LOWHILL TWP., Pa. — Some have questioned whether Lowhill Township can afford litigation that is trying to prevent warehouses from being built in the township.
Now, the subject is under even more scrutiny because the township is facing a costly road repair.
The Lowhill Township Board of Supervisors on Friday approved a bid for Grace Industries to fix Narris Road for almost $532,000 after a section of it collapsed into a tributary of the Jordan Creek.
The company will build a retaining wall in the collapsed portion and backfill it to make the road usable again.
Supervisors Chairman Curtis Dietrich said the township has the money in the bank right now to cover the cost of the repair. But the township also has other road repairs and building projects.
And township engineer Ryan Christman said the retaining wall should soon be extended to prevent any other part of it from collapsing.
The township built part of a retaining wall along the road in 2012, but never finished it.
“We’re doing 175 feet, which is not near enough, to be honest with you, but it gets us past the worst part,” Christman said.
The Allentown KOA Campground is located along Narris Road. The current detour has a weight limitation that prevents certain RVs from getting to the property, Dietrich said.
Construction likely will begin in April or May and will take about a month, Christman said.
Warehouse litigation
One of the proposed Lowhill warehouses already was given "deemed approval," or approval by the court, despite township supervisors’ denial of the plan.
The deemed approval followed developer CRG Service Management's appeal of Lowhill supervisors’ decision to deny its plan to build a 299,800-square-foot warehouse at 2951 Betz Court.
The developer argued in the appeal that the township did not follow the correct process in denying the warehouse plan.
The township has appealed that decision, Dietrich said.
In another case brought by the county District Attorney’s office, a judge ruled Dietrich was improperly appointed to the board.
The township plans to appeal that decision, as well. But if it stands, that means preliminary plans for Core5 Industrial Partners’ warehouse at 7503 Kernsville Road were rejected without a quorum.
The plan could then be deemed approved by the courts if it is decided his votes do not count.
Dietrich soon was reappointed to the board, which does not affect whether the plan will be deemed approved.
Core5 Industrial Partners also has filed an appeal of the supervisors’ denial of a final land development plan for its warehouse at 2766 Route 100.
Dietrich said the legal fees for the initial litigation will be covered by insurance, but any appeals of a judge’s decision likely will have to be paid out of pocket.
Dietrich said the cost to repair Narris Road and the cost of the warehouse litigation are “separate matters” that should not affect each other.
Where the money could come from
Dietrich said there is about $170,000 budgeted in the general fund for fixing township roads.
The township also has about $390,000 in a fund for building projects, and it could get a grant from the Lehigh County Conservation District for $100,000 to $130,000.
If the township uses the entire building fund and gets the grant, it could spend $40,000 at most from the general fund, but there are other building projects in the township that need funding.
Dietrich said the deadline for state grants already has passed. He said he contacted state Rep. Zach Mako’s office and spoke briefly about the situation with an employee.
Dietrich said the employee did not help him, and he asked to speak with Mako directly. It has been two weeks since then, and Mako has not reached out, Dietrich said.
“I’m disappointed in that I think governmental officials have to work together, and he didn't take the time to respond to my request,” Dietrich said.
Christman said he looked into applying for federal grants, but they often require municipalities to apply before sending out bids. Some also require the project to cost more than a million dollars to apply for the grant.
“Big cities is where all this money goes to,” Christman said.
Cutting down on other road repairs?
Dietrich asked whether township staff could try to cut down on other road repairs this year to save money.
But Supervisor George Wessner Jr. argued that the township was in its current position because it delayed road maintenance before.
“This is the reason we're here right now, because we kept on kicking the can down the road,” Wessner said.
“And if you're gonna stop all road maintenance for a year because of this, you're gonna add to it again. We're gonna run into this all over again.”
“We don't have a money tree. It's not going to work."Board Chair Curtis Dietrich, about filling a vacant road work position
Dietrich also suggested not replacing a recently vacated road crew position. But Wessner argued that might make other workers quit.
“That's what we're put here for — to take care of the roads and take care of the township. We need people to do it,” Wessner said.
“We don't have a money tree. It's not going to work,” Dietrich said.
“You guys have no trouble spending money everywhere else. You spent $100,000 on lawyers last year,” Wessner said, referring to the warehouse litigation.
"Well, we got ourselves in a situation where we have applicants proposing to build warehouses and do things that are inconsistent with our ordinances," Dietrich said.
"That's what we keep doing, spending money on stuff that we shouldn't be and not on the roads," Wessner said.
"Have those folks withdraw their applications. That's another solution," Dietrich said.
Wessner owns the land at 2951 Betz Court and is set to sell it to CRG Services Management.
Lowhill Township resident Steve Lehr asked whether the township should consider implementing a road tax to pay for the increased need for road improvements.
“Most people that are here complaining about what's going on with the warehouses, they don't mind paying taxes."Lowhill Supervisor George Wessner Jr.
Wessner objected, saying the township already has increased its taxes for 2024, and many residents already can’t afford the increase.
“Most people that are here complaining about what's going on with the warehouses, they don't mind paying taxes,” Wessner said.
Christman said there will be more information about the timeline for the repairs by the next Board of Supervisors meeting on March 14.
