At Monday night's meeting, the Douglass Township Board of Supervisors considered a proposed Waste Management route pick-up change.

            Don Isabella and Chris Hollinger, from Waste Management, gave a presentation on the prospective route adjustment. The requested service day change would consolidate a five-day pick-up schedule to four days.

            Friday customers would be moved to Monday pick-up. The scheduled workday routes would be from Monday through Thursday. Approximately 1,100 customers would be impacted. Isabella stated that a plan and communication piece would be sent out to customers with changed pick-up days.

            The objective is to consolidate for better service in the township as well as efficiency and cost savings. The new schedule would allow Fridays to be open for missed customers from extreme weather, accidents or incidents impacting the routes.

            Hollinger stated that Mondays are the heaviest days and Wednesdays have the most miles covered in regard to trash collection.

            Board members were hesitant to approve the request. "When you started two years ago, your public relations was atrocious. I'm skeptical … I'm hesitant to approve this without a guarantee," said Supervisor Dr. Alan Keiser.

            Chairman Joshua Stouch commented that the ineffective customer service tied up township staff for many hours when customers had issues and could not get assistance through the Waste Management call center.

            Vice Chairman Sara Carpenter requested assurance that residents can get through to customer service because the biggest complaint is in regard to customer service.

            The board requested that the solicitor and township staff look at the Waste Management contract and review comments from residents. The topic will be revisited at the next board meeting on April 17.

            Under the engineer's report, an introductory concept plan for 749 Congo Road was presented. The proposal consists of 26 homes that would be situated on approximately 60 acres with designated open space. It would be an HOA development.

            Engineer Khal Hassan provided feedback on the introductory concept plan. The property has two flood plains and therefore drainage issues would need to be addressed. Road realignment and fire hydrants were also feedback items. Hassan explained that a topographical map will provide a deeper perspective on how the plan would move forward.

            The next step is for the applicant to submit a preliminary concept plan to the planning agency.

            In other news, Stouch announced that the township has been awarded the 2023 Governors Local Excellence Award. It was honored for the construction of the new EMS building.

"This is a huge award for the township," he said.

            The award, from the Innovative Community and Governance Initiative, is open to the entire commonwealth. It recognizes the entire township, including the residents, for their support of the emergency medical services in their community.