At last month's board of supervisor's meeting the supervisors requested an opinion from township solicitor Ronald Karasek on the legality of denying a lease extension to Nestle Waters NA for its office space at the community center.

Karasek's opinion was that it was not in the township's interest to exclude Nestle from the community center."A township is not a nonprofit; it must follow a set of rules," Karasek said. "It is a government entity. The township's position is complicated by the use of the center by the Concerned Citizens. You can't have it both ways, allow one party that is against it and exclude the party in favor of it."A petition was presented to the supervisors which "respectfully insisted" that the supervisors adhere to the mission statement for the center. The statement in part states that the center is to "enhance the quality of life in our township by developing inclusive community participation."Resident Vernon Barlieb reminded the supervisors that the township residents elected the officials and not the solicitor, and yet he felt that the solicitor was the one making the decisions."If this community center is going to make it, it is not going to be with them in there," said Barlieb.The supervisors decided to extend the lease, and there was some discussion as to if they should make it month to month or for the full year. While many of the residents were against the full year, Planning Board Chairman Bob Boileau pointed out that by making the lease for the full year, the township was assured of the full rental value even if Nestle should decide to "pull out of town."In the end the supervisors agreed to the one-year term.Many residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision."If we can't get them out of our community center," said Desiree Jaeckle, "Then how the hell are we going to get them out of our town."Water extractionAnother item related to the ongoing water extraction issue is the appeal filed on behalf of a number of residents to the township's former zoning ordinance which permitted water extraction in the light industrial zone.This ordinance made it possible for Nestle to file its application for a special exception permit to withdraw 200,000 gallons of spring water from Chestnut Springs daily.While the application is pending before the zoning hearing board, the appeal of the ordinance is moving forward in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas.At a recent CJERP (joint regional planning board) meeting the solicitor for CJERP James Fareri indicated that CJERP would be maintaining the position that the ordinance was properly passed."We are not in agreement with CJERP's position," said Chairwomen Mary Anne Clausen. "Since Eldred Township is not defending the ordinance, we are not in agreement with CJERP defending the Eldred Ordinance."Clausen did point out that the township has concerns with Fareri having a conflict of interest in that another member of his law firm is representing the property owner. The supervisors passed a motion which would have Boileau address CJERP at its next meeting and to bring the township's concerns to its attention.Mock ParkAnother item which was a carry-over from last month's meeting was a discussion of the grant for Mock Park. The grant is fast reaching its expiration date and due to a protracted legal matter the township realized that it would not be able to utilize the grant to build a playground at the Mock Park location.The discussion last month was about possibly returning the money to DCNR. After a discussion with DCNR, Clausen stated that there was a possibility that DCNR might permit the township to transfer the funds to renovating and upgrading the existing playground at the community center.The board decided to reinstate the Mock Park advisory board and have them look into developing a plan for the playground at the community center and taking the plan to DCNR for approval.The supervisors also passed a motion to permit township employees who are also volunteer firefighters to respond to emergency calls during working hours, and also agreed to continue to pay them while on the call, up to their regular number of hours per day.The township is also considering purchasing a used bucket truck from Pencor's telephone division. The price of the truck is $6,500.The decision was tabled until additional information could be obtained.