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The North Cornwall Township Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to accept three bids for the upcoming replacement of the Dairy Road Pump Station. The project costs, including already purchased equipment, will total around $4.9 million.
This comes under the budgeted amount of $5.5 million. The project was awarded in three parts: the installation to JEV Construction for $3,548,000, the electrical bid to Garden Spot Electrical for $384,400, and the mechanical construction bid to A.H. Moyer, Inc. for $132,000.
The Dairy Road Pump Station funnels wastewater from North Cornwall Township, Cornwall Borough, West Cornwall Township, and Cleona Borough 2,100 feet to the City of Lebanon Authority. As the project also benefits other municipalities, supervisor Mike Wahmann said, North Cornwall will only bear around half the cost.
The pump station originally designed in 1972 can handle up to 4 million gallons per day, but recent analysis determined that the station needs to be able to handle up to 7 million gallons per day, necessitating its replacement.
Wahmann also said that the township has already received a $1 million grant to help fund the replacement, with grant monies to be distributed between contributing municipalities.
He said the JEV Construction work will also include part of the stream restoration project.
The board also unanimously approved the land development plan for 700 E. Penn Ave., which will contain a 2,000-square-foot multiple commercial unit complex.
They also unanimously approved to waive the following requirements (with one requirement deferred as noted) as recommended by the planning commission.
- Curbing along two landscapes islands within the property, as developers feel this would negatively affect stormwater management.
- Sidewalk from the building’s entrance to the street, as the street does not have sidewalk.
- [Deferment] Sidewalk along the street of the property, to be installed if sidewalks are installed along the rest of the street.
- Partial stormwater waiver, exempting the property from rate control requirements (i.e. being able to retain the amount of stormwater that would be generated by ten- or twenty-year storms). This was granted as the project is redeveloping a
“What authority do you guys have to alter roads?”
A resident’s question, answered.
During public comment at Tuesday’s meeting, North Cornwall Township resident Fred Tomco had the following enquiry.
“One thing that I think affects all of us — regardless of your party, your affiliations — is traffic. What authority do you guys have to alter roads?”
Township engineer Steve Sherk explained that with regards to roadways, municipalities have limited power. State-owned roadways are under the control of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
“We have a lot of through roads in our township,” Wahmann said, explaining that westbound traffic from the turnpike comes through Lebanon County through state Route 72 and other state roads.
Municipalities cannot choose to make changes to these roads, whether via speed limit changes, signage, adding turning lanes, lights, or any other method.
Chairman Mike Wahmann said North Cornwall has few issues with the township-owned roads that it has power to alter. With regards to state roads, the township, he said, has “little input” on the decisions of PennDOT.
A municipality can apply pressure, but PennDOT ultimately makes decisions based on traffic studies.
PennDOT’s decisions are almost entirely based on stats – When it comes to adding turning lanes, putting in a light, or other changes, PennDOT will only make changes that traffic studies reveal a warrant for.
Improvements can also be made due to negotiations with street-adjacent developments that can be shown to exacerbate traffic concerns. However, a developer cannot be required to make off-site improvements.
In other news, the board:
- Heard that a “No Turn on Red” sign has still not been installed at the intersection of (eastbound) Chestnut and 16th streets, and that right turns at the site have caused traffic concerns when trucks traveling along 16th Street turn left. JBI, which worked on the rail trail 6A and 6B project, was directed to install the sign.
- Discussed the newly removed Wilhelm Avenue, with right-of-way planned to be given to adjacent property owners.
- Unanimously agreed to reject an application for handicapped parking at 1620 Chestnut St., the second time this applicant has been rejected. Wahmann said he didn’t see the need for the applicant, who has hip problems, to have handicapped parking given that she also rents and accesses a second-floor apartment. He also noted that not all required documents had been submitted, though they were for the applicant’s first application.
- Unanimously approved the minutes of their July 16 meeting.
- Unanimously agreed to the treasurer’s report, with William Yeagley abstaining from several checks.
- Heard that the franchising agreement with Comcast is set for renewal in 2027.
North Cornwall Township meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.
Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication to include the recipient of the mechanical construction bid.
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