During the July 18 Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners meeting, the preliminary/final land development for Lehigh Valley Town Center for roads and basin was approved. The project’s address is 361 Schantz Road and 4511 Cedarbrook Road.

This project is a mixed-use development. It is expected to include 550 apartment units with four 6-story buildings. Also included in the proposed development is office space, medical office space, a restaurant and a 72 bay golf driving range.

The project proposes consolidation of the two lots which are bordered by Schantz Road, Cedarbrook Road, the Fred Jaindl Memorial Highway (Route 222 Bypass) and Interstate 78/Route 309. The 58.8 acre parcel will be divided into two lots, one for Top Golf and the other for the Lehigh Valley Town Center.

Resolution 2024-34 which is the preliminary/final land development for Cove at MillBrook, 3109 Macungie Road, was approved. This is a 16-house project with a horseshoe road intersecting with Sauerkraut Lane. The road in the development will be a private road.

There is concern about water from an unnamed tributary. The project was approved with President Brian Higgins voting no due to water concerns and the private road.

The year long discussion for solid waste collection has reached a conclusion. After ongoing discussion among board members and several bids for services have been made, a decision was made.

Several bids were received. J.P. Mascaro, Whitetail and Waste Management all submitted bids for services which could be modified regarding various items such as yard waste, hazardous items and recycling, among others.

Commissioner Ron Beitler made a motion to accept Whitetail’s bid for trash only. He further commented that refrigerators can be recycled through PPL. Also other options included recycling through Sherwin Williams for paint disposal. No second was made for the motion.

Further discussion suggested the status quo was important. In other words, not to make changes for services already being received such as curbside hazardous recycling, large item disposal, etc.

A motion was presented to accept the bid from Waste Management. The increase will be 54.4% for the waste disposal fee which will be approximately $90 a quarter. This was approved.

Higgins expressed his gratitude to all for the huge effort in this contract. “It’s not the lowest in the area but really close to the lowest compared to other communities,” Higgins said. Fuel costs, staffing, equipment and insurance costs are the reasons for the increase with a Sept. 1 start date for the new contract.

John Parish has resigned from the public safety advisory board due to his appointment to the zoning hearing board.

New Bethany sent a letter of thanks for a donation from the township.

Astound Broadband notified the township of a rate increase for cable services.

Macungie Ambulance Corps sent a letter of thanks for funding for an ambulance and equipment.

Settlement was reached over the Avery Quinn litigation.

Veteran banners are now being displayed on Hamilton Boulevard.

There was an executive session held for litigation and land acquisition matters.