At the Jan. 17 meeting, Upper Milford Township Supervisors approved an open space program contribution of $24,131.40 toward 21.74 acres owned by Charles and Jennifer Peters; the property is adjacent to the Upper Milford municipal building. Township Planning Coordinator Brian Miller said the township contributes $6,000 per acre for property designated as “open space” meaning that the property cannot be developed and will remain farmland.

According to plannersweb.com, “Purchase of development rights programs provide a way to financially compensate willing landowners for not developing their land. When buying development rights, the community obtains a legal easement, sometimes referred to as a conservation easement, that (usually) permanently restricts development on the land. The landowner, however, still owns the land and can use or sell it for purposes specified in the easement, such as farming, timber production, or hunting.”

Supervisors also approved an ordinance that gathers or codifies all existing township ordinances into one volume. According to Upper Milford Township Secretary Treasurer Jessi O’Donald, the action does not add any new laws or ordinances.

In other meeting news, Upper Milford Township will buy a new Ford F550 dump truck from Triad Truck company for $39,556. The supervisors selected the second highest bid for the purchase.

At its reorganization meeting Jan. 7, the board of supervisors elected Robert Sentner as chairman and Joyce Moore as vice chairman for 2019.

Lisa Martin, president of the Friends of Emmaus Public Library, reported in February the library will convert to a one library card system in coordination with 10 other libraries in the Carbon Lehigh area.

According to Martin, “story time” at the library has averaged 40 attendees at each meeting. Also, on Jan. 12 Lori Miller, the adult services librarian, hosted the craft event called “Cat Castles” with 119 people attending. The monthly Pinterest craft events usually have approximately 20 attendees. In February the craft event will feature jewelry making.

Martin also reported Pennsylvania State Sen. Lisa M. Boscola, D-18th, holds office hours in the library meeting room 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Monday.