(5/30) Liberty Township Board of Supervisors voted at their May meeting to approve proceeding with work that will result in an upgrade of the existing parking lot at the township building.

The existing parking lot is not consistently level due to the presence of a prominent slope beneath some of the paving, and the board is seeking a means to level it off.

Board Chairman Walter Barlow said the township had previously considered just leveling the parking area, but that an excavator since examined the site and stated that the lot should first be raised eight inches, after which, that layer could then be leveled off.

The additional layer would also be the best means of addressing a severe slope issue which prevents the parking area from being entirely level to begin with. Barlow said the project can be done by the township without having to engage a contractor to accomplish the objectives.

Adding the eight-inch level, he said, would require approximately three dump-truck loads of stone, equating about 60 tons.

Leveling the added layer would be the first step towards, ultimately, paving the lot with tar and chip-paving, if the leveling effort achieves the desired effect. "That will be our first step before we pave it and get it ready, and get it level, and see how that works out (before the paving)." Barlow said.

It was noted that it will take a year or two for the stone layer to settle before the paving could be applied.

Barlow said some building roof-drains should also be reconfigured before the stone is applied to the parking area.

In other business, the board voted to terminate the township building cleaning services and, instead, do the cleaning in-house, and to seek estimates to strip the township building floors to improve the appearance of the worn floors.

June 3 has also been scheduled for a public hearing on the proposed floodplain ordinance.