Local News

                Motorists traveling through Green Lane beware. The new traffic signals at Main Street and Route 29 are in operation!

                At the July 8 borough council meeting borough engineer Mike Taggart reported that the signal would “operate in full cycle 24/7”, and not switch to a flasher between certain hours.

                However, Taggart mentioned there was one little detail that was overlooked - at the initial inspection by PennDOT it was pointed-out that there needs to be a “Left Turn Yield on Green” sign posted for southbound Route 29 traffic that will be turning eastbound on Main Street.

                The sign should prevent eastbound Main Street traffic from turning in front of northbound Route 29 traffic. Taggart said the sign is mandatory in order to receive final PennDOT approval for the signal to be fully functional. But, because the sign was an after thought, there was no money earmarked for it in the original contract.

                As a result, council approved a motion for the purchase of the overhead sign, as stipulated, which includes a picture of a green circle at the bottom, for a total of $384 from the general contractor of the project.          

                Taggart reiterated that motorists need to be patient in the beginning, since it will take a little while to “tweak” the system into perfect working order, and adjustments will be made accordingly.

                On the same topic, Borough Solicitor Dave Comer reported that, because of the new traffic lanes, there would be new parking restrictions on Main Street between Second Street and Route 29.

                After conferring with Council President Brian Carpenter, a revised draft was presented to the council with the proposed restrictions. They are:  No parking on the north side of Main Street 275 feet westbound from 2nd towards Route 29 (up to the old hoagie shop) and no parking on the south side of Main Street 325 feet eastbound from Route 29 to Second Street. Council then voted to approve the revised draft and to advertise to proposed ordinance. Voting to approve the final plan should take place at the August or September borough council meetings.

                Under the Mayor’s Report, Mayor Lynn Wolfe proposed the idea of starting a borough website. Many advantages of operating and maintaining a site include the posting of minutes from various meetings, new or updated ordinances; weather-related information such as burn bans or snow emergencies. And since the site would be available all of the time, it would be most convenient for residents, but, this would mean the site would have to be constantly updated.

                Although no official action was taken, council members gave their “nod of approval” for the mayor to research the costs for such an endeavor.

                In sewer authority news, representatives Jerry Godshall and Mike Moyer announced positive and continued progress in the upgrading of the facility, including the installation of the new 30,000-gallon concrete sludge tank.

                It was also announced that effective immediately, and until further notice, a burn ban is in effect in the borough due to extremely dry weather conditions.

                The next scheduled borough council meeting is 7 p.m., Thursday, August 12, at the borough office on Main Street.

                East Greenville firefighters were called to the scene of a stubborn fire on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Blommer Chocolate Company on Blommer Drive in Upper Hanover Township.

                The call went to a second alarm about 20 minutes after the initial dispatch.  The fire broke out inside the plant in one of three roasters causing a slight smoke condition in the factory.  A caller also reported a “red glow” at the end of the roaster. 

                It took the volunteers a little over one hour to gain access to the fire to extinguish it.  According to East Greenville Chief Grant Boyer, “firefighters were able to get to the fire through access panels in the machine.”  Firefighters contained the fire to the roaster and there was little smoke or water damage. The fire was declared under control at 1:21 p.m.

                A damage estimate was not available. The roaster was reported to be unusable through the weekend.  Boyer said that officials are looking at a “faulty machine” as the possible cause of the fire.  No injuries were reported and firefighters were on the scene about three hours.

                Assisting at the scene were units from Pennsburg, Red Hill, Green Lane and Hereford fire companies.  Also responding to the scene was an emergency medical unit from the Upper Perkiomen Ambulance Association Richland Township and Quakertown fire companies provided standby units in the Pennsburg firehouse.