Lititz Record Express

              _ i . . A V ñv"! 27, 1995
L i t i t z R e c o r d E x p r e s s
1 119TH YEAR 28 Pages- No. 2 LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 30 cents
Seven-year hitch
Warwick developers must now p a y fee
for reserved sewer hook-up after 7 years
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RICHARD REITZ
Record Express Editor
Warwick Township wants deve­lopers
to know that when it conies to
sewer and water capacity, either use
it or lose it.
A reservation of capacity resolu­tion
was adopted by township super­visors
at their April 19 meeting for
consideration. It is intended to help
free up sewer capacity that has been
reserved by developers for seven
years or more but not used.
“The township authority is a a
point where it has allocated most of
the space,” township manager Daniel
Zimmerman told the board. Howev­r
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W a rw ic k School
Board to hold
budget hearing
The Warwick Board of School
Directors will hold a public bud­get
meeting in the district office
board room on Tuesday, May 2
at 7 p.m.
The board will be reviewing
the proposed 1995-96 school
budget.
The school board is proposing
a 2.3 mill property tax increase.
Scout leader earns
top District award
Donald T. Barnhart, unit com­missioner
of Lititz Boy Scout
Troops 42 and 44, recently
received the 1995 .Eastern Dist­rict
Award of Merit, the top
award bestowed upon leaders by
the District
To read more, turn to page 28.
Lititz Elementary
celebrates Earth D ay
Students from Lititz Elemen­tary
School celebrated the 25th
anniversary of Earth Day with a
special program that transformed
seven of the school’s classrooms
into the seven continents.
For the complete story and
photos, turn to page 6.
Lititz man finishes well
in Boston Marathon
Lititz resident Matt Seigfort
qualified to compete in the 100th
anniversary running of the
Boston Marathon next year, after
placing in the top eight percent
of all runners competing this
year.
See page 8 for the full story.
I n d e x
Business..............................18-19
Church.................................16-17
Classified........................... 24-27
Editorial/Letters........................ 4
Manheim News....................... 20
Obituaries............................. 2,22
Out of the Past....................... 22
Police Log................................12
School News.......................... 6-7
Social................................. 14-15
Sports.................................8-11
Thursday, April 27, 7 p.m. —
Regional Planning meeting at
Manheim Centra! High School.
Monday, May 1, 7 p.m. —
Elizabeth Township Supervisors, at
twp. bldg., 423 Southview Drive.
Tuesday, May 2, 7:30 p.m. —
Lititz Planning Commission, at
borough hall, 7 S. Broad St., Lititz.
Wednesday, May 3, 7 p.m. —
Elizabeth Twp. Planning Commiss­ion,
at twp. bldg., 423 Southview
Drive.
Wednesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m.
— Warwick Township Supervisors,
township building, 315 Clay Road.
er, there is still a lot of unused space
left at the treatment facility.
The resolution would allow the
township to require developers to
pay for continued reservation of the
space if it has not been used after
seven years. The developer will risk
losing it if they do not, Zimmerman
said.
“After seven years, it should begin
providing some funding for the sys­tem,”
he said. To reserve the space,
the developer would be billed the
minimum rate for sewer and water.
He anticipated 100-150 units of
space may be surrendered by deve­lopers.
Monies raised by the reserva­tion
fees could then be used for future
sewer capacity increases.
Zimmerman said this type of
arrangement is often used in areas
under intense development pressure,
and is a common practice among
other municipalities.
He said developers impacted by
the resolution were contacted about
the proposed revisions, and about 80
letters will be sent to inform them of
the adoption of the resolution.
He said developers will have 90
days to contact the township with
their intent, and will be given a one
year grace period to begin payment.
Although the space capacity situa­tion
is not severe currently, Zimmer­man
said development is growing
rapidly in the township.
“We’re getting closer, but to avoid
a crisis, this is one step,” he said.
The resolution, which Zimmer­man
said had been developed over a
six month period by the township
staff, was praised by the board.
“I think it is an excellent idea,”
supervisor V. Riggs Kohler said. “It
is a good way to go.”
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Boro welcomes Little League
STEPHEN SEEBER
Record Express Staff
With professional baseball back in
full swing, it would seem appropriate
for Lititz youth to follow in stride
with their favorite big league slug­gers.
But until this summer, official
Little League Baseball has not been
available in the Warwick School
District.
Fortunately for children ages 9 to
13, Kevin Ranck of Lititz has
decided to step up to the plate and
organize Little League Baseball in
Warwick. There are other little
league teams in the area, but none
affiliated with Williamsport, Pa., the
headquarters for official Little
League play.
Due to the occasion, Lititz Mayor
Russell L. Pettyjohn signed a procla­mation
calling May 6 Little League
Day in the Borough. Ranck was on
hand to meet the Council members
and talk about the program.
“There are currently 525 boys and
girls signed up in the league, and
we’re getting set for our opening day
on May 6,” said Ranck. “We’re hop­ing
that the Mayor will throw out the
first pitch.”
In addition to “commissioner”
Ranck’s introduction, Council met
with two other new leaders in the
community. .
Lititz Fire Department President
Frank Ribaudo introduced the Bor­ough’s
newly elected fire chief, Ron
Oettel Jr.
Council President Dennis P.
Stuckey welcomed Oettel, who was
elected to the chief position on
March 29, and said, “We’re looking
for some good things with you as
chief.”
Oettel was elected by fellow vol­unteers
at the Fire Company to fill
the void left by former chief Jeff Sie-grist’s
resignation on Feb. 22. Sie-grist
stepped down from the chief
position to take a full-time job with
the Springettsbury Township Fire
Department in York County.
Both Council and Oettel expect to
work together to improve volunteer
response numbers to local fire calls.
Councilman Gregory Nies will act as
liaison for the Borough during these
improvements.
Council also welcomed the new
Lititz Community Center Director
Eric Melder to his new position,
which he tool over on March 20 Mel­der
said that he is excited to be work­ing
in the community and also
(See Boro, Page 23)
Clean-up
park fo r
Photo by Stephen Seeber
r e a d ie s
sum mer
A sunny Saturday provided a pleasant setting for a community park
clean-up at Lititz Springs Park on April 22. From left, Andy Woodward
and Eric Horne of scout pack 44 joined Bryan Horne, troop 142, in rak­ing
up last autumn’s leaves.
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JL Owl Hill Perch development
plan approved by Warwick
RICHARD REITZ
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Record Express Editor
Warwick Township supervisors
have given their OK to a 34-unit
housing development along Owl Hill
Road near Kissel Hill Elementary
School.
At their April 19 meeting, supervi­sors
approved the final plan for Owl
Hill Pearch, a development covering'
about 20 acres between Owl Hill
Road and Rudy Dam Road.
But prior to adoption, one resident
who lives near the proposed develop­ment
expressed concern about water
runoff.
Bruce Schneider, who said he has
had problems with other nearby
developments concerning storm
water management, wanted to insure
his property would not be negatively
impacted.
The Owl Hill Perch property is set
on a hill, and Schneider said with the
development, water may flow tow­ard
his property and others in his
area.
But the plan, which is being deve­loped
by Lloyd Rohrer and Elmer
Longenecker, includes a small deten­tion
basin area that they feel utilizes
the existing infrastructure and will
alleviate any water runoff problems.
Warwick Township Manager
Daniel Zimmerman said the develop­er
has far exceeded the township’s l
requirments with the plan.
“The owner of the land went way
beyond the call of duty to improve
it,” he said.
But Z im m e rm an , c red ited
Schneider and the other residents for
expressing their concerns to the
township, which enabled the deve­loper
to more effectively address the
situation.
Supervisor Chairman Daniel Gar­rett
called it “a good example of
cooperation.”
Owl Hill Perch is the last section
of that region to be developed.
In other business:
✓ Supervisors approved a report
submitted by Warwick Township
Police concerning a request to install
no parking signs in problem areas in
the Brookfield Estates.
While the road width throughout
the development is 36 feet, Chief
Alfred Olsen told supervisors the
tight curves along the roads cause
visibility problems, and traffic often
swings wide around the curves, caus­ing
a dangerous situation.
During their study, he said they
witnessed a number of near misses
with parked cars.
Olsen said parking should be pro­hibited
on the inside of all curves
throughout the develpment, as well
as a posted 25 miles per hour speed
limit, and the painting of a center
line.
The report was conducted follow­ing
a request from the Brookfield
Estates Homeowners Association,
which requested all parking be prohi­bited
along the roads.
The report determined that the
road does not meet the requirements
to prohibit all parking.
The report will be drafted into an
ordinance.
✓ The township is planning a
survey of residents to be used for
capital improvement projects over
the next two, five and 10 years,
which will be distributed to residents
(See Warwick, Page 23)
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Photo by Stephen Seeber
Local water gardener Carl Shuman checks out the aftermath of
autumn and winter on the Lititz Historical Society Lily Pond behind the
Mueller House. The pond will be cleaned soon. Plant exchange to be
blooming experience
P a r e n t’s r e q u e s t fo r com m en c em en t
d a te ch a n g e fo r W arw ick r e je c ted
RICHARD REITZ
STEPHEN SEEBER
Record Express Staff
The planting season is upon us,
and as the end of the frost season
approaches, amateur and profession­al
gardeners are ready to get down
and dirty.
In anticipation of a great garden­ing
year, the Lititz Historical Society
will hold a community plant
exchange behind the Mueller House
on East Main Street on Sunday, May
7, from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Coordinator Carolyn Woodson
said the exchange is an opportunity
for area growers to bring in some of
their perennials for trade.
“It’s an inexpensive way to get
fresh variety of perennials,”
explained Woodson.
Iced tea and pretzels will available
and several local plant experts will be
selling flowers.
Phyllis Bierly will have a stand of
annuals and perennials, Master
Gardner Hanna Bartges will demons­trate
hoy to start a butterfly garden
with nector plants, day lilies donated
by Jim Stauffer will benefit the His­torical
Society, and Carl Shuman
will share information on water
gardening.
Shuman, a professional photogra­pher
at Armstrong Industries, was
the guest speaker last Sunday at the
Historical Society’s monthly lecture
series.
For the past six years, this Interna­tional
Water Lily Society member
has been cleaning the lily pond
behind the Mueller House and main­taining
its 60-year-old water garden.
Shuman said that the well-made
(See Lily Pond, Page 23)
Record Express Editor
Concerned about a graduation
ceremony on a weeknight, a War­wick
parent stated her case before the
school board at its April 18 meeting.
But shortly after Sylvia Pringle
explained why she felt Warwick
should move graduation from Wed­nesday,
June 7 to the following Fri­day,
board members chose to keep
the Wednesday commencement.
Pringle told die board many family
members may not be able to attend
the graduation if it is held on a
weeknight.
“People who don’t live around
here will miss out on a lot,” she said.
“With graduation, pictures just don’t
cut it.”
Pringle, whose daughter is a
senior, said relatives who may have
to travel several hours may not be
able to afford taking off work to
attend graduation.
“Each kid deserves something
they can take with them for the rest of
their life,” she said. “Let them enjoy
a graduation, and give grandma in
Pittsburgh a chance to be here.
“I think it’s in your power to
change.”
. She added that she hopes a stan­dard
graduation date could be set for
future ceremonies.
Board member Wallace Hofferth
said relatives who wanted to attend
would be able to find the time, adding
that he has made long trips to attend
family graduations.
J. Arthur Sell added that “they
would still have to lose some time”
from work even if commencement
was held on Friday.
After discussing the issue, the
board chose to not re-open the issue.
The Record asked about a dozen
seniors recently how they felt about
changing graduation from a Wednes­day
to a Friday.
All students asked said they didn’t
want" the date changed, and many
said they had already made post­graduation
plans that would have
been affected if the date were
changed.
Matt Reedy, 18, a Warwick senior
and the student representative on the
school board, said graduating on
Wednesday does not pose problems
- for him personally, but changing to
Friday would.
“I believe graduating on Wednes­day
is OK,” Reedy said. “However, I
can see the problems that arise when
having graduation in the middle of
the week, like having relatives living
out of town.”
Jason Meyers, 18, said “moving
graduation to (June 9) would cause
problems for a lot of people, myself
included.”
“I am leaving for senior week on
the 10th at an early hour,” Matt Hom-berger,
17, added. “That would make
a Friday graduation inconvenient.”
✓ In other business, the school
board voted on the school calendar
for the 1995-96 academic year.
Students will begin classes on
Tuesday, Sept. 5 and are scheduled to
end on Wednesday, June 5.
In service days are scheduled for
Nov. 13-14 and Jan. 15-16. Thanks­giving
will be Nov. 23-24 and 27,
winter vacation will be held Dec.
25-Jan. 1, and spring vacation on
April 5 and 8.
Warwick High School senior Matt
Neideigh, a staff intern at the Lititz
Record Express, contributed to this
report.