L. MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. – The Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners accepted a land parcel dedicated from the Lehigh County Authority on Thursday night at the township building.
The property, located at 1900 Mill Creek Road, is adjacent to Little Lehigh Creek and encompasses about 1.16 acres. The land was the former site of a pump station which has been removed. Currently, the property consists of woods, a gravel parking area and about 495 feet of Little Lehigh Creek frontage.
The LCA conveyed the land through Lehigh County to Lower Macungie on the condition that it remain solely used for open space, recreation and parkland. The deal is worth $1.
Memorial request
In other business, commissioners approved a park memorial request as part of the township's park memorial program. The memorial request came from Marjorie Trotter, widow of Bruce Trotter. Bruce Trotter was a longtime educator and former head football coach at Louis E. Dieruff High School. He died on Nov. 8, 2022.
"There was no better teacher than Bruce Trotter," Commissioner Ronald R. Beitler, a former student of Trotter, said Thursday night. "He instilled school pride in his students...I have good memories of that man."
Contracts
In other news, commissioners denied a potential contract. The denial involved the township's 2023 bridge rehabilitation program, which includes preparation and application of protective coating on three existing steel bridge structures and all exposed metal surfaces. The three bridges were Smith Lane Bridge, Camp Olympic Bridge and Ash Lane Bridge.
The lowest bid — from Titan Industrial Services of Baltimore, Maryland — sought $753,000. This amount far exceeded the $285,310 that Lower Macungie had budgeted. Given this, the township opted to reject the bid and re-evaluate project options at a future date.
The board did approve a deal with Lawrence Site Contractors for a project involving the restoration of two existing swales and one basin. The contract pays the Gilbertsville-based company $174,728.25.
