Well, August is almost over and I have not posted anything. I've stopped going to meetings and that limits my reportage. But I got some useful things done on the farm and had time to relax and ponder about the Big Things that I can't do much about.
Rather than stew about them, I'll offer some rambling thoughts about three big national issues.
CIA Interrogations : The Administration has decided to re-open and re-investigate the CIA interrogations of terrorists (detainees) captured early in the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. The basic facts are that this subject was investigated extensively four years ago, one person was found guilty of exceeding the guidelines; the DOJ decided there was no cause to prosecute any others. More importantly, there were very humane guidelines in place and being followed and the results of these "enhanced interrogation techniques" were very effective in preventing further attacks on the US and our allies as well as in penetrating enemy networks in Iraq and elsewhere.
Overall, I think the CIA, like the military, operated effectively under some of the most damage-limiting guidelines ever employed in warfare. I have trouble understanding the "outrage" of anyone who is offended by interrogators "blowing cigar smoke" or dribbling a little water (only a few cases of this) in the faces of those who have tried to blow up our buildings and troops. Please! Let's have a little perspective; compare this to the interrogation techniques employed against Americans by the North Koreans in the 1950's, the Vietnamese in the 60's and early 70's, or the Taliban and Al Qaeda more recently.
Most importantly, this politicized investigation can easily become a major deterrent to the ability of our front-line intelligence and military troops to protect the nation quickly and effectively. Why do this damage to our national security? As near as I can tell, the prime purpose is to deflect the public view from the failings of the Administration's Health Care Reform proposals.
Health Care Reform : We can improve health care; but first we need a much more open discussion of the real problems and the possible solutions. While there are many variations of the Democrat - Administration reform proposals being worked on, only HR 3200 is available for public view. It's gotten a lot of attention and there has already been considerable sliding back and forth about key details like the "Public Option", medicare cuts, cost savings, comparative effectiveness reviews, forced end-of life counseling, etc.. Cutting through the confusion reveals an Administration objective to cram down a poorly considered amalgam of health and social issues in legislation that would enact a political agenda and not improve our health care.
We are not getting that key discussion of problems and solutions. Instead, we are being pushed to a Government-Controlled solution rather than a Patient/Consumer Controlled solution without the requisite analysis of the problems with the current system or of the solution options.
Consider just one aspect of the "Problem" - the claimed 46-47 million uninsured ( that's about 15% of our population) according to Census Bureau surveys . How real is this problem? For starters, read KeithHennessey's analysis, this study in The American , and this WSJ article. You might be surprised by what these and other government reports say. Did you know that only about half of that number are uninsured for a year, rather than a month or less? Or that only 16% are uninsured for two years? In other words, only about 23 million people (or 7.5%) are uninsured for 1 year and only 7.5 million people uninsured for two years (about 2.5% of the population). The studies also cut the numbers in terms of who is uninsured rather than how long they are uninsured, showing that the "47 million" is composed of a large number of non-citizens and of people really eligible for Medicare or SCHIP. Removing those people, cuts the number of uninsured in half; of the remainder, many are financially well-off families and young adults who opt not to buy insurance. The result is about 10 million or fewer people ( about 3%)who might need financial help.
That's still a lot of people; but can't we find a tailored solution to the problems of 3% of the population without changing the entire health care system for 100% of us ? Do we really need to adversely impact 97% of us with "Obamacare" to help 3%? And would the government plan really help that 3% anyways? Without knowing who is uninsured for how long and for what reasons, one cannot solve the problem intelligently.
Instead of a reasoned or tailored solution, we are offered a "moral imperative" to enact extensive government controls over our health care options and choices. We are told this reform is needed to "control costs" because Medicare is "financially unsustainable" - really, President Obama made both these points in a single recent speech. Question - If Medicare has an unsustainable cost problem, how does expanding it to a full national government -run system make cost controls easier to attain? Why not prove these new controls first in Medicare as it is?
The answer is obvious. the only ways to bring costs and revenue into balance is to force people who don't need medical care (young,healthy) to pay for people who do (older, ill) and to ration care to those who need it most based on some overall "societal benefit" formula. Enter Comparative Effectiveness Review committees and End-of-Life counseling; or if you prefer "death panels". Although those words never appear in the legislation , the result is implicit in the government approach to rationing care.
Tea Parties and Sarah Palin : Can't cite "death panels" without giving credit to Sarah Palin and the Tea Party folks who have been giving their Congress folks a lot of citizen feedback. In my blog post about the local 4th of July Tea Party, I noted how good it was to see citizens aroused and speaking against more government intrusion in our lives. I also said of Palin's announced resignation as Alaska Governor that "I believe she is choosing to abandon "politics as usual" to pursue an independent path to break the current political bureaucracy's hold on America." I think it is pretty clear now that she is doing that with a rapidly growing online audience and Facebook followers. She has the rare talent of seeing through intellectual smokescreens, getting to the heart of the matter, and expressing it a short grabby phrase. Her insights and statements appeal to us because they are honest, accurate assessments that reflect the American spirit of independence and responsibility for our lives and choices. As one liberal blogger put it, "Sarah Palin Rope-a-Doped All-Too-Many Liberals "on this issue and put the Democrats on the defensive.
The Tea Parties are making that spirit known to the Congress and the country. I believe and hope that the impact is as strong as it appears. If so, the destructive policies of this Administration on health and energy will be thwarted. None of us feel that things are perfect in either area. Both areas need considerable reform and policy changes.
But first, we need a full discussion of the real problems and potential solutions. Then we can compare solutions and blend the best ideas into good policy. As an example, how many folks are aware of HR 2520, proposed by Rep. Ryan (R), or HR 3218 by Rep. Shadegg (R). These bills lay out health care reforms based on patient-control, improved access to affordable insurance by removing government regulations, and tort limits on frivolous litigation that increases expenses and causes undue defensive medical tests and procedures. There is a lot to discuss; but Congress needs to understand we want that discussion. The Tea Party troops are making that clear and that is a reason for optimism about the future.
I may not be able to do much about these issues personally, but I have a lot of faith in what we can do as citizens and as a nation.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Jessup News Post - July 2009
Township Meeting was held at 7:30 PM on 1 July.
Bids were opened for purchase of 1000 yards of cinders. The two bids were discussed and the higher bid, by Keefer Trucking, was selected over the bid by Brown Farm. The selection was made due to the ability of Keefer to deliver tonnage more rapidly with price certainty since it's bid was firm while the other bid had a clause allowing unknown price increases based on fuel costs.
The issue of natural gas pipelines and seismic testing along township roads was discussed again because a gas company had informed the town that it planned to do seismic testing along a town road. It was decided to inform a concerned resident on that road of the planned activity. The town officials hope to meet with a Cabot representative soon to discuss Cabot's plans; Cabot is expected to begin activity here in the Fall. The roadmaster again voiced opposition to pipelines along road right of ways; but that issue may be raised again.
The township will explore leasing its property for gas exploration.
The township met with the NTC to resolve the issue of payments for composting equipment. About half the NTC towns are using the equipment and half are not. We are not, but are still liable for paying our share of costs. It was decided to reimburse the NTC for past costs ( or dues) of about $470; but to stipulate that no further costs/dues would be paid and that the equipment should be used by those that want it.
An opportunity to buy a used JD544 loader was discussed. The loader would cost $7000 and about another $10,000 for repairs. It's value would be substantially higher once fixed and the costs might be offset partially by sale of the existing older loader. A motion was passed to purchase the JD544 loader and to advertise the old loader for sale.
The next township meeting will be August 5 at 7:30PM. The next NTC meeting will be held August 20 at 7 PM in Middletown.
The county gas task force meeting is scheduled for 9:30AM Thursday, 23July. It is held in the street level conference room of the County Office Building; it often overflows into the Economic Development Board meeting at 10AM in the lower level conference room.
I have another meeting that morning and may not attend; so I'll post the July News now.
Playing Politics with State Police Services
My attention was caught by this rather disturbing article last week : Surcharge looming for police coverage - Susquehanna Independent Weekender, which stated "Under House Bill 1500, municipalities that rely solely on state police for its law enforcement would be charged based on its population. During the first year in effect, the fee would be $52 per person. It would rise to $104 per person the second year, and $156 each year after that."
For a 750 person township, the annual tab starts at $39,000 rising to $117,000 in three years. But why do this? There is a very good case that 2nd class townships already pay enough taxes for the level of State Police services needed and actually received. I have seen very few troopers drive past my farm in the last 10 years -- maybe one every 2-3 years on average. The last time was a night when they were looking for some fugitives from a Vestal area robbery who had fled down Route 267.
So, if this bill is not needed to pay for excessive street patrolling, why is it being considered?
You can read House Bill 1500(pdf) here. It passed the State Government Committee on 1 July 2009 with 13 Democrat votes in favor and all 11 Republicans and 1 Democrat voting against. It is now in the Rules Committee.
OK, so we know it is a strongly Democrat partisan bill. And we know that the House just passed a budget bill that spends far more than the House Republicans proposed or than the Senate passed in their SB 850.
Governor Rendell and the Democrats want to increase spending in the face of a severe revenue shortfall. If you won't cut spending, then you have to raise taxes directly or indirectly by forcing others (counties and towns) to pay for mandated services that can reduce state funding obligations.
This makes HB 1500 look like a bargaining chip for an upcoming House - Senate budget conference that will be needed to get a consolidated budget bill passed and signed. I believe that is a key reason for this bill being pushed now by the Democrats. But not the only reason.
A town can avoid the HB 1500 mandated fees by having a 24/7 full time police force or joining in a regional police force. A town can reduce the fee to one third the full charge by having a part time police force or participating in a regional one. Could this bill be another State Government push to force townships to consolidate services - whether needed or not?
Who gets the money collected from townships by HB 1500?
Well, the first $20,000,000 goes to a special account to fund "additional" State Police cadet classes. That's interesting. I wonder do they think they will need more classes and State Police to provide the same services as now and that towns will opt to pay the fees rather than join regional police forces? Or do they just hope that there will be enough up front money for a while to cover some budget reductions in normal funding for those classes?
After that $20 Million set aside, the rest is split 90% to the Motor License Fund and 10% to DCED. DCED is required to use its funds for "assisting and encouraging municipalities to enter into cooperative arrangements to provide police services".
So, the money follows the political goal of consolidating townships, or their services, into regional arrangements. All accomplished by State mandates that withdraw money from townships and offer to return a portion if they follow the State's political guidance. Note that the State can not force township consolidation without modification of the constitution; but the same result can approached by these means.
How likely is this bill to pass and how likely is "consolidation" to be forced on townships?
I do not have even a cloudy magic ball to foretell political events. But I suspect HB 1500 will go nowhere beyond being a pawn in the big budget battle. Remember that it passed committee with 100% Republican opposition and with 1 Democrat joining the Republicans. The Democrats may control the House, but not the Senate.
As for "consolidation", I think there will be continued pressure as long as the Democrats have the Governorship and at least one legislative body. I also think it can be successfully resisted.
Many township officials came back from the April annual PSATS meeting in Harrisburg concerned about a strongly pro-consolidation speech given by the Acting Secretary of DCED. Some took his speech as threatening consolidation. The resultant political backlash caused Gov. Rendell to place a full page "Message" in the July edition of PSATS Township News proclaiming he has "no intention of calling for the merger, consolidation, or elimination of townships."
Of course, Gov. Rendell also recognized the "efficiency of shared services and cooperation, but that should be encouraged, rather than mandated." That is a good policy statement. The key issue is making sure that the State's encouragement is not coupled to unfunded service mandates or reductions.
HB 1500 crosses that line - just like the DCED Acting Secretary's consolidation speech did. And just like that speech, voter and township pressure can keep the State "consolidators" at bay. We just need to keep fighting back and making our opinions known to our representatives.
For a 750 person township, the annual tab starts at $39,000 rising to $117,000 in three years. But why do this? There is a very good case that 2nd class townships already pay enough taxes for the level of State Police services needed and actually received. I have seen very few troopers drive past my farm in the last 10 years -- maybe one every 2-3 years on average. The last time was a night when they were looking for some fugitives from a Vestal area robbery who had fled down Route 267.
So, if this bill is not needed to pay for excessive street patrolling, why is it being considered?
You can read House Bill 1500(pdf) here. It passed the State Government Committee on 1 July 2009 with 13 Democrat votes in favor and all 11 Republicans and 1 Democrat voting against. It is now in the Rules Committee.
OK, so we know it is a strongly Democrat partisan bill. And we know that the House just passed a budget bill that spends far more than the House Republicans proposed or than the Senate passed in their SB 850.
Governor Rendell and the Democrats want to increase spending in the face of a severe revenue shortfall. If you won't cut spending, then you have to raise taxes directly or indirectly by forcing others (counties and towns) to pay for mandated services that can reduce state funding obligations.
This makes HB 1500 look like a bargaining chip for an upcoming House - Senate budget conference that will be needed to get a consolidated budget bill passed and signed. I believe that is a key reason for this bill being pushed now by the Democrats. But not the only reason.
A town can avoid the HB 1500 mandated fees by having a 24/7 full time police force or joining in a regional police force. A town can reduce the fee to one third the full charge by having a part time police force or participating in a regional one. Could this bill be another State Government push to force townships to consolidate services - whether needed or not?
Who gets the money collected from townships by HB 1500?
Well, the first $20,000,000 goes to a special account to fund "additional" State Police cadet classes. That's interesting. I wonder do they think they will need more classes and State Police to provide the same services as now and that towns will opt to pay the fees rather than join regional police forces? Or do they just hope that there will be enough up front money for a while to cover some budget reductions in normal funding for those classes?
After that $20 Million set aside, the rest is split 90% to the Motor License Fund and 10% to DCED. DCED is required to use its funds for "assisting and encouraging municipalities to enter into cooperative arrangements to provide police services".
So, the money follows the political goal of consolidating townships, or their services, into regional arrangements. All accomplished by State mandates that withdraw money from townships and offer to return a portion if they follow the State's political guidance. Note that the State can not force township consolidation without modification of the constitution; but the same result can approached by these means.
How likely is this bill to pass and how likely is "consolidation" to be forced on townships?
I do not have even a cloudy magic ball to foretell political events. But I suspect HB 1500 will go nowhere beyond being a pawn in the big budget battle. Remember that it passed committee with 100% Republican opposition and with 1 Democrat joining the Republicans. The Democrats may control the House, but not the Senate.
As for "consolidation", I think there will be continued pressure as long as the Democrats have the Governorship and at least one legislative body. I also think it can be successfully resisted.
Many township officials came back from the April annual PSATS meeting in Harrisburg concerned about a strongly pro-consolidation speech given by the Acting Secretary of DCED. Some took his speech as threatening consolidation. The resultant political backlash caused Gov. Rendell to place a full page "Message" in the July edition of PSATS Township News proclaiming he has "no intention of calling for the merger, consolidation, or elimination of townships."
Of course, Gov. Rendell also recognized the "efficiency of shared services and cooperation, but that should be encouraged, rather than mandated." That is a good policy statement. The key issue is making sure that the State's encouragement is not coupled to unfunded service mandates or reductions.
HB 1500 crosses that line - just like the DCED Acting Secretary's consolidation speech did. And just like that speech, voter and township pressure can keep the State "consolidators" at bay. We just need to keep fighting back and making our opinions known to our representatives.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
A Tea Party for The Nation's Birthday
This was a great Fourth of July!
The sun was shining and the rain was not falling. We were able to get our horses out for an hour of trail riding along green pathways and mountain vistas.
We went to the first - and thus far, only - Tea Party in Susquehanna County. It was quite an event and we have the photos that show it. Any time you get more people to show up in a field than there are hay bales, it's a success.
I counted over a hundred folks and that's a lot for us. Admittedly, some of us left early - it may be a holiday, but the animals still need to be fed.
The talks at the Tea Party were on target, expressing our feelings about a government that has abandoned those who work hard and save for those who expect a bailout for not working or saving. We had adults discussing that; we had children talking about history and work as the key to success in America. We had some good posters.
None of us want to pass a huge debt on to our children and grandchildren. We want the government to stop the insanity of going deeper into debt to "fix" the economic problems caused by prior unconscionable debt and loan policies.
The "party" location in South Montrose is notable itself. It is a field that was converted into a memorial by the Crisman family for their son, Daniel, who died in the 9/11 attack and then extended for all those who lost their lives in that attack. Their names are engraved on stone tablets in a semi-circle around the area in which the speakers addressed us.
We are rural Americans. We remember the sacrifices that were made and the families that still bear the burdens. Not just our neighbors; but throughout America. We are disappointed in the politicians and leaders who don't share our faith in ourselves to meet the future with our own industry, wisdom , and patriotism.
Some speakers called for leaders, who believe in us, to come forward and identify themselves; feeling that there were no such leaders and we need to find new ones. I agree that there are few, but not none. We need to find each other.
That brings me to my final action this 4th of July. After reading Governor Palin's resignation speech several times at SarahPAC (also on video here ), I have contributed to her PAC and the Alaska Trust Fund that pays her personal legal bills from baseless attacks. Regardless of what some prominent public commentators may say, I believe that she is not running from the fight or abandoning a political career. I believe she is choosing to abandon "politics as usual" to pursue an independent path to break the current political bureaucracy's hold on America.
I hope to see more of her on the political scene as a strong independent voice for bringing us back to the America that we "Tea Party" folks want. Her goals for America are straightforward and match mine : Free Enterprise; Smaller Government; Strong National Security; and Energy Independence. I believe these are the prime priorities for our future.
It's been a great 4th of July. Good weather; good horses; good people seeking a way ahead for America; and a real "Stand-Up" leader making a hard choice for our sake.
The sun was shining and the rain was not falling. We were able to get our horses out for an hour of trail riding along green pathways and mountain vistas.
We went to the first - and thus far, only - Tea Party in Susquehanna County. It was quite an event and we have the photos that show it. Any time you get more people to show up in a field than there are hay bales, it's a success.
I counted over a hundred folks and that's a lot for us. Admittedly, some of us left early - it may be a holiday, but the animals still need to be fed.
The talks at the Tea Party were on target, expressing our feelings about a government that has abandoned those who work hard and save for those who expect a bailout for not working or saving. We had adults discussing that; we had children talking about history and work as the key to success in America. We had some good posters.
None of us want to pass a huge debt on to our children and grandchildren. We want the government to stop the insanity of going deeper into debt to "fix" the economic problems caused by prior unconscionable debt and loan policies.
The "party" location in South Montrose is notable itself. It is a field that was converted into a memorial by the Crisman family for their son, Daniel, who died in the 9/11 attack and then extended for all those who lost their lives in that attack. Their names are engraved on stone tablets in a semi-circle around the area in which the speakers addressed us.
We are rural Americans. We remember the sacrifices that were made and the families that still bear the burdens. Not just our neighbors; but throughout America. We are disappointed in the politicians and leaders who don't share our faith in ourselves to meet the future with our own industry, wisdom , and patriotism.
Some speakers called for leaders, who believe in us, to come forward and identify themselves; feeling that there were no such leaders and we need to find new ones. I agree that there are few, but not none. We need to find each other.
That brings me to my final action this 4th of July. After reading Governor Palin's resignation speech several times at SarahPAC (also on video here ), I have contributed to her PAC and the Alaska Trust Fund that pays her personal legal bills from baseless attacks. Regardless of what some prominent public commentators may say, I believe that she is not running from the fight or abandoning a political career. I believe she is choosing to abandon "politics as usual" to pursue an independent path to break the current political bureaucracy's hold on America.
I hope to see more of her on the political scene as a strong independent voice for bringing us back to the America that we "Tea Party" folks want. Her goals for America are straightforward and match mine : Free Enterprise; Smaller Government; Strong National Security; and Energy Independence. I believe these are the prime priorities for our future.
It's been a great 4th of July. Good weather; good horses; good people seeking a way ahead for America; and a real "Stand-Up" leader making a hard choice for our sake.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Jessup News Post - June 2009
Township Meeting :
The meeting was scheduled for 7 PM on 3June 2009. The meeting times will be reset to the old start time of 7:30 PM beginning in July.
The stone crushing operation was a success with a large amount of stone crushed in 6 days. The resulting modified and 3A tonnage was obtained at considerable savings and is being used for the annual road maintenance. Personnel changes were made to improve the road crews.
Flags have been placed at veterans' graves by a volunteer.
A citizen expressed concern about gas companies doing seismic surveys and laying pipelines along township road rights of way. Supervisors stated that no permits have been requested or granted. They do not plan to permit any pipelines along roads; but expect to consider pipelines that cross roads from one leased tract to another. They stated that companies do not ask them about seismic surveys; they just do them.
The next township meeting will be Wednesday,1 July, at 7:30 PM.
NTC Meeting :
Jessup hosted the first (and perhaps last) quarterly NTC meeting on Thursday, 18June, at 7 PM. The meeting was brief ending with an agreement to meet again in two months.
Bill Stewart introduced 3 agenda items.
First was a discussion of DCED's request for an audit of the three year planning and zoning grant funds, covering July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2007. The requested audit is a "Yellow Book" audit which requires special credentials, not possessed by most auditors. Mr. Brian Kelly was retained to do the audit at an estimated $2500. Mr. Kelly will also arrange for an extension of the audit deadline from 30 June to end July 2009. A vote was passed to do so. Interestingly, the treasurer's report showed a recent bill paid against that account for services by Mr Helfrich.
Second was a discussion of a MOA with Montrose Boro and their bill for the use of land under the NTC metal equipment building on their land. The building houses composting equipment, used by some of the NTC towns. It was agreed to have a separate meeting of the "composters" to decide on the MOA and bill ( about $350 for usage and legal fees). That meeting will also address the allocation of charges for compost equipment maintenance.
Third was a mention of the PSATS award given to the NTC for their efforts to do multi-municipal planning and zoning. Silver Lake agreed to hold and display the award.
With the formal business over, a citizen asked about the status of zoning. Bill Stewart said some were still considering it. Township representatives confirmed that Apolacon, Franklin, Jessup, Liberty, Middletown, and Silver Lake were not going to zone. No township, of the remaining six, stated that they intended to zone. It was noted at the March meeting that the original multi-municipal inter-governmental cooperation agreement, was never signed by all and, hence, the resulting draft ordinance could only be used as the basis for individual zoning ordinances , presumably, after review and adoption by the individual township planning commissions.
At Bill Stewart's request, it was agreed to have the next meeting at Middletown on 20 August at 7 PM to allow for discussion of the DCED audit. It was stated that meetings might be held or not held in future on the planned schedule and that interested people could find out by viewing the NTC website or asking their township office. Alternatively, the County Planning Office could be called to find the time and place of future meetings.
County Gas Task Force Meeting :
The meeting was scheduled for 9:30 AM, Thursday 25 June, prior to the Economic Development committee meeting at 10AM. It began late and continued into the subsequent meeting. The meeting did not add much more information than presented last month. The Bradford Progress Authority is trying to induce companies to come here for a company-to-company "Expo" to get better exchange of gas company needs and local company capabilities. This may occur by the Fall. Another "Expo" may be held next year to address workforce needs.
Joann Kowalski noted that a PSU study indicates that a single well generates the equivalent of about 11.5 jobs for one year. The required job skills are about 25% College level and 75% High School level. Reference information can be found at www.pct.edu.msetc/.
I asked in anyone would be interested in having gas well and pipeline locations easily available on a map. Many seemed interested. I suggested to the group and to Commissioner Allen that the county could provide that capability at no cost to viewers and at no cost or low cost to the county.
At no cost, simply publish on the county website an Internet reference to existing websites; and at low cost, extend a current Google Map Application, which shows permitted and production wells and major pipelines, to provide more information such as access roads and gathering pipelines. The extensions can be added by getting GPS locations from the gas companies. A full discussion of the County Gas Map Proposal is available in my 23 June blog post.
The meeting was scheduled for 7 PM on 3June 2009. The meeting times will be reset to the old start time of 7:30 PM beginning in July.
The stone crushing operation was a success with a large amount of stone crushed in 6 days. The resulting modified and 3A tonnage was obtained at considerable savings and is being used for the annual road maintenance. Personnel changes were made to improve the road crews.
Flags have been placed at veterans' graves by a volunteer.
A citizen expressed concern about gas companies doing seismic surveys and laying pipelines along township road rights of way. Supervisors stated that no permits have been requested or granted. They do not plan to permit any pipelines along roads; but expect to consider pipelines that cross roads from one leased tract to another. They stated that companies do not ask them about seismic surveys; they just do them.
The next township meeting will be Wednesday,1 July, at 7:30 PM.
NTC Meeting :
Jessup hosted the first (and perhaps last) quarterly NTC meeting on Thursday, 18June, at 7 PM. The meeting was brief ending with an agreement to meet again in two months.
Bill Stewart introduced 3 agenda items.
First was a discussion of DCED's request for an audit of the three year planning and zoning grant funds, covering July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2007. The requested audit is a "Yellow Book" audit which requires special credentials, not possessed by most auditors. Mr. Brian Kelly was retained to do the audit at an estimated $2500. Mr. Kelly will also arrange for an extension of the audit deadline from 30 June to end July 2009. A vote was passed to do so. Interestingly, the treasurer's report showed a recent bill paid against that account for services by Mr Helfrich.
Second was a discussion of a MOA with Montrose Boro and their bill for the use of land under the NTC metal equipment building on their land. The building houses composting equipment, used by some of the NTC towns. It was agreed to have a separate meeting of the "composters" to decide on the MOA and bill ( about $350 for usage and legal fees). That meeting will also address the allocation of charges for compost equipment maintenance.
Third was a mention of the PSATS award given to the NTC for their efforts to do multi-municipal planning and zoning. Silver Lake agreed to hold and display the award.
With the formal business over, a citizen asked about the status of zoning. Bill Stewart said some were still considering it. Township representatives confirmed that Apolacon, Franklin, Jessup, Liberty, Middletown, and Silver Lake were not going to zone. No township, of the remaining six, stated that they intended to zone. It was noted at the March meeting that the original multi-municipal inter-governmental cooperation agreement, was never signed by all and, hence, the resulting draft ordinance could only be used as the basis for individual zoning ordinances , presumably, after review and adoption by the individual township planning commissions.
At Bill Stewart's request, it was agreed to have the next meeting at Middletown on 20 August at 7 PM to allow for discussion of the DCED audit. It was stated that meetings might be held or not held in future on the planned schedule and that interested people could find out by viewing the NTC website or asking their township office. Alternatively, the County Planning Office could be called to find the time and place of future meetings.
County Gas Task Force Meeting :
The meeting was scheduled for 9:30 AM, Thursday 25 June, prior to the Economic Development committee meeting at 10AM. It began late and continued into the subsequent meeting. The meeting did not add much more information than presented last month. The Bradford Progress Authority is trying to induce companies to come here for a company-to-company "Expo" to get better exchange of gas company needs and local company capabilities. This may occur by the Fall. Another "Expo" may be held next year to address workforce needs.
Joann Kowalski noted that a PSU study indicates that a single well generates the equivalent of about 11.5 jobs for one year. The required job skills are about 25% College level and 75% High School level. Reference information can be found at www.pct.edu.msetc/.
I asked in anyone would be interested in having gas well and pipeline locations easily available on a map. Many seemed interested. I suggested to the group and to Commissioner Allen that the county could provide that capability at no cost to viewers and at no cost or low cost to the county.
At no cost, simply publish on the county website an Internet reference to existing websites; and at low cost, extend a current Google Map Application, which shows permitted and production wells and major pipelines, to provide more information such as access roads and gathering pipelines. The extensions can be added by getting GPS locations from the gas companies. A full discussion of the County Gas Map Proposal is available in my 23 June blog post.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
County Gas Map Proposal
My June 1 post, "Mapping County Gas Data", asked a simple question : why can't we use Google Maps to create an adequate county gas data GIS capability quickly and inexpensively?
The question remains unanswered; but, maybe I wasn't very clear about what constitutes quick, doable and adequate.
So, I'll explain more and demonstrate some features of a proposed capability that can be obtained at No Cost to Low Cost to the county. It also will allow citizens and county agencies to access accurate map based information on permitted and producing gas wells, pipelines, and other data at no cost.
Really - "No Cost" ?? "Low Cost" ?? Well, Yes, really !
But it does depend on what we demand in terms of accuracy, currency and completeness, and ownership of the data. I'll discuss these items later; first, here is the No-Low Cost proposal.
No cost is simple. Use what already exists and is widely available on the Internet. Low cost means augmenting an existing capability with more data. Both capability levels are based on use of a Google Map Application with all the built-in features of Google maps provided free by Google, including tutorials on how to add features to one's own map application.
There is an existing application developed by a self-proclaimed technology geek who enjoys real-time mapping applications. You can visit his website at Susquehanna County - Gas Exploration Maps to examine different features and map scales. His maps cover Susquehanna County and several adjacent counties in PA and NY. They provide data on permitted and producing wells, major pipelines and compression stations. He updates them monthly or semi-monthly. They are reasonably complete and accurate.
Simply using this application is the No Cost option. The county should publicise it on a county website so people would know where to find it.
For the Low Cost option, the county could deal with this individual to get more information in his data base or to be allowed to maintain a comparable version of his application which the county would update and extend. An obvious extension would be to add small well gathering pipelines and well access roads based on data from the gas companies. If this data were provided in simple GPS coordinates, it would be easy to include in the Google map application.
There you have it - a basic Gas Data Map capability at No to Low Cost with easy Internet access.
Let's demonstrate the "No Cost" option by some Google Map screen shots, starting with this one, County Gas Map 1, that show the county and gas industry information. The Blue east-west line is the Tennessee Gas Pipeline; red balloons are the locations of permitted gas wells; green balloons locate producing well locations; newly permitted pipelines are shown as blue flags; other icons locate other gas activities.
The second screen shot, County Gas Map 2, zooms to a smaller scale map to show the wells in relation to local roads. We can reduce the scale more and get closer by sliding the Google map scale indicator in the + direction. At this scale we can see a red triangle that depicts the location of a gas compression station.
Clicking the mouse on any symbol, e.g.. a green balloon, causes an info bubble to pop-up with descriptive information on well ID, production or other data.The pop-up for the green balloon directly above the red triangle states it is the Teel 5 well by Cabot, facility ID 700047, the first production well in NE PA. The pop-up bubble for the balloon to the right of it identifies it as Black 2H well by Cabot, Facility ID 706268, which produced 8.3Mmcf/d with a 4 stage frac on 3-3-09.
The information inside an information bubble is whatever the map developer wants to put there. In addition, each bubble has a Google feature that allows you to enter your current location and get a route map and driving directions from your location to the well (bubble)location. Since this is a Google Map application, all the Google map features are available. We could shift from the standard map format, shown above, to one that overlays the data on a terrain map or on satellite imagery. Of course, the satellite imagery would only show features present when the image was taken, such as trees, fields, ponds, and buildings.
So, now lets discuss those mapping performance terms and what they imply for costs to enhance the existing gas data map application.
Accuracy means how precisely the gas location data is measured and plotted on the map. If we demand survey level accuracy, the map capability will be costly and take a while to create. If we can live with accuracy equal to a standard GPS - based automobile or handheld navigation system, we can have a capability fast and at no cost to low cost. I believe that level of accuracy is adequate.
Currency means how timely the plotted data is; for example, if a new well permit is issued, do we want it to be plotted and the map updated within a day? or a week? or would a month be timely enough? Completeness means how much new data is captured and plotted on a timely basis; must it be 100% or is 80-90% enough? Since we have nothing now, I suggest that getting "most" data updated on the map one or twice a month is adequate.
Going from "most" to all or almost all takes us from No to Low Cost or more; going from once or twice a month to daily has the same effect.
Ownership of the data means who has control of the data base and the mapping application. If we demand that the county own it all, it will cost money and employee time. If we are willing to use a product owned and maintained by a third party, then our cost is none to low, depending on what we require of the third party in terms of currency, completeness and assured accessibility to the map application.
Bottom Line - I propose that the county use the above existing application "as is" for an immediate no cost capability. Publicize this on a county website for citizen access.
To gain more capability, define what additional information is needed and conduct two negotiations. First, negotiate with the application developer to add more information in a timely fashion either by him or by a partnering arrangement with the county, possibly by maintaining a county version. Second, negotiate with the gas companies to get timely access road and pipeline data in a format for easy entry into the map application.
Update - I should also reference this other primary source of information on Gas Wells in Susquehanna County PA. The main website is at RLSTORE.COM . It has considerable data on current well activity and maps of well sites. Although the maps lack the scaling and manipulation features of a Google Map application, the data is updated frequently and is available for an $18 annual subscription.
The question remains unanswered; but, maybe I wasn't very clear about what constitutes quick, doable and adequate.
So, I'll explain more and demonstrate some features of a proposed capability that can be obtained at No Cost to Low Cost to the county. It also will allow citizens and county agencies to access accurate map based information on permitted and producing gas wells, pipelines, and other data at no cost.
Really - "No Cost" ?? "Low Cost" ?? Well, Yes, really !
But it does depend on what we demand in terms of accuracy, currency and completeness, and ownership of the data. I'll discuss these items later; first, here is the No-Low Cost proposal.
No cost is simple. Use what already exists and is widely available on the Internet. Low cost means augmenting an existing capability with more data. Both capability levels are based on use of a Google Map Application with all the built-in features of Google maps provided free by Google, including tutorials on how to add features to one's own map application.
There is an existing application developed by a self-proclaimed technology geek who enjoys real-time mapping applications. You can visit his website at Susquehanna County - Gas Exploration Maps to examine different features and map scales. His maps cover Susquehanna County and several adjacent counties in PA and NY. They provide data on permitted and producing wells, major pipelines and compression stations. He updates them monthly or semi-monthly. They are reasonably complete and accurate.
Simply using this application is the No Cost option. The county should publicise it on a county website so people would know where to find it.
For the Low Cost option, the county could deal with this individual to get more information in his data base or to be allowed to maintain a comparable version of his application which the county would update and extend. An obvious extension would be to add small well gathering pipelines and well access roads based on data from the gas companies. If this data were provided in simple GPS coordinates, it would be easy to include in the Google map application.
There you have it - a basic Gas Data Map capability at No to Low Cost with easy Internet access.
Let's demonstrate the "No Cost" option by some Google Map screen shots, starting with this one, County Gas Map 1, that show the county and gas industry information. The Blue east-west line is the Tennessee Gas Pipeline; red balloons are the locations of permitted gas wells; green balloons locate producing well locations; newly permitted pipelines are shown as blue flags; other icons locate other gas activities.
The second screen shot, County Gas Map 2, zooms to a smaller scale map to show the wells in relation to local roads. We can reduce the scale more and get closer by sliding the Google map scale indicator in the + direction. At this scale we can see a red triangle that depicts the location of a gas compression station.
Clicking the mouse on any symbol, e.g.. a green balloon, causes an info bubble to pop-up with descriptive information on well ID, production or other data.The pop-up for the green balloon directly above the red triangle states it is the Teel 5 well by Cabot, facility ID 700047, the first production well in NE PA. The pop-up bubble for the balloon to the right of it identifies it as Black 2H well by Cabot, Facility ID 706268, which produced 8.3Mmcf/d with a 4 stage frac on 3-3-09.
The information inside an information bubble is whatever the map developer wants to put there. In addition, each bubble has a Google feature that allows you to enter your current location and get a route map and driving directions from your location to the well (bubble)location. Since this is a Google Map application, all the Google map features are available. We could shift from the standard map format, shown above, to one that overlays the data on a terrain map or on satellite imagery. Of course, the satellite imagery would only show features present when the image was taken, such as trees, fields, ponds, and buildings.
So, now lets discuss those mapping performance terms and what they imply for costs to enhance the existing gas data map application.
Accuracy means how precisely the gas location data is measured and plotted on the map. If we demand survey level accuracy, the map capability will be costly and take a while to create. If we can live with accuracy equal to a standard GPS - based automobile or handheld navigation system, we can have a capability fast and at no cost to low cost. I believe that level of accuracy is adequate.
Currency means how timely the plotted data is; for example, if a new well permit is issued, do we want it to be plotted and the map updated within a day? or a week? or would a month be timely enough? Completeness means how much new data is captured and plotted on a timely basis; must it be 100% or is 80-90% enough? Since we have nothing now, I suggest that getting "most" data updated on the map one or twice a month is adequate.
Going from "most" to all or almost all takes us from No to Low Cost or more; going from once or twice a month to daily has the same effect.
Ownership of the data means who has control of the data base and the mapping application. If we demand that the county own it all, it will cost money and employee time. If we are willing to use a product owned and maintained by a third party, then our cost is none to low, depending on what we require of the third party in terms of currency, completeness and assured accessibility to the map application.
Bottom Line - I propose that the county use the above existing application "as is" for an immediate no cost capability. Publicize this on a county website for citizen access.
To gain more capability, define what additional information is needed and conduct two negotiations. First, negotiate with the application developer to add more information in a timely fashion either by him or by a partnering arrangement with the county, possibly by maintaining a county version. Second, negotiate with the gas companies to get timely access road and pipeline data in a format for easy entry into the map application.
Update - I should also reference this other primary source of information on Gas Wells in Susquehanna County PA. The main website is at RLSTORE.COM . It has considerable data on current well activity and maps of well sites. Although the maps lack the scaling and manipulation features of a Google Map application, the data is updated frequently and is available for an $18 annual subscription.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Mapping County Gas Data
My last post discussed the May 28 Gas Force meeting and noted that the county no longer has a GIS capability and could not map gas pipelines, access roads and well locations. I found that surprising since the Penn State Land Analysis Lab had trained the county on a GIS system many years ago and much of the county was mapped by an intern. Way back then, the Penn State Lab was working on a consumer friendly interface to GIS information.
A user friendly Geographic Information System (GIS) would be useful now to keep track of the new gas exploration data. So why can't we get one? Maybe the Penn State lab has some new tools to help.
Then again, maybe we already have a free GIS available . Maybe the real question is : why can't we use Google Map Applications to do the job?
Google Maps is a very user friendly, very large GIS, available free to anyone who wants to design and maintain a Google Map Application.
Some folks have already done so, mapping gas well permits, producing gas wells, major pipelines, and other data on Google Maps. To see a local product, link to Susquehanna County - Gas Exploration Maps . This site, and several other online maps, was developed by "Railroad - RR", a self-described Techno Geek, who is very into maps and real-time data sharing. He maintains it with new data every month or so. There are other interested smart people who do this sort of thing for fun or profit. They gather data from county or state offices where permits are filed.
This information is accessible by anyone with a laptop and internet connection. If the county wants a comparable simple GIS for gas information, this seems like a place to start. If we can define what we want represented, we should be able to find someone to create a new, or modify an existing, map application.
As for populating the data base with new information, define a suitable format for data entry and ask gas companies to provide the data. They may be willing to do so and to use the resulting maps. Or the county could require road access and pipeline data as a public safety measure if we do not already have it.
So, back to my basic question, why can't we use Google Maps to create a county gas data GIS capability? And do it fast and inexpensively ?
A user friendly Geographic Information System (GIS) would be useful now to keep track of the new gas exploration data. So why can't we get one? Maybe the Penn State lab has some new tools to help.
Then again, maybe we already have a free GIS available . Maybe the real question is : why can't we use Google Map Applications to do the job?
Google Maps is a very user friendly, very large GIS, available free to anyone who wants to design and maintain a Google Map Application.
Some folks have already done so, mapping gas well permits, producing gas wells, major pipelines, and other data on Google Maps. To see a local product, link to Susquehanna County - Gas Exploration Maps . This site, and several other online maps, was developed by "Railroad - RR", a self-described Techno Geek, who is very into maps and real-time data sharing. He maintains it with new data every month or so. There are other interested smart people who do this sort of thing for fun or profit. They gather data from county or state offices where permits are filed.
This information is accessible by anyone with a laptop and internet connection. If the county wants a comparable simple GIS for gas information, this seems like a place to start. If we can define what we want represented, we should be able to find someone to create a new, or modify an existing, map application.
As for populating the data base with new information, define a suitable format for data entry and ask gas companies to provide the data. They may be willing to do so and to use the resulting maps. Or the county could require road access and pipeline data as a public safety measure if we do not already have it.
So, back to my basic question, why can't we use Google Maps to create a county gas data GIS capability? And do it fast and inexpensively ?
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