East Union discusses road repairs at regular meeting

SHEPPTON – Township supervisors here discussed at length options for repairing an industrial road they’re responsible for.

East Union Township Supervisors discussed the state of Green Mountain Road in the Humboldt Industrial Park.

The township owns the road between roughly Michael’s to Route 924.

“There’s some issues over there in the industrial park that have to be addressed,” Dominic Yanuzzi, the township’s engineer said. “It’s the big trucks that are making the road the way it is.”

Supervisors are considering imposing a “special assessment” on the plants along Green Mountain Road to recoup the costs of the improvements.

State law allows a special assessment to be imposed for the building or rebuilding of streets, water systems, sewer systems, among other improvements. The assessment is calculated by the frontage of the property, among other factors, up to 15% of the assessed value of the property.

Solicitor Donald Karpowich said he could prepare an ordinance for next meeting. Supervisors Vice-Chair Wendy Danchision asked if they could approve the matter at Monday’s meeting. The matter, though, wasn’t on the agenda.

Yanuzzi said his firm will come up with an estimate for repairs to the road from Route 924 to the Hazle Township line.

Supervisors Chairman Kyle Mummey said the township has been receiving inquiries from plants in the industrial park complaining about the state of the road.

“I don’t know how we would be able to do it without some sort of special assessment,” Mummey said. “That cost really shouldn’t be borne by the resident taxpayer.”

No formal action was taken at Monday’s meeting.

In other business, Yanuzzi said the west Brandonville paving project is essentially done and they are planning to repave the roads on the east side of the village.

“I think it really made that neighborhood a really nice place,” Yanuzzi said. “The goal is to carry that same type of design over into the other side of Brandonville and then continue it throughout Sheppton and other residential areas as time progresses.”

In other business, supervisors voted to withhold $50,000 from the final payment to Lehigh Asphalt for the Brandonville paving project until certain issues are resolved.

A discussion on the matter was stifled and moved behind closed doors into executive session.

“Everybody’s talking about it,” Township Roadmaster Daniel Danchision said. “Everybody knows about it.”

“I just think we shouldn’t discuss it publicly, that’s all,” Karpowich said.

One part of the matter in question is the state of a lot at Spruce and 4th in Brandonville that Lehigh used as a staging area.

Daniel Danchision said “they did a lot of damage to the lot.”

“It’s going to become an issue,” Danchision said.

“The ground restoration where they stored their equipment and there’s still riprap there,” Yanuzzi said.

After an executive session, supervisors voted to withhold $50,000 from the final payment, which was up for a vote at Monday’s meeting.

In other business, supervisors approved

• the hiring of Marvin Livergood as a part-time police officer at a rate of $24/hr;
• the hiring of Jessica Tirpak as a part-time secretary at a rate of $24/hr;
• the distribution of $30,000 from the fire fund to the Sheppton-Oneida fire company;
• the installation of cameras at the Miners Memorial Park and American Legion Playground;
• upgrades to the township website;
• a new fee schedule for the township.

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