Aleppo Commissioners Approve Advertising for 537 Plan

For the citizens of , a cleaner waste disposal system could be in the future.

Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved part of the 537 Plan -- a project to put sewers throughout the township.

With the approval, the township solicitor and engineer can now move forward by advertising the project to contractors.

The township estimates that the project will cost $10 million. If the bids exceed the estimate, the project will have to be dropped. 

The bids, which the township hopes to open in November, can be held for 120 days, after which all can be rejected.

Project engineer John Mowry said he expects a large number of contractors to bid for the rights to the project, implying there was a good chance the project would succeed.

According to Edward Beaman, commission vice president, this plan has been in the works since 1999 or 2000.

“It was approved, and set somewhere,” Beaman said.  “Three years ago, when we changed all the commissioners here, we looked this all over and asked ‘Why?’”

The project initially would begin in certain sections, and then be expanded to the rest of the township.

“This is going to open up a whole new area,” Beaman said. “Land is going to be more valuable and everything else.”

Assuming a construction bid is accepted, the township hopes to break ground next spring to ensure the sewers are installed as soon as possible.

“We’re trying to put a broken system back together,” Beaman said. “We need sewers.”

The monthly meeting also covered several other topics, such as a new truck the township has purchased that will be used in the winter during hazardous weather conditions. It is expected to arrive sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Commissioners also discussed the safety issues involving the closure of School Street. Although the township has contacted GPS companies several times to ask them to direct traffic around the street, the companies have not acted on their requests. The idea of renaming the street came up, but it was rejected due to the cost of a name change.