To those of you who have found your way here because of Sarah Mausolf's article in the 8/2/05 Express Times, we say THANK
YOU! Thank you for taking the time to see what F.A.C. is all about for yourselves. Before you dive in we want you to be aware
of a few things:
YOU! Thank you for taking the time to see what F.A.C. is all about for yourselves. Before you dive in we want you to be aware
of a few things:
- Despite what some may say, Forks Township is YOUR town. F.A.C. is here to keep you informed and involved.
- Please take just a few moments to read our mission statement.
- Like other organizations, we need you. Unlike other organizations, you can help us to help you from the comfort of your
home... and, at your convenience.
- WELCOME!
In case any of you wonder how our website and blog are doing lately, here are some graphs to view. Double click on the
images below for larger views. We are excited at the traffic we are getting. Thank you all! Tell your friends!
images below for larger views. We are excited at the traffic we are getting. Thank you all! Tell your friends!
Check out our Election 05 page for more on C. David Howell's election run and his victory. You'll find charts and graphs
and even polling place details. Email us if there's anything else you'd like to see there.
Our Howell links and the election results are now in one convenient place. We hope you like it. Congratulations to all who
voted!
and even polling place details. Email us if there's anything else you'd like to see there.
Our Howell links and the election results are now in one convenient place. We hope you like it. Congratulations to all who
voted!
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| No one knows that you CARE if you don't let them know! |
| School District Impact Assessments - An Update - 5/7/06 The Board agreed to sign the Impact Resolution (#060504) at their meeting on 5/4/06! Forks Supervisors had this as an agenda item at their meeting on the 4/20. The Board listened to grassroots activists Don Dal Maso and Richard Cowell (both of Lower Mount Bethel Township) describe the costs to our schools of new developments and the children they bring. The Board learned that other townships have already passed resolutions in support of school district impact fees. They learned that Rep. Rich Grucela and Rep. Stephen Maitland (his bill is lengthy - jump to page 24 for the meat of it) have introduced bills in support of giving townships the legal right to assess school impact fees on developers. And, most important to Forks taxpayers, our Supervisors voted in favor of a resolution supporting the concept! - Williams Township residents are starting to weigh in on it too! It's got a long way to go according to the Morning Call. An editorial in the Express Times described the proposal, the debate(s) to come, and Rep. Grucela's efforts. This is a big deal. To learn more about it, please contact Don Dal Maso directly. Please see our December 2005 Archive and our blog for more on this topic. Read Dal Maso's latest newsletter too and the Op-Ed piece in the Express Times. |
| In The News - F.A.C. Surveys! A special thanks to Express Times reporter Sarah Mausolf for reminding folks that they have a place to go to express their opinions. Although our surveys are not scientific, they are always topical and often thought provoking. We hope that you continue to participate! If you have a suggestion for a survey, please send us a note either via email or the form on the Contact Us page. |
Meetings are where things happen and happen TO you!
Meetings are where YOU can listen and can be heard!
If you can't get there, visit our forksaction weblog. Join in the dialogue!
You are visitor #
F.A.C. and YOU!
F.A.C. will do its best to keep you abreast of things that are happening in our township... things that impact you, the residents
of Forks. For the 2005 Board of Supervisors race, we endorsed the candidacy of C. David Howell. He WON! Read more
about the race on our Election 05 page. Is that a FAC? You bet it is!
F.A.C. will do its best to keep you abreast of things that are happening in our township... things that impact you, the residents
of Forks. For the 2005 Board of Supervisors race, we endorsed the candidacy of C. David Howell. He WON! Read more
about the race on our Election 05 page. Is that a FAC? You bet it is!
F.A.C. is for everyone!
Follow the news link to the left for updates on current and proposed projects in the township... and more about F.A.C. Don't
forget to visit our forksaction weblog where you can read what others think as well as express your own concerns, ideas, and
facts!
Follow the news link to the left for updates on current and proposed projects in the township... and more about F.A.C. Don't
forget to visit our forksaction weblog where you can read what others think as well as express your own concerns, ideas, and
facts!
We welcome those of you who reached our page in error when searching for Forks Township, PA in Sullivan County. We are
the Forks Township in Northampton County! Feel free to poke around and visit any time at all!
the Forks Township in Northampton County! Feel free to poke around and visit any time at all!
Why F.A.C.?
Much of what happens in and to our community is not found in our local newspapers. The Forks Action Committee's website
and weblog are here to fill the void. "Knowledge is power!" Our goal is to keep you informed so that you have real power,
power at the polls and power at the podium.
Much of what happens in and to our community is not found in our local newspapers. The Forks Action Committee's website
and weblog are here to fill the void. "Knowledge is power!" Our goal is to keep you informed so that you have real power,
power at the polls and power at the podium.
Are you looking for Sullivan County, PA?
... keeping you informed!
| in beautiful Forks Township, PA 18040 |
Things YOU can do now! updated 8/31/2008
This month in Forks! updated 8/31/08
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Building Moratoriums and Impact Fees - Not Forgotten! On Wednesday, August 1st, State Representative Bob Freeman chaired a public hearing at Lafayette College to discuss allowing municipalities to impose building moratoriums while zoning and comprehensive plans are rewritten. And, on Thursday, August 2nd, both Freeman and State Representative Rich Grucela hosted a hearing on developer impact fees (a way to pay for schools when development makes expansion necessary) in Upper Mount Bethel Township. Below are links to meeting(s) coverage, some of the testimony, and the House Bills: |
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Lawsuit Filed - Tree Cutting! Gary Strausser - the man - and Strausser Enterprises - the company - are being sued by Forks Township. The Board voted 4:0 at its meeting on September 20th to sue both Gary Strausser and Strausser Enterprises, the developer of Riverview, for cutting the stately old township owned maples on Old River Road. Read more in articles by JD Malone (Express Times) and by Tom De Martini (Morning Call). This battle will be not be dull - Gary Asteak, Esq. represents Gary Strausser and his company. According to Township Solicitor, Karl Kline, the Township has requested a jury trial. Strausser In The News Again! The Express Times' Jimmy Miller (9/2/07) reported further on the allegations made by Strausser representative Sal Panto to the Forks Supervisors - that on at least four occasions, EMS (from outside Forks) did not arrive at the Riverview Country Club when a 911 call was made because the (still private) Riverview roads are not on the Northampton County 911 mapping system. Panto said that dispatched vehicles are not able to find the golf course country club on Winchester Drive. - Because of this, Strausser has asked the Township to take over maintenance of Riverview's roads. Barry Alberston, Jr. of Suburban EMS, said that this was untrue. Apparently there are two witnesses to one of the incidents - that of a woman fainting at the country club. Albertson said that Forks EMS called off that ALS call. .................................. Maples Gone - Strausser Gets TURKEY! The giants - maple trees that are older than any of us - are gone. Strausser Enterprises cut them down. One was 53" in diameter. Chopped to pieces. An Express Times TURKEY (August 25) went to Gary Strausser for cutting the trees and then asking the Forks Supervisors to take over maintenance of some of the Riverview roads! According to Express Times reporter JD Malone, the Township-hired arborist has finished inspecting the destroyed trees and will submit a report to the Board. This will be an agenda item at the September 6 meeting. Candidates are not quiet on the issue either. Bob Egolf's letter to Morning Call calls for vigilance when dealing with developers. David Billings' letters to the editor in both the Morning Call and to the Express Times urge the Board to take strong legal action. |
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| Kings Mill Round 24 - September 8th - 7:30 PM Forks Municipal Building Update 8/10/08: Round 23 on August 4th was not the end of it. There will be at least one more session on September 8th. At that session, Forks will cross-examine Dennis Glackin, KMRD's first of two rebuttal witnesses. KMRD will also present another, as yet unnamed, rebuttal witness. If this holds true to form, yet another meeting will be needed for the cross-examination of that rebuttal witness and for the summary statements of both sides, KMRD and Forks Township. There will also be a review of each side's "errata sheets." On August 4th KMRD attorney VanLuvanee completed his cross-examination of Charlie Schmehl (URDC), the Township's final witness. VanLuvanee's questions focused on "affordable housing," Forks SR and SR1 zoning districts, and came just short of blaming the Township for not forcing developers to build "affordable housing." He said that the new businesses the Township wishes to attract will bring employees who will not be able to find affordable housing in Forks Township. Attorney Steve Goudsouzian countered by asking Schmehl who controls the prices and types of buildings built? The answer of course, is the builder - not the Township. VanLuvanee referred (in his cross of Schmehl) to e-mails exchanged between then Planning Commission (PC) chairman Vito Tamborinno and PC vice chairman Erik Chuss and Schmehl during the preparation of the new (and here contested) Zoning Ordinance. He also referred to minutes of the October 25, 2005 joint workshop of the PC and BoS in which the Zoning Ordinance draft was discussed. (Note: These minutes are not available online). James Wideman, former member of the PC, said that he attended many workshops and that he did not see any developers at the workshops. VanLuvanee ran Mr. Glackin - who first testified as an expert planner at the November 13, 2006 session - through a series of questions designed to defend his earlier testimony and his use of the 2000 census data. His reasoning for using the old 2000 census data was that the 2003 census, in his opinion, had bad data and the 2007 LVPC data was not yet available. Glackin stated that the Forks Zoning Ordinance does nothing to preserve agricultural land or soils. He testified too, that the ordinance does nothing to encourage the building of apartments or multi-family dwellings. He also said that the LVPC casts agricultural and vacant land as the same. Neither the Morning Call nor the Express Times sent a reporter. Please see David Billings' Everything Forks blog for more on Round 23. It is winding down! ..................................................................... Check out the new Kings Mill page for more about the project, the lawsuits, and the history. Come to these last sessions! This is it... the end is near. Monday, September 8th at 7:30 PM - Round 24 of the KMRD zoning challenge |
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| Round 24 of the Kings Mill Challenge! Monday, September 8th - 7:30 PM Two years and counting! Three years ago, on August 11, 2005 the Kings Mill plan for 800+ homes was soundly rejected by the Planning Commission. The public presentation was held in the Community Center and was attended by approximately 350. The press covered it - Channel 69 was there, too. One year later, the developers returned with an even bigger plan (3000 plus houses) - and a zoning challenge. On August 7, 2006 the Zoning Hearing Board was ready for the start of round 1 - the suit by the Kings Mill partnership. It was postponed due to a technicality. The hearing restarted on August 21, 2006. The (newly named) KMRD LP showed Forks that they were very serious. Once again the location was the Community Center and once again hundreds turned out. So here we are, either two or three years later depending on your point of view, and the challenge is still in progress. There have even been more suits. The Township, as promised in 2006, has stood firm in its defense against each of them. It's almost over. Closing arguments are due either at the next meeting (on August 4th) or another (if needed.) Check out the Kings Mill page for running news and links to mentions of KMRD/Kings Mill in the FAC blog and website. The linked newspaper articles include the first mention of this massive project at a Board of Supervisors meeting - in December 2004! Yes, it is that old. A short summary of the latest Kings Mill hearing session (with any newspaper links) is on our homepage. For everything older, please see the new Kings Mill page. |
| FAC's Election 07 and Candidates In The News pages are very much alive and will remain available on this website. The four Forks Supervisor candidates waged some of the cleanest campaigns ever seen. It was truly a race among the good guys. It's too bad for Forks Township that only two candidates could win. To see the final tally, click here. To read JD Malone's (Express Times) after election interviews with Erik Chuss and Bob Egolf, click here. |
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| PPL Public Workshops High Voltage Transmission Lines - Route Chosen and it's NOT in the Lehigh Valley! The Lehigh Valley was spared. The decision is made. Read Douglas Brill (Express Times) and Spencer Soper & Kevin Duffy (Morning Call) for more. Also, for the reaction of those "chosen" for the high tension power lines, see Douglas Brill's Express Times article. PPL proposed two routes for its path to deliver energy to the east coast. One slices through the Lehigh Valley and the other through Schuylkill County. The company said it had no preference for either route. Public input was sought. A series of public workshops was held. Forks Township hosted one on Wednesday, June 25th. PPL sent letters to property owners whose land is within 1000 ft of the proposed routes. PPL did not schedule any meetings for the Slate Belt, one of the most impacted areas. Northampton County Council came out against the Lehigh Valley route. The Express Times took that position as well. For more, check the PPL website and the Drop the Lines website. |
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| Forks' Draft Comprehensive Plan - Update PC & BoS ad hoc committee - dates Forks Board of Supervisors (BoS) and Planning Commissioners (PC) held a joint public workshop after the July 10th regular PC meeting. The purpose was to review/discuss the latest draft of the Comprehensive Plan. And, that they did. It was decided that the current draft is too generic and, at the same time, too detailed to be the best guide possible for future Forks Supervisors and Planners. The PC and BoS opted to form an ad hoc committee composed of two members of the PC and two of the BoS to tackle improvements to the draft Plan. URDC will once again be charged with making it all work. On July 17, the Comprehensive Plan ad hoc committee PC members were announced and the BoS selected Supervisor members. The committee includes David Howell (BoS chairman), Dean Turner (PC chairman), Vito Tamborrino (PC), and Bob Egolf (BoS) - all as primary members. Alternate members are David Billings (PC) and Bonnie Nicholas (BoS). For more on the joint workshop see the FAC blog. The ad hoc committee will meet in the Municipal Building: August 25, September 15 & 22, and October 6 & 20. The meetings begin at 7 PM. |
| Planning Commission votes pro sun power on the solar second round! Crayola wants to build a solar park and it wants to do it now! Federal energy tax credits run out on December 31, 2008. Crayola asked the Planners to accommodate it and review final plans at the PC workshop on August 26th. It did just that. The Planners considered the final plan for Crayola's solar park . The vote to approve (subject to the engineer's review letter) was 7:0. Emergency lighting (to be turned on by Crayola or the police department if needed) was agreed to by Crayola. The plan will be before the Board of Supervisors at their September 4th meeting. |
The August 7th Board of Supervisors (BoS) meeting short agenda, did not mean a short meeting. The standing committee
reports have become a more and more significant part of the meetings. Public Safety and the EMS issues are complex and merit
a lot of discussion. This night's focus was on how to best communicate the change of ALS/BLS providers to Forks residents. A
letter to residents will be drafted by the Solicitor and Township Manager for BoS approval at the next meeting.
Briefly, the BoS discussed:
See the FAC blog for even more meeting details. Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments. You only need to be registered with Blogger or with
Google to comment.
reports have become a more and more significant part of the meetings. Public Safety and the EMS issues are complex and merit
a lot of discussion. This night's focus was on how to best communicate the change of ALS/BLS providers to Forks residents. A
letter to residents will be drafted by the Solicitor and Township Manager for BoS approval at the next meeting.
Briefly, the BoS discussed:
- A ceremony honoring EASHS outstanding graduates/athletes is to be held in Easton's Center Square at 1 PM on Saturday.
Two of the honorees are from Forks, Chanelle Price and Jarred Holley. - The stranded power pole at the bottom of Winchester Drive and Frost Hollow Road is on Strausser property. The
Township has been unable to force Strausser into getting the PennDOT permits needed so that he can finish the
intersection improvements and get the light pole moved. - The fall issue of the Forks Quarterly is on schedule of September 1 arrival in residents' mailboxes.
- The fire tower bids will go out as soon as the foundation design is received.
- Another meeting was held with PennDOT regarding the traffic light slated for Meco/Sullivan Trail. PennDOT wants the
intersection aligned but straightening it would result in the taking of bushes and a fence and putting the road within a few
feet of a resident's house. More communications are in the works. - Although the EASD must post money for construction inspections, it does not need to provide a letter of credit - because of
its "taxing powers." - The BoS will send letters of support to our State representatives for three bills that are before them that deal with
encouraging firefighter volunteers. - Grants are available for municipal tree planting. The Parks & Recreation committee will make recommendations and a
grant application is likely. Planting would be in the spring. - Township road work schedules will be posting on the Forks Township website.
- The Police Department (PD) re-accreditation is going well. A mock assessment is scheduled for September 17th and the
formal assessment will take place the week of October 27th. - All 100 of the anti-speeding signs have been distributed to residents. In fact, they all went out in the first week that they
were available and there have been requests for more signs. - The PD has been working with the Shawnee School police in preparation for the start of fall classes. Three thousand
students are expected to be on the campus. - The signed final copy of the Fire Company agreement will be presented (along with a check for $25,000 from the Fire
Company) at the next BoS meeting. - Suburban EMS ALS subscription amounts are: $25 for individuals and $35 for a family. (When both ALS and BLS are
provided, the charges are $35/individual and $45/family.) - The subscription amount to be requested by Forks EMS is unknown at this time.
- Once again an executive session was held to discuss litigation and a personnel matter.
See the FAC blog for even more meeting details. Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments. You only need to be registered with Blogger or with
Google to comment.