Lititz Record Express

              THURSDAY, March 10, 1994
L it it z R e c o r d E x p r e s s
117TH YEAR LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 26 Pages- No. 47 30 cents
Wal-Mart eyes Route 501 site
for location of proposed store CONNIE BUCKWALTER_______________________________ _____
Record Express Staff
The nation’s largest retailer — Wal-Mart — submitted sketch plans last
week to Warwick Township offices regarding the proposed construction of a
“supercenter” off Route 501 in Lititz.
The plans call for the construction of a 199,026-square-foot discount store
(152,238 square feet of which would be retail display and sales area) and 963
parking spaces. Customer and employee parking would be located apart from
the area where the truck loading and unloading would be done, which would
be in the back of the store.
The store itself would include 36 different departments of household
goods, hardware, health and beauty aids, pharmaceuticals, garden center,
grocery/food section and automotive area. The store, if constructed, would be
the one of the largest type of the 40 stores Wal-Mart has in the state.
Wal-Mart has proposed locating the store on a 27-acre community com­mercial
zoned tract of land next to Stauffers of Kissel Hill, between Millport
Road and West Woods Drive intersections with the Lititz Pike. The land is
currently owned by Buckhill Farms. An estimated $10 million pricetag has
been placed on the cost of the land and building the store.
Of the acreage involved at the proposed Wal-Mart site, 24.37 acres would
be used for the proposed project. Three outparcels totalling 2.56 acres have no
plans at this time.
Everyone asked about the plans said that traffic is a major issue that needs
to be thoroughly addressed.
“Traffic on the pike has been an issue for some time and we understand
that,” said Kenneth E. Davis, Wal-Mart’s regional community relations
representative.
“The important thing for us as businessmen and women is, can we make
sure we can get in and out of the store easily? If that doesn’t happen, our store
won’t be successful,” he said.
To that end, Davis said the retailer plans to spend considerable time work­ing
with the township and with PennDOT to address traffic concerns. Wal-
Mart will conduct a traffic study to complement one recently done of the area
that will include studies of five more intersections. Those intersections
include: Kissel Hill Road and Millport Road, Woodcrest Avenue and Millport
Road, Owl Hill Road and Lititz Pike, Airport Road andLititz Pike and Oregon
Road and Lititz Pike.
The primary proposed access for store traffic would be from Lititz Pike and
would involve the installment of a traffic light. And, Wal-Mart will ask the
(Turn to Page 12)
Pictured above is part of the sketch plan Wal-Mart representatives submitted to Warwick Township offices last week. Lititz Pike/Route
501 is to the far right of the graphic.
Proposed, store’s potential impact
on traffic & business emerge as concerns
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
Wal-Mart’s recent announcement
of plans to build a 199,000-square-foot
“supercenter” off Route 501 in
Warwick Township had some local
residents and business owners talk­ing
late last week.
Across the board, traffic placed
high on the list of some people’s con­cerns.
Traffic is “horrible as it is” said
Rodney Moseman, president of the
Lititz Retailers and owner of Bicycle
World, which is located off Route
501.
“Lititz Pike is going to become a
street with a stoplight at every
intersection,” he said.
Stopping at the base of Kissel Hill
in the winter and during bad weather
can already be difficult, he said.
Downtown in Benner’s Pharmacy,
- customers echoed Moseman’s con­cerns.
Several complained about the
current traffic situation and painted
mental pictures of even more cars
and trucks using Lititz Pike. One man
said that Route 501 is getting to look
more and more like another con­gested
road — Route 30.
“With Park City just down the
road, I can’t imagine why you even
need it,” said one gentleman sitting at
“I’m not 100 percent against it
from a business angle. Everybody
should have the right to be in busi­ness,”
he said.
One possible advantage of having
a Wal-Mart in the area would be that
some people might like the conveni­ence
of being able to shop in such a
store without having to drive far,
Moseman said.
But, he added that businesses have
an obligation to provide the com­munity
with the kind of services they
really need.
“A Wal-Mart will offer nothing to
Lancaster County that we don’t
already have,” he said. “They may
, .....w;, OOVt-A*
HIPPITY, HOPPITY, EASTER IS ON ITS WAY — Easter is fast
approaching and you know what that means — it’s time for the Lititz
Record Express’ annual Easter Coloring Contest. There are three
categories: ages 4-5,6-8 and 9-10. Each week is a new contest and
winners will be announced and featured each week. See this week’s
Record Express for Week One’s entry.
“Lititz Pike is going to become a
street with a stoplight at every
intersection/— Rodney Moseman
Photo b y Diane Nixdorf
THINK SPRING—On a cold, snowy day last week, Shelby Phillips,
of Lititz, found a colorful surprise amidst the white winter wonderland.
Nestled along the house, a blooming crocus managed to push its way
through the blanket of snow to absorb the glowing rays of sunshine. It’s
a sure-fire sign that spring is in the air!
Benner’s coffee counter.
“I think it could conceivably shut
down Lititz’s downtown busines­ses,”
said another man. “The stores
downtown as they are are self-sustaining.”
“We have enough stores now,” he
continued. “The problem is people
need to spend more money down­town,
while they still can.”
The same gentleman also said that
the small-town atmosphere is what
Lititz is known for and said he would
to see that image preserved for as
long as possible.
From his office at Bicycle World,
Moseman also expressed concern
about how Wal-Mart could impact
his business and those of other local
shop owners.
have lower prices in some instances,
but Wal-Mart is not the lowest priced
merchant that is out there.”
In addition, Moseman said that the
amount of money consumers have to
spend does have limits.
“Lancaster County only has a cer­tain
amount of spendable bucks to
distribute,” he said. To illustrate his
point, Moseman equated the dispos­able
income of Lancaster Countians
with a dinner prepared for four.
When an unexpected visitor arrives,
the food that was made to serve four
people must now be redivided to feed
five — giving everyone a smaller
portion of the meal.
An estimated 250-300 jobs could
be created by the opening of the
(Turn to Page T2)
L ititz Borough w o rk s to
m in im ize le a d in w a te r
DIANE NIXDORF_________________ _________________________
Record Express Staff
When the borough tested its water last year, a handful of homes in the Lititz
community registered elevated levels of lead in their drinking water.
“But it’s nothing to be alarmed about,” said Borough Manager Sue Barry.
“There’s no lead in the water itself. It’s mostly from connections.”
To avoid possible health risks, borough officials are working diligently to
solve the problem.
In order to comply with new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reg­ulations,
the borough, along with the help of ST Environmental Services
(STES), administered two consecutive rounds of testing in 1993 — each dur­ing
a six month period.
To meet EPA criteria, the testing sites had to be single family residences,
built between 1982 and 1986 with copper pipes containing lead solder or a
lead service line leading into the home.
Upon receiving a list of all eligible residences, Pat Kline, of STES, sent out
close to 300 letters explaining the testing procedure and asking for volunteers.
In addition, she also ran an ad in the Lititz Record Express.
“We had a hard time getting volunteers,” said Kline, noting that it took
almost three months to recruit 40 home owners.
Upon receiving containers from STES representatives, the volunteers, who
were scattered throughout the borough, collected samples from bathroom or
sink faucets.
(Turn to Page 12)
THIS WEEK IN THE RECORD EXPRESS
Heaps a n d Krushinski win Se ctiona l titles
Behind individual champion­ships
by 112-pounder Chris
Heaps and 145-pounder Brad
Krushinski, the Warriors’ wres-1
tling team won the Sectional
team title last weekend. The
Warriors will be sending nine £
wrestlers to Districts this
weekend. Read more on page 8.
?
*
i
LCC’s publication named best in the State
At the Pennsylvania Recre­ation
and Parks Society annu­al
conference in Lancaster
last week, the Lititz Communi­ty
Center’s Community Tree
won the “Agency Publication
Award” in the community
category. Read more on page
19. mm ! '■ Si
m
THE INDEX
Business 18
Church 16
Classified 22-25
Editorial 4
Manheim 20
Obituaries 2
Out of the Past 4
School Menu 6
School News 6
Social 14-15
Sports 8-11
WEATHER: Thursday, rain
changing back to snow. Friday,
partly cloudy.