MAHONING TOWNSHIP Supervisors to list landscaping needs

No final deadline for waterline tap-ins has been set.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HILLSVILLE -- Mahoning Township residents unhappy with the way their property was restored following recent waterline installation should visit or call the township offices immediately, Supervisor Poncho Exposito said.
The $1.2 million waterline will serve about 500 homes in the Route 224 area from Main Street to Butch Estates.
The supervisors will meet with the contractor Thursday to review what landscaping still needs to be done. At that time they would like to provide a list of properties where work is still needed. Residents should stop at the township office to document their complaints.
Financial help: Those who must hook up to the waterline will also be sent a letter next week outlining financial help available for the cost. Residents are responsible for constructing a line to their homes as well as making indoor plumbing connections.
Solicitor Tom Leslie said ordinances provide that once residents receive notice from the township, they must tap in within 90 days or face a fine up to $300 plus attorney fees and court costs. The tap-in fee is $750, but residents may appeal that amount to supervisors in cases of hardship.
If trailers or apartments are individually serviced with a meter and service line for each resident, each one is required to pay a tap-in fee. In other cases, only one fee is required.
No deadline yet: Although a May 2002 deadline had been discussed, Exposito said no final tap-in deadline has been set.
In other business, Exposito said no permit has been filed for location of a landfill on Erskine Quarry Road. Residents had expressed concerns over the past several months about reported plans to dispose of fly ash there and the potential effects on runoff and air quality.
Exposito also said, in answer to a question from a resident, that he has not yet been able to set a meeting with PennDOT officials about improving the intersection of Skyhill and Harbor/Edinburg Roads. There are stop signs on both sides of Harbor/Edinburg, but many motorists disregard them. Exposito said that when engineers analyzed the intersection last year, they said it should be a four-way stop.
Supervisors voted unanimously to give park Director Ida Chiaro a wage increase from $30 to $40 per day because of increased hours she is working at the swimming pool.