ADAMS TWP. — A group of residents and business owners spoke up at a township board of supervisors meeting Monday night about the maintenance and condition of the Adams Shoppes shopping center along Route 228 near Seven Fields.

The residents asked whether there was anything the township could do to enforce more regular maintenance of the property, which is owned by Chen Family Ltd. Partnership.

“It’s just horrible. You go in there, the grass is high, there’s always garbage all around,” said Sherrie Jackson of Adams. “You go into the dollar store, and you’re walking through debris just to get in. The fence is all broken up. It’s just an eyesore.”

Matt McCullough, of Dented Keg Brewery in Adams Shoppes, said the parking lot is “a disaster” and that the landlord, Bill Chen, is difficult to contact, though he said Chen did communicate with him recently to deny a request for a patio.

“The grass, the fence, the parking lot. This isn’t new — this hasn’t been going on for a week, it hasn’t gone on for a month, it’s been years. It’s in complete disrepair,” said Dan Mozer of Adams. “It’s the first shopping center you see when you come into Adams Township on 228. It’s not a good look. It’s embarrassing.”

Board of supervisors chairman Russ Ford said the township is aware of the situation, and that code enforcement officer Mike Knox has reached out to Chen.

“I have tried to contact him several times, several different ways over the last couple of months,” Knox said. “This has been going on for a while, and now it’s really in disrepair, and it needs to be addressed. Some things need to be fixed up.”

The next step is to attempt to arrange a meeting with the landlord, Ford said.

“We are going to do everything we possibly can, because your business is important to this township, important to the residents, and it’s going to be important to us,” he said. “We’re going to do what we can, but sometimes the legal process will slow us down.”

The board also voted unanimously to remove Larry Kaufman from the Municipal Water Authority of Adams Township board, citing comments that Kaufman made in an executive session of the board. When asked, Ford had no further comment on details of the situation.

Board vice chairman Ron Shemela read a statement saying that at a meeting on May 24, Kaufman had “engaged in certain conduct which is contrary to the health, safety and welfare of the board members and indeed the community.”

“I hate to have to remove him, but after what he said, he has to go,” board member Ed Vogel said.

Kaufman’s removal is effective immediately.