A funny “happenstance”

Talk about timing! On Monday, September 25, 2006, we learned in a Morning Call article that the township was still seeking advertisers for its inaugural newsletter.

Being the good citizens that we are, we decided to assist the township by placing a paid advertisement. We contacted the township on Monday about this and today we received the necessary contact information for Hometown Press.

Lo and behold, we learned late this afternoon that all of the ad space was sold out! In addition, go figure, the ad space sold out today of all days!

Talk about funny coincidences huh?!?!

Well the good news is that the taxpayers will have NO expense with this newsletter as sold out advertising means all expenses (printing, postage, etc.) related to this project will be paid by advertisers.

Sullivan Trail parking lot

• Could the current construction traffic jams on Sullivan Trail (Route 115) be any worse?
• Why does the work start during morning commuting and school transit times?
• Why isn’t this work being done at night (i.e. after 9pm) as other significant road projects are in other areas?
• Why wasn’t all of this work done in one phase instead of it being spread out as it has been?
• Is it possible for the construction crew to hire more inept traffic control civilians to move the volume of traffic even less efficiently?
• Who in township Government is responsible for oversight of things like this and why is it being allowed?

One wonders!!!!

Here's your upscale grocery store!

For those who are curious about the new “upscale” grocery store (Weis) proposed for Sullivan Trail (Route 115) and Uhler Road, we wanted to share some information learned at last night’s Planning Commission meeting.


According to the Weis people, some of the amenities this store will offer include-

• Higher ceilings
• Better meats, cheeses and deli items than other current Weis Grocery Store (ha-ha Easton/Wilson, Whitehall, Coopersburg, etc., we’ll have better meat and cheese than you!) locations
• Milk and eggs in the front of the store so you do not have to walk to the back of the store
• Matching exterior walls on all four sides of the building

Eat your heart out Wegmans, obviously these "upscale" features will trump whatever you offer!

Kudos to the Planning Commission for voting to reject the proposed initial plan. Once the initial plan is accepted for consideration, legally the clock starts running for approval or denial. As the originally submitted plans and drawings did not match what was unveiled last night, the Planning Commission acted intelligently and with great forethought.

We also learned last night that this process can still proceed even though there is a challenge to the spot zoning change (#298) recently passed by Supervisors David Howell, Donald Miller and David Hoff.

Congratulations Upper Mt. Bethel!

We know that we have said this before, but we remain amazed that elected officials in communities surrounding our borders respect their citizens enough to formally ask their opinion on important topics. In this latest example (see below) Upper Mount Bethel Supervisors want their citizens to cast their vote on a crucial issue for their community.

Though the topics have varied, besides Upper Mount Bethel, similar action by elected leaders have been undertaken in Lower Mount Bethel, Plainfield Township and Upper Saucon Township to name just a few.

Like you, we too dream of the day when we have Board of Supervisors in Forks Township that allows the residents to decide their fate on major issues at the ballot box.

Thank goodness that there are two seats up on the Forks Board of Supervisors in 2007! Hopefully this election will mark the end of the 3-D’s era (Hoff, Miller and Howell) in Forks Township and that more Supervisors like Bonnie Nicholas will be elected!
------------------------------------------------
Upper Mount Bethel to vote on open space

By Fred Walter Special to The Morning Call

Upper Mount Bethel voters next year can say whether they want to pay more earned income tax so the township can use the money to buy and preserve undeveloped land.

The township joins a growing number of municipalities to ask voters to increase the earned income tax from 0.5 to 0.75 percent to set aside money for land purchases.

Several municipalities have approved the tax increase but a few have not. For example, Lower Mount Bethel voters in the spring approved increasing the tax while Plainfield voters rejected the idea.

On Tuesday, Upper Mount Bethel supervisors voted 4-1 to place an earned income tax referendum on the May 2007 primary ballot.

Supervisor Jerry Geake initiated the action, which was recommended by the township Environmental Advisory Committee earlier this year. Supervisor Ed Nelson was the only supervisor to vote no. He said the item was not on the agenda and therefore failed to give the public advance notice and allow more public discussion.

Judy Henkel, environmental committee co-chairwoman, urged supervisors to begin funding measures at the township level to encourage property owners to sell open space land or development rights. She said Northampton County and the state are providing more funds for open space and farmland preservation.

''We can sit here and be left in the dust,'' she said, or the township can be part of the county-state program.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Mark your calendars. This is the week that the residents of Forks Township formally started taking the necessary steps to return power to the people.

For all too long the Board of Supervisors and Developers have ignored the residents of our Township and DICTATED policy and outcomes that have all too often have not provided long-term beneficial outcomes to OUR community.

As previously reported we filed an appeal to the recently adopted zoning ordinance change 298. We greatly appreciate the news coverage by Sarah Mausolf (http://www.tiny.cc/HeD1o) of the Express-Times and Joe Nixon (http://www.tiny.cc/1YEm5) of the Morning Call.

There is one quote from Solicitor Karl Kline in the Morning Call that we would like to address. ''There was plenty of opportunity for input from the public, and the board voted to adopt this ordinance,'' Mr. Kline is correct but here is what he fails to mention. While we acknowledge that a very small group of people spoke in favor of this zoning change, there was an overwhelming call (4 to 1) from residents at two separate meetings to NOT pass this change. Unlike the dissenters, EVERY person who spoke out against this change was loudly applauded, cheered and supported. Despite this, and the petitions submitted to the Board of Supervisors, they passed the zoning change anyway thus ignoring the will of the majority of people that they are suppose to serve.

With six-year terms, we cannot rely on elections alone to make change as too much damage can, and does occur in this timeframe. This is why we have taken this unusual action and why we are preparing to challenge the Board of Supervisors on other issues if they once again ignore the will of the people.

We do wish to acknowledge and once again thank Supervisor Bonnie Nicholas for her nay vote on 298. Though we don’t always agree with Supervisor Nicholas, we do believe that she has the best interest of the people at heart when she casts her votes and that she is open to listening to all sides of the issues before voting.

For those of you have spoken out and been shunned by the Board of Supervisors, this is your day and we encourage you to join us to help return the power and control to the residents of Forks Township. Please drop us a line to help us to help you to save Forks Township. citizens@residentswhocare.com

Ordinance 298 Update

At 11:45am EST this morning we filed a formal appeal with Forks Township Zoning Hearing Board to the recently passed ordinance number 298, which is in regards to the “Big Box/Grocery” change of zoning.

We will defer comment regarding the legal aspects of this filing to our attorney, Gary Neil Asteak. We do have several comments about this appeal that do not concern the legal issues.

1. This appeal was forced upon us by Supervisors Donald Miller, C. David Howell and David Hoff. By ignoring the will of the majority of the people and disregarding important facts about this ordinance change we felt compelled to act formally.
2. To our knowledge, this is the first time a citizens group has formally challenged the Board of Supervisors on an issue. For all too long Forks Township residents have felt helpless and hopeless because of the actions of our elected officials. We are hopeful that this will change with our action.

In the end, two important things will occur with this action.

1. The Board of Supervisors and the Developers are now on formal notice that we are not just going to sit back and take it anymore.
2. Citizens now know that they can fight back as there is a citizens group (Residents Who Care) in the Township that is willing to stand up and to be counted.

Now more than ever, we need concerned and bold people to join our ranks. Please drop us a note today (citizens@residentswhocare.com) to learn how you can help us to save Forks Township!