Dimock meeting gets heated
Published: February 3, 2010
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share thisDimock Township Supervisors gathered Monday night but their meeting was sidetracked by an outburst from a resident, and the supervisors approved paying Constable Thomas Vlachos $25 a month to attend the township’s meetings.
The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by George Baker, and all supervisors and the secretary were present. The minutes from the Jan. 4 organizational meeting were read and approved, as were the bills and payroll.
According to the official minutes from the previous meeting, Elwin Ellis had raised a question concerning hauling rates for road material. Ellis said that according to his figures, the township was paying Agawam Farms more than $20 a ton to haul material from Keller Crushing in Lemon. He went on to say that Keller would haul the same material to the township for $4.25 a ton. The supervisors and secretary said they were not aware of the hauling rate Ellis spoke of, and would double check to see what rate was paid.
At Monday night's meeting, Ellis asked about hauling prices, and was told that the township actually pays $4 a ton to Agawam.
He claimed that did not match his figures, although he did not have a copy of the township's price sheets, and became agitated and started shouting at the township supervisors and at the correspondent from the SusquehannaCounty Independent.
At this point, constable Vlachos spoke to Ellis and attempted to restore order. The meeting was adjourned.
In other business, the supervisors discussed the cost of maintaining the traffic lights at the Dimock four corners and the Elk Lake intersection. Supervisor Baker remarked that it is the responsibility of the township to pay for the costly four way traffic lights as well as to maintain them, which was not appropriate in his opinion.
Also, a letter was read stating that PennDOT may be doing a traffic count in spring on municipal roads: Dimock may or may not be involved.
Another letter from the Susquehanna County Department of Planning said that setback requirements for buildings and homes may or may not be controlled by the county.
According to County Planner Robert G. Templeton, the county has jurisdiction over setbacks only if the property falls into the jurisdiction of the county's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Otherwise, it is regulated by a zoning ordinance.
