The motion was to authorize the attorney to negotiate with Flanders in order to turn the deed over to the township. That would put the ball in their court in terms of demolishing the structure, cleaning up the property and selling it, eventually, in the hopes of recouping the cost involved in such an endeavor. The motion was seconded and carried.

The ladies thanked supervisors repeatedly for the help and said they really appreciated the action that was taken during the meeting.

If there is a lien against the property the above mentioned scenario would not be able to unfold. The township is unclear as to whether the loan in question is a signature loan or a collateral loan against the property.

The bank is not forthcoming with answers to what kind of loan it may be.

In other business, many bids were submitted for the Gibson Park Storm Water Project and they were opened during the meeting.

Bids ranged from the $32,000 range, to the $60,000 range, with the winning bid being awarded to a local company, Klinginsmith Enterprises.

The project will clear up an erosion problem that had water traveling from one side of the road, via pipe, and landing in the recreation area.

Moving along to the Route 618 Bridge topic, Jason Dickey, of Porter Consulting Engineers, (PCE), was in attendance. He presented supervisors with a chart, of sorts, which detailed the rate at which the bridge has been settling.

Soon after the bridge was completed, the north end began to settle. A dip in the road formed and it caused a jolting sensation to vehicles traveling over that portion of the roadway.

The parties involved are still in the process of determining if traffic, construction or design caused the problem but, some studies have been carried out by PCE in the meantime. Hence, the chart Dickey showed supervisors.

Recently, PCE marked some areas in which boring samples were to be taken. Dickey imparted to supervisors that the bridge had settled approximately a half inch in the past two months. He stated that the rate hadn't slowed at all, and it averaged around a quarter to a half inch per month.

Several months ago, the township applied road material to level out the dip, allowing for a smoother ride. It worked for quite some time, but the bridge has settled more, as the numbers above indicate.

Therefore, the township is going to have to add to the patchwork sometime in the near future. When they tackle the job, they will call on PCE again, so that benchmarks can be recorded.

The settling has also caused some other damage in the form of slight cracks near the guardrails. This was noted during the meeting by Supervisor Harry McGrath, who said that Ashley Porter was aware of the cracking.

PCE has been surveying the bridge every other month and they are going to continue to monitor the situation. They will be reporting back to supervisors on a regular basis with the findings.

The next Summit Township Supervisor meeting will be held on September 7. The meetings take place at the township building in Harmonsburg and begin at 7 PM. Area residents are encouraged to attend.