Representatives from developer Weaver Homes are refuting claims by Adams Township supervisors regarding a dispute between the two parties on winter maintenance at the Camp Trees and Hickory Glen neighborhoods.

In a letter sent to residents of the two developments — a copy of which also was sent to the Butler Eagle — Chad Weaver, president of Weaver Homes, justified his company’s decision to stop paying for winter maintenance. Weaver says his company has tried to act as a good partner with the township, only to be met with more and more demands to bring the roads of the two neighborhoods into compliance with township standards.

“It is our position that all the work they requested related to the road has been completed ... and there is absolutely no reason for them (not) to adopt the road,” Weaver wrote in a letter to residents.

The winter maintenance dispute brought numerous residents of the two neighborhoods to a supervisors meeting Monday night, Feb. 24, after they received a letter stating the board would vote on whether to terminate maintenance — i.e., plowing and salting the roads in the event of snow.

If the vote was in the affirmative, then Weaver would have to take over the maintenance.

In a letter dated Feb. 10, Adams Township demanded that Weaver Homes pays $18,460 for two years’ worth of winter maintenance fees by Feb. 14 — a demand which, according to township Supervisor Russell Ford, was not met.

However, in a follow-up letter sent by Weaver to residents of Camp Trees and Hickory Glen, the company accused the township of dragging out the process of road adoption past the point when they considered it complete.

The Camp Trees and Hickory Glen letters are nearly identical, but with different time frames mentioned for each. According to the company, the process of road construction and adoption was started in 2021 for Camp Trees and August 2023 for Hickory Glen.

As part of the township’s road adoption process, roads at developments which are under construction start out as private roads, but are designed and built to the township’s specifications and are inspected by the township engineer. Once the township approves the developer’s progress, they “adopt” the road — taking it over as a public road.

“The developer, after a certain period of time, has to make those roads standard to Adams Township specifications before we take them over,” Ford said. “And while they're private and the development’s being built, we provide them with what's called a ‘winter maintenance agreement’, where we charge them a monthly fee for winter maintenance: salt, plowing, all that good stuff.”

In both cases, the company stated that it performed all corrective work that was asked of it on the roads.

“I was made aware of the potential board of supervisors vote to discontinue the winter maintenance last week,” Weaver wrote in the letter to Camp Trees residents. “At that time, our team requested a meeting with the township to review and agree upon a final list. I was told, ‘pay the bill and then we’ll talk.’”

“We have been in this business for 40 years, and in all that time, we have never had this much trouble with a township adopting a road,” Weaver wrote.

Weaver said he declined to attend Monday’s meeting, as “I don’t believe there is anything I can do to change their minds, and quite honestly, this isn’t a battle to be had in public.”

The vote to terminate winter maintenance during Monday’s meeting was tabled.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, multiple residents spoke out against both parties for letting the situation escalate to this point.

“When we chose to build in the Village at Camp Trees, we unfortunately supported one local business that continues to mar our opinion of the community which we have chosen to set down roots in… Weaver Homes, and specifically Chad Weaver,” said township resident Alison Cannon. “It is unbelievable that we need to be here fighting for our roads to be maintained because our local government and a business refuses to sort out this issue amongst themselves and through appropriate legal avenues.”