Johnsonburg Municipal Authority holds a short April meeting
JOHNSONBURG The Johnsonburg Municipal Authority (JMA) met on Wednesday beginning at 4 pm at their Main Office on Market Street. In a departure from the norm, the meeting took less than an hour, even with the American Rivers Association presentation.
Lisa Hollingsworth of the non-profit corporation American Rivers gave a presentation to the JMA Board regarding the upcoming breach of the Powers Run Dam that has been made redundant by the new water plant on the Clarion. American Rivers has been in existence since 1973, with the stated goals of protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers, and conserving clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members, and volunteers across the country, American Rivers is the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States. Hollingsworth indicated that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit to breach the dam was already in place in the presentation. Over the next year, American Rivers will fundraise through grants and from private sources for the cost of removing the dam in an environmentally friendly way and remediation the stream back into a high-quality trout habitat and “wild” river. She indicated that the fundraising will be complete in 2022 with approved contractors from the DEP and American Rivers online for the breaching in 2023.
At a special meeting back on March 22, the JMA approved the sale of the 1845 Long Level Road property in the amount of $121,000 to Steven Smith in a 4-2 split among board members with one abstention.
The process of demolishing old, decrepit properties in Johnsonburg after owners have abandoned them or lost them due to tax issues has resulted in a major problem for the wastewater system. When properties are demolished, the open line to the sewer has remained, and the system has to deal with stormwater flowing into the sewer system instead of the wastewater system; with no way to bill anyone for that excess, the Johnsonburg Borough Council and the JMA are developing an ordinance to require that all demolished properties install a “cap” on the line or that it be encased in concrete to prevent the system from being overloaded during rain events and floods.
With the work on the new plant substantially completed, the current contractors are working on “punch-list” items for the JMA final approval and release of funds after restoration and other items are completed. There are now some tensions between Continential
Construction and the JMA regarding the payment and completion of the project, which was discussed in an executive session and is not available for public knowledge as it pertains to legal matters. The JMA did authorize payment to Continental Construction for $6,500 for part of the emergency work that they performed installing the water line from the
Third Avenue Tank to the Main water Trunk Line along 219. As readers will remember, Continental Construction worked through frigid temperatures and dunting winter conditions to install that new water line that has finally allowed all parts of the JMA water system to receive the new, highquality water from the plant downtown.
Currently, there are no boil-water notices in the JMA system, and the emergency line that Continentinal Installed has addressed pressure problems on Silver Creek, Dill Hill, and other areas of the water system.
The Johnsonburg Municipal Authority will hold its next meeting on May 11, beginning at 4 pm at the office on Market Street. The public is invited to attend.