Press And Journal 9/23/15

Page 1

Press And Journal

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

VOLUME 125 - NO. 38

24 PAGES

75 CENTS

MIDDLETOWN

Council approves substation lease deal

Ready for a

By Dan Miller

Press And Journal Staff

Middletown Borough Council approved an agreement on Monday, Sept. 21 whereby a private developer will build a new consolidated electric substation for the borough as part of the Woodland Hills development, then lease the substation back to the town. Council’s 5-1 vote in favor of the lease agreement with developers URI Group of Silver Spring, Md., is subject to the deal being reviewed by borough Solicitor Adam Santucci, who was not present at the meeting. The original motion to approve the lease, put on the table by Councilor John Brubaker, did not call for solicitor review of the agreement. The provision for solicitor review was added at the urging of Councilor Ben Kapenstein and Mayor James H. Curry III, both of whom said that Santucci had not seen the lease proposal that was coming before council for a vote. “He’s not comfortable with the legality of it as of right now,” said Kapenstein, who was the only councilor of those present to vote against approving the lease. During a break in the meeting, URI Managing Director David Stubbs sought to correct what he called “misinformation” that under the proposal Please See COUNCIL Page A6

Turnpike rest stop supervisor charged with theft By Dan Miller

Press And Journal Staff

A Swatara Twp. woman in charge of paying the bills for the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Highspire Travel Plaza was charged by state police with allegedly making more than $170,000 in bogus purchases over a three-year period. In many cases, Carol Lynn Eubank purchased items using company funds and then made money by re-selling the items or getting reimbursed for them, according to court records filed by state police with District Justice David Judy. Police allege that Eubank used company money from November 2012 through November 2014 to buy $142,914.23 worth of toner from Quill.com for a printer that was no longer used in Carol Lynn her office. She then used Eubank company funds to ship the toner to a business in Utah that buys back unopened or unused toners, according to state police. The Utah company reimbursed Eubank up to 60 percent of the retail value of each toner, state police said. For 14 years, Eubank was employed by HMS Host, according to state police, and her primary responsibility was to control the billing and pay the bills for the Highspire Travel Plaza. State police said they were alerted to the alleged thefts in December by a loss prevention manager who worked for HMS Host. Besides the toner, Eubank also bought U.S.

Please See Page B8

MAKEOVER

Press and Journal Photos by Jim Lewis

Middletown’s business district could soon undergo its much-anticipated makeover now that construction bids have been awarded.

Authority awards bids for downtown renovations By Eric Wise

M

Press And Journal Staff

iddletown’s downtown improvement project, with a price tag topping $4 million, may start moving forward following the approval of a winning bid on Tuesday, Sept. 15 awarded by the Middletown Industrial and Commercial Development Authority. The authority accepted a bid for the streetscape improvements, covering the drainage, street paving, sidewalks, trees and lighting and a traffic signal. The authority approved that part of the project for $3.4 million, more than the $2.7 million estimate. The construction contract, awarded to Flyway Excavating of Lititz, accounts for $2.79 million, plus an additional $632,000 in non-construction costs, which are mostly the engineering costs. Prior to moving forward with the project, the authority has already spent about $350,000 for a property at North Union and Emaus streets, including razing the building that formerly Please See STREETSCAPE, Page A2

Granite curbs would be installed at intersections as part of the downtown makeover.

A trellis draws ire, high bids by builders

By Eric Wise

U

Press And Journal Staff

This lot at the corner of Union and Emaus streets, purchased by Middletown Borough, would be the site of a trellis and pavilion.

tilities have been preparing for Middletown’s downtown improvement project to begin, so the project is set to move forward. When construction work begins, it will not include the project’s most controversial components, the trellis and pavilion that are stalled in the process. The project starts with improvements to the intersection of Union and Emaus streets. On the north side of the intersection, the Middletown Industrial and Commerical Development Authority has planned a trellis for both sides of the street, a smaller one near the Brownstone Cafe and a larger one across Union. Across from the Brownstone, the authority razed a commercial building that contained businesses, and the plan is to create a trellis and pavilion in its place. Please See TRELLIS, Page A6

Please See CHARGED, Page A6

Elks Theatre proposal held Press And Journal Staff

Please See ELKS, Page A5

Contact Us

NEWS Dump truck stolen from Lower Swatara paving company A tri-axle dump truck valued at $90,000 was stolen from a Lower Swatara Twp. paving company sometime between Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, Sept. 13, township police said. The blue 2000 Freightliner was locked and parked in front of the office of Apex Paving in the 1000 block of S. Eisenhower Blvd., police said. The truck had a Pennsylvania license plate, ZFZ 5293, when it was taken, police said. Police registered the truck with a national registry of stolen vehicles in an attempt to locate it, and ask anyone with information about it to call them at 717-939-0463.

Middletown to seek LED bulbs for street lights Middletown Borough Council voted 6-0 on Monday, Sept. 21 to seek bids from companies interested in replacing the town’s existing street lights with more energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Council several months ago heard a presentation from one such suitor. The proposal is supposed to be “budget neutral,” meaning whichever company the borough eventually chooses to replace the bulbs would guarantee that the savings from LED technology will be greater than the up-front cost to make it happen, said Councilor Benjamin Kapenstein. Councilor Sue Sullivan suggested that the borough also seek to add more streetlights in areas of town that are now too dark, such as parts of the Oak Hill area. Borough officials did not immediately say how long it will take to attract proposals from other companies.

Halloween parade, Trick or Treat set

By Eric Wise

A throng of people may flock to Middletown’s Elks Theatre next July for a community production of a classic play, the inaugural performance in the revitalized theater. By the following summer, the Elks may be booked for fashion shows, standup comics, video game tournaments, a popular oom-pah band, conferences and a film festival. It’s even possible that a group could feature a speaker or program at the Elks Theatre followed by a reception at Tattered Flag Brewery and Still Works, slated to open in March in the storefronts of the Elks building along South Union Street. These new additional uses of the Elks may be scheduled sporadically through the year, drawing crowds to Middletown’s downtown area, while the Elks continues in its familiar role as a first-run movie theater. Friends of the Elks Theatre, a group that supplanted the Greater Middletown Economic Development Corp., proposed plans to update and revitalize the

Quick

Press And Journal Photo by Dan Miller

This building at Wilson and Wood streets would become a convenience store under a proposal by its owner.

Convenience store proposed for Wilson Street property By Dan Miller

Press And Journal Staff

Press and Journal Photo by Jim Lewis

The Elks Theatre was closed in April for repairs.

Middletown’s annual Kiwanis Halloween Parade is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19. The Kiwanis Club of Middletown will allow people to register for this year’s program online, although some bugs are still being worked out, said club spokeswoman Melody Wilson. The club will pick one “exclusive vendor” to sell novelties during this year’s parade, Wilson said. Middletown Borough Council approved a resolution supporting the parade on Monday, Sept. 21 and set Trick or Treat night for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Adib Alabsi thinks his building on the corner of Wilson and Wood streets would be a good place for a convenience store. “There are a lot of people walking around here all the time,” Alabsi told members of Middletown Borough Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The planning committee agrees. “This will be an improvement for the neighborhood,” said Councilor Mike Bowman, a committee member. But Alabsi has some hurdles to get over before he can open his store in the Please See STORE, Page A3

Write: 20 S. Union St., Middletown, PA 17057 • Phone: 717/944-4628 • E-mail: Info@PressandJournal.com • Home Page: www.pressandjournal.com

This is: Frank Tittinger’s hometown newspaper.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.