Trappe TV Ready to Go Live

The Trappe Borough Council discussed the and playground safety at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Manager Jacqui Guenther updated the council and community members on the status of the Trappe TV channel. The channel, which will be used for public service announcements and borough news, is set to go live this month.

The council discussed options for advertising on the channel and determined that businesses within a 15-mile radius of the borough building can purchase advertising on the channel.

As the resolution stands now, ads will cost $1 per day and can be purchased for 30 days or less. At the end of 30 days, advertisers can renew their contracts, Guenther said.

Also, there were some issues with houses that were not set to receive the channel, and Guenther said residents should contact the borough if they aren’t receiving the channel once it has gone live. In most cases, the home is being counted as belonging to a different and the council doesn’t receive the franchise fee they should be receiving from Comcast and the resident won’t receive the channel.

The manager’s report also included a statement asking residents to redirect their downspouts into rain barrels, onto gardens or other containers that will keep excess storm water from accumulating on flat services or running off and causing flooded areas in town.

Guenther also announced that Saturday’s movie night at the will be “Despicable Me.”

Mayor Connie Peck shared her report with the committee and said the “bouncy mulch” was spread at the borough hall’s park and . She also raised a concern that Terra Pads should be purchased as a safety measure for the two parks.

The pads would go under the swings and/or the slides at the two parks, Peck said. She said children playing in the playground, particularly the one next to , can easily kick away the mulch underneath the swings, exposing a hard surface. Also, because there isn’t a deep layer of mulch, water can collect on the surface instead of draining and can be a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes, Peck said.

“It can be a hazard,” said Borough Council President Fred Schuetz.

The council decided to table the discussion until their next meeting when more research can be done and members can visit other parks that use the pads, like one in Collegeville, to judge how effective and necessary they are.

During the Finance Committee’s report, board members voted in favor of purchasing a Certificate of Deposit (CD) from Continental Bank.

Council member Nevin Scholl said the council will invest $245,000 at a 2.01 percent interest rate in a CD that will last until Jan. 5, 2014. Council member Lew DiPrete pointed out that the money won’t be tied up in the CD and can be retrieved at any time if needed.

A community member brought a concern to the council at the end of the meeting because there is a raccoon running around her neighborhood during the day. The resident said the neighborhood called the State Police, but they couldn’t do anything. The council discussed the problem but determined that at this time there is nothing they can do and it is the property owner’s responsibility.