COAL TOWNSHIP - A proposal to revamp the township's paving rules was tabled Thursday to allow commissioners time to review and revise ordinance language before moving forward with a vote.
Under the proposed ordinance, utility companies and others who dig up a roadway and disturb more than 10 percent of one township block would be required to resurface the entire section of roadway between intersections.
The proposal, commissioners have said, is meant to protect tax money and the public roadways by having them fully paved when they're disturbed rather than simply patched.
Current ordinance mandates roadway resurfacing when 33 percent of a township block is disturbed.
Commissioner George Zalar said the proposal's language must be adjusted to prevent it from being circumvented.
The township commissioners have already acknowledged Aqua Pennsylvania expressed its opposition to the proposal.
It's also gained the attention of board members of the Shamokin-Coal Township Joint Sewer Authority. The authority is considering completely revising its ongoing sewer separation project on the prospect that such an ordinance, if adopted in both Coal Township and Shamokin, would increase project costs by an estimated $25 million.
Shamokin City Council has not discussed such a proposal at any of its recent public meetings, although Councilman Michael Snyder did share the township's proposed ordinance with fellow council members earlier this month for consideration.
In other business, the township commissioners:
- Passed an ordinance reducing the square footage needed for a child day care center from 20,000 to 5,000. Officials said this would reduce the need for parties interested in opening day cares from having to obtain zoning variances;
- Will advertise for a part-time laborer for the Coal Township Recycling Center;
- Announced the township will receive approximately $121,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding, an estimate that's down 5 percent from the year prior. The grant funding, used for qualified recreation and infrastructure projects, has been shrinking annually. For a comparison, the township received $217,787 in 2004. A public hearing on the township's use of the 2013 funding will be held at 7 p.m. June 13;
- Authorized the filing of a state grant application for renovations at Arch Street playground;
- Announced yard waste will be picked up between May 20 and June 7. All leaves must be bagged. The township will not haul away large materials like trees, even if they're cut apart. It will be looking out for people who illegally dump debris in public places in light of debris found in the Springfield ball fields;
- Said the recycling center accepted enough electronic recyclables to fill a large storage container. The center lifted its temporary hold on electronics that was put in place over the winter months. Acceptable electronics can be left at the center on Thursdays only.