The speed limit on Pine Hill Road in West Penn Township has been established at 45 miles-per-hour.

The township's board of supervisors Monday evening adopted an ordinance setting the new limit on Pine Hill, between SR309 and Cold Spring Road.Ron Madison of Rettew Inc., Schuylkill Haven, the township's engineering consultant, announced that Rettew had performed an engineering study on Pine Hill to determine a proper speed limit.When asked, Supervisors Chairman Alfonso Martinez said the study cost about $1,400. Without the study the township's option for the speed limit were either 25 or 55

m.p.h.Solicitor Gretchen Sterns prepared the ordinance based on the engineering study.In other business, the supervisors awarded a quote for road line painting to IRN, Hazleton, at a cost of $6,866.76 for 83,741 linear feet at 8.2 cents per foot, as obtained by Jeremy Frable, group leader for the township's road department.Halloween paradeAt the request of the West Penn Township Lions Club, the board approved the Andreas Halloween Parade for Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., with a rain date the following evening. The township will send a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation requesting that SR895 in Andreas be closed during the parade.Trick of Treat Night has been set for West Penn on Halloween, Sunday, Oct. 31, from 6-9 p.m.Sterns reported that Rettew is preparing a map of West Penn's Agricultural Security parcels, with those areas highlighted. The map, which will also be used for zoning purposes, will be submitted to the Agricultural Security Committee within three weeks.Soil testingRettew is also in the process of performing on-site soils suitability evaluation as part of the township's update of its Act 537 Sewage Facilities Act plan. Madison noted that more property owner participation is needed.On Aug. 12, the township issued a letter in order to contact additional property owners for site review and possible follow-up soil testing."We are looking to do additional testing after the crops (are harvested) and winter sets in," said Madison.The supervisors approved the final boundary line adjustment requested by Albert and Joy Cheese and Gary and Vanna Frantz, as recommended by the West Penn Planning Commission. A waiver was granted for the use of iron pegs instead of concrete monuments for boundary markers.Code enforcement officer Harry Barron reported that he issued 16 zoning permits for August, as well as two driveway permits, 14 permits for moving into the township and two permits for moving out. The township collected $820 in permit fees and there was $419,939 in new construction.Martinez said he received a call from William Brior, sewage enforcement officer, stating that sewer malfunctions on Golf Road are being addressed.Deteriorating propertyUnder public comment, Christine Pantella, Andreas, addressed the board regarding a vacated property adjacent to her home.The property in question has been abandoned by its owners and vacant for one year. It is in deteriorating condition, with high grass, filled with garbage, which attracts snakes and skunks. Pieces of wood, slate roofing and chimney bricks have been falling onto Pantella's property, she said. A neighbor, Tracy Palmer, said there has also been vandalism there.Barron said the owner has done some cleaning up, such as removing water from a pool on the property, but not enough. "The place is a mess," concurred Barron. "It is in rough shape."The ownership of the property has been switched between banks and it hasn't been put up for sheriff's sale as of yet, explained Barron. Sterns said a foreclosure process could take between six-nine months.Sterns suggested the owner be cited for violations under the township's property maintenance ordinance.Jack Sarge, Andreas, recommended the township review its maintenance ordinance, which was originally passed in 1997, as well as its zoning ordinance. "They are a little antiquated," he said.Sterns said a new international property maintenance code was adopted in 2009 and might be a good place to start.