JENKINS TWP. — Supervisors at Wednesday’s meeting denied an application by Forza Holdings LLC to rezone a portion of mine-scarred land in the Inkerman section of the township following a hearing in January where members of the public voiced opposition to the proposal.

About a dozen residents attended the supervisor’s regular monthly meeting and clapped when the board denied the request to rezone the large, wooded area between Market and Main Street, from residential and mining to industrial.

The property is owned by Forza Holdings LLC and was sold to the company in the spring of 2025 for $1 million, per county property records.

According to attorney Samuel Falcone, who represented Forza Holdings at the public meeting in January, the developers wanted to reclaim the mined land, which has culm banks in excess of four stories high, and level it.

However, they did not yet know what they intended to use the land for, and several residents at the hearing took issue with that.

Data center ordinance

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board authorized Assistant Zoning Officer Ronald Giza to begin advertising an ordinance regulating data centers.

A public hearing where residents can review the ordinance, make suggestions, and ask questions, will be held about 45 days from Wednesday’s meeting.

Supervisor Chairman Stanley Rovinski said the location of the meeting has not been determined yet, as the board is still looking for a place that will accommodate a large crowd.

Giza briefly explained that the ordinance would create an overlay district where data centers would be permitted in the center point area of the township, on the other side of the turnpike.

“We’re going to try and keep it up in the industrial area,” he said.

The proposed ordinance would allow data centers as a conditional use, which means any applicant would have to go before the board of supervisors

“I think it’s important to note that Jenkins Township cannot pass an ordinance that restricts data centers 100%. That’s illegal,” Supervisor Robert Linskey said. “We have to designate some area to let them potentially put — potentially — put a data center.”

Other regulations in the proposed ordinance will be explained at the public meeting.

Giza stressed that this is a proactive move, and no one has submitted an application for a data center in Jenkins Township.

“We do have to address this because if we don’t, we’re gonna be in trouble. Not saying we have anything coming, but if something does come, we’re ready,” he told residents.

Meals on Wheels donation

Additionally, the board approved a $1,000 donation to the Greater Pittston Meals on Wheels due to their refrigeration system malfunctioning, which volunteer Jim Falzone said resulted in losing $2,500 worth of food.

“Preliminary estimates are that the freezer is completely shot and we need a new unit,” Falzone said, which will likely cost upwards of $15,000.

The donation from Jenkins Township will come out of the UCC funds, which are made up of fees collected from businesses doing construction or remodeling, instead of taxpayer funds.

The Greater Pittston Meals on Wheels, first established in 1969, is not federally funded.

“Because we do not receive federal funds, we have not missed a day of deliveries in all of that time,” Falzone said. “Because during COVID, all Meals on Wheels were forced to shut down by the federal government. We never did.”