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Palmyra Borough Council unanimously approved paying $25,000 out of its capital reserve fund to help fix stormwater concerns related to the Melrose development project.
For months, residents have spoken up at meetings to complain that developers were not properly handling stormwater runoff, and it was damaging their properties.
The approved option will have the developer remove the existing drain tile pipe along the north side of East Ridge Road and install a new drainage and infiltration trench system to allow water to flow east along the north side of the road.
The $25,000 paid by the borough will be the difference in cost between Park & Rec fee-in-lieu money and the cost of the project.
“It went from like $17,000, it’s now up to $25,000,” council member Nancy Fleegle said. “We wait another year, it’s going to be $35,000. I really hate to spend $25,000, but at the same time, this has been ongoing, and this will correct the problem as far as I can tell.”
Three residents who said they had been affected in varying degrees got up during public comment following the decision to thank council for taking action.
“I think it was a good decision,” resident Don Barry said. “Being left alone the way it was, it still would have maybe been a problem.”
The two options that were not chosen included the borough troubleshooting and repairing the existing drain tile, and property owners granting stormwater easements on their properties to extend the existing discharge pipe underground.
With the first option, borough manager Roger Powl said, they would not know what they were getting into until they started the project, and with the second, council members said it was unlikely to get approval from all necessary property owners.
In other business:
- This meeting was the first with newly appointed Mayor Tom Miller. Assistant borough manager Brenda Pera said he was sworn in the previous week to serve as a tiebreaking vote, if necessary, during the council meeting.
- Council voted 5-1 to approve William Garber and Miranda Frantz as the zoning and codes enforcement officers until the first Monday of 2026. Council member Anthony Catalani was not present, and member Jane Quairoli was the no-vote. She said her vote was not personal, but she didn’t think the borough needed two officers.
- Council voted to authorize the newly appointed officers to prepare and file an action in the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas against the owners of 317 and 325 N. College St. and the owners of 227 Pajabon St. Pera said these owners are running unapproved short-term rentals from the properties, live out-of-state, and despite warnings from the borough have not stopped operations.
Palmyra Borough Council will meet next at 325 S. Railroad St. on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Meetings are also streamed on the Palmyra Borough, Lebanon County Pennsylvania YouTube page.
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