Home on Schantz Road is Sinking and may be Demolished

Upper Macungie declared a vacant house at 6409 Schantz Road as unsafe and is likely to knock it down and place a lien on the property.

  A vacant house across from Lone Lane Park is “sinking” and it’s likely that Upper Macungie will have it demolished and place a lien on the property, according to township officials. The township building codes officer declared the house at 6409 Schantz Road unfit for habitation, said Andrew Schantz, township solicitor. Upper Macungie Supervisor Kathy Rader said the house has problems with its foundation. “It’s sinking,” she said. “It was built back in the 60s before we had the building codes we have. It is a safety hazard.” Built in 1969, the house is owned by Dennis Romig of Fleetwood, according to Lehigh County Assessment records. The home was in foreclosure but the bank reportedly abandoned the foreclosure. Schantz said the township …

• Photos (2)

Upper Macungie Lobbies for Firefighter Incentives

Upper Macungie Township Supervisor Kathy Rader lobbies Congress on firefighter incentives and relief from unfunded mandates.

  Like most small and medium-sized municipalities, Upper Macungie saves a bundle by relying on volunteer firefighters rather than a paid department to respond to fires and other emergencies. For instant updates, follow Upper Macungie Patch on Facebook and Twitter. But finding volunteers who are willing to put in the time and get the necessary training to be a firefighter is no easy task, according to Township Supervisor Kathy Rader.  “Retention and recruitment is tough,” Rader said. “It’s harder and harder all the time.” That’s why incentives for volunteer firefighters were on the agenda last month when Rader took part in a day of lobbying Congress as a member of the National Association of Towns and Townships. Rader said she was part of a…

• Photos (2)

Upper Macungie Spends $30,000 for a Computer Upgrade

Upper Macungie has upgraded its computer computer billing system to replace one that was more than 20 years old.

  Remember the early days of the computer age when the Internet was known  as the World Wide Web? They do in Upper Macungie. They do because they've been using the same system for about 20 years for billing and property records. Well, it's now time for a database update and township supervisors have signed off to spend $30,000 for the makeover. "It's very antiquated," Supervisor Kathy A. Rader said. "The system is getting harder to update. It's something that's desperately needed because we can't add anything more to the system. If it crashes, we're in trouble." Rader showed off the old system at town hall on Tuesday, saying that it records such information as property ownership, location, account number, tax map, pin number, sewer billing…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Election

Super Terrific Election Guide 2011

Election 2011: When, where and how ... a guide to voting in Upper Macungie.

Here’s the information you need before hitting the voting booth Tuesday.

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Election

Faceoff: The Race For Upper Macungie Supervisor

A Q&A with Upper Macungie supervisor candidates Kathy Rader and Joe Corcoran.

Upper Macungie Township voters will go to the polls Nov. 8 to select a township supervisor. On the ballot are Republican incumbent Kathy Rader and Democratic challenger Joe Corcoran. Patch posed seven questions to the candidates concerning township issues. The answers appear below in alphabetical order by last name:  1.       Describe the challenges you see in Upper Macungie. JOE CORCORAN: In the current economic climate, we need to be really smart about how we spend money.   We need to do everything we can to get more from every tax dollar.  That’s going to take new ideas and a different way of doing things.  The ‘same old, same old’ doesn’t work anymore. KATHY RADER: Township challenges change from day to day.  Some of today's challenges…

• Photos (3)