Winter storms keep East Penn road crew busy

The East Penn Township road crew has been busy keeping the roads clear after the weekly winter storms.

“We brought in the anti-skid but are running out of that,” said Supervisor Steven Heckman.

The township will increase its salt order from COSTARS from 650 to 800 tons.

“We also spent a lot of time fixing the work fleet. The trucks are starting to show the age,” he said.

The crew continued cold patching in between snow falls and clearing draining blockages in the township and will lend a hand cleaning up the debris left behind from the dwelling fire in Nis Hollow.

Cleanup

Heckman asked the board for opinions about conducting a freecycle event during the upcoming East Penn cleanup on May 19.

“Last year a couple of people took stuff but the rest went in the dumpster. I’m not sure if it’s even worth keeping it going,” Heckman said.

“My feeling is just to eliminate it,” he said.

He told the board of an opportunity to join forces with the Earth Day/Great American Clean-Up program and get free gloves, safety vests and garbage bags for any volunteer looking to clean up the town.

Troxell case

An update on the Clair Troxell case was given by Chairman William Schwab, who said a court date is now set for 9 a.m. April 10.

“I want to see him in jail,” said neighbor Harvey Keiper.

Troxell has faced several code and zoning ordinance violations regarding his Lizard Creek Road property.

Over the past decade neighbors have frequented the township’s monthly board meetings with various complaints from noise, unsightly junk spilling out over the property’s fence and difficulty in navigating the road around large tractor-trailers.

In 2016, Carbon County Judge Joseph J. Matika issued a court order calling for Troxell to erect a fence to screen trucks and other items from neighboring properties.

The court order also said Troxell could not have anything stored in front of the fence.

Keiper has been the most vocal resident complaining about the violations at the property, often calling code enforcement and zoning officer Carl Faust to complain.

Civil complaint

A civil complaint against a property on Berger Creek Road was never filed by former UCC Inspector and Building Code official Carl Faust.

Township Secretary Jillyan Sterling told the board the newly hired officer is “looking into it.”

Blue Mountain Inspection Services LLC, Lehigh Valley Inspection Service and Barry Isett and Associates were approved during the January’s monthly meeting. Faust was not on the approved list and was also replaced as the township’s building code official by Hanover Engineering Associates Inc.

The idea of replacing Faust after receiving “complaints” was discussed in 2017 and made official during the reorganization meeting in January.