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Home My WebLink AboutAug 2025 - PC Staff Report - Copy (2)Franklin County Planning Department Updates Franklin County Planning Commission Thursday, Aug 6, 2025 Agricultural Preservation The program currently has 164 preserved farms totaling over 20,011.19 acres. 2022 Farms ● Hershberger, Daniel & Amy (113.78 acres) - Settled on 7/17/25 2023 Farms ● Lemar Road LLC (204.08 acres) - Peters Township – State Approved 6/12/25 ● Steve and Lynn Hykes (141.10 acres) - Antrim Township – Ready for County Approval ● Paul Witter (4) (88.2 acres) - Southampton Township - Ready for County Approval ● Barry Timmons - (46.11 acres) - Montgomery Township ● Todd and Vicki Heckman - (37.1 acres) - Peters Township ● Donald and Denise Martin #3 - (79.6 acres) - Guilford Township – State Approved 6/12/25 ● Jeff Grove - (58.17 acres) - Peters Township – State Approved 4/10/2025 ● JEM Farm - (93.39 acres) - Washington Township 2024 Farms ● Schnebly (136.6 acres) - Montgomery Township - Survey Process ● Brake, B (80.7 acres) - Montgomery Township – Ready for Title ● Brenize, Ben (115.3 acres) - Southampton - Survey Process ● Gingrich, A. (104.9 acres) - Peters Township - Ready for Title ● Bachtell (132.90 acres) - Montgomery Township – Ready for Title 2025 Farms • Jay Shelly (40 acres) - Peters Township • Rotz Family Farm LLC (87.9 acres) - Peters Township • Robert & Rhodena Eckstine (57.46 acres) - Montgomery Township • Daniel & Amy Hershberger (243.15 acres) - Peters Township • William & JoAnn Haines (100.5 acres) - Southampton Township Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) ● FY 2024 Funds in the amount of $357,219 have been awarded to the county. A contract has been executed between the County and DCED. Our subrecipient agreement is with our solicitor for review. Projects awarded are as follows: ○ Luminest- Acquisition - $242,919 ○ Habitat for Humanity- Acquisition- $50,000 ● The County received an executed contract for FY 2023 in August of 2024. We are currently in the process of completing Environmental Reviews and executing contracts with our subrecipients. Final Projects: ○ Borough of Greencastle - Baltimore Street Crossing Signal - $54,210 ○ Habitat for Humanity- Acquisition- $37,488.96 ● Notices to proceed for FY 2022 CDBG were sent to our subrecipients in April of 2024. A modification for was approved at the end of March 2025 to fund Habitat for Humanity. Final Projects are as follows: ○ Borough of Greencastle - ADA Curb Ramp/Sidewalk project: $286,103 ■ A revision to the scope of work was made in April. Going to bid in May. ○ Habitat for Humanity- Acquisition: $10,845 ● Our FY 2021 CDBG contract ends in May of 2025. We have completed draw down and have closed each activity. The projects are as follows: ○ Borough of Greencastle – ADA Curb Ramp project: $110,000 ○ WCHS – Nursing Program: $9,000 ■ WCHS was unable to spend this funding. $9,000 will be recaptured upon DCED’s closeout. ○ CONTACT Helpline: $9,000 ● General updates on other CDBG program years: ○ FY 2019: ■ Greencastle Curb Ramp Project- $289,875: Greencastle has completed their project and drawdown is in progress. Comprehensive Plan A report on the 2024 accomplishments was included in the Annual Report. Staff would be happy to accept feedback on community organizations that are or may be willing to help advance some of these goals so that we can work together on implementation. Housing The Commissioners have awarded $10,000 from the Housing Trust Fund to The Chambersburg Project to help to make repairs to homes for families or individuals that need assistance. Mosquito and Tick-Borne Disease Control Program ● Mosquitoes: Mosquito numbers continue to be high through the month of July. Flood water mosquito species have waxed and wanned with the rain. Larvaciding operations and adult sprays continue weekly to aid in diminishing the numbers. As of July 31, only 1 West Nile Virus positive mosquito pool has been detected in Franklin County. ● Ticks: Tick collection began April 14. Black-legged tick nymph populations are elevated this year not only in Franklin County But across the state. Spring/summer tick collections will end the last week of August, with fall collections to begin the first of October. Solid Waste Plan The Solid Waste Advisory Committee has met twice to discuss updates to the plan. Drafts of chapters 1, 2, and 3 have been reviewed and are undergoing edits as additional information from the planning process is being revealed. Meetings with the SWAC and Municipalities are scheduled to discuss gaps and goals. We received 8 submissions for the RFQ for capacity guarantee, which are currently under review. Transportation ● 2024-2025 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Modification: Following the submission of several administrative modifications to the 2024-2025 UPWP to PennDOT, these modifications have been approved, and now accurately reflect staffing changes and necessary adjustment of available funds between Task items. ● 2027-2030 Transportation Improvement Program: Following the receipt of both the General and Financial Guidance from PennDOT in early June 2025, work has begun to develop the 2027- 2030 Transportation Improvement Program update. MPO staff have reached out to local municipalities for candidate projects they would like to add to the TIP, which will be shared and discussed with PennDOT District 8 representatives in a meeting this August. A ‘TIP-at-a-Glance' document is also currently being developed, which looks to give the public a comprehensive breakdown of TIP funding allocation between project types, locations, and costs. ● Request for Proposals – MPO On-Call Consultant: After working in collaboration with Franklin County Procurement Department, the request for proposals period which sought to secure pertinent on-call consultant services for the MPO was concluded as of May 7. After reviewing submitted proposals and internal deliberation, the MPO is working to award the contract to the top proposer. The contract is currently under Solicitor review before it will be introduced to the Board of Commissioners for review and approval, and Franklin County Procurement Department is currently in contact with LDG to establish finals negotiations. ● County Bridge Projects: Preliminary engineering for bridge replacement projects on bridges 130, 131, and 118 continues, which is receiving federal funding through the FCMPO TIP, continues. A superstructure replacement project for Bridge 23 carrying Tallow Hill Road over Conococheague Creek in Guilford and Hamilton Townships and a bridge rehabilitation project for Bridge 66 carrying Burnt Mill Road over Conodoguinet Creek in Lurgan Township have both been recently approved. Through coordination with HRG, the Bridge 23 project is anticipated to be bundled for bidding with the Bridge 118 project under a March 26, 2025 agreement. Bridge 66 will be coordinated by PennDOT and receive funding as part of the Commonwealth’s Performance of Locally Owned Historic Metal Truss Bridge Rehabilitation Project. Following receipt of Statements of Interest from prospective firms and related interviews for the purposes of securing a new County bridge engineer, a selection committee composed of Planning staff and related County officials has decided to select HRG to continue in their capacity as bridge engineer for Franklin County. Final agreements between HRG and PennDOT are currently ongoing.