As residents in Highland Township continue to voice their frustrations regarding the ongoing conditions of the roads (and the struggle to maintain them), the council faces yet another hurdle, as one of their own unexpectedly resigns.
At the May 9 Township meeting, Township secretary Nancy Kadunce presented a letter from Vice-Chair Trudy Alexander, in which Alexander announced her resignation effective immediately. While giving no specific reason, Alexander still had three years left on her term.
News of the resignation surprised the board members present, including Kadunce, who said she had just received the letter that evening. Alexander was not present.
In addition, the resignation has to be formerly accepted by vote and the board took no further action.
Focus quickly shifted to the township residents and their ongoing grievances with not only the road conditions but also the work done to them.
The board was first questioned by township resident Leslie Donaldson on their decision to purchase a seal coat, when the township had already purchased and applied millings to certain roads. Supervisor Ryan Maxwell explained that (although no bids on that particular item were sent out) the seal coating would be necessary to prevent the applied millings from breaking up.
As Maxwell further explained how the decision to complete the work in question was done as cheaply as possible, this prompted resident Phil Kapp to ask who, specifically, made those decisions. Maxwell told Kapp that it didn’t matter, to which Kapp fired back,
“Yes it does matter, we’re the township. Don’t tell us it doesn’t matter.”
Kapp, along with his wife Brenda, went on to address their grievance with the township about the recent work done at his property, explaining how ditch work not only was unnecessary but that it ultimately caused damage to their driveway.
Kapp said, “I want reimbursed for repairs and I want someone to fix it. And I don’t want you guys to do it, I’ve already seen what you can do.”
Maxwell provided no further comment to the Kapp’s, who abruptly left the meeting, but said, “I’m going to deviate down the law of right of way issue, and if I have to bring someone in from PennDOT to explain it, I will. The township has the right of way. Anything within the right of way is our jurisdiction.”
Leslie Donaldson said, “I don’t think anyone is disputing right of ways here, I think what we’re disputing is how one specific project doesn’t get done when it needs to, and this other one gets done when it doesn’t.”
Another resident quickly added, “We need to get the same (maintenance work) done as people in other townships do, and it seems that we don’t anymore.”
Supervisor Rick Forbes attempted to weather the growing concerns and said, “So, we’re trying to put together a plan to deal with the roads, how we can maintain them while saving money. In regards to the ditch work, we started down Reed Road until we ran into the problem with (the Kapp residence), and then we stopped. We’ve since been having discussions on how we can clean out the ditches and figuring out the best way to move forward, which is why you haven’t seen a lot of progress.”
In February, the board announced the idea to create individual road plans in order to keep track of the work that was being accomplished, project by project.
Forbes added, “We’ve been trying to put this plan together and just haven’t gotten there yet. In addition to all of this, we got the one guy and we’re trying to get him up to speed so he can address all these issues with the little bit of money we have.
I think ultimately what we’re looking for is patience while we coordinate this and move forward and serve the township as best as we can. The resignation tonight obviously didn’t help any, so I apologize.”
Resident Howie Schmader said to Maxwell, “I’ve been in your position, and one of the things I’ve found is that any work being done should be discussed with the landowner before you do it, even if you have the right of way. Was this (ditch work) discussed with the landowner?” To which Maxwell replied, “No.”
The next monthly meeting will be held on June 6.
Highland Township is also currently hiring for part-time road maintenance. Anyone interested should contact the Township office at (814) 226-5720.