Birdsboro Weighs $148K Payment to H&K After Quarry Blast

Birdsboro Borough Council meets Monday with an update on the Oct. 14 blast at Birdsboro Quarry, which operator H&K says registered an air blast "above the normal levels" at a seismograph on Hopewell Street, and a $148,163.64 payment request for the borough's 2026 roadwork. The two items share a company: council awarded this year's road project to H&K in May, its minutes show. Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at Borough Hall, according to the agenda posted Friday afternoon; the borough homepage gives the hall's address as 202 E. Main St.

The three-page agenda also carries a shade tree ordinance now on its third straight monthly agenda, a conditional use application for 115 N. Furnace St., a library budget request and a closed-door session on personnel and litigation. It attaches no supporting documents.

What H&K says happened on Oct. 14

The agenda lists "Update on H&K Blast on October 14" under the manager's report with no further detail. What is public so far is a one-page statement from The H&K Group, Inc., posted Oct. 15 on neighboring Union Township's homepage; the borough homepage posts its own copy. Everything in it comes from the company, not from a government inspector.

H&K says a scheduled production blast went off at about 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The shot was 68 holes, each 5.5 inches across and 55 feet deep, laid out in line with the quarry's blast plan approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection. A seismograph at 408 Hopewell St. recorded ground vibration "near zero" but an air blast, meaning sound pressure, above what prior production blasts at the quarry have produced. A second seismograph at 106 Catlin St. did not trigger, which H&K says means the blast's effects were not observed there.

After reviewing the data with its blasting contractor, H&K concluded that two of the 68 holes had air pockets, which it calls a bridge, in the stemming column. Stemming is the cap of crushed stone packed into the hole above the explosive. The bridges "likely elevated" the air blast, and dense cloud cover "likely exacerbated the felt effects." The company lists three changes: stem rods to lock the stemming in place, measuring and recording the stemming volume in each hole, and piling extra aggregate over any bridged hole. Questions go to Evan D. Sowers, P.E., at esowers@hkgroup.com or 610-222-3052.

The statement does not say how many complaints came in, whether any damage was reported, or whether DEP has reviewed the event. The borough homepage says DEP "is the official enforcement authority for quarry operations" and lists a DEP mining office number, 570-621-3118. Union Township's quarry page, recapping a 2021 quarry tour, says H&K blasts two to three times a week with seismographs at the two closest dwellings. Union supervisors met the night after the blast on road payments and the 2027 budget.

$148,163.64 for 2026 roadwork, to H&K

The engineer's report asks council to approve a "Payment Application for 2026 Roadwork" of $148,163.64. The agenda names no contractor, no streets and no total contract price. The council's May 18 minutes fill that in: council voted 7-0, on a motion by David Blank seconded by Nancy Kauffman, to "Award the 2026 Road Project to H&K for the contract cost of $155,193.96 (base bid #1)," covering milling and paving of North and South Kelly Drive and Morgan Way for $123,487.74 and tack coat and paving of Hampton Drive from Haycreek Road to the water treatment plant for $31,706.22, the latter at the Birdsboro Municipal Authority's expense (p. 3). Monday's payment request is about 95 percent of that contract price, by our arithmetic; the agenda does not say whether it is the final payment.

H&K has been on council's agenda in another way since February, when Blank asked whether anything had come of a meeting already held with H&K, and Council President Anthony Tucci said another would be scheduled "to discuss items such as quarry monitoring station locations, expansion matters, and tonnage fees" (Feb. 16 minutes, p. 4). Blank asked again in March (p. 4) and in May, when Tucci said a meeting "is being scheduled" (May 18 minutes, p. 3). The posted minutes do not record that second meeting taking place. The borough's newest posted minutes, from July 20, record only a stormwater case at 647 W. 6th St. under the engineer's report (p. 2); the Aug. 17 and Sept. 21 agendas list nothing under the engineer's report, and the minutes of those meetings are not posted.

The engineer also has an update on a PennDOT permit for pedestrian crossing signs. In July, council approved $4,178 for pedestrian crossing traffic controllers and signs, up from an earlier cap of $3,500 (p. 2), to go in at N. Mill Street and E. Main Street (p. 4).

Shade trees, Furnace Street, the library and the budget

The shade tree ordinance first appeared on the Aug. 17 agenda as "Revise the Shade Tree Ordinance" under the manager's report, moved to the solicitor's report on Sept. 21, and is back there Monday. At the July 20 meeting, Brandi Brennan, reporting under the Shade Tree Commission heading, said the commission was "working on ordinance changes" (p. 3). No agenda or minutes says what the changes are, and no draft is posted.

The solicitor also lists a conditional use application for 115 N. Furnace St. A conditional use is a use the zoning ordinance allows in a district only after council holds a hearing and finds it meets the ordinance's conditions. The agenda gives no applicant or proposed use.

The library budget request is listed without a figure or a named library; the Boone Area Library has a standing spot on the agenda. The Sept. 21 agenda carried a letter of support for a library LSA grant; the outcome is not posted.

Monday's "Budget Discussion (if necessary)" comes with a schedule change. The Sept. 21 agenda had listed a budget meeting for 6 p.m. Oct. 19; the new agenda drops it and sets the budget meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16. Birdsboro's 2026 municipal rate is 7.760 mills, part of a 52.217-mill total with county and Daniel Boone Area School District taxes, per the county's rate table. The school district moved in August to seek an $818K state roof grant.

Also on the agenda

• Personnel items under the manager's, solicitor's and mayor's reports, none described, plus an executive session on personnel and litigation. An executive session is a closed meeting that Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act allows for a short list of topics, including personnel and litigation; votes must happen in public. A special meeting set for 1 p.m. Oct. 7 with only an executive session on a personnel matter and litigation is labeled "Meeting has been cancelled" on the council page.
• Ratifying a letter of support for an adaptive playground, with no location or grant named.
• Daniel Boone Day and Trick or Treat Night(s), listed without dates.
• A tent rental for Christmas in Birdsboro, which the borough homepage sets for Saturday, Dec. 12.
• Approval of the Sept. 21 minutes, the bills list and the treasurer's report.

How to attend

Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at Borough Hall, 202 E. Main St., Birdsboro. Members are President Anthony Tucci, Vice President Mary Ann Cotter, Ryan Acevedo, David Blank, Nancy Kauffman, Russ Lander and Jared Myers. Public comment comes in two slots, on agenda items near the start and on anything near the end. Speakers give their name and address to the borough secretary, address the council president, and may be held to a time limit; meetings are recorded. The borough office number is 610-582-6030.

Coming up: Planning Commission Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.; Birdsboro Municipal Authority Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m.; the budget and council meetings Monday, Nov. 16, at 6 and 7 p.m.; and the Recreation Board Thursday, Nov. 19, 6 p.m.