A Maxatawny resident has been ordered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to connect to the Maxatawny Township’s water treatment facility. After four years the resident has yet to comply, leading to nearly six figures worth of fines and fees.
Township Solicitor Jill E. Nagy has filed for contempt against the property tenants and has asked the courts to revoke all permits to the residents, restricting occupancy, following the last day of the school semester out of respect to the children who reside in the home.
Nagy also suspects an eventual hearing on the money owed by the property’s residents, which she estimates being near the six-figure range.
“It’s a lot of burden on the taxpayers, for someone just not wanting to follow the law and what’s being done, like all of the other taxpayers,” said Maxatawny Township Municipal Authority Board Chairman Garret Miller during the Municipal Authority meeting April 27. “Its appropriate action that’s going on now.”
According to Miller, this property has gone four and a half years without paying their fair share owed, which has drained money from other taxpayers.
The property sits on the south side of Kutztown Road, west of the university.
According to authority member Steve Wilson, the resident approached the board about four years ago arguing that he did not want to connect to the township’s water treatment facility because the rates were too high.
Wilson said he concurred but he told the owner that he had to pay regardless.
The resident has fought the township all the way up to the Commonwealth Court three times and lost each time.
“I think Garret was right in brining it up to the public’s attention that he’s hiding behind the law to avoid pulling his weight,” said Wilson. “The law has been on our side the entire time, and we will follow this to its conclusion.”
In other news Board of Supervisors Chairman Allen Leiby, a township utility operator, is suggesting to the authority that they consider digging a new well in the near future.
According to Leiby, the well in question was producing about 20 gallons a minute and during this time the production of the well was about half of that amount.
“We have an adequate water supply right now, but well number one, it’s an old well and the water production was down on it this past summer because it was so dry, but now it’s up again,” he said.
Leiby suggests that the well be upgraded because he suspects that the well was dug during the 1930s when the waterline was first put in.
