Whitehall Township commissioners gathered for the first workshop of the year Jan 3.

Commissioners Jeffrey Warren, Randy Atiyeh and Andy Roman were absent, but the remainder of the group still moved forward with discussing business.

The first two bills of the evening were brought before the board from the legal and legislative committee, with major contributions from Bureau Chief of Planning and Zoning Lee Rackus. Bill 1-2023 proposes to amend and add language to the township codified ordinances concerning zoning and short-term rentals.

The bill will aim to modify the definition of “family” within the code, specifically for short-term rentals. Rackus said this change will help the township regulate matters, as short-term rentals should not be considered under the definition of “family.”

Bill 2-2023 is also looking to amend the ordinance codes, specifically for enforcement of property maintenance. Rackus said this would be concerning invasive plant species throughout the township, saying “a lot of the plants should not be around here.”

Rackus worked closely with Key Codes and the in-house inspectors to fine-tune the work on documenting the uncultivated plants.

Commissioner Charles Fisher said the work performed was very eye-opening and he thanked Rackus for her hard work on both bills.

In other business, the commissioners discussed appointing new individuals for vacated positions in the 2023 term. It has been proposed to have Roger Reichard and Lee Christman serve on the zoning hearing board. Board President Joseph Marx Jr. provided his gratitude to Christman for his continued work as he has served the township for a “long time honorably.”

There were several motions to fill vacated roles throughout the township. The motions were expected to receive a final vote during the Jan. 9 meeting. The following roles were likely to be approved: Boyd Kreglow to serve on the tax appeals board, with a term expiring at the end of 2025; Stephanie Colbry and Rhonda Bastian to serve on the Whitehall Township Industrial Commercial Development Authority, with terms expiring at the end of 2027; and Jason Szewczak to serve on the Whitehall Township Authority.

Vice President Philip Ginder said he does not know Szewczak personally, but he does read the water authority minutes and acknowledged Szewczak is well-versed in the field and makes an excellent member of this authority.

The final motions on the agenda will go to appoint Ryan Clark and Bill Durney to serve on the Whitehall Township Fire Police. Both Clark and Durney are serving for the first time, and Marx said he is “forever grateful” for the people who take on these dangerous jobs.

The board was expected to approve Resolution 3231, which will approve the land development of 3865 Eberhart Road by adding a new warehouse.

This facility will be for storage only and will not impact traffic due to a shared driveway with the facility next door. The buyer plans to house new shipments at this warehouse; there will be no additional employees.

The board tabled Resolution 3215 concerning a stipulation and settlement agreement for stormwater plans with 4154 Roosevelt Street LLC. Township Engineer Frank J. Clark said the attorneys are still reviewing paperwork and that was the only reason for the delay.

Resolution 3232 was also tabled. This resolution aimed to approve the major land development of 135 Crest Drive. Clark said this project goes back to 2004 and used to be under the title of “Jordan Gates” and impacted Oakwood Drive in Fullerton.

The commissioners were missing prints of the project in their packets and had too many open questions concerning the project. The group tabled the resolution for now but will revisit it when more information is obtained.

The commissioners were notified they will need to set the salary for the mayor’s position since it is an election year. There will be more discussions surrounding this in future meetings.

Following the workshop meeting, the commissioners went into an executive session related to legal issues.