit organization and the proceeds from the event will aid in subsidizing programs for people in the region. due to the nature of the event and the roadways involved. Roadways will need to be closed off and only local residential traffic will be permitted while the event is going on. The roadways closed will be both state and township roadways, will include Hershey Park Drive, Lauder Milk Road, Sweat Arrow Road, and Sand Beach Road. This is the same route the event organizers have used in prior years, and there were no reported issues encountered. The event and the traffic plans were well managed in the past. Event organizers are familiar with and agree to the township's reimbursement policy. It has been reviewed and recommended by our Traffic Safety Unit and by the Chief of Police. We request that have a motion to hold the Trogues Hop Dash 5K run on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, starting at 9 a.m.

Thank you, Lieutenant. Appreciate that. Are there any questions from the board?

Yeah, I just have one question. It says it starts at 9, but is there a time period where they'll reopen the roads, like noon or is it all day affair?

At 5K, it's usually within an hour.

Ideally, yeah.

Yeah.

Not if I'm running it.

Yeah, I think in the past it's within an hour.

Okay. I just had a quick question. What about, it may take an hour to run the race, but how about setting up and breaking down all that's needed and required to open and close the roads? Is there an approximate timeframe for that?

Sure. Do you want to step up to the mic, please? And you are?

from the Harrisburg area YMCA, the director of community events.

Thank you.

So we shut the roads down at 8.30. It gives us half an hour to get all of our time equipment on. And we open it up by typically 10.15, maybe 10.30. We've got some slow runners, but the officer is always right behind them and we're immediately getting everybody off. So it's probably a two hour time period because of that setup.

Okay. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Any more questions? Thank you, appreciate that. All right, do I hear a motion?

I'll make a motion at the request to hold the Troegs Hop Dash 5K run on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, starting at perhaps 8.30, will be hereby approved.

Thank you, Mr. Meyer.

I'll second.

Thank you, Ms. Ballard, for the second. All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. Good luck. Okay, our next agenda item is the request to hold the 2026 Choctober Fest on October 10th. Someone forgot to put the date on here. And authorized associated road closures. Lieutenant Demel again.

Okay, the 2026 Choctober Fest is a community event that will be held on Saturday, October 10th, 2026. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. adjacent to the Chocolate Town Square Park. This family-friendly event will offer an array of activities for all ages and is free to the public. Live entertainment will be featured throughout the day. The food and beverage options will be offered to include local craft beers and food from Hershey downtown restaurants. This event is produced by the Downtown Hershey Association Admission to the event is free to the public. It will be necessary to close the first block of West Caracas Avenue and a section of South First Street. The closure will be properly signed prior to and during the event. Notifications will also be provided to adjacent residents so they can remove any parked vehicles within the site for the event. prior to the event date. Vendors will be arriving at 6 a.m. for setup. Vendors will be required to clear and will be off the street by 7.30 p.m. This has also been reviewed and recommended by our Traffic Safety Unit and the Chief of Police. uh request a motion to hold the 2026 chocktoberfest on saturday october 10 2026 and authorize the associated roads road closures thank you lieutenant are there any questions from the board no hearing none uh would someone like to make a motion

I'll make a motion that we approve the request to hold the 2026 October Fest on October 10th and authorized associated road closures.

Thank you, Ms. Ballard. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Corrado. All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. Okay. Next order of business. Modification to the conditionally approved preliminary final land development plan for Hershey Restaurant, 1221 West Chocolate Avenue, Platte 1417. This is the old, this is the Fuddruckers property.

That's correct.

So Chuck, what do you got to say for yourself?

Now, let me start with, we're having some technical difficulties tonight. We have a blue screen here. I could project it on the side screens, but I don't think you can see them from where you are. That was gonna be my way of telling the board Graphically, it's a very small modification to the previously approved plan, but I was uncomfortable just processing this on without bringing it back to the board because the plan originally included the Turning Point Restaurant, a 4,000 square foot, 160 seat restaurant. and 4,000 square feet of retail space. As they've been cleaning up the plan for recording, they have evidently secured another restaurant use. So what they're proposing is changing it to maintain the 4,000 square foot Turning Point restaurant they will retain 1773 square feet of a specialty retail space and establish a second food service establishment containing 1985 square feet or 40 seats maximum really as i said this the site design is very very similar as a matter of fact there's a slight reduction in impervious cover as they've developed the building footprint. The review by HRG on these modifications carried all repeat comments from the prior plan. So there's no new comments generated by this revision. They did modify their traffic statement. Eric, in his review, ask for a slight change to it, but acknowledge that it's going to remain under the threshold of requiring a full traffic study. So, and there were nine waivers granted previously that I don't believe there's any reason to take additional action on. None of those have changed. So within my staff comments, I've adjusted the prior motion, bolding what would be changed and deleting what has been addressed on the plan. And I'd be looking for a reapproval of plat 1417 based on the 17 items in my staff comments.

Thanks, Chuck. Any questions from the board?

I have a couple of questions. It sounds kind of like it's a relatively minor change, but yet it's kind of a substantial change from a turning point breakfast and lunch or a breakfast and lunch restaurant and retail space to now turning point breakfast and lunch restaurant, some retail space and now another food establishment. Do we know anything about

So let me explain why this gives me no reason for pause. Had they built this development, recorded the plan, built the development, opened up the retail, opened up the restaurant, and decided that they were going to bring another restaurant in, that would take a building permit, model land development plan. When you look at even the outlet malls or up at the Hershey Square Shopping Center, those stores change, I won't say all the time, but they do change with no need for additional approval of a land development plan, just building permits. That's kind of where we are with this. So we had a shell that had about 8,000 square feet in it. It was going to have two uses. It's now having three. My biggest concern would have been the traffic. I don't want to put words in Eric's mouth, but he didn't seem at all apprehensive about the change in this case. The only reason I brought it back is because the board conditionally approved a plan that had two users on it. And prior to recording the plans being modified to have three users, it felt like it should be re-approved by the board.

I get that. I guess my question, though, is we're still dealing with the same number of parking spaces, et cetera, and the only access in and out of there, if I understood correctly and understand correctly, is through they're sharing the parking lot with their union, correct?

So I'll apologize again for not being able to project, but they also do have a driveway that goes on to what is technically Bullfrog Road, Bullfrog Valley Road. It's the little driveway that would bring you out to Governor Road down by Centric Bank. So they do have two means of ingress and egress through the property. One of the things that we've gained or requested through this, even though both properties are in single ownership and they have been for many, many years. We have asked them to develop a formal easement so that perpetually we know that Fuddruckers can go through, I'm going to call it smoked because my wife will tell you I never remember the name of the new restaurant. And likewise, that smoked can go through Fuddruckers to get out. So we're securing a reciprocal access easement to ensure that both restaurants have two means of ingress and egress.

And I guess the final question, I mean, do they know at this point what that other food establishment is going to be?

For that, I'm going to turn it over to Jim.

Inspiring minds want to know.

because I do not. Good evening, Jim Wenger with Dirk and Edson representing Gimbel Brothers. Actually our original plan submitted, excuse me, the Turning Point Restaurant also had an outdoor patio with 24 seats. That's not in the plan any longer, but now there is a second smaller restaurant at the south end of the building that will have up to 40 seats. So the actual net gain from the original plan to now isn't that huge. They are looking for, I think it's a Greek, kind of grab-and-go kind of restaurant.

Okay.

Thank you. Does that help?

Okay.

Any other questions? Actually, Chuck, I have one more. Did you have a question? No. Oh. You mentioned that the impervious coverage was going to be increased.

No, slightly decreased.

decreased slightly decreased i thought i said thought more okay well that's good that's good news okay strike that question then all right i got no more questions does anybody else have any seeing none can i get a motion i'll make a motion that the preliminary final land development plan for hershey restaurant 1221 west chocolate avenue plat 1417 is re-approved

subject to compliance with 17 items noted in the department recommendation section of this agenda item.

Thank you, Mr. Corrado. Is there a second? I'll second that motion. Thank you, Mr. Myers. All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. You're welcome. And our last agenda item for the evening. Bring it up on my screen here. Consideration of a seventh time extension for additional approval of the preliminary final land development plan for the Derry Township Municipal Authority garage addition plat 1376. Chuck, oh, there he is back there.

Should I just give the floor to Mike?

Yeah, just put my cabin. Good evening. It's my classic from. Yeah, we had gathered all the remaining information. Mostly administrative was a decision on the financial financial security. There are various agreements to be signed. Also received a. APPROVAL FROM THE WATER COMPANY ABOUT HAVING THE ADEQUATE CAPACITY I FELT CONFIDENT WE'D HAVE ALL THESE READY FOR THE THE DEADLINE WHICH IS THE END OF THE MONTH BUT I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS WISE TO DEFER OF THE THE SAGE ADVICE OF JANELLE STUMP WHO SAID I PROBABLY SHOULD GET THE EXTENSION JUST IN CASE ANYTHING MAY HAVE REARED IT'S HEAD SO AGAIN I WAS I FELT GOOD WITH YOU OKAY TO HAVE IT BY THE DEADLINE BUT she advised to get the extension anyway. Our engineers will work with your solicitor to work through the final agreements. We should be done shortly.

I do appreciate it. Okay, stay there. Sure. Any questions? I think I've been here long enough. Do you guys know I hate giving these extensions out all the time? I mean, it's, I guess there's some I can understand, but we're talking about a seventh extension here. And according to what I've read, you only met two of the 12 conditions that have been met so far. Am I reading that correctly, Chuck? Or Chuck?

It was three outstanding.

So that they have been continuing to try and address them. I guess at the time of this writing, there were two conditions addressed.

So where are they now on this? Where do they stand?

Well, I don't monitor them every day.

And why not?

Because I'm hoping you give the extension to get everything in and we can get this reported.

And I don't have a problem. I just, I'm concerned. I don't like doing this and I want to find out why and how confident are you in meeting your new deadline?

I was confident to meet the deadline at the end of the month. So again, that was Janelle who advised that we should probably get the extension just in case anything weird said. I couldn't argue with her. I agree. No, I defer to her advice. She said just in case there was any confusion or anything, any minor changes have been made new to some agreements or some of the language. That's the only reason.

Okay. But you have a high degree of confidence. You will.

As much as I enjoy coming to a township.

I know you do. I know you do. I don't want to encumber your agenda anymore with this topic, believe me. So thank you.

And we would all appreciate that, I think.

The first few times was when this project first was born. It predated some other larger projects we actually did at the plant. So it kind of. became more of a want than a need. And it kind of got further down our agenda priorities. That's why we had some extensions at that time. But at this point, we just want to put it to bed. The project will probably be reserved for a number of years after this, but at least we'll put the land development aspect to bed.

Okay, please. Okay, thanks, Mike. No more questions. Would anybody like to make a motion?

I recommend that we approve the preliminary final land development plan for the Derry Township Municipal Authority Garage Addition, Plat 1376, and that is extended to December 22, 2026, subject to compliance with items one through 12 in the department recommendation section of the agenda item.

Thank you, Ms. Ballard, is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Belushi. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries.

Okay.

That closes our agenda out. Our next order of business is the Board and Department Head Reports. I guess we'll start with Mr. Belushi down to my left here.

I have nothing to report.

Okay. Mr. Corrado?

Nothing to report.

Ms. Ballard?

I have nothing to report.

And I got nothing to report. Look at that. All right. Lieutenant Demmel.

Also nothing to report.

Okay.

That's okay.

Thank you. Okay. Now, tonight we have a newbie, Assistant Director Ali Tran of the library. Welcome to your, this is your first meeting, I assume? Yes. Welcome. I hope you're not too intimidated by this austere board here. What do you got for us?

The only thing Allison asked me to share was that the library will be closed September 18th for yearly staff development. And then other than that, HPL University started today with a great success in the summer reading program and ended very positively. So all in all, life is good at the library.

Great. Thanks, Ms. Tran. Parks and Rec, Amy. Pools closed for the season.

Yeah, that's my first topic. So as of yesterday, September 7th, the Parks and Recreation team closed out our fifth summer of the outdoor season at the community center. Just want to say thank you to the staff and the community for bringing the sunshine most days and memories of another fun season. It's always a really hectic time of year for us, but once it's over, it's kind of like, look what everyone did. Look at all the people we got to talk to every day. So thank you to everyone for the support for that. And then as we transition into the fall season, I just want to remind everyone that the online rental reservations are now available through the Parks and Recreation ActiveNet site. So this is for birthday parties at the community center and room reservations, as well as park and park pavilion reservations for Schenck, Gelder, and now Palmdale as well. And then one last reminder for the fall, we have group swim lesson registration that begins Thursday, September 17th at 9 a.m. for members and residents. And then Friday, September 18th at 9 a.m. for non-residents.

Thank you, Amy. And thank your staff for us for a good season and successful season. Thank you. Mr. Sassman, fire department.

Thank you. Only two quick updates. 99 calls for August and also attack 48. The newest piece of apparatus is officially in service and in the rotation taking calls. And thank you for your support for that apparatus. Appreciate it very much.

We try the best we can.

You've done wonderful. Thank you.

Oh, Mr. Watts.

It's about time for you to ask me if our leaf equipment is getting ready.

You know, driving over here, I was thinking about that, but I thought I'd wait for the next meeting.

I'm ahead of you. We have gone over our leaf collectors. So we're in the burr months and it'll be at end of September. We'll start leaf collection.

That's when I'll ask.

Just an update, long line painting and intersection pavement markings have not been completed yet, but they are scheduled with the contractor and will be completed towards the end of September. That includes the couple of roads that were paved or resurfaced this year. So those roads do have no pavement marking signage on them or temporary markings. So they'll be completed soon. We did complete the Palmdale Park bike path resurfacing today. So that is completed. I have some pictures of it. Looks great. And I'm sure the users of that path will appreciate it. Moving to a couple other, you know, smaller park and facility projects and smaller patch repairs to finish out the season before leaves.

I just want to give you a shout out for the Palmdale bike path upgrade. We really appreciate you working on that. And as I'm mentioning Palmdale, I realized I forgot to mention the Palmdale family picnic on September 19th. But that's from 4 to 8 p.m. But thank you very much. It's great to see some of the upgrades and maintenance on the bike path being done. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thanks, Greg. Eric.

I had planned to provide an update tonight on the Gateway project, kind of an overview of what was, what's currently wrapping up design as well as the schedule moving forward. In light of the technical difficulties, I think that's better presentation with the visuals. So I'd postpone that till two weeks from now and no other report beside from that.

Okay. Thanks, Eric.

Chuck?

Just to clarify, the Gateway Project means some pedestrian improvements on Homestead, on Chocolate near Homestead and near Mansion Road and Coco near Ridge and Brook. Is that correct?

correct yeah we've we've termed it the gateway project because it's really three entrances into the downtown area so coming northbound on coco at both ridge and brook there's improvements planned uh coming eastbound into the downtown along chocolate at Orchard and then Valley. And then on the east side of town, really between Homestead, Parra to Mansion. So those are the three kind of limits or extremes of the downtown. And again, I can get more into what exactly is planned at each of those locations. But again, picture says a thousand words.

Right. No, great. I just wanted to make sure people knew what roads roughly we're talking about. Thank you very much.

Thanks, Eric. Chuck?

Nothing more this evening, thank you.

Thank you for that. Mr. Jackson?

I just wanted to provide an update regarding the amusement tax agreement. We have set our initial meeting with Hershey Entertainment Resorts and Derry Township School District for early October. All right.

Is that it?

That's it. Okay.

that finishes our department board reports. That opens up our final and last public comment session. If you have something to say, please step up to the microphone, name and locality and say your piece. Seeing no one, that closes our second session of public comment. And I am now looking for a motion for adjournment.

I'll make a motion to adjourn.

Do I have your second?

Second.

Thanks, guys. All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Hearing none, motion carries. Meeting's closed.