Road conditions and budget dominate Walker Township meeting

Despite a pending road project with an estimated cost of $500,000, township supervisors found themselves under fire for the condition of some roads in the township.

The supervisors were challenged by Brenda Rensinger to fix more of the roads.

“Brook Lane is being demolished by trucks, and nothing is being done about it.”

Supervisor Craig Wagner countered by saying that the township is doing what it can, but there are many roads that need repair, and the budget is limited. The township has announced a plan to do major road repairs in 2019.

Roadmaster Brad Felty told the supervisors that the township would be renting a crack sealer and splitting the time and cost with West Penn Township. The sealer would be used to temporarily patch roads until the road repair project gets underway. He also reported that all line painting on township roads has been completed.

Township engineer Dave Horst reported that the weight limit study on Wildcat Road was complete and the recommendation is to place a limit of 13 tons on trucks traveling on Wildcat Road.

Wagner applauded the move.

“Too many trucks are using Wildcat to bypass Tamaqua,” he said.

Horst said there would be exceptions made for local businesses.

At its initial budget planning session on Oct. 25, the supervisors got their first look at the 2019 budget.

Led by township Treasurer Dana Brubaker, the Walker Township supervisors spent nearly three hours on a first draft of its budget for 2019.

Brubaker started the process by telling supervisors that revenue was ahead of last year by 25 percent. She credited fees from permits as the principal reason for the revenue increase, but sees “no radical change” on the revenue side of the balance sheet in 2019.

On the expense side, the supervisors are faced with an increase of just over $70,000 in new spending. About a third of the increase comes from several budget items ranging from solicitor fees and engineering to police salaries and pension payments.

Wagner worked toward making sure there was no cut to road repair funds in next year’s budget, insisting that no less than $135,000 be allocated.

Before budget discussions began, Randall Rensinger admonished the board.

“If we’re going to spend $500,000 on road repairs, we better fix the shoulders,” he said, referring to the township’s plan to undertake the townshipwide road repair project in 2019.

The next budget meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday.