The Summerhill Township Board meeting for June was brought to order. All three Supervisors were present; Duane Agnew, Dave Johns and Bob Arendash. Secretary May Ann Goodrich took the minutes and there were 12 concerned citizens present.

There was no Pledge of Allegiance said.

The minutes from the previous meeting were available for review. The May meeting minutes were approved, along with the Treasurer’s Report.

Solicitor Alan Shaddinger was also present at the meeting.

Supervisor Duane Agnew called for an Executive Session, which lasted for 15 minutes, after which the meeting resumed.

Under New Business, Canal Road has been vacated, or returned to landowners, in Summerhill Township. Also, there is a 2-day seminar on Dirt and Gravel Roads. This is a required class for Supervisors/officials if they wish to acquire grants for their municipalities.

For Visitor’s Recognition, a citizen stood to revisit the alleged destruction of her trees on her property by Summerhill Township.

She stated that she had returned for the June meeting and she thought the Supervisors were aware that many rocks had been spewed into her yard by the chute on the ditching machine. She went on to say she had been on Carr Road, where her property runs, and there were rocks there, also.

She said she had told the township not to aim the chute on to her property, had gone away for several days, and upon returning, found the crew had been back, allegedly spewing more rocks.

She also alleges that the rocks are in her pasture.

She stated that it was not only her who had complaints, and that there are deaf children playing in that area. She feared the deaf children won’t hear the rock-throwing ditching machine and could get hurt.

She said she thought the township would make things right.

Supervisor Duane Agnew spoke up, telling the woman that they would go and look at it.

Solicitor Alan Shaddinger also spoke, saying that the township would put in writing what they had all discussed.

At this point, the meeting became heated and loud as the woman’s husband spoke up, accusing Supervisor Bob Arendash of making "smart remarks."

He loudly stated that he and his family are, "fed up and are ready to call a lawyer."

Supervisor Dave Johns cut in, saying that the township will replace the (fruit) trees, and the citizens would have the option of choosing which type. He asked them to show him the culvert spot in question near the people’s property, and concluded by saying he didn’t know anything about the rocks.

This dialog kept repeating for awhile.

Someone else spoke up, saying that ST should send letters out to citizens, notifying them of road or ditch work to be done, or make phone calls.

Johns answered by saying that the citizen could be right about the notification, but that this time it hadn’t been done. He mentioned that some personal contact with the public regarding work to be done could happen in the future.

He finished by saying that the ditches are functioning properly, that the township is making progress and they are communicating with people.

The woman spoke again, stating she wants an apology from ST. She said her trees weren’t just common crab apple trees.

Supervisor Duane Agnew then moved the meeting along.

Another citizen then stated that he had rocks, too, but that his ditches were working; just to pick up the rocks was all right with him.

A lady resident asked about her road, mentioning she would like some brine for dust control, and another joined in, saying he is tired of dust filtering into his house after all these years.

The Supervisors answered that the DEP regulates how much brine can be spread at any given time.

Supervisor Agnew answered by saying that there had to some grading done first.

Someone asked about some gravel being spread. Arendash answered that they were all watching the rain and weather.

From here, the subject moved to the local pallet company and the heavy trucks transporting products.

A citizen said he thought that there are way too many trucks using the back roads of the area, and that there was lot of dust.

Apparently the pallet company had started out small, with just a couple of trucks, but has since grown. The owner’s proposal at the time on the number of trucks that would be using the roads of ST was a "guestimate."

The Supervisors stated that they would go and speak with the owner of the pallet company.

A man then spoke, asking about the roadside berms and all the loose material left there. He asked if the Road Crew was coming back.

Agnew answered that the Crew was elsewhere, but would be returning to the man’s road.

The man continued by saying that the rock issue is everyone’s topic of discussion, but that ditches on Robinson Road are not draining or functioning. He said that the ditches are "plenty deep," and there is gravel there.

Supervisor Agnew responded by saying that Robinson Road is difficult to work with.

The man went on, saying that his wife is also complaining and that water is sitting or moving on the road. He felt that the road needs crowned and that all materials are being washed down on to Rt. 18. He concluded by saying that some roads have salt brine and others do not.

Agnew answered by telling him that the Crew will get to his road, also.

Supervisor Johns spoke up, saying that the planer had been used first, with Supervisor Agnew chiming in that the grader had not been used on the man’s road.

The man answered that cars and vehicles are driving way too fast, and going up the hill fast, also.

Supervisor Arendash spoke up, saying that the Road Crew has been out working on Shermansville Road and they are waiting for gravel to arrive.

Another citizen stood and said that he felt that people didn’t have enough time to talk at the May meeting; that the Supervisors "5-minute rule," was too short. He went on to say that he was a former Supervisor for ST and that he felt the 3 Supervisors currently in charge of the ditching were, "Running the chute wide open."

The man continued, "...this is ridiculous; it’s either file a lawsuit or cut grass (with rocks in the lawn.) I called the Big Boys at the State and you are doing things here illegally...just ridiculous."

The man said everyone needs to work together and just because the Supervisors are the "Top Dogs," doesn’t mean they don’t have to work with people.

The man held up a copy of "Second Class Township Code," stating he had gone to State Rep John Evans’ office and obtained the copy of the book.

He concluded with, "And one more thing, if you hire a landscaper to fix the mistakes you made, you’re the ones who will pay for it."

A lady spoke up then, thanking the Supervisors for cutting briars near her home and telling them that Shermansville Road looks good.

At this time, the motion to pay all the bills carried unanimously, with Supervisor Dave Johns abstaining from the vote, as per Conneautville Hardware Store.

Supervisor Duane Agnew asked the public if there were any more questions they might need answered. There being none, the motion carried unanimously to adjourn for the evening.

The Summerhill Township Supervisors meet every second Thursday of the month at 7:00pm. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Clarification: In the May report on Summerhill Township in Community News, this reporter incorrectly stated that Supervisor Duane Agnew was on the Road Crew for ST, when in fact, he was not. He does not work for Summerhill Township. He is a township supervisor and is employed elsewhere. The Community News ran a clarification following last month’s report and repeats the information here. Our apologies for the incorrect information. .