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Board votes to add and approve submission of modified land‑use application to open Halterman Road high‑school gate
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Summary
After discussion and a roll‑call vote to add the item to the agenda, the Souderson board voted to submit a modified Franconia Township land‑use application seeking to open the Halterman Road gate. Supporters cited emergency‑access and safety; neighbors urged thorough traffic studies and community input.
The Souderson Area School District board voted to add and then approve a motion to submit a modified land‑use application to Franconia Township to open the Halterman Road gate at the high school.
Board member Mr. Soushey introduced the motion asking the district to "submit a modified land use application of Franconia Township to open the Halterman Road ... gate." The solicitor advised that, under the Sunshine Act, the board may add an item to the agenda with a majority vote and must record the reason why the item was added at the meeting. The board first voted (roll call) to add the motion to the agenda; that roll call recorded five in favor and four opposed, and the item was added.
During the subsequent discussion, members asked whether submitting the application would trigger required traffic studies, consultant costs and administrative steps. The superintendent said engineers had already worked out parameters for the traffic study and recommended a presentation of timelines and process in an April committee meeting to allow public input. The solicitor noted that a motion typically includes authorization for administration to take necessary steps to implement the filing.
Members of the public spoke at length in the meeting’s public comment period. Christina Burtos, a mother of a high‑school athlete, described a September incident in which she says an ambulance was delayed about 23 minutes because the Haldeman (Halterman) Road gate was locked; she said the delay had physical and psychological consequences for her son and asked the board for accountability and for ambulances to be onsite for football. "So tonight, I'm publicly asking for accountability and action," she said. Residents opposing the gate opening said the road is not built to handle through traffic, asked for traffic‑mitigation measures and demanded neighbor inclusion in planning.
After discussion, the board held a roll‑call vote on the motion to submit the application; the motion carried. The board directed staff to continue coordinating with township officials and to proceed with required traffic‑study steps and engineering work. The board did not specify a final implementation timetable at the vote; members pointed to a committee presentation as the next step.
