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Perry Township opts out of Goodwill recycling program

By Steve Ferris sferris@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read

PERRY TWP. — Supervisors opted out of the Goodwill recycling program instead of asking residents to pay a fee to maintain the program.

Supervisors voted unanimously at their monthly meeting Wednesday to no longer participate in the program, in which residents had to bring their recyclable materials to a bin at the municipal building.

The township voluntarily participated and is not mandated to have a recycling program, said A.J. Boni, chairman of the board of supervisors.

He said residents can discard their recyclables with their garbage or take them to the Goodwill recycling center in Uniontown.

Supervisor Clarence Johnson said Goodwill’s recycling program has been losing money for the last couple years and municipalities have been asked to pay a fee to keep it running.

The supervisors would have to raise taxes or impose a fee on residents in order to pay Goodwill, Johnson said.

He said the bin will be removed and a sign informing residents about the change will be posted in its place.

There are residents who were enthusiastic about recycling, Boni said.

“We have some people who really take pride in their recycling,” he said.

Supervisors said too many people left unwanted appliances, TV and junk near the bin.

In unrelated business, supervisors said solicitor Jack Purcell is looking into offering township real estate and/or earned income tax credits of up to 20 percent to active volunteer firefighters.

Boni, chief of the township fire department, said department members voted in favor of requesting credits, but he abstained. He said he doesn’t support the credit because he sees offering a small break on taxes as an insult to veteran firefighters.

The township property tax rate is 1.127 mills, and taxes on most properties are about $100, he said, adding that the income tax rate is 1 percent. There is an effort among municipalities in Fayette County to adopt the same credit, Boni said.

In other business, the supervisors:

n Announced that most of the transportation officials, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission members and engineering firm representatives who attended a meeting at the Layton Bridge on June 6 agreed that the bridge should be replaced and not repaired.

n Announced that most of the residents who attended a meeting on July 3 with U.S. Postal Service officials about re-opening a post office in Wickhaven on property being used for a playground were opposed to the idea.

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