A $25 million corporate campus which could create 250 to 300 jobs and bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cash-strapped Octorara Area School District is currently under planning consideration in Sadsbury Township.
Bill MacCauley of John Rock, Inc., who purchased the historic 115-acre Brown farm in Sadsbury Township last year, told Sadsbury Township supervisors April 5 he is in negotiations with a prospective buyer and asked that the matter be considered by supervisors and the township’s planning commission.
Although MacCauley is keeping the identity of the buyer confidential during sensitive real estate negotiations, he told supervisors the buyer is interested in creating a corporate campus for one wholesale business with loading docks and office, packaging and storage space.
MacCauley explained the buyer has in mind a corporate space similar to the business park in Chester County which houses businesses including Keystone Helicopter, CDTI and his own John Rock, Inc.
He said the proposed campus could occupy between 40 and 70 acres of the Brown tract, which is just north of the Dutchway Farm Market and J.B. Zimmerman Hardware on Route 41. Access to the new site would be through that existing Sadsbury Business Park, and would therefore not require a new road or traffic light, MacCauley said.
During the meeting supervisors noted the proposed development is in the township’s mixed use zoning, which allows manufacturing, packaging, storage and commercial businesses along with residences.
“We are looking for your feedback,” MacCauley told supervisors, noting the prospective buyer is also looking at other properties.
“It sounds good to me,” said Supervisor Greg Esh.
“I’m with Greg; I’m very interested,” said Supervisor Eugene Lammey. “We’ve been looking for something like this for a while. That is our urban growth area in the township.”
Township Zoning Officer Bill Beers said he thought the light industrial warehouse and office space would be a good mix, and township planners will need to agree the proposal meets the township’s definition of mixed use zoning.
“This is what we need here,” MacCauley said following the meeting. “It will bring in tax revenue and good jobs.”
“When you are writing an ordinance you are writing in a cloud, and then someone drives a truck through it,” MacCauley said. “Too many of the townships zone it wrong. We need little corporate parks.”
David Blank, a planning commission member, invited MacCauley to present his plans to the township planning commission on April 13.
In other business supervisors signed a letter for the Heritage Group confirming that since PennDOT took a portion of the group’s property, lots one and two of the subdivision are not buildable; signed plans for the Zook subdivision on Mount Vernon Road; and agreed they would prefer a 10-year franchise with Comcast, rather than a 20-year agreement.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
District may cut teaching, sports staff
The Octorara Area School District is considering placing seven teaching staff on furlough and enacting major cost-saving educational and administrative changes to reel in its budget in light of recent state and federal funding cuts.
“I have a great deal of difficulty reading this,“ school board President Lisa Bowman said with emotion during an April 11 work session as she read the names of the staff to be cut.
The list includes Jim Weagley, director of athletics and school and community activities, and six other full and part-time teachers. Also, four retiring staff including a high school Spanish teacher, elementary teacher, high school librarian and elementary reading specialist will not be replaced if on April 18 the school board gives Superintendent Tom Newcome a favorable response to his proposed cuts.
“We’re losing some good people through furlough and the retirement process,” Newcome said. “It’s a very challenging agenda item but we must keep moving if we’re going to make our budget work,” he said, noting reorganizing staff means the changes will have the least impact on students.
Newcome is also recommending that the district reorganize the high school and middle school, which are next to each other, into one operating center to be named Octorara Junior-Senior High School.
Since the two schools, including the recently renovated high school, have full facilities, the change will not mean that seventh graders will be eating lunch with eleventh graders. It does mean, however, administrators will be reorganized and taking on more duties and that the former team teaching model used at the middle school will be replaced.
Newcome is asking for board approval on April 18 so he can proceed with getting Pennsylvania Department of Education approval for the maneuver. Newcome said sharing teachers between buildings without team teaching enables some furloughs because students gain teaching periods.
For middle school students this will also mean seventh grade students will gain a Reading period; the middle school Unified Arts program will be expanded; Band and Music will become scheduled classes; and IHT (individual help time) will be eliminated.
In addition to the seven furloughs, Newcome is proposing that since one high school librarian is retiring, that the district create two library positions -- one for grades K-6 and one for grades 7-12. Each school building would be staffed with a half-day library assistant.
Middle school Principal Elena Wilson said her Communication Arts teachers are prepared to work with students on library research skills.
Newcome said other furloughs, resignations and retirements may be forthcoming.
The superintendent said he also reviewed the district kindergarten program and is recommending that the district keep two sections of full-day, every day kindergarten; create six sections of full-day, alternate day kindergarten; and keep one section of half-day Monday through Friday morning kindergarten, with parents providing transportaion at mid-day.
“This allows parents to know they have some options,” Newcome said, adding that the program will be finalized after spring kindergarten registration.
Newcome said the district is also moving toward offering its own technical education classes in order to save money. He said the district is already offering Agriculture Mechanization, Agriculture Productions Operations and Job Seeking/Changing Skills. Newcome said the district is waiting state approval for the following technical education classes: Business Marketing, Woodworking Technology and Cabinet Making; Commercial and Graphic Arts; Drafting Technology, and Commercial and Advertising Arts.
In response to parent concerns, he said students already enrolled in other culinary programs will be allowed to attend, but the district is moving toward offering its own culinary arts, early childhood education and accounting programs and wants to make it board policy to keep Octorara students in programs offered on campus.
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“I have a great deal of difficulty reading this,“ school board President Lisa Bowman said with emotion during an April 11 work session as she read the names of the staff to be cut.
The list includes Jim Weagley, director of athletics and school and community activities, and six other full and part-time teachers. Also, four retiring staff including a high school Spanish teacher, elementary teacher, high school librarian and elementary reading specialist will not be replaced if on April 18 the school board gives Superintendent Tom Newcome a favorable response to his proposed cuts.
“We’re losing some good people through furlough and the retirement process,” Newcome said. “It’s a very challenging agenda item but we must keep moving if we’re going to make our budget work,” he said, noting reorganizing staff means the changes will have the least impact on students.
Newcome is also recommending that the district reorganize the high school and middle school, which are next to each other, into one operating center to be named Octorara Junior-Senior High School.
Since the two schools, including the recently renovated high school, have full facilities, the change will not mean that seventh graders will be eating lunch with eleventh graders. It does mean, however, administrators will be reorganized and taking on more duties and that the former team teaching model used at the middle school will be replaced.
Newcome is asking for board approval on April 18 so he can proceed with getting Pennsylvania Department of Education approval for the maneuver. Newcome said sharing teachers between buildings without team teaching enables some furloughs because students gain teaching periods.
For middle school students this will also mean seventh grade students will gain a Reading period; the middle school Unified Arts program will be expanded; Band and Music will become scheduled classes; and IHT (individual help time) will be eliminated.
In addition to the seven furloughs, Newcome is proposing that since one high school librarian is retiring, that the district create two library positions -- one for grades K-6 and one for grades 7-12. Each school building would be staffed with a half-day library assistant.
Middle school Principal Elena Wilson said her Communication Arts teachers are prepared to work with students on library research skills.
Newcome said other furloughs, resignations and retirements may be forthcoming.
The superintendent said he also reviewed the district kindergarten program and is recommending that the district keep two sections of full-day, every day kindergarten; create six sections of full-day, alternate day kindergarten; and keep one section of half-day Monday through Friday morning kindergarten, with parents providing transportaion at mid-day.
“This allows parents to know they have some options,” Newcome said, adding that the program will be finalized after spring kindergarten registration.
Newcome said the district is also moving toward offering its own technical education classes in order to save money. He said the district is already offering Agriculture Mechanization, Agriculture Productions Operations and Job Seeking/Changing Skills. Newcome said the district is waiting state approval for the following technical education classes: Business Marketing, Woodworking Technology and Cabinet Making; Commercial and Graphic Arts; Drafting Technology, and Commercial and Advertising Arts.
In response to parent concerns, he said students already enrolled in other culinary programs will be allowed to attend, but the district is moving toward offering its own culinary arts, early childhood education and accounting programs and wants to make it board policy to keep Octorara students in programs offered on campus.
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Saturday, April 02, 2011
Octorara is in the news
Are you reading your newspaper?
Are you, as Octorara School Board member Bob Hume recently suggested, "making some noise?"
Here's what you might have missed this week:
Go to www.lancasteronline.com to read a March 31, 2011 Brian Wallace story, "Schools get OK to hike taxes." and
an April 1, 2011 story also by Wallace, "School data all at your fingertips. State Web site gathers information"
Are you, as Octorara School Board member Bob Hume recently suggested, "making some noise?"
Here's what you might have missed this week:
Go to www.lancasteronline.com to read a March 31, 2011 Brian Wallace story, "Schools get OK to hike taxes." and
an April 1, 2011 story also by Wallace, "School data all at your fingertips. State Web site gathers information"
Legislature fumbles in struggling school district
Pressures from decreasing state revenue and Act 319, a 1974 law which gives preferential assessments to agricultural land and shifts the tax burden to other properties, is driving taxpayers in the Octorara Area School District to a breaking point, school board members told the community during their March 14 meeting.
“It appears to me our legislators are out to break us and they’re doing a damn good job,” said board member Bob Hume. “We need the people in the Octorara area to make some noise.”
Discouraged that legislative proposals to as Hume puts it, “even the playing field” for all taxpayers are sitting in committee, board members asked Business Manager Dan Carsley to explain the impact Act 319 has on the district.
According to Carsley, 226 out of the 1,407 taxable parcels in the Lancaster County portion of the district are in Act 319, also known as Clean and Green. In Chester County, 812 out of 5,463 taxable parcels are in Clean and Green. These properties are assessed at a lower rate.
This preferential assessment shifts $1.6 million in Lancaster County property values to other taxpayers, and $3.8 million in Chester County to other taxpayers.
In bottom line figures, Carsley said, each property owner in Lancaster County pays an average of $1,387 per year more because of Act 319. In Chester County, property owners not in Clean and Green pay an additional $825 more annually.
Carsley said the district is doing all it can to save money through initiatives such as joint purchasing and electric choice. However, state funding cuts, rising health care and retirement costs and charter school enrollment cause the district millage rates to be among the highest in the region.
Beginning in 2006 property owners who signed up for Act 1 have had about $270 annually trimmed from their property tax bills from state gambling revenue. However, Carsley said property tax bills have also risen by an average of $97 annually over the past five years in Lancaster County, and by $135 annually over the same time period in Chester County.
“It’s the system based on property taxes,“ said Superintendent Tom Newcome.
The superintendent is holding a series of town meetings this spring to discuss school funding and also how potential budget cuts may affect educational programming. The next parent meeting is set for 7 p.m. April 21 in the middle school multipurpose room, and the next town hall meeting will be at 7 p.m. April 26 in the same location.
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“It appears to me our legislators are out to break us and they’re doing a damn good job,” said board member Bob Hume. “We need the people in the Octorara area to make some noise.”
Discouraged that legislative proposals to as Hume puts it, “even the playing field” for all taxpayers are sitting in committee, board members asked Business Manager Dan Carsley to explain the impact Act 319 has on the district.
According to Carsley, 226 out of the 1,407 taxable parcels in the Lancaster County portion of the district are in Act 319, also known as Clean and Green. In Chester County, 812 out of 5,463 taxable parcels are in Clean and Green. These properties are assessed at a lower rate.
This preferential assessment shifts $1.6 million in Lancaster County property values to other taxpayers, and $3.8 million in Chester County to other taxpayers.
In bottom line figures, Carsley said, each property owner in Lancaster County pays an average of $1,387 per year more because of Act 319. In Chester County, property owners not in Clean and Green pay an additional $825 more annually.
Carsley said the district is doing all it can to save money through initiatives such as joint purchasing and electric choice. However, state funding cuts, rising health care and retirement costs and charter school enrollment cause the district millage rates to be among the highest in the region.
Beginning in 2006 property owners who signed up for Act 1 have had about $270 annually trimmed from their property tax bills from state gambling revenue. However, Carsley said property tax bills have also risen by an average of $97 annually over the past five years in Lancaster County, and by $135 annually over the same time period in Chester County.
“It’s the system based on property taxes,“ said Superintendent Tom Newcome.
The superintendent is holding a series of town meetings this spring to discuss school funding and also how potential budget cuts may affect educational programming. The next parent meeting is set for 7 p.m. April 21 in the middle school multipurpose room, and the next town hall meeting will be at 7 p.m. April 26 in the same location.
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Octorara innovators make learning leaps
Octorara Area School District teachers are expanding opportunities for students despite the shrinking state funding which is putting a strain on the district budget, Assistant Superintendent Nancy Bishop told the school board and approximately 50 community members in March.
Three ongoing initiatives are helping students and their families find their places in the world, Bishop said.
Fourth grade students are corresponding with education students at West Chester University to hone their writing and personal skills. Students from third grade through high school have been working on NASA and integrative math and science projects which culminated in grant-funded Geodome lessons for both students and their families.
Third, teachers in nearly every Octorara classroom are now using Promethean Boards, technologically interactive “chalk” boards, to enhance lessons. The district will receive nearly $15,000 in free Promethean equipment for piloting the product.
Parent Jennifer Zumiak of Londonderry Township also told the school board 10 Octorara teachers had been nominated for Citadel Heart of Learning awards from Citadel Bank. Zumiak said the teachers named finalists will each receive $500 checks to spend on classroom supplies and initiatives.
The Octorara teachers nominated were Holly Conte, Beth Davis, Cindy Eshleman, Kathleen Heller, Jeb King, Krista Lease, Mark Peticca, Andrew Reynolds, Jennifer Watson and Kristen Wimer.
“Our teachers are discouraged with (budget) cuts and the amount of work they have to do,” Zumiak said. “Our teachers are awesome. I want to keep good teachers in this district.”
The school board is currently working on trimming $1.5 million from its 2011-12 $47,829,317 budget which is up $1.8 million, or nearly 4 percent, over this year’s spending plan. The board is inviting the community to special budget meetings.
Administrators and school board members indicated the budget is still very much a work in progress.
In response to a question from Parkesburg resident Anita Grimes, Superintendent Tom Newcome said the district is not considering offering retirement incentives this year. Newcome said 10 teachers took advantage of an early retirement buyout last year, but this is not being offered this year.
Newcome said he is, however, crunching numbers regarding full-day kindergarten to see if this would make fiscal sense by keeping students (who might otherwise be lost to charter schools) in the district.
West Sadsbury resident Kathy Blank said she is concerned about possible teacher layoffs and the affect these would have on her children’s education.
“Can there be a pay freeze instead of laying off teachers?” Blank asked.
“How can we help?” asked community member Tammy Awad of West Sadsbury. “Can we brainstorm and fund raise?”
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Three ongoing initiatives are helping students and their families find their places in the world, Bishop said.
Fourth grade students are corresponding with education students at West Chester University to hone their writing and personal skills. Students from third grade through high school have been working on NASA and integrative math and science projects which culminated in grant-funded Geodome lessons for both students and their families.
Third, teachers in nearly every Octorara classroom are now using Promethean Boards, technologically interactive “chalk” boards, to enhance lessons. The district will receive nearly $15,000 in free Promethean equipment for piloting the product.
Parent Jennifer Zumiak of Londonderry Township also told the school board 10 Octorara teachers had been nominated for Citadel Heart of Learning awards from Citadel Bank. Zumiak said the teachers named finalists will each receive $500 checks to spend on classroom supplies and initiatives.
The Octorara teachers nominated were Holly Conte, Beth Davis, Cindy Eshleman, Kathleen Heller, Jeb King, Krista Lease, Mark Peticca, Andrew Reynolds, Jennifer Watson and Kristen Wimer.
“Our teachers are discouraged with (budget) cuts and the amount of work they have to do,” Zumiak said. “Our teachers are awesome. I want to keep good teachers in this district.”
The school board is currently working on trimming $1.5 million from its 2011-12 $47,829,317 budget which is up $1.8 million, or nearly 4 percent, over this year’s spending plan. The board is inviting the community to special budget meetings.
Administrators and school board members indicated the budget is still very much a work in progress.
In response to a question from Parkesburg resident Anita Grimes, Superintendent Tom Newcome said the district is not considering offering retirement incentives this year. Newcome said 10 teachers took advantage of an early retirement buyout last year, but this is not being offered this year.
Newcome said he is, however, crunching numbers regarding full-day kindergarten to see if this would make fiscal sense by keeping students (who might otherwise be lost to charter schools) in the district.
West Sadsbury resident Kathy Blank said she is concerned about possible teacher layoffs and the affect these would have on her children’s education.
“Can there be a pay freeze instead of laying off teachers?” Blank asked.
“How can we help?” asked community member Tammy Awad of West Sadsbury. “Can we brainstorm and fund raise?”
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Sadsbury plans spring road work
Sadsbury Township supervisors met for a road tour March 12 and opted to solve several ongoing road problems.
Supervisors plan to redo Buck Hill Road from Ella Lane to the township line; patch the bridge at Creek and Steelville Mill roads; and find a solution to bamboo plantings along Creek Road, which overlap the road during ice and snow storms.
Roadmaster Jeff Nickel says the bamboo blocks the road, and plows can’t go through the hanging plantings because they could damage the plows. The matter is on the agenda for the township’s April 5 meeting.
During the March 1 meeting the township road crew received thanks from resident Mark Leatherman for snow cleanup and pothole repair along Carolyn Drive.
Supervisors also appointed Timothy Manley as an alternate member on the township’s zoning hearing board, for a three-year term.
In a separate matter, supervisors referred to their attorney a problem with Barbara Zook who resides across from the township building on White Oak Road. Supervisor Linda Swift explained there has been Canadian thistle on the property, which is considered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to be a noxious weed. The township has an ordinance calling for removal of such weeds, which spreads to neighboring fields.
Swift said Zook was brought before District Justice Isaac Stoltzfus, but has not paid her fine. Supervisors asked attorney Frank Mincarelli to write Zook a letter about the overdue fine and to remind her about removal of the noxious weed.
Finally, supervisors approved: allowing Samuel L. Stoltzfus to run a concrete-enclosed line from his manure pit under an Amtrak line; looking into renting a street sweeper and sharing the cost with another municipality; and power-washing the township building prior to its use on election day.
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Supervisors plan to redo Buck Hill Road from Ella Lane to the township line; patch the bridge at Creek and Steelville Mill roads; and find a solution to bamboo plantings along Creek Road, which overlap the road during ice and snow storms.
Roadmaster Jeff Nickel says the bamboo blocks the road, and plows can’t go through the hanging plantings because they could damage the plows. The matter is on the agenda for the township’s April 5 meeting.
During the March 1 meeting the township road crew received thanks from resident Mark Leatherman for snow cleanup and pothole repair along Carolyn Drive.
Supervisors also appointed Timothy Manley as an alternate member on the township’s zoning hearing board, for a three-year term.
In a separate matter, supervisors referred to their attorney a problem with Barbara Zook who resides across from the township building on White Oak Road. Supervisor Linda Swift explained there has been Canadian thistle on the property, which is considered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to be a noxious weed. The township has an ordinance calling for removal of such weeds, which spreads to neighboring fields.
Swift said Zook was brought before District Justice Isaac Stoltzfus, but has not paid her fine. Supervisors asked attorney Frank Mincarelli to write Zook a letter about the overdue fine and to remind her about removal of the noxious weed.
Finally, supervisors approved: allowing Samuel L. Stoltzfus to run a concrete-enclosed line from his manure pit under an Amtrak line; looking into renting a street sweeper and sharing the cost with another municipality; and power-washing the township building prior to its use on election day.
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Fourth Street work begins in Quarryville
Construction on a project Quarryville residents have anticipated for a year - the Fourth Street improvement project - was set to begin March 28, Quarryville Borough Council said during their March 7 meeting.
Council approved giving the bid to Flyway Excavating of Lititz, the low bidder at $1,378,700. Council members said the firm did a good job on last year’s Fifth Street project, and that Flyway representatives will soon be meeting with businesses and residents along Fourth Street to coordinate a traffic management plan.
By a 7-1 vote, with Durwin Parks the lone dissenter, council approved borrowing $1.9 million from PNC Bank for the project. The 16-year fixed loan at an interest rate of 4.47 percent, with no option to prepay, will cost the borough $174,000 a year.
In addition, since the bank requires an annual outside professional audit, the loan will cost the borough about $12,000 to $14,000 annually, or about $210,000 in additional auditing costs. Council members said they would file paperwork with the Pennsylvania Council on Economic Development and enact an ordinance directing the project at their April 4 meeting, with the loan to be officially signed in late April.
Attorney Paul Lundeen with Rodes and Sinon LLP said the issue was big enough for a bond issue, but recent negative publicity surrounding the bond market has encouraged municipalities to go for bank loans instead.
Police Chief Ken Work reminded council a street survey had been done about speed reductions and parking along borough streets, but no action has been taken. Council asked the street committee to put the matter on its agenda and make recommendations for council’s April meeting.
Work said the police department handled four crashes, two thefts, one DUI, two arrest warrants, and one burglary, among other calls and investigations during February.
Council also held an executive session for personnel matters.
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Council approved giving the bid to Flyway Excavating of Lititz, the low bidder at $1,378,700. Council members said the firm did a good job on last year’s Fifth Street project, and that Flyway representatives will soon be meeting with businesses and residents along Fourth Street to coordinate a traffic management plan.
By a 7-1 vote, with Durwin Parks the lone dissenter, council approved borrowing $1.9 million from PNC Bank for the project. The 16-year fixed loan at an interest rate of 4.47 percent, with no option to prepay, will cost the borough $174,000 a year.
In addition, since the bank requires an annual outside professional audit, the loan will cost the borough about $12,000 to $14,000 annually, or about $210,000 in additional auditing costs. Council members said they would file paperwork with the Pennsylvania Council on Economic Development and enact an ordinance directing the project at their April 4 meeting, with the loan to be officially signed in late April.
Attorney Paul Lundeen with Rodes and Sinon LLP said the issue was big enough for a bond issue, but recent negative publicity surrounding the bond market has encouraged municipalities to go for bank loans instead.
Police Chief Ken Work reminded council a street survey had been done about speed reductions and parking along borough streets, but no action has been taken. Council asked the street committee to put the matter on its agenda and make recommendations for council’s April meeting.
Work said the police department handled four crashes, two thefts, one DUI, two arrest warrants, and one burglary, among other calls and investigations during February.
Council also held an executive session for personnel matters.
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