Heidelberg supervisors' December 2012 meeting was dominated by resident comments and complaints.

Residents Carl Brein-inger and Charles Perich questioned the board about yard waste disposal.

"What are we doing about the yard waste?" Breininger asked.

He was referring to the lack of a collection site since the county closed its facility in 2011.

Supervisor Steve Bachman replied there was not enough interest to justify providing service for this.

Supervisor Forrest Wessner III said it would have cost $25,000 to provide the service, but Breininger said that was not true.

Perich said the $25,000 was only to purchase the grinding equipment.

Breininger referred to a letter the township received from Washington Township in October 2011.

The letter stated they would arrange for Stone Haven Supply to bring in a grinder for one day at a cost of $2,000, and offered to share the service with Heidelberg, with the cost to be divided equally.

Heidelberg replied saying an estimated 25 residents would use the service, resulting in a cost of $40 to $64 per resident, depending on whether the ground material was retained by Stone Haven or by the townships for use as mulch.

Breininger and Perich had copies of the letters.

Breininger asked what people were supposed to do with all the downed trees and branches from the hurricane.

"Don't these people pay taxes?" he asked.

"It's a balancing act," Wessner replied. "We're not a suburban township, and we're not that rural either."

The rationale, he said, was that when you have trees, they are your trees.

Arnold Metzger then said Stone Haven is now accepting the material free.

"So there's your solution," Bachman said.

Metzger objected this was not the case at the time, and the location was inconvenient.

The discussion ended with Wessner asking Township Administrator Janice Bortz draft a letter to Washington Township asking if the sharing option is still available and open for discussion.

Emergency management was also an issue for some of those present.

Erik Lynch asked if there was some place residents could go in an emergency, if they have no electricity.

Bachman said there was an emergency resource manual.

"Where is that place?" Metzger asked. "Me and [Wessner] had a conversation.

He said after the recent storm, when residents were without electricity, the generator in the firehouse was running the whole time.

"There were cots available years ago, and they were sold," Metzger said. "They're not there anymore."

Bachman offered his view:

"If you live out here in the country, you should get yourself a generator," Bachman said. "Look to your neighbors. They're very helpful."

Bachman later told The Press the manual is geared more to large-scale emergencies, and any emergency facilities would need to be manned with volunteers to be operational.

Wessner said board members posted their phone numbers on the door, but received no calls.

Metzger also complained he had no water.

Resident Teena Bailey said it was not just in rural areas that people suffered, but many in urban areas did not have help either.

"It's a question of how much do you want to depend on government," Bailey said. "We had water that was pumped with solar, and I offered it to [Metzger]. Next time he can come and get it from us."

The agenda also included consideration of light duty for Roadmaster Kevin Huber, who sustained a wrist injury.

An executive session was called to discuss the matter, and light duty was approved.

Thomas and Sally Hoffman's addition to the Agricultural Security Area was approved, as was the contract renewal for the Sanctuary at Haafsville.

The Sanctuary will pick up stray animals at a cost of $50 per cat and $110 per dog, with an annual cap of $500.