South Londonderry awarded $1.75M in grants for roundabout at Forge & Airport

Regular meeting

During the Jan. 5 regular meeting, supervisors heard from township manager John Eberly that the township received a $500,000 PennDOT Transportation Improvement Program grant along with a $1.25 million PennDOT Multi-Modal Transportation Fund grant. However, the township’s application for a $1 million Local Share Account grant was denied.

The township will use the $1.75 million for the construction of a roundabout at Airport Road and South Forge Road, which is estimated to cost $2 million.

During the regular meeting, supervisors unanimously approved the use of the Capital Fleet Reserve Fund for the purchase of a vehicle from Frederick Chevrolet, which was quoted at $55,700. The vehicle will replace the police department’s K9 police vehicle and will cost an estimated additional $25,000 to outfit, which will also involve the K9 Fund.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Connie Brossman criticized South Londonderry Township’s financial support of two fire departments for a municipality of its size, citing last year’s fire tax increase from 0.245 mills to 1 mill, which remains the same this year.

Supervisor Bill Bova responded that it’s the township’s responsibility to provide fire protection, and the two fire departments are relatively healthy volunteer-wise compared to other area fire departments that will need to professionalize. Bova added that if the two local departments professionalize, costs will increase significantly.

During the good and welfare portion of the meeting, resident Pat Krebs commented on the Lawn Road and Horseshoe Pike (U.S. Route 322) intersection and asked whether PennDOT’s Surface Transportation Block Grant funds could be used to address crashes there.

In other news, supervisors unanimously moved to:

• Approve the Dec. 9 meeting minutes and the 26-25 and 01-26 bill and payroll lists.
• Approve the zoning report, which included that the South Londonderry Township Zoning Hearing Board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, Jan. 29, to review proposed Lawn Mennonite Church and School rezoning requests.
• Approve the police report, which included 200 incidents, one criminal arrest, four traffic citations, and 10 traffic warnings in December. Chief William Reigle thanked everyone who donated to Operation Fill-a-Cruiser, with an estimated 25 to 30% increase in donations compared to previous years, with excess donations to be sent to the Lebanon Rescue Mission and Toys for Tots. Reigle extended a special thank you to Sgt. Gerry Cassel for his leadership with the initiative.
• Approve Resolution 01-2026, which involves the bimonthly payment of invoices.
• Approve Resolution 02-2026, which involves the township engineer’s fees.
• Approve Resolution 03-2026, which involves emergency services recognition, including volunteer fire departments, ambulances, and other personnel.
• Approve Resolution 04-2026, which involves the business mileage rate, which follows the IRS’s business mileage rate, set at 72.5 cents per mile for 2026.
• Approve Resolution 05-2026, which involves the police pension contribution, set at 3% for 2026.
• Approve Resolution 06-2026, which involves the fire hydrant assessment, set at a rate of $18.
• Approve Resolution 07-2026, which involves the township manager’s annual salary, set at $88,350, including a 3% wage increase.

Reorganization meeting

During the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting, supervisors appointed Faith Bucks as chairwoman and Jack Custer as vice chairman and swore in Bill Bova as supervisor.

For township appointments, supervisors unanimously voted to appoint:

• John Eberly as township manager, secretary, treasurer, and open records officer.
• Richie Deibert as assistant secretary and zoning officer.
• Mandy Braden as assistant treasurer.
• Bill Reigle as police chief.
• Frank Chlebnikow of Rettew Engineering as assistant zoning officer.
• South Londonderry Township Police Department as code enforcement officer.
• Commonwealth Code Inspection Services and Associated Building Inspections as building inspector.
• Rettew Engineering as township engineer.
• Patrick Armstrong as township solicitor.
• Nestico Druby PC, Attorneys at Law, as zoning hearing board solicitor.
• Garcia Garman & Shea PC as independent auditor.
• Faith Bucks to the Palmyra Area Recreation Commission through Dec. 31, 2026, and Richie Deibert through Dec. 31, 2029.
• Kermit Bell to the vacancy board.
• Bill Bova, Carl Weidler, and Mike Lentz to the fire board.
• Mandy Braden and Lisa Daubert as township liaisons to the Earned Income Tax Bureau.
• Kendra Hoffman as township liaison to the Palmyra Library Board.

For board appointments, supervisors unanimously voted to appoint:

• Matt Epler to the Municipal Authority Board through Dec. 31, 2030, and Josh Heller through Dec. 31, 2027.
• Bret Haldeman to the planning commission through Dec. 31, 2029, and Bill Bova through Dec. 31, 2029.
• Jeremiah Harris to the zoning hearing board through Dec. 31, 2028.

Supervisors also unanimously voted to approve Fulton Bank and the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust as township depositories.

Supervisors unanimously approved both uniformed and non-uniformed township employee wage rates set at 3%.

“I do think that we pay extremely well here, and it’s at the taxpayer’s expense,” Brossman noted.

“Yes, we do pay them well because we want them to continue doing their great job. And we have a great staff. And we have a great team overall across all the departments,” Bucks responded.

Supervisors also unanimously reaffirmed the township employee benefits, which include health insurance and retirement savings plans, to be the same as per the collective bargaining agreement and the employee handbook.

In addition, supervisors unanimously established the treasurer’s and assistant treasurer’s bond at $1 million, or what is required by the Second-Class Township Code.