In the mid-summer of 1966, a group of residents met with the Kelly Township board of supervisors to discuss their vision for creating a public sewage collection and treatment facility designed to serve the developing sections of Kelly Township. The major concern at the time was the south end of the township where businesses had begun to move in and required vital infrastructure to facilitate further growth in the community.
With articles of incorporation having been drafted and approved in November 1966, the five member group of residents began putting their thoughts together and jointly laying out the structure for a new municipal authority.
The final official meeting of the newly formed Kelly Township Municipal Authority was held on December 22, 1966 at the Kelly Township elementary school. The five founding members were Dr. Max Van Buskirk, Mr. “Jack” Dersham, Mr. H. Hendershot, Mr. “Hank” Baylor and Mr. Paul Bower. The authority’s first solicitor was H. William Koch, Esquire of Milton, Pennsylvania. These men assumed positions on the board and enacted the initial bylaws of the new municipal authority.
By February of 1967, the Kelly Township Municipal Authority was off and running. Initial projects included working on the purchase of the West Milton Sewer Company as well as working with local property owners in an attempt to secure the land needed for the sewer treatment facility.
Throughout 1967, multiple sites were considered as possible locations for the Kelly Township Municipal Authority facility. These included a farm owned by the Vincent family and the West Milton Memorial Park.
In March of 1968, a meeting was held with the Lewisburg Borough Authority to discuss and consider their offer for Kelly Township to hook into their treatment facility and form a regional sewer authority.
In September of 1968, with the commitment from some of the local businesses located in the south end of the Township, it was decided that the future home of the Kelly Township Municipal Authority treatment facility would be on 10.9 acres that was acquired from the Evangelical Home and W.T. Kostenbader.
The new sewage treatment and collection system was being designed to handle the commercial and residential capacity for Kelly Township, west Milton, the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and parts of White Deer Township.
On October 20, 1969, two contracts were approved. Contract #1 was for the construction of a sewer collection system in the amount of $447,697.60. Contract #2 was for the cost to construct a 2.75 MGD treatment facility in the amount of $1,130,797. The total loan for the project was $1,400,000.
The initial groundbreaking for the facility occurred on October 24, 1969 at 10:00 a.m. when a groundbreaking ceremony was held. The first shovel full of dirt was dug by Chairman Dr. Max Van Buskirk. The second shovel full of dirt was dug by Kelly Township supervisor, Dallas Walters. It was official, the Kelly Township Municipal Authority had become a reality.
After coming on line and for many years thereafter, the Authority facility served businesses in the township including the Evangelical hospital, the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, International Paper and many others which came into the township as well as the growing residential population.
By March of 1989, a significant upgrade of the Authority’s facility became necessary. Aeration #3 and clarifier #3 were constructed. These improvements increased the Authority’s capable treatment capacity by 1 MGD to a total of 3.75 MGD.
Additional plant collection and treatment facility improvements were made in 1993 when the Authority incurred a $1,200,000 bond issue to pay for the plant upgrades.
Over its history, the Kelly Township Municipal Authority has managed to provide quality services while keeping its customers’ treatment rates among the lowest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Authority has had two dedicated plant managers over its history: Marlin Hartman, Matthew Koch and current Executive Director Matthew Aikey. Past plant operators were Floyd Koch and Jason Koch. The Authority’s engineers have been Roger K. Hepner of Mid Penn Engineering and currently HRG Engineering of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Past Solicitors for the Authority have been H. William Koch, Esquire of Koch & Foust and the current solicitor, Robin S. Martin, Esquire of the Slivinski Law Offices.
The current board members are:
Chairman, Chris Baylor
Vice-Chairman, Cody Lytle
Secretary, Robert Hamm
Clint Morris
Lucas Crisswell
Today, the Kelly Township Municipal Authority continues to operate the original 3.75 MGD activated sludge treatment plant and its collection system consisting of four sewage pumping stations, 11.75 miles of piping and approximately 361 manholes. It also owns and operates the newer package plant at Kelly Crossroads.
The Authority has a team of seven field and administrative staff who have one collective goal in mind: to protect public health and the local environment by providing excellent wastewater collection, treatment, management and utility infrastructure. It is committed to transparency, operational efficiency and exceptional customer service while offering convenient account management options for all its customers in the township.
