Date: Feb. 1, 2021
As elected members of the Board of Supervisors, we are charged to be the voice of the residents and businesses of Derry Township.
Derry Township is disappointed by the recent actions of the Lewistown Borough Council (LBC) in relation to the Water Authority (MABL). We were under the impression that a Memorandum of Understanding had been brokered to transfer the assets of MABL to a county water authority. Although we were not happy with the amount of money that Lewistown Borough was to profit from this agreement, we were willing to support this plan to allow this vital county-wide resource to be managed by a group that had the interests of all stakeholders represented including the approximately 25% that is contributed by Derry Township. Instead through the actions of LBC, allcommunity voices to the MABL board have been silenced and replaced by members appointed by LBC that either live in or work for the Borough of Lewistown. MABL’s assets were built by all the
aharpster@lewistownsentinel.com
YEAGERTOWN – The Derry Township Board of Supervisors held their regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. The meeting involved new and old business and approvals as well as a letter signed by the Board of Supervisors, that will be sent out to the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Lewistown (MABL) and the Lewistown Borough Council (LBC).
“As elected members of the Board of Supervisors, we have charged to be the voice of the residents and businesses of Derry Township. Derry Township is disappointed in the recent actions of LBC in relation to MABL. We were under the impression that a memorandum of understanding had been brokered to transfer the assets of MABL to a county water authority. Although we were not happy with the amount of money that the Lewistown Borough was to profit from this agreement, we were willing to support this plan to allow this vital county-wide resource to be managed by a group that had the interest of all s
kharris@lewistownsentinel.com
The Lewistown Borough Council held a special virtual meeting Monday evening to discuss several orders of business, including the resignation of Councilman Sievers.
The board unanimously voted to accept Mr. Sievers’s resignation.
Fire Chief Bob Barlett also spoke, detailing the three fires the department had responded to in December to the Council. He also took the moment to pay tribute to Fire Inspector Mike Force, who recently passed away due to COVID-19 complications. Barlett said that Mike joined the Brooklyn Station in July of 1974 as an FF/EMT and held numerous offices over the years. In November of 1991, Mike was appointed Fire Investigator and served in that post until present. He publicly thanked Inspector Force for his service.
LEWISTOWN Taxpayers of Mifflin County will see no tax increase for the county portion of their taxes.
Commissioners adopted the 2021 budget during the board’s meeting on Tuesday.
“I’d like to acknowledge all the work the departments have done in getting through this process,” said Commissioners Rob Postal.
“We appreciate the cooperation of everybody. The cost of things never goes down. Your employment costs go up, all the taxes go up that you have to pay…But everyone worked together to make sure we could hold the line of no increases,” added Commissioner Kevin Kodish.
Also during the meeting, commissioners approved a resolution to again require residents of Mifflin County to wear face masks in local government buildings to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Julianne Kilmer
LEWISTOWN – The Lewistown Borough Council did not take public action to appoint representatives to the Mifflin County Municipal Authority during its meeting Monday evening. The council ha opted not to appoint its members to the board despite having met several times since the decision to form a county authority was announced.
In November, commissioners Mark Sunderland, Rob Postal, and KEvin Kodish appointed themselves as “placeholder” board members until the borough made its own appointments. At last week’s organizational meeting of the Mifflin County Municipal Authority, the commissioners abstained from all votes that were taken, including the appointment of the board’s first officers.