Franklin Estates Residents Association

New FERA Officers, Business Mtg Minutes and More!

Oct 11, 2002

A huge welcome to our new officers of FERA!

At the annual business meeting, 3 new officers were elected to FERA. Matt D?’Onofrio and Bob Muir were elected Co-Presidents, while Rich Mickel was elected Vice President. Both Fred Holcomb and Monica Diacopoulos will continue in the roles of Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.

Both Matt and Bob are residents of Lexington Court. Matt has lived in Franklin Estates since 1998 and is a physician with UPMC-Greensburg. He and his wife, Kim, recently welcomed a baby boy, Christopher in July.

Bob is an attorney specializing in municipal law and has lived in Franklin Estates for several years. Bob?’s wife, Jeannie is a Vice President for PNC, and they have a daughter (age 6) and a son (age 3).

Rich lives on Mt. Vernon and has resided in Franklin Estates since June 2001. He is an independent technical sales representative, specializing in the metals industry. Rich?’s wife, Janine is a teacher at Sloan Elementary School. They have 2 girls, ages 6 and 4.

We welcome Matt, Bob and Rich into their new roles with FERA and look forward to many of their contributions in the future!

With new officers in the position of President, Solveig Peters will continue on the Board of Directors in the position of Past President. We thank Solveig for all of the many, many contributions she has made to FERA over the 7 years that she served as President. She has dedicated many hours in helping to make our neighborhood and community better. Thank you again for your dedication, Solveig!

One of the first initiatives of the newly appointed Board of Directors is preparing a proposal to Fred Wilder, Murrysville?’s Planning Director, that outlines the desires of the residents of Franklin Estates as they relate to the use of green space and park areas. As noted in the Annual Meeting Minutes (below), Fred suggested that we prepare such a document so that when IDC does submit a formal proposal about any new plan development, Council will be able to take our desires into account. If you are interested in participating or expressing comments into this proposal, please contact one of the FERA officers.

Halloween Parade

Kick off trick-or-treating with a parade for the kids! We begin at the top of Jefferson (Mt Vernon/Lexington entrance) and end on the hill of Jefferson and Mt Vernon. Kids enjoy cookies and drinks before they head off to the houses. If your kids are interested in participating and you would like to contribute cookies, you can bring a 1/2 dozen of cookies or snacks to the event. Tables will be set up by 4:00 p.m. at the end of the parade route for cookies/snacks to be placed.
For neighbors who live on Lexington, Patterson or Arlington, you may want to consider parking at the end of the parade route so that it is easier to bring your children home.

Jefferson Street will be closed off to traffic during the parade. We appreciate your cooperation in not driving on Jefferson as our little ones parade the entire length of the street!

All neighbors are encouraged to come out and watch the parade, take pictures, cheer on the little ones, etc.! It?’s really a festive and fun event!

Thank you to Kathy Beauregard who has volunteered to chair the event again this year! Our children really enjoy the parade prior to trick-or-treating.

Website

A reminder to check FERA?’s website at www.neighborhoodlink.com/mville/fera for news and events. Again, if you are interested in helping to coordinate any events (progressive dinner, Christmas party, babysitting coop, adult sport leagues, mom?’s group, etc.), please express your interest at FranklinEstates@hotmail.com.

Welcome

Welcome to our new neighbors of Franklin Estates! Also, since our last newsletter and directory update, we welcome our most recent FERA members:

Ernesto and Cristina Pitruzzella of Lexington
Robert and Patricia Ludwig of Mt. Vernon
Michael and Karen Kozuch of Jefferson
Kevin and Helen Huang of Mt. Vernon

Annual Business Meeting Minutes

Franklin Estates Residents Association (FERA)
Minutes of Annual Business Meeting


Date: September 13, 2002

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Place: St. Mary?’s Church Hall, Export, PA

Attendees: Solveig Peters, President
Fred Holcomb, Treasurer
Monica Diacopoulos, Secretary
35 Homeowners of Franklin Estates (Attendance Sheet on File with Secretary)
Fred Wilder, Murrysville Planning Director

I Welcome

Solveig Peters called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. She introduced the members of the Board, as well as reviewed the Meeting Agenda (on file).

II. Old Business

Secretary?’s 2001 Annual Meeting Minutes Review

Monica Diacopoulos read last year?’s meeting minutes. The minutes were accepted as read.

Treasurer?’s Report

Fred Holcomb read the Treasurer?’s Report ending August 31, 2002. A copy of the Treasurer?’s Report is on file with the Secretary.

It was reported that prior to the meeting, both the President and Secretary of FERA audited this information, and all was acceptable.

III. New Business

A. Election of Officers

Solveig stated that she was unable to continue in the role of President due to personal commitments and graduate school. If no one was able to volunteer for that role, then a decision would need to be made by those present at the meeting as to whether to shut down FERA or have it go into a ?‘dormant?’ phase, as was done during periods prior to her presidency. Hearing no volunteers, the meeting continued until the end when discussion regarding the topic would resume.

At the end of the meeting, 2 individuals volunteered to share a Co-President role, and 1 individual volunteered to serve as Vice President. Matt D?’Onofrio of 3014 Lexington Court and Bob Muir of 3011 Lexington Court were nominated as Co-Presidents, while Rich Mickel of 2374 Mt Vernon was nominated as Vice President. Both Fred Holcomb and Monica Diacopoulos stated that they would be willing to continue to assume their roles as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. All in attendance at that point in the meeting accepted the Board of Directors as stated above.

B. Social Activities

1. Directory ?– Monica Diacopoulos reported that a new addendum to the 2001 edition of the FERA Directory was prepared and includes updates received regarding deletions and additions. Any on-going modification requests for the Directory should be emailed to FranklinEstates@hotmail.com or via the FERA website at www.neighborhoodlink.com/mville/fera. The cost to print the addendum was $74.20. FERA members were to pick up their copy during the meeting, and were asked to help in the distribution by taking some for their neighbors who were not present.

2. Social Events

Halloween Parade - Solveig noted that the Halloween Parade is typically held on Halloween for the young children in the neighborhood. Cookies and drinks are served at the end of the route and prior to trick-or-treat time. She asked for volunteers to coordinate the event. No volunteers stepped forward.

Neighborhood Night Out - Monica reported that Tuesday, September 24th (rain date of Thursday, September 26th) has been designated as Neighborhood Night Out from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. In lieu of a formalized ?“block party?”, we are going to experiment with this event. The purpose is to have neighbors get out in the front yard or take walks and re-acquaint with neighbors they haven?’t seen in awhile, or to meet new neighbors. Several individuals in the neighborhood have noted that it is difficult to meet people in the plan. Hopefully, an event like this will help to make some connections with neighbors. Signs will be posted on the designated stop signs sometime around September 19th to remind people of the event.


3. Garage Sale

Solveig reported that the Garage Sale last weekend seemed to go well. There was a slight issue with the Paralyzed Veterans organization not picking up the unsold items as requested on Monday, but they did return on Tuesday to pick up remaining items from neighbors. The charitable donation forms from the Paralyzed Vets were available for pick-up at the meeting.

4. Website

Monica noted that the FERA website has been designed to help in communicating events, regulatory issues, building issues, neighborhood news, etc. It appears that it has been helpful to many since we have received more on-line requests for FERA membership in the past few months since the site was launched.

Additionally, Monica noted that of the 174 member families of FERA (of which 8 were new members since the last meeting) only 77 or 44% have an email address on file with us. So, it?’s even more important that a website be available for members to access to view information since the newsletters are not getting to everyone.

C. Safety

1. Joe and Terri Bonk were acknowledged for efforts in volunteering to continue as Safety Chairs. Solveig also reminded people of the affects that a safety program can have. Years ago, burglaries and potential abductions were thwarted through the safety team?’s efforts. Block captains are noted in the Directory on the Street Listing pages. The Block Captains can quickly get news and information out to neighbors in the event of a potential safety threat through activating the phone chain.

2. Solveig noted that there had been no burglaries reported this year. In past summers, at least 1 or 2 have been reported ?– often due to garage doors being left open.

3. Speeding and Traffic Habits
Solveig reported that speeding continues to be an on-going issue. She asked that we remind spouses, family members and visitors to slow down. Additionally, at night, some walkers wear dark clothing, which makes it difficult for drivers to see them.

An issue was brought up by a meeting attendee regarding vehicle speed on Lexington (closer to the intersection of Mt Vernon) where a slight incline in the road makes it difficult for drivers to see anyone who may be on the street. The attendee asked that a speed bump or some sort of deterrent be considered.

Fred Wilder, Murrysville?’s Planning Director, later stated that speed bumps are not permitted on public roads. There are other ways to reduce speeding (e.g. the design of roads or signage). Fred did indicate that at the end of September, there would be a concentrated effort on the part of the Municipality to reduce speeding in Murrysville. Some examples of this include: a) having pace cars ride on local roads to keep those behind them at or under the speed limit; b) electronic speed signs that are set up on specific streets to make drivers aware of their speed. If Franklin Estates would like some electronic speed signs posted in our neighborhood, we just need to call the police to ask. At this point, there are only a limit number of these signs available.

Another meeting attendee stated that the Brimanda house at lot 455 on Lexington is causing an issue with a dumpster on the property. The home is still under construction and the builder has gone bankrupt. There is a concern, not only for aesthetic reasons, but for safety reasons (e.g. rabid animals coming around, children playing around it or trying to get in).

Fred Wilder later addressed this issue by stating that the builder was contacted on September 11th and told to remove the dumpster within 7 days. After 7 days, there is a $300/day fine. If the builder wouldn?’t remove it, the municipality could remove it and then lien the fines against the builder?’s assets.

Fred continued to state that there will be a new property maintenance code for exterior (e.g. siding falling off, old refrigerator left in backyard for a long period of time, etc.) homes/buildings in Murrysville. Additionally, regulation of the height of grass and amount of weeds will also be part of the code. Open burning will be limited too. The permitted days to burn will remain the same (Tuesday through Saturday), but one will need a permit to burn, as well as a barrel. Burning will need to take place 50 feet from both a property line and a structure (currently it?’s 15 feet). Chimneas are not part of this code, yet bonfires and burning of trees and leaves are. All outdoor fires must be manned or a $300/day fine will be issued.

IV. Presentation

Fred Wilder, Murrysville Planning Director, spoke at 8:00 p.m. to address some of the issues already noted above, but primarily the issue of FE land development. IDC (the developer of FE and owner of land in our area) has shown sketches of a plan to expand the existing neighborhood. This plan included extending Mt Vernon (at the end of Jefferson) into 2 cul-de-sacs, as well as including a private loop road at the end of Lexington Court. The proposal includes 18 lots & slopes of 40%. [Note: A new regulation in Murrysville slated for issuance in Feb/March 2003 would make it difficult for builders to develop land with a greater than 25% slope].

Fred reviewed records as far a back as 1968 and has seen the promises made by IDC to FE residents regarding the use of open space for parks. These promises haven?’t been kept. Furthermore, most of the newer residents of FE were told by realtors that the land behind Jefferson and Lexington would be green space forever, and that the easement at the end of the cul-de-sac on Lexington would be a ?‘footpath?’ to a park. In fact, as it stands now there is no green space designated for FE, as wrongly asserted by IDC and realtors in prior years. Additionally, the municipality can?’t force IDC to donate land from existing lots to get a park. However, there is a new ordinance that is being put into place, which will require a specific amount of green space per development. So, for new developments (e.g. the 18 proposed new lots) the municipality will be able to force IDC to give land. As a result, FE would probably be looking at a little less than 5 acres of green space if these 18 lots are developed after the ordinance is adopted. [Fred estimated that 3 acres is reasonable for an active park for a residential area of 200 houses, like FE].

Fred noted that the Municipality designates what land is used for parks, and that they have the right of first refusal to any open space. The 2nd right of refusal goes to the Homeowners Association, if any; then the third right of refusal to a conservancy. FE is one of 2 neighborhoods where the municipality wants a park. A show of hands of the attendees at the meeting indicated that the majority wants both a park and open space. Although Murrysville doesn?’t have a budget allocated for a park in FE, there are state grants available for parks.

The important point that Fred made regarding this entire proposal is that IDC has not submitted anything ?‘official?’ to Murrysville; therefore, there is no Developer?’s Agreement between IDC and Murrysville. A Developers?’ Agreement is a specific document that the municipality approves that states a builder has been approved to build provided A, B & C are done. It is the position of Fred and Murrysville Council that no IDC development will occur in FE until IDC handles the issue of open space and park space to the satisfaction of FERA and Council. Fred requested that FERA put down in writing the desires of the members. For instance, the land we want (park, buffer, paths). The Municipality has current topographical maps so that we can see houses and slope. The Municipality also has the expertise to help FERA with this project. Until then, Fred will remain in contact with FERA in case anything is formally submitted to Murrysville by IDC. The bottom line is that no action on the plan will be done until the issues are resolved regarding green space and the park ?– even when IDC does submit a formal plan.


Other information of interest that Fred shared includes the following:

The access road to the retention pond is owned by IDC, while Murrysville owns the actual retention pond.

In prior years, developers had a lot of power in how land was being developed. Due to changes in the state and in Murrysville that has changed. Now, Murrysville can tell developers what they want and then agree to accept a proposal to begin building. For example, aesthetic issues, new sub-division development, best management practices regarding environment issues (noise, air quality, etc.), community impact analysis (amount of traffic), etc. can be attached as issues that the developer must comply with in order to build in the municipality.

There is a 5 year statute of limitations on plans. If a builder has not completed a development within 5 years of approval, they must resubmit an official document to the municipality.

Council abolished PRDs (Proposed Residential Development). They can not be done in Murrysville anymore. [The most recent PRD was proposed about 3-4 years ago by IDC between Mt. Vernon and Route 22].

Covenants can?’t be enforced by the municipality.

A meeting attendee questioned the old airport area development on School Road behind Lexington. It was reported that DeCesare owns the land. The Penn Township section of the land has been planned with 24 single-family homes of ?¾ acre lots. Murrysville has not approved development on its section of the land. Murrysville is requiring 1 acre lots. DeCesare will develop the PT section first.

Fred concluded his presentation at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Other Items:

A meeting attendee asked about a ?“Welcoming Committee?” & asked that we re-institute such a program. Solveig shared the idea that Monica proposed prior to the meeting. A ?‘welcome?’ brochure will be designed to introduce new residents to the neighborhood and gain their interest in joining the association. Fred Holcomb has already been gracious in the past to do ?‘walk-arounds?’ and introduce himself and the association. This brochure/flyer will accompany his efforts with a more formal marketing effort.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.