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The good news: PennDOT has approved a permit for new curbing and sidewalk along a portion of West Main Street in Quentin, with work starting in the next two weeks, township engineer Jeff Steckbeck told supervisors Monday.
The not-so-good news: The property owned by the township at 67 W. Main St. will have only an internal curb, and the sidewalk will be crushed stone. That’s because PennDOT’s permit for the work to be done differs from the project that the township put out to bid.
PennDOT’s permit calls for inlet relocations and piping work to handle stormwater at the front of the township property. But if the township put in both curbs now, the one along West Main Street would have to be torn up in order to put in the drainage in 2025, said supervisor David Lloyd.
“This PennDOT snafu just came up,” Lloyd said. “We’ve already bid this job. We have no time to rebid it. So, we’ll complete a portion of the work this year.”
That portion is to close off the front of 67 W. Main St. with an internal curb and provide a rough stone sidewalk as well as a 24-foot entrance off Zinns Mill Road.
“The second phase of the project will include the PennDOT-required inlets and drainpipes,” Steckbeck wrote in an email. “That work will be bid next spring and completed next summer.”
In May, supervisors purchased the property at 67 W. Main St., which includes a historic building and paved lot at the rear. No decisions have been made about how the building will be used, but supervisors have said they plan to preserve it.
Part of the supervisors’ interest in acquiring the property was its potential to add much-needed parking for Quentin businesses along West Main Street.
One option is using a cloud-based app, ParkMobile, at the rear of the property, Lloyd said.
“There would be no actual meters — you pay for parking via your cellphone,” said Lloyd, who noted the cities of Lebanon and Lancaster both use the ParkMobile app.
Supervisors likely will meter the front area of 67 W. Main St. as well once the gasoline island is removed and the area is paved.
“Paid parking, both in front and behind the building, was always the plan,” Steckbeck said in an email.
In other business, supervisors:
- Voted to advertise a new ordinance that would set their compensation according to what is permitted by second-class township code. Based on township population, that amount is $1,875 annually. Currently, supervisors are paid only for their once-a-month board meetings at a rate of $50/meeting.
- Set Trick-or-Treat for 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 31.
- Approved a quarterly payment of $50,234.25 to Cornwall Borough Police Department for police services.
West Cornwall Township supervisors meet at 73 S. Zinns Mill Road on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. The next meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 11. These meetings are open to the public and do not require registration.
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