Wharton supervisors address road safety
WHARTON TWP. – Road safety issues were the main item of business at Monday’s supervisors meeting. Township solicitor Denise Simon reported that Garbart Engineering has been contacted to perform a study on the intersection of Braddock Road and Fike Hollow Road to determine if a stop sign is needed.
At last month’s meeting, a resident asked if a stop sign could be placed at the intersection as traffic from Fike Hollow Road didn’t stop at the intersection but instead would pass through it quickly.
There had been a stop sign on Braddock Road but has come up missing, it was noted.
Simon said that once the study is completed and an ordinance in place, the sign can be put up and future problems concerning the sign being removed can be treated as a more serious offense under the law.
Concerning safety, supervisor Jack Lewis said that resident Richard Rosensteel had asked if a “school bus stop ahead” sign could be placed on Route 40 near his restaurant.
Rosensteel told supervisors that when his children get on the bus there has been problems getting traffic to slow and stop.
Lewis noted that the area does have a problem for speeding and that drivers should be made aware of the stop.
Supervisors voted to send a letter to PennDOT requesting permission to erect signs before the school year resumes in late August.
Moving to other business, supervisors voted to place 25 percent of the taxes paid by Nemacolin Woodlands Corporation under protest.
The amount set aside into a special fund is $6,907.80. Simon explained that the taxes paid under protest are from 1998 as the resort is able to file for an appeal on three years at a time.
The township is well used to the process, she said, as the resort has filed appeals regarding the tax assessment value on the property in the past requiring escrowed accounts to be established until the process is concluded for the years in question.
Before concluding, the board moved into executive session to discuss potential pending legal issues associated with the Nemacolin Woodlands appeal and personnel issues.
No action was taken on either when the meeting resumed.