Lititz Record Express

              T H E R E S S
S E R V I N G T H E W A R W I C K A R E A F O R N E A R L Y A C E N T U R Y
98th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL, 1877, AS THE SUNBEAM
ICONSOUDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD, 1937| Lititz, Lancaster County, PA 17543 Thursday, January 23,1975 10 CENTS A COPT; $4.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 20 PAGES — No. 44
Zaititz R e c o rd E x p r e s s P h o to
Benches, drainage, trees, and ground cover, and always the
Peking Ducks in the little lake, are all items that get much
concern and discussion at meetings of the Lititz Springs Park
trustees. The wintry scene above was taken Monday at the
entrance to the Park, where the flock of domestic Pekings
meandered undaunted through the cold, cold stream.
H o w R e a l l y R u n a P a r k ?
By Peggy Frailey
Ever wonder what goes on
at a meeting of the Park
trustees?
Would you be surprised to
know that their agendas
range from ducks to
drainage, cover bills and
benches, trees and tables
and „vc'vets,' -i ooihig and re­organization?
Take it from a good source
— the secretary, no less! —
they do. According to Mrs.
Winnie Walls, “There’s a
labor of love for this little
green acreage (Lititz
Springs Park). (The
trustees) grow in interest
and devotion each year they
serve.”
“Perhaps it was the ex­tended
discussion con­cerning
the Pekings in the
Park (i.e. Peking ducks —
domestic!) at the final
meeting of last year,” Mrs.
Walls said. “I know I was
trying to keep track of a
rather lengthy back and
forth discussion of these
multiplying ducks when
George (K. Biemesderfer,
Pretzel House
Placed on Nat'f
Historic Register
The Pretzel House,
museum at 219 E. Main St.,
has been added to the
National Register of Historic
Places.
With the action, further
alteration of the house by
private owners or govern­ment
bodies, or to the streets
and sidewalks adjacent to
the 191-year old building, is
prohibited.
Owners of the museum are
Clyde and Barbara Tshudy.
The Pretzel House is the
borough’s first national site
and one of 12 in Lancaster
County.
D o Y o u
president) broke in by
saying, ‘If the good town­speople
could hear this
discussion they might well
wonder at the kind of
business this board tran­sacts!”
“Or perhaps it was
Treasurer Richard Boose’s
surprise to find that a local
institutional officer had no
idea as to the park,
ownership, maintenance,
etc. that touched this off,”
she added.
In any event, the trustees
wanted it all written down so
that the townspeople would
know what is going on, and
write it down Mrs. Walls did,
in such an entertaining
fashion that much of this
article about the Park and its
“keepers” will be in her own
words, many of them direct
from minutes of board
meetings.
We’ll insert a little
background information on
the Park here — its in­corporation
in 1957
established the fact that the
Park is governed by 12
representatives from the
church-community area of
Lititz.
At present, nine members
represent local churches,
three are members-at-large.
They meet every month in
the board room of Wilbur
Chocolate Company, their
meetings averaging about
two hours or so, the trustees
“often stepping over into the
park to investigate current
problems firsthand, spot
v an d a lism , in v e stig a te
algae, trash, park a t­tendance,
weeds, etc.,” Mrs.
Walls said.
“In addition, there are
continual special committee
meetings buildings and
grounds, capital im­provements,
finance, am­plification,
and — big event
Water on
Boro Council
Agenda Toes.
Water for Warwick
Township, a Rec Center
request to take over
management of the borough
swimming pools, and the
question of paving Frey
Lane, in the east part of the
borough, will all be on Boro
Council’s agenda Tuesday
night.
C o u n c ilm a n Dona ld
Stauffer stated last month
that he would fill Council
chambers with local citizens
opposed to selling water to
W a rw ic k T o w n s h ip .
Members of the local en­v
iro nm en ta l advisory
committee have also stated
they will attend to discuss
the issue.
“I have no idea what’s
going to happen - 1 wouldn’t
even hazard a guess,” Boro
Manager David Anderson
said this week.
Regarding Frey Lane,
Anderson said he estimates
it will cost between $6,000
and $7,000 to pave the alley.
Some residents of that area
petitioned Council last
month to build the lane, but
Council said usual procedure
in the borough is for
residents themselves to pay
for construction.
The Rec Center request to
take over management of
the swimming pools, leaving
financial responsibility with
Boro Council, was tabled
from last month, to give
Councilmen a chance to
study the proposal sub­mitted.
of the year — Fourth of
July.”
“It wouldn’t be fair to
concentrate on the money
subjects,” Mrs. Walls said,
“but the truth is, for this
acreage care and main­tenance,
that is the key
factor.”
The one main source of
income is the July Fourth
celebration, she explained.
As per a trust agreement, it
is the one day of the year
when the Park is permitted
to be closed with admission
by fee only.
“And even the largest of
July 4th revenues did not
cover the repairs and ground
maintenance for that year,”
Mrs. Walls said. “So, God
bless all those contributions
— from the borough, service
clubs, pavilion, etc. rentals,
and individual donations of
time and effort.”
To the best of her
knowledge, she said, the
worst disaster occurred
when Hurricane Agnes
stormed through the Park,
resulting in over $12,000
worth of damage.
“The trustees were out
there in their boots (one
brought his tractor) for
days,” she said. “Of course
the maintenance account
never had $12,000, so the
trustees banded together to
obtain a Small Business
Loan — and it really took
‘banding,’” she added.
“ The P a rk ,” she ex­plained,
“is not ‘private,’
neither is it ‘public’ — but it
is a non-profit and therein
lies a long story. The short
ending is,” she went on,
“that all signed papers, and
two trustees and their wives
signed as ‘collateral’ so that
the Park could receive the
loap. They are now on their
last year of repayment of the
$10,000 which SBA allowed.”
“In short, she said, “the
Park absorbed a $2,000 lose
— it has grown past that
figure, for many more trees
were ‘puddled’ (drowned)
since the initial report was
filed.”
“And,” she added, “what’s
a Park without trees!”
“Certainly, it’s no secret
that the trustees try to have
a member on the board — or
closely related to its
membership — who is an
expert in the area of trees,
shrubs, ground cover, other
plantings’ feeding and
care,” she said.
“There is algae control,
trout stocking, and of course,
those Peking Ducks!” she
went on.
I Continued on Page 18]
In This Issue
Business Directory 16
Church News 14
Classified Ads 18,19
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section 6,7,8
Women’s 12
School Subsidies Late,
Warwick May Have to
Borrow Money in March
Warwick is one of many school districts in the state that
will be feeling a financial pinch, and may have to borrow
money, if the governor and auditor-general don’t settle a
dispute they are having in time to release school subsidies
due in February.
Latest word, according to superintendent, Dr. H. Dale
Winger, is that only 80 percent of the February payments
will be made to school districts, which will mean Warwick
will be out $84,400.
Under the old system of paying subsidies to school
districts, the state made payments quarterly. Warwick
would have received $350,000 each quarter under that
system.
However, a new bill, passed in June, revised the method
to three payments a year, 30 percent in October, 30 per­cent
in February, and 40 percent in June.
Under the old system, Warwick would have received
$1,050,000 by this time, Dr. Winger said. Under the new
one, Warwick should have $844,000 at this time. By the end
of March, Warwick will be short $206,000 plus the 20
percent of February’s payment that it won’t be getting, he
said.
This amounts to $290,400 less in subsidies over this time
last year, Dr. Winger said. And if February’s payment
doesn’t come through in full by the end of February, the
district is going to have to tap local funds or borrow
money to make it through March, he said.
Simply stated, the dispute between the governor and
auditor-general is that the governor wants to float a tax
anticipation note and the auditor-general says the state
doesn’t need that much money, Dr. Winger said. Mean­while,
the state doesn’t have the money to make its
payments to school districts, he said.
“All districts are in trouble,” he said.
The Warwick Board voted to send letters of protest to
both the governor and auditor-general.
Coming Next Week
3 BIG DAYS TO SAVE DURING
RED TAG DAYS
(JAN. 30, JAN. 31 and FEB. I ) 1
All the Things That Make RED TAG DAYS
Special are in store for next week;
SAVINGS THROUGHOUT THE AREA
FREE PARKING
AND . . . A SPECIAL $150 GIVEAWAY
SPONSORED BY THE LITITZ RETAILERS ASSN.
WATCH THE RECORD EXPRESS
FOR DETAILS NEXT WEEK
Don’t Want ‘Building Boom'
Local Ecologists to
Protest Some Parts
Of Sewer Expansion At least two local ecology-related
organizations will be
speaking out tonight
(Thursday) against certain
aspects of the planned ex­pansion
of Lititz’ sewer
treatment plant.
The Lititz Sewer Authority
will be holding a public
meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Boro
Hall to discuss the proposed
expansion.
The Lititz Sportsmen’s
Association formed a policy
committee earlier this week
to draw up a report to
present tonight, and
representatives from the
Lititz Area Environmental
Advisory Committee will be
on hand with a few ojections
to engineers’ reports on the
proposed expansion.
Spokesmen from both
groups told the Record-
Express this week that their
members are not opposed to
the planned expansion per
se, but rather to some of the
effects they think it will have
on the ecology of the area.
“We feel it (expansion)
will bring about a building
boom in the area, which we
don’t need,” Ray Rudy from
the Sportsmen’s group said.
Rudy will be present tonight
to present his organization’s
views.
“We’re also worried about
the borough’s water supply,
if the plant is expanded,”
Rudy said.
“We’re not questioning the
expansion of the plant, but
rather its expansion into
Warwick Township,” he
said.
He said the Sportsmen
were also concerned about
the fact that the borough is
“hesitant” to use nitrate and
phosphate dissolvents in
sewage treatment.
“A certain percentage of
these won’t harm the
stream,” he said, but added
that the Sportsmen feel the
borough may be going
“overboard” on this under
the planned expansion.
Under the engineer’s
proposals for the expansion,
nitrates and phosphates are
expected to “settle out” with
no other treatment. The
Department of En­vironmental
Resources has
agreed to go along with this
“non-treatment” for a trial
period.
Phil McCloud, vice-president
of the En­v
iro nm en ta l Advisory
Committee, who will be
representing his group
tonight, said the committee
“may question” this
proposal about nitrates and
phosphates.
Noting that the tertiary
(three stage) treatment plan
is a “good one,” McCloud
said the borough may
however “have a problem”
with its phosphates and
nitrates under the proposal.
The main objection the
environmental committee
has to the proposed ex­pansion,
McCloud said, is the
growth that may develop
from it, especially in the
watershed area.
“We don’t encourage
development of this,” he
said.
(This is an area west of the
borough, in which the
Stoltzfus development is
believed to lie.)
“We’re afraid of a boom
town,” McCloud said.
“We’re hoping we can tone
down some of the areas. We
will recommend that lines go
to developed areas, but that
hookups be limited from then
on,” he said.
McCloud said his com­mittee
is also hoping that if
there are no sewer and water
lines, there will be no more
development in certain
areas. “We want to convince
them (Sewer Authority) of
this,” he said.
“We’re not too wild about
lines going out Route 501
north, either,” McCloud
said. “We’re afraid this may
turn into another Route 30.”
“I think we should have
the best treatment plant
money can buy,” McCloud
added. “We’re pleased with
the present plant, and if the
expanded one is run as well
as the present plant, it will
be good,” he said.
Contractors 'Hungry’ for Jobs
Bids on Lititz Elementary
Reflect Shortage of Work
Twelve general con­tractors
submitted bids for
renovation of the Lititz
E lem e n ta r y b u ild in g
Tuesday night, and 26 other
bids were submitted for
various phases of thé
ren o v atio n , including
plumbing, heating, and
electrical work.
An unofficial tabulation of
the bids showed that they
came within $1,000 of the
estimated $800,000 that the
school district had projected
for the first phase of the
renovation project.
Fred Shenk, architect, and
superintendent, Dr. H. Dale
Winger, both said they were
“very pleased” with the
results of the bids, noting
that various alternatives on
the specs could well mean
that actual costs will be even
lower than they appeared
Tuesday night.
The Board will hold a
special meeting Monday,
Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. to award
bids.
“Obvious” low bidders at
this time are Wickersham,
Inc., Lancaster, for the
general contract; Harry A.
Ressler for the heating,
ventilating, and air con­ditioning
contract; Zim­merman
& Bitts, plumbing;
and John E. Fullerton, Inc.,
electrical.
Shenk said the number of
contractors bidding on the
project are a reflection of the
“job shortages” contractors
are facing now. He said that
normally, he would expect
about six bids from general
contractors.
One contractor, asked by
this reporter whether he
considered the renovation a
“good job” to get, replied:
“Any job is a good one now -
there’s nothing to bid on.”
He admitted that if
economic conditions were
better, the Lititz Elementary
job would not be such a
“good” job, noting that there
was “too much remodeling
involved” to make it at­tractive
to contractors.
He said that the bids
reflected the high wages that
contractors have to pay
laborers on any project that
involves federal money,
which the local project does.
He said that he ordinarily
pays his laborers $6.50 an
hour, but since this project
involves government money,
specs require he pay $10 an
hour for comparable work.
The 12 base bids from
general contractors ranged
from Wickersham’s ap­parent
low one of $298,500 to
one for $354,033 from Diller
Plank, Jnc. Most were above
the $300,000 mark. All in­cluded
alternates that may
change the base bid figures.
Bids for heating, ven­tilating
and air conditioning
ranged from Ressler’s
$308,725 to a high bid of
$629,000 from GAR Corp.
Bids for plumbing ran from
Zimmerman & Bitts’ low
$80,000 to a high of $130,000
from E. H. Gochnauer.
Electrical contractors’ bids
ranged from Fullerton’s
$122,500 to a high bid of
$189,750 from Roy S.
Reidenbaugh.
About 50 persons attended
the meeting, most of them
contractors waiting to hear
the results of the bid
opening.
Boro Gets Court Order
On Enck Zoning Case
The borough was served with an order Tuesday af­ternoon
from Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas,
stating that Boro Manager David Anderson must inform
the court within 20 days why he will not issue an oc­cupancy
permit to Carl Enck for a rooming house on South
Broad Street.
If the writ is not answered, Anderson explained, the
court may enter a default verdict against the borough.
Enck has appealed a Lititz Zoning Board decision that
he is in violation of the Zoning code by operating a
rooming house in a former grocery store. He was earlier
granted a building permit for an apartment in the
building, but was charged with a violation of this when
George Steedle, who was then borough manager, main­tained
that Enck had put in a rooming house, not an
apartment.
Enck’s appeal is based in part on the fact that the
Zoning Board decided against him in a private caucus
during a hearing. Enck maintains this was in violation of
the state’s new Sunshine Law, which states that all
governing bodies must conduct all business and make all
formal decisions in public. On this basis, he maintains
that the Zoning Board’s decision was unlawful and void.
Anderson explained that the courts must now decide
whether zoning hearing boards are legislative or judicial
bodies. If they are decreed legislative bodies, then they
will be subject to the Sunshine Law, Anderson said.