Mahoning supervisors discuss moving pavilion

Mahoning Township’s board of supervisors debated issues related to the closing of Mahoning Elementary during Wednesday’s meeting.

The board began by discussing the issue of a pavilion that Lehighton Area School District offered to the township, considering the possibility of moving the structure from Mahoning Elementary to the township’s park area.

“We want to put it down here in our park, near where the swing sets are,” Chairman Franklin Ruch said.

“We have parents bringing their kids over, and they’re sitting at the picnic tables out in the sun, because we have nothing down here. When they offered it, we thought it would be a good idea to put it in our park.”

Mahoning Elementary, along with East Penn Elementary, closed at the end of the school year, with students set to attend the new K-5 school in the fall. Behavioral Health Associates Academy will use the old Mahoning Elementary building, Ruch said.

Ruch said that the pavilion measures about 30 feet by 30 feet, making it potentially difficult to transport across local roads. Supervisor Bruce Steigerwalt said that a frame could be constructed to move the structure in one piece, though PennDOT approval and road closures will almost certainly be necessary.

The matter was tabled until the board is able to obtain more information about transporting the pavilion.

Expanding upon the subject of Mahoning Elementary’s closing, the board also considered what party will be responsible for the warning lights located near the school, as the building will no longer be a public school in the near future.

Steigerwalt said that the township had various problems maintaining the lights over the years, including but not limited to finding replacement parts.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’d like to eliminate them. If BHA wants to take them over, maintain them, pay for them and get the permit for that, that’s on them, but I don’t think it should be on us,” Steigerwalt said.

Steigerwalt added that he wished to resolve the issue as soon as possible, in order to avoid the township becoming de facto responsible for the lights.

Supervisor Robert Slaw said that the township should have nothing to do with the workings of a private enterprise, and that he would “just as soon see them taken down.”

Ruch said that he did not believe the township would be responsible for the lights following the official close of the school in July.

The board opted to have Secretary-Treasurer Natalie Haggerty search township records for any paperwork related to the matter, which will be turned over to solicitor Thomas Nanovic for research on the matter.