As required by state law, all townships and boroughs in Pennsylvania must organize themselves annually on the first Monday in January – or the first day following if that happens to be a holiday, which it was this year.  Being a board of a “second class township” (simply a legal classification, not a characterization), the Harford Township Supervisors gathered on January 2nd to decide how the township will operate for the coming year.  And, like many such municipalities, they took the opportunity to conduct their regular January meeting on the same evening.

Without ceremony, Kyle Payne, newly elected on a write-in vote in November, took a seat at the table, and, admitting that he had some learning to do, joined right in.

Pictured (L-R) are: 2018 Harford Township Supervisors, Dustin Walter, Sue Furney and Kyle Payne

To begin, Sue Furney was nominated and accepted as Chair of the Board of Supervisors for 2018, and, as the most experienced of the three, she took over with a firm hand.

Most of the rest of the “reorganization” was typically perfunctory, with most items simply carried over from the past year:

• Carolyn Jennings will continue as Township Secretary/Treasurer, bonded at $1.5 million.
  
  
• Dorothy Hagenbuch will continue to chair the “Vacancy Board.”
  
  
• Peoples Security Bank & Trust will remain the Township’s primary depository.
  
  
• Monthly meetings will continue on the 3rd Tuesday of each month beginning at 7:00pm at the Township office.
  
  
• Eight holidays were defined for Township employees, including a “floating” holiday, which may be either the day after Thanksgiving or the Monday thereafter, at the employee’s choice.
  
  
• Emergency Management Coordinator will be Steve Smith; Dustin Walker will be his second.

The Supervisors voted to “retain the current road staff,” without explicitly naming a Roadmaster.  There was some comment about that among assembled observers.  Supervisor Dustin Walker simply responded that Rob Weida will continue as Assistant Roadmaster.

When the Supervisors decided to continue with Kreder Brooks & Hailstone as Township solicitors, Mr. Payne suggested that other law firms might be considered, that the Township could “look into other options.”  Ms. Furney said that a decision had to be made for now, and it was so, with Jamie Hailstone named as attorney of record.  Mr. Walker said that Mr. Payne’s suggestion could be taken up at a later time.

With that out of the way, the newly constituted Board of Supervisors launched into the somewhat abbreviated monthly meeting for January, having met barely 2 weeks before.  Following so shortly the close of 2017 and final figures not yet available, a treasurer’s report would not be available until the February meeting.

The only item of more than routine interest on the agenda was the 2018 agreement and fee schedule with JHA Companies, the firm that handles engineering and sewage inspections for the township.  Ms. Furney said that there were no major changes to the fee schedule from 2017.

Solicitor Jamie Hailstone reported that the state Department of Environmental Protection wants an all-new engineering plan for the sewer system upgrade.  The plans drawn up by the previous engineering company, David Klepadlo & Associates, while accepted for financing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, may be adapted by JHA, but a new plan could be costly, and could delay implementation of the system renovations.

Mr. Hailstone also responded to comments by Jacob Rosen at the December meeting concerning a 2017 decision by the state Supreme Court relating to the disposition of royalties paid to the township for natural gas production in its jurisdiction.  Mr. Rosen contends that the decision requires that all such funds be used exclusively for environmental purposes.

Remarking that the court’s decision was interesting and “important,” with potentially far-reaching ramifications, Mr. Hailstone said that it “clearly” applied only to state-managed entities, not to municipalities, which he said were “independent” of the state.  The case “has nothing to do with townships,” he said, and that the funds could be used by the township for any purpose.  Mr. Rosen disagreed, saying, “for sure, you’ll be sued.”

Dale Ferger remonstrated with the Supervisors for paying Frank Payne Excavating $2,800 for plowing and cindering some roads last month without a contract.  The Supervisors responded that bids were twice solicited without response, so they went ahead and hired Frank Payne; the amount was well below the required bid level.  Nevertheless, Mr. Hailstone said that the Supervisors could “remedy” the oversight by simply voting on a retroactive motion, which they did.  The newest Supervisor, Kyle Payne, while related to Frank Payne but with no financial interest in the transaction, voted against the motion anyway.  Mr. Ferger threatened to file a complaint with the state based on the Sunshine Law because the action was not taken at a public meeting before the Payne firm was hired.

The Harford Township Supervisors will meet next in public session on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 beginning at 7:00pm at the Township office.  Come and join in on the fun.

The outcome of the reorganizational meeting of the Thompson Township Supervisors held on January 2nd was status quo with Supervisors holding the same positions as 2017.

Rick Wademan was appointed Chairman, Susan Jenkins Wive Chair, and Alex Komar Road Foreman. Kim Wallace was appointed Secretary/Treasurer, and Clyde Gorton as road crew. Supervisors appointed Jason Beardsly as the Townships' legal council, Marilyn Czachor as the Vacancy Board Chair, and Peoples Security Bank for funds. Joellen Greene's registration left a vacancy on the Planning Comission and Rick Wademan was appointed to fill the position.

Resolution 1801, establishing the 2018 Fee Schedule was unanimously approved. Township office hours will remain the same, Monday and Wednesday 2:30 to 7:00 pm. Payroll will be every other Monday starting January 1, 2018.

Alex Komar will be the Township delegate for the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS). PSATS annual conference will be held April 22-25 and Supervisors discussed for a few months who would attend the conference.

The next meeting of the Supervisors will be held on February 7th at 7:00pm.

With New Year upon us, the Susquehanna Community Development Association (SCDA) is busy working on upcoming restoration projects for our downtown area. We are excited about the progress that is being made and invite the community to be part of the fun.

Downtown Pocket Parks – The care and creativity of pocket parks and vacant spaces can instantly change the look of a downtown from a “neglected” to a “nurtured” community that people will want to visit (and maybe stay). With the limited resources of a small town, the SCDA is asking the community to pull together to make Susquehanna shine again. We have invited churches and local organizations to choose a pocket park or vacant downtown space to sponsor. Pocket Park can include history of the town, tell a story about your church or organization, it can be fun with something that will make people smile or laugh, create a beautiful garden or set a monument. The SCDA is encouraging creativity and partnerships in creating a unique pocket park. The SCDA will provide an attractive recognition sign to be placed at the location of the park thanking the church or organization for their sponsorship. Spaces will be on a first come basis. For a listing of spaces and more information contact: SCDA, PO Box 347, Susquehanna, PA, 18847; or John 570-879-4705; or Margaret 570-853-4640.

Redesign committee – A small committee of creative community members will discuss ideas and work with a designer for physical improvement of the downtown. Design efforts will include historic value, convenient connectivity with Main Street and the lower level of town, streetscape projects and utilization of our intrinsic attributes, making our downtown more walkable and attractive. Once the design work is complete, plans will be made available to the public and we will seek funding to make these designs a reality.

Although blight and commercial deterioration continue to be a national problem, there are few communities that have accomplished as much as Susquehanna has in such a short time. Despite this progress in codes, the SCDA had recently sent the borough a letter regarding nine (9) commercial buildings that are showing some serious, long standing signs of neglect. There is concern, that if this trend of neglect continues, these remaining buildings will be compromised to point of no return and will need to be taken down. We could lose our downtown. Borough codes is contacting these building owners so that a compliance inspection will be scheduled in the beginning of the New Year.  Keeping our historic buildings in good repair not only improves the overall image of our town, but also entices new businesses to rent retail space and create new jobs and revenue for the community. A well maintained downtown is something for everyone to be proud of.