By Ben Freda For Abington Journal

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — At the South Abington Township supervisors’ meeting July 11, Lorraine Rosenberry expressed safety concerns about Country Club Road. She said that increased speeding traffic has been causing hazardous situations for pedestrians, such as townhouse residents, neighbors, and guests, entering onto this street from the driveway of Phase 1.

“Many of the drivers are distracted,” she said. “So, they come very close to the people walking on the roadway and the people riding bikes.”

Rosenberry mentioned that residents requested a walking path about half a mile along the roadway. She said that residents also asked for the lights at the upper portion of the road to become turned on. Township manager David O’Neill explained that some of the light poles are very old and made of aluminum. Supervisor Mark Dougherty suggested finding the cost to turn the lights back on.

“The safety of the traffic really needs to be addressed,” Roseberry said. The supervisors told Rosenberry that they will look into it.

In other business, Lou Costanzo, resident of the Preserve at Gravel Pond, complained about the increase of truck traffic on Rock Ridge Drive caused by the construction of the housing. He asked the supervisors to open the back gate. O’Neill explained that the supervisors made an agreement with every resident on Lakeside Drive and Driftwood Drive that they would never allow the traffic from the Preserve come out on the roads.

“The gate and the extra road was put in specifically for snow plows and emerging vehicles and to keep the traffic off Lakeside (Drive) and Driftwood (Drive),” he said. Costanzo explained that there are 35 homes on Rock Ridge, 15 homes on Lakeside, 5,800 feet of roadway on Rock Ridge, and 1,300 feet on Lakeside. He explained his proposal of letting traffic proceed onto Rock Ridge Drive and go out the back gate onto Lakeside Drive.

“If we were to have one-way traffic that goes out the back gate, we’re going to cut the traffic down on Rock Ridge by half,” he said. Costanzo expressed another issue, which is that the Preserve at Gravel Pond doesn’t have any sidewalks for pedestrians. The supervisors agreed to look into these matters.

In other business, O’Neill announced a 70-30 match (the state pays 70% and the supervisors pay 30%) for the paving of the 900 block of Griffin Pond Road. He said that the supervisors already agreed to pave the 700 block and the 800 block. He said that the 800-block section from the highway bridge to Scott Township would cost approximately $650,000. He announced that the 70 match would be approximately $433,000. O’Neill said that the engineering firm is working on a grant application. “We submitted a $100 payment to Pennsylvania DCED (Department of Community and Economic Development),” he said. “They reviewed the grant project. We might get it. We might not. If we get it, that might be the only way we have of paving the 900 block of Griffin Pond (Road).”

O’Neill announced another project of putting a drain pipe on White Birch Road. He said that the corrugated metal pipe has been pushing up and rotting at the base for years. He mentioned that the project would cost approximately $400,000.

“It will be a complete rebuild,” he said. The supervisors voted to approve Resolution 2022-11, which is the paving of the 900 block of Griffin Pond Road. They also voted to approve Resolution 2022-12, which is the culvert replacement project on White Birch Road.

In his manager’s report, O’Neill announced plans of placing signs such as “One Lane Road” and “No Truck Traffic” on the dirt section of Maggies Road.

In other business, Joe Durkin, vice president of Reilly & Associates, informed the supervisors that a wastewater treatment plant, which is outside Clarks Summit State Hospital, is at the end of its residual life. He said that the state went through many studies to replace the plant or look into a regional solution.

“We looked at alternatives of replacing the plant,” he said. “Several different technologies and cost of that. We also looked at the possibility of making an interconnection plant.”

Durkin said that the Pennsylvania Department of General Services is looking into taking the plant offline. He said that the state would build a pumping station and pumping sewage into the connection point of the ARWA (Abington Regional Wastewater Authority) system. He announced three possible routings: Country Club Road, West Grove Street, and Lance Pond. Supervisor Donald Snyder said that the contractor made an agreement with Clarks Summit State Hospital to have 40 to 50 EDU’s (engineering development units) with Abington Heights school district.

“Newton’s (Newton Township) into the sewer business, and we know they don’t want to,” he said. Durkin explained that the only sewage flow going into the plant is from Abington Heights Middle School and Newton Ransom Elementary School. He explained that in 1972 the original plan for the middle school sewage was to put a pump station.

“There was a whole 537 plan done by Newton Township to connect a certain amount of sewage to that plant,” he said. “Nothing has been connected there other than the hospital and the two schools. Part of the process is going to be modifying the 537 plan.”

Durkin said that Department of Environmental Protection will allow a 537 plan that would be limited to just those three entities. He said that Newton Township isn’t interested in development. He said that he asked ARWA if they have the capacity. He mentioned that ARWA believes the plant has the ability to process the organics but their permit for how much they take in is limited. He said that ARWA is confident in rerating the plant and can have the influent number raised but there is no guarantee. He said that the state can cover the study, but the townships Clarks Summit, South Abington Township, and Clarks Green would have to pay a connection fee. O’Neill explained Durkin’s reason of his attendance is that ARWA sent the supervisors a letter requesting a study of their needs for the future. Durkin explained that ARWA is asking the supervisors if they’re comfortable with their 537 plan. Durkin concluded by asking the supervisors to ask ARWA what their needs are.