EAST SMETHPORT — Pending roadwork and its impact on farmers was the topic of discussion at Tuesday’s annual meeting of the McKean-Potter County Farm Bureau at the East Smethport United Christian Church.
Jason Powell, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s highway maintenance manager for McKean and Elk counties, reviewed the current and soon-to-be highway projects.
Powell, who has previously served in PennDOT districts 1 and 10, said betterment projects include U.S. Route 6 Kane Borough and Route 66 from the Elk County line north toward Kane.
Two projects involve full depth reclamation, which Powell described as “a recycling process that involves grinding the old roadway, mixing it with cement and water and then compacting the mixed material as the foundation of the new roadway.” These areas are Route 46 from Route 146 to Route 6 in Norwich Township. The roadway is slated to be closed from approximately May 2-June 15.
The other project is from Route 321 from Route 59 to Route 346 in Corydon Township and is to include drainage only this summer. The roadway is to be closed for three weeks next summer.
Three bridges in McKean County remain on the public-private partnership, or P3 bridge program, Powell said. They are on Route 346, Foster Brook; Route 646, Derrick City; and Route 46 in Norwich Township to the Cameron County line.
Additional work is to be completed on several 2017 projects.
Department force bridge replacements are scheduled on Route 1005 King’s Run Road, along with a department force channel beam replacement. The Route 4001 Big Shanty Road project, a department force box culvert, will cause a road closing from about July 23 to Aug. 1.
Meanwhile, six resurfacing projects are on the work list. These are Owens Way, Route 4004 West Corydon Township, Route 4005, High Street, Route 4007, South Avenue, Route 4009 Interstate Parkway and SR 4011 Sullivan.
PennDOT has also scheduled department seal coats projects on Big Shanty, Bingham, Locker and Roberts roads; Lafayette Avenue; and Route 59 from the Warren County line to Route 770, shoulders only.
One local Farm Bureau member expressed his concern about some roads being wide enough to accommodate certain farm machinery.
In another matter, Powell said his office is seeking good dump sites for depositing ditch cleaning material. Additional information is available from PennDOT at 300 Bingham Road, Cyclone.
McKean-Potter Farm Bureau President Dan Shetler led a discussion of Agricultural Security Areas that are tools for protecting Pennsylvania agriculture by having farmers working cooperatively with municipalities to establish areas where agriculture is the primary activity.
Landowners can participate in ASAs if their property is 10 or more acres with an annual income of at least $2,000 from agricultural products; is viable agricultural land used for the production of crops, livestock or livestock products; zoned to allow agricultural use; and is actively farmed according to a conservation plan.
Kerry Fetter, chairman of the McKean County Conservation District, said there are already AASAs in McKean County — in Annin and Keating townships.
One of the benefits of ASAs, Fetter said, is that the government cannot enact local laws or ordinances that unreasonably restrict farm structures or practices within these areas unless these restrictions have a direct relationship to public health or safety.
A discussion was also held on the Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and keeps agricultural lands available for agricultural production in perpetuity.
Dave Peterson, membership director for MPFB, announced that the organization has exceeded it membership goal by 113 percent. Meanwhile, associate memberships have increased by 103 percent.
