COAL TOWNSHIP - A plan to halt maintenance of Big Mountain Road is on hold indefinitely.
Coal Township Board of Commissioners did not vote Thursday on the second and final reading of a Ordinance 468, which would designate Big Mountain Road as a township road that will no longer be maintained or repaired and allowing travel only at an individual's own risk.
Gene Welsh, board president, clarified that the township simply considered no longer plowing the road in the winter.
That the commissioners took no action was of great relief to Janine Woodley and John Tinley Jr.
Woodley, of 939 W. Spruce St., said her mother lives on Big Mountain Road and the family is working to establish a camping/parking area on their property in conjunction with the development of Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area, the county's proposed off-road vehicle trail system.
Woodley told commissioners that the road is being torn up due to traffic of heavy equipment by a coal company operator.
She added that since patrols for illegal dumping have increased in Burnside, Big Mountain Road has become a hot spot for those who toss away their trash illegally.
Bill Kuzmick, township roadmaster, agreed with much of Woodley's assessment and said he was pleased the commissioners didn't take action on the ordinance.
Kuzmick said the road's deterioration is due to truck traffic and is compounded by heavy rain, adding that the company has a "bad habit" of closing drainage ditches that his crew has to reopen.
The commissioners identified the coal company operator as Ken Snyder.
Gene Welsh, board president, did say that the company extended an offer to help repair the road after it flooded in September, which the township accepted and which he said saved a lot of money.
Commissioner Craig Fetterman told Woodley and Tinley that the township code officer, Chris Petrovich, will speak with someone from the coal company about their concerns.
Equipment purchase
The commissioners voted to purchase a 10-wheel dump truck, equipment trailer and skid-steer loader from Vinny Clausi's VC General Contractor.
The firm submitted the lone bid for the township's equipment request.
The equipment costs $126,110 and will be financed over 10 years at 3 percent, bringing the total to $146,139.60. Monthly installments total $1,217.83.
The 2007 Sterling truck has 21,000 miles. The trailer has 21-ton capacity and is a 2007 Thomas Pro Tough and the skid steer is a 2012 Caterpillar 262C.
Fetterman said that by purchasing the equipment outright, the Coal Township will save money.
Rob Slaby, township manager, said the township spent roughly $14,000 in 2011 to rent similar equipment.
Department reports
Township police responded to 264 complaints in November, resulting in 116 total arrests, including 53 criminal complaints and citations and 35 traffic citations. Officers patrolled a total of 5,871 miles.
The township fire department responded to 18 emergency calls last month, including three accidents and two structure fires. The department also responded to four calls for mutual aid. Its units logged 17 hours, 40 minutes in service; man-hours totaled 124 hours, 45 minutes.
The code enforcement officer responded to 72 complaints last month, issued 47 building permits and six citations.
The township recycling center shipped nearly 125,000 pounds of material in November, including nearly 44,000 pounds of magazines and more than 36,000 pounds of electronics. It was the best month of 2011 for the center, bringing in a profit of $4,387.62. To date, the center has a profit of about $41,000, Fetterman said, which includes a $30,000 state recycling grant.
The street department performed various work last month:
- Regraded 1100 block of Juniper Street, Straub Lane, McArthurs Lane, Upper Burnside road and the laydown area at the recycling center.
- Sealed cracks in newly paved areas and repaired potholes.
- Picked up leaves and yard waste and turned leaves at the recycling center.
- Planted a Christmas tree at the municipal building, which will be decorated yearly and ends the practice of cutting down a tree yearly.
Next month, the street department will fix potholes and road berms and continue leaf pickup.
Other business
Commissioners also voted to:
- Approve a pair of sales from Northumberland County Tax Claims Bureau's repository; 1567 Hemlock St., a vacant lot, to John Gembic for $801.99 and 1520 W. Lynn St. to Luke Klinger for $4,500.
- Accept a bid by Miller Gas & Oil to provide heating oil at 18.4 cents per gallon over cost on day of delivery and diesel fuel for 19.4 cents per gallon over cost.
- Adopt final reading of Ordinance 467 increasing the annual franchise fee paid by Service Electric to Coal Township from 4 percent to 5 percent and extend the agreement five years. The fee is a percentage of the company's gross revenues for basic cable service.
- Send the Shamokin-Coal Township Public Library the remaining $4,000 in library tax funding.
- Appoint Welsh, Fetterman and Slaby as township delegates to Northumberland County Tax Collection Committee.
- Schedule the township reorganization meeting for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 3 at the township municipal building.
New officers for Coal Township Rescue Squad are Jim Hoffman, chief, Jason Leiby, captain, and Andrew Hauer, first lieutenant.
As reported in Friday's edition, the commissioners passed its $2.8 million operating budget with a slight tax increase. In doing so, Welsh made note that while each commissioner is offered health insurance through the township, none of them accept it, thus saving approximately $100,000.