The focus of East Allen Township’s Aug. 10 workshop meeting was the recreation budget.

Township Manager Deborah Seiple presented the details as they exist. According to Seiple, the five-year plan is due for renewal. She proposed the recreation board review the existing plan, make any changes and move forward. The plan review process requires input from Hanover Engineering and the township’s planning commission.

Once completed, there is a mandatory public hearing prior to approval.

Bicentennial Park improvements have been started. The 24 acres purchased last year were designated as passive recreation.

“There is a walking trail that winds through the property. It opened to the public in July. The loop trail has good views and active wildlife,” Seiple said.

The July opening was required to meet the dictates of a grant the township received to construct the trail. Seiple reported she received requests for Eagle Scout projects along the trail and will consider the projects once details are presented.

The board of supervisors was asked to consider an alternative to the recreation fee for new homes.

“We were asked by developers who are building large tracts to consider a project that the developer could complete in lieu of the recreation fee,” Seiple said.

The process is practiced in several nearby municipalities and has proven to be effective.

The board will take Seiple’s request under advisement. The plan is to use developers to improve the recently acquired recreational property on Weaversville Road.

In other news, township Engineer James Milot reported on sinkholes at the North Halbea Street bridge.

“It does appear to be in a similar spot as the last sinkhole,” Milot said.

According to Milot, the last fix in 2010 may not have been extensive enough. He asked the board for emergency approvals for repairs to the bridge. The plan is to fill the latest hole with a slurry mix of concrete, cap the troubled arch area and seal the area. The board gave Milot the go-ahead.

East Allen Township is considering using the Hanover Township (Northampton County) Zoning Board of Appeals for zoning concerns. The township does not want to incur the cost of a local board at this time.

Milot notified council of the upcoming Freight Advisory Committee meetings to be held by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC). The meetings are designed to advise municipalities of traffic patterns and changes to traffic volume based on projected warehouse development.

Chairman Roger Unangst indicated the corridor for Route 22 and Route 33 was three-quarters of a mile on either side of the highway.

“With the changes we’ve seen and improvements in state highways, the LVPC is looking at projects up to three miles from the highways,” Milot explained.

Unangst, adamant about his definition, said, “You can tell (LVPC Executive Director) Becky Bradley that she is wrong. The definition has not changed.”

Bradley is due to address the board at its meeting Sept. 14.