EXETER TWP., Pa. \u2013 Monday night\u2019s Exeter Township Board of Supervisors meeting had a special visit from a neighbor. Hunter Ahrens, Mount Penn Borough manager, addressed the supervisors about the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority conveyance-leaseback proposal.<\/p>\n
Ahrens explained that there are about 400 Exeter Township residents who are part of the Mount Penn water system. He said the conveyance-leaseback is a legal process by which the water authority turns over direct ownership of the system to the borough. The borough then leases back the water system to the authority.<\/p>\n
Within that process, Ahrens noted, Mount Penn Borough would accomplish three things: include a binding legal covenant against a sale to a public or private organization, merge the borough and water staff to form a public works department, and create a revenue stream under the lease to the authority to support emergency services.<\/p>\n
Ahrens said this project is being undertaken to provide a sustainable governance model for Mount Penn that provides stable revenue but also prevents privatization and enhances services to residents in the long term.<\/p>\n
The effect on rate payers who live in Exeter Township in 2027, he noted, would be about $7 per quarter. Through 2037, the rate increase is estimated to be a total of $77.<\/p>\n
Ahrens said that the authority expected to invest about $800,000 per year in the system. He reiterated that the Mount Penn Borough Council has no interest in selling the system.<\/p>\n
New homes<\/p>\n
The supervisors approved a resolution for the proposed Highland Court development. Township engineer Joe Rogosky explained the plan proposes the subdivision of approximately 10 acres of land within the Golf Course Estates development into seven residential lots for the construction of new single-family homes. This application is currently in the preliminary approval stage.<\/p>\n
Approval of the proposed development is anticipated to increase the township’s tax base through the addition of new residential properties. The Exeter Township Planning Commission reviewed the preliminary land development plan at its July 2026 meeting and recommended approval.<\/p>\n
Dimensional variance request<\/p>\n
A dimensional variance request for 4601 Oley Turnpike Road was approved to be supported by the board. The owner sought relief to construct a 40-foot by 60-foot detached accessory building on the property. The property consists of more than 7 acres, and the applicant proposes to use the accessory building for storage.<\/p>\n
Truck\/equipment facility<\/p>\n
A motion to approve a six-month extension for FR&S Solid Waste Services\u2019 final land development plan was authorized. According to Rogosky, the applicant submitted land development plans to the Township in 2024 for a proposed truck\/equipment storage and maintenance facility. Preliminary plan approval was granted in February 2025. The applicant is requesting an additional six-month time extension to submit the plan for review and approval.<\/p>\n
Police trailer<\/p>\n
The supervisors authorized the 90-day notice of return of the WillScot police department modular trailer. Township manager Larry Piersol, explained the township is required under the terms of its current lease to provide WillScot with at least 90 days\u2019 written notice of its intent to return the unit and schedule pickup.<\/p>\n
The lease rate is scheduled to increase by approximately 32%, Piersol said. To avoid incurring the increased lease costs, staff recommends authorizing the required notice and proceeding with the return of the modular trailer.<\/p>\n
New furniture<\/p>\n
In addition, the supervisors approved the purchase of second-floor office furniture for 1 Hearthstone Court at a cost not to exceed $33,000. In preparation for staff relocating to the new administration building, the township must proceed with purchasing office furniture for the second floor. Officials said approving the purchase at this time will help ensure that the new building is furnished and ready for staff occupancy. It will also support a smooth transition as the township prepares to return the police department\u2019s modular unit and relocate police department operations into the current township building, they said.<\/p>\n
Police report<\/p>\n
Police Chief Stephen Powell reported there were 2,645 total incidents in July. He noted incidents of interest included 29 domestic disputes, 19 retail thefts and 14 thefts other than retail, 18 fraud related, and, it being July, 14 fireworks related. In June 2026, 83 arrests were made. Powell also noted that 387 traffic citations were issued, including 13 that were DUI related. The department closed\/cleared 21 criminal investigations in the month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXETER TWP., Pa. \u2013 Monday night\u2019s Exeter Township Board of Supervisors meeting had a special visit from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1411,106931,75322,128,130,129,114447],"class_list":["post-271810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-exeter-township","tag-mount-penn-borough","tag-municipal-authority","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-water-system-leaseback"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}