Penn Forest Township has hired an additional full time codes enforce/zoning officer, with weekend hours to be available for short-term rental issues.

The township supervisors last week approved up to $4,000 for equipment for this position.

Five hundred and twenty short-term rental licenses were issued in the township, which has gone down in the past year.

In other business, a $6,000 matching grant was received from the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau for the beginning of the Penn Forest Trail along Route 903. These funds have to be used by Dec. 7.

Further discussion will be held about preserving 232 Stony Mountain Road as the township works to get funds from Open Spaces, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and other sources.

Line painting of township roads will be done by Road Safe Traffic Systems Inc., who submitted the only bid for the project at a cost of $49, 991.04.

In other business:

• Four 24x48 “Special Events Ahead” signs and 24 x 18 “Burn Ban in Effect” signs were approved for purchase at a cost of up to $1,200.00.

• Several township vehicles were repaired including the 2017 Ford brakes for $733.55 and F-550 and F-350 repairs totaling $2,149.93.

• Osvaldo Collado will be hired as a laborer/road crew at a rate of $22.70 per hour as another employee was terminated.

• Discussion was held about fixing or repairing the bulletin board at the park. Supervisor Patrick Holland stated, “I’ll have the crew look at it and we can figure out what to do next.”

• First Aid kits were approved for purchase at the park at a cost of $650. Ten park garage cans and 1 lid will be replaced at a cost of $424.

• A total of 64 hours were used for 97 building, zoning and septic right-to-knows and three administrative and financial right-to-know requests for July.

• During public comment Towamensing Trails resident David Hannum asked about the pole barn that is being built right in front of the lake in the development. There were questions about whether it is zoned for this and if anything could be done to prevent the building. At this time the project had been given township approval.

• The next supervisor’s meeting will be held on Tuesday Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.