An op-ed by BB ...I've seen it happen dozens of times over the years – a housing developer spends months, sometimes years, working to get a plan approved, and then adjoining and nearby property owners catch wind of what’s in the works when the proposal is up for final approval. There’s plenty of heartache and gnashing of teeth, as local officials have no choice but to OK a plan that has a ton of last-minute opposition. This scenario is playing out right now in Lower Paxton Twp. for several property owners who live in Centennial Acres located off of Patton Road. They are about to have their view of Blue Mountain permanently altered by a 91-home development planned by McNaughton Homes. Residents are nervous, and rightly so, about the need for large ponds to be constructed to control storm water. These monstrosities will hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and will tower above their homes on the mountainside. Who wants the majestic Blue Mountain to be altered like this? No one. But township zoning regulations allow homes to be built there and McNaughton has been working to meet government requirements associated with their plan since September 2007, while the overwhelming majority of Centennial Acres residents who are fretting got involved earlier this month. For good and not so good reasons, they entered the game in the ninth inning, two outs and a batter at the plate who has two strikes. The residents, who have been assisted by Eric Epstein of citizens group SWAN, have done an admirable job trying to get their concerns addressed prior to Tuesday, Sept. 2, when the township supervisors will put their stamp of approval on the plan. I think they have a shot at getting the supervisors to require fencing around the man-made ponds to help deter kids from jumping into deep water during wet weather. Maybe, if they’re extremely lucky, the supervisors could require McNaughton to put money on deposit to cover costs if the ponds don’t work as planned and existing flood problems in Centennial Acres worsen. So, what can you do to avoid similar emotional trauma? It’s simple – be diligent. Although it gets pooh-poohed all the time, a responsibility of all U.S. citizens is to monitor what politicians and government bureaucrats are doing, and local government is usually the source of most heartaches. Yeah, yeah, I know … that’s easy to say but hard to do. Or is it? Instead of you trying to do all the legwork, become a regular reader of Linglestown Gazette and the Web site published by SWAN, and check the meeting minutes posted on Lower Paxton's Web site. I try to post links to township meeting agendas and preview big issues that are up for discussion, and SWAN sends members to nearly every township meeting so they can produce online newsletters about Lower Paxton governmental affairs. Kiss heartaches away. Diligence is only a few clicks away! ____ - For details about McNaughton’s proposed housing community, check out an article from The Patriot-News by beat reporter T.W. Burger. - Using a feed is great way to automatically find out when new information is added to Linglestown Gazette. I use an online feed reader called Bloglines. To get a FREE feed to this blog, click the orange icon or the link “Subscribe to Linglestown Gazette” that are located in the right-hand sidebar.

Below are three items of interest for Linglestown area residents. They appeared in the latest newsletter published by Stray Winds Area Neighbors, better known as SWAN. Well-known political and nuclear power activist Eric Epstein heads up the Lower Paxton Twp. watchdog group. Be sure to check out their Web site, and thanks to SWAN members Watson Fisher and Ted Robertson for penning the news briefs. * The group operating Koons Park Pool is seeking financial help from LP Twp. A pool representative told the LP supervisors earlier this month that the pool had a financial deficit of just over $4,000, and the red ink would likely grow to as much as $6,000 by the end of the season. The pool also was a point of discussion at the August meeting of the LP Parks and Recreation Board. They noted that the pool's long-term operation is in doubt due to upgrades needed at the aging facility, and discussed the possibility of getting grant money to rebuild the pool or to build a new facility somewhere else, possibly Wolfersberger Park, which is undeveloped parkland located along Wenrich Street. * Linglestown Football Association is seeking help from LP Twp. to upgrade the football field turf at Koons Park after this season at an estimated cost of over $23,000. The field is used by 17 youth football teams. No decision on the request was made, but LP Parks and Recreation Department director Brian Luetchford said annual topdressing and reseeding would most likely be adequate. * LP Twp. supervisors recently signed off on a new agreement for South Central EMS to provide emergency medical services to township residents that calls for the yearly contribution to go from $112,000 to $224,000. The increase was needed to due decreased subsidies from federal, state and local sources and the increase in fuel and other costs. ____ Source: SWAN Newsletter #28 – July 24 to August 13, 2008