Spring City Passes 2012 Budget

At its last borough council meeting of 2011, the Spring City Borough Council passed its 2012 annual budget and put tax rates for next year in place.

The council fixed the tax rates at 4.010 mills for real estate and 25 mills or occupational assessments for fiscal year 2012. The borough is not increasing the real estate tax rate for 2012.

Council also accepted the resignation of tax collector Shirley Shafer and appointed local business owner Mary Rex to take her place.

East Vincent resident Michael Pavesi spoke up during public comment to encourage the borough council to attend a meeting between the East Vincent Board of Supervisors and Pennhurst Associates regarding the Pennhurst property on Dec. 7 at 9 a.m. at the township hall.

Pavesi said the East Vincent board of supervisors is planning to "review and discuss, without deliberation" the revised zonging change petition for the Pennhurst property.

"According to the MPC (Municipal Planning Code), since there's a road directly going through the proposed remap zone, that provides ingress and egress through Spring City that you have the right of comment [at this meeting]," Pavesi said.

Councilman Michael Hays asked if the meeting was open for public comment.

Under the Sunshine Law, Pavesi said, workshop meetings are prohibited, but the meeting is closed to public comment.

"There's a bit of an oxymoron here," Pavesi said. "How do you have an open meeting that's closed to public comment?"

Pavesi also pointed out that while the East Vincent board is considering a revised petition, the petition is substantially similar to the original petition filed in April.

"The changes are minimal," Pavesi said.

Council president Louis DiGuiseppe said council is "well aware" of the problems.

"Those three...have their minds made up already," DiGuiseppe said.

"Anybody who lives on Bridge Street like I do was not a happy camper this October," Pavesi said. "There was a eight-tenth of a mile line of cars from Pennhurst down Bridge Street. By the inclusion of certain words in the revised petition, they technically want to be able to recreate Hershey Park on your boundary. We've got to fight it."