FiberBenders told to cease and desist at current location!
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:16 am
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=317595
Spring Township moves to stop pole vaulting camp
Erin Negley
A Spring Township facility that bills itself as a place where pole vaulting champions are shaped and sharpened has run afoul of township officials.
FiberBenders International offers pole vaulting lessons, clinics and overnight camps at a 6-acre site along Chapel Hill Road. This year's first summer camp is scheduled to start today, according to the company website.
But Spring Township has taken several steps, including a cease-and-desist order and a court injunction, to stop the track and field camp from operating without the necessary permits.
"It's a unique use that has a place somewhere, but it never went through the process to assure the campers are being taken care of properly," said Aaron Wozniak, township zoning officer.
Property owner Lance Atkins, who is the company director, was unavailable for comment. FiberBenders has offered pole vaulting lessons to student-athletes for 27 years, according to its website. The business started at Kutztown University with Atkins and Olympic pole vaulting medalist Jan Johnson.
In 1992, Atkins bought the parcel in Spring Township. The business used to house vaulters at Penn State Berks, but bunkhouses were added to the Spring Township site in 2005 to eliminate the travel time, the website states.
Spring Township learned about the bunkhouses last August after parents of a camper complained about the camp conditions, Wozniak said.
Township staff investigated and realized the business was operating without the required zoning or building permits, so the township sent Atkins a cease-and-desist order. The township also issued a citation for operating a dorm or boarding house without a building permit.
Among the concerns were fire safety, parking, handicapped accessibility and the food service area, Wozniak said.
Wozniak said he recently saw a brochure online for this summer's activities, even though the business still hasn't submitted a land development plan or applied for permits.
The township recently sent Atkins a letter reminding him of the cease-and-desist order, he said. And Spring supervisors agreed Monday to seek an injunction to stop operations.
Berks County Judge Timothy Rowley issued the injunction Tuesday. Wozniak said that at the court hearing Atkins said he was trying to relocate the camp to Alvernia University.
Spring Township moves to stop pole vaulting camp
Erin Negley
A Spring Township facility that bills itself as a place where pole vaulting champions are shaped and sharpened has run afoul of township officials.
FiberBenders International offers pole vaulting lessons, clinics and overnight camps at a 6-acre site along Chapel Hill Road. This year's first summer camp is scheduled to start today, according to the company website.
But Spring Township has taken several steps, including a cease-and-desist order and a court injunction, to stop the track and field camp from operating without the necessary permits.
"It's a unique use that has a place somewhere, but it never went through the process to assure the campers are being taken care of properly," said Aaron Wozniak, township zoning officer.
Property owner Lance Atkins, who is the company director, was unavailable for comment. FiberBenders has offered pole vaulting lessons to student-athletes for 27 years, according to its website. The business started at Kutztown University with Atkins and Olympic pole vaulting medalist Jan Johnson.
In 1992, Atkins bought the parcel in Spring Township. The business used to house vaulters at Penn State Berks, but bunkhouses were added to the Spring Township site in 2005 to eliminate the travel time, the website states.
Spring Township learned about the bunkhouses last August after parents of a camper complained about the camp conditions, Wozniak said.
Township staff investigated and realized the business was operating without the required zoning or building permits, so the township sent Atkins a cease-and-desist order. The township also issued a citation for operating a dorm or boarding house without a building permit.
Among the concerns were fire safety, parking, handicapped accessibility and the food service area, Wozniak said.
Wozniak said he recently saw a brochure online for this summer's activities, even though the business still hasn't submitted a land development plan or applied for permits.
The township recently sent Atkins a letter reminding him of the cease-and-desist order, he said. And Spring supervisors agreed Monday to seek an injunction to stop operations.
Berks County Judge Timothy Rowley issued the injunction Tuesday. Wozniak said that at the court hearing Atkins said he was trying to relocate the camp to Alvernia University.
I was supposed to coach here this summer...Lance could only afford to hire two of his athletes of like 10 years so I couldn't be mad at him for that in this terrible economy. Fiberbenders was the first camp I ever attended and it was a lot of fun. Nothing unsafe, in fact the living conditions were better than most college dorms. Shame the town (and apparently a parent or two) had to be such dudley-dorights. -6P