HEIDELBERG TOWNSHIP PRST STD 6272 Rt. 309, Suite A ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE New Tripoli, PA 18066 PAID EDDM RETAIL Welcome to LehighLehigh CountyCounty PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Local Postal Customer NEWSLETTER Fall 2014 Hello to All Heidelberg Township Residents, n this edition of the new and improved Heidelberg Township newsletter, you will find a wealth of information about the area where you live, upcoming Ieve nts, volunteering opportunities and how your Board of Supervisors and township staff continues to make Heidelberg a great place to live. Striving to keep their residents current on the activities of the Board and township staff, your elected Supervisors contracted to have the township This Community Newsletter is produced for the website revamped. Julie Lubinsky, an area resident, has used her technical magic in creating a user-friendly and ve ry appealing website. The township web address is www.heidelberglehigh.org. Heidelberg Township by Hometown Press 215.257.1500 • All rights reserved® Another technologically based improvement the Board authorized is the update of the Permit Manager software by CS-Graphx which is used by the township office staff to organize and store property data such as permits issued, citations issued, subdivision and land development activity and To Place An Ad Call Greg Cook At Hometown Press 215-257-1500 x106 • other property information. The software also offers a GIS mapping capability. Permit Manager has increased the efficiency of data access which allows the township staff to better assist our residents. The township office has been in a period of transition this year. In December 2013 our long time zoning office/assistant township secretary, Kathy Hermany, decided it was time for a change and accepted a position within another township. We wish Kathy the best of luck and thank her for the tremendous job she did while at Heidelberg. In March of 2014, the township welcomed Tara Jones as the newly hired zoning office/administrative assistant. Tara introduces herself with an article later in this newsletter. As township administrator, I found Tara to be a perfect fit in the township office. While still in the learning stages, she has accomp lished so much in her short tenure. Tara’s regular work schedule is Monday through Thursday, 8:00am to 3:30pm. The township office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm with limited services on Friday. On the other side of the municipal building is the road maintenance department. This department continues to be very busy maintaining the roads BACHMAN and bridges within the township. What some residents might not be aware of is that these employees do so much more than maintaining the roads. They are the township vehicle and equipment mechanics as well as the township building maintenance personnel. They clean out storm water pipes and install them as well. They mow the weeds along the township roads and contract to mow along some state roads. Your road crew keeps the roadways FUEL safe in the winter by clearing snow and ice. These employees assist the fire company as necessary and help with the Northwestern Recreation fields • HEATING FUEL maintenance. The Board of Supervisors is concerned about the safety of their residents so when the volunteer fire company asked for financial help due to • DIESEL diminishing funding, the Board researched the possibility of adopting a fire tax. It was concluded that due to changes in state law, the Board did find STECKEL AND STOPP it necessary to increase funding for the Goodwill Fire Co. #1 in Germansville. In 2014, township property owners will pay a fire tax of .40 mils which • KEROSENE equates to 40 cents for every 1,000 dollars in assessed value of a property. For example, an assessed value of $200,000 will have a fire tax of $80.00. ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW You will read more about the fire tax within this newsletter. CHARLES W. STOPP CHARLES A. WATERS Additionally, in this newsletter, you will learn about the vehicle and equipment purchases that the Board of Supervisors approved due to the aging 610-767-2820 of some of the township’s larger assets. 1036 Main St. 4331 Route 309 Slatington Schnecksville R.J. Bachman The Board of Supervisors thanks all the businesses who supported this newsletter by placing advertisements and asks residents to frequent these local businesses. Those residents having constructive comments about this newsletter are asked to contact me at the township office 610-767-9297 610-767-3861 610-799-4641 Germansville, PA 18053 x14 or by email [email protected] or through the website using [email protected]. This is your newsletter and your suggestions are always welcome. Kind Regards, Janice M. Meyers, Township Administrator heidelberglehigh.org 20 Fall 2014 6272 Route 309 • Suite A • New Tripoli, PA 18066 Heidelberg Township 1 610-767-9297 • Fax 484-265-0097 1018 Church Street, PO Box 52 6776 Madison Street, PO Box 75 ® FOGELSVILLE, PA 18051 NEW TRIPOLI, PA 18066 610-395-1652 610-298-2915 Amy L. Keller Thomas, F.D. Grace S. Keller, Branch Sup. Fax 610-398-3462 Gilbert F. Keller, President and Supervisor www.KellerFuneralHomes.com [email protected] Heilman’s Septic Service ChaPPer’s ChiPPing Service Ruth R. Miller, Notary Public Hours: Two Special Need a place to take your tree, Incentives Mon-Thurs 8:00 am to 7:00 pm offered to our shrub litter and cuttings? customers Fri 8:00 am to 5:00 pm No problem, let me Call to schedule Sat 8:00 am to 2:00 pm your tank cleaning chip it for you. Take the Sting out of High Prices 6158 Route 309, Germansville, PA 18053 CLEANING — REPAIRS — FULLY INSURED Call for details of service Serving all of Heidelberg Township 610-767-9417 Fax: 610-767-9561 610-298-2015 cell 484-809-6503 Phone 610 767 4668 Online Title Transfers and Instant Registration Renewals Berger Sanitation, Inc. Family Owned & Operated for 43 Years Trash Container • 2 through 40 Yard for Full Service Containers Available Residential Customers • Single Stream Recycling Dr. Ferdinand G. Visintainer, V.M.D. Dr. Kimberly Kish, V.M.D. FEINOUR’S AUTOMOTIVE • Residential, Commercial, Dr. Kelly Trexler-Wertman, D.V.M. 6961 Rt 309 Dr. Hilary Palmeiro, V.M.D. New Tripoli, PA 18066 Industrial 610-298-2520 • www.cdvh.com 6807 Weiss Road • New Tripoli, PA 18066 • State Inspection New patients welcome. • PA Emission Inspection 610-837-1790 Complete medical & surgical care. • Alignments - Repairs Physical rehabilitation services. www.bergersanitation.com PennHip certified. Steve I. Feinour Tel: 610.298.8921 Across from the Northwestern H. S. Chris D. Feinour Fax: 610.298.8816 just off of Rte. 309 2 Fall 2014 Heidelberg Township 19 TOWNSHIP CONTACT INFORMATION HEIDELBERG TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE LOCATION: 6272 Route 309 ~ Suite A | New Tripoli, Pa. 18066 | 610-767-9297 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE IN THIS ISSUE TOWNSHIP WEBSITE ADDRESS: www.heidelberglehigh.org Chairman’s Message .................................................3 Heidelberg Township Board of Supervisors PSATS Youth Awards Program .................................3 Board of Supervisors UCC Board of Appeals Building Inspectors Recycling Information ..............................................4 Meetings-3rd Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. Meetings (when needed) CodeMaster Inspection Services eidelberg Township is just gorgeous! We are fortunate to live in one of the most Goodwill Fire Company #1.......................................5 Steve Bachman, Chairman Gregory Snyder, Chairman Blue Mountain Inspection Service beautiful localities in the Lehigh Valley. We may have very limited pizza delivery, David Fink, Vice Chairman Jay Scheffler, Vice Chairman H Rural Preservation Association of Emergencies ~ 911 Rodney Schlauch Jr. but on the other hand, our traffic woes are usually just sitting behind a tractor or Northwestern Lehigh County............................5 Barry Mantz Communications Non-Emergency Jeff Christman combine for a few minutes on our daily travels. We have miles of dirt roads, farm Planning Commission 610-437-5252 Pastorius Home Association, Inc. .............................5 fields on every road, and see an abundance of wildlife daily. Life is beautiful in A New Perspective....................................................6 Meetings –Last Monday of every month Township Solicitor State Police ~ 610-861-2026 l & Stopp Law Offices (when there is an agenda) at 7:30 p.m. Atty. Charles Waters-Stecke Bethlehem Barracks Heidelberg! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Central Grange No. 1650 ..........................................6 Mark Steidinger, Chairman Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor 2930 Airport Road, Bethlehem, Pa. 18017 Heidelberg Union Church .........................................7 Priscilla Brennan, V-Chairman John Ashcraft III, Esquire Some of the changes in Heidelberg Township this year were: Goodwill Fire Company #1 ~ Germansville New Tripoli Fire/Rescue ...........................................7 Christine Bailey, Secretary Food Pantry Information...........................................8 Douglas Tietze Emergency Management Coordinator 6011 Memorial Road ~ PO Box 69, • We said ‘goodbye’ to our longtime friend and Zoning Office employee, Kathy Sidney German Matthew Nemeth Germansville, Pa. 18053 Hermany, and welcomed an exuberant Tara Jones after an exhausting interviewing Winter Is Coming......................................................9 Social Hall 610-767-7757 Winter Snow Removal ..............................................9 Rodney Schlauch Jr. Lehigh County