At the Oct. 1 Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners meeting, Benjamin Galiardo officially resigned as code enforcement officer so he could assume his new responsibilities as Lower Macungie Township Commissioner.

Judge Douglas Reichley attended the meeting to swear in Galiardo. Commissioner Benjamin Galiardo officially began his duties assuming his place at the dias.

Brian Higgins has assumed the duties of president of the board.

Commissioner James Lancsek was elected by the board to be vice president. These positions are official until the end of the year.

A plan revision was approved for Spring Creek Properties for Lots 4, 5, 6 and 16.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is undergoing major reconstruction. South of the Lehigh Valley has been reconstructed which is almost completed. The next step is to work on the Lehigh Valley portion. The bridges are located in Lower Macungie Township.

The Route 222 Bypass was built with future reconstruction of the turnpike in mind so the bypass does not need to be addressed. Hamilton Boulevard will have 8-foot shoulders, four lanes and sidewalks. It needs to remain open during construction due to traffic volume.

East Texas Road bridge does not come under Pennsylvania Department of Transportation discretion at all. Critical concerns are sight distance problems. It is proposed for two lanes with two 8-foot shoulders with sidewalks. The bridge has to remain open due to traffic.

Lower Macungie Road bridge has a sight distance problem also. It is proposed to have three lanes with two 8-foot shoulders and sidewalks. Again, the bridge needs to remain open due to large traffic volume.

Indian Creek Road Bridge needs two lanes with 8-foot shoulders and sidewalks. The bridge needs to remain open due to lack of access to other roads.

Making a turn onto Cedar Crest Boulevard would be very difficult and of major safety concern. The timeframe is about two years away due to the completion of the lower portion. There should be no financial responsibility by the township unless PennDOT comes back with the township’s necessities.

Bridges do come first because they are done by a separate engineering firm.

It was suggested to check with southern communities to see how they handled their bridge reconstruction.

The Lehigh County Authority is suggesting the need to increase rates. There are questions about rehabilitating the public sewer system. There is a possibility of holding tanks within the township; a possible location is near Alburtis in the warehouse area so it would be well hidden. This will go before the public works committee.

The discussion about road improvements at Schoeneck and Quarry roads and Route 100 continues.

These two intersections really involve five intersections. Quarry and Schoeneck, Alburtis and Route 100 and Penn Drive and Schoeneck are the additional intersections. Making a right onto Schoeneck needs a wider turning radius so the trucks tend to move over to the left and then swing into the turn which includes going into the right lane onto Schoeneck. Sight problems are evident from Schoeneck, especially northbound.

For Quarry Road, the roadway needs to be widened which means to acquire right away from land owners. This will allow for widening of the intersection.

A portion of Penn Drive is not a legal road for trucks. This roadway needs to be added to the truck registry.

These temporary improvements would be reversed once Schoeneck Road is realigned.

It was also suggested the little shed on Schoeneck at the corner of Route 100 be demolished. Also included in this demotion are a small group of trees. Both of these items offer limited site distance.

Township Manager Bruce Fosselman has a potential replacement for Cassandra Williams, finance director and treasurer.

Candidate Jeff Waltemyer has been the assistant and has an excellent background. Fosselman said Waltemyer is very proficient in computer science and finance and is a resident of the township. His job description will be a bit more involved than what Williams did.

A resident spoke about flooding along Brookdale. The bridge at Spring Creek Road is considered insufficient for the water coming through this roadway according to the resident.

PennDOT has said drainage pipes will be installed. State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, 134th, is aware of this problem.