Riverfest, WNEP Go Joe 27, park use requests, and water discussed at Woodward Township meeting
By Christopher Miller
WOODWARD TOWNSHIP – Woodward Township Supervisors met Tuesday evening for their monthly meeting at the township building.
The final plans for Riverfest 2024 were discussed by Kyle Coleman of the Recreation Committee.
“We have the flyers done and ready to go out to the printer, and they will be shared on our Facebook page very soon,” Coleman said. “Riverfest will be July 11-13 with music each night, food, entertainment, with the duck derby, and fireworks on Saturday night.”
Riverfest
Thursday, July 11 – Mix Tape 6 to 9 PM
Friday, July 12 – Flashback 6 to 9 PM
Saturday, July 13 – Trip the Light 7 to 10 PM, fireworks following at 10 PM
The Duck Derby will be held Saturday, July 13 at 5 PM in the river.
The kickoff for WNEP’s Go Joe 27 annual charity bike ride, which benefits St. Joseph’s Center in Scranton, was discussed.
Set up for the event will begin Saturday, July 20 at the Lockport Boat Launch and will continue through Sunday evening with a live broadcast and event kickoff scheduled for Monday, July 22 from 4:45 AM to 10 AM.
“WNEP Meteorologist Joe Snedeker will be broadcasting from the location providing the morning weather reports and updates on his bike route,” a release to the township said.
The event happening at the boat launch will include a small festival for the kickoff, food and food trucks, and inflatables.
Representatives of Suburban Water and the Filtration Authority were present Tuesday evening to answer any questions the township or residents had on the future consolidation of the three water entities: Lock Haven City Authority, Suburban Water Authority, and the Filtration Authority.
“The consolidation of the three into one entity almost has to happen,” Reed Mellinger said. “There is so much work that needs to be done that DEP has mandated, but the city cannot borrow money to make it happen on their own, but if we come together as one entity it makes our collective borrowing power much greater and PennVest will look more favorably on us then.”
When the consolidation is complete, all water that leaves the filtration plant will be accounted for and split for billing.
“The city is going to give the reservoirs, all the land, timber rights and the watershed up for this for the financial transfer of $1,” a gentleman by the name of Jim said. “The new authority will own and operate everything and all municipalities involved will have equal representation, with the one authority overseeing the filtering and distribution, and one platform for customers to pay their bills,” Reed added.
“There are over 500 miles of underground pipe beneath our feet transferring water around the area,” Jim said. “The city has a lot of unaccountable water in their billing, which are possibly leaks.”
Representatives will be coming to meetings regularly in the future to provide updates on the happenings of the consolidation.
In other news:
Coudersport Pike southbound lane from Mill Hill Road to the Jay Street Bridge will be closed from 7 AM to 12 PM on Saturday, June 22 for the Great Island Adventure and Swim Triathlon, reopening the roadway at 12 PM.
Soccer Shots, a children’s soccer instructional program, requested use of Riverview Park for Tuesday evenings from July 9 – August 13 from 5 to 7 PM. Students in grades 2-3 will be using the park from 5:30 to 6 PM and students in grades 3-5 will be using the park from 6:10 to 6:50 PM.
Mill Hall Walmart will be holding a fundraising event benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network on July 5 at Riverview Park. The fundraiser includes a corn hole tournament and wing fest. Management at Mill Hall Walmart is currently working to organize local businesses to join in the campaign which donates 100% of the proceeds to the children’s hospital in Danville. The corn hole tournament registration is $20/team and there is a $15 donation requested to join in for the wing cook off entry.
Mowing of green spaces will take place next week within the township in preparation for the July 4 holiday. Drop inlets will also be installed at the bottom of Brewery Hollow to channel the water away from the roadway where it meets up with Farrandsville Road.
The new volleyball net and equipment has been ordered and is almost ready for use pending installation of the new poles and delivery of sand.
The Coudersport Pike/Farrandsville Road and Jay Street Bridge intersection and walkway project is almost ready to pave with the new crosswalk potentially being installed next week.
PennDOT has been actively “tar and chipping” Coudersport Pike above Cider Press Road with plans to finish the pike in the coming weeks, and then move onward to tar and chip the entirety of Woodward Avenue from Constitution Bridge to Avis.
Tar sealing of the parking lot at the boat launch was awarded to Rippey’s Asphalt Sealing for a total of $10,795. RPM, a line striping and painting company, will be doing the line painting for a total of $1,254 keeping the same layout of parking stalls and vehicle movement in and out of the boat launch that currently exists.
The Woodland Drive paving project will be advertised in the coming days for where Crestview comes up to the cul-de-sac.
Township supervisors voted to join in on the county Hazard Mitigation Plan which allows for Woodward Township to apply for federal funding if a need were to arise from a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or forest fire.
