The regular meeting of the Board of Township Trustees, Newbury Township was called to order at 7:30 p.m., April 15, 2009, with all trustees present.  Minutes of the meeting of February 21, 2009 were approved upon a motion by Mr. Skomrock, a second by Mr. Blair, and a unanimous affirmative vote.  Minutes of April 1, 2009 meeting were approved upon a motion by Mrs. Blair, a second by Mr. Snively, and affirmative votes from Mrs. Blair and Mr. Snively, with Mr. Skomrock abstaining as he was not present at this meeting.  Mr. Skomrock moved that the board amend the previous motion approving the minutes of the February 21^st meeting to read as a motion that the board approve the minutes of the March 18^th meeting.  Mr. Snively seconded this motion, which passed upon affirmative votes from Mr. Skomrock and Mr. Snively; with Mrs. Blair abstaining as she was not present for this meeting.

The 2009 pay increase for township employees as submitted by the Fiscal Officer and averaging slightly under 3% overall, was approved effective April 1, 2009, upon a motion by Mrs. Blair, a second by Mr. Skomrock, and a unanimous affirmative vote.

Mr. Clay Burnett from Inventure presented an update on the ongoing development of the new township website.  The new website includes easy-to-use tools for administration of the site, pages featuring pictures from around the township, and a search engine to allow for easy retrieval by site visitors of minutes or other documentation. 

Fire activity year-to-date of 135 calls as of this afternoon was reported by Mr. Fagan.

Mrs. Hrabak reported on her attendance at the Planning Commission meeting held on April 14^th, noting that three townships had recently adopted zoning changes to include general welfare in their mission statement.  It was also noted that more and more townships are adhering to model zoning.

Mr. Snively provided a Health Department Advisory Council update, strongly urging that letters be sent to State Representative Matt Dolan in support of SB100, as co-sponsored by State Senator Tim Grendell and State Senator Capri Cafaro, promoting the continuance of current septic system design regulations based on proven and cost-effective design standards.  Mr. Snively said that he would draft a letter on behalf of the township.

Mr. Snively said that the Beach Drive abandonment process needs to resume, and he will speak to APA Susan Weiland to do this.  It was agreed that the best course of action would be to look at all the unfinished roads within Kiwanis Lake and put together a process to have all the necessary hearings consolidated to be handled as a group by the trustees and by the County Commissioners.

Mr. Snively reported that Newbury Centre Phase 2 is being reviewed by Nacy Panzica and Chip Hess.  Mrs. Endres showed plans for the second building being built, a 17,700 square foot structure that will be subdivided as called for by tenants; as of now, there are no signed tenants for this building, but Mr. Panzica is confident that interest will grow rapidly as the building begins construction.  In reviewing future growth plans in the town center area, a potential hotel or mixed-use residential/retail development was discussed.

The trustees briefly discussed color-printing needs, and decided to have Mr. Lair look at options for a color laser printer, as volume anticipated doesn't justify a larger color copier/printer at this time.

Mr. Skomrock reported that the escalating cost of tar was going to increase the cost of chip and seal resurfacing of the east end of Pekin, and Cory Lane, which will probably result in those projects being shelved for this year.  Arbor Trail will stay on the schedule if sufficient repaving funds remain following the Pekin and Cedar joint projects with Russell and Munson.

New business reported by Mr. Snively included a get-together of Park Board members where future plans for Oberland Park were discussed.  A joint meeting with the Park Board and Recreation Board, along with school representatives, was suggested.  It was noted that about $130,000 was remaining of the HUD grant money, and various concepts for a pavilion were discussed.  It was agreed that Mr. Snively would speak to various stakeholders and try to find a Saturday morning meeting date that would work for as many interested parties as possible.  The trustees discussed ways in which development of Oberland Park could be steered toward events or activities that could generate some revenue to maintain the park.

The trustees discussed the proposal received from Bruce Wiley of Ironwood Landscaping fertilizer for the athletic fields at Oberland Park, at an annual cost of $1430 for multiple applications, which is a $30 reduction from last year’s figure.  Mr. Skomrock moved to accept this quote; Mrs. Blair seconded this motion, which passed by unanimous vote.  Mr. Skomrock discussed some town hall maintenance issues, including repair of the back stairs and painting of the back door, as well as repair of the garage doorframe and painting and re-roofing of the garage.  This meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m., upon a motion by Mr. Skomrock, a second by Mrs. Blair, and a unanimous affirmative vote.

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David Snively – Chairman                                          Jan Blair – Vice Chairman

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William Skomrock, Jr.                                                            David Lair – Fiscal Officer