Board of Supervisor’s Meeting
October 21, 2015
All Supervisors attended
Construction Updates
Chrin came to the meeting with maps, seeking approval for 2 more warehouses to be constructed at the intersection at Van Buren and Tatamy Roads.
- The warehouse on the north side will be 1 million square feet, the warehouse on the south side will be 630,000 square feet
- None of the 3 warehouses currently have tenants
- Questions/Concerns from residents and supervisors
- Chrin representatives estimated each warehouse will provide 150-500 jobs
- Several people pointed out that most of the jobs will only pay $10/hour which will not be enough to enable a worker to live in Upper Nazareth
- Under direct questioning, a Chrin employee said they did not envision renting space to anyone storing hazardous, flammable, or toxic material but, if they did, it would be regulated by the EPA
- Editor’s Note: Congress has chronically underfunded the EPA for decades.
- Traffic Problems
- A Chrin representative estimated that 44 trucks per hour will leave/enter the facility
- There is only 1 exit onto Van Buren Road for the 4 buildings
- A traffic signal will have to be installed at Van Buren Road
- Currently, utility work is being done on Van Buren Road now. The road will have to be widened in the future
- Someone pointed out that Route 33 is often clogged. When that happens, the trucks will travel into town to get to Route 191
- This project is expected to increase traffic, accidents, dust, and wear and tear on infrastructure
- A resident wanted to know what benefit Upper Nazareth will receive from this project
- Upper Nazareth will get real estate taxes from this project but no estimate was provided to show if the amount will be enough to offset off the costs
- Chrin representatives estimated each warehouse will provide 150-500 jobs
The supervisors listened to all the complaints about traffic, infrastructure costs, safety concerns, dust, blasting, low paying jobs AND VOTED FOR THE PROJECT ANYWAY, 4 TO 1!!!!!
The Continuing Saga of Installing a light at Friedenstahl Ave. and Route 191
- As for many months now, there’s still no word from PennDOT on when construction can begin
Community Comments
There’s been a long-running conflict between a landowner on Silvercrest Drive and the Township over the failure to cut weeds
- The case went to the district magistrate recently and the magistrate told the township to come to an agreement about the property line and the weeds, which are currently over 5 feet high in places
- The homeowner claims she needs the weeds to prevent trespassing onto her property
- After much discussion, the supervisors voted to pay $2,300 out of the Recreational fund to install a fence to delineate the line between private property and Tuske’s Park
Your Tax Dollars at Work
The board approved
- $200 donation to the Nazareth Ambulance
- $140 for township manager Edward Mentry to attend a manager’s meeting in Upper Marion on Oct. 30th
Becky Bartlett is a candidate for Upper Nazareth Supervisor. The election is on November 3rd