The Lower Milford Township Board of Supervisors met 6:30 p.m. May 21 for its regular meeting.

First up on the agenda, the board approved both the April 16 regular meeting and May 7 workshop meeting minutes. In similar fashion, the township treasurer’s report and the authorization to pay May’s bills were approved with no comment or question.

The April staff reports were available to the public for review and the supervisors commented favorably upon several of the details of and structure to the reports. A question arose specific to the challenges with Cintas called out in the manager’s report. Elizabeth Lembach, township manager, explained the township’s contract with Cintas has ended; however, there are outstanding fees and unresolved charges which haven’t been addressed on account of Cintas not responding to persistent email communication. Lembach has already attempted in-person communication and has committed to trying again before getting lawyers involved.

Under old business and after further discussion on the wheel loader had since commenced during the May 7 workshop meeting, the board moved to purchase the CASE wheel loader based on the quote from Powerco. With a $28,500 rebate for the old loader, proposed warranties, purchasing extra hours and a planned maintenance contract, the grand total came to just shy of $200,000. In order to extend the life of the equipment, Ed Lounsberry reinforced the need for daily maintenance and upkeep by public works even outside of the planned maintenance intervals.

In honor of America250, Susan LaBrie presented many ideas for celebratory events within the township.

The board agreed upon honoring veterans and celebrating Lower Milford Township pride at Limeport Stadium June 19. That day will feature a game between both of the home teams, where veterans can attend the game for free and be recognized. More details will be released as soon as the board is also working to ascertain donations from local organizations in order to support township resident admission as well.

Under new business, the board motioned to ratify an addendum to the Maplewood Agreement. There were concerns predominantly regarding the quality of the job and the still evident cracks in the road; however, not signing the addendum during the meeting could mean that they would have to move forward with a hearing. In the best interest of trying to get the cracks still fixed under contract before June 26, the board agreed to keep it moving and ratify the addendum.

Also under new business, the board agreed for the zoning board to proceed with a couple zoning hearing board applications without representation from the board present. Additionally, the conversation continued on making the township website ADA complaint. Lembach announced the 2028 deadline as a positive motivator to drive other necessary improvements to the website as well. She will be reaching out to get a couple of quotes from other website platforms outside of Wix.

The board conversed about the recent uptick in presence of mini dirt bikes being driven and causing damage to township building grounds. Lembach explained the advice of their insurance company has been to add signage particularly advising not to climb on the rocks, milling piles, etc. There was some back and forth on whether to also include skateboards and non-motorized bikes in the prohibition signage; however, they chose to move forward with the signage verbiage advised by the insurance company as a starting point.

Under correspondence, Ellen Koplin requested for the specifics of the various upcoming PPL projects to be put on the website and/or township Facebook page. This way, community members have easier access to view the affected areas of their community.

Lounsberry questioned the board regarding the electronic speed limit signs throughout the township as he indicated that several of the current positions are ineffective. The supervisors clarified they are required to also be placed on signs which currently have speed limits signs which can be seen as a limiting factor. At the conclusion of the conversation, the board agreed to request public works to come up with a biweekly plan to rotate the position of the signs in order to increase their effectiveness.

As a general reminder, the Lower Milford Township board of supervisors meetings are also being streamed live. While no participation or interaction is permitted by remote viewers, links for streaming are available on the website and Facebook page.

So far, Chair Tim Cougle has indicated positive feedback from community viewers since inception. The Lower Milford Township board of supervisors will meet for the next regular meeting 6:30 p.m. June 18.