Rostraver Township supervisors approve zoning change
ROSTRAVER TWP. – The township supervisors Wednesday approved a zoning change for a man and woman who plan to expand a business in the village of Webster. Stephen Morgan and Carolyn Carpenter received a change in their zoning classification from B-2 retail business to I-2 heavy industry to expand their excavating business along Route 906.
“I have an excavating business in the area, and we employ people from the township as well as other employees. We want to continue to do that, but we need room to expand,” said Morgan.
He said he wanted to use two lots for office and storage purposes only.
“The roads there are not adequate for heavy machinery,” said Morgan. “We want to keep that equipment where it is right now. We only want to use the office building as an office for our building.”
President George Martin asked Morgan to agree to use the space only for the purposes he stated if the board approved the property for I-2 use.
“The stipulations for those two lots are that right now they are for use of an office building and the garage is for housing of equipment and trucks,” said Martin.
Solicitor Timothy Maatta said that in case Morgan should want to use the property for anything else, he would have to gain approval from the board of commissioners before doing so.
“If it is approved, I’ll gladly make that agreement,” said Morgan. “I’m not going to restrict the township in any way.”
Morgan said he did not foresee any retail business moving into Webster, which is why he believed the rezoning should not be a problem.
The board passed the zoning change as approved by the township’s planning and zoning commission, provided that Morgan adheres to all stipulations.
In another matter, Larry White, president of the Experimental Aircraft Association, appeared before the board to request use of Rostraver Airport for airport-related service. The organization plans to construct an addition to its existing hangar.
The board had previously been informed that White was requesting to use the addition for club meetings as well as storage, but White said they would need space for storage only.
“At one time, we didn’t have any place else to have meetings, but we now have had offers for the use of other facilities,” said White. “We now can leave the building as storage for airplane parts.”
The board approved the use of the addition for storage.
In other matters, the board voted to purchase a Crown Victoria police car through Central Westmoreland COG from Day Fleet Sales at $23,205, although Commissioner Donald Yoder said he believed it would be in their best interest to purchase a vehicle later.
“We still don’t know what the insurance will be for that car, and if we don’t carry money over into next year, we’ll be in trouble,” said Yoder. “I’m just asking the board to control spending a little bit.”
Yoder said he believed the township had enough police vehicles for the number of police they had on duty at any given time. He also questioned the rest of the board if it would be possible to purchase a vehicle that was less expensive.
“We did check into that,” said Martin. “The changes that would have to be made in the vehicle, such as bars separating people from the officers, would be much more difficult in the less expensive vehicles.”
The board voted to buy the vehicle now since it could save the township more money in the long run.
Also, with Halloween approaching, the board voted to hold trick-or-treat day Saturday, Oct. 26 from 3 to 5 p.m.
“On trick-or-treat night, we ask citizens to be very careful,” said Commissioner Nick Lorenzo. “I hope that adults will accompany children, and I’m sure we’ll have police on duty so that everyone will be safe.”