Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Good evening, folks. Welcome to the June 9th meeting of the Derry Township Board of Supervisors. First order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. Mr. Jackson, roll call, please.

For Supervisor Bellucci. Here. Supervisor Corrado.

Here.

Supervisor Myers.

Present.

Supervisor Ballard.

Here.

And Supervisor Smuda. I am here. We have five present this evening.

Thank you. Thank you. Before we get started here, the 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 that sensitive subjects were handled with the appropriate level of privacy and attention. I would also like to remind all present that in accordance to 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 recording, we have recently begun live streaming these proceedings, providing 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, and 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. All right, that opens up our first public comment session. If anyone would like to say a few words, please step up to the microphone, name and address, and say your piece.

I'm addressing the board. My name is Stephen Coletti, and I live at 564 West Granada Avenue. a home that my family lived in for 66 years. It's across from the True Hotel, and it is in between Granada Avenue and Arriba Avenue, and right across in between the hotel and my home is Hillcrest. I'm requesting that you will possibly place no bus parking signs on that area from Granada to Arriba on Hillcrest. And the reason is this. Regarding human health and safety concerns, that area is adjacent to my home and also in a residential neighborhood. And the True Hilton Hotel parks buses for 20 to 24 hour periods and runs auxiliary diesel generators. Those generators, sometimes there's as many as four buses there, and those generators produce each one, each bus, 10 to 20 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour, and also NOx, SOx, and other deleterious chemicals. They usually have four buses there at 1600 pounds of carbon dioxide that blows towards my house and porch. My family this last weekend is most recent occurrence on the 30th and 31st of May, 2026. We couldn't go out on the porch. We couldn't open the windows. And it was very difficult, particularly if someone has any sort of breathing problems, et cetera. So in addition to the poor quality of air caused by these buses, they also block a large portion of the travel lane. There's an active crosswalk right there on Granada across Hillcrest. And there's danger of pedestrian and vehicle accidents from drivers who travel in a constricted single lane from both directions because of the buses. It's impossible to park curbside across from the buses because of the confined space. And so we're requesting the buses either move back on the back lot of true Hilton property or be parked away from the area of Hillcrest between West Granada Avenue and Areva Avenue. I know there's an ordinance mandate that says any business, commercial business or hotel needs to have enough space for their occupants or their visitors. there's almost in three block radius around my home, there's at least three to five major hotels and that can accommodate 660 guests. And that's a lot of people and there's major opportunities for hazardous conditions requiring that can happen as a result of these buses. they run auxiliary diesel generators and those diesel generators, um, in addition to the Clean Air Act, uh, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 124, um, sometimes the buses are idling longer than the five minute and 60 minute period. And sometimes just the diesel generators are running all, all day and all night long. So, um, As I may have mentioned, they produce 1,600 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour and smog forming nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. And I think it's not something that can be tolerated in the residential community. So I'm asking you to review this and perhaps, and I'm hoping that you'll put signage up that says no bus parkings on both sides of that area that I mentioned previously, because this is not only a health hazard, but my neighbors, I pulled my neighbors and they, three or four houses down, they still smell the diesel and it disrupts all of our sleep, including individuals that are two to three houses down. So we are a residential community. And I know that your mandate is to protect both the residents and our guests. And I would appreciate it if you see action on this particular issue.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clay. Mr. Clay, would you be willing to talk to Mr. Emmerich about this? He's over here in the light green shirt. He may be able to tell you and Chuck, if you could let us know. if anything can be done about that. Appreciate that. Thank you very much. Anybody else?

Lindsay.

Good evening, Supervisors. My name is Lindsay Drew. I am a Derry Township resident residing at 73 Carousel Circle in Hershey. However, I come before you right now as President of the Board of School Directors for Derry Township School District. On April 21st, I submitted a letter on behalf of my board to yours, which is on your agenda this evening for consideration. As you are aware, the district has been working toward the construction of a new Hershey Elementary School, which is the culmination of nearly a decade of study and planning and represents the most fiscally responsible and educationally sound solution to address the district's facility needs while ensuring we continue to provide our students with an excellent education aligned with the district's mission and vision. The purpose of our letter was to request an exemption from the fee imposed by the board's resolution number 2025-18, for which payment is required as condition number 15 of the conditional approval of the preliminary final land development plan for Hershey Elementary School, flat 141, dated March 24th, 2026. Payment of the fee imposed by this resolution was adopted only months ago, and the fee represents a significant expenditure of our taxpayer resources. The district believes it is appropriate for the township to waive the fee for reasons provided in our letter. However, in the interest of public transparency in making this request from one elected board to another, I'm here to explain this evening. The New Hershey Elementary School will contain kindergarten through fifth grade in one building. Our current facility configuration, under our current facility configuration, those grades are spread across two separate buildings. the Early Childhood Center and the current Hershey Elementary School. The new building will contain only an additional 146,500 square feet, despite representing the combination of two school buildings. Further, the current Hershey Elementary School, which will be demolished upon completion of the new building, was constructed in 1954 and has undergone several renovations and additions. The age and design of the current facility present various challenges, and additional considerations when evaluating the potential burden on public services. Additionally, the new school will contain much new fire warning and fire suppression systems than those currently present in either the Early Childhood Center or the Hershey Elementary School. While our board values and appreciates deeply the service provided to our community by the volunteer fire company. When evaluating the factors mentioned, we do not believe that the new Hershey Elementary School development project adds additional burden and strain to the fire company that this resolution aims to address. On the contrary, the new school minimizes the existing burden on the fire company by consolidating buildings, providing a more accessible design and including updated fire safety systems. Furthermore, the township's resolution does not speak to land development projects conducted by other political subdivisions, notably the Derry Township School District. As you will know, any fee paid by the district would be paid directly from local taxpayer funds. Township staff have confirmed that the estimated fee to be incurred by the district by this resolution would be $73,250. Such a fee represents a significant unanticipated expenditure of local taxpayer resources. When looking at the impact to the district, $73,250 could cover the entire salary of a teacher in the New Hershey Elementary School for an entire year. Surely it seems that an exemption to the resolution would be appropriate to avoid the diversion of such an exorbitant amount of taxpayer resources from one public entity to another within the same community and allow the district to maintain those funds for educational purposes. Section F of resolution 2025-18 allows the township's board of supervisors to adjust the required contribution for a specific project where that project is anticipated to have a significantly greater or lesser impact on the Hershey Volunteer Fire Company than similar projects of the same type. For the reasons I have outlined and explained this evening, and with the responsibility as stewards of public funds in mind, the district respectfully requests that the Board of Supervisors exercise its discretion and grant the district an exemption and waiver of the fee in full that would otherwise be imposed on the district. Currently time is of the essence as construction bids for the project were awarded at the Derry Township School Board business meeting last night. And as written and previously mentioned condition 15 of our land development approval regarding this imposed fee must be satisfied in order to receive building permits necessary for construction to proceed. Thank you for your consideration as well as your service to the community that we both represent.

Thank you, Ms. Drew. Anybody else? All right, that closes our first public comment session. Our first agenda item is the approval of the consent calendar. We can do this all at once or individually. Is there a motion?

I'll make a motion that we approve the entirety of the consent calendar, points A and B. Thank you, Mr. Myers.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you, Mr. Corrado. All those in favor? Opposed? Hearing none, motion carries. Consent calendar is approved as is. Our first order of business. The consideration to waive or reduce the contribution to the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department associated with the preliminary final land development plan for the Hershey Elementary School. Mr. Jackson.

Ms. Drew actually just hit the highlights of all that. So I'll spare everyone going through all that same information. As you know, you have a letter before you this evening from Derry Township School District requesting an exemption for the contribution to the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department that is imposed by resolution 2025-18. As she mentioned, that contribution is calculated at $73,250 and is listed as condition 15 in the preliminary final land development plan for the Hershey Elementary School plat 1414. In the event that the Board of Supervisors would like to waive or reduce the contribution associated with this project, the Board should consider a motion to formally authorize that this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Thank you.

Are there any questions or comments from the Board? Before we begin comment, I must say that I must recuse myself due to my employer's nature and relationship with the project. Thank you, Mr. Myers.

Questions?

I have some questions. First of all, I have a question for Mr. Emmerich. Is there any precedent or is this the first impression of a request to waive or reduce the contribution under 2025-18?

This would be our first request to waive or reduce

I have a couple of questions for Ms. Drew, if that would be okay. Lindsay, could you step up to the, thank you. Good evening, how are you?

Good, thanks.

Thanks. I totally get why you're here and I appreciate the request. I read the letter, I totally get it. It's a delicate situation. You know, we're trying to juggle things financially for the township, the taxpayers of the township, et cetera. And I guess what I'm wondering is you're seeking a complete waiver or a reduction, or is it one or the other? I know you'd prefer a complete waiver based on your statement and your letter.

Thank you, Supervisor Belichick. Our letter was requesting a full waiver. As it appears on your agenda, it appears as though there's consideration to either waive or reduce.

And in terms of the whole project, like what percentage of, if you can approximate, if you know exactly, what percentage of this overall project does this contribution represent?

Sure. Well, at our meeting last night, when we approved the construction bids, our architect provided the updated summary, and we were at approximately $108 million total project, which includes all fees and furniture fixtures, that type of thing.

$108 million.

Dr. Menzo, is that correct? $108 million.

I think that's all I have right now. That's all you have? Okay, anybody else? Okay.

Thank you.

Thanks, Lindsay. All right, so I guess I'm going to make a motion here. Seeing that you are a sister organization, we're going to request a reduction and not a full waiver. So I'm going to make the motion to reduce the contribution to the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department to the amount of 20,000 associated, $20,000, I'm sorry, associated with the preliminary final land development plan for Hershey Elementary School Platte 1414. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you. Ms. Ballard, is there a, anybody else? No? All those in favor? Opposed? Hearing none. You're opposed? Okay. The motion carries three to one with one abstention. Thank you very much. Okay, next motion, next agenda item is your authorization for a civic banner to be placed at the east entrance of the Hershey Company's office building at 19 East Chocolate Avenue. That's Mr. Emmerich. Thank you, Mr. Emmerich. Any questions or concerns from the board? Seeing none, do I hear a motion?

I'll make a motion that the 23rd Annual Hershey Miracle 5K Race Banner is authorized to be placed at the east entrance of 19 East Chocolate Avenue Office Building.

Thank you, Mr. Carado. Is there a second? I'll second that. Thank you, Mr. Carado. Just jumped right on that, didn't you? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, the motion carries. The banner can be displayed. That closes our agenda items for the evening, which opens up our second public speaking session. Would anybody like to get up and say a few words?

This is Lindsay Drew again on behalf of the Derry Township School Board. Well, I thank you for your consideration and approval of the waiver of the fee and reduction to $20,000. I would just in full transparency appreciate for the record what substantiates the decision for a $20,000 amount and also how that was discussed and decided on ahead of time It appears as though there may have been some discussion about it coming into this evening that it would have already been considered. And the board, our board was not asked for any additional questions or information. So while I appreciate any cost savings, it is somewhat disappointing given the way that the resolution is written and the fact that a precedent would not be set when it is one taxing entity within the same boundaries of municipality. from another. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Drew. Anybody else? That concludes our second public speaking session. One more thing to do. We need a motion for adjournment. Oh, I'm sorry. Department reports. Starting on my left, Mr. Bellucci.

Nothing to report.

Mr. Corrado.

A quick BTMA update. High Meadow Pump Station project. The project will be customer growth for the West End development and other plan developments as well as the improved flood resiliency. Resiliency, I can't speak. The Southwest plant upgrade project. Construction continues to be on schedule with the completion of May, 2027 with onsite work now over 75% complete. and on the stormwater management side, the Ridge Road storm drainage improvements. All major construction is now complete for the installation of all storm sewers and inlets. Work throughout the remainder of the project consists solely on final pavement replacement and short-term localized closures of portions of streets as needed.

Thank you, Mr. Corrado. Ms. Ballard?

Well, I would just like to share a couple positive feedback we received from residents. First, I wanted to thank Amy Walker and Greg Watts for their quick response to a resident who called in regarding a fallen tree on the trails and the resident contact Amy and Greg and Public Works were out there clearing the trail within hours and the The resident was very, very impressed with the responsiveness and appreciated that. And speaking of trails, another resident shared that he and his wife actually moved to Derry Township, specifically to the Oakmont neighborhood off Wood Road because of the wonderful Jonathan Eschenauer Memorial Trail. And it's a great reminder of what a wonderful value and purpose that trail system is to our community. And finally, I was delighted to learn that Greg Watts and the public works staff will be repairing sections of the trail, especially in the Palmdale area. And in addition, they'll be using in-house resources, which will save the township quite a bit of money. So we appreciate the time and effort to keep that trail safe and accessible for people of all ages. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Beller.

Mr. Myers. Nothing to report, but I do have a comment. I did see some of those electronic speed signs that were out in the neighborhood. So they are a nice little addition, especially in their more residential areas to keep people slow. So good to see those out in the community.

Thank you, Mr. Morris. Moving on, Chief Warner.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a few things this evening. Just wanted to touch on the recent arrest regarding the large fights at Hershey Park that happened on April 3rd of this year. We were able to identify 55 people and charge them. Only three of those were 18 or older. Some of the participants were as young as 12 years old. We're hoping this will send a message that we are working with Hershey Entertainment to make sure the environment of Hershey Park remains safe and fun for the people who visit and for their short time while they're with us, they're part of our community. We also want to make sure the actions of a few do not impact the Derry Township community as a whole. Two, we are still in the process to fill a vacancy within our ranks to get us to our full complement of 44 officers. We're hoping to find a suitable candidate to hire by the fall of this year is what we're hoping to do. And then three, I just wanted to share a statistic that I recently saw that assaults on police officers were at a 10 year high as of the end of 2025. In 2016, there were 58,627 recorded assaults on police officers. And that number didn't really change all that much all the way up till 2022, where there were 66,415 recorded assaults. But in 2025, there were over 90,000 recorded assaults on police officers. It's a tough job. That's a noble profession, but officers like ours, ordinary people that are doing extraordinary work, That makes the job of policing that noble and great profession. And hopefully this trend on assaults on police will start to decrease.

Thank you, Chief. Ms. Jacobi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It gives me great pleasure today to introduce Allie Tran as the Hershey Public Library's new assistant director. She's worked for Derry Township since 2018, starting first as the library's administrative assistant and moving to the adult programming manager role in 2020. Allie holds an MS in counseling from Emporia State University and brings a really diverse background to her work at the Hershey Public Library. After nine years in student affairs and nine years as a house parent at the Milton Hershey School, she transitioned into the library world where she's an absolutely natural fit. She creates engaging and meaningful opportunities for the community and our adult programs have grown in leaps and bounds during her time here, resulting in a strong slate of programs with attendance that any library would envy. I'm really delighted to have her step into this role as the Hershey Public Library's assistant director and work with her to support the library staff in doing the work they do every day to help the residents of Derry Township who visit the library. And part of that is our summer reading program. And we have several hundred people signed up for that already.

Wow.

It's crazy numbers. Welcome, Ms. Trant. Welcome aboard. Let's see, Ms. Walker.

Thank you, Chairman. I think my microphone's a little broke over here, so I've been given some instructions. No report from Parks and Rec this evening.

All right. Well, thank you. Maybe next time. Mr. Sassman.

Good evening. Just a couple quick things. Over the weekend, the fire department participated in over six events as far as public relations, including an installation of some fire smoke detectors. Additionally, an update to our newest attack pumper. It is finished this week at Glick Fire Equipment with all the equipment mounting. And we'll head to the fire station where we will begin driver training. And their estimated time to put it in service is July 7th. we'll have all the drivers changed and certified and ready to go.

Can't wait to see it.

We're excited as well.

I'm sure you are.

Mr. Watts. Lots of road work updates for you. South Hills Drive received a water main and lateral replacement along the whole length, including Timber Drive at the end and Township and PA American Water worked together and they are doing a full mill and overlay on those roads. Those roads were in bad shape, so their work only made them worse. So they agreed to have their contractor do that. That work, I didn't get up there today. I do believe they were paving there today. It may be finished. If it's not finished today, it'll be finished tomorrow. I know not that many residents, it's not a through street, but the residents of that street are going to be very happy that that project is complete. Also of note, Stauffer's Church Road culvert has been replaced. The final pavement wearing course occurred today. That will open again to traffic first thing on Thursday morning. Good thing it opens first thing on Thursday morning because a detour route of EB road will start an FB modified paving process on that. That is expected to take three, four days. So it'll start the end of this week and move into the beginning of next week. That contractor, after they're done, will move to Kaler and Stoverdale to do a maintenance treatment on those roads. That's after the township has done in-house patch repairs on that road to make sure it lasts another seven to 10 years with this maintenance treatment. Mill and pave work will start next week on Clifton Heights Road, Sunnyside Road, Twin Oaks Drive, and Trinidad Avenue.

Is that it? That's it. Thank you, Mr. Watts. You're welcome. Mr. Stump?

Nothing to report this month.

Thank you very much. Mr. Emmerich? Nothing to report, thank you. Well, you guys are easy. Zach?

We'll keep it going, no report.

No reports. Okay, since I already did the second public comment session, I guess we can move to adjournment.

So moved.

So moved. Second? All those in favor?

Aye.

Motion carries, it's adjourned. Thank you for coming in.