Lower Macungie Township's preliminary draft of the 2014 budget was presented at the Board of Commissioners meeting Sept. 19 with a recommendation to implement a small, but they say necessary, real estate tax. The proposed rate will be one-third of a mill which will mean $33 for a $100,000 home or $99 for a $300,000 home.

The township has been relying on budget surpluses and the sale of assets for the last five to 10 years to balance the general/ capital project funds. This proposal is to be used, solely, for capital projects. The proposal would bring the township over $1 million.

The last time the township had a real estate tax was 2002. The population in the township at the time was over 19,000. The township's present population is over 31,000. With the rapid growth and recession of 2007-2009, new housing, housing sales and the leveling off of the earned income tax, the impact was felt by the township.

The township maintains 29 parks, eight baseball fields, eight tennis courts, seven soccer fields and four volleyball courts.

In addition, there is 1,000 acres of township owned property, 131 miles of roads, 26 miles of biking and walking paths, three community centers, a library and over $6 million in equipment. Further information about the budget can be found on the Lower Macungie Township website.

Guy Bieber, sewage enforcement officer, presented information on the proposed ordinance for septic tank maintenance. The ordinance will seek removal of sewage every five years. There is also regulation, inspection procedures, maintenance and rehabilitation information within this ordinance. Bieber said it is in the property owner's best interest to do this as damage can be prevented and, ultimately, save money for costly repairs. The cost is $300 for pumping.

The trees that needed to be removed on Princeton Road have been removed.

Lehigh Country Club is seeking to make some minor expansion. The plan has been recommended for approval.

The Willow Lane Elementary School walking project is nearing completion with the installation of the flashing school signals for speed reduction during the time they are flashing. One of the newer characteristics of these lights is they can be controlled to not flash during holidays.

The request to increase the price for requesting duplicate tax bills was approved. The price was increased from $2 to $3.

David Miller has made a request for use of Camp Olympic for the Cyclocross event Nov. 30.

A meeting with the consultant about the Hamilton Boulevard Corridor will be held 8 a.m. Oct. 1.

There will be a meeting Nov. 12 at the community center about Gary Cordner's police study.

A shredding event is scheduled for Oct. 5. This was requested by State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-134th. It is open to all.

The railroad tracks were closed in Macungie 8 a.m. Sept. 20. This is in addition to Brookside Road having two bridges under construction which allows for one lane of traffic. The commissioners expressed concern over this but it was determined PennDOT and Norfolk Southern operate on their own schedules.

The bid award for renovation for the new meeting room was awarded to CC Construction. The bid was $43,370. The bidding was done online which will be the new method for bidding for any project.

A stop sign has been requested for Orchid and Riverbend roads. There is presently a stop sign on Orchid which intersects with Riverbend and another on Riverbend heading toward Cedar Crest Boulevard. A traffic study was completed and the action is recommended.