West Penn Township supervisors are hoping to recoup some of the engineering costs involved in the creation of their Act 537 sewage facilities plan. So far, engineering costs are about $400,000.

During a meeting Monday, the supervisors applied for a $74,000 Commonwealth Financing Authority grant. The township's engineering firm, Alfred Benesch & Co., Pottsville, made the application on behalf of the township. The CFA funds come from Act 13, Marcellus Legacy Fund Programs, which are used for various projects that address watershed protection."This is a big opportunity for us, and I'm thankful that Benesch did this for us," Chairman Jim Akin said. "We're hoping for assistance from our local legislators now."West Penn and Walker townships are working together to develop a sewage plan. West Penn began the process in 2003 when Ludgate Engineering developed a plan with an $11 million price tag. Subsequently, the townships hired Rettew Associates; their plan has a $1 million cost and targets four areas, Andreas, South Tamaqua, Clamtown/ Reynolds and Snyders.The plan was submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in October 2013 but was kicked back in December as incomplete due to 10 main deficiencies in the submission. The supervisors voted Monday night to pay Rettew an additional $40,000 to finalize and resubmit the Act 537 plan.In other action the supervisors:Voted to advertise to sell a Diesenhof "salt water" truck, which the township had used in "prespraying" roads during the winter months to prevent icing.Approved spending $500 for minor roof repairs to the township building.Voted to advertise the new floodplain ordinance.Discussed options for code enforcement. Currently the township contracts with Lehigh Engineering for code enforcement and is considering various improvements, such as a standard form for responding to complaints.