For the benefit of all planning to attend tomorrow evening’s meeting of the Lower Allen Planning Commission regarding consideration of the preliminary land development plan for 3400 Hartzdale Dr., Camp HIll concerning the possible construction of a Wal Mart store on the site of the former Forbes Chevrolet dealership, please be aware of some factors which may impact your participation at the meeting.

First and foremost, you’ll want to arrive early. Seating is adequate, but limited. For this meeting, expect the seats to be filled.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Lower Allen Municipal Services Center, 2233 Gettysburg Rd., Camp Hill.

Another item of note is that the Wal Mart plan is not the only plan on the agenda tomorrow night. You may arrive early, but Wal Mart is not first at bat.

Also, earlier this year, the Lower Allen commissioners passed new meeting guidelines which may be used by whomever is chairing the meeting Tuesday. Some items of particular interest are:

• It’s a good idea to sign in if you plan to speak at the meeting: “To ensure accurate minutes, any person wishing to make public comment should register on the sign-in sheet available in the lobby.” While the policy states that signing in is not mandatory, it can’t hurt.
• Prepare to be brief. While public comments by a single individual are usually allotted 15 minutes, for a meeting like Tuesday’s, that may not be the case: “At public meetings with numerous interested participants, the President may limit participants to shorter durations.” For the meetings on the Liberty Forge ordinance text change request, comments were limited to only a few minutes per person, and redundant comments were not permitted.
• One person is going to speak at a time: “Audience members shall not interrupt speakers or the deliberations or discussions of the Board.”
• If that doesn’t happen, there may be consequences: “The President shall issue one (1) warning to a citizen whose comments violate these Guidelines…. Further failure to conform conduct to these Guidelines shall be grounds for the President to have the citizen removed from the meeting.”
• Signs are allowed in the meeting room, but there are limits: “Signs may not exceed 7.5 square feet in area on one side.” Doing the math, that would mean a sign 2.5′ x 3′ would be permissible.
• There are limits to where a sign may be staged: “Signs may not be held or placed where they might obstruct the view of any other meeting participants.” You may bring your sign into the room, but waving it around is going to be problematic.
• These are the notable rules, but they may not be all the rules: “The Board may from time to time invoke such other temporary rules and procedures as may become necessary during the course of a public meeting to maintain good order or to otherwise facilitate the efficient conduct of such meeting.” Expect to hear additional guidelines before the meeting gets underway.

Finally, the planning commission can do nothing more than make a recommendation to the board of commissioners regarding a land development plan. The board is under no obligation whatsoever to follow a planning commission recommendation.

The buck starts and ends with the commissioners. To believe that the land development plan can be stopped at tomorrow night’s meeting is pure folly.

Regardless, I’ll be in the audience at the planning commission meeting Tuesday evening. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for live updates, and check back here later for a recap.

In case you’re curious, I did call Commissioners Titzel, Black and Bucher on election night, and congratulate them on their victory. It’s what you do.

Now, the work continues.

Thursday evening, I attended a Lisburn Community Fire Company meeting. Members nominated me to serve as a director in the company; the election will be held at the December meeting.

Tomorrow morning, my daughter and I will volunteer at the fire company’s annual turkey dinner. You can see the details on their web site, but rest assured this is one dinner you do not want to miss. Arrive early, because they do usually run out of turkey by the end of the event.

Oh, and there is a Lower Allen Township business meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday evening. The agenda is available below:

http://documents.scribd.com.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/8urzvg68sg18yhlr.pdf?t=1321142311

A quick review indicates the township may have reached an agreement with its police officers on a new agreement. See the discussion on two items under section 11.

Also, as clarified in a comment on an earlier post, the contract for the Fun Fort restoration project was not awarded to the initial bidder. Another bid opening is scheduled for Monday evening.

Walmart Update

According to a note received from township resident Sandy Christianson, consideration of Walmart’s preliminary plan for developing the former site of Forbes Chevrolet on Hartzdale Drive has been removed from the November Planning Commission agenda at Walmart’s request. The next possible date for it to be considered would be at the Planning Commission’s December 20 meeting.

I’ll work hard. I have continued to serve the township in several different roles over the last couple years. I am committed to Lower Allen Township, and ask for another chance to serve.

Those are all good answers. Regardless, I may have saved the best for last.

Why should you vote for me for Lower Allen Township Commissioner? Simple; because I have already planned my route for picking up yard signs Wednesday morning.

Big deal? No, not really.

This plan is one example of the kind of work I will do for you and all Lower Allen Township residents as your elected official. The work of a municipal representative never ends, and I will always work hard to not only complete the tasks in front of me, but to also look ahead to what’s next.

It is that kind of foresight and informed planning which marked my first term as commissioner. From tough questions posed to Liberty Forge officials to tough restrictions imposed on hydronic heaters to championing our Reverse 911 system, there is always one more question to ask, one more page to read, and one more call to make.

As your representative, I will go that extra mile; without fail.

Tomorrow, when you go to the polls, please cast a vote for Dan Christ for Lower Allen Township Commissioner.

Fun Fort via cumberlink.com

At the Monday, Sept. 12 meeting of the Lower Allen Township Board of Commissioners, President Commissioner John Titzel opened bids for the Fun Fort restoration project at Lower Allen Community Park.

Only one company submitted a bid for the work; Grounds For Play, based in Mansfield, TX.

At the close of the Sept. 12 meeting, Township Solicitor Steven Miner indicated Grounds For Play’s bid submission included an appropriate bid bond, and could be accepted if the board chose to act. By a unanimous 5-0 vote, the board awarded the work to Grounds For Play.

Staff did not indicate when work would begin on the project.

A suspicious fire damaged the Fun Fort on June 26, 2010. The restoration project is designed to repair only the portion of the Fun Fort damaged by the fire.

The restoration design was the result of a collaboration between township residents and staff.

In brief, the ordinance will codify a parking ban on almost all commercial vehicles in areas of the township zoned residential; zones R-1, R-2, and R-3. Lower Allen residents who drive commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 11,000 pounds – or higher than a PennDOT Class 4B – will not be allowed to park those vehicles on public streets in residential zones, or anywhere on their property.

The draft ordinance provides a few caveats. Commercial vehicles may be parked in the zone when they are:

• “used in conjunction with permitted non-residential uses in residential zoning districts R-1, R-2 and R-3 or
• parked for the purpose of making deliveries or improvements to a property or street located in residential zoning districts R-1, R-2 and R-3.”

But that’s it. If your vehicles has a GVWR class higher than 4B – check on your state inspection sticker to be sure – it will no longer be welcome in zones R-1, R-2 or R-3 after the ordinance is enacted.

Commissioners chose to take this action after township staff received an as yet undefined number of complaints regarding commercial vehicles parking residential areas. When asked in a meeting, they could not provide a number. We don’t know if there was one complaint or one hundred.

Commissioners chose to act even after several township residents asked them to find middle ground and allow them to park their vehicles on their property. I, and several other residents, offered the board a reasonable compromise, but they did not listen. Instead, residents who have driven commercial vehicles home for decades, who haven’t bothered anybody or generated a complaint to the township, will now need to either park their vehicle in a commercial district, purchase a new vehicle, or risk a $50 fine each day they park at their home.

Commissioners chose to act after concluding incorrectly that the township is being set upon by homeowners parking commercial vehicles at their homes. Commissioner Richard Schin stated at Monday’s meeting that the problem is growing, so “It is time to put some teeth in this thing.”

The problem with that mindset, though, is that those “teeth” are going to bite directly into the working men and women who’s sweat and labor fund township services. If you will, Lower Allen residents are about to be bitten not by the hand which feeds them, but by those being fed.

The next step for the proposed ordinance is a slight revision by Township Solicitor Steven Miner, and then a likely vote at the board’s Oct. 10 board meeting. The planned revision would be a change from “10,000″ to “11,000″ in Section II A as directed by the board.

If you want to make your voice heard in this issue, the commissioners will meet again on Monday, Sept. 26. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

The first is the Meridian development along Lisburn Road near its intersection with Sheepford Road. This development would feature more than 300 apartment and condominium units on a 22-acre parcel of land bordered on the south by the Turnpike.

Action items for Meridian are in the BOCs consent agenda, and will likely not be discussed this evening. Public heaings have already been held on this first-ever development by Charter Homes in Lower Allen Township, and I will be surprised if the board spends much time on this issue tonight.

Township residents who want to speak on this matter at tonights meeting will need to speak up either when asked for comment on any item on the agenda, or when President Commissioner John Titzel asks if anybody in attendance would like an item removed from the consent agenda for discussion. Barring any public input at those stages, I expect the plan to sail through.

think the plan is a good one. While the development is tight, and the developer will need to pay a fee in lieu of providing adequate open space on the parcel, it seems to fit in with the character of neighboring Society Hill and Country Walk.

The hot button issue tonight is the continuing discussion on Ordinance 2011-07 which would restrict residents ability to park commercial vehicles in residential zones. This ordinance is bad legislation which will burden homeowners to either park work vehicles away from their homes in commercial districts or potentially send them to the township to request a permit to continue doing something they may have done for decades.

Commissioners should craft a compromise to remove commercial vehicles from our residential streets, but allow homeowners to park those vehicles – within reason – legally on their own property. The last thing the township needs is local government meddling with our daily lives. In this case, thats exactly what will happen if 2011-07 passes in its current form.

Tonights meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Lower Allen Municipal Services Center, 2233 Gettysburg Rd., Camp Hill, PA 17011. Come out, and make your voice heard.

This is the Lower Allen Department of Public Safety with a very important Yellow Breeches Flooding forecast. The National Weather Service has changed the expected flood level for the Yellow Breeches to 11.2 feet. This is 4.2 feet above flood stage. Action to remove vehicles and property should be occurring now, don’t wait.

While this is only a prediction, it is based on the amount of rainfall expected to occur over south central PA over the next several days. The following are the expected creek levels and times.

Flood stage of 7 feet at 5am Wed 9/7. 8.9 feet at 2pm Wed., 10.5 feet at 2 am on Thurs 9/8 and 11.2 feet at 2pm on Thurs. At 11 feet, all homes along the Yellow Breeches will be effected.

Residents are encouraged to take action now to move vehicles and property out of flood prone areas, basements and first floor ares of residences. The flooding is forecast to begin before daybreak Wednesday, so action needs to be taken immediately.

In other words, this is not a drill.

Here are a couple of resources to help you plan for what may impact LAT:

• The National Weather Service’s (NWS) Lower Allen Township forecast;
• The same information enabled for your mobile device. Take the forecast with you;
• NWS’ Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service snapshot of central PA showing  small stream and river monitoring stations. Click on them, and you can see projected stream crests, and a whole lot more information;
• The Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System chock full of warnings, watches, and helpful tips, including…;
• …what to do before, during and after flooding. Do not be caught by surprise. Prepare now.

Finally, and this can not be overstated, do not drive through standing water! Do not. Just don’t.

The life you save may be your own, or that of the first responder risking his or her own life to save your when you don’t turn around. 

The first step on my 5k journey.

How did I do it? How did I go from a person who last ran 27 years ago in wrestling practice to somebody who ran 3.1 miles in 30:30.3?

Here are a few simple steps I used to carry me across the finish line:

1. State Your Goal – We all want to do things, but often they go unarticulated. We think about how nice it would be to have a larger house or to finish that book we’ve been meaning to read, but we often keep those thoughts to ourselves, unwilling to say them aloud or even write them down. Say that you will achieve the goal, and you’ve taken your first step.
2. Tell Everybody – Stating a goal to yourself is powerful, but engaging your friends and families takes it to a new level. Don’t worry if they question your sanity, or express doubt that you can complete your goal. Keep telling more people, and you’ll find the support you need as your circle grows. Before long, people will start asking how you are progressing toward your goal. Those conversations will be your fuel for clearing the inevitable hurdles in your path.
3. Track Your Progress – From a friend, I heard about a program called Couch To 5k. In nine weeks, the system enables a non-runner to run for 30 minutes. While it took me longer to complete the system, the way it set out weekly programs and attainable milestones proved invaluable. Then, as I completed a workout, I posted it to my social media accounts and Runkeeper so I could track my progress and share it with friends and family.
4. Over, Around, or Through – After a couple months, my left knee tightened uncomfortably after a run. In my teens and 20s, I had some issues with fluid on that knee, and I started to assume that my body was telling me that, no matter how much I wanted to run a 5k or how many people I had told, it just wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t listen, kept running, and one day heard a story on NPR about adult athletes who had persistent knee pain which had been alleviated through physical therapy and proper post-exercise stretching. A new cool down routine yielded a pain-free knee the day after a run, and I was on my way.
5. Buddy System – Talking with others about your goal is helpful, but having a person with whom to share the challenges and triumphs along the way is key. Almost daily workout recaps with a friend helped keep me moving forward because I knew I was not alone in doubting I could actually push through the inevitable training plateaus.
6. Believe – Regardless of whether you’re trying to run 3.1 miles or win an election, there will come a time when you are your only support system. Will you keep picking up your feet and putting them down again when all you want to do is stop? Will you knock on one more door or make one more phone call? It is a question only you can answer, but, if you have prepared yourself for success by sharing your goals, tracking your progress, and teaming with a friend, you may find it easier to answer “yes.” I did.

So, was it worth it? Was all the energy I channeled into running a 5k worth the sweat, pain, and time I invested to make it possible.

via stepstoyourdream.wordpress.com

Yes. One thousand times, yes.

At one point yesterday, I doubted if I would finish. Having never run with a group before, my pace in the first half mile was far faster than I was used to running. My time at that first split meant there would be a wall somewhere ahead which would need to be run through.

The wall came. The wall went. I ran on, and rounded the last turn.

It was then, heading up Dickinson Avenue, running hard the last two tenths of a mile, knowing I would cross the finish line of both a 5k and a goal I had set more than five months before, that it was all worth it.

I’m no longer going to run a 5k. I have run a 5k.

What’s next?

Well, I’m still running, but not for myself. I’m running to serve as Lower Allen Township Commissioner, to apply the same energy and enthusiasm to public service that I used to finish the 5k.

Please run alongside me by Liking my campaign Facebook page and signing up to receive email updates about my campaign, upcoming events, and ways you can get involved. With only 93 days to election day, time is of the essence.

Join me today.

Lower Allen Township

After a lengthy public hearing last evening during which the Lower Allen Township Board of Commissioners heard from several residents about their displeasure with Ordinance 2011-07 as drafted, the board expressed interest in a compromise.

The compromise, as suggested by Comm. Lloyd Bucher, and supported by Comm. Richard Schin and Comm. Ped Young, would maintain the current draft’s restrictions on parking commercial vehicles with a 10,000 lb. GVWR or higher in residential zones, while permitting similar vehicles to be parked on a homeowner’s property provided they do not exceed a different, higher gross vehicle weight rating.  Commissioners several times indicated their desire to make sure tractor trailers, or other very large commercial vehicles, could not be parked in a driveway in a residential district.

Near the end of the hearing, I thanked the commissioners for being open to compromise on this issue.  Every resident but one who commented during the public hearing opposed the ordinance.  The board obviously listened, and factored the comments into its present direction.

And, that Comm. Bucher’ recommendation closely resembles my suggestion to the board during the last hearing on July 11, is satisfying; enough said about that.

In the ensuing public meeting, the board took no official action on the ordinance.  A final transcript of the hearing will not be completed until the week of August 8.  The board wants to reflect on that record, and scheduled a discussion on Ordinance 2011-07 for the August 22 public meeting.

While the board appeared ready last night to add language to the ordinance allowing certain commercial vehicles to be parked on a homeowner’s property in a residential district, when the board takes up the matter in August, it could change direction.

Comm. Ed Black was absent with excuse from the meeting last night.  He has spoken with conviction about the ordinance in several meetings this year, specifically expressing his support for excluding all commercial vehicles from residential zones.

Lower Allen residents played a major role in shaping the commissioners’ opinions on Ordinance 2011-07 in the last two hearings.  They’ll need to keep attending meetings and expressing their opinions If they want to see ordinance language which jibes with their interests.

I think they’ll do just that.