Middlesex Township residents express concern following Lowery Drive property sale
MIDDLESEX TWP — A routine township supervisors meeting Wednesday night, June 18, descended into a shouting match, as residents clashed with board members over a recent property sale.
More than a dozen residents came to the meeting to express their concern over a recent property sale on Lowery Drive in Middlesex Township, which they claim has negatively affected the surrounding neighborhood, both aesthetically and functionally.
As the meeting stretched on, the aggrieved township residents and members of the board of supervisors began talking over each other. Residents accused the board of being indifferent to their concerns, while board members said they didn’t know about plans for the property.
“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed,” said resident Jane Skiff. “I would think that you would be trying to come up with a solution, just sitting there listening to people who are very upset about their neighborhood.
“I’ve never seen anything like this where people are not polite, especially elected officials who should be a little more concerned about what’s going on.”
Board Chairman Michael Spreng defended himself and the supervisors, insisting that they aren’t aware of any future plans for the property at 138 Lowery Drive or the adjacent former Joseph P. King Farm, which has the same owner, Max Rosarius.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know what’s going to happen when he’s gone,” Spreng said. “I hate to say it like that, but we don’t know.”
The property, a home at the end of the cul-de-sac, was purchased earlier this year by Rosarius from township Supervisor Donald Marshall.
According to Butler County property records, Marshall, along with his wife, Dina, purchased the property on Lowery Drive for $295,000 in December 2024, and sold the property to Rosarius in February 2025 for $1.
“He turned around and sold it to Mr. Rosarius at a straw sale … I had never heard of it,” resident Linda Pehel said.
Residents questioned the ethics of a township supervisor involving himself in the sale of a property in this way, especially one that seemingly netted him a loss of $294,999.
“I listed it properly, I did everything right as far as my paperwork,” Marshall said.
When questioned further about the sale during the meeting, he stated several times that the sale was conducted legally.
“You’ve lost a lot of face and a lot of goodwill,” said Siggy Pehel, Linda’s husband and president of the Glade Run Lake Conservancy. “Don’t stand up there and pontificate that you did everything on the up-and-up.”
Shortly after being acquired by Rosarius, who owns the adjacent 93.6-acre farm property formerly known as the King Farm, residents said the house was demolished.
“For 50-some years, that was a beautiful home,” said Denise Hoover, who lives nearby. “It had trees and wildlife. It was gorgeous.”
Linda Pehel said as recently as last week, crews clear-cut some of the woods separating the old King Farm from the surrounding neighborhood.
“It was last week, for several days in a row,” she said. “The guys running those machines did a good job. It was like Lincoln Logs. They systematically removed all the trees.”
Combined, the clearing of trees and the demolition of the house left residents of Lowery Road with stormwater issues and questions about potential future development, those who spoke at the meeting said.
Multiple residents professed that the reduction in trees has led to stormwater drainage problems in the neighborhood, which is hitting the residents hard in this unusually rainy summer.
“We all have drainage problems,” Pehel said. “My neighbor says that the driveway of the person next to the property is all mud.”
Residents were also concerned about the possibility that the tree-cutting was a sign of future development on the property of the former King farm, with one possibility being a road of some kind.
“Our cul-de-sac connects to Mr. Rosarius’ farm,” Pehel said. “Will some roadway be put through? I don't know. That’s our concern. We cannot handle that kind of traffic. It’s a neighborhood. It’s a community. It’s not a right of way.”
Rosarius acquired the former King Farm in 2013 for $999,000, according to Butler County property records.
Rosarius was not able to be reached for comment.
