May 9, 2017 By Karen Mansfield Staff Writer Kmansfield@observer-Reporter.Com 2 min read

Peters Township Council filled another vacancy on the Peters Hill Park steering committee during its May 8 regular council meeting.

Members of the steering committee will work with Mackin Engineering on a master plan for Peters Hill Park, which will be developed on the former Rolling Hills Country Club property.

Approved to serve as a community representative on the committee, which currently is comprised of 10 members, was Charlene Salus.

Township manager Paul Lauer said additional community representative candidates will be interviewed on May 15, and one or two more will be appointed to the steering committee.

The committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting May 20, and plans to hold at least six other meeting over the next six months to create a master plan, a guide for development of the property.

Also Monday, council voted 6-0 to amend a portion of the township’s traffic calming policy.

The resolution approved by council raises the amount over the speed limit a vehicle travels before it is considered a speeding problem from 7 miles per hour to 10 miles per hour.

Speed is one of several criteria cited in the traffic calming policy, which addresses areas where residents believe a speeding problem exists.

If the township determines speeding is an issue in the area, Lauer said, traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps and narrowing the road, can be implemented.

Lauer said the change was made because Pennsylvania motorists cannot be issued a ticket unless they are traveling 10 miles over the speed limit.

The state Department of Transportation has suggested that, because of the rule, municipalities use the same criteria when doing traffic counts.

The police department also supports the change.

In another matter, Lauer said the township’s Great American Cleanup on April 22 yielded enough refuse to fill a 30-yard container.

One hundred volunteers cleaned 13 1/2 miles of roads, and one ton of scrap metal, 40 palettes of electronics, and 160 tires were collected. In addition, more than 300 bicycles were collected and repaired, and distributed to needy families through the Greater Washington Food Bank, the Washington City Mission, and Brother’s Brother Foundation.