Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners heard another presentation Nov. 1 from Lehigh Valley Health Network, which elaborated on the health care overlay zoning district to be tentatively located at 3219 MacArthur Road.

The LVHN representatives provided a proposed map of the overlay zoning district, including the main hospital and satellite facilities, which sparked a major discussion by the board.

Commissioner Charles Fisher questioned the fate of the already existing LVHN satellite facilities spread throughout the township. The representatives said some facilities would be consolidated, while others would remain open.

Commissioners Vice President Joseph Marx and President Philip Ginder questioned the intentions of the overlay district and the likelihood of the hospital with the emergency room being built. Network representatives said there is no reason to believe the hospital would not be built following approval.

The board is likely to defer this discussion to the legal and legislative committee for further consideration.

In other news, the workshop agenda had no ordinances to review for the evening, so the board discussed several resolutions and motions.

Resolution 3173 is requesting the authorization for Mayor Michael Harakal Jr. to enter into a traffic signal maintenance agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The township owns all of the traffic signals, except for the ones immediately adjacent to Route 22. It is the township’s responsibility to maintain them.

Additionally, Resolution 3178 allows Harakal to enter into a settlement agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection and Coplay Aggregates Inc. regarding a surface mining permit. There were no additional comments.

A final settlement agreement with Yolanda Wright and her son Mekhi Burkett was discussed in Resolution 3175. The settlement agreement would award Burkett $75,000 in exchange for a release of all claims against the township, ending a litigation involving the Whitehall Township Police Department. The funds would come from the township’s QBE specialty insurance. There were no additional comments.

The final resolution during the meeting introduced a new distillery coming to Whitehall Township. Resolution 3179 discussed the sewage revision plans for land development at 3614 Lehigh St., the future site of Hawk Mountain Brewery.

The only concern came from Fisher, who noted this area is notorious for flooding. Board Engineer Frank Clark said the developers were aware of this issue and have constructed a nontraditional foundation to allow water to flow beneath the building.

The meeting ended with several motions, including the appointing of Commissioner Michael Dee to the recreation commission as the Ironton Rail Trail liaison, replacing Bob Abbott.

The board will next meet 7 p.m. Nov. 8. For viewing instructions, visit the Whitehall Township website and search for the link under Whitehall News.