At the March 24 East Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting, board Chair Roger Unangst continued the discussion on the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Unangst earlier suggested providing a tax refund with the funding. East Allen received $520,938.66.

Supervisors charged township Solicitor Joseph Piperato III with looking into the matter. At the March 24 meeting, Piperato said there are no municipalities that have rebated the ARPA money into a direct cash payment to residents, according to the Pennsylvania Solicitors Association.

“We would be the first municipality to do so,” Piperato said regarding rebating the funds to the taxpayers.

Piperato and township Manager Brent Green discussed how these funds would be disbursed. With about 2,200 households, this would be a rebate of about $236 per household, according to Green. If part of the money was used to reimburse the township for COVID-19 expenses, the rebate - if legal - might amount to less than $200 per household.

Piperato said he would continue exploring the situation.

In other matters, the board declined a request from Valley Fruits and Veggies to lease or purchase the former Weaversville State Farm property, on the advice of Piperato. Township liability was an issue, and the board could run afoul of not opening up the property for bids. The board said it did not want to lease or sell the property.

The supervisors approved a resolution to approve a traffic signal maintenance agreement required by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Other resolutions were to seek grant funding for parks improvement within the township. These resolutions are available for review at the municipal building.

A letter of support for Bath was approved to assist the borough in receiving a grant from the Northampton County Park Department to extend the Nor-Bath Trail.