If you want to do something legally, but want as little input from the public as possible, you schedule the required public meetings at times when most members of the public are unable to attend. That's precisely what Lower Saucon Tp has done. It has scheduled a meeting today to consider a new zoning map and text amendment because its first try was killed in court. The meeting is scheduled at 12:30 pm, a time that demonstrates a disdain for the people that Lower Saucon Tp Council should be serving.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Tuesday, July 11, 2023
51 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Hopefully the people of Lower Saucon will speak loud and clearly.at the voting booth in November and boot the council members out that have created the shit show that has taken over this township. Between the landfill proposition and the total breakdown of relations with Hellertown, the majority controlling LS has proven they are not fit to serve.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of the Township disagrees.
DeleteThey must have learned that from the leaders of Upper Mt. Bethel Township.
ReplyDeleteAs a resident of Lower Sauron Township, I am disturbed by this. It reeks of underhanded cowardice by our members of Council. They should make no final decision at this little get-together. I feel certain MOST residents are not in favor of expanding a landfill so close to so many of their fellow citizens throughout the township. New York and New Jersey will just have to find another place to dump their waste. How about within their own state?
ReplyDeleteOf course the meeting is held during lunch making taxpayer representation impossible.
ReplyDeleteWell the meeting was packed...so there goes that narrative.
DeleteOpponents of the landfill expansion should stop calling themselves "Landfill Warriors." It makes them sound kooky and detracts from legitimate objections.
ReplyDeleteOur 501(c)(3) is Citizens for Responsible Development-LST but that’s a mouthful and not very energizing. Landfill warriors is working quite well when we have to rally the troops. And it’s definitely a war we’re fighting.
DeleteYes, the small minority of 30 t-shirt wearing dems who put out their own garbage cans every week.
Deletewhen an elected council goes against the wishes of the community and purposefully schedules meetings to minimize their constituents input on such an important topic, that council should be capable of being removed immediately. it shouldn't take until November for the citizens to be able to get rid of them.
ReplyDeleteGoes against the wishes of 100 voters...a silent majority who aren't making a scene don't give two you know what.
DeleteWho is this, Bannanas or Crotchy?
DeleteProbably Boulin shilling for them.
DeleteOz? Harp player?
DeleteOr Yerger, the walking corpse.
Delete7:10- I am also a resident of Lower Saucon township and I mostly agree with you. I believe this Council handled the dispute with the Hellertown Library terribly, they destroyed our cooperation agreement with Hellertown with regard to other services and in seems that they are handling the Landfill expansion underhandedly and spuriously.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I fully support the Landfill and the expansion and (secretly) so do many of my LS neighbors, too. Perhaps, not the residents in Steel City are all on board and neither are the "Landfill Warriors" in other parts of the Township. O'Hare is correct. The warriors sound and act kooky.
The landfill expansion is a financial windfall for our Township and they have discussed offering free garbage pickup, which will be streamlined, meaning each neighborhood will have the same trash collection days.
I reside in The Woodfields. My trash collector is 1 time/week on Tuesday. My neighbor next door has another hauler on Mondays and Thursdays. My neighbors on the other side has their garbage picked up on by yet another hauler on Wednesday. The rest of the neighborhood have the same or even different collectors altogether at different times.
Therefore, I'm routinely woken up by trash haulers between 5-6am almost every day and they continue trash pickup throughout certain days.
One hauler used to make their rounds at 4am. I subsequently found out that the Township precludes this and I believe some residents complained, so it stopped for a while, but they keep doing it now and then until the township gives them another "warning".
If I am correct, the Landfill will offer free trash collection to Lower Saucon residents, two times/week at a reasonable hour and will be the only haulers in the neighborhood on collection day. This alone, makes me side with them.
Then, coupled with the financial windfall, which will finance our Police Department (I believe the landfill fees already do) and other services, it's a no brainier for this open space conservative.
I support open space so much that I have refused to shop or dine at the Promenade as it destroyed vital farmlands. Granted, this eyesore in located just past the border in Upper Saucon, but both Councils have acted similarly with regard (little regard) to open space preservation.
I wonder how many of our Lower Saucon Landfill Warriors wine, dine and shop frequently at the Promenade.
To me, they sound a bit hypocritical and NIMBYs.
Now, if we can get the rest of Council on board to stop acting like petulant children with regard to other issues facing our Township. Restoring the relationship with Hellertown Officials would be a good starting point.
You are misinformed. There is no financial windfall. The revenue from the dump contributes to the budget surplus that LST runs every year since the township paid off all its debt. We currently have almost $33 million dollars in excess funds for a township that has about $8 in annual expenses. Perhaps the more pertinent question is why hasn’t the township reduced our taxes if they’re sitting on that big a horde?
DeleteAs to the garbage collection, it’s true that our current system is wasteful and environmentally unsound. As a sustainability consultant I help municipalities transition to single hauler systems and I have offered my services to the township for free as a resident to assist with a transition. That was over 2 years ago. Crickets . But it doesn’t mean we have to hand that work to the dump. There are many townships who have contracted with reliable haulers with efficient , effective outcomes. And you are misled if you think the dump has offered that service. In their thoroughly misleading push poll masquerading as a survey, they dangled that possibility but there has never been any serious offer. And if they can do that, why haven’t they been doing that for the last 20+ years? Don’t hold your breath to see it happen.
Actually, Hellertown destroyed all the partnerships per their own meeting minutes but continue to spout nonsense.
DeleteWhy can't PA counties or communities start their own landfills like they do in some southern states we've visited. Keep the trash collection local and quit cow-towing to the large corporate machines like Waste Management or Waste Connections. I really think most people are not against landfills. They are against the filling of our backyards with New York and New Jersey garbage. Its typical dump on the little guy. Just like Nazareth is doing to Plainfield Township with their sewage waste. Let local communities handle their local waste issues and stop dumping on someone else's community to keep your own quality of life high.
ReplyDeleteMoney talks!
Delete8:44- then perhaps our misguided council can get off their fat asses and negotiate properly. I want free trash pick up at a reasonable time.
Delete"when an elected council goes against the wishes of the community and purposefully schedules meetings to minimize their constituents input on such an important topic, that council should be capable of being removed immediately. it shouldn't take until November for the citizens to be able to get rid of them."
ReplyDeleteReally? Have you heard of something called democracy? You sound just like the J6 Warriors who stormed the capitol or the Steve Lynch warriors who threatened to bring 20 strong men and remove school directors who refused to bend to their pressure. I oppose the landfill expansion and think very little of Lower Saucon's Council. I think they are anti-democratic, which they demonstrate by scheduling a meeting at 12:30. You, on the other hand, are going down the wrong road. Drop the extreme rhetoric because it detracts from your legitimate concerns.
BOH 11:11
ReplyDeleteEver hear of impeachment? Community vote (deomcratic) to send them packing. If it fails, it fails. But if the community loses trust in their elected officials, they should be able to say "no more".
Look up impeachment of a pa councilperson and get back to us.
DeleteThis sounds a lot like the people that were so happy to see the Bethlehem steel go. Because of the pollution and how bad it was. Then Oh my God!!!! Where did that tax base go??? You want to raise taxes!!!
ReplyDelete12:04, Yes, I've heard of impeachment. That is warranted only for misbehavior in office, not for political stances with which you disagree. You sound like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Extremists on the left are no different than extremists on the right. Moreover, you called for immediateremoval, which is far from democratic. You need to be more careful in your rhetoric, which turns off many people. I oppose this landfill expansion bc it will destroy the side of a mountain, pollute the Lehigh River and destroy the natural beauty of the D&L corridor. I reject the financial argument bc LST revenues will survive the absence of a landfill. There is sufficient tax revenue apart from the landfill to pay for everything, so that argument is bogus. I've heard several people address this matter eloquently and factually. You are not one of them. Drop the rhetoric. Stop using silly names that brand you as a kook. Drop incendiary language that could just as easily come from the likes of MTG.
ReplyDeleteAnother Mackenzie special. Milou Mackenzie is backed big time by one the the supervisors that is behind this crap. She even lives in Lower Saucon. We need to clean house of the LS Board of Supervisors and get rid of Milou.
ReplyDeleteMilou only shows up for free food and photo ops. She does nothing else.
DeleteI'm not taking a position on this expansion, but the public should be aware of the facts the Lehigh Valley is facing when it comes to the refuse situation.
ReplyDeleteIn approximately 6 years the 3 landfills in our area will have reached capacity. As of now, no new land has been obtained and it takes 6-7 years to prepare the property as a landfill, getting the proper tests performed (and passed) and permits issued, in addition to the equipment needed for monitoring and safety.
Without an expansion, and if no new land is found, when the last landfill closes the public can expect their trash hauling bill to triple in any new contract negotiated with a hauling company. Trash will have to be transported out of the local area to, most likely, western PA.
Just some food for thought, as nobody seems to be aware of what is coming, and by the time it makes the news, it will be years too late.
4:03, I believe WM in Plainfield is getting an expansion, and there is little public opposition bc it is doing it responsibly. I agree that an expansion might be needed, but not where it is planned. Stay away from our rivers and heritage corridor, please.
ReplyDeleteWM lacks zoning to expand in Plainfield.
ReplyDeleteUnless they win 3 of the 5 supervisor seats, its a dead issue.
The host retro fund for the township is expected to help transition from the WM tipping fees and taxes to a stable tax base.
This was resolved in the 90's, when Plainfield created a Solid Waste Processing and Disposal District. It was extremely helpful when the Synagro sludge plant was proposed by the Green Knight Economic Development (WM front) Corporation. The lack of available real estate within that district prevented the sludge plant from being built.
Bernie, you do make sense most of the time. This is one of those times. I've sat through enough Lower Saucon Council meetings to confirm that yes, the LS council is without a doubt anti-democratic. The damage they have already done to community relationships seems irreparable. The damage they want to do to the environment is unfathomable. However, I disagree with you about the name " Landfill Warriors". "Kooky"? Resorting to that kind of immature name-calling is bully behavior. You're better than that. Stick to the substantive issues, please.
ReplyDeleteYou're only saying that cause you wear the dumb warrior shirt.
DeleteBernie: why didn't you publish my comment to 5:01 about how the warriors acted during Council meeting- interrupting council members and the public when they offer support for the landfill, "fake coughing" loudly during meetings, using a "laugh track" on their phones when people speak, etc...
DeleteJason Bannanas needs a laugh track. He is 0 for 2 in permit hearings. Still can’t sell off FIL’s property, so he still keeps trying. Have to admire Jason’s impudent persistence. Dumber than a bag of hammers, that one.
Delete5:01, I'll stand by what I wrote. I believe using a name like "Landfill Warriors" makes you look idiotic and is kooky. The terms "eco warrior" and "tree hugger" are used to denigrate environmentalists. You've just added a new one. I am not name-calling. You are doing it to yourselves. I don't know why you even feel some kind of need to come up with a name, but you can think of better ones that are less demeaning and a bit more substantive. Your name demonstrates that you are being emotional instead of factual. Sorry, but that kind of stuff really turns me off.
ReplyDeleteIn 6 years after the lawsuits are done and the Township and opponents have wasted thousands in legal fees the land will remain zoned as it is now. Host agreement revenue isn’t a reason to rezone land. These council members “lawyers” will plead the 5th at the hearings offer little input or reasoning and send the township right into a losing legal battle. It would be different if it was only a couple neighbors opposed but there is some deep pockets on both sides of the issue. In the end it will come down to sound land use and planning and this rezoning isn’t that.
ReplyDeleteOr just build a landfill on the poorer sections of the county because “those people” won’t fight back against corporate funded projects as hard.
ReplyDeleteCan't Lower Saucon just give Steel City to Freemansburg already? I'm sure they'll enjoy your miniscule tax revenue and it'll be a lot less nonsense that Lower Saucon Township has to deal with.
DeleteThat's called a win/win.
Oh so the privilege to smell county waste solely depends on how much a citizen’s pays in real estate taxes? What a novel idea.
DeleteAnon 10:02am, I am convinced the only reason why Banonis has essentially declared war on all things Hellertown is that back in 2020, the Mayor of Hellertown vetoed a zoning hearing board decision that would have allowed his mother and father in-law (the Chaffiers) to develop high density housing on their property on Easton Road. I know the Chaffiers (probably with Banonis acting as puppeteer) then sued the borough council but I don't know how that ended up.
ReplyDeleteWhy was what council approved vetoed by 1 man? Isn't that the tyranny you all bitch about?
DeleteBernieOHare to 2:07, I did not publish bc I have no recollection of receiving your comment. I either accidentally deleted it or you may have failed to submit. If opponents act like children, that reveals their own weakness.
ReplyDelete"I oppose this landfill expansion bc it will destroy the side of a mountain, pollute the Lehigh River and destroy the natural beauty of the D&L corridor."
ReplyDeleteSpeculate much? You claim that an expansion WILL pollute the Lehigh River? It's not beyond the laws of physics, but until we (including you BO) stop generating trash, we need landfills as a matter of public health.
I don’t live there, but go my range in lower Saucon Twp. Garbage will be along the road if the approve this . I’m an Range Safety Officer at a firearm range with 3,700 members at Easton Fish and Game . I will tell you this , no dump should be provided in this area . This is a beautiful landscape, people are proud of their properties . Property here would be subject to to garbage traffic. .
ReplyDelete"Speculate much? You claim that an expansion WILL pollute the Lehigh River? "
ReplyDeleteI have read of studies showing that the river is polluted downstream of the landfill. If you have information, please feel free to share.
"Jason Bannanas needs a laugh track." - Sorry, but there is no justification for disrupting a public meeting. It ius actually criminal.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's all these landfill warriors do. Act like loser children who can't get their way. After watching the actions of these democrats for close to 2 years, I say tripple the size of the garbage dump just to piss in their cereal.
Delete9:34- If it's true that this behavior is illegal, then most of the "Warriors" need to be? Arrested? Fined? Locked up? They boo, hiss, used prerecorded laugh tracks, fake cough loudly, call out "bullshit" under their breath, while "attempting" to "clear their throats" and utilize other interrupting behavior. However, 5:01 accuses you of bully and immature behavior for using the word "kooky"? You were actually being kind. I'm embarrassed by the warriors. They are immature and bullish.
Delete5:01- Pot meet Kettle.
"I have read of studies showing that the river is polluted downstream of the landfill. If you have information, please feel free to share."
ReplyDeleteFrom the landfill? or 150 years of heavy industrial use along the corridor?
If you have the study, please pass along where the public can find it. If the landfill is the source of contamination in the Lehigh River that should be know and included in any discussion of the proposed expansion.
10:28- I don't attend Hellertown Meetings so I don't know who started what. However, I know that this current Council has not tried to build any bridges with Hellertown or mend any fences, either. Instead, it's "Hellertown Library is extorting us, so let's give money to Southern Lehigh Library", "Hellertown is extorting us, so let's start our own compost center". What will be next" "The police department is extorting us, so let's contract with the State Police?" "The K9 unit is extorting us, so let's start an innovative and trailblazing Feline unit, with really cute kittens".
ReplyDeleteThe Council President is a huge Trumpster and certainly acts like one, in his Council fiefdom. Trump, despite the bravado, was never a good negotiator. It's all hype and instead, all Trump knows how to do is to take advantage of people and their unfortunate situations, and then Capitalize upon it for his sole benefit. Trump is a petulant child; his way or the highway. That does not make one a good leader. That makes the person an a**hole.
I'm sure that Mr. Banonis has the best interest of the Township, but he's certainly showing it in a very strange (and costly) way. Lower Saucon Council should hire (I know, spend more money), a negotiating firm to deal with the Landfill and chisel out a top rate contract that benefits all Saucon Valley residents.
Our Council has it in their grasp to impact the lives and wallets of the citizens in a very positive and meaningful way. However, they are slowly but surely losing grip of the situation.
Make Lower Saucon Great Again!