During the June 5 council meeting, Hanover Township Councilman Bruce Paulus asked council to consider keeping the township's polling location at the Han-Le-Co fire station.

In the past, the municipal office served as the polling center. When construction of the new municipal building began, the polling location moved to the fire station.

There were competing assessments of the change. Paulus contended that voters indicated they were happy with the change and desired to make it permanent while Councilman Randall Atkinson said voters want the polling place back at the municipal building, which is more convenient for voters in the Chestnut Grove subdivision.

Councilman William Kovacs made a motion to reestablish the polling place at the municipal building, but the motion died for lack of a second. Council will study the situation in more detail in the future.

Tim Benyo, chief clerk at the Lehigh County Voter Registration Office, told The Press Tuesday it is the purview of his office, and not that of the municipalities, to secure a voter polling site for elections. He said the polling site was moved from the municipal building to the fire station during "the last three or four elections" while the municipal building was under construction.

"We are very happy with the fire company location," he said. "The township said they didn't want us back."

Benyo said he was told by someone in the township administration earlier this year the township was not interested in returning the polling site to the municipal building.

In other election matter, Joseph Heimbecker, a candidate for council in the recent primary election, requested the body address improprieties alleged to have occurred during the election.

Specific guidelines are established by the Lehigh County Board of Elections that govern the actions of individuals in and around a polling place. According to Heimbecker, some incumbents violated the guidelines.

The council did not address the complaint.

Atkinson contended, and council agreed, that the matter was an issue to be addressed by the board of elections.

The position of judge of elections is an elected position. When no one from the community runs for the position, as in Hanover Township, the board of elections appoints a judge.

Also at the meeting, township Manager Sandra Pudliner clarified comments she made at a council meeting last month on a preliminary proposal advanced by the Rockefeller Group to construct a two million-square-foot warehouse on Willowbrook Road in Allen Township.

Hanover Township is involved because a portion of Willowbrook is maintained by the township. Willowbrook will be the main access route to the warehouses.

PennDOT engineers, Allen Township representatives, an airport negotiating team and Lehigh County representatives attended a meeting held last week. Pudliner and council Chairman Frank Dreisbach represented Hanover Township. According to Pudliner, the group clarified its traffic assumptions.

"They are looking at 2,800 trips a day," she said. "Some of the trips would be box trucks and they indicated that much of the traffic would be in off hours."

Based on information presented during the meeting, Pudliner assumed that Allen Township is in favor of the proposal.

"I think there is a tie-in to the airport, maybe with the airport as a shipping hub," said Pudliner.

Airport officials had preliminary plans over a decade ago to turn the airport into an airfreight hub, but the proposal never gained acceptance.

Solicitor Jackson Eaton noted that Hanover Township has limited ability to stop the project.

Atkinson asked if the township could refuse to upgrade Willowbrook based on the increased traffic load. Eaton said it was possible but, as the road deteriorated, it would be the township's responsibility to make repairs.

"The proposal from The Rockefeller Group is that they will incur the expense to upgrade Willowbrook and Race Street," said Eaton.

Pudliner speculated Willowbrook Road and Race Street could be expanded to four-lane roadways. Negotiations are ongoing.

Atkinson asked Pudliner to contact surrounding municipalities to make sure they are aware of the potential disruption that the project could cause.