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VOLUME 16, NUMBER 9
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Love Kidder Twp gets delay in warehouse approval Story & photo by Seth Isenberg Kidder Township supervisors saw a full house, overflowing into the hall, for their February 27 monthly meeting. Members of Love Kidder Township (LKT) attended to speak about slowing the approval process for a third warehouse. Ahead of speaking, LKT presented a 30-page document to supervisors, made up of 19 pages of LKT comments and challenges about the Trucking Terminals, a five-page engineer’s review of the proposed third terminal, plus five pages of drawings from the project. As part of public comment, eight members of the group spoke out opposing truck terminals in general, and the specific 420,000 square-foot building being proposed for construction now (Route 940 at the Francis Walter Road). These citizens were uniformly opposed to the agenda item to grant conditional approval to the Blue Ridge Real Estate – sponsored project. A speaker described an eight truck backup at the bottom of the hill during the last snowstorm, mostly blocking the road for everyone. (Trucks also got stuck on the shallow hill going through East Side during that storm.) About these comments, the LKT document, and a
petition that is circulating, board of supervisors chairman Ray Gluck announced that the board wants to hold a public workshop about truck terminals, at a date to be announced. Citizen Raylene Eckley is hoping to re-start the Kidder Township Historical Society. She hopes the group can meet again at the Albrightsville School House. Al Blue, fire chief of the Albrightsville Volunteer Fire Company, reported that their new tanker truck has arrived and is in service, and the new ‘squirt’ (fire tower) truck is due in by later this week. Bills of $158,618 were approved. Kidder Twp. will advertise for proposals for tree trimming along North Lake Drive, Fern Street and Harmony Avenue. Supervisors welcomed Cindy Norato as the township’s new treasurer. She is also secretary, and was serving in this role and as timekeeper during this meeting. The Graystone Preserve conditional approval of their final land development was approved unanimously. The Wisser minor subdivision was given approval to use blue ink to sign documents, versus the required black. When Blue Ridge Real Estate (BRRE) came up for discussion of their preliminary land development, chairman
Gluck asked them to consider returning in a month. BRRE principals, their lawyer and engineer met outside the meeting briefly, then returned to ask to be able to present about the waivers being requested. They were invited to proceed. Chris McDermott, engineer, from Reilly and Associates, explained the 420,000 square foot building and how it fits on the lot. The pad site and parking is built into the hillside on the east, and material from the site will be used as pad material for
the building and parking lots as they reach westward. The driveway into the site cuts a “v” into the hill, downward to the building. Truck parking and loading are north and south, and employee parking at the east and west. There is an emergency access gated road at the east of the property that reaches to Route 940. All traffic is to go in the main road, which will have a lefthand turning lane on Route 940 from the west. The site has two open ponds for stormwater, and four “spring rain gardens” –
three located alongside the building. Sewage will go to the Jack Frost treatment facility, connecting into the line built for both this project and the warehouse across the street. Waivers requested include accommodating the local firefighters by providing two access stairways to the roof, and a standpipe with fireman access at ground level, and also on the roof. The project is asking for a waiver to go to 25’ tall light poles, versus 20’. See KIDDER, page 6