At its May 15 meeting, Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Council approved the appointment of a design consultant for the Hanover section of the D&L Trail.

The successful applicant was Michael Baker International. MBI has offices throughout the United States and has an office in center city Allentown.

The selection of MBI was via bid 2024-03. It was not a typical low-bid requirement that generated some discussion from council. Township Solicitor Jackson Eaton explained criteria for the selection was on a point-based assessment selection system that was employed to make the choice. The award was not only determined by cost.

The Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor – D&L Trail – is a multi-use trail spanning about 165 miles from the northeast former coal regions through the Lehigh Valley and further south. This historic transportation route crosses railroads, canals, rivers and other trails. The trail reflects the story of “where America was built.” Visit delawareandlehigh.org for more trail information.

In her township manager’s report, Melissa Wehr noted it was National Police Week, and National Public Works Week ran May 19-25. Wehr noted she planned to hold a celebration for the township’s highly skilled and dedicated public works department.

In the engineer’s report, Al Kortze, of Keystone Engineering, said the Postal Road, Canal Park and Allendale projects are moving forward. He added a microsurfacing project should be completed soon.

Council introduced Bill 2024-04, amending Chapter 1, Part 2, Section 1-203 (C) of the statutory code of Hanover Township to allow joint municipal electronic bids to be opened before a public meeting or by a municipal engineer of a participating municipality.

Council authorized bidding the 2024 sanitary sewer system manhole maintenance and rehabilitation program. This is a multi-municipal project including Hanover, Lehigh County, Upper and Lower Macungie townships and Coplay Whitehall Sewer Authority.

The repair project encompasses about 150 manholes, with about 25 in Hanover. Repair costs might be between $50,000-$75,000.

The discussion about the sewer system manholes project bid included data indicating manholes requiring maintenance can be of different sizes and diameters. This prompted a meeting attendee to comment he enjoys coming to the council meetings because he always learns something new.

In the hearing of persons present agenda item, a gentleman who is renting a spot in the Canal Park for a gathering of about 190 people during Memorial Day weekend received permission to extend the time of his rental for an extra hour to afford a better cleanup.

The next Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. June 5 at the township’s municipal building, 2202 Grove Road. Visit hanleco.org for an agenda of the meeting.