Harford addressing rough roads

BY PAT FARNELLI

Harford Township supervisors met Tuesday, Aug. 9, and talked mostly about roads, proposed ordinances with the beginnings of gas well drilling in the township, and the Tingley Lake lawsuit.

Late in the meeting, the supervisors were asked if they had complied with a letter signed by Judge Kenneth Seamans compelling the supervisors to submit documents for discovery by the attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the township by a group ofTingleyLakeresidents.

The deadline had passed the day before the meeting.

The supervisors said they had not received the letter, which they assumed had been sent by certified mail andt may have been sent to the township solicitor, Andrew Hailstone, who has been handling the lawsuit.

An update has not been given to the supervisors as of Monday, Aug. 15, Supervisor Sue Furney said.
The suit, brought against Harford Township by some residents of Tingley Lake, concerns their requests for a new pipe to channel the outflow from the lake in the event of flooding.

The plaintiffs allege that insufficient outflow plumbing caused the lake to flood in 2006, and they are suing because a new pipe has not been installed.

The township was waiting for funding for the project, which is on hold due to the lawsuit

Cabot Oil & Gas had applied for a driveway permit forStockinger Roadfor last month’s meeting. The application stated that they would clear, build up, and widen the end at an intersection with a private road at Jeffer’s Farms. This application was approved with the exception that the pipe must be 15 inches rather than the 12 inches stated in the application.

At the Tuesday meeting, Cabot submitted a driveway permit for the Zupp property in thePennay Hill Roadarea, as a noise ordinance waiver petition. The supervisors had approved both for the Jeffer’s Farm site last month.

Supervisor Garry Foltz noted that the DEP sediment and erosion permit had not been submitted yet for the Zupp Property. VanGorden said that the driveway wasn’t scheduled to go in until October. “How about, you go look at this and we wait until the next meeting to discuss it?” Foltz asked VanGorden.

He asked him to check if the pad or driveway location is marked yet, whether it needs a culvert pipe, and whether a ditch runs along the side of the road. The noise ordinance waiver was approved by the supervisors for the Zupp property.

Supervisor Terry VanGorden said that a heavy truck has been traveling across a township bridge that has a weight limit sign specifying four tons. He said that the bridge cannot bear heavy loads like that without cracking, and that the weight limit part of the sign was completely painted over with black paint.

VanGorden and Furney asked to whom reports should be directed, if they see an overweight tractor-trailer cross the bridge. Foltz said to call the state police and ask for the proper procedure.

Supervisor Sue Furney retrieved photos of the sign and bridge from the township office.

TheSchool Streetpaving project was completed, and the road is “nice and smooth,” Foltz said. There is one driveway where the road is built up to the point where there is a two and a half inch drop, and Foltz said Contour Paving has been asked to remedy the situation by notching into that driveway and making a gradual incline there.

A phone call came in from a daughter of a resident concerningWescott RoadandLower Podunk Road. Other problem roads discussed includedWilkins Road(off ofPennay Hill Road), White Road, and a portion of road referred to as “Giannella.”

VanGorden said that he is aware of the situation, but that the crews haven’t gotten to that section of roads yet.

Part of the problem is that these dirt roads are unsuited for most of the township equipment.

VanGorden said that there was no way he could do anything withWilkins Roadwith the grader or backhoe. Foltz suggested workingWhite Roadwith a skid steer first, then putting down materials, then cutting ditches toward the fields.

Foltz also suggested hiring someone to work onWilkins Roadwith a bulldozer to make difficult stretches possible, then cut ditches and swales. He thought an equipment operator he had spoken to could do the job for $1,000 to $1,500.

A resident had spoken to the supervisors about this road, which he said his father maintained on his own for years. He said he has been patient for about 40 years, but that the road has no crown or ditches.

Foltz referred toWhite Roadas a “snarly mess.” White, Still Hill, and Houlihan roads were included in a road agreement with Southwestern Energy, but so far nothing has been done to improve them.