(1/2025) Wishing you a safe, healthy, and prosperous new year! Our reorganization meeting will take place at 5 p.m. on January 6. This is one hour earlier than previously advertised. At the December Board of Supervisors meeting the Township welcomed a presentation from Adams County Office for Aging Director Lynne Deardorf. Director Deardorf gave a thorough presentation regarding the need to provide continued services to the elderly. She expressed statistics that show a lack of adequate funding from state and federal governments and commented that the organization has come to rely more on fundraising and private donations. After careful consideration of the situation and the funds available in the Liberty Township budget, the Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to donate funds to the agency. It was clear that the Office for Aging provided much needed support directly to Liberty Township residents. We thank the entire staff of The Office for Aging for what they do for Adams’ County senior citizens as a whole.

At the December 17 Planning Commission meeting, I was able to personally thank Judie Hogan for her decades of service to Liberty Township in different capacities to include serving on the Zoning Hearing Board and Planning Commission. Additionally, we thank Horst Stehmer for his service on the Planning Commission over the past years. Both members will be retiring in January. Thank you to everyone who makes an effort to be involved in the governance of their local community. Many of these positions are voluntary, and if any compensation is given, it is minimal. If anyone is interested in serving on the Planning Commission, please send a letter of interest to the Liberty Township Board of Supervisors.

If you have driven by our township building recently, you may have noticed some changes. We have been working to reconfigure our current buildings and storage to make better use of the limited space of the one acre owned by the township. The construction is in progress and the hoop roof structure installation is expected to be complete before spring. The plan includes moving the fuel tanks and demolishing the original block building we currently use for storage. The propane tank has been moved, and the concrete slab for the gasoline and diesel fuel tanks has been poured and set. The tanks will be moved as soon as the fuel level is low enough to transport them.

We had some severe weather in the township during the month of December. Eight trees came down due to high winds within a two-day period that had to be removed and cleared from the roadways. On December 15, 2024, we had about four inches of unexpected snow. We had all the roads cleared by 6 AM for morning travel. Please be cautious this winter while driving and remember to maintain a safe speed especially in hazardous conditions. Your patience is appreciated during snowfalls, as we will have a maximum of two trucks on the roads at any given time. Thank you to the road crew for their hard work and for maintaining our roadways.

Liberty Township has an ordinance requiring a permit for solicitation in the township. The permit is issued through the Liberty Township Police Department. The details of the ordinance and the application form are both available on the township website. The application must be submitted with a photo and a $25 application fee. Residents experiencing door-to-door sales should request to see the Liberty Township Photo issued permit with photo ID. All residents are encouraged to check the township website for a list of people who are authorized to perform door-to-door sales within the township. The Police Department also provides courtesy house checks to residents in Liberty, Freedom, and Highland Township. If you plan to go out of town for an extended period, please fill out a House Check request form and submit it to the police department. We thank the Highland and Freedom Board of Supervisors for their continued support and the service hours they have contracted with the Liberty Township Police Department. The praise coming back from the residents and Supervisors speaks volumes about what our small Police Department accomplishes.

A message from the Liberty Township Police Department: Please don’t drink or drug and drive. Extra patrols are out for the holiday season to ensure safe roadways. Please remove all snow and ice from your vehicle before traveling. It is safer and it is the law. Pleas obey the "move over laws." Details are listed in PA title 75 3327 Duty of driver in emergency response areas and in relation to disabled vehicles. Have a safe new year.

The Tax Collector has closed collection on 2024 per capita and real estate taxes, if you are delinquent you will need to pay your bill through the collection agencies. School taxes are now in the penalty phase and must be paid by March 31.

We thank the Emmitsburg Journal for publishing our letter to the public every month. This opportunity allows our residents to stay informed of what is happening in the township. We also encourage the residents to reach out to the Board of Supervisors with their comments, questions, or concerns during public comment at our monthly meetings.