The Borough of Hellertown-owned compost center on Springtown Hill Road in Lower Saucon Township has become the latest physical representation of a tug-of-war between township and borough officials that also involves a local library.
Hellertown Borough Council met Monday to vote on an extraordinary measure that could end a longstanding agreement to jointly operate its yard waste facility with Lower Saucon Township. However, if a letter the borough received from township officials Monday is any indication of things to come, no one may be operating it in the near future.
Council president Tom Rieger announced that the correspondence was a “possible notice of violation” letter addressed to the borough, which has DEP aproval to operate the Springtown Hill Road compost center in the township. The borough owns the property colloquially known as “the farm,” and Rieger said it had operated it independently “for decades” before entering into an agreement to operate it jointly with Lower Saucon Township 15 years ago.
At last week’s township council meeting, president Jason Banonis said he hoped that the township’s zoning officer would be monitoring the compost center property, and that “you can’t allow a use that’s inconsistent with the zoning of that property to continue.”
“I’m hoping that the zoning enforcement officer is going to be monitoring that property to make sure that it’s being used for only the approved use,” he continued, “and if it’s not, to enforce it and issue a cease and desist.”
Township council also approved sending a letter to the DEP advising it that Lower Saucon is no longer a part of the compost center’s operation; a decision councilwoman Priscilla deLeon was the only member of council to oppose.
Speaking as an attendee on Zoom during Monday’s special council meeting, deLeon said she is saddened by how the relationship between the municipalities has deteriorated.
“When I was elected to council way back when, we weren’t talking, and I was shocked,” said deLeon, who has served on Lower Saucon Township Council for nearly 35 years.
Hellertown Mayor David Heintzelman also expressed sadness over “how much negativity has been brought out, and it didn’t have to be.”
Heintzelman said the borough has been “very transparent” in trying to have a dialogue with township officials, and that it will continue to do so. It will also do what is right for the residents of both communities, he said, by being “proactive” and obtaining “answers.”
“I believe we need to stand for what is right. It is just very, very unfortunate that it has come to this point; that we have to have legal representation to prove our point,” he said, in reference to a just-passed motion to appoint special legal counsel to represent the borough in all matters pertaining to Lower Saucon Township.
Money for the attorneys will be drawn from the borough’s reserves, and Heintzelman said that fact shouldn’t be lost on observers.
“We don’t have deep pockets,” he said. “We’re spending money to prove the truth of what we believe in.”
In addition to approving a motion to advertise an ordinance to end the 15-year compost center partnership between the two municipalities, council also approved motions for advertising separate ordinances that will likely end an agreement whereby township residents receive a preferential admission rate at the Hellertown Pool and allow the borough to withdraw from the Saucon Valley Partnership. All three decisions were made amid ongoing inter-council acrimony; a result–at least in part–of the township’s decision in January not to enter into a new agreement with the Hellertown Area Library.
Heintzelman said he thinks the problems between the township and the borough began earlier, with “a decision made back…on a property that was on Easton Road.”
“It has been a very long road,” said council president Tom Rieger, who stressed that the decision regarding the pool will not prevent township residents from accessing it. Rather, he explained, the decision means that they will pay the non-resident rate, because the borough will no longer receive reimbursement for the difference from Lower Saucon.
That arrangement has long been available as “a courtesy” to the township, he said.
“It’s very sad we’re at this point,” Rieger said, adding that the compost center will not be open for Christmas tree drop-offs by residents this January. He mentioned that local Boy Scouts will be collecting them in the borough after the New Year.
At their meeting last week, Lower Saucon Township Council and staff announced that the township will be accepting Christmas tree drop-offs on three Saturdays in January. Additionally, manager Mark Hudson said the township plans to open its own compost center for township residents in the spring, with details about the location to follow.
A video recording of Monday’s borough council meeting is available on the borough’s Facebook page.
If necessary, Rieger said council will meet for what may be its last meeting of 2022 on Monday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. If that meeting is required, an agenda will be posted in advance on the borough’s website.
