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JUNE 23-29, 2022
Bath Borough Council awards new Sanitation contract, Sans recycling
Submitted by BRADFORD FLYNN Bath Borough Council held their bi-monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 15 at 6 p.m. to award a new sanitation contract. The current municipal waste and recycling contract expires at the end of this year and was a three-year contract with three mutually agreed upon one-year extensions. The current hauler, Waste Management, declined to extend the current contract given current market conditions. The borough received two bids: one from JP Mascaro and Whitetail Disposal. Waste Management declined to submit a bid, stating a new weight limit restriction imposed on certain borough alleys, among other things, made bidding the contract prohibitive for their company this time around. Bath’s waste and recycling bid specs contained three options: Option A- maintain current service levels of weekly waste collection with weekly collection of recyclables. Option B- maintain weekly collection of waste, but bi-weekly collection of recyclables. Finally, Option C- maintain weekly collection of waste, but eliminate the collection of recyclables. With current market conditions, council wanted to see the variable cost swings between the options. Bath’s current waste and recycling fee for 2022 (excluding the borough’s administrative and other program costs) is based at $291.31. Whitetail’s per year, per resi-
dential unit bid was as follows: Option A- $541.51, Option B- $479.90, and Option C$396.66. Residents would have seen a price increase of 86% for current services, an increase of 65% if switching to a bi-weekly recycling contract, or an increase of 36% to drop recycling entirely. JP Mascaro’s per year, per residential unit bid was as follows: Option A- $575.01, Option B- $501.88, and Option C$374.45. Residents would have seen a price increase of 97% for current services, an increase of 72% if switching to a bi-weekly recycling contract, or an increase of 22% to drop recycling entirely. Keeping the same level of service from this contract to the next was a jump of roughly 92% opposed to a 29% increase if recycling was not included in the next contract. In dollars, (not including other program costs) it was the difference of paying $266.95 more to maintain current services or paying $94.25 more to collect waste and eliminate recyclinga price swing of $172.70. For a majority of council members, this made all the difference. Before council could decide, JP Mascaro raised an issue with Whitetail’s bid proposal, claiming material defects in which the borough could not accept Whitetail’s bid. JP Mascaro asserted Whitetail’s bid bond was erroneous and that the hauler did not include proper language that the borough’s waste and recycling Continued on page 3
50 cents
Northampton School Board Discusses special education Plan, mask mandates, Community meeting By SAVANNAH BROWN On Monday, June 13, the Northampton School Board met to discuss the Special Education Plan, the NASD revised Health and Safety Plan for the 20222023 school year, the upcoming community meeting for the Route 329/Seemsville Road elementary school, and took a recess to deescalate a situation in place of having a resident escorted from the premises. NASD Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik expressed that the Northampton Area High School
graduation on June 3 was a welldeserved evening for students and congratulated them for their hard work, especially over the past two years during the pandemic. School board Vice President John Becker reported that the 329 Leadership Team meeting has met three times since their last board meeting where they reviewed details about the building such as PEX piping instead of copper piping, alternative producers of the chillers for the heating and air-conditioning system, alternative types of floor tiles,
possible HVAC systems, back-up generators and where to put them on the property, utilities, water service coming from Bethlehem, sewer services coming from Allen Township and Northampton, natural gas provided through the JW Land Company, loading docks and placement for them, storage areas for maintenance equipment, increasing the size of the cafeteria, gymnasium size, display areas, parking areas and lighting, and tree placement for Continued on page 6
Allen Township residents Petition for meeting with PennDOT on Indian Trail Road Bridge replacement By KERI LINDENMUTH With proposed construction scheduled to begin later this summer on the Indian Trail Road Bridge over the Hokendauqua Creek, over two dozen households submitted a petition to Allen Township supervisors requesting a formal meeting with PennDOT. When formal plans were introduced by the state in 2020, COVID-19 forced the cancellation of a public informational meeting. The bridge, on a state-owned road, is scheduled to be replaced
and widened to accommodate increased traffic spurred on by new warehouse development in the area. The state road, unlike township roads, is open to tractortrailer traffic. Many representatives from the 29 households who signed the petition were present at the supervisors’ June 14 public meeting. They voiced their concerns for public safety, health, and property values. “What we need is a meeting to allow these people…[to] have their say,” said resident Bob
Hosking. “They are here because there are many concerns…some of them are life-threatening… some of them are quality of life issues.” Hosking cited dangerous Continued on page 2
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