Susquehanna School Board members unanimously approved the 2017-2018 budget of fifteen million two hundred forty-four thousand, seven hundred ninety-eight dollars during the June 21st School Board meeting.  Superintendent Bronson Stone stated it’s helpful to prepare a budget when you know how much financing you’ll be receiving, and since there is no state budget in place, this budget is a financial plan.  He stated the budget is based on taxation allocation and federal funding, and there will be a deficit spend but they are not clear how much at this time; projections are between two hundred and three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.  A seventy thousand reduction in federal funds and a proposed seventy thousand reduction in transportation reimbursement were considered in the projected deficit. Included in the budget is a one hundred and seventy thousand spend for the high school roof improvement, and replacement of the boiler in the high school. The school district will be using two hundred forty-five thousand, four hundred and one dollars of fund balance to balance the budget.  District millage for Susquehanna County is forty-eight point sixty-eight, and thirteen point ninety-five for Wayne County.

Superintendent Stone reported Title II-A was reduced from seventy-six thousand, one hundred fifty-eight dollars to thirty-five thousand, and Title I was reduced from two hundred sixty-five thousand to two hundred thirty-eight thousand. These reductions will be reflected in the deficit budget, along with any state reductions not yet known.  Currently salaries are slightly over six million dollars, and two million is pension contribution.  Superintendent Stone stated it’s disconcerting thirty percent plus of the budget is in pensions. 

Mark Gerchman, Head of Curriculum reported Kelly Staffing would be using a new system to provide temporary staffing for substitutes.  A link will be on the school’s website with instructions how to enroll as a substitute.  Superintendent Stone stated to be a substitute teacher a person would only need to have a four-year degree, and a love of children.

High School Principal Carmella Bullick stated summer school was already in the 2nd week, and they’ve been using Study Island.  The program measures where the student currently is in their studies and tracks their progression, and two children have already completed the program.  Dr. Dewitt, along with a representative from Forest City will be conducting a Student Mentor Program giving students from grades ten through twelve an opportunity to view actual professions first hand for ten days.  The program was made possible through a medical grant with the Geisinger Medical College.

Business Manager Gary Kiernan reported the Homestead/Farmstead credits for taxpayers in Susquehanna County allocated three hundred twenty-one dollars and ninety-seven cents, and three hundred twenty one dollars and fifty-five cents in Wayne County.

Two staff members received various increases in compensation.  Three additional vacation days were allocated to Mr. Kiernan in lieu of a salary increase, and Mrs. Susan Crawford fifty cents per hour compensation for increased responsibilities.

Mrs. Debra Benson was contracted for the 2017-2018 school year as a consultant at a total cost of one thousand dollars.

Two documents required by law were unanimously approved.  Title III Memorandum of Understanding with NEIU 19, and a two year Memorandum of Understanding between Law Enforcement and Susquehanna Community School District.

Agreements unanimously approved at the meeting: Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program, TinyEYE Therapy Services at a rate of ninety dollars per hour, PA Treatment & Healing, The Meadows Psychiatric Center for a two year contract, Triguard, Inc. for security, and Harford Speech Therapy Consulting, LLC at a rate of eighty-five dollars per hour.

Multiple hirings were conducted; for a two year position Kim Legg, Archery Adviser, Kathy Matis, Yearbook Advisor, and Gina Baker, JV Girls Basketball Coach.

The following positions are for the summer of 2017: Kim Marco, Extended School Year teacher, Stephanie MacDonald, Extended School Year Aide, Megan Beny, Elementary Summer School Teacher, Julie Gallo, Elementary Summer School Teacher, Lisa Carpenter, Elementary Summer School Teacher, Elizabeth Updyke, High School Summer School Teacher, Lindsay Van Gorden, High School Summer School Teacher, Kristi Rossi, Substitute Summer School Teacher.  Wesley Parks was hired as the Elementary Special Education Teacher.  Brent Glover was approved as a substitute Bus Driver, pending all clearances.

The Nutrition Group will be starting on July 1st with a wide variety of foods to choose from, so no child should ever have to pack a lunch for school.

Roads are always the primary focus for 2nd-class townships like Harford, which has about 62 miles of them to maintain, 99% of them dirt and gravel.  This time of year the road crew cranks up to grade, crown, ditch and generally repair damage from winter snow and spring mud, and prepare for what comes next.  And so it was the major topic of interest at the township’s Supervisors’ meeting on June 20th.

But first, the newest Supervisor, Dustin Walker reported that he had attended a meeting with emergency management officials from many of the county’s municipalities to hear from their counterparts at the county level.  He said that local emergency management coordinators (EMCs) were told to expect cuts in funds available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency this year.  The county recommends that townships establish escrow funds to provide a cushion, and particularly to establish stockpiles of water to distribute in case of a disaster.  Mr. Walker’s colleagues turned aside the recommendations as unnecessary in Harford, at least for now.

Mr. Walker also said that the township’s own EMC, Steve Smith, would begin to attend the monthly Supervisors’ meetings to report any news.  And the Supervisors voted to appoint Mr. Walker (himself) the deputy EMC for Harford.

The Supervisors gave tentative approval to a request from Cabot Oil & Gas for a driveway permit on Upper Podunk Road, but withheld signature until Roadmaster Jim Phelps could inspect the site and approve the location and design, particularly with respect to drainage.

The township has been trying to get a reliable supply of “driving surface aggregate” (DSA), the material developed by Penn State that offers a nearly dust-free, smooth road surface.  There were no bids from a recent solicitation, so another bid request will be posted.  On the advice of solicitor Jamie Hailstone, if the next request for bids yields nothing, then the township is free to purchase the material wherever it can get it.  One supplier has material but it hasn’t been certified by the state.

Last month the Supervisors agreed to hire contractors to take on some of the seasonal road maintenance work.  This time they accepted a hand-written proposal from Thompson Township to provide a grader and operator for 5 days in July.  Materials, other equipment and labor would be the responsibility of Harford.  Roadmaster Phelps estimated the cost at about $130 per hour overall.  This project would work Russell, Orphan School, Bartholomew Roads, and Tingley Street.

Brozonis Excavating was hired to work another collection of roads at an overall cost of about $3,179 per mile.  The contractor will provide equipment, trucking and labor; Harford will supply the materials.  A representative of the contractor said that he could start as early as June 26.  Harford Supervisors and the Roadmaster will determine the priority roads to be worked.

In the meantime, in response to a question from a listener, Mr. Walker said that he is taking a detailed survey of the township’s roads, focusing on condition and traffic loads, perhaps in preparation for a more rigorous maintenance plan.

The township wants to apply DSA from its stockpile to about a dusty half mile of Stevens Road from the junction with U.S. 11.  Mr. Walker estimated the cost at about $25,000.  Bids will be solicited for grading, applying a base, and laying down the DSA.

Roadmaster Phelps is awaiting quotes for a project to improve the junction of Plank Road with U.S. Route 11.  He said that 2 contractors had expressed interest in the work, which would improve conditions for the stream of trucks that use that intersection.

The bill list this month showed a total of some $44,000 spent with contractors on road projects throughout the township.  About $23,000 of that is reimbursable through Conservation District grants.

Besides the roads, Harford Township also has a sewer system for some of its territory, and, with a major project in prospect to renovate the sewage plant, the sewer report takes on more significance.  The recent day-long outage allowed emergency repairs to the air handlers; when a flowmeter conked out, that too was replaced.  The Supervisors reported that a supply of new pumps has arrived, 5 in all, two of which are complete with basins.

On a recommendation from the bank (Peoples Security), the township will pay off a total of about $634,000 in loans (the original sewer project loan, and an upgrade project from a few years ago) from funds made available through the lower-interest U.S. Department of Agriculture backed loan that will support the major renovation now in development.

The engineering for the new $2 million project at the sewer plant has been reviewed and revisions to the plan are under way.  The township has also received notice that the grant of $308,000 from the state Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) has been formally approved and a contract signed.  The county is chipping in another $67,000, all to help with renovation of the system outside the sewage plant itself, replacing and repairing pumps and related equipment.  The township can begin drawing on these funds as necessary.

Supervisor Doug Phelps then called an executive session to discuss the long-running legal wrangle over Tyler Lake Road with Mr. Hailstone, as well as a personnel matter.

Supervisor Sue Furney announced that the August meeting would be a week earlier than usual, on the 8th.  The July meeting is scheduled for the 18th.   Meetings begin promptly at 7:00pm at the township office on Route 547.

It promised to be a typical monthly meeting of the New Milford Township Supervisors: the Pledge of Allegiance, a couple of permits for new gas wells, a review of the treasurer’s report, “pay the bills and adjourn.” The presence of solicitor Michael Briechle augured differently, however.

It seems that the Columbia Hose Company in New Milford Borough, the local fire company with responsibility for covering New Milford Township, has been having some difficulties in its relationship with the Hallstead Fire Company. They recently notified the township that they had re-programmed their “boxes” to shift calls to Hallstead to a lower priority. (These “boxes” are devices that county emergency dispatchers use to partially automate calls to local fire departments based on the location of an incident, equipment availability and other factors.) Columbia Chief Dwayne Conklin appeared at the meeting to try to explain the situation.

Mr. Briechle asked Chief Conklin to provide the township with written details about coverage in the various areas. Since the township pays for part of the fire company’s support and workmens’ compensation premiums, and since the 2nd-class township code so demands of a municipality and its emergency management organizations, the attorney said he was simply trying to protect the township and its Supervisors from liability action. Mr. Briechle also suggested that any difficulties with

the Hallstead fire company could probably be worked out.

Mr. Conklin didn't understand why the township should fear for its liability since the fire company has been reliably protecting its residents since 1893. He declared that the township is completely covered, with or without the assistance of Hallstead. He said that although the Hallstead company's callouts had been pushed down in priority, Columbia can still call on them if necessary. Mr. Conklin said that his fire company had been having consistently poor response from their Hallstead counterparts, and a generally poor "attitude" from a few individuals associate with that organization. He said his crew was just tired of dealing with Hallstead. He also said that, when they appeared at all at an incident Hallstead's equipment was often drive at unsafe speeds on U.S. Route 11 (Main Street for all municipalities in corridor).

Mr. Briechle was not complaining about the service provided by the Columbia Hose Company, which he allowed was reliable and of high quality. He said that, as the township's solicitor, he was simply trying to protect the township's government by documenting the fire company's procedures and policies. He also seemed to wonder that there were no "contracts" between Columbia and its cooperating colleagues in other fire companies. Mr. Conklin didn't see any need for written documentation, saying that his assurances should be enough; he said his fire company had never been known to be questioned like this in its entire history. For a while the discussion threatened to dissolve into a shouting match. In the end, however, Mr. Conklin agreed to provide the township with details on how the "boxes" are programmed. There didn't seem to be much interest among the three Supervisors in pressing the fire company further.

Routine business included reports of applications from Southwestern Energy for permits for more than 9 new or modified gas wells in the township, on Snyder Road, Stump Pond Road, Route 492 and Three Lakes Road.

The treasurer’s report showed that expenses for the prior month totaled $117,795.62, slightly more than income of $117,237.57. Such an imbalance is not unusual month to month, particularly in an early month of the long summer road maintenance season. Township Secretary Julene Graham said that impact fee checks – a major source of income for the township -- generally arrive in early July.

New Milford Township’s monthly meetings are scheduled for the 3rd Wednesday beginning at 7:30pm at the township building on U.S. Route 11 just north of the borough of New Milford.

Construction for the Route 858 (Pennsylvania Avenue) bridge, spanning Gaylord Creek in Rush Township, Susquehanna County, is scheduled to begin as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. Replacement of this bridge will allow PennDOT to remove it from Susquehanna County’s structurally deficient bridge list.

Construction is expected to begin during the week of July 3 and be complete in early September. During this time, drivers will be directed to follow a detour along Route 706, Route 267, Irish Hill Road (Route 4015), Main Street to Stone Street (Route 4014) and back on to Route 858.

In the event of unfavorable weather or unforeseen activities, this schedule may change.

This bridge is referred to as JV-150 and is one out of the 558 bridges being replaced under the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. JV references the joint-venture partnership between Walsh/Granite, which is leading construction for the entire project.

The Rapid Bridge Replacement Project is a public-private partnership (P3) between PennDOT and Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP), under which PWKP will finance, design, replace, and maintain the bridges for 25 years. The P3 approach will allow PennDOT to replace the bridges more quickly while achieving significant savings and minimizing impacts on motorists.

To see the bridges included in the statewide initiative and to learn more about the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project and P3 in Pennsylvania, visit www.p3forpa.pa.gov. Additional information on the project, the team, and how to bid on the project can be found at www.parapidbridges.com.