Grant sought for Strawberry Hills

The Logan Township Supervisors Thursday approved an application for a $612,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to help pay for a 1,500-square-foot concession stand-restroom building at the township’s Strawberry Hills recreation area.

The township would be required to provide an equal match.

A local soccer club will pay $200,000 toward the match.

The supervisors approved a letter of commitment for the match, as a requirement of the grant application.

Brush collection considered

The supervisors informally agreed to add a brush collection period during the summer to remove the temptation for residents to violate the township’s ban on outdoor burning, except for recreational fires.

The supervisors took the action on the suggestion of supervisors Chairman Jim Patterson, after Patterson recounted a couple of recent complaints from residents about the burn ban.

There was talk about extending the existing brush collection period, which ended April 20, until Supervisor Ed Frontino suggested instead a separate period in the middle of June.

Patterson will talk to highway foreman Jim Hoffner to ensure Hoffner can work it into his department’s schedule.

It can be done on a trial basis, to see whether residents take advantage of the additional time, officials said.

Data centers mulled

Experts at a recent convention of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors advised local officials to consider adopting ordinances that would limit the construction of data centers to areas that are suitable, while keeping them out of residential neighborhoods, according to Patterson.

“They need an extreme amount of power,” although there are proposals for data centers to build nuclear power generators that could produce electricity for their own use, according to Patterson.

Data centers also require lots of water to cool their electronic components, although there is a move to use closed systems, with the water being recycled, as in some car washes, according to Patterson.

Fog sealing may replace tar-and-chip

The township will be trying out a new paving method designed to replace tar-and-chipping.

It’s called fog sealing.

Fog sealant is a thin liquid emulsion applied to asphalt, according to an online source.

It contains “globules of paving asphalt, water (and) an emulsifying agent or surfactant,” which helps keep the oil in suspension, and sometimes a “rejuvenator,” which softens the underlying asphalt, according to the source.

The township plans to treat five stretches of roadway using the new method this paving season to test it out, according to township Manager Tim Brown.

Tarring and chipping generates complaints from vehicle owners about their paint being nicked when they drive on roads where tar and chipping was recently done, according to Patterson.

PSU Altoona soccer team plants trees

The Penn State Altoona women’s soccer team recently participated in a tree-planting session at Strawberry Hills, according to township Supervisor Joe Metzgar.

The women had fun but worked diligently, getting 25 of 40 trees in the ground, Metzgar said.

Actually, “they were all business,” he said.

They’ll be back to do the rest, he said.

Compiled by William Kibler