Groups plan Oktoberfest event
Amity Crime Watch and the Amity Athletic Club are sponsoring the township’s first Oktoberfest and Chili-Cook-off Oct. 6 in Amity Community Park, off Weavertown Road.
“It will be a community event — to gather people and use the park,” said Karen LeBlanc, president of the Amity A.C.
LeBlanc and Tracy Walter, president of Amity Crime Watch, hope the event will result in a monthly “music in the park” series (or similar monthly event) in 2019 and every summer after.
This first event will feature two local bands, the Daniel Boone
High School band ensembles, a beer truck from Birdsboro Beverage Co., 236 W. First Street, Birdsboro, a wine garden, and two to three food vendor trucks.
The board of supervisors unanimously approved the event and agreed to waive the park‘s “no alcohol” rule for the event.
Board Chairperson Kimberly J. McGrath was absent from the meeting.
In other business, the supervisors unanimously approved a $34,000 engineering work order for Entech Engineering Inc., Reading, to design phase one of a new centrifuge and digester at the Amity Sewage Treatment Plant, 120 Old Philadelphia Pike.
The board also approved to extend an offer of full time employment to Jeffery Ellwanger, currently a part-time officer with the Amity Township Police Department.
Amity Police Chief Andrew J. Kensey said Ellwanger has successfully completed his probationary period.
Supervisor Terry L. Jones said Ellwanger’s full-time status will aid the department in reducing its extremely high overtime costs.
Thomas Flatley was approved to fill the open seat on the township Planning Commission.
He replaces Steve Chieffo, who resigned from the commission on Feb. 6. Chieffo was elected a district justice in November 2017.
Prior to the vote that elected Flatley, Supervisor Paul R. Weller motioned that the board interview the three other candidates that he said were also qualified for the position.
“We’ve had this vacancy for three to four months, and we’ve had these candidates since Feb. 15,” said Supervisor Terry L. Jones.
He said a month-and-ahalf was sufficient time for any member of the board to request interviewing the candidates.
Developers of the future Auto Zone at 1123 Benjamin Franklin Highway, Douglassville, will request five at Monday night’s Zoning Board meeting.
Board members said the five acre site — located west of Maplewood Avenue and between the east and westbound lanes of Benjamin Franklin Highway (Route 422) — is now proposed with the Auto Zone as phase one, followed by construction of two quick service restaurants and an office building.
The variance requests are for two-foot smaller parking spaces near the proposed store, a reduction in the number of required parking spaces, a zero-foot improvement setback and buffer zone at the internal lot lines, increased signage sizes, and increased impervious coverage on one lot.
The board unanimously agreed to recommend to the Zoning Board approval of increased sign size from 160 square feet to 220 square feet for the three subdivided lots.
They did not recommend the developer’s alternate request: for a 30-foot monument sign on the site.
“All people in that area [the highway commercial zone] have been consistent with similar size monument signs — others planted their signs on the ground,” said township Solicitor Brian F. Boland.