During the Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, March 9, supervisors granted permission for development company Jaindl-Watson to install a temporary on-site concrete batch plant at their Northampton Business Center project. This on-site plant will allow developers to mix and pour concrete at the warehouse construction site between Howertown and Seemsville Roads.
The main reason for this request, explained Christine Sutjak of Jaindl-Watson, is to limit the development’s impact on the community and decrease the number of trucks entering and exiting the site.
The plant would operate between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Approximately six to eight mixing trucks would enter the site in the morning and remain on-site throughout the day. Sutjak said 56 concrete pours would take place over 112 days. However, if the plant was moved off-site, the project would take 224 days.
Adam Kochanski, of Blue Rock Construction, added that Monday through Friday will be the typical work schedule, with weekends open in case of bad weather. The plant would be 1,000 feet away or greater from neighboring properties.
Supervisor Gary Behler said he appreciated the decrease in truck traffic, but asked whether a condition can be made that would ban the mixing trucks from going north on Seemsville Road. Instead, he wanted to see trucks travel south on Seemsville Road to Route 329, keeping them off local routes.
The number of construction vehicles on local roads was an issue addressed earlier in the evening by resident Jason Andrews of Mud Lane. He said dump trucks entering the Jaindl-Watson property were moving at “ridiculous speeds.”
“Someone is going to get seriously injured or killed,” he warned supervisors.
All Jaindl-Watson and Blue Rock representatives said it is possible to follow this rule and keep the concrete trucks from township roads. The request was approved by supervisors with these conditions.
In other news, supervisors and township manager Ilene Eckhart have begun preparing the township’s Municipal Waste and Recycling contract for 2022. The previous contract angered some residents when it limited the number of garbage bags put out to the curb to three per week. Supervisors said they do not want to repeat this mistake and asked Eckhart to survey residents.
“Every resident should ask themselves what they put out,” said Supervisor Dale Hassler. “If they put out three bags and they are happy with that, let us know. [But] if you are only putting out three bags and [choose] unlimited, that is not too smart either.”
“That is an important message we have to get out to people,” added Behler. “If we try to go back to unlimited that will ultimately be more money…At some point, the yearly garbage bill will go up.”
Residents will soon be receiving the survey to help supervisors make this decision. The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
