Zoners approve plan to use Brandonville firehouse for equipment sales
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The former Brandonville firehouse, seen from Route 339 above on Jan. 8, 2024.
BRANDONVILLE – A request to allow equipment sales and service at the former Brandonville firehouse was approved by the East Union Township Zoning Hearing Board Wednesday night.
Mar-Mel Industrial, LLC sought a special exception to allow the sale of what managing partner Daniel Danchision called small farm and construction equipment.
He said the property is being leased to another company for such activities.
“I was thrilled to have a national company with equipment that’ll really sell in our area,” he told the zoning board. “I’m very certain that it’s going to create a few excellent jobs for people in the area.”
He said the employees of the company have been stopping by and spending money at local businesses, “versus the fire company sitting there for 12 years looking like a haunted house.
Recently, deliveries to the property have caused headaches for commuters between Shenandoah and Hazleton, a concern a Brandonville neighbor echoed. The property has been used for storage for the past few years and, in the past two months, has been packed with equipment.
Danchision, who is the township roadmaster and husband of Supervisors Vice-Chair Wendy Danchision, claimed the recent truck traffic is not excessive compared to traffic from PennDOT and the water bottling plant deeper in the former Brandonville Industrial Park.
Zoning board member Rick Grabosky asked about the driveway to the property and if trucks would be parked on Route 924 at all. Danchision said that his company owns Spring Water Boulevard, the entrance to the industrial park, and that would be used.
The zoning board voted 5-0 to approve the special exception.
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