Dimock signs off on Gobbler’s Knob

BY PAT FARNELLI

Dimock Township Supervisors Edwin Bunnell and Gerald Ellis came to an agreement Monday night at their March meeting with a resident who wishes to take over maintenance of his part of Gobbler’s Knob Road, a dirt road in Dimock Township.

Supervisor George Baker was not present.

Resident Don Simpson attended meetings in the fall of 2010 expressing his frustration with water erosion and road conditions, and suggested then that the supervisors vacate that section of township road and allow him to maintain it as a private road.

Township secretary Paul Jennings said Monday that the supervisors have discussed the matter with their solicitor, Sam Lewis, and are willing to turn over that part of the road to Simpson, who is the only resident there. Simpson said that storm water runs down the wheel tracks of the road, overflows the ditches, and washes out his driveway.

The supervisors wanted to know when he wanted to take over the maintenance of the road.

He said he would begin work on the ditches and road, “weather permitting.”

Simpson and the supervisors discussed whether it would be better to wait until routine spring road work was completed, or if he wanted to start immediately.

Simpson said that he wanted a statement in writing saying that the township was aware that the road was not “up to specs,” and that there was a problem with the road’s conditions, ditches and drainage. He said he didn’t want to do extensive repair to his own driveway and section of Gobbler’s Knob and then have to put down modified road material on the township part of the road if it is not properly maintained.

Either way, neither Simpson nor the township’s road crew can do anything until the weather breaks.

Jennings said that the agreement was basically “a done deal,” and that the lawyer’s fee for writing and filing the paperwork for the road vacation would amount to $744.

In other business, the supervisors approved the purchase of a new backhoe, at a cost of $67,000, from Medico Industries through the piggyback program. The financing will be through People’s Neighborhood Bank.

The supervisors had previously received a quote of five annual payments at 4.5 percent interest from FNB Commercial Leasing, but had checked to see if a local bank could match or better the rate and terms.

People’s Bank quote was for 4.25 percent for five annual payments. There will be an $100 document fee, and an $84 fee that Jennings said was because the backhoe won’t have a title. He said that he would ask more about this in his next conversation with the bank. The township’s grader and John Deere tractor/ loader do have titles, he said.