Catharine Township Needs Revenue, Auditor States

Catharine Township Auditor Daryl Cole presented the annual financial report conducted by the auditors during the Thursday, April 15, township meeting.

Cole said the audit was accepted by the state. He stated his opinion that the township needs revenue, and there had been no millage increase in the township since 1986.

Vice Chairman Ken Brenneman discussed the idea of raising the wage tax to garner some funding for the township.

In an update for the Act 537 plan, Brenneman said that money has been set aside and Keller Engineers of Hollidaysburg is currently working on the plan. The Act 537 plan will be implemented in order to help address existing sewage disposal needs and to help prevent future problems through the proper planning, permitting, and design of all types of sewage facilities.

Sgt. Bradford Codd of the Pennsylvania State Police was present to discuss statistics with the township supervisors. In 2020, 104 calls were made to the state police – of those calls, 21 were criminal; 16 were crashes; and 22 were traffic stops with 19 traffic citations issued.

Roadmaster Michael Fay discussed with Sgt. Codd the 10-ton weight limit on Canoe Mountain Road and cited the number of trucks that use that road daily. Codd said that he will look into the matter.

Scott Baker, a resident of Catharine Township, presented current photos of the property he purchased that is being inhabited illegally by another family. Baker is currently in court about who rightfully owns the property.

The occupants currently have no sewer system. Baker said he has discussed with Sewage Enforcement Officer Luke Helsel the options for what can be done. Helsel called into the meeting to talk about red-tagging the property, but encouraged the township to wait until the April 28 hearing before taking any action.