The Aug. 21 Upper Milford Township meeting opened with Vice Chairperson Angela Ashbrook running the meeting in the absence of Chair Dan Mohr.

Public comment opened with Paul Ulicny sharing concerns his yard at Batman Road and Ridge Road is being flooded every time it rains. Ulicny hopes the township engineers can examine the area of concern and consider moving the pipe to the other side, adding a drainage basin or some other alternative to take care of the stormwater runoff.

Every year Ulicny and his wife lay mulch to help absorb the runoff around their burning bushes but the runoff carries the mulch away every time. According to Ulicny, this flooding is not unique to heavy rains. “It happens every time it rains,” he said. He said road crews’ efforts to fix it have been unsuccessful.

Supervisor John Zgura asked Ulicny how long this problem has occurred and Ulicny said it has been ongoing for decades. Ulicny mentioned his neighbor did not want to do anything about it and he respected his neighbor’s wishes. However, this neighbor recently died and now Ulicny would like to have something done about this. He said his family cannot enjoy hosting parties because even with the slightest of rainfall, it appears that family and friends would have to jump puddles to get onto his driveway. When the area is dry, there is much loose sediment throughout the yard and road left behind from the runoff.

Township Manager Bud Carter said he will come out to look at the issue and meet with Ulicny to discuss. Ulicny appreciated any help from the township regarding this stormwater runoff issue.

In new business, planning coordinator Brian Miller shared a letter regarding the over county cap cost request for the Dillingersville Road Preservation property. Zgura noted he was not in favor of the county having access to this land because they can develop it. He wanted the township to get involved in this and made a motion to pay $1,100 per acre for a total of approximately $15,000 for the 13.15 acres located in Upper Milford Township.

While the county absorbs most of the cost for the 62 acres located in Lower Milford Township, Ashbrook said she “did not want to see this property become another Kay Development.”

The motion passed and Miller will take this offer to the county.

Also in new business, Carter shared a letter from Township Engineer Jeffrey Ott regarding the bid offer for the culvert replacement at Salem Bible Church Road. The board approved accepting the bid of $253,542 from J. Phillips Excavating & Hauling, LLC which is a family-owned business located in Hamburg. Carter noted this money is not coming from the budget. “We have the funds to cover this from the COVID money.”

Lauren Haponski shared updates for the recreation committee noting Jasper Day will return for 2026. She also mentioned the number of children participating in youth sports this year has increased but the youth association does not have enough fields for the children to practice. The youth association is currently paying $40 a day/$200 a week to practice at the fields at Emmaus Community Park.

Zgura encouraged Haponski to check with Macungie Park to see if they could work with them to use their fields. Secretary/Treasurer Jessi O’Donald noted costs involved are necessary for maintaining the fields. Haponski questioned if it is possible to use East Penn School District fields since the youth participating attend the schools. Zgura said high school sports will always have priority over the district fields and they are already heavily utilized. Haponski was encouraged to see the number of youth getting involved in the sports program increasing but now the challenge is to be able to help the youth association find locations for the various groups to practice.

Finally, Haponski shared a walk around was held at the new Arrowhead Park near Jasper Ridge. Residents appeared to enjoy the basketball courts. Haponski wanted to get the word out there is a memorial bench program and there is a need for more benches in this park. She mentioned possibly getting a pavilion and bocce court. A survey is in the works to get a sense of what residents might want to see at this new park.

Ashbrook asked Haponski for an update about the progress with Kay Builders in her neighborhood. Haponski informed her the streets appear completed at Mink and Stole roads. However, Benjamin Court will not be done until the end of September.

“Sidewalks, curbs and driveways are still dug up,” she said. She added “they did lay some cement today, so that’s good. It’s progress.”

Ashbrook asked about the Vera Cruz Homecoming event Aug. 17. O’Donald said participation was lower this year than last year. She said they need volunteers and six residents try to put on this annual event noon to 8 p.m. The extreme heat and threat of rain could have played a factor in the lower attendance. She appealed to the community to reach out to be a part of this annual event. There was a mention of possibly tying this homecoming to Jasper Day.

Zgura closed the meeting wishing Chair Dan Mohr “a speedy recovery.” The next meeting will take place 7 p.m. Sept. 4 in the township building.