It was standing room only at the 16 December 2024 Middletown Township Board of Supervisors meeting. Dozens spoke out against the Newtown Sewer Authority's (NBCJMA) proposed sewage treatment plant to be located on the border with Middletown. Here are just a few short snippets of comments I heard:
“…it’s been said that nobody in Newtown Township is affected by this… but, I’m upset because it affects Middletown! Newtown – be neighborly and consider your neighbors!”
“Remember Elcon! Pass a resolution opposing this plan.” [Read “Victory! Falls Supervisors Reject Elcon Plan”; https://sco.lt/5QNYOG]
“State of the art does not mean odor free!”
“That stink goes a lot further than a mile!”
“…address the flooding problem.” [Environmental Advisory Council member]
“We're interested from a water quality standpoint from environmental standpoint…” [Environmental Advisory Council member]
“It is late in the day… go to court. Let them eat that!”[Free advice from a lawyer.]
“When I saw those charts, which were thoroughly disingenuous, my eyes almost popped!” [Banker who works with numbers all day]
“We have a rule in the classroom… clean up your own mess! If you build a sewage treatment plant in Newtown and you leave your mess for Middletown to clean up, you're not playing nice in the sandbox.” [Former kindergarden teacher]
“The sniff test is subjective. Children on the spectrum ]at a school 900 feet from the proposed site] can be hypersensitive to smells and can smell things that you or I cannot smell. Consider those with special needs.”[Psychologist]
“What was missing here was the study. A lot of stuff is being done under the table. We really got to know what’s going on. Time is of the essence. When shit hits the fan it will be too late.” [Retired engineer]
“What I’ve seen here today is lack of credible data to support their project. There has to be a risk analysis study.” [Actuary]
The Board of Supervisors at the 23 October 2024 BOS meeting, approved the advertising of the proposed 2025 budget (find it here). It can still be changed – specifically by adding 2 or more mills tax increase – but the new version would need to be re-advertised for 10 days.
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