Lower Nazareth wants volunteers to help it preserve open space

Lower Nazareth is seeking applicants to serve on a volunteer board to help guide implementation of the township’s open space preservation plan.The township wants five people to serve on an Open Space Environmental Advisory Committee to help roll out the plan, Supervisor Bob Hoyer said during the Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday.The committee will also be responsible for considering environmental issues throughout the township, reviewing land preservation applications, and administering the open space plan as a recommending body to the supervisors.Applicants are asked to submit proposal letters and resumes by 4 p.m. Aug. 30 to the township office at 623 Municipal Drive. The only requirement is that interested parties must be residents of the township, Hoyer said.The board hopes to appoint members during its first meeting in September.The township already has an ordinance on its books that will allow for the advisory committee, Township Solicitor Gary Asteak said. During the May primary, 62% of voters supported a ballot referendum question asking if they were in favor of paying 0.25 mill more in earned income tax to preserve open space by buying agricultural and environmentally sensitive land.The board Wednesday authorized Asteak to prepare an ordinance for adoption at their 6:30 p.m. meeting July 24 authorizing the use of the tax revenue for that purpose.The tax increase would kick in Jan. 1 and is expected to generate $650,000-$700,000, Township Solicitor Lori Stauffer said.The open space plan will include both farmland preservation and setting aside environmentally sensitive areas such as woodlands and wetlands.Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
Source: Morningcall