Supervisors also discuss Price Road bridge

            Marlborough is a step closer to aligning new sewer regulations with Green Lane after representatives from the Green Lane Marlborough Joint Authority made their case for more precisely regulating what can be discharged and put down a sanitary sewer.

           The authority moved to amend the sewer ordinance after experiencing difficulties with the now-closed Perkiomen Brewery at 101 Walnut St., in Green Lane. The sewer authority hired Jeff Morgan, from SC Engineers, Inc., to specifically deal with the brewery issue.

            "Before my time," Morgan said, "it was alleged that they were dumping things down the drain, and they were coloring the plant, and that was passing through to the receiving stream, which is completely unacceptable to [the Department of Environmental Protection]...It's more about protecting the stream and the water quality in the plant and not upsetting the plant so that it can treat the wastewater that comes in there every day."

            "They were to put in a testing manhole, which would have cost them $20,000, and they'd been kicking that down the lane for six or seven years," said GLMJA Manager Dave Garber. "We didn't make them do it, because we wanted to be the 'friendly sewer authority.'"

            While the brewery is now a non-issue, the building was sold to an optician, Garber said that two other sewer users, one in Green Lane and one in Marlborough, may be out of compliance with the ordinance.

            Supervisor Bill Jacobs expressed concerns about how the amendments would affect small businesses.

            "This is meant for larger users, larger volumes of wastewater flow," Morgan said. "Your hairdresser, your butcher shop, your gas station, even a small car wash, some things like that, [we are] not really looking to regulate them."

            Jacobs and President Billy Hurst voted to advertise the amendments to the ordinance. Vice President Burt Shive was not in attendance.

            Hurst and Jacobs also voted to approve the only bid submitted for the removal of the dilapidated Finland Road barn. Terry Bird was awarded the barn pending the submission of required paperwork and escrow money.

            In public comment before and after the vote, resident Barry Doremus warned the supervisors that it would be advisable to obtain a bat inspection by the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) before any action is taken regarding the barn. The PNDI process involves checking for protected species before major work can take place.

            Doremus said that the "U.S. Fish and Wildlife that basically would have to come out, inspect, make sure there's no bats roosting in the barn before any type of major work can happen, whether it's renovations, demolition, whatever, because most bats in the area are very well protected, endangered or threatened."

            "This [sale] was approved by our solicitor," Hurst said. "We're going to move forward."

            "Okay, but I just want to make sure, because if you screw with the feds, the feds will come in here, and it will cost, again, the township a whole lot more money," Doremus replied.

            In an email received over the weekend, Doremus said that he did contact the PA Game Commission, which "confirmed the decline" but did not promise any action.

            "I have an email in to the US Fish & Wildlife, awaiting a reply," Doremus said.

            In a related discussion, Township Manager/Secretary Marybeth Cody displayed some renderings of a one-door, 40'x60' pole barn planned for Finland Road.

            The barn would house some township maintenance equipment and Public Works Director Steve Fulmer said he preferred one large door for functionality.

            "I added the brick as an option, the stone, so it could kind of mimic an older barn," Cody said.

            A final decision on the barn will be made at another meeting after cost and design are meshed.

            The supervisors also discussed the future of the Price Road bridge after Montgomery County pitched the possibility of Marlborough contributing to the reconstruction and/or taking ownership and maintenance responsibilities of the bridge after reconstruction.

            Hurst and Jacobs were reluctant to commit to full ownership, citing the cost of future repairs and issues after storms.

            In response to a question about why the township would even consider ownership, Hurst replied, "That may be one of the conditions they put on to rebuilding. They're just looking for what would we be willing to accept."

            There was agreement that the bridge is a vital route for the township and needs to be open soon, either as a one-lane or two-lane thoroughfare.

            The issue will be discussed further at a work session at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21.

            According to Cody's administrative report, the Reihman Road bridge project is in the design and permitting stage, and right-of-way and temporary construction easement exhibits are being finalized for affected property owners. The weight restriction had to be reduced to 20 tons after the latest inspection.

            The next general meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14.