At its year-end meeting Dec. 15, East Allen Township Board of Supervisors passed the 2017 budget without requiring any tax increase.

Chairman Roger Unangst corrected an agenda item scheduled for January. Rockefeller Group proposed a warehouse development along Weaversville Road. The firm has requested time on the agenda for Jan. 11 for a presentation.

“That is not the way we do this,” Unangst explained. “We passed an ordinance that allows warehouses as a special exception. On Jan. 11, we will discuss the idea and see if there is any consensus to consider a special exception. “We make the decisions on warehouse projects, not the other way around,” he said.

The agenda item will be for the board to decide if there is interest in the project.

Jim Birdsall, the township’s former engineer, presented details on the public sewer agreements for a Toll Brothers project. The new housing development will have public sewer and water. To meet the requirements, Bethlehem Authority and Hanover Township, Northampton County, will play a vital role. East Allen Township does not want to be responsible for the water or sewer system. At the board’s last meeting, Supervisor Mark Schwartz was adamant about allocating funds, so the township would not be required to support the project with additional hires. Birdsall presented the details of the project.

The end result is the developer will provide funding during the initial buildup. The water and sewer are proprietary to the property and will be run by Bethlehem Authority. According to Birdsall, the authority will charge its standard rates and include a surcharge for additional expenses. The Toll Brothers system requires a pumping station and access to sewer mains in Hanover Township. After a review of the cost details and how the system will be billed to residents, Schwartz was satisfied that costs were adequately identified. Residents at the Toll Brothers project will pay a significantly higher rate than other residents. Birdsall estimated the additional costs at $94 per quarter in addition to the standard rate of approximately $50. Toll Brothers will justify costs in its homeowner’s association agreement.

In other news, Solicitor Joseph Piperato announced all paperwork is completed for the acquisition of property along Weaversville Road. The township plans to use the former detention center to expand its park facilities.

CodeMaster Inspection Services made a presentation on its function and the role of the building code official. CodeMaster plans to introduce a new building code official for the township in 2017.

Recreation Director Chuck Frantz gave the board an update on the status of activities projected for 2017.

“We are seeing a really big uptick in the number of kids registering for our soccer program. I’m juggling the schedule to make sure we can accommodate all the teams,” he said.

Applications open the second week in January for soccer and baseball.

Township Engineer James Milot informed the board a multi-nodal grant intended to aid in funding improvements at the Frank’s Corner intersection was denied.

Milot asked the board for additional funds for sinkhole repairs at the Halbea Street Bridge.

“We expanded the scope of the job beyond a simple fix. Based on what we saw with the footer, we recommend pressure grouting,” he said.

The board agreed to the increased cost.

“We only want to do this once and have it fixed,” Unangst said.