24. April 2008 by admin.

Township Manager Tim Tenges asked for a vote to move the Pension funds if he decides, as Pension Administrator,  that it’s the right thing to do. Mr. Murphy asked what the advantages were in moving to Philadelphia Trust - were the rates or fees lower? The answer is basically none except Timm likes these two guys. It appears that the rates and fees for Philadelphia Trust Co. are higher, but Felcheck and Spangler (spelling?) were willing to match the fee schedule at National Penn (formerly KNBT) to get the business. A motion authorizing the move of funds failed with Mr. Kucsan and Mr. Nagle voting to move the money, and Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dilsaver voting against. Mr. Johnson was absent.

Timm might be on a mission, he didn’t get his way, he might try to persuade Mr. Ricky Johnson to align with him and ask for another vote.  We’ll have to wait and see.

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10. April 2008 by admin.

Under Courtesy of the Floor during the April 9th, 2008 Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors Meeting; the Supervisors heard from the Corvette Club of Easton who were represented by Mr. Charles Gordon.

Basically the Corvette Club has been holding “Cruise Nights” for the past eleven years at Northampton Crossings without incident; with all proceeds going to Camelot for Children (a great charity.) The local retail stores see increased sales during the events and support it’s continuation according to Mr. Gordon.

Now the township staff tell them they can’t anymore. That is unless they will buy a permit, move to the Burger King parking lot, and cut the show in half. Early on Tenges comments were that they (staff) were looking for guidance from the Board on how to handle these type requests, near the end of the presentation (when it looked like the Supervisors had some sympathy for the Club) Tenges said it’s not for the Board to decide, it’s a zoning issue.

The Supervisors thanked he Corvette Club for coming and noted Camelot for Kids is a good charity (but they took no action nor made any recommendations) after Tenges’ comments.

It’s sad, that’s what it is. Rather then deal with the offenders and/or the undesirables the Twp. Staff just say no to all and try to blame that on the “rules.”

Cruise nights are great family entertainment and an American tradition - but let’s not have any of that in Lower Nazareth - hey maybe the Club would like to put up a warehouse?

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10. April 2008 by admin.

During Managers Comments slot at the 04/09/08 LNT Supervisors Meeting , Tim Tenges stated he wanted to move the Townships pension assets from National Penn (formerly KNBT) to Philadelphia Trust Co. He stated he wasn’t asking the Supervisors for a decision tonight, was just giving a heads up. Felcheck and Spangler (spelling?) of Philadelphia Trust Co. gave Tenges a presentation and he said he liked it. Tenges did not provide any information about the presentation or benefits/risks to the Township of making the change. Maybe he will before the Supervisors vote on it?

Other then telling the Board he wants to move the money what information did he provide to permit any kind of intelligent decision?

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28. February 2008 by admin.

I was unable to attend the Feb 27, 2008 LNT Board of Supervisors meeting due to prior commitments. However, based upon this mornings news articles I find myself in the unusual position of praising the Board of Supervisors for their actions.

As required (by law) the Board granted the conditional use, but not without imposing some very reasonable conditions which limit the hours of operation to 6:00am - 10:00pm; require additional barriers to sound, lights and noise; and require IDI to conduct a traffic and environmental impact study before a site plan will be approved.

Kudos also to the residents of Palmer and Lower Nazareth Townships who showed up in force at over eight meetings and hearings to voice their concerns.

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13. February 2008 by admin.

The Colonial Police have joined in implementing a Neighborhood Crime Watch organization. Volunteers are needed for specific neighborhoods. Lower Nazareth Township residents interested in joining the Neighborhood Watch program can contact Joe Fresco at LNTcrimewatch@aol.com or 610-837-3446.

The group will meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month at the Lower Nazareth Municipal Building, 306 Butztown Road. You can read the Organization proposal as well as download an application form here.

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13. February 2008 by admin.

Can’t say for sure what prompted this commendable behavior, as it has been acceptable for the last three years; but Supervisor Eric Nagle voted against appointing fellow Supervisor Patrick Murphy  to the $60,250 position of Twp. Roadmaster, stating he didn’t think it was in the best interest of the Township to have a Supervisor also on the Township payroll. Robert Kuscan also voted against the appointment although he provided no comments.

The Chairman, Mr. Dilsaver noted Lower Nazareth has some of the finest roads in the Lehigh Valley (where does he drive?) and questioned their ‘no’ votes. Neither Supervisor would change their vote, nor should they.

As I understand it, the Township Mgr. reports to and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors, they also set his salary. At the Reorganization meeting for 2007, it was Supervisor Patrick Murphy (also the Roadmaster at that time) who made a motion to increase Tim Tenges salary to $80,000 ($85,000 for 2008). So who sets the Roadmasters salary? It has nothing to do with whether Pennsylvania allows 2nd Class Township Supervisors to also be on the payroll; it’s just wrong.

As a side benefit, not appointing someone to this position and having it fall under the responsibility of the Township Manager, is a good first step in bringing the township’s spending in line with it’s income.

For more on the budget gap see: LNT Votes a 1 Mill Tax Increase.

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6. December 2007 by admin.

When the Lower Nazareth Township Mgr. introduced the 2008 budget at the November 14th, 2007 Board of Supervisor meeting, he mentioned a shortfall of revenue to expense of $901,290 which could be covered by the General Fund unless there were “revenue enhancements.”  Instead the Supervisors (with the exception of Mr. Eric Nagle) recommended a “revenue enhancement” of a one mill tax increase to minimize the transfer from General Funds.  (See earlier post: Is A Tax Increase In Your Future)  The 2008 Budget was advertised in the Express Times.

At last nights meeting, the Board approved without comment or question the proposed budget.

With shortfalls of $584K and $656K in earlier years, I got to thinking, how is a township  of comparable size and make up fairing?  As it turns out, Upper Nazareth Township (pop. ~4400) makes their budget available online (http://www.uppernazarethtownship.org/) so it was easy to look for similarities.  Lower Nazareth (pop. ~5200) does not publish the budget on their web site, you are required to go to the township office to view; although I have made it available here: http://lowernazareth.org/html/other_documents.

The two townships do not categorize expenses in exactly the same manner, so I attempted to collate like data for a comparison.  View file  UNT vs. LNT Budgets for a summary comparison.  They (UNT) appear to be doing something right.

WebAdmin
Lower Nazareth Township Citizens Forum

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15. November 2007 by admin.

At least one.  At the Nov. 14, 2007 Board of Supervisors meeting, after the Conditional use hearing on the IDI Warehouse Development,  Twp. Mgr. Tim Tenges  discussed the proposed 2008 Preliminary Budget.

Mr.Tenges stated revenues were approximately $900,000 short of anticipated revenues.  Mr. Tenges explained there were two options, ” enhance revenues” (read that tax increase) or cover the difference with existing reserves which stand at approximately $1.5M. 

Some discussion amongst the board ensued:  Mr. Dilsaver (Chairman) asked if anyone wanted to entertain increasing taxes?  Mr. Nagle replied he didn’t really want to increase taxes if we don’t have to.  Mr. Johnson stated: wouldn’t it be better to raise the taxes this year instead of next?  (Someone on the board, I didn’t catch who, mentioned that next year will be an election year)

Mr. Dilsaver said we should entertain a one mill increase bringing us to 4.125 mills.  Mr. Dilsaver then made a motion for the 2008 draft budget to include an increase in the tax rate by one mill.  This  requires the Township Solicitor to advertise the budget (will be advertised in the Express Times) so that the Board can approve the tax increase yet this year.  I am not sure if it will be at the Nov. or Dec. meeting.

Tim Tenges pointed out that a one mill increase will raise approximately $300K in revenue, the other $600K will have to come out of the reserves.

Didn’t hear much discussion on cutting costs.  Seems like this should have been at least the Second Option in the process.

The Draft Budget is available here: http://lowernazareth.org/html/other_documents.html

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15. November 2007 by admin.

Twp. resident Noreen Reid of Oakwood Lane asked at the May 9, 2007 Supervisors Meeting when we were going to get Township managed trash pick up, because she thought it would minimize the number of trucks on the road and also be less expensive for residents. (There was a slight chuckle at this comment and she was asked if she had been reading the paper regarding other Townships that had implemented), Mr. Tenges replied he has almost completed a draft of the ordinance for presentation to the Board. One change from earlier versions, it will not be part of your Township taxes, the Township will select a vendor for you, determine the level of service, force you to use that vendor at that service level, and you will be billed direct by the vendor. Seems like a good idea.

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13. September 2007 by admin.

Don’t forget the three huge traffic generating warehouses Greenfield Development has pending west of Dutch Springs.  These are going to add thousands more vehicle trips per day!  They are proceeding! Some of the history and back up data is available in Archived Documents.  You might also want to read some of the old news articles to refresh your memory on this nightmare of a project.

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13. September 2007 by admin.

In search of MONEY our Board of Supervisors and Township Mgr. have allowed us to virtually become a warehousing district.  More warehouses are going in, see recent News articles for the most recent additions. What do we hear at the Supervisors Meetings? - “There’s not much we can do.” - No, not now, but the Zoning Ordinances COULD have been changed after the first warehouse was submitted.   A review and modification of existing ordinances could have avoided the quagmire we (LNT) find ourselves in.  For example Bethlehem Township in the description of the intent of its Light Industrial District (LI) Zoning states: “To avoid unusually large warehouse/distribution centers that generate very high amounts of tractor-trailer traffic and consume large areas of land, while generating relatively few jobs.” The excerpt and complete Zoning Ordinance are available on the LNTCF web site.

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13. September 2007 by admin.

the Board of Supervisors passed an Ordinance requiring ALL owners of property in Lower Nazareth Twp. “…..who rents or leases any parcel of real estate, in whole or in part to any other person(s)…” to provide a list to the township secretary of all occupants in the preceding six (6) month period or face fines up to $300 per DAY. You can read the complete ordinance (2 pages) here: see -> Landlord Ordinance

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13. September 2007 by admin.

This is a ‘trial’ blog for the citizens of Lower Nazareth Township. It is a sister site to http://www.lowernazareth.org where Meeting schedules, minutes and hard factual data is available. The blog was created to share opinions and comments. At least initially, Posts and Comments can be completely anonymous but you are encouraged to register. Registered users can edit the comments they post and in the near future will be able to create new topics. Regardless, in order to reduce spam entries, you must answer the basic math question posed when submitting topics and comments to the blog.

If you would like to be a Registered User, send First & Last Name and desired password to: webadmin@lowernazareth.org

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