Upper Nazareth Township Meetings

                                        Board of Supervisor’s Meeting

                                                  November 18, 2015

 

Supervisors attending: Donna Hirst, Mike Rinker, Steve Ytkin

Absent: Scott Sylvainus & William Austin

Community Concerns

Once again the installation of a traffic light at Friedenstahl Avenue and Route 191 was not listed on the agenda. Mr. Ytkin claimed the supervisors can do nothing until an HOP is received from PennDOT and admitted that another car accident occurred there last night.

• I pointed out that we will lose the $500,000 grant from the state if construction does not begin by March 2016 and that Representative Joe Emrick promised to expedite this process with PennDOT
• Town solicitor, Gary Asteak, said that the township’s fiscal year ends in December, but the money for the traffic light will be rolled over into the 2016 budget

Zoning Issue Gets Heated

At the October 7^th meeting, a resident registered a complaint about Mammana’s Garage on Newburg Road. Under the special ordinance issued in 1995, the business is supposed to look like a residence, is not supposed to have multiple cars parked in the front at night and is allowed no advertising sign except for one indicating state inspections.

• Zoning Officer Soloe said the issue had been solved to his satisfaction and was immediately challenged on this statement by both the Township Solicitor and the Township Manager.
  • Asteak said the sign present is not in line with the original ordinance and Mr. Mammana would have to apply for a variance if he wants to keep the current sign up.
  • Manager Edward Mentry said he had sent Mr. Mammana a letter asking him to remove the sign
  • A resident claimed that Mr. Mammana is also in violation of the ordinance in terms of the work he does in the garage.
    • Asteak expressed interest in the township investigating what kind of work goes on there.
  • This issue came up last year and was supposed to be settled: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2014/07/hold_mammana_automotive.html
  • The supervisor’s tabled this issue to be decided at a future meeting.

Editor’s Note: Why does it take more than 6 weeks to deal with a zoning issue—the same issue that was handled last year?  This is another example of the supervisors failing to handle problems in a timely manner.

2016 Budget

Mr.Mentry reported that several public workshops were held and that the budget for 2016 has been balanced without any tax increases.

• The proposed budget will be available for public display for 20 days on the township bulletin board, probably starting on Nov. 21.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

• The supervisors approved money for an advertisement stating that the budget would be put on display—it will probably run in Friday’s edition. (The amount for the ad was not part of the motion.)
• The supervisors approved money to advertise for a CPA to audit the books for 2015. (The amount for the ad was not part of the motion)

New Safety Equipment Acquired

The Police Department has received a grant to purchase 2 Automated External Defibulators.

 

Becky Bartlett is an Upper Nazareth resident. She attends and reports on these meetings because the media doesn’t.