During the Feb. 11 Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Matthew Pennoni of Pennoni Associates was in attendance to answer supervisors’ questions in regard to taking over the current project of editing township zoning ordinances. After answering their questions, supervisors agreed to accept the contract with Pennoni.
Following, the board heard from representatives of various subdivision plans in the township. Carl and Linda Becker requested the approval of their subdivision plan. Township Engineer Michael Muffley explained that the planning commission had discussed the Becker plan during their Feb. 10 meeting and saw no problems with it, so the board granted conditional approval. Three other subdivision plans were also discussed and approved by the planning commission, and supervisors therefore granted extensions of time for plan approval to Tyler and Emily Landis, Keith and Karen Hantz and Billy Carter.
Next, Lehigh Township Municipal Authority requested an extension of time for plan recording in regard to the booster station being constructed in Pennsville. They are currently awaiting the plans from the design engineer. The extension was granted until the end of the year.
Nicole Gallio, representing the Jaindl corporation, appeared before the board to provide an update on the Lehigh Valley Resort and Spa. They have had some difficulty coordinating design efforts between different consultants, but expect to be bringing an updated plan submission to Muffley before the August deadline. They are also working with various contractors to ensure there are no issues.
Muffley reported that the Riverview Drive self-storage plan was discussed at the planning commission meeting. A plan will be presented to supervisors in March, and once zoning ordinance updates have been made, a public hearing will be advertised to make those updates known.
Under recreation, Sandra Hopkins reported that Northern Lehigh will hopefully be holding their first baseball game of the season on March 18 at Bryfogle Park. St. Nicholas Church will be using Delps Park on June 7 for a stargazing event. The board discussed possibly hiring a parks consultant but came to no consensus. The wall being constructed at Bryfogle Park is nearly finished. Supervisors then authorized Muffley to meet with members of the recreation board and review the water problem regarding the tennis courts at Danielsville Park.
Under public works, Public Works Director Frank Zamadics was not present, but submitted a written report to the board. He gave Township Manager Alice Rehrig a list of the roads he would like to submit for improvements. The heavy duty lift apparatus, which had been discussed at a prior meeting, will soon be available for bid from Macungie and he hopes to get it.
Under zoning, Zoning Officer Elizabeth Amato received 24 new permit applications in January, 21 of which were issued, along with six new complaints. The auditor from the Department of Labor and Industry has promised to send her their written report soon, but they are currently behind schedule on municipality letters.
Next, Police Chief Scott Fogel discussed how, with the department’s current sergeant transitioning into the detective position, he has researched the process for potentially promoting another officer to sergeant. The board approved his request to order the tests and study guides needed for a sergeant’s exam.
In other news, Fire Commissioner Richard Hildebrand and several members of the fire company attended a meeting in January about the Blue Mountain fire and received a lot of positive feedback from the DCNR representatives. They were still impressed by the “unprecedented” community response. The firefighters will be able to use what they learned in the meeting to help other fire companies better understand how to respond to such an event.
Rehrig then gave an update on the new maintenance building, reporting that the engineers have completed calculations for the tank heaters. They will be ordering new, larger thermometer rods, which will keep the readings more accurate. Rehrig will have a further update at the next meeting. She also prepared an updated draft of an advertisement for a parks consultant, but as the recreation board could not reach a consensus about the subject, the issue was tabled until a further meeting.
A payment request and a change order request were received from Pine Run Construction for their work on the fuel island. Muffley had denied the change order previously, as he felt they did not provide enough information. The board agreed with his recommendation to pay the remaining balance due from their original contract, in the amount of $22,150, but not to grant the change order because they made the changes without his knowledge or approval. The work, in his estimation, is also not acceptable, as it was not done as expected and they have not provided the information he requested about the cost.
Board member Cynthia Miller spoke with someone in Senator Mackenzie’s office in regard to the sanctuary county discussion held during the previous meeting. They confirmed that the township will lose federal funding if President Trump decides to take it from Northampton County due to its sanctuary status. Township Solicitor David Backenstoe added that Lehigh County, contrary to what was stated at the prior meeting, is not a sanctuary county and has even lost a lawsuit brought about by their cooperation with ICE.
Next, Backenstoe outlined for supervisors the exact process they will need to follow to create a referendum for the preservation of farmland and/or open space. It would begin with residents voting to increase the earned income tax in order to fund the purchase of land to preserve. The matter will be placed on the agenda for the next board meeting, so those who wish to talk to the board about it can give a presentation.
The board then adjourned for an executive session, noting that no action would be taken.
The next supervisors meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in the municipal building, located at 1069 Municipal Road, Walnutport.
