Cornwall Borough narrowly approves E-town water authority discussions

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During its monthly meeting Monday, Cornwall Borough Council agreed to open negotiations between the borough and the Elizabethtown Area Water Authority (EAWA).

Thomas Burton, Beth Yocum, and Julie Bowman opposed the motion and Bruce Harris, John Karinch, Nathan Walmer, and Bruce Conrad were in favor.

Conrad brought forward the idea with the stated intention of discussing both the recreational use of Miners Lake (in particular, for fishing) and safety issues with the Cornwall Properties planned developments (in particular, the adjacent Knoll Development that has not yet been formally submitted). However, the P&Z has apparently also discussed the possibility of obtaining an around two-acre strip of land from the EAWA to use for a new road, which Cornwall Properties attempted to purchase and was rejected.

Karinch said that an additional road would divert traffic from Boyd Street going around Miners Village and reduce strain on borough roads.

“My opinion is that if EAWA doesn’t want to talk to Cornwall Properties, then they need to talk to Cornwall Borough, and we want an alternate route going around Miners Village to alleviate truck traffic and speeders,” said Karinch. “It’s not a big strip of land, it’s worthless to EAWA, it’s time for us to take action on that, and they should come to the negotiation table and be willing to sell us that strip of land.”

Cornwall Properties representative Mike Swank said they would be willing to take on the cost of developing the road so long as they could go through with their rough development plans, which include 74 homes constructed alongside the newly constructed road.

There would be no street parking, Swank said, with parking spaces in the back of each home connected to alleys that let off onto the new road.

Resident Jeremy Zimmerman said he felt the road would not help traffic with the amount of units being added alongside it. Without the new road, the development would not be possible as sketched, with developers being limited in how many homes they can place along a cul-de-sac.

“All you’re doing is taking one problem from one area and moving it to another,” said Zimmerman. “You’re not improving anything by putting homes on either side of this road; it’s not like it’s the back of homes that’d be coming up to a road or anything like that. We’re talking about the fronts of a lot of units on that road, even more units than what is currently going in Miners Village right now.”

Bowman said she objected to what she saw as lack of transparency in the discussion, with it being unclear whether the borough would try to obtain land for a new road in negotiations with EAWA.

“The way it felt in the room at P&Z was that Mike detailed that they were not able to purchase it, and then Ray [Fratini] wanted to purchase it to have the borough take on purchasing it,” said Bowman. “If that’s the case for a true bypass, that makes sense, nobody’s against that, but if the purpose of that is to purchase it and then take that road and stack homes on both sides of it, to Jeremy’s point doubling the congestion, we haven’t done anything for a bypass.

“So to me, I just don’t think it’s too much to clearly define what the scope is we’re asking for.”

By a 4:3 vote, council opted to begin discussions with EAWA, so a representative of the borough will reach out to the water authority to arrange a meeting.

Also with regards to Miners Lake, council authorized the testing of two wells costing up to $100,000 in water and sewer funds if authorized to do so by Cornwall Properties, which owns the land the wells are situated on.

Preliminary testing has found the well water to be excellent quality and flow, Conrad said. Conrad said that if the test is successful, the borough can look into the costs associated with building facilities to supply the borough with water, possibly with some excess to sell to neighboring municipalities.

Read More: Cornwall in talks with Elizabethtown to purchase the Open Pit water supply (2023)

Council also discussed multiple proposals, including the possibility of drafting a blasting ordinance, brush collection, constructing a sidewalk on state Route 419, and more.

Councilman Bruce Conrad suggested the construction of a sidewalk along SR 419 between Sacred Heart and the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail to assist with foot traffic, noting that some parents walk with strollers from the trail and through Cornwall Center to get to the playground.

Council president Bruce Harris said he was overall amenable to the idea, but worried that the sidewalk would end up needing removed when improvements are made to the Cornwall Center intersection. The intersection, Harris explained, has long been on PennDOT’s radar (with the state formerly having suggested a roundabout), mentioning that he spoke with a county transportation planner about the intersection around two weeks ago.

Conrad suggested they install a packed stone sidewalk, which would be less costly for the borough than concrete. Other council members were open to the idea, but worried that receiving PennDOT approval — as is required for such projects along state road — could be difficult depending on plans.

A resident suggested the borough reach out to Sacred Heart Church, which owns the land along the road, to see if they would be amenable to housing a walkway down from the trail.

Both matters have been passed on to the recreation board, which meets next week, to offer a recommendation and reach out to the church.

Council member Julie Bowman suggested expanding leaf pick-up limits to include residential forest-zoned land, and Conrad suggested establishing borough-wide brush collection.

Both were hotly contested and no action was ultimately taken on either, with Mayor Mark Thomas voicing concerns about additional mileage added for the former and potential strain on borough equipment for the latter.

Bowman also suggested the borough establish an ordinance (or revise an existing ordinance) to establish borough rules on blasting. The borough has recently received multiple complaints on blasting by developers, including residents claiming they were not adequately informed ahead of time and residents claiming damage to their homes as a result.

Though Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulates blasting, municipalities can establish additional specific regulations, said solicitor Josele Cleary, which can include limits on decibels created by the airblast, rules on notifying neighbors, requirements that the developer provide an insurance certificate to the municipality, and more.

The borough has been informally working with residents and Cornwall Properties to assist with notification, but the borough does not need to be provided documentation of insurance or details as of now, with those documents being sent to DEP.

Ultimately, council sent the item to the planning and zoning commission for discussion. The P&Z is holding an extra meeting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 to discuss this and other items.

Conrad also asked what could be done about the sidewalk on Cornwall Road in Toytown, which is 60 to 70 years old. No action was taken, but he was recommended to look into grants to cover the repair.

In other business, council:

• Unanimously agreed to allocate $20,000 in rec funds to activities for the borough’s 100th anniversary in 2026, including a holiday event Dec. 13.
• Unanimously authorized the commission of a $7,000 3D model for the Freeman Project, which would include a historical recreation facility on the Freeman Estate land.
• Approved a resolution officially setting a 1% police pension contribution, with Burton opposed.
• Unanimously approved the reduction of the Cliffs at Iron Valley letter of credit by $852,214.81, with just over $1 million remaining.
• Unanimously approved a stormwater exemption for Cornwall Elementary School, which is widening a path from the front of the school to the Freeman Drive parking lot from 6 to 11 feet.
• Unanimously authorized the solicitor to draft an ordinance increasing the water and sewer tapping fees, now at $3,500 and $4,900, to $6,200 each.
• Unanimously approved a proposed rail trail ordinance, which they were asked to approve by the county, which lays out enforceable rules for the rail trail.
• Unanimously authorized a non-residential capacity analysis by Gannet Fleming TranSystems for $3,418, which will look at non-residential uses permitted in each zoning district, available land, and project change in non-residential uses by 2035.
• Unanimously authorized the release of the escrow for 130 Magnetite Lane.
• Unanimously approved a three-year agreement with Herbein to serve as the borough’s auditor.
• Heard that the owners of 104 Store Lane took down a stone pillar that was the center of a legal dispute with a neighbor.
• Unanimously authorized the signing of a co-applicant agreement for the Cavalry at Quentin development to apply for an HOP for enclosed surface stormwater facilities, as the developer is not allowed to apply for this on its own as the facilities lay partly in the borough right-of-way.
• Unanimously agreed to open up the position of Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority representative to Cornwall residents interested in the volunteer position.
• Unanimously authorized a Trick-or-Treat night of Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.
• Unanimously approved reports and minutes.

Cornwall Borough Council meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. These meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article switched names of two votes. We sincerely regret the error.