At Monday night’s meeting, Foster Township residents discussed problems with blight that have been a recurring issue.

Road inspections have been made, and it was decided to take pictures of homes with any type of destruction.

The supervisors said they had met with a man in Smethport with the Department of Environmental Protection, and sent their ordinances over to be reviewed in terms of zoning and making improvements.

There is a free program in which low income as well as elderly homeowners can apply. This program is being used to improve residents’ homes in Foster Township, while also promoting nicer homes throughout the area.

Higher taxes and municipal costs are just a couple of things affected by blight, and the township is hoping to change that.

“If we can keep blight at a manageable level, then we are at a step in the right direction,” said supervisor Gus Crissman.

The fines for blight are in three installments, beginning with a 30-day notice first.

They are hoping to have all of the zoning changes and revisions completed around September.

Residents will be notified by letter of the changes.

The garbage pickup issue was also discussed, and changes are being made.

Foster Township is finding that garbage is being hoarded and dumped illegally by those not having it taken care of by private companies. The supervisors stated that the minimum fine for garbage messes is $300, and can be up to $1,000.

“The penalty has to be more than the cost to comply, or they won’t comply,” said supervisor chairman George Hocker on why the fine is higher than the cost to pick up garbage.

They stated that taking care of the garbage issue has been county funded.

A Foster Township man was recently taken to court after numerous property fines, and was convicted after a long battle. The supervisors said they feel that this is a win for the township with a lawful purpose.

A resident expressed concern of the East Main Street road materials that were mixed wrong.

The process was long, however the road is now seal coated, which is supposed to last for 10 years. Due to the volume of traffic in the area, they felt this was the best option as opposed to tar and chip. Although the seal coat was expensive, the sweeping and labor costs of tar and chipping the road would have cost even more.

The supervisors would also like individuals to contact Causer’s office in order to pass a bill allowing for our local rural counties to use radar speed guns in order to help with speeding traffic problems in the area.