Several residents of the Pointe West development attended the Nov. 5 Lowhill Township supervisors meeting.

They came to voice complaints about the size and the amount of leftover stones on the development’s roads after pre-maintenance oiling and chipping.

The residents questioned the use of half-inch stones during the chipping process, saying they are too large for the minimal amount of traffic along the roads.

Resident Clyde Odom thanked the township for the pre-winter maintenance.

“I want to acknowledge and thank you for doing the extra sweeping on the road,” Odom said. “It looks much, much better.

“However, rocks continue to turn loose because they are just so big and the question now is what’s next?

“It’s still not where it should be.”

Supervisor George Wessner Jr. told Odom he has been out to see the situation.

“As we talked about, there’s not a lot we can do because the weather really doesn’t permit us to do anything anymore this year,” Wessner said.

“We would like you to do something in the spring, maybe use a smaller stone?” Odom asked.

Another resident, Diana Marshall, asked why Upper Macungie did this last year and the end of Overlook Lane, that goes up to Orchard View was smooth.

“Go ask Upper Macungie what they did do to get a smooth road,” she suggested.

“A quarter inch or smaller is what you should have used,”Odom said. “What’s out there is a half inch.

“They are twice as large as what you should have used.”

After additional discussion, Hughes and Wessner said the size of the stones is mandated to receive liguid fuels funding from the state.

“PennDOT actually requires us to use that stone,” they said.

“We use liquid fuel, money we get from the state, so it has to be a state-approved material,” Hughes said.

The board promised to reassess at winter’s end.

“I’ll go back out and look at it in the spring,” Wessner said. “I’ll also go out there tomorrow.

“If there’s a lot out there we can pick up, maybe we can sweep it again.”

In new business, Supervisor Robb Werley reported the next step in the process of planning the addition to the township building is to go ahead with the final architectural and structural design services, which would cost $23,500.

Another resident Larry Dorsch asked how much the building is projected to cost.

The answer was roughly $830,000.

“That’s almost a million dollars,” noted Dorsch.

Hughes, who has spoken several times with local government representatives, replied to Dorsch.

“There’s also a half-million dollar grant out there, but to get it, you have to build it,” Hughes said.

“There’s no way we can get any real numbers unless we have the design,” Wessner added.

The motion was passed.

In other matters, Township Administrator Brian Carl brought to the board a request from Germansville Fire Company.

They asked for a donation from Lowhill Township to have a Knox-Box rapid entry system installed.

“The Knox-Box allows us to access the commercial buildings in the event of an alarm during the night,” Carl said. “It’s a little safe essentially,” said Carl.

According to Carl, firefighters have a key and a code to get inside the box where keys and key cards, etc. are kept to gain access to commercial buildings in an emergency.

The cost of the box is approximately $300.

A motion was made and passed for the donation.