At Hanover Council’s regular meeting Dec. 5, township Manager Christopher Garges asked council to move forward with a proposal to install an alarm system at the township’s municipal building.

“There have been several instances where municipal employees were attacked in municipal buildings. It is a cause for concern,” he said.

The latest shooting was in Paradise Township. Garges asked council to install a panic button at the entry spot in the lobby of the municipal building. There is bulletproof glass between the receptionist and the lobby, but there is no way to alert authorities if there is a problem.

Councilman Bob Heimbecker, who is the general manager of Altronics, provided the township with a custom solution.

“We wanted something independent of our present alarm system. Altronics was the only company that could deliver the solution we wanted,” Garges said.

The wireless system acts as a panic button that can summon assistance. The township does not have a police force and relies on state police for emergencies.

Council received an estimate from a geophysical engineer to investigate the substrate along Troxell Road.

Troxell Road has been subject to sinkholes over the past few years.

Troxell Road is scheduled for repairs in 2019. Council wants to be sure the underlying surface is clear of any sinkholes before the road is resurfaced.

There have been water leaks that some contend are the cause of the problem. To confirm the substrate, the township hired a firm to probe the underground with a combination of ground-penetrating radar and technical analysis. The report indicated there were cracks in the strata but could not identify any specifics. The report called for further exploration by a geophysical engineer. Garges presented the estimated $15,000 cost to council for consideration.

The township’s capital budget includes improvements to the sanitary sewer at Valley Plaza. The clay pipe sewer line is about 40 years old and is near the end of its service life. Township Engineer Albert Kortze has estimated the cost of the improvement at $475,000. The project is expected to be started in the spring of 2019.