Fireworks store will build in State Line
By PAT FRIDGEN Echo Pilot

Though Court of Common Pleas Judge John R. Walker has not yet issued his ruling on Sky King's land use appeal, Antrim Township solicitor John Lisko thinks he knows what it will be and so advised the Board of Supervisors on a plan of action.

Lisko recommended approving the fireworks company's revised plan for a store on Mountain View Drive in State Line. During the Nov. 6 township meeting, Lisko announced that a settlement agreement had been reached with Sky King. The company will not sue Antrim Township in federal court for lost income if it is allowed to build on the site previously rejected by the board.

The board denied Sky King's land development plan Jan. 9, based on seven ways it did not comply with township regulations. The Florida-based company appealed at the county level Feb. 22. The two sides met in court Sept. 27 and 28.

Though Lisko argued against letting a revised plan be entered as evidence, Walker allowed it to be submitted.

"It substantially complies with our ordinance," Lisko told the supervisors.

Because Walker accepted the plans and because Sky King hired a civil rights attorney to sue for lost profits if Walker ruled in its favor, Lisko suggested the approval. The township's insurance attorney did not think Sky King would prevail in a civil rights lawsuit, but Lisko thought his arguments on the land use plan would prevail in county court too, and they did not.

As part of the amended plan, Sky King will have one 25-foot wide driveway entrance into its parking lot, with a 35-foot turn radius. Tree screening has been added on the north side of the property. The company will widen Mt. View Drive to 28 feet and add a layer of pavement. It will provide parking for two tractor-trailers and pay for 'no truck parking' signs for that road and Mason-Dixon Road.

Supervisors were not satisfied with trucks entering the grounds. Curtis Myers believed the space would be too tight for a truck to back up to make a Yturn.

Township manager Ben Thomas Jr. did not think a truck would pull in during normal business hours, and that the township would have to be reactive rather than proactive regarding parking issues. Since Sky King hopes to be open for the 2008 season, Antrim would have to judge how the road held up and the impact of the trucks. It could post 'no parking' signs based on weight restrictions.

"This whole thing is very frustrating to us," summed up Chair James Byers.

On a Scott Diffenderfer/Byers motion, the board voted to approve the revised land use plan, sign the settlement agreement, conduct a traffic study between Memorial Day and July 4, receive assurance that the Uniform Construction Code and USDA regulations for fire suppression were met, and that Sky King develop a pre-plan with the fire department in event of a fire. Myers and Fred Young III voted in the affirmative, Sam Miller voted against.

Other business

The board granted a conditional use permit to radio station WHGT for two towers on north Rabbit Road. The 15-kilowatt station agreed to resolve all reasonable complaints of interference within the first year of operation. Antrim also required only a $5,000 bond for one year, a departure of the $100,000 it wanted to impose when Pastor Larry Aikens, representing Emmanuel Baptist Church of Hagerstown, approached the township in April about a site near Clay Hill Road.

Aikens thanked the board. "We look forward to serving the community."

The carpet issue was finally settled. On Oct. 23 the board authorized Thomas to replace carpet in two offices at a cost of $998. He had reported that it was loose and a trip hazard to employees. On Oct. 30 the board asked him to wait while it considered other options for floor coverings.

At the Nov. 6 meeting Diffenderfer said supervisors were making too big a deal out of it.

"My concern is the safety of employees," he said. "If someone trips now, the cost for the emergency room, workers compensation and lost productivity will be great."

He said even if the board renovated the current building, it could take months or years before anything was completed.

They did give Thomas the goahead to replace the carpet.

The board also followed a recommendation from the Planning Commission to approve a request from Todd Auto Body. The firm will move a frame shop from its old location on Worleytown Road to its new site on Molly Pitcher Highway, and macadam a stone driveway.