At Hanover Township Council’s meeting March 20, Jeffry Mouer, director of public works, outlined the township’s programs for 2019.

“Street cleaning will start in April, so residents need to be aware of parking restrictions. Signs are posted in each neighborhood along with the times. The schedule is posted on the website,” he said.

Mouer has a couple of projects on the agenda. One priority is to remove the aging fountain at the veterans memorial in Canal Park. A new fountain would be a great expense to the township. Mouer suggested using plantings in a well-designed vase. The waterfall in Canal Park would remain untouched. As an adjunct to the memorial, Mouer and Councilman Robert Heimbecker suggested a tree-planting program.

“Once, chestnuts grew all over the area, but they were killed off by a blight,” Heimbecker said. “A new disease-resistant variety is available. We want to plant the new chestnut breed.”

The trees would be planted throughout the park to honor veterans.

A concrete-crushing machine is scheduled to turn up at B. Braun’s construction site on Marcon Boulevard. B. Braun is extending its main plant and removing the concrete floor from the old Sure-Fit plant. The company has a Department of Environmental Protection permit for the machine.

Township Engineer Albert Kortze reported he completed an assessment of the sewer lines under the parking lot at Valley Plaza. The shop owners in the plaza were reluctant to replace sewer lines because the lot had recently been repaved. Kortze’s evaluation gave the lines another two or three years of life. Funds for the sewer lines will be diverted to manhole work where lines join Bethlehem Authority and outside the township’s pumping station near the municipal building. The manhole near the municipal building is most critical. It has sunk almost 6 inches. Kortze confirmed to Heimbecker that reworking the manhole should not be a problem with all the construction planned for Airport Road.

In conjunction with manhole projects and pump stations, the township instituted an alarm system that alerts staff when a high concentration of gas accumulates in a pump station. The system monitors all the pump stations. The exterior lights are green for normal conditions, yellow for potential buildups and red for dangerous buildups. Staff are notified when conditions are yellow and red. All the lights are on the exterior of the pumps, so they are visible to anyone passing by the stations.

Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong attended the meeting and fielded questions from council and the floor.

A couple of significant events are on the township calendar. The annual Easter egg hunt is scheduled to start 1 p.m. April 14 behind the Han-Le-Co Fire Station, 1001 Postal Road, Allentown.

On April 14, Rockefeller Group will present a status update on its improvement project along Race Street and Airport Road. Widening the pavement is expected during the summer months.