The Moore Township Board of Supervisors met Tuesday, April 1 to discuss waivers, reports and township towing providers.
First, two waivers were granted for Planetree Real Estate at 619 Moorestown Drive that is taking over Sunnieside Landscaping & Hardscaping’s nursery. The land development plan includes the erection of a building to house equipment, which will not increase the number of employees or traffic.
The waivers granted included road improvement and additional ROW dedication for West Dell Road since the township recently overlayed the road and a waiver for the traditional preliminary plan requirement for all major land developments. Additionally, the board unanimously approved conditional final approval for the land development per the Keystone Consulting Engineers letter dated March 20 that also enters into a holding agreement for use of a porta potty on site.
During reports, Police Chief Gary West provided the police department’s monthly report for March, which included 268 total incidents, five written/verbal warnings issued, 45 traffic citations issued, two non-traffic citations issued for dog violations, one charge filed for harassment and another for simple assault, four reportable accidents and three non-reportable accidents.
Fire Recorder Jason L. Harhart provided the March report for the Klecknersville Rangers Vol. Fire Co., which included 89 ambulance calls and 51 fire calls, consisting of four fires, four motor vehicle accidents, three automatic fire alarms, 15 ambulance assists, two wires down, nine trees down, one smoke/odor investigation, one carbon monoxide alarm, one gas leak, two mutual aid calls with Bath for smoke and a motor vehicle accident, six mutual aid calls with Lehigh Township for five fires and one motor vehicle accident, one mutual aid call with Allen Township for a fire and two mutual aid calls with Bushkill Township for wires down and a motor vehicle accident.
Next, the board unanimously approved a motion for the township’s record digitization to be contracted with Reynolds Business Systems at a rate not to exceed $2,400 per month.
After a lengthy discussion amongst supervisors, towing providers and residents, the board unanimously voted to suspend the towing providers resolution that was previously approved in February and revert to the previous resolution dating back to 2002 that outlined the township’s towing providers spanning almost 23 years, which listed Arthofer’s Towing & Transport as the primary towing provider, until the board can decide what to do moving forward.
During the discussion, frustrations were voiced by the owners and workers of both Arthofer’s Towing & Transport and Hoss Towing regarding the changes supervisors previously approved to the township’s Towing Providers Policy.
Several residents shared their support for Arthofer’s Towing & Transport, with one resident stating their belief that the township should prioritize local businesses within the township.
Klecknersville Rangers Fire Chief John Hofacker also expressed his support of Arthofer’s Towing & Transport due to the Arthofers having a good working relationship with the fire company. Hofacker opined that the Arthofers should have priority because he worries that using a different towing provider may delay response times.
The Arthofers reiterated their belief that a rotation with several providers would significantly hinder their business and that they should remain the township’s primary towing provider since their business is physically within the boundaries of the township, whereas other towers are not and because they have served as the township’s primary towing provider for decades.
Additionally, the Arthofers stated that throughout their more than 30 years in business, they have built their business up to ensure they have the experience, expertise and equipment necessary to cover the township’s needs.
Nicholas Cech, owner of Hoss Towing, also reiterated that he and one of his towers are Moore Township residents and that the business resides just outside of the township at 391 S. Walnut St. in Bath.
Cech assured the board that they are not “new to the business” and have all the necessary equipment to serve as one of the township’s towing providers.
Cech also stated that it wouldn’t be fair to have someone on call at all times yet never get called for a tow due to merely being a backup provider. Therefore, Cech suggested there be a set schedule for a towing provider rotation that would be fair to all providers on the list.
“Years ago, this wasn’t a monopoly in Moore Township,” Cech said, referring to the four towing providers on rotation that the township originally started out with. “We have just as many trucks, we’re just looking to be included and be a part of the community.”
Supervisor David Shaffer divulged that he doesn’t want residents to think that the board is against the Arthofers. However, his desire is to make the decision fair and include at least one other provider, especially since the original ordinance listed multiple towing providers.
Last, Fire Chief Hofacker announced that Klecknersville Rangers Vol. Fire Co. will no longer operate as a polling center because it has previously caused financial loss for the fire department and interferes with their bingo fundraising events. The polling center will now be located across the street from the firehouse, but residents will get an official notice in the mail from the voting administration about the changes, which will include the address of the new polling center.
In other news, upcoming township events include Landscaping Bingo on Sunday, April 27 at Klecknersville Rangers Vol. Fire Co. and Playground in the Park will begin June 13 through Aug. 8 from tentatively 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The next Moore Township Board of Supervisors regular monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. in the municipal building, located at 2491 Community Drive.
