SHOHOLA TOWNSHIP, PA — Joe Zenes has owned and lived on a small property near the Route 6 end of Shohola Falls Road for approximately 33 years. Nineteen years ago, a young family bought the adjoining 6.9 acre piece—wooded at the time—and over the years have made what some people would consider improvements to it to accommodate their growing family’s activities. The space has a putting green, an ornate tree house and a stocked pond for fishing and ice skating. The latest project involved clearing a sledding hill of stumps and rocks.

Both the town board and the property owners (who wish to remain anonymous) noted that, starting in 1999, Zenes has made multiple complaints to the supervisors and zoning officers regarding these changes. Every change was assessed by the board, the zoning officers and township solicitor Jason Ohliger and were found to have been without merit.

At the meeting on January 14, Zenes presented the supervisors with a glass bottle of muddy water he claimed was his tap water. He insisted that this is the result of runoff due directly to some minor excavating work currently being done on the neighboring property that is muddying his 160-foot well. The board and Ohliger reminded Zenes that his multiple complaints had never served any purpose, and that his property is on a higher elevation than that of his neighbors. This issue will, however, once again be investigated by zoning officer Dilorenzo and the county water conservancy, and by Ohliger.

Zenes also made claims that the driving and chipping range that the owners have made are in direct opposition to what is permitted within the new zoning laws. This topic was left open for further evaluation.

Zenes then put his name forward as a candidate for the empty alternate zoning officer position and listed his credentials. He was advised to apply for the job through the appropriate channels.

On another matter, Supervisors Chair George Fluhr came under fire from Carrie Thomas. Thomas is a well known attendee of the township meetings and supporter of losing write-in candidate Shirley Masuo for the head supervisor position in last November’s election.

Thomas has voiced her disapproval of Fluhr and the rest of the board for at least six years. On January 14, she appeared with what she apparently believed to be a smoking gun and had called for Channel 13 to document the moment.

Thomas’s primary complaint appeared to be that supervisors should not be paid when performing duties for the township—such as plowing and road inspections—that fall outside the scope of their regular duties. She had called other boards, including Dingmans and Blooming Grove, and said she had done independent legal and insurance research.

Ohliger said in response that other area townships clearly do pay their supervisors for duties outside their regular scope. Lackawaxen, until recently, had its head supervisor receiving an hourly rate as roadmaster, and paid another supervisor for acting as treasurer.

Thomas criticized the fact that supervisor Keith Raiser had been paid a day’s fee for road inspection. The disorder was settled, however, when Ohliger read the relevant statute, statue 606 of the second class township code, which clearly stated that supervisors can and should be paid for such work not directly within their scope of supervisory duties, and that Raiser, for example, could have been inspecting the roads twice a year for a set day’s pay. Raiser settled the insurance issue by making the point that the insurance is necessary if, for example, he should be injured by a vehicle while performing his duties.

Fluhr quickly put an end to the meeting on that note, but Thomas was clearly unsatisfied with the outcome.