A feasibility study for the Penn Forest walking/hiking trails proposal is priced at $39,500 by Barry Isett & Associates.

The township has applied for a grant for $20,000.

At Monday’s supervisors meeting, it was decided to wait for the grant to be approved, then move forward with the study, which will lead to more grants.

The trail would be built in a similar way to the D&L Trail and would be utilized for walkers, bikers, hikers and in the winter cross-country skiers.

The proposed route would include land that has already been cleared for utilities, as well as easements with residents that would allow a trail to traverse through their properties.

The trail would be constructed in six sections using some existing trail in Weiser State Park and building on utility areas that are clear and viable options for crushed gravel to be installed.

Other business

Officers of Beltzville Lake Estates thanked the township for reducing the speed limit on the township road to 25 mph in their development.

The township is buying the speed limit signs.

The development is seeking help in enforcing a clean up and repairs at a home owned by a Slovakian man. He has no proper mailing address in the U.S. He is reported to owe school district taxes, and does owe dues to Beltzville Lake Estates.

While the township has no say in all this, supervisors agreed to take a look. A suggestion was that BLE should hire a detective whose specialty is skip-chasing.

• A CPR and AED training class for all the township staff will be held on April 9, and taught by members of the Lehighton Ambulance.

• Penn Forest Park will get some upgraded lighting in its restrooms, and a new security camera on the upper pavilion. Sports teams are starting to use the park heavily. “The park is getting busy,” said chairman Roger Meckes.

• Shiffer Bituminous has been contracted to send its pothole patching truck through the township, twice, at $2,500 per load. The township crew will be out safety flagging when the truck is in the township, which will be early in the season.

• Meckes reported that the township-wide roadside tree trimming work is nearly complete.

• Fire Police were given permission to direct traffic at the St. Marks and St. John’s Race Street Run on June 29 in Jim Thorpe.

• Conditional approval of the Getz Self Storage business on Route 903 was given for waivers, and for a request to extend the timing of the land development plan review to July 1.