Chambersburg school board reverses course on right-of-way for power line

(Chambersburg) — The Chambersburg Area school board will not hold a vote during its upcoming meeting on whether or not to grant Transource right-of-way to build its high-voltage powerline on the district’s property. 

While the school board will no longer vote on the issue on June 12, the district will “do everything to comply” with a recent court ruling allowing Transource to access properties along the line’s route to conduct tests on the ground, said Alex Sharpe, vice president of the school board. 

Transource has proposed stringing wire on mono-poles for 29 miles from Shippensburg to Ringgold, Md. A 16-mile line also would run through southern York County. The route would run through various places in Franklin County, including near the district’s cross-country course by Falling Spring Elementary School. Ã¢â‚¬â€¹

The buildings and grounds committee voted unanimously Tuesday evening to not ask the school board to vote on the right-of-way issue, Sharpe said. The decision was made after Chambersburg school district recently received new information about the impact the project would have on the course, Sharpe said. Although the company originally stated there would be no impact, after looking at the proposed route it was discovered the project could affect the outer loop of the course, he said.  

The Tim Cook Memorial Cross Country course is one of the top in the state, and is in memory of Cook, a long-time high school cross-country and track coach who, with his wife, was killed in a crash in 2002. Sharpe described him as being “a staple in the Chambersburg Area School District for a long time.” 

“I don’t think we would easily be able to recreate it,” he said of the course.

Sharpe said at the meeting the committee discussed what the project would mean for the course, and also how it is not in the county’s or the district’s best interests.

The district met with administrative judges from the Public Utility Commission on May 29, to show them where the power line would cross its property. The judges also walked through other areas of the county that would be affected as part of a formal proceeding for hearings that were held on May 22 and 23 at the New Franklin Fire Hall. The PUC heard testimonies from 108 people during this time.

A lot of parents are concerned about the power line that could parallel the course and come to within about 700 feet of the elementary school, school officials told the judges during the May 29 meeting. 

The power line could also affect a world-renowned fly-fishing stream, as trees and vegetation would no longer provide shade that supports the habitat for fish and the insects they feed on. 

Franklin County Judge Todd Sponseller recently ruled that as a utility Transource could access properties in Franklin County to conduct surveys and to drill test holes for possible pole foundations. Transource sued 24 Franklin County landowners to gain access to their properties.

The company needs the approval of regulators in both Pennsylvania and Maryland before starting construction. The judges make determinations that the commission members consider in making decisions.

The legal process in Pennsylvania will extend into next year – the year Transource expects to begin construction. The commission is to hear main briefs on Feb. 1 and replies to the briefs on Feb. 28.

Sharpe couldn’t say for certain whether or not the issue will come up again before the board, but did say that from what he “could glean from last night, I think the district is going to pretty much maintain the status quo right now as it currently exists unless something were to change.” 

He said he thinks the district will most likely wait to see the outcome of the hearings and what the judges decide. In addition, the district also wants to go out to the site and take the information given to them by Transource and figure out what the impact would be. 

“We have to do more due diligence,” Sharpe added. “We got some of this information at the last minute, and we just need to reevaluate from a total perspective.” 

This story comes to us through a partnership between WITF and The Chambersburg Public Opinon.