At its regular monthly meeting on October 9, the Upper Frederick Board of Supervisors voted to permanently hire interim Township Manager Sean Halbom as the township's new manager. Halbom accepted the offer.

            Board Vice-Chair Lisa Fischer stated, "Things have gone really well since you've been here. I appreciate all that you've done."

            Chairman Bill Landman agreed saying, "I thought it's been great. I think you're doing excellent, and I appreciate you coming in and putting in the work with us."

            The board voted to authorize submission for grant funding to the Commonwealth Finance Authority – Local Share Account in the amount of $144,550 for the purchase of a new backhoe, less the trade-in value of $35,000 for the backhoe.

            This is a state grant that draws revenue from horse racing and other gambling activities in Pennsylvania. The award would not be received until 2025. If the price of the backhoe increases in the interim or the Commonwealth only awards partial funding, the board would need to draw money from the capital reserve or general fund to cover the balance due.

            Halbom stated that amending the budget to cover the additional cost would not be an issue.

            The board voted to adopt a resolution to reinvest $100,000 of the township's water/sewer funds at the highest available interest rate (currently between 4.04% and 4.51% APR) with Great Eastern Management Inc.

            The board announced that they are seeking a new sewer engineer to replace IES Engineers, the township's current sewer engineering firm, who notified the board that they are no longer able to take on Upper Frederick as a client.

            The board authorized Solicitor Vicki Kushto, Esquire, to prepare an amendment to the township code regarding the board of supervisors' compensation. The Pennsylvania State Legislature recently passed Act 94, which increases the compensation for township supervisors in townships with 5,000 residents or fewer from $1,875 to $3,145. The act also allows supervisors to be paid on a per-meeting basis.

            The township has an ordinance in place to set supervisor's compensation in accordance with the act. To raise their compensation the ordinance needed to be amended. The new level of compensation does not become effective until a supervisor is elected/reelected.

            The board held a public hearing to amend the township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance to require developers to perform well water quality testing if they put in a new well that draws more than 10,000 gallons/day. The developer would need to notify all residents within one mile of the new well. Residents' well water would be tested four times (once per quarter) to establish a baseline. The developer would be required to provide a bond that stays in place until either the funds are exhausted or until seven years after 90% of the development is completed.

            A resident questioned if the bond would also cover residents' water quantity. Kushto said that a separate section of the ordinance already covers water quantity.

            After closing the public hearing, the board voted to adopt the amended ordinance to include water quality testing.

            Parks and Recreation Board Chair Kevin Murry thanked his fellow parks and recreation board members, the fire company, fire police, public works employees, Fischer and the many volunteers who helped make the township's Community Day, held on Saturday, September 28, a big success despite the inclement weather.

            Deputy Chief Jeff Steigelmann reported that the Upper Frederick Fire Company responded to 13 calls in September, bringing the year-to-date total to 130. Volunteer hours in September totaled 319, bringing the year-to-date total to 4,300.

            The fire company is sponsoring a 4H Coat Drive. There is a box at the fire station where donations can be dropped off on Mondays and Wednesdays between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

            Township residents are encouraged to register for ReadyMontco emergency alerts. This program delivers alerts about severe weather and other important events in Montgomery County.