Environmental Advisory Council Meeting Minutes - May 12, 2026

May 12, 2026 @ 7:00 PM

Tonight’s meeting will be held in person and online via Teams.

• Call to Order 7:04pm
• Attendees: Leslie Sheller, Cheryl Spaulding, Mike Irwin, Debbie Town, Anne Duzan
• Staff in attendance: Abbey Swan, JoEllen McBride
• Public Comment: None
  
• Minutes to consider: April 14, 2026
  • Mike moved; Leslie second, Motion approved 4-0 with 1 abstention
• Old business:
  • Invasive Plant Removal Event Update
    We were a small group but we got a lot done. Ms. Swan mentioned that Perry from the Master Watershed Stewards will stop by this week to remove poison ivy from the entrance to the farm. The group then discussed the best way to remove the oils from poison ivy. If you treat it like motor oil on your body and use friction and soap, that is more effective at removing it.
  • Newsletter Items Updates
    Discussed sharing some FB posts from AARP that Ms. Town shared with the group on planting trees and dealing with mosquitos. They also reviewed Mr. Irwin’s article on rain barrels that will be featured in this week’s newsletter. The group also discussed writing newsletter articles on 10 Tips for Planting Trees, using insecticides/pesticides at home safely, mosquito buckets. The group also discussed the possibility of doing an outreach event where residents make their own mosquito buckets.
  • Mainline Health comments follow-up
    Ms. Swan reported that the project has probably moved on and is under no obligation to review or respond to our comments.
• New Business:
  • Tree Ordinances Review
    Ms. McBride is compiling a list of model tree ordinances to compare to the Township’s Zoning and SALDO ordinances to see if we can have some language ready for when they update SALDO. We’d also like to identify stand alone ordinances and any updates to Zoning involving trees. Ms. McBride will create a spreadsheet to compare the current ordinances with other municipalities’. The group agreed it was important to add something in there about maintaining trees on properties that are newly constructed. Resident Tom Parr suggested that the requirement could be put in HOA convenants moving forward.
  • Branded Tick Removers
    Ms. Spaulding received an email about someone making tick removers and leaving them at the Dog Park. He keeps running out though so they’re popular. The group discussed purchasing some branded ones next year to hand out at events. The group also discussed some funny sayings that could go on the removers. The group also discussed looking into how other PA organizations market their tick removers to avoid deterring people from exploring nature.
  • Fishing Line Recycling tubes w/ PaR
    Ms. Duzan discussed the first fish stocking event of the season and the conservation officer mentioned that having PVC tubes strategically located near where people fish would be a good way to collect broken fishing wire. The group discussed finding organizations that give these away for free (PA Boat Commission) and Mr. Parr mentioned he may be able to make them easily. They also discussed signage for the tubes.
  • Upcoming Events
    • Joint Art & Park on June 3 for Streams
      Parks and Rec needs help with this event. Ms. Swan did a run through of the macroinvertebrate and the recycling activities with Cub Scouts and said it went well.
    • Community Day Outreach Discussion
      The group discussed taking one of our giant maps of the Township and having residents draw their ideas onto it. Ms. McBride suggested that we could print out the full map in 8x11 sections so people could just draw on their specific section. We could then attach those sections to the full map to see what people draw. We’d also need a form for people to fill out to share their contact information and ideas. The group discussed providing candy at the table to help incentivize people to stop. Also discussed getting a small number of tick removers with remaining budget.
  • DOE Waste to Energy & Materials Technical Assistance Program
    Ms. McBride explained that this was something that popped up in her inbox and the group may archive for future use. Basically, using waste to create energy.
  • Thermal Energy Networks
    Ms. Duzan explained that this was another resource for the EAC toolbox to consider. It may come up as new developments spring up in our Township. Ms. Swan also clarified that our email is fine to use to share information, but public discussions should happen at our meetings.
• Sustainability Coordinator Updates (New!)
  Ms. McBride will use this opportunity to update the group on anything she is working on related to sustainability in her new role.
  • Catch the Rain Workshop
    Ms. McBride will attend this workshop next Monday and report back to the group.
  • Open Space Innovations
    Ms. McBride will also attend this conference on June 1 and report back to the group any interesting open space ideas she learns about. Ms. Swan also shared some composting conversations she began last year with Ms. McBride to follow-up on for information.
  • Understanding how Township documents are filed and searched to see if there are any ways we can increase efficiency and use less server resources.
    Ms. McBride also summarized her work looking into the ways the Township office can be more sustainable by reviewing standards of practice for document sharing/saving. Mr. Irwin suggested also looking into HVAC settings. Ms. McBride also discussed some other ideas like a free store, repair clinics/circles, and community gardens. Ms. Duzan noted that the new property on 300 N. Bailey would be a great place to host repair clinics.
  • Sustainability Website
    Ms. McBride discussed ideas for updating the website to share actions that residents can take to be more sustainable organized by effort. Mr. Irwin suggested also organizing them by time saved. The website would also highlight initiatives and projects the EAC is working on. Ms. McBride asked the EAC to add resources to the document that could be added to the website for residents. Ms. Duzan asked if there was a way to highlight different resources and different times of year. Ms. Swan said that there is.
• Additional Business
  • Ms. Swan reminded everyone to take the Lincoln Highway survey before May 16th!
• Adjournment at 8:32pm
  • Moved by Ms. Spaulding. Seconded by Mr. Irwin. Motion carried 5-0.