The loss of a loved one is always difficult … and then comes the aftermath of having to settle the estate and deal with years of memories. In our situation, we encountered an additional obstacle in our attempt to sell the family homestead. We needed to purchase some adjacent land because the driveway encroached on someone else’s property. This involved a subdivision, which can take months to complete.

However, we were able to accomplish this in a short time with the help of people in our community and local government. The purpose of this letter is to give credit where credit is due and thank everyone who went above and beyond the call of duty to help us out.

First of all, kudos to Kathy Reaman of Hauto Valley Estates Inc., who, with the help of her surveyor, Mark Manhart, started the ball rolling and kept a close eye on the progress. Then, there were the Nesquehoning Borough employees, Susan Bamford and Shawn Coniglio, who walked us through the process and helped us expedite it.

The County Planning Commission and Ivan Meixell were also very prompt in their handling of our situation.

But in the end, it was Gene Kennedy (zoning officer) and Borough Planning members (Gregory Haas, Bruce Nalesnik, John McArdle and Gerald Heffelfinger) who should be commended for meeting on very short notice. The meeting would not have come together were it not for the efforts of Bamford. It allowed the Planning commission to render a decision just an hour prior to the monthly meeting of borough council - which was a necessary step in the process. Otherwise, we would have had to wait another month for council to meet and would have lost our potential buyer.

We would also like to thank David Hawk and all the members of Nesquehoning council who addressed our case that same evening and voted to approve it.

Thanks to all involved, the sale of the family homestead was finalized just days later and our family can begin the next chapter of our lives.

Sincerely,

Eileen and Joseph Kmetz Jr.

Nesquehoning