North Strabane moves forward with building plans
North Strabane Township supervisors will vote Tuesday on a 100-year lease agreement with the township’s volunteer fire department.
The agreement is in preparation for the township’s plan to rebuild the fire station on Route 19, which is owned by the volunteer firefighters. Township fire Chief Mark Grimm said the township owns all of the equipment, but the volunteers own the building and the land.
He said the agreement will allow the volunteers to lease the land to the township, while the township will “assume all assets and take over ownership and maintenance of the building.”
“It’s a win-win for both sides,” township fire Chief Mark Grimm said. “Instead of focusing on the upkeep of the building, the volunteers can focus on their job and training, and the township will be able to move forward with the building project.”
Grimm said the volunteers already have approved the lease agreement, and he expects the supervisors to approve it Tuesday. He said Thursday the agreement does include a monetary exchange, but he did not know how much.
The township also closed on an 81-acre property in the 1000 block of Route 519 in Eighty Four, where supervisors plan to build a new fire substation. The township bought the property from 84 Lumber for $1 million.
Township Manager Andy Walz said the money came from the general fund, but will be reimbursed with new bond money the township plans to secure this year. Walz said the township floated a $10 million bond last year for building projects.
“They knew that wasn’t enough to complete the project,” Walz said. “They used $6 million of the $10 million to pay off existing debt.”
Walz said the remaining $4 million of last year’s bond will go toward building construction costs. The township plans to rebuild the Route 19 fire station and make it big enough for the police department and District Judge Jay Weller’s office, which are both currently at the township municipal building along Route 519. The township municipal building will also be rebuilt and may include some type of recreation facility, Walz said.
“The new bond will be written as ‘not to exceed $16 million,'” Walz said.
In other discussion during the township supervisors’ Tuesday meeting, several residents of Majestic Hills asked when Forest Lane Drive would be reopened.
The road, which serves as one of two access points to the Majestic Hills residential development, has been closed since June, when the land behind four homes slid 30 feet, blocking the roadway with trees and dirt.
The residents brought their concerns Tuesday after heavy rain had caused flooding at Linden Creek Road and Walker Road, which is in close proximity to Oakwood Drive, the only other access road to Majestic Hills.
“Is there any feeling that this could be done and this road could be open by winter?” asked Robert Saporito, a representative for the Majestic Hills Homeowners Association.
Grimm told the residents that the township does have an emergency management plan in place, should Linden Creek’s flooding reach Oakwood Drive. The plan includes the use of boats and UTVs, if necessary.
In the past, the township had discussed possibly putting an emergency access road between Majestic Hills and the nearby Summer Brook development, Grimm said. That conversation surfaced again Tuesday.
“We tried years ago to put a road in from Summer Brook to Majestic Hills to cut down on response time,” Grimm said. “If we had to get an access road to benefit both neighborhoods, that would be a future conversation.”
Township engineer Joseph Sites of Gateway Engineers said that while the township doesn’t have a timeline to clear Forest Lane Road, the state Department of Environmental Protection has given the developer of Majestic Hills, JND Properties of Bridgeville, until mid-October to come up with a remediation plan for the slide and the affected properties.
“Before any work is done out there, a solution needs to be presented and approved first,” Sites said.
Township Solicitor Gary Sweat assured the residents that the township is involved in searching for solutions for Majestic Hills.
“Somebody at some level within the township is dealing with this on a daily basis,” he said. “We are actively involved at every level in dealing with this issue.”