After a successful appeal by the Kutztown Borough Council, the Environmental Hearing Board struck down the sewer module exemption awarded to Maxatawny Township by the Department of Environmental Protection, according to esquire to the council, Keith Mooney.
The decision, which revolves around the ongoing litigation regarding the disbanded Saucony Creek Regional Authority, was announced at the Council meeting on Dec. 16.
Originally, the Saucony Creek Regional Authority was going to be formed by Maxatawny and Kutztown, both of which would co-own and co-operate the facility upon its completion. The purpose of the joint sewage treatment agreement was to provide for Maxatawny’s financing and construction of the sewage facility, which was built on five acres provided by the Borough off Route 737. Maxatawny Township eventually pulled out of the agreement for various reasons, which led to a series of litigation between the Borough and Township.
In this recent development, Mooney explained that the Hearing Board ruled that Maxatawny Township does not have legal access to use the interceptor that is owned by the Borough. Maxatawny Township requested the Borough’s permission to use its interceptor, but was never granted it. Instead, the Borough requested further information before proceeding. According to Mooney, one of the subjects of interest for the Borough was why the Township wished to invalidate their joint sewage treatment agreement of 2010.
The Hearing Board’s decision to strike down the exemption was reached after the Borough proved that their request for additional information in regards to the exemption was not honored by the Township or DEP. According to Mooney, the Hearing Board expressed their belief that DEP mishandled the Borough’s request for information, which led to the sewer module exemption being improperly awarded to Maxatawny.
Following an executive session, council member Ed Seyler made a motion “to petition the Environmental Hearing Board to authorize reimbursement of attorney fees and engineering fees incurred by the Borough of Kutztown in this matter.”
The motion was seconded by council member Derek Mace and unanimously approved. According to Kutztown Borough Manager/Treasurer Gabriel Khalife, the legal and engineering fees total close to $100,000.
Maxatawny Township officials offered comments to The Patriot regarding the Environmental Hearing Board struck down the sewer module exemption.
“I’m sure the developer in this case will proceed through legal avenues to see that his project comes to fruition. This is just another delay in the process,” said Maxatawny Township Manager Justin Yaich. “The sad truth is that the stonewalling of this project is only hurting the residents of both the Township, the Borough, and the School District. Everyone wants to see their sewer rates and their taxes decrease and this is a great opportunity for that. It baffles me that all three entities would rally behind this project. Instead, its meets with resistance while we continue to watch taxes and rates increase.”
Maxatawny Township Solicitor Jill Nagy said since 2012, the Township has worked diligently to engage in planning and initiatives to lower taxes, not only for Maxatawny but for the entire Kutztown Area School District.
“The Township burdened itself with the 100 percent financial responsibility for a sewer project that gets absolutely no financial contribution from the Borough of Kutztown. The results of Maxatawny’s efforts have been lowered taxes and the approval of a project that will bring revenue of nearly a million dollars a year to the school district,” said Nagy. “Importantly, the project is designed to make Kutztown University a destination college experience which in turn would completely revitalize Kutztown Borough.”
She also said, “With the loss of the industrial facility due to high utility costs, the Borough should be asking how do we make this project a success for each and every resident of their municipality – instead they are gloating over a technicality. It begs the question of what is going on over there and who is really in charge and what are the ulterior motives?”
Steve Wilson, vice-chairman of the Maxatawny Township Municipal Authority said, “The flow from this project is about half the total agreed upon capacity we have reserved for years with the Borough, and through this very pipe.”
“How the Borough can discriminate between who flows and who does not seems flat unfair to me. Maxatawny residents’ wastewater flows through that very pipe each and every day. Saying yes to us and no to Advantage Point is not right. After all, it serves the greater good, treating this wastewater.”
Wilson also said, “No engineering reason exists to prohibit this from happening. Maxatawny is committed to cleaning up this part of the valley and this sewer module is part of that commitment. Kutztown agreed years ago to this spirit of cooperation. Let’s do it.”
In other news, the Kutztown Borough Police Department completed a traffic study at the intersection of Trexler Avenue and Baldy Street that revealed the need for increased safety measures. According to Kutztown Chief of Police Craig Summers, there have been two accidents at the intersection that have involved serious injuries in the past month alone.
Summers spoke with representatives of Maxatawny Township to impart the safety concerns since the intersection crosses out of the Borough’s boundaries. The Township agreed to help pay for the implementation of stop signs designed to curb the number of serious accidents that occur at the intersection.
In other traffic related news, an investigation into the East Main Street speeding complaints resulted in the discovery that speeding is not a consistent-enough issue to warrant any action. The Kutztown Borough Police conducted a study in which they monitored the street on nine different occasions at different times throughout the day. The street’s speed limit is 25 mph, and after gathering information from 1,837 vehicles, the average speeds ranged between 20 to 34 mph. The highest clocked speed was 48 mph.
According to Mace, who also spoke on the topic, tickets are not typically given unless a driver is going more than five or six miles-per-hour over the speed limit (31 mph in this case). The revelation of this information led to no action being taken.
Lastly, the Borough began taking advantage of the $150,000 state grant that they received in October to improve the playground at Kutztown Park. The grant was awarded courtesy of the Greenways, Trails and Recreation program of the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
Playground structures were purchased from Play & Park Structures for $44,769.36.
The next Council meeting will take place on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Train Station.