For several years, the residents of Candlewyck Estates have been asking Marlborough Township what it will take to have their community dedicated to the township and thus eligible for amenities like township snow plowing, township road maintenance and Upper Perk School District bus pick-ups inside Candlewyck.

            The supervisors always answer by referring to the dedication punch list and, specifically, to the deadlock over whether Knight Road in the development should be resurfaced.

            An examination of the latest punch list, submitted by the township's engineers, Bursich, and dated July 12, 2018, shows 16 items waiting for resolution.

            None of those outstanding issues are related to Knight Road, however.

            There is a list of problems with Knight Road under the heading "Candlewyck Phase I (Knight Road)", but all of those items are lined out, indicating the problems were resolved.

            According to developer Fred MacIntosh, he was told by the engineers in 2018 that the township wanted the road resurfaced.

             "This came as a surprise to me because I completed Phase I in 2005-06," MacIntosh wrote in an email to the Town and Country. "Resurfacing has never been a part of the engineer's punch list nor has any formal written request been made to me by the township."

            MacIntosh, managing member of MacIntosh Homes, LLC, asserts that Knight Road is in "good condition" and does not need to be resurfaced.

            "I have maintained this road at my own expense for 15 years, as well as the rest of the subdivision roads (including snowplowing)."

            MacIntosh's contention would seem to be supported by Stephanie Long, a member of the Candlewyck Homeowners Association, who confronted the Marlborough supervisors at their June board meeting.

            "As a taxpayer in Marlborough Township, I have driven around your actual dedicated roads that are in much worse shape than Knight Road," Long told the board.

            Other than the Knight Road issue, MacIntosh feels that the punch list is "reasonable" and said that most of the requests have been completed and are awaiting inspection.

            "I do not believe I should be responsible for resurfacing Knight Road and thus the impasse," said MacIntosh.

            Other items on the punch list include requirements from the Montgomery County Conservation District as they relate to the Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

            MacIntosh said that the conversion of two stormwater management basins has been completed and required plantings for reforestation will be finished this fall.

            Several other bullet points on the punch list refer to dead trees and landscaping issues.

            The township's position is that all items on the list, plus Knight Road, must be in compliance with the original negotiations despite Long urging the supervisors to take the concerns of Candlewyck residents into consideration and consider compromise.

            Questioned by the Town and Country about the possibility of a middle ground, Supervisor Chairman Billy Hurst would only say, "The township is prepared to accept the public improvements for dedication when they have been completed, inspected and approved by the township engineer."

            The township is moving forward with a request that the developer renews letters of credit with a bank per agreements signed in 2001 and 2013, according to Hurst.

            With the letters of credit, the township would be able to draw from them to pay for the completion of punch list items, but the developer would have to pay back the loan.

            Another option is a lawsuit.

"Any legal action is a last resort to have the developer comply with the land

development agreements that were provided to the township as conditions of the approvals he received," Hurst said.