JACKSON TOWNSHIP NEWS
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2003 TOWNSHIP ROAD PROJECTS SCHEDULED
The following roads are entirely or in part scheduled to be paved in 2003:
Adams Avenue, Coyote Street, Dry Run Street, First Street, Leidy Lane Extension,
Meiers Street, Pike Road, Warrior Street. The following roads are entirely or in part scheduled to be seal coated
(tar & chipped) in 2003: Adams Avenue, Anderson Drive, Balsam Street, Brazil
Lane, Courter Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Fir Street, Fords Corner Road, Gillen
Lane, Kagey Street, Kissell Lane, Leidy Lane, Lyle Street, Maywood Street, Ogden
Road, Pike Road, Poplar Street, Rose Branch Street, Stoneridge Street, Thomas
Street, Trout Street, Turkey Path Road, Wagner Road, Woodland Street. The above road projects are part of an ongoing plan to maintain all Township
roads and insure that they are in the best condition possible for residents to
safely use and enjoy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONECTIV / PHI CANCEL HINCKSTON POWER PLANT PROJECT FOR JACKSON The reasons given for the cancellation of the project were as follows:
Summer, 2003
Township Roadmasters Dave Bracken & Bruce Baker completed
a road inspection of Jackson Township Roads this Spring. This year, Jackson
Township residents will benefit from extensive road improvements that will be
one of the largest undertakings in Jackson Township’s history. "There are many
roads that need paving or chipping work done on them and this year the work will
be contracted out." said Dave Bracken, Roadmaster. He added "PennDOT
requirements for paving and chipping are growing more stringent each year and
professional contractors have the updated equipment and can meet the strict
requirements and specifications to continue qualifying for liquid fuels funds
which help to pay for the road projects." According to Bob Mills of PennDOT,
nearly every municipality within Cambria & Blair Counties are now contracting
the paving and chipping work out for the reasons specified above. The Jackson
Township Road Crew along with Roadmasters Dave Bracken & Bruce Baker will be
busy doing preparation work for paving and chipping, berm and shoulder work,
drainage work and all other maintenance as required.
INFORMATION NEED UPDATED?
If you received this newsletter and your name or address
information is incorrect, or if you know of any resident of Jackson Township who
didn’t receive it, please call the Township Office at 749-0725.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SCHOOL TAX MAILING DELAYED
School taxes were mailed later than usual this year. This was
due to delayed passage of the School District Budget which was dependant upon
the State to pass their budget in order that they would know how much funding
they would be receiving from the State. Due to the delay in distribution of
State funds to the School Districts, the tax bills were mailed later than usual.
Paulette Baker said "I want to assure residents that I will extend the first
Discount Period for 7 extra days to accommodate for the delayed mailing." Mrs.
Baker went on to explain that by doing so, the amount of days to meet the first
Discount Period will remain the same as previous years despite the delay in
mailing.
Jon Wiese of Conectiv Energy personally stopped by the
Jackson Township Municipal Building to talk with the Township Manager and Board
of Supervisors on the Hinckston Power Plant Project which was proposed for a
site just off of Dishong Mountain Road. Last summer PHI acquired Conectiv
Energy. An announcement was made by Conectiv and it's parent holding company
that two new generation projects were cancelled. Those projects are the East
Donegal Plant in Lancaster County and the Hinckston Run Power Plant proposed for
Jackson Township, Cambria County. The power plant project was estimated to be in
excess of 600 million dollars and would have created an economic boom for not
only Jackson Township but the surrounding areas in Cambria & Indiana Counties.
It was projected that 600 temporary construction jobs would have been created
over a two year period and 50 permanent jobs once the plant would be in
operation.
-A downturn in the economy
-Very distressed energy market
-Unprecedented volatility in the oil and gas industry
Jon Wiese of Conectiv expressed his sincere gratitude to the Board of
Supervisors, Township Manager, Cambria County and the residents of Jackson
Township who have been very supportive of the power plant project. The turbines
were near completion and were scheduled to be delivered within a few months at
the time of the announcement. Also the last major permit, the air permit would
have been in place by July. Approximately 5 million dollars was already invested
in the site. PHI / Conectiv cancelled the order for the turbines and wrote off a
loss of 93 million dollars for the two proposed projects. Although no land
purchases were made, everything was in place to move forward on the options to
purchase. Jon Wiese of Conectiv expressed his sincere thanks to the community
and Township officials for being excellent to work with. He praised Jackson
Township for being extremely cooperative and was impressed by their
Also soon to begin is the proposed New Route 22 project. That project could begin as early as this Fall and will cost $35 million to expand and improve the road through Jackson Township. Another project on the "fast track" is the proposed water line from Salt Lick Reservoir which will run through Jackson Township and then along Route 22 towards Ebensburg Borough. The new water lines will encourage development in the Eastern part of Jackson which borders Cambria Township.
There continues to be interest in developing commercial and industrial properties within the Township. Development is sure to continue within Jackson Township with the new improved Route 22 making Jackson a prime location for businesses and companies to locate. This will lead to more jobs, tax revenue and economic growth.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTION OF PRIVATE ROADS BY THE TOWNSHIP
The Supervisors passed a Resolution at their April meeting
that will ease up the requirements for Jackson Township to adopt pre-existing
private roads within the Township. For the Township to consider taking over any
private roads, they must meet the criteria as follows: (1) The private lane must
be the primary means of access to three or more residences or businesses, (2) It
must not require any new drainage facilities to be installed in order to meet
PennDOT liquid fuels eligibility criteria, (3) The property owners must provide
a survey of the private lane to be taken over, (4) All owners must sign the
appropriate dedication of land, establishing a 33 foot right-of-way and on "dead
end" lanes a turn-around area must be provided, (5) That at least one existing
household residence or occupied business be served for every 150 feet of roadway
accepted and (6) That the roadway can be brought into compliance with PennDOT
liquid fuels tax eligibility requirements.
The major change in the policy is that previously a road was required to be paved before the Township would consider taking over that road. The paving cost often was the MAJOR obstacle to residents requesting a road be taken over because of the extremely high cost. With that cost now removed, residents along private roads can obtain an application at the Township Office and submit it to the Board of Supervisors for review. If the residents meet the 6 criteria factors above, the Township can then consider taking over the road as part of the Jackson Township Road System.
FIRE COMPANY OFFERS PET FINDER DECALS
The Jackson Township Volunteer Fire Company would like to
announce that they now have "Pet Finder" decals available at the Fire Hall. The
new decal is similar to the "Tot Finder" one that many people have on the window
of a child’s bedroom. Now you can have a decal that will let Firemen know that
there is a pet in the home in case of an emergency. If you would like a "Pet
Finder" decal you are welcome to stop by the Jackson Township Fire Hall to pick
one up for the safety of your beloved pet. For additional information, you can
call the Jackson Twp. Vol. Fire Company at 322-3155.
BOARD HELPS JACKSON TWP. VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY WITH CONTRIBUTION
The Jackson Township Board of Supervisors at their June 26th
meeting voted unanimously to contribute $99,450 to the Jackson Township
Volunteer Fire Company to use for purchasing fire apparatus needed to outfit a
new Rescue & Fire Truck. The Fire Company’s expenses have grown dramatically to
over $400,000 last year and fund drives and raffles could not cover the expense
of the apparatus for the new truck. Without the contribution from the Township
Board of Supervisors, the Fire Company would have had to go in debt and take out
a loan. Chairman David Bracken said "The Fire Company receives ½ mill Rescue Tax
which brings in about $8200 a year and then relies on fundraisers to cover the
rest of their expenses." He added "There is no way they could begin to cover
this large of an expense without going in debt". Barry Emerson of the Jackson
Township Fire Company expressed his sincere gratitude for the donation and of
the continuing support from Board of Supervisors as well as all Jackson Township
residents.
Chief Fatula offers these guidelines:
*The numbers on residences should be at least 3 inches high and the
numbers on businesses should be at least 4 inches high.
*Numbers should be a contrasting color to the background.
*Numbers should be placed on, above, or at the side of the main entrance, so that they can be easily detected from the street.
*If the entrance is more than 50 feet from the street, or cannot be seen from the street, a second set of numbers should also be displayed on the mailbox or on a post at the street or end of the drive.
*Remember - your mailman always comes the same way. Police cars and fire trucks may come from any direction. Be sure to mark both sides of your mailbox or mark your house number in such a way that it may be easily seen, no matter which direction they are approaching.
JOIN JACKSON TOWNSHIP ONLINE NEWS
Township residents who have access to
the internet can now join our new email group to receive up-to-date Township
news by email. Supervisor Bruce Baker and Manager Dave Hirko came up with
the idea of establishing an email group to help keep residents better informed.
It is Supervisor Bruce Baker’s hope to help unify this great community of
Jackson Township. We would like to invite you to join Jackson Township Online
News where you can receive online newsletters, announcements, and important
information concerning Jackson Township. To subscribe just go to the Jackson
Township website at
www.jacksontwppa.com and subscribe to the Jackson Township Online News
by entering your email address in the space provided. You will then be sent a
confirmation that you wish to subscribe to the online news. You must return the
confirmation via email to be added to the newsletter list. We also encourage you
to invite others to join. If you encounter any problem signing up, just email us
at office@jacksontwppa.com or
call us at the Township office at 749-0725 and you can be added
manually.
Forty-Five States already have uniform building codes. Pennsylvania's Uniform
Construction Code will only require contractors or individuals building to meet
minimum requirements. The Code should eliminate "fly by night" contractors and
provide greater safety for all residents of Pennsylvania. The proposed
Inter-Municipal Agency will work similar to the Cambria-Somerset Sewage
Enforcement Agency which has successfully administered all on-lot sewage in
Jackson and many other Townships since its beginning. The Sewage Agency was
oariginally formed to meet PaDEP requirements. Having an agency with many
Townships participating allows the cost to be lower but still provides the
convenience of having local "contact people" that can address the needs of the
citizens.
There have been some conflicting reports in the media on delays which would
affect as to when the code would be enforced ranging anywhere from 30 days to 2
years. Supervisor Baker said that the Building Code is coming and it’s not a
matter of if it’s coming but when its coming. To enter into The Cambria-Somerset
Building Codes Agency would cost the Township $1000 which may be refundable once
the organization gets up and running. The $1000 contribution will be required
from each member Township of the newly formed organization in order that they
can submit an application for matching State Grants. Bill Davis of Croyle
Township who is heading up the new Agency said no money will be required until a
definite date is established by the State as to when enforcement of the new law
will take affect.
Supervisor Bob Stephens voted against joining the Agency and said he would rather have the State enforce the Building Code in Jackson Township. Supervisor Bruce Baker said the responsible thing for this Township to do is to protect its citizens by maintaining local control over building activity and permits as well as the newly required inspections.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP BUSINESS RECEIVES BEAUTIFICATION AWARDPLANNING A BUILDING PROJECT?
If you are planning on building a new building or adding on
to an existing building, be sure to stop at the Township Office to apply for a
building permit. Be sure to allow plenty of time to get your permit prior to
building. By doing this, your permit can be addressed in plenty of time before
you actually begin construction. No permits are necessary for remodeling an
existing structure such as installing new roofing, siding, windows, etc.
Also if you are planning to pave or alter your driveway, a driveway permit is
required.
Roadmasters Bruce Baker & Dave Bracken said that driveway permits are not to inconvenience residents but are to make sure there is a swale or pipe to direct stormwater. They also make sure that driveways are not higher than the road so snow plows don’t catch the edge of the driveway. When a driveway enters onto a Township road, a safe sight distance is also very important. PennDOT requires permits for driveways entering onto State roads within the Township.
OTHER JACKSON TWP. NEWS
Recreation: Work is currently underway
on the installation of playground equipment at Leidy Lane Park.
Some final soil testing was performed by Norac Labs to insure that
the ground was free of any possibly contamination. All test results found that
Leidy Park was free of any possibly PCB contamination. Also in the planning
stage is the development of a new ballfield at Leidy Park. The new
ballfield will be made possible through a grant received from the office of Rep.
Thomas Yewcic. Also at Mitchell Park, new lines were added to the parking
lot. In the past the Handicapped spaces were being blocked off and the
new lines will insure that access to those spaces remains open.
Municipal Garage Roof: Work should soon begin on replacing the deteriorated Municipal Garage Roof. Bids were advertised for the roof replacement and the Board of Supervisors will decide on accepting any qualified bid to replace the roof.
Senior Center News : The walking trail to be constructed at the Senior Center is still on track. Some delays in construction are attributed to the heavy rains this Spring. The Center is also working with Gary Pagano of Windber Medical Center Healthstyles to construct an excercise room at the Senior Center. The Center is also looking into adding a pool table for recreational use by Center members. Some upcoming events include a craft & flea market scheduled for Saturday, August 23rd from 9 to 3. Cost is $10.00 a table. Interested vendors should contact the Senior Center anytime Tuesday thru Thursday from 9 - 3 by calling 322-3327. Denise Lehew of Lee Regional Healthcare will be speaking on Thursday, August 28th on stroke recognition, treatment and recovery. The seminar is free and open to the public. On Saturday, September 20th, Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center will be holding blood screenings from 7 - 9:30 am. Cost is $20.00 per person. For a PSA (Prostrate Screening) the cost is $35.00. To have a blood screening, you must schedule an appointment by calling the Senior Center anytime Tues. - Thurs. From 9 to 3 at 322-3327.
Website:
The Jackson Township website is filled with a wealth of information that will help to keep you informed on any important news or events taking place. You can even read the minutes of monthly Board of Supervisors Meetings. Kids will find their own special pages on the website. To view the Township website go to: www.jacksontwppa.com