Eldred Township continued discussion this week on Nestle water extraction proposal. Maryann Clausen gave a brief update on the three actions currently taking place.

The zoning hearing board will meet again on March 30, the public meeting to discuss reversing the ordinance which was changed to allow the extraction will take place on Wednesday, and a hearing has been set in the appeal by Deihl et. al. at 9 a.m. on March 31 in courtroom 5 at the Monroe County Courthouse. This hearing is to decide on the petition to intervene filed by property owner Ricky Gower and Gower Estates.With regard to the Zoning Hearing Board, resident Gary Hoffman asked the supervisors to show their support and to fight for Frank O’Donnell to remain on the board. This was in response to a motion requesting the recusal of O’Donnell by attorneys for Nestle Waters NA during the first hearing. Nestle claims a letter written by O’Donnell shows he has already formed his opinion and that he is prejudiced against Nestle.“Our attorney is filing a brief in support of Mr. O’Donnell,” was Clausen’s response.A few residents spoke, all expressing their concerns and outrage over the situation the township finds itself in regarding the presence of Nestle. Clausen summed up the township’s position on the matter.“The attorneys who are working on this are looking for reasons for the zoning hearing board to deny Nestle’s application. If there is none, then they are looking into the list of conditions which would be placed on any permit,” she said.