E. Penn supervisors OK road repair list
Relief is coming for drivers of certain roads in East Penn Township.
Supervisors on Monday night approved the list of roads that will be top priorities for township crews to fix this summer.Included on the list are Nothstein Road, Hollow Road, Stone Mountain Road, Pinewood Road, Pinoak Road, Sassafrass Road, Nis Hollow Drive, Troxell Road, Municipal Road, Dieters Hill Road and High Point Road."Our main priorities right now are Nothstein, Hollow and Stone Mountain roads," said East Penn Supervisor Chairman Dean Kercsmar. "Some of the other roads don't require that much and will only take a day or two."Kercsmar said he and Cory Smith, township roadmaster, drove every road in the township to better help the board prioritize its list."I'm telling you that Nothstein is awful right now," Kercsmar said. "I can't believe all of those residents aren't at every meeting. There are roads in the Middle East, where they're getting bombed, that look better than that."Earlier in Monday's meeting, Dorothy Eberts questioned supervisors about Hollow Road."I've been asking for that road to be repaired for three years," she said. "I keep coming back and getting the same answers."Kercsmar said the township evaluates each road every year and then matches the need for repairs up with its budget."I've always been in favor of doing as many roads as we can," he said. "For example, it would cost $220,000 to do Evergreen Road the right way. That's our whole repairs budget and that's crazy to just spend it all on one road. We can do Nothstein Road for about $47,000 and some of these smaller roads are under $1,000 for minor fixes."Supervisor David Bryfogle said how far down the list the township gets this year will largely depend on the weather.In other business, the saga over a fence at Clair Troxell's 2105 E. Lizard Creek Road continued Monday.Supervisors passed a motion requiring Troxell to install a 10-foot-high chain link fence with privacy slats and a gate at the front of his property.According to the motion, Troxell must obtain revised zoning and UCC permits, and start construction by the middle of June.Troxell signed an agreement in January to build the fence after several East Penn residents, mainly neighbor Harvey Keiper, complained about vehicles, junk tires and other scraps stored on the property.Carbon County Judge Joseph Matika threatened Troxell with jail time for contempt of court if he did not comply with the agreement."Our motion tonight directs Solicitor Jim Nanovic to begin the process of taking Troxell back to court for contempt," East Penn Supervisor Deanna Cunfer said at the meeting.Nanovic said if Troxell constructs the fence before a court hearing is scheduled, the township could rescind its request.