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Blair Township approves July disbursements, equipment sales, contracts and policy update
Summary
At its Aug. 13 meeting the Board approved July disbursements and treasury balances, authorized sale of an old boom mower, adopted a resolution to destroy obsolete phones, awarded contracts for a sewer repair and garage HVAC replacement, shortened road crew hours, denied a subdivision security release, and updated the website policy on anonymous open-records requests.
Blair Township supervisors approved routine financials, several contracts and administrative changes at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Financial and asset actions: The Board approved July disbursements totaling $304,079.14 and accepted Treasury balances of $1,802,377.00 and $195,630.49 for specific service accounts. Road Foreman John Reed reported a new John Deere tractor and boom arm had arrived and recommended selling the old boom mower on Municibid with a minimum bid of $15,000; the Board approved listing the mower at that minimum.
Contracts and maintenance: The Township received a single bid from Burke & Company, LLC to repair a disconnected sewer pipe under the municipal office for $4,879; the Board approved the contract and noted Burke requires half down to schedule the work. For the Township Garage HVAC, Burke & Company offered a COSTARS-priced replacement (3-ton condenser and A-coil) for $9,046; a second bid for an electric heat pump was $8,500, but the board concluded the heat pump’s winter efficiency made it a less suitable choice and approved the Burke proposal.
Personnel and operational changes: Supervisors approved a change to the road crew workday, moving the end time from 3:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Secretary/Treasurer Kami Bilek asked the police chief and road foreman to submit next month’s budget requests, including items unlikely to be purchased this year. Bilek also introduced Jeff Shaffer as the township’s new Codes and Permit Officer with PA Municipal Code Alliance.
Records and policy: The Board adopted Resolution No. 2024-06 to destroy eighteen obsolete township cell phones (nine iPhone 4 units and nine iPhone S units) while retaining nine iPhone 10s as backups. Solicitor Patrick Fanelli reviewed a PSATS-circulated legal determination based on a York County appellate decision and recommended adding website language allowing the township to deny anonymous open-records requests; the Board approved updating the website accordingly.
Subdivision security and zoning actions: Solicitor Fanelli and Engineer Eric Banks reported outstanding stormwater and shared-driveway items for the Mezzy Court subdivision; John Castle requested return of $10,310 in financial security, but the Board voted to deny the release. The Board approved a Variance Agreement for 901 Pennington Drive to allow a shed in setback areas and denied a homeowners’ request to fill a ditch at a Hillsideview Drive property because of downhill drainage concerns.
Why it matters: The votes cover routine municipal housekeeping (budget, equipment, maintenance) and policy changes (open-records guidance) while preserving township engineering oversight on subdivisions and infrastructure. Several approvals require down payments or contractor scheduling and place follow-up responsibilities on staff and applicants.
Next steps: Staff will schedule repairs, list the boom mower for sale, and track applicant resubmissions and county reviews where plans were tabled or security releases were denied.
