Board minutes June 14, 2005

• Planning – As an informational item, Bob O’Leary reported on the redevelopment of the Paoli Yard. A request for proposals has been made. Tredyffrin will be working with Willistiown on this issue. Also, plans are being made to expedite the Church Road and Swedesford Road intersection.
• Zoning – There is nothing new from this committee that pertains to the GVA area.

Communications

• We are planning the annual meeting for early to mid-October. Possible suggestions for a speaker include the new township manager. We would also consider having a presentation from the PA Turnpike Commission, as the widening of the turnpike is a major issue with GVA at this time.

Topics of Discussion

• Jane Charpentier reported that she would like to have the new “GVA History” ready for the printer in September. She is now working on the 2000 to the present section.
• The question was raised as to whether there is still a Citizens Advisory Committee for the Turnpike, or did that dissolve after the decision to construct the slip ramp at Route 29? Apparently not.
• Is there still a Valley Forge Civic Association which we would include in our turnpike subcommittee group as they would be impacted by the future widening of the turnpike? The answer is “no”.
• The Church Road group met with township supervisors, PECO reps, the township manager and a member of the police department at the actual intersection with Swedesford Road. The township expressed concerns about safety issues. In actuality, there have been 4 accidents in 5 years in that area and only 1 at the intersection itself.  It was agreed that the site lines are bad at the intersection. The telephone pole close to the intersection is in the way. PECO will be willing to move the pole. Paul Olsen will contact Verizon, because they have wires at the pole, too. Vanguard and Liberty are putting pressure on the township to correct the traffic problem. The traffic engineer is looking at moving the stop sign forward toward the intersection. Liberty still wants the loop road from Chesterfield Blvd. to Swedesford Road.

·   The Turnpike Subcommittee led by Lou Erdelan has set up two parts to the committee - water and noise. The next group meeting on June 22 will include a presentation by Jonathan Rinde of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP, who is an attorney with expertise on storm water runoff. He was involved in work on the Blue Route. He is an associate of John Kirk, a subcommittee member, and will share information that will be helpful to the group in planning our next steps.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40. The next meeting will be on July 12.