What You Missed from This Week's Council Meeting ...

For those who couldn’t make it to Monday night’s township council meeting, there were a few items on the agenda that didn’t make it into a full story, but were nonetheless noteworthy. Here a few leftover tidbits from the meeting:

• Once council (a special meeting has been proposed, but not yet scheduled, for next week), completing the township budget will become priority number one, according to township manager Scott Carew. included a 2.6 cent increase in the tax rate—translating to a $137.74 tax increase for a home assessed at the township average of $529,800. However, through a combination of spending cuts and finding additional revenue, Carew said this week, “What we present to council going forward will be significantly less than that, if not down to zero.”

• Township attorney Thomas Coleman said talks between he, the attorneys representing East Gate Square and Judge Ronald Bookbinder are ongoing. East Gate, represented by Archer & Greiner, , and thus a violation of state law. Coleman again defended the township’s position Monday, stating, “We believe question two is a reasonable restriction you could place on a liquor license.”

• Deputy Mayor Greg Gallo said members of the township’s Economic Development Advisory Committee, including chairman Jacob DerHagopian, will present the findings of a parking study and a parking strategy for the downtown area at council’s next regular meeting (May 14). Gallo said the study was paid for with a $50,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. “What it looked at was to assess how to better improve the downtown parking situation,” he said, mentioning safety, traffic and ease of access as some of the key elements explored in the study. The parking plan, composed by Taylor Design Group, covers the parking areas from Chester Avenue to Mill Street and the municipal lot behind and .

• Carew said he is exploring the possibility of moving the council meetings to the “IT theater” at this summer. Council has struggled with sound issues since moving its meetings to the auditorium at . Carew said the space at the high school would be “large enough to fit our needs, but also more cozy for members of the audience to hear us.”

• Carew said bids are due this month from cell phone providers looking to lease space on a monopole—basically a cell tower, he said—the township plans to build onto the building. He said the cost of leasing space on the monopole starts at $14,000 a year, with the price gradually increasing each year. According to numbers the township crunched with a consultant, revenue from renting out space on the tower could reach roughly $1.1 million over a 30-year period, Carew said.

Township council will hold its next regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 14, at William Allen Middle School.