Recycling going mechanical in Peters
In 2014, residents of Peters Township will not see an increase in their quarterly trash bill, but beginning in 2015, the bills may increase and the way recyclables are collected will change.
In a split vote Oct. 28, Council voted to award a five-year contract to Waste Management that will see recyclable collection become mechanized. The township will have 65-gallon green plastic containers positioned in a specific way at the curb. During the collection, Waste Management vehicles equipped with a mechanical arm will reach out from the truck, lift the container and empty it.
The township has applied for a state grant that will pay about 90 percent of the cost for the new bins. By the end of the contract, the bins will be owned by the township. During the contract, Waste Management will assume maintenance of the bins.
Voting for the Waste Management bid with the mechanization were council members Monica Merrell, David Ball, Michael McCaig, James Berquist and Frank Arcuri. Voting for a bid from Republic Services and a continuation of a manual collection were council members Gary Stiegel Jr. and Robert Lewis.
The township will not learn if it has received the state grant until the spring. The bids were obtained through South Hills Association Council of Governments.
Council, minus Lewis, voted to approve six explosive charges to be placed on the former Simpson Farm along Bebout Road for seismic testing through Geokinetics. Testing will be conducted in mid-December. The property owner has given permission.
Another request by Geokinetics to conduct seismic monitoring on several township-owned open spaces was denied with Lewis, McCaig, Arcuri and Merrell voting against. Voting to permit the monitoring were Ball, Steigel and Berquist.
Rocco Magrino was appointed to fill a vacancy on the township’s planning commission. There were six candidates for the opening.
In other action, council:
• Approved installation of a stop sign, creating a three-way stop at Maple Lane and Julrich Drive as part of a traffic calming plan.
• Accepted the storm water management detention facility in the Old Trail Plan Phase 15.
• Learned a study by Michael Mudry of TPO recommended a stop sign and possibly a traffic signal at the intersection of Bower Hill, Bebout and Froebe roads. Michael Silvestri, township manager, said he would forward the study to the state Department of Transportation.
• Informed a resident of the portion of Mt. Blaine Drive that is owned by the township, that a letter would be sent to residents on the unpaved, privately-owned portion that a recently installed gate and chain closing the private portion, compromises public safety.