Limerick Looking at Building More Bus Stop Shelters

Photos by Evan Brandt

This photo-shopped image shown at last night's Limerick Supervisors meeting appears to show members of the board in a bus shelter. But while the photo may be faked, votes taken last night would indicate the supervisors interest in building more bus shelters for residents is genuine.

Last night's Limerick Board of Supervisors meeting was fairly brief -- 45 minutes -- but there were several items worth noting.

One is the township's pursuit of more bus shelters for an increasing number of riders of the SEPTA bus system.

Specifically, the township is looking to build one on Ridge Pike, west of the intersection with Township Line Road near the Walgreen's Pharmacy.

Many people use that bus stop and SEPTA will not build one or take responsibility for one being built, Tim Haas, assistant to the township manager, told the supervisors.

This is the basic model the township supervisors preferred.

A local business has volunteer to donate $5,000 toward getting a new shelter built there, so the board took a look at its options.

The one they settled upon has a partial enclosure to protect riders from the elements while they wait, as well as space for a wheelchair and a bench.

Supervisor Patrick Maroney said he would like to see something other than flat roof, so the snow does not sit on the top of the shelter, and Supervisor Thomas Neafcy said he does not want to see any advertising on the shelters.

Neafcy also said there are four or five locations in the township where shelters are needed.

"The township is at the point where shelters are needed as many residents use public transportation," said Neafcy. "The time has come."

The supervisors, who were told by Township Manager Dan Kerr that the township will have both maintenance and liability responsibilities for the shelters, said they will consider building more depending on how the current project goes.

If they do, they may have to deal with shopping carts piling up at the shelters, as currently happens at some of the shelters that already exist. Haas said the administration proposes a policy of calling the stores and telling them to pick up their carts, or they will be thrown away.

TP Trailers Follow-Up

In the wake of last month's approval of the preliminary approval of the controversial TP Trailers and Truck Equipment plan to build a manufacturing and service facility on 10 acres at 181 Limerick Center Road, there was some follow up.

The preliminary site plan for TP Trailers.

Kerr told the supervisors that the administration is working on some ordinance changes which would prevent the approval of the stacking of cargo containers three high, as is possible under the TP Trailers Plan and which, due to the ordinance language, the township was powerless to prevent.

Resident Amy Walker, an opponent of the plan, provided the township with a generic ordinance on the matter put together by a state-wide local government association.

The supervisors were also asked about possible discharge of pollutants into local streams and Supervisors Chairman Ken Sperring said both the federal Environmental protection Agency and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection conduct unannounced inspections.

"I'm very familiar with them because they are in my facility all the time," said Sperring, who is the owner of Limerick Collision Center.

Kedrr also said that the township is required to inspect "every outfall" of the stormwater system under new federal clean water rules. He promised to give a presentation on that process at a future board meeting.

The supervisors also informed Walker that signs barring truck traffic for nearby West Cherry Lane only await permission from PennDOT before they will be erected.

Loan Pay-Off

The supervisors also voted unanimously Monday night to pay off the $3.3 million remaining on the loan taken out by the Limerick Fire Company to build a new fire station near the intersection with Ridge and Swamp pikes.

The Limerick Firehouse.

Kerr said the firehouse is owned by the fire company but, under an agreement approved last night by the supervisors, should Limerick Fire Company ever cease to provide fire protection in the township, ownership of the building would revert to the township.

In 2018, the Limerick and Linfield fire companies completed a merger into a single entity that now calls itself the Limerick Fire Department.

The money for paying off the loan came from the proceeds of the August sale of the township's sewer system to Aqua PA for $75 million. As a result of the sale, the supervisors decided to make the township debt free.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting, what few there are.

Gimme Shelter

New Year Finalizes Fire Company Consolidation

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the newly formed Limerick Fire Department.

Effective Jan. 1, the consolidation of Linfield Fire Company and Limerick Fire Company into the Limerick Fire Department, Montgomery County Station 51 was completed.

This process has brought together two organizations with over two hundred years of fire and rescue experience into one department.

The department will operate out of two stations serving the residents of Limerick Township. The Limerick Station at 390 West Ridge Pike in Limerick and the Linfield Station at 1077 Main St in Linfield.

The new Administrative Officials of the Limerick Fire Department will be: 

• President, Tom Walters; 
• 1st Vice President, Rich Flynn; 
• 2nd Vice President, Scott Miles; 
• Treasurer, Don Andes;
• Ass't Treasurer, Billy Rumler; 
• Financial Secretary, Steph Rumler; 
• Ass't Financial Secretary, Sandy Fota; 
• Recording Secretary, Mike Lynch; 
• Ass't Recording Secretary, Monica Lanigan.

The new Board of Directors will be: 

• President, Tom Walters; 
• 1st Vice President, Rich Flynn;
• 2nd Vice President, Scott Miles; 
• Treasurer, Don Andes; 
• Fire Chief, Ken Shuler; 
• Member, Denny Rumler; 
• Member, Joel Saylor; 
• Member, Ben Andes; 
• Member, Steve Waldman.

The Fire Officers of the Limerick Fire Department are: 

• Fire Chief, Ken Shuler; 
• Deputy Fire Chief, Glen Russell; 
• Assistant Fire Chief, Billy Rumler, 
• Battalion Chief, Chris Miller; 
• Captain, Mike Latshaw; 
• Captain, Bob Brock; 
• Lieutenant, Scott Miles; 
• Lieutenant, Rich Flynn; 
• Lieutenant Sean McCarraher; 
• Lieutenant, Cameron Beebe; 
• Lieutenant, Rickey Shuler, 
• Chief Engineer, Steve Waldman; 
• Fire Police Captain, Mike Machion.

The fire apparatus designations for response on Montgomery County fire radio and Chester County fire radio will be as 51 units.

A new website is in the process of being designed along with social media accounts which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Limerick Saves Money, Gets Money, New Police Dog

Photos and video by Evan Brandt

State Sen. John Rafferty, R-44th Dist., holds two checks worth $100,000 for the Linfield Fire Company and $50,000 for the Limerick Fire Company, whose members surround him, which he delivered during Tuesday's Limerick Supervisor's Meeting. 

It's the time of year when Harrisburg politicians return to their district's bearing gifts.

Right on cue, state Sen. John Rafferty, R-44th Dist., was at Tuesday's Limerick supervisors meeting to deliver two checks, one for $100,000 that went to Linfield Fire Company, the other for $50,000 that went to Limerick Fire Company.

He said he "discovered" the money in the state budget and claimed it for Limerick.

Several other items of interest also cropped up Tuesday.

Limerick Center Snag?

The proposal to build a 450-unit combination development with senior housing, townhouses and a retail strip on 30 acres at the intersection of Ridge and Swamp pikes nearly hit an unexpected snag Tuesday night.

An early version of plans for "Limerick Town Center."

With Supervisor Thomas Neafcy absent, a looming 2-2 vote threatened to put the brakes on a development which has moved steadily through the development process since last month when a portion of the project received preliminary site plan approval last month from the supervisors.

Because the township requires that road improvements accompany the first phase of construction but Supervisor Ken Sperring, who has objected repeatedly to the traffic circle required by Montgomery County Planning Commission, said he refuses "on principle, to vote for anything involving the circle.

Joining him was Supervisor Patrick Morroney who first said he is concerned about buffering issues and later said he is opposed to the entire project.

In the end, after much explaining about the need for applying the permits, and re-assurances that there would be other opportunities to raise concerns, Sperring changed his vote "under protest" and allowed the measure to move forward.

Saving Money on Building Project

Township Manager Dan Kerr had some good news for the supervisors about the new township building in which their meeting was being held.

Of the four major contracts that comprised the $11 million township building project, three came in under budget.

The new Limerick Township Building on Ridge Pike.

The general contract, mechanical contract and electrical contract all came in under-budget, while the plumbing contract came in nearly $11,000 over-budget.

The "soft costs" also came in more than $112,000 over-budget, largely because the cost of new furniture was more than expected.

Nevertheless, the final tally is $10,106,597, between $800,000 to $900,000 under budget. And the $438,585 contingency budget "was not even touched," said Kerr.

The supervisors thanked the staff and project manager for excellent work.

"I really hope the public comes to the ribbon cutting and sees that there are no frills here," said Supervisor Kara Shuler. "there is no wasted space and it is designed so that there is still room to expand."

The ribbon-cutting will be on Oct. 27 at 9 a.m.

Low-Income Housing Aid Program Dies

In June, Kerr outlined for the supervisors how federal bureaucracy surrounding a Community Development Block program Limerick has used for decades to help low-income home rehabilitation was making the program unsustainable.

In July, the supevisors reluctantly decided to keep the program going for another year, despite the added costs.

Last night, they reversed that decision.

Kerr said because the arc of the program is so slow, the township still has about $240,000 remaining in the account that can be used to help rehabilitate low-income homes until it runs out.

Even doing that will require the spending of between $20,000 to $30,000 of township programs.

The money once allocated to Limerick, between $190,000 to $200,000 per year, will instead go to Montgomery County, although there is no saying how much of it will be put into a similar low-income housing program.

In the future, Limerick properties can still apply for the program, but they will be competing against applicants from throughout the county.

Kerr explained that the rules had become so burdensome that, for example, where once the township could go in and use the program to replace a heater that failed in the middle of winter, the rules now require that the entire building be brought up to code.

"It's a real shame," said Supervisor Chairwoman Elaine DeWan. "We used to help a lot of people with this program."

Rambo with handler Chris Wienczek

Meet Rambo the Police Dog

As the meeting wound up, Police Chief Brian Skelton askewd permission to bring in the department's newest canine officer -- A dog obtained fromt he FBI name Rambo.

"We got lucky," said Skelton. the FBI is always looking for the best dogs."

According to his handler, Chris Wienczek, Rambo did just fine in all training until he came to the requirement that he jump out of a helicopter.

"He's supposed to do that strapped to a handler, but he didn't like that and kept punching them in the face, and the FBI didn't like that, so we got him," said Weinczek.

"I figured Limerick Township is not buying a helicopter any time soon," joked Skelton. "So I sent Chris to Virginia and we grabbed him quick."

Skelton said they even beat the state police to the punch, who were also interested in acquiring Rambo.

"You have to give credit to these officers. This is a 24/7 responsibility and those dogs home with them when the shift is over," said Skelton.

Here's some video of Wiecznek introducing Rambo.



The department has one other canine officer named Flynn.

"Flynn will let me pet him. I can't do that with Rambo yet," Skelton said.

And with that, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting:


Dollars for Firefighters, Roundabout, Project Savings, New Police Dog