BY PAT FARNELLI

Harford Township supervisors met Tuesday, approving bids for fuels and dust control oil, but the air was thick with tension as the supervisors, visitors and employees faced off over road conditions, the need for a time clock, and management in general.

Several motions were made, only to not receive a second. Although the supervisors agreed that they had had a productive work session, they were still not in agreement on the issues of having a time clock, or on how roadwork projects should be handled. Some progress was made in the creation of a township website.

After the minutes for the previous meeting were read, the supervisors picked up where they had left off on awarding bids for materials and fuels.

A noise meter for monitoring industrial noise has been sought for some time, with supervisor Garry Foltz handling the research.

A number of manufacturers had been contacted, but none had a meter which met the specifications and requirements of state and local ordinances. Foltz announced that he had found a meter made by Fotronics that met the specifications and requirements. This meter, a NoiseTech model, was available at $409 plus shipping, and included a sound meter, microphone, windscreen and training manual.

“I reviewed at least 20 different models,” Foltz said.

The purchase of the meter was approved.

A road maintenance agreement proposed by Southwestern Energy was discussed again, and the supervisors voted to accept the agreement as presented, with modifications made by the supervisors. The roads involved include White Road, Houlihan, and Steele Hill, all of which will now be maintained by the natural gas company in the winter months.

An update was presented on the School Street project.

The Richardson Road project and repair is again underway. The area is being filled in with millings from the bypass project, a pipe has been installed, and it will be finished off with stone.

Foltz said that he has stopped by the township road crew and is under the impression that they are not sticking with one job until it is finished.

Wilcox road is on the list for repairs, and VanGorden said that he was trying to get material to fill in the erosion there. He said a pipe needs to be replaced, and that they have budgeted for 5,000 tons of 2RC.

A cleanup day is being planned for the week of June 20. Last time, 60 households participated, with 59 pickup trucks of bulk refuse hauled away. The trucks will pick up items from properties at a fee. The township is paid for metal items.

Foltz said that he would like the township to consider inviting residents to come see the clean up operation at work in the future, show them where items go, and also consider a recycling program.

Resident Fred Grasso said that he thought it was negligent to do a clean up day before the roads are finished. “There are a lot of one lane roads in the township right now,” he said.

Supervisor Sue Furney said that by holding it the week of June 20, the road crew will have time to get the road work done beforehand.

The supervisors discussed a DEP report on the Tingley Lake Dam and water issues there.The DEP is required to do an inspection every five years, and in 2008, they did not note any concerns with the lake or the outflow of the lake. Some residents there are in litigation against the township, and no work can be done at this time, said Foltz.

Tyler Lake Road has a recurring sewer line blockage, and the sewer input is doubling or tripling when it rains. It seems to always be the same spot in the same pipe, so the debris at the clogged spot was analyzed by a lab. The results were reported, and the blockage is comprised of compost: what kind of compost, whether rotting leaves or garbage disposal waste, they did not know.

Employees Wayne Federici and Eric Allen attended the meeting, and participated in the discussions over how the road crew employees could best use their time.

The conversation became heated as several residents challenged VanGorden and asked whether a time clock might make workers more accountable.

VanGorden appealed to Maureen Warren, who frequently attends. “Your husband was a supervisor,” he said.

“But times have changed, and it’s like the fox watching the henhouse now,” she countered.

Voices were raised over and over again. Foltz made a motion, “upon the recommendation of the auditors, to purchase a time clock.” There was no second.

The employees present sided with VanGorden, saying that Foltz isn’t out there working with them under difficult conditions, and he feels that Foltz sometimes sends them in another direction.