In a last minute move, the Durham Township Board of Supervisors asked the Bucks County Commissioners to delay awarding a construction bid that would repair a damaged bridge across Cooks Creek. But the answer was no.
After a discussion at the board’s March 14 meeting, the supervisors asked Solicitor Sean Duffy, of Grim Biehn and Thatcher, to attend the commissioners meeting the following morning to ask for the delay.
The bid involves a number of bridges and the commissioners denied the request but did allay some of the fears township residents have expressed about the reconstruction of county Bridge 226 at the intersection of Stouts Valley and Sherers Hill roads.
The topic was brought up by Supervisor Richard Johnson who said a resident, Mark Royack, had been studying the bridge and the damage caused by flooding after Tropical Storm Ida struck Durham in September 2021.
Johnson concurred with Royack’s fear that the reconstruction work would not correct the flooding problem.
Both men said the piers in the center of the creek caused fallen trees and other debris to lodge against the center piers and form a kind of dam that then forced the rushing water over the banks.
The commissioners said the new engineering design for the bridge should help alleviate the flooding problems.
In other business the board awarded a bid for $290,398 to Asphalt Maintenance Solutions of Emmaus for the paving of Sherers Hill and Funks Mill roads. The work will take place later this year.
The supervisors agreed to allow the Bucks County Board of Health to spray in Durham in an effort to control mosquitoes.
In responses to some residents who had complained about power outages, many caused by trees falling on electric wires, township administrator Danielle Cox said she had been in touch with Met Ed and also with the office of state Senator Jarrett Coleman, R-16, to seek a resolution to the problem.
The supervisors set the date for Durham Community Day 2023. It will take place on Oct. 7 on the Village Green.
The supervisors reported no zoning applications had been filed by Durham Springs, a development project that has caused some worries among neighboring property owners.
The supervisors have repeatedly warned that the hospitality company that bought the Durham Springs/Cascade Lodge property on Lehnenberg Road must go through a lengthy zoning process before they make any major changes. Neighboring property owners have voiced their concerns about plans for a wedding venue with extensive construction.
However, Frank Cretella, who with his wife, Jeanne, founded the company, said he wants to meet with the community to discuss their plans for “creating a culinary arts and crafts retreat at Durham Springs.”
In an email to the Herald he wrote, “Although we have already met with our local neighbors, we want to meet the larger community at an open house April 15 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. At this time, we want to present the true vision of what we are proposing.
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