The Lower Milford Township Supervisors met May 21 via Zoom where Supervisor Chair Donna Wright began by reading the minutes and reports for approval. Supervisor John Quigley abstained from all votes until he could compare to previous minutes and reports prepared by former Township Manager Zachary Cooperman.

After seeking approval for the treasurer’s report, Quigley abstained saying, “I’m not confident in the current treasurer’s ability to calculate these numbers based on my experience.”

Nonetheless, the minutes and reports were all approved by Wright and Supervisor Ellen Koplin.

In old business, several interviews were conducted for the open public works laborer position. An applicant has been selected and approved.

Koplin, who interviewed the candidates, said, “The resume is very impressive. He has a lot of skills - pretty well-rounded.” The applicant will be contacted immediately.

Wright opened bid envelopes for crack seal and seal coat contracts. There were two aggregate bids submitted, so all bids and aggregate bids were decided upon during the meeting. Those who won the contract will be contacted once the public works director reviews the paperwork. The supervisors are anxious to start the road work in the township.

The sale of the outdated public works vehicle and equipment was addressed. Koplin said she wants to take a closer look at the budget before any action is taken on this matter. Her thought was that further road work could be completed, supposing the current vehicles needing work can be fixed or remain in use. She asked that supervisors table this topic until the workshop meeting expected to be held June 4. COVID-19 was also cited as a concern for not making this decision during the regular meeting.

Following this, Resolution 2020-5, authorizing Lower Milford Township’s bank signatories, was accepted. Quigley’s name will not be on the list. During the meeting, he abstained, again citing his lack in confidence of the current treasurer.

In new business, residents are attempting to operate a small winery on their property but have been denied twice by Lower Milford Township. A 5-acre plot is required in the township to run a winery and the resident’s plot is only 2-acres. However, the local business owners were persistent and wrote to the attorney general’s office for an ACRE opinion.

ACRE is the Agriculture, Communities and Rural Environment Act. This act protects Pennsylvania’s agricultural operations from unlawful municipal regulations.

Robert A. Willig, Esq. from the attorney general’s office wrote to the township after hearing the resident’s complaint. He said the residents should be able to operate their winery, despite the property limitations. He said that, first, they have the right to farm and, second, under the right to farm act, they have the right to sell what’s produced from their property.

The attorney general’s office is worried the township’s zoning ordinance restricts residents’ right to farm. The only way restrictions can be enacted is if the winery makes less than $10,000. However, if it makes more, then no acreage limitation can be imposed. They are relying on this to help the residents get past the township’s ordinance.

One of the problems Solicitor Mark S. Cappuccio saw with the letter was it did not address the fact the township ordinance has limitations. Mainly, a resident cannot have two primary uses on a property under 10-acres. The residents plan on using the 2-acre property as both their place of business and as a household. He believes the attorney general’s office overlooked these issues.

Cappuccio recommended supervisors send a response stating the underlying factors for why they did not pass this winery. If the attorney general’s office disagrees with the response, they could send this to the Commonwealth courts, who would then file an action against the municipality. Following that, the township would need to make another decision for a response.

Supervisors agreed the attorney general’s office did not get enough information and an action was made to generate a response outlining all of the issues with the winery’s plan.

The next topic was Resolution 2020-06 Real Estate Tax Penalty Relief, which specifically address property tax relief at the local government level. Wright read part the act:

“The act authorizes the board of supervisors to waive any fees or penalties associated with a late payment of a property tax provided the same is paid in full on or before Dec. 31, 2020. And whereas, in this time of crisis, the board of supervisors desires to provide relief to township taxpayers and now therefore it be resolved by the board of township supervisors as follows. In accordance with section 57-13-A-2 of the act, Lower Milford Township hereby waives any fees or penalties associated with a late payment of a tax imposed on the assessed value of real estate provided that the tax is paid in its entirety on or before Dec. 31, 2020. In accordance with the act, the board of supervisors will deliver a copy of this resolution to the township’s tax collector on or before June 1, 2020. Duly adopted this 21st day of May 2020 by the board of supervisors of Lower Milford Township.”

The resolution was approved.

In additional correspondence, John Harbove applied for one of the two open planning commission seats. Harbove lives in Limeport and has worked in the area for a long time. He holds a CDL and has vast experience in the community. All supervisors agreed to move forward and contact him for the open slot.

Following this, Quigley, again, made statements about the current bookkeeper. He still does not feel the bookkeeper position needs to be full time and he is not confident in their ability to handle over $1 million worth of funds based on his experience.

He said he reviewed the fiscal management handbook sent by Koplin at the beginning of the year. The handbook strongly suggests the township use a bookkeeping service, instead of assigning this as a role. So, he proposed the township hire a bookkeeping service reviewed by the board of supervisors. Quigley estimates the township would be saving over $25,000.

He asked that this proposal be added to the next regular board meeting for discussion. Wright thanked him and moved on with no follow-up discussion.

It was announced no decision on a township manager was made due to the issues with COVID-19. The next regular board meeting is scheduled 6:30 p.m. June 18 and will either be live at the Lower Milford Township municipal building or through another Zoom virtual meeting.