HARMONY — With a potential housing development expected along Connoquenessing Creek in Jackson Township, borough council members have concerns about the impact that development could have on the borough.

Members of the council recently met with Jackson Township manager Chris Rearick, developer Don Rogers and Dave Johnson of the Butler County Planning Commission to discuss the potential plans for the development.

Council members discussed those issues Tuesday night.

Council Vice President Don Sims said state Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th, will meet with residents from the borough and Zelienople at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 to review the Creekside development plans. Sims said he told Marshall the council and residents have questions regarding the potential for flooding and damage to the town.

“We have great concerns that we have not been properly getting the answers that we need,” Sims said.

“A town that has been here for over 200 plus years is not a town to be ignored when you develop something and just say well we will see what happens,” he said.

Sims also has contacted state Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, to see if he can attend the Dec. 2 meeting as well.

Council President Greg Such noted the plans for the development have not been finalized.

The development would create 120 housing units and 204 senior living units. The townhouse-style work force units would have one, two and three bedroom options. Each building would have 10 to 12 units. The work force housing units would have a rent to buy option, Such said.

The senior living section would have three four story high rise units. Each unit would cost about $230,000 to build and be leased for $900 to $1,000 a month. They would be managed by the Butler County Housing Authority, Such said.

Such said the renters would have to have an income or a combined income of $36,000 a year or less. The reason for this is because some of the money for the development would come from federal government tax credits.

Such said potentially there would be 550 to 650 people living on the 17-acre site. There is an additional 22 acres that Rogers might donate to Jackson Township for green space and trails.

Mayor Cathy Rape had a question regarding Mercer Road because the development would come out to that road, half of which is in the borough.

“I would like to know if they need to come to Harmony Planning Commission to bring a street out onto Mercer Road when half off that road belongs to us,” she asked.

Such said at the recent meeting to discuss the potential plans, the group talked about when Baker Engineers does the engineering work on the site that it look for additional ways to reduce flooding risk.

David Szakelyhidi, council member, asked who would have to pay for that, the borough or the township.

Such said he assumed if the borough does a flood study that it would be a partnership, but because the funding is not in the borough budget, it would have to find money to do it.

“We would have to jointly prepare grants to do it,” Such said.