Lower Towamensing Township has selected legal counsel to represent it in a lawsuit filed against the municipality over a row of hedges from a neighboring property.

Supervisors on a 2-0 vote Tuesday appointed township solicitor Jim Nanovic as its attorney on the Terry Kuehner lawsuit, filed June 26 in the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas.

Supervisor Mike Takerer was absent.

The suit was filed by Kuehner, of 2305 Stoney Ridge Road, over a row of hedges from a neighboring property that he says obstruct his mailbox.

It names township supervisors Connie Brown, Mike Takerer, Jay Mullikin, Nanovic, and resident Sandra Goucher, who resides at 2325 Stoney Ridge Road, as defendants.

Kuehner filed the suit against the defendants for being in default for safety violations of Stoney Ridge Road of obstructions in the right of way of the 16 feet at the entrance of 2305 Stoney Ridge Road, or hedges that obstruct safe passage and put vehicles at risk of harm.

At the board’s April meeting, Kuehner told township supervisors that a neighboring property has a row of hedges that he believes is in the township’s right of way.

Kuehner said how he had filed a petition with the notice of a right of way for a parcel. Supervisors confirmed that they had reviewed his letter.

Nanovic asked Kuehner if the postmaster had given him anything in writing, and Kuehner said he had talked to the postmaster, but that it wasn’t up to him, but rather the township.

Kuehner said he wanted the township to remove the obstruction (hedges) within the right of way, so the mailman could get through.

He said he had an easement for Prince Manufacturing to mine the tunnel, and that he had a letter from DEP where he was eventually going to mine out that tunnel, which the Army Corp of Engineers have been to the property and he was licenses by the state for mining and reclamation.

Kuehner said the hedges were in the township’s road.

Kuehner said there had been an issue with the obstruction (hedges) for his site view, but the hedges were trimmed down.

He told supervisors at that time he had installed a mailbox on his property, and claimed that the letter carrier was unable to get to his mailbox because of the hedges.

Kuehner said the mailman was having a problem delivering his mail to his mailbox, which the hedges were in the right of way easement of the township.

He said he was not able to place the mailbox on the other side of his driveway because of the pipe under his driveway, and called upon Brown to have the township road foreman clear that right of way.

Township planning commission member Angela Farrel told Kuehner that he has a 25-foot easement.

Township code enforcement officer Brent Green asked Kuehner if he got notice from the post office.

Mullikin told Kuehner that if he’s getting his mail, then he wasn’t sure what exactly the problem is.

Kuehner said the issue is the easement of the township’s right of way and why it isn’t clearing it.

Kuehner said he was giving the board a 30-day notice to clear the right of way or he was going to file an action with the courts.